Goddess of Love (Goddess Summoning #5)(31)

"Leave that to me," Venus said.

"You're not going to do anything like start a fire, are you?"

Venus wiggled her brows. "Love, start a fire?"

"Promise me you won't burn down my house."

"I wouldn't think of burning down this delightful home!"

"Or any of my neighbors' houses."

Venus pouted prettily. "It was a logical idea, but I suppose I can think of something else."

"I'll count on it." Pea yawned and glanced at the clock. "Oh, jeesh! It's almost midnight. I have to get up and go to work tomorrow." Worry furrowed her forehead. "What are you going to do while I'm gone?"

"Research," Venus said without hesitation.

"Research?"

Venus nodded. "You have a computer, don't you?"

"Of course, but how - "

Venus waved away her question. "Persephone explained it all to me. Computers are like magic. She said anything you want to know about the modern mortal world can be discovered through them, especially if you use a particular magic called Google."

Pea laughed. "Okay, no problem. I'll give you a quick lesson before I go to work tomorrow."

"What type of work do you do, Pea?"

"Actually, I just got a major promotion. I'm the youngest director at Tulsa Community College. I'm in charge of curriculum for our continuing education department." Pea thought for a second and then added, "I guess you could say that I decide what types of classes we offer adults so that they can learn new things and expand their minds."

"That sounds like a great responsibility."

"It is, and tomorrow is going to be a long day. I'm interviewing instructors for several new classes we're going to offer this summer."

"Then you must get your rest."

The two women wished each other warm good nights and went off to bed. Pea considered pleasuring herself again, but decided she was just too tired, and fell into a contented sleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Ironically Venus didn't even consider pleasuring herself. Instead she lay awake a long time, and when she finally fell into a restless sleep she dreamed of fire and a blue-eyed, dark-haired mortal.

Vulcan tried to stay away from the thread that opened a window to the mortal world - a window to Pea - and he succeeded for most of the day. Finally, his mind was so filled with thoughts of and questions about the little mortal that he could bear it no longer. Vulcan conjured the thread to him and gazed into the fiery pillar. His breath caught and he felt the thrill of long dormant emotions surge through him.

She was radiant! He watched her walk across a shopping park at Venus's side, proud and graceful and confident. She looked like the woman she had changed into the night before when she began to dance. And her clothes, her hair! She was different, yet not. She was still Pea. Still the sweet, exquisite creature he desired so passionately and so unexpectedly. Now she was just more. Venus had accomplished it; she had worked her magic on Pea. Vulcan studied Pea carefully. No, his first impression had been wrong. He could detect no dusting of goddess magic on the mortal. What Venus had accomplished she had done without the use of her divine powers. She had made what had been hidden on the inside of Pea become visible. Vulcan swallowed hard and felt his chest tighten. He would not be the only man - mortal or immortal - who noticed her beauty.

It was a torment to watch the men watch Pea all through dinner. He especially wanted to blast into ash the young waiter who smiled too much and paid too many compliments to her. And the man at the bar! Vulcan wanted to reach through the thread and give him a burning reason to leave the restaurant and leave it in a hurry. But that wasn't the worst of it. She'd spoken about that gods-be-damned Griffin again! And now Venus had agreed to put her mind to getting the two of them together.

No! He wanted to yell through the thread. He isn't good enough for you! But he didn't yell, of course. After all, what could he do about Pea seducing Griffin? He was in Olympus and the mortal was in the modern world.

And so what if they were in different worlds? Vulcan stood up straighter and stopped rubbing his hand through his thick hair in frustration.

Persephone visited the modern world of mortals.

Venus visited the modern world of mortals.

He, too, was one of the Olympian gods. He had the power of immortals at his fingertips, as well as the magic of fire, if he chose to use it. Well, it was about time he chose to use it. There was nothing but himself stopping him from pursuing his heart's desire. Yes. It was definitely time the God of Fire paid a visit to the modern world of mortals....

Venus was thoroughly entranced by the magic of the Internet. After Pea gave her a brief lesson and left for work (wearing her chic new black slacks, russet-colored silk blouse and fabulous black stiletto boots), the first thing Venus did was to Google herself.

"91,000,000 entries!" The goddess practically squealed. And then, just out of curiosity, she Googled Persephone. "3,920,000 entries. How interesting." She couldn't wait to tell Persephone. And she thought she was such an expert on the modern world. Well, maybe she was, but clearly the modern world was more interested in love than spring.

Venus played for a while. Actually more than a while. She was fascinated by all of the different artistic renditions she found when she narrowed her Google search from Venus to Venus art. She, of course, was familiar with Botticelli, and although she could appreciate the beauty of the paintings, she had never really liked them. He made her look too empty headed and nymphlike. The Venus de Milo appealed to her aesthetic senses more, but it didn't look anything like her. She found a lovely sculpture in green alabaster of herself by a modern artist named Kelly Borsheim which she liked very much, and then she discovered the fantasy art of Michael Parkes and was so enamored with it that she ordered five limited-edition prints.