Goddess of Love (Goddess Summoning #5)(39)

"Of course. As soon as I saw you I realized she must be with you. You two were at Lola's the other day, and then day before yesterday you were in the T-Bird together."

"Again, you're very observant." She made herself add, with a lie, "And you're clearly interested in my good friend, Pea." He hadn't been looking at Pea on the dance floor. His attention had been clearly, predatorily, focused on her. "So, we should go back inside so you and Pea can - "

His touch broke off her words as his hand covered hers. "I am not interested in your little friend."

"You're not?" Venus's mouth felt dry.

"No." His thumb made a lazy circle on the soft skin of her hand. "And I'm glad you sent Zorro packing. Cutting in on a crowded dance floor like that can cause an ugly scene, and I definitely would have cut in. Scene or no scene."

Venus's hand tingled where he was touching her. Her stomach clenched. She pulled her hand away from him. "I'm not dancing tonight," she said abruptly.

"Why not?" He was totally unruffled that she'd pulled away from him. Instead he gave her another slow, steady smile.

Venus opened her mouth to make a flippant remark and found herself thrown off by the way he kept looking at her. Then it hit her, right in the gut. He really has no idea that I'm the Goddess of Love. He's truly seducing me as he would a mortal woman. The thought was so profound that she blurted the truth.

"It's important that my friend bask in attention tonight. When I dance I tend to call attention to myself, especially male attention, so I thought it would be best if I left the dancing to her."

Even through the mask, she saw his expression shift to surprise. "That's unusually generous of you."

"You believe that I'm not usually generous?"

As before, he took his time answering her. "Experience has taught me that women who are very beautiful can be callous about others' feelings."

"That's a cynical point of view."

He shrugged. "I think it's realistic."

"Are your sisters very beautiful?"

His lips quirked. "They are."

"And callous?"

He held up his hands, as if in surrender, and laughed, a sensuous sound Venus felt tickle up and down her spine. "I'll never say that. Instead I'd just say that my beautiful sisters are like all women - complex."

Venus smiled. "An excellent answer. And you should know that I am Goddess of Love." She pointed at her name tag, loving the freedom of being able to proclaim it, and at the same time remain unrecognized. "So I speak with authority when I say that Love may seem callous, but usually only to those untouched by her."

"I recognized you right away, Goddess. Venus is actually my favorite goddess."

One of her slim brows arched up. "Is she?"

Griffin lifted a shoulder. "Okay, she's the only goddess I know anything about."

Intrigued, Venus asked, "And what do you know about her?"

"Just the normal stuff. You know, born of the ocean, Goddess of Love and Beauty. That's about it. Anyway I'm interested in what you were saying before. Did you mean that true love is generous, versus the pretenses of love, like lust and infatuation?"

Her smiled was delighted. Not only did he know about her birth, but he'd managed to keep up with her conversation. Too often men, mortal and immortal, did nothing but stare into her eyes, or at her br**sts, and let their minds sink down between their legs when they spoke to her. This man was sexy and confident and intelligent - definitely a lethal combination. "Yes, that's exactly what I meant. True love can be differentiated from its imposters by its generosity. Are you always this perceptive about women and love?"

"I think there are a lot of people who would say that I don't usually pay much attention to either."

"I don't believe that. Not from the brother of four beautiful sisters."

"Generous and wise," he said, with a smile, enjoying her insight. "But then, I am in the presence of a goddess."

"You are, indeed." Venus inclined her head graciously, enjoying their banter almost as much as she liked the easy way he talked with her, and the predatory way he looked at her. There was nothing submissive or worshipful about Griffin, and she found that refreshing as well as alluring. A tattooed waiter cleared his throat and asked for their order.

"I'll have another lovely pomegranate martini, darling," Venus said.

"Macallan scotch, straight up."

The waiter nodded and hurried off, and the music changed again. Venus couldn't stop her body from moving with the rhythmic beat of a song that proclaimed, "It's raining men." She laughed as all the women on the sidewalk began to dance together, raising their arms and singing loudly to the chorus.

"Go on, dance with them."

Glancing through the plate-glass restaurant window, Venus found Pea, still buried on the dance floor.

"Pea's fine. Dance for me, Goddess of Love. I'll protect you if anyone can't handle himself."

Griffin's tone was a clear challenge. Perhaps he should experience a little of the passion Love could evoke.

"I'll remind you later that I warned you."

He grinned mischievously. "Why not see what Love can do?"