Goddess of Love (Goddess Summoning #5)(44)

Neither of them said anything for a long, intimate moment, and then he spoke. His deep voice was so gentle that she could hardly believe this was the same man who sounded so harsh and dangerous just moments ago.

"You said you were thirsty. I would be honored if you would allow me to buy you something with which to quench your thirst."

Pea realized her mouth was hanging open and she quickly closed it. "O-o-okay," she stuttered, while her inside voice was shrieking, Now is not the time to sound like a dork! She drew a long breath and ordered her mouth to stop its ridiculous babbling. She. Was. A. Goddess! And goddesses were totally capable of conversing in a rational manner with handsome men. And, anyway, she needed to practice on someone who took her breath away so that she would be ready to be coherent if she got another chance to talk to Griffin. "Okay," she repeated in a more reasonable tone, pulling herself together. "It's only right that I let you buy me a drink. You did come to my rescue, even though I could have handled him just fine myself."

"Of course you could have..." He glanced at her name tag and his lips turned up just slightly.

"...Aphrodite, Goddess of Love."

"Yeah," she said and then realized she sounded about sixteen, and added, "Still, I do owe you a favor for your honorable display of chivalry."

"Let there be no talk of debts between us, Goddess," he said. "I only want you to drink with me if you truly wish it."

Pea felt her stomach flutter. His voice worked on her like a slow, sexy ballad. "Well, I did say I was thirsty."

His half smile instantly changed into a lovely, full-on grin that made Pea's stomach butterfly. He led her back to her table, and she noticed that he limped, which didn't stop him from holding out her chair and, just like a knight of old, bowing her into it.

"Thanks," she said. Luckily her waitress was just passing by and she ordered a pomegranate martini and a large bottle of Pellegrino - to help keep her head clear. There was something about this man that was intoxicating enough without boozing it up. He said he'd have the same. "Well, so, um, you're" - Pea squinted at his name tag - "the God of Fire. Wow. That's a big job."

He shrugged and looked surprisingly uncomfortable. "It's something that must be done."

"I'd say so. I mean, without you how would we light and heat the earth?" Pea said, proud of herself for her pithy comment.

Unfortunately he looked even more uncomfortable. His broad shoulders moved restlessly.

"Sorry," she said quickly, wanting to put him at ease. "I imagine you firemen guys might feel silly dressing up as gods and such tonight. I mean, truth be known, I'm not a real goddess. I'm just me."

His chocolate brown eyes darkened even more, and he leaned forward. "I know what you are. You're something better than the gilded, perfect Goddess of Love."

Pea smiled, thinking of Venus's beauty. "What could be better than the Goddess of Love?"

"You, Pea," he said earnestly. "You don't need the magic of the immortals. You're unique and honest and real. That outshines the cold perfection of the gods."

His words made her heartbeat speed up. "How do you know my name?"

"I've seen you here before. Saturday. You - "

"Oh, great!" Pea put her masked face in her hands. "You saw the Great Belch and Penis Drop."

"That's not what I saw."

His voice was so gentle that she lifted her face from her hands. Their eyes met.

"What did you see?"

"Myself."

Pea blinked. She couldn't have heard him right. "Yourself? I don't understand."

His smile was shy. He seemed to almost have to struggle with himself to keep talking. "It sounds unbelievable, I know. But Saturday when I watched you all I could think was that I knew exactly how you felt. I knew..." He paused and then began again. "I know what it's like to be the one who doesn't fit in."

"You?" she said incredulously.

"Appearances can be deceptive."

"Don't I know it! I mean, you saw me Saturday. Clearly, you can tell I've had a big change since then. This" - she made a sweeping gesture at herself - "isn't really what I've looked like for the whole rest of my life. I've had some...um...help recently. But since you saw me Saturday, which was before my makeover, you already know I'm usually not this put together."

Slowly he reached out and covered her hand with his own. "I saw how real and kind you are, and that is something I find very beautiful."

His hand was warm and big and strong. She could feel the roughness of his calluses against her smooth skin, and it excited her to imagine that he'd earned those calluses by fighting fires and saving lives. It did something else, too. Something that totally shocked her. It conjured images of the night before last when the ambrosia loosened her inhibitions and she'd touched herself and brought herself to an earthshaking climax. It had felt so good, so decadent, so sexy and...

"What are you thinking about?" His voice caressed her.

"Me?" She pulled her thoughts back to the present, trying to ignore the way her face flushed. She felt hot and wet, a sensation that was all the more obvious because of her lack of underwear. "I don't know.... I was just daydreaming, I guess. Sorry."