Goddess of Love (Goddess Summoning #5)(72)

He glanced surreptitiously over his shoulder at the candles, as if he didn't want her to see him looking.

"And that's not normal, either?"

"You know it's not."

"I didn't know they were going to do that. This" - he gestured from her back to him - "has never happened to me before." Then he attempted a smile. "But I'm glad they didn't burn anything."

Pea ignored his attempt to lighten the tension between them. "Do you think I'll believe that you've never had sex before?"

"Of course not. I didn't mean that. I meant that I've never been in love before, so I had no way of knowing that any fire in my presence would...ur...respond to the intensity of my emotions."

"And just exactly why would fire respond to you?" Pea asked. Even through her anger at him, she was intrigued to discover who he really was.

He drew a deep breath. "My name isn't Victor. I'm sorry I misled you to think so. I'm just not used to all this and I - stupidly - hadn't thought things out past seeing you again." He wiped a hand across his face. "I hadn't even thought about what I'd say when you asked me my name."

"And your name is?" she asked impatiently.

"Vulcan," he said.

"V. Cannes."

"I'm not a very imaginative liar."

She snorted. "You could have fooled me."

"But I didn't fool you. In truth, I didn't want to fool you." He reached for her, and she jerked away from him.

"Please don't pull away from me," he said.

"Don't you dare tell me what to do! I don't give a damn if you are a god. I won't be bullied." Pea realized she was actually more confused than angry, but she couldn't seem to control her pissedoff reaction. She was in love with an ancient god. Just the thought caused a weird ringing sound in her ears, and she was afraid if she stopped being mad that she would start being sad - or worse, scared.

"I wouldn't bully you!"

"Ha! So you'd just lie to me? And badly at that. Why not bully me? Why not zap me into...into...into a tree or something if I make you mad!" Isn't that what the gods did who seduced mortal women? Why hadn't she paid closer attention to mythology in school? Didn't she have a copy of an old Edith Hamilton mythology text somewhere in one of her bookshelves?

Jeesh, she hoped so. She had some serious reading to do.

"A tree? Why would I want you to be a tree?" He looked honestly shocked.

"How would I know! For that matter, how would I know anything about you? Hasn't it all been a lie?"

"No!" he shouted, and the flames in the candles flickered wildly in response.

"See there!" She pointed. "You just made the flames act weird again."

"I'm sorry. I won't let them harm anything."

"Why do you have control over flames?"

"Because I'm Vulcan."

She let out a big puff of frustrated breath. "I've been out of school for a long time, and I didn't really pay much attention to mythology even then."

His brow furrowed in confusion.

Pea rolled her eyes. "I don't know which god Vulcan is."

"Oh." He didn't look offended, as she thought he might. He just shrugged and said, "I'm God of Fire. My realm is deep within the bowels of Mount Olympus. At my forge I keep the fires of the ancient earth burning. I also work in metal - things you would normally associate with a forge."

"Then it was a lie." Pea felt sick.

"Stop saying that!" He glanced at the candles to make sure they were behaving before he continued. "I misled you about my name, but nothing else. I do work with fire. I have been watching you. I do love you."

Pea shook her head. "I don't mean that. I mean you lied about being an outcast, about not belonging. You're a god! One of the immortals. I know Venus - I know how amazing you Olympians are." She bit her lip, determined not to cry, and pulled the sheet up over her body. It was bad enough he was seeing her naked emotions. She wasn't good at covering them, but at least she could cover her naked body. "It was mean of you to pretend to be like me."

"But I am like you! I wasn't pretending. Look at me!" He stood up, naked beside her bed.

"Really look at me. My leg is twisted; I am lame. Compare my imperfections to Venus's blazing beauty. I am far from physically perfect. That makes me an eternal outcast amongst the golden immortals of Olympus."

The buzzing was back in her ears. "But that doesn't matter." She reached out and touched his imperfect leg.

He took her hand and knelt beside the bed, burying his face in her palm. "It matters to the immortals. I know how it feels not to belong, and now that I've found you, I know how it feels to be accepted and loved. I can't lose you, Pea. Not now. I couldn't bear it."

And then Pea gasped as Venus's words rushed from her memory, all of a sudden making sense. He's not physically perfect, so he's an outcast in Olympus. He thought by marrying me he could gain acceptance.

"Oh, no...You're married to Venus," she said faintly.

"Yes, but - "

The rest of his words were lost when Pea burst into tears.

Chapter Twenty-Four