Goddess of the Rose (Goddess Summoning #4)(80)

A beast didn't do this. A man did this, and one who might be very much in love.

"You should not be here!" he snarled.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

THE power in his voice caused the torches to flicker madly, but Mikki didn't cringe or start in surprise. Slowly, she raised her eyes from the sketch. And then her stomach lurched. He was standing in a rounded doorway that led to another room deeper within the cave, and he was almost naked. The leather cuirasse was gone, as was the tunic. All he had on was something that looked like a short linen towel slung low and tied around his hips. She licked her lips and reminded herself that if she didn't speak he would assume fear had paralyzed her.

"You wouldn't come to me, so here I am."

She could see his angry facade falter, and when she smiled, he seemed at a total loss as to what to say. She tried to ignore his almost nakedness, and instead nodded at the walls of the cave. "The paintings are beautiful. Is that Crete?"

"Yes."

"You're very talented. Just looking at these makes me want to go on a long Mediterranean vacation." Before he could formulate a response, she pointed to the sketch of herself. "And this is flattering. I didn't even know you were there that night."

"It wasn't meant to flatter."

"I didn't mean that in a bad way. I meant you made me look pretty and powerful, and that's flattering."

"That is how I see you," he said.

"Really?"

"I will never lie to you."

"Some people would say evasion and omission are lies," she said bluntly.

"Mikado, if the goddess has commanded me to do or not do something - or to say or not say something - I must obey her. I have given her my oath."

"Okay, I understand that. I'm sorry. It's just extremely frustrating for me to be in a situation where I don't know all the facts."

"If I could answer all your questions, I swear to you that I would," he said.

"Well, that's something I guess." She sighed and looked back at the walls of the cave. "How about you show me around? This place is incredible."

He didn't move from the doorframe. "Is that why you came here, Mikado, to have me show you my lair?"

"No. I came because I wanted to see you."

"Why?"

"Because you didn't come to me today. I missed you, especially after I cast the spell that would allow men into the realm."

"I am not - " he began.

"Jeesh, enough! Didn't we go over this yesterday? I know you're not a man, but man or not, when I was casting the spell, you were who I thought of," she said.

He looked away from her, and she could see the tension in his jaw and the way his hands kept clenching into fists.

"I know." His voice sounded strained. "I felt the spell, and I felt you thinking of me. I wish you would not."

"Why?" It was her turn to ask.

"Because I cannot bear it!"

Mikki thought it sounded like he had to grind the words between his teeth to get them out.

"I wasn't afraid of you last night," she said abruptly.

"I saw the fear and loathing in your eyes, but I do not blame you. I wanted only to hold you in my arms and kiss you, and I couldn't do even that small, ordinary thing without becoming a beast."

"You didn't want to do any more than to just kiss me?" she asked, smiling seductively at him.

His eyes narrowed. "If I show you my lair, will you leave me in peace, Empousa?"

"Probably not."

"I thought you were not mean-spirited; I see that I was mistaken," he said woodenly.

"I'm not being mean-spirited! I'm just doing a really awful job of trying to explain myself. I'm nervous, and I don't know how to put what I'm feeling into words." She wanted to fidget or pace, but she forced herself to be still and look him in the eye. "You didn't hurt me last night, and I wasn't afraid of you. I wanted you, even more so when it got a little rough between us. I liked it, Asterius. Your power - the strength in your body that you barely hold in check - is more passion than I've ever known in my life. Until I met you, men were inconsequential to me. And now I think I know why. They always seemed weak, especially when I compared them to the women who had raised me. You see, Asterius, I need someone who is more than a man. Last night when I realized that, the truth of my passion did frighten me. My fear had been formed by the voices I'd heard all my life - the voices of a mundane world that would be shocked by what I feel for you."

Asterius didn't speak for a long time; he just stared at her as if trying to comprehend something she had said that was very important to him, but spoken in a language he barely understood. Finally, he said, "Would you still like to see the rest of my lair?"

"I would."

He stepped from the doorway. "This is my bedchamber." He gestured for her to precede him into the room.

She walked through the arched doorway and entered the room. She could feel him follow her. Her whole body was attuned to his presence, as if he was a cobra and she was attempting to charm him. Then the beauty of the room registered. It was smaller than the main room, and it, too, had torches that gave off no smoke. Only here there were fewer of them so the room was dimly lit. The floor was covered with thick animal pelts, in the middle of which sat a huge pallet covered with more pelts. This is where he sleeps. The thought sent a wave of wet heat through Mikki's body. She looked quickly from the bed to the walls and was amazed all over again. The walls were filled with scenes from a garden covered with tier after tier of magnificently blooming roses. Each level of the garden held a water element, and in the central tier sat a large statue of -