CHAPTER 3
A black Lincoln Town Car with tinted windows whisked Kevin away, leaving Ted alone in the parking lot with Mikolas. The tall Greek turned his way, eyes narrowing. “I thought I made it clear you weren’t to mention the Order to that man.”
“I know, but now that you’ve met him, don’t you agree? He’s a perfect fit. He knew more about the Golden Age of Man than either of us, probably more than our whole group combined.” Ted fished in his pocket for his car keys. “I was going to tell you. Sorry it came out the way it did.”
Since making the blood oath with Mikolas, they’d formed a tenuous partnership, and even though Ted still resented that Mikolas now inhabited the CEO’s office instead of him, he’d grown to respect the Greek’s knowledge about the history of the Order of the Titans, and the man’s business instincts had been on the money, too.
Mikolas had grown up in Greece, the birthplace of the gods, and his insights into Pamela’s true motives behind her desire to see the muses die may have saved Ted’s life. While he would probably never invite Mikolas over to his place for a beer, Ted no longer wanted to see him deported or locked in jail.
A muscle twitched under Mikolas’s eye. “Whether he’d help the Order or not is beside the point right now. Have you forgotten we have an unhinged immortal in our group? She could bring us all down. Adding a new member is the last of my concerns.”
“Pamela hasn’t answered my calls. She could have left town for all we know.”
Mikolas looked up at the moon. “The muses are in Crystal City, and if she’s keen on killing them in her vendetta against Zeus as she claims, there’s no way she’d leave town.” He leveled his gaze on Ted again. “But maybe she doesn’t need us anymore.”
Trinity’s face filled Ted’s mind. His ex wasn’t just the only the woman he’d ever loved; she was also the Muse of Music. And he’d recently discovered that she hadn’t found her Guardian yet. The prophecy he’d stolen from the muses and secretly had translated mentioned mortal men marked by the gods to protect his nine daughters. These Guardians would have latent abilities that would only manifest when they met their muses.
Ted wasn’t sure what the “mark” was, but his only ability when it came to Trinity was betrayal. He wasn’t the Guardian in that prophecy, even if he wished he could be.
The plot to kill the muses to keep them from opening the Les Neuf Soeurs theater—a plot he used to believe in—hadn’t truly been his father’s idea. It had been Pamela’s. And it turned out she didn’t give a rat’s ass if the theater ever opened. She just wanted to hurt Zeus by murdering his reborn daughters.
Since Ted’s father’s death, he’d been blaming the muses—the Muse of Epic Poetry to be exact—until he discovered that Pamela had used her paralyzing venom on his father after the explosion on the Oceanus oil rig. It had worn off, but due to his age, the damage to his heart was irreparable, and when the Muse of Epic Poetry had hit him with the taser, his heart couldn’t take the shock.
Ted was finished helping Pamela. In fact, he hoped he and Mikolas could find a way to stop her.
Hungry to earn his father’s approval, Ted had dived into the Order of the Titans full of righteous fervor to help them make history and bring back the Golden Age of Man. And immortality. It seemed naive now that he’d witnessed Pamela’s power. His father had believed Kronos would reward the Order for freeing him, but what if he emerged with a thirst for power in his heart instead of gratefulness?
Part of Ted wished he could recapture the blind passion for the cause, but after being attacked by Pamela and experiencing her inhuman powers firsthand, he had begun to believe Mikolas’s warning. There was no guarantee that Kronos would answer their pleas and usher in a new age of milk and honey for mankind.
Ted sighed and clicked the key fob. The lights blinked on his car across the lot. “Sorry. I’ll let Kevin know we can’t take on any new members right now.” He paused and then added, “I still think his knowledge could come in handy. If we do free Kronos from Tartarus at the center of the Earth, we might need someone who can help us come up with tributes befitting the king of the Titans.”
“I’ll think about it.” Mikolas turned for his car and stopped. “There’s something…off about him.”
“Really?” Ted frowned. “I haven’t noticed anything strange.”
Mikolas shook his head. “I can’t put my finger on it yet, but I look at him and I see an older guy, maybe early seventies, but at the edge of my vision, when I close my eyes…that’s not who I see.”
Ted wished he could laugh it off and tell Mikolas he was nuts, but nothing about Mikolas’s admission was funny. The first time Kevin had come into Ted’s office, he had introduced himself as a childhood friend of Ted’s father, but afterward, Ted hadn’t been able to find a single photo of the two men together. In the time he’d spent with Kevin since, he’d forgotten his earlier wariness.
“Maybe that’s why I wanted to be sure he was on our side.” Ted lifted his gaze to Mikolas’s face. “There’s something about him. Power, maybe.”
“My gut says we need to be careful.” Mikolas clenched his jaw. “We must have something he needs. That’s why he’s pushing so hard to join the Order.”
“I hadn’t thought about it that way.” Ted swallowed the lump in his throat. “But if we don’t let him into the Order soon, we may lose our chance to cement his loyalty. If Pamela finds him…”
“She might be able to see what we can’t. Good point.” Mikolas clapped Ted on the shoulder. “See if you can arrange a meeting with Kevin at my place tomorrow night.”
Ted nodded, then got into his car and blasted the heater. For some reason, he couldn’t get his hands to stop shaking.
Mason walked Clio out of Bartlett’s and toward her car. She had to work in the morning but wasn’t ready for the night to end. Not yet. Mason made her laugh, and when she went off on historical tangents, he didn’t just sit and wait for her to return to the twenty-first century, he listened and joined her on the journey. They’d already talked for over two hours.
As she slowed her pace, he chuckled. “I’m not ready to say good night yet.”
“Me neither.” Clio stopped beside her car and looked up at him. “If I didn’t have a teaching assignment tomorrow, I’d love to find another place to talk.”
He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a tender kiss to her knuckles. Her pulse raced as heat coiled low in her belly.
His eyes met hers as he lowered her hand. “You’re my silver lining, Clio.”
Her heart fluttered. “How do you figure?”
“I came to Crystal City without knowing a soul, landed a job that no one else would work on, and then got trapped in a burning building, but I also got to meet you.”
She worried her lower lip. Why couldn’t Mason be her Guardian? She’d never met anyone like him before. He loved the hard labor of his job, claimed it was honest and allowed him to move around and see the country, and when he wasn’t turning architectural drawings into reality, he enjoyed reading.
And his favorite subject was history.
Ugh. She never should have taken a seat at his table. Now when she found her Guardian, she’d be comparing him to Mason. How could any man measure up?
At least she hadn’t kissed him yet.
Yet? She needed to get her head together and stay focused on finding her Guardian, not making out with the hot contractor. For now, she’d imagine that he was a sloppy kisser, like a wet vacuum cleaner, all tongue and teeth.
“Damn. I’m sorry.” His hand slid free of hers, his gaze wandering over her face. “Let me guess. You’ve got a boyfriend, and I just made you really uncomfortable.” He shook his head, a trace of a smile on his face. “But boyfriend or not, I meant what I said. I’ve got no regrets.”
She reached up to cup his face, rose up on her toes, and brushed her lips against his.
What was she doing?
His five-o’clock shadow was rough against her palm, reminding her this wasn’t a dream. He returned the kiss, humming into her mouth as he embraced her. Gods, her entire body came alive, aching for more. She parted her lips, and his tongue searched for hers, teasing her until a wanton moan escaped her throat.
Her knees wobbled, but Mason’s strong arms kept her upright. She tangled her fingers in the back of his hair, and suddenly, her brain engaged.
She pulled back, breathless. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
Mason loosened his grip on her, shaking his head. “I will never be sorry you stopped thinkin’, darlin’.”
His crooked smile almost lured her to kiss him again. So much for imagining he kissed like a wet vacuum. It was the opposite, in fact. Now she realized she’d never really been kissed until tonight.
She was so screwed.
Taking a step back, she pressed the center of her glasses farther up her nose. “I didn’t mean to lead you on.”
“So there is another guy?”
“Yes.” She coughed and shook her head. “Well, no. At least, not yet.”
He raised a brow. “Which is it?”
She couldn’t tell him she was waiting for her Guardian to find her, and right now, her blood was rushing to lower parts of her body. Her brain was still struggling to catch up. She crossed her arms. “It’s complicated.”
So smooth.
He nodded, his gaze boring into her. “Maybe you can explain when I help you move Saturday.”
Having him in her place, near her bed… Yeah, bad idea. She broke eye contact and looked down, inspecting her shoes. “About that… I don’t want to impose.”
He caught her chin, lifting her head until she stared into the lush forest of his green eyes. “I swear I’ll keep my hands to myself.” He smiled and added, “Even if it kills me.”
Knowing he wanted her too wasn’t helping. Had Trinity been right about Mason all along? How had Clio missed it?
“Okay.” She nodded, a grin creeping up on her. “And I promise not to kiss you again.”
He shook his head, bending closer. His breath teased her skin, his voice dropping an octave. “That’s a promise I hope you can’t keep.”
Her lips parted, aching to close the distance between them again. Never in her life had she wanted anyone like this. Why now?
She backed away. Being near him was intoxicating. She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced a tentative smile. “I guess I’ll see you in a couple days.”
He nodded, and while his eyes shone with desire and intensity, he made no move toward her, respecting the boundary she was desperately trying to erect between them.
A nervous giggle escaped her lips. “I’ll text you my address. Thanks for your help. And sorry about the…”
He shook his head and gave her a crooked smile. “I’m only sorry we’re not going to kiss again.”
She fumbled with her keys and got in her car, her pulse racing as she started the engine. Pressing her lips together, she drove out of the lot, glancing in her rearview mirror at Mason.
Why couldn’t he be the one? She focused on the road again and sighed. They had met months ago, and as far as she knew, he hadn’t complained about a sudden onslaught of visions, hearing other people’s thoughts, or moving things with his mind like the other Guardians.
He was just Mason.
And maybe that’s enough, her heart whispered.
Her car vanished around the corner, and he finally remembered to breathe. All this time, he wasn’t sure why she’d kept her distance. Now he knew. Sort of.
Jealousy coiled in his gut. He’d held her in his arms, tasted her lips, and the thought of her with another man stoked a primal fire in his soul. He hadn’t shifted since the theater had burned down a few months back, but the usually dormant wolf, paced in the shadows of his spirit, agitated, tempting him to surrender.
Mason balled his hands into tight fists, denying his wolf his freedom.
It seemed like yesterday when the flames had erupted. Screams had deafened his ears, and his eyes had watered in the smoke-filled theater. Clio hadn’t been at the exit with the others. He’d struggled to find her, but he’d needed the wolf’s senses to catch her scent.
His Lycan curse didn’t seem to work like the few werewolves he’d encountered over the years. His curse was an either-or deal. When he was a man, he was solely a man without any heightened wolf senses, and when he shifted, the wolf took complete control, leaving the man a prisoner of the wolf’s primal instincts. He would gain the animal’s senses and strength, but in trade, he lost his humanity. With each shift, the path back to becoming a man got more distant and difficult to navigate.
His shift from man to wolf was always instantaneous, fueled by Zeus’s magic, but in the panic, with his adrenaline flowing, he’d lost himself, and almost couldn’t find his way back to his human form again. He couldn’t risk one more shift. The curse had claimed his father, imprisoning him in his Lycan form. It wouldn’t take Mason, too.
He still had work to do and a water nymph to stop.
Mason pulled in a few slow breaths and turned toward his truck. As the haze of the wolf’s instincts diminished, rational thought crept back in. He got behind the wheel and shook his head with a smile.
Clio might have a guy in her life already, or maybe she was waiting for someone, but Mason hadn’t made the first move. Clio had kissed him.
It might kill him, but he’d have to be patient. He had a feeling Clio would be worth the wait.