Cursing Athena (Order Of Seven) Read online

  Busying herself, she walked toward her section and quickly began taking orders. Two tables and a round of Screaming Orgasms in, the usual “germ under a microscope” sensation she carried with her throughout the bar faded away. Intense heat seared her back, warming her from the inside out. The sensation was pleasant and altogether different from the nauseating response the horny gawkers filling the club typically elicited. A delicious tingling sensation radiated upward though her body from her center, causing her nipples to harden (which was not a good thing in her skimpy, unforgiving get-up) and a rush of warmth pooled between her thighs.

  What the hell?

  Danika peered over her shoulder and scanned her section for the source of her unwanted feelings. Muscles stiffening, she froze, a small gasp squeaking past her lips as the air she so desperately needed seeped from her lungs like a tire with a slow leak. Holy snot rockets! Seated at table ten was the shmexiest man she’d ever seen.

  CHAPTER 3

  Two weeks. It had been two fucking weeks and he still hadn’t bagged the Hirudo. Godsdammit! It had never taken him this long to track and kill a mark. Never. Ty felt a sudden tinge of remorse for riding his comrade, Lynx, so hard a century ago when he struggled to kill a leech. They were damn near impossible to track.

  Taking advantage of the portal Athena had opened for him, Ty had scoured Arcane’s downtown area in search of the demon. Sadly, it hadn’t taken him long to find the leech’s original host body. The forty-something female had been bled dry and dumped along the edge of the Fortuna River, her body a mere husk of its former self. The parasite had jumped, which meant it could be anywhere—anyone. His best move…shit…his only move at that point was to troll the local hotspots with the hope of catching the underworld douche as it preyed upon hapless souls. Not exactly the scenario he’d hoped for when he set out to destroy the soul-sucking demon, but one he’d have to live with.

  Eager to bag the demon and move on, Ty had instructed Ren and Pyro, two of his warrior brothers who weren’t currently on missions of their own, to fan out and patrol the downtown area in search of the wayward soul-sucker. The sooner they bagged the insatiable killer, the better. The longer the demon roamed free, the more likely it was a mortal would discover the killings were supernatural. Humans were much easier to manage when they didn’t know the ugly truth of what went on around them.

  Ty scoured the northeastern corner of the city from the financial district all the way to the dive bars located on Tycho Street and came up empty-handed. There’d been no sign of the demon, which was both a blessing and a curse. No dead bodies meant the trail was cold. While he didn’t relish the idea of the creature feeding off innocent souls, the only way to track the damned thing was to follow its trail of carnage.

  Determined to nab the bottom-feeder, Ty rolled into Masquerade, a popular nightclub located just south of Arcane’s financial district. Ignoring the wide-eyed stares and muffled gasps as he walked by, he situated himself at the back of the club, sitting at a table that gave him a clear view of his surroundings.

  Ty scanned the crowded club, a mixture of agitation and disgust gnawing at his gut. His job, his sole purpose for being was to protect mankind from the scourge of the underworld. But how was he to do his job when mankind had no interest in protecting itself?

  He took in the mass of sweaty, writhing bodies on the dance floor and groaned. Oblivious. Mortals were ignorant fools. Would they never learn? They pumped their bodies full of drugs and alcohol, sought fleeting pleasure through empty, nameless sex. Desperate to find something, anything, to make them feel alive, the mindless throng remained blind to the fact they were slowly killing themselves. Hedonism, debauchery—both led to ruin more often than not. For some, it would be liver damage that claimed their lives, for others, overdose. Sadder still were the unfortunate souls who lost their lives to parasitic bottom-feeders like the Hirudo because they were too fucked up from partying to realize their new friend wasn’t human.

  Ty shook his head and swore beneath his breath. “Fucking fools.” They’d no clue a murderer lurked among them, seeking his prey, hungry for his next kill.

  With a labored groan, he slammed a hand onto his table, eliciting a frightened squeak from the lanky frat boy and his date seated at the table to the left of him.

  By the Gods! He’d walked the earth for centuries, witnessed technological wonders, and things that would amaze Zeus himself. But for all the change he’d seen, one thing remained constant: stupidity. People were just plain foolish, and sure as shit, he was tired of cleaning up the mess they left in their wake. Athena be damned!

  “Oooh…hello there, baby.” A shrill, grating voice tore his eyes from the massive crowd on the dance floor. A particularly curvy waitress, borderline plump, stood before him clad in a pirate wench’s costume. Her enormous breasts spilled out of her low cut bodice. To most of the drunken lot that frequented the club, the busty server would appear attractive. But to Ty, she simply looked like she’d been rode hard and put away wet. He was completely uninterested in anything she had to offer. Except, maybe alcohol. If she was peddling the hard stuff, he wanted some. Booze didn’t affect him like it did the humans, and it was a vice he’d be hard-pressed to give up.

  “What can I get you to drink, sugar?” The busty server leaned forward, the stench of cigarettes and rank perfume wafting off her faux-tanned skin. Eyeballing him as if he were a juicy steak, she planted a hand onto the table and leaned down further, her medically enhanced breasts threatening to topple out of her too tight corset.

  Ty clenched his jaw and fought the urge to gag. Busty Mathilda was sooo not his type. Easy and overused was unattractive; a cold hard fact no amount of alcohol would change. Breathing through his mouth, he shot her a quick answer. “Tequila. I’ll start with the bottle. We’ll see where things go from there.”

  She shook her head and frowned. “Sorry, baby. That’s a no go. What I can do, though, is take you into the back room and…”

  Ty slapped a hundred dollar bill onto the table and glared at the waitress whose piercing voice threatened to shatter his eardrums.

  “Bring. Me. The. Bottle—” he glanced down at Busty’s nametag, “—Kathi.”

  Wide-eyed and greedy, Kathi nodded her head and thankfully hurried away to fill his drink order. Several other scantily clad barflies approached him looking for a good time, only to be swatted away in similar fashion.

  With his tanned skin, muscular build and messy blond hair, he knew he was attractive. A favored warrior of Athena, he’d been blessed at birth with the gifts of beauty, strength and agility. There wasn’t a female on the planet immune to his presence and striking good looks.

  The truth of the matter was, though he secretly yearned to find his life mate, Ty didn’t have time for romantic entanglements, and he was damn sick of anonymous sex. Thank fuck his job left little time for either. The chase, the hunt…those were the only things keeping him going, the only things fueling his step.

  Ty cursed under his breath and raked a hand through his hair. “Damn you, Athena. Even your blessings turn out to be a curse! I—”

  An electrical shock, searing hot and powerful blazed through his frame, hardening his cock and stirring the predatory beast within. What the fuck… He scanned the unruly crowd and was broadsided by an aura the likes of which he’d never encountered. So bright, so pure, he found himself craning his neck in the direction of the bar as he searched for its origin.

  Another jolt of desire shot through him, causing his skin to tingle and his already granite hard cock to stiffen and jerk. There! There she was. Sweet, Blessed Aphrodite… He couldn’t see her face under the odd, alien mask. But given the magnificence of her body, he knew she was beautiful. Thin, but curvy in all the right places, the female sported a perfect pair of what he was sure were all natural breasts, and a round, tight ass that sent his libido into overdrive. He was an ass man, and hers…oh yeah—it was sheer perfection. A low rumble vibrated through his chest, his beast equally attr
acted to the unknown waif.

  Rocked by his body’s immediate, primal reaction to her, he gnashed his teeth and swiped a hand over his face. Slow your roll, Ty. This girl is nothing to you. Remember your mission! Remember your mission! Unable to tear his eyes off of her, he sat sweating and impatient as she slowly turned and scanned the area, her gaze finally settling on him.

  Great Zeus above! The heat of her hidden stare sent every last drop of blood in his body straight to his aching Johnson. Goddamn alien getup! He wanted to see her eyes, wanted to feel her gaze piercing through him without the weight of her mask coming between them.

  “Fuck!” he muttered under his breath, as she slowly began walking toward him. He didn’t have time for this. Not with a demon running loose throughout Arcane. Shit. Now was not the time to give in to his lust. Even if the pull toward the angelic little alien was more powerful than anything he’d ever experienced.

  With his jaw clenched, he centered himself, doing his best to rein in his lust and dampen his inner beast. He might have been successful had he not caught a whiff of her delectable scent. A heady mix of citrus and flowers filled Ty’s senses. His lion roared from deep within, his attraction to her magnifying ten-fold, threatening to blow the top off his cock. Who was this little minx, and why was he so drawn to her?

  She sidled up to his table like sex on wheels. “Here you go: one bottle of tequila and a shot glass. Can I get you anything else?”

  Her voice was sheer perfection. Muffled by the annoying mask, he could still make out its smooth tone and gentle lilt. Great Zeus! He was dying to hear her clearly and needed to see her face. There was no question in his mind, no hesitation. That damn mask of hers had to go. He needed to see her, and he needed to see her now.

  Ty leaned forward and raised a brow. Lifting a hand, he hooked his finger, signaling her to move closer. When she stepped forward, he whispered in her ear. “As a matter of fact, you can do something else for me.” He felt the corners of his mouth pull up into a wide grin. “Take off that wretched mask so I can see your face.”

  The reaction he got was not the one he expected.

  She stiffened and pulled away, her small gasp muffled by the oblong mask. Clearly uneasy about something, a heavy dose of anxiety flowed off of her in waves.

  “Oh,” she said hesitantly. “I’m…I’m sorry.” She shook her head. “I’m not allowed to take off the mask while I’m on duty.”

  Ty frowned, and narrowed his eyes. The hell with that. “Unacceptable. I’m a paying customer, and I want to see you with the mask off.” He leaned forward again, reveling in her delectable scent as he spoke. “Besides, I’d bet good money you’re dying to tear the damn thing off. Am I right?” Sweet Aphrodite! What he wouldn’t give to lean forward and lick that sweet smelling skin. He was sure she’d taste every bit as good as she smelled.

  A set of large, otherworldly eyes stared back at him for several moments, and he watched with complete satisfaction as she reluctantly set her tray on the table and slowly pulled the offending piece of plastic from her head.

  Great Zeus above! The sight of her perfectly built frame and delicious scent had started a fire burning deep within him the moment he’d laid eyes on her. But the sight of her beautiful face brought forth a raging inferno that sent his blood boiling and his heart thundering against his ribs. The lion within roared, begging to be freed. Heat scored every inch of his flesh, the mad rush synonymous with shifting consuming his immortal body like a flash fire. Godsdammit! His beast wanted out—wanted her. He needed to get a hold of himself, or shit would get ugly—fast.

  Painfully aroused and helpless to do anything about it, he shifted in his seat, sucked in a deep breath and willed himself to remain calm. An impossible task, it seemed.

  The tiny blonde was sheer perfection from head to foot. Her delicate features were perfectly formed. Full, pouty lips, high cheekbones and…fuck…a set of impossibly large blue eyes he found himself wanting to get lost in stared back at him with a mixture of anxiety and thanks. By the Gods! She had him dangerously on edge. It would be so easy to forget himself, give in to his passion and have his way with her if she was willing (and she would be), but he knew it wasn’t an option.

  Athena be damned! Why was this happening to him now? His mission was set—his purpose clear: find and kill the Hirudo demon before more innocents were slain. Finding his life mate was not on the menu.

  Ty shook his head as he silently reasoned with himself. There was nothing wrong with having a good long look at the female, nothing wrong with appreciating her perfectly formed figure. But, it was another thing altogether to start something with her while he was working. He had to stay focused. He was going to track down the body-jumping parasite that had been feasting on the good people of Arcane for the past two weeks and dole out a punishment that would make Prometheus’s fate look like a cake walk. Which meant, he didn’t have time for distraction. Even from a possible life mate.

  Her soft voice was like a brush of silk against his sensitized skin, a siren call that drowned out all reason, made him forget himself, his purpose. “Oh, my God.” She made a show of fanning herself, then reached for a napkin to wipe her face. “That mask is so…oh…it’s just awful.” Lips mashed together, she cast a series of worried glances over her shoulder.

  Ty frowned. Was she nervous? Afraid? Why? Was her boss really that much of a tyrant that he wouldn’t allow his employees to break character, even for a few minutes?

  He clenched his jaw, fighting to maintain control of his base urges. Great Zeus! Even with a delicate sheen of sweat coating her skin, she was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. Her movements were both fluid and graceful as she reached up and removed the pins that held her hair in a tight bun. Her long, blond hair fell down past her shoulders in gentle waves.

  A powerful surge blasted through him and he shifted in his seat, desperately trying to ease the painful bulge straining against the seam of his pants. Ty swallowed hard and gave her a single nod. “My pleasure.”

  With a gentle smile, she held out her hand. “My name is Danika. It’s nice to meet you…”

  It was clear she wanted him to give her his name by the expectant look in her eye, and the hand she held toward him. The pressure to provide her with an answer lingered in the air like a bad stench. Fuck. He needed to quit dicking around and get with the program. Getting personal was so not on the menu. Not with a body-hopping demon on the loose. Until he executed the monster the local news referred to as The Arcane Slasher, getting cozy with anyone was out of the question.

  CHAPTER 4

  Ty sat back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “Sorry, mikroula. I’m here on business. No time to make nice with you.”

  Disappointment flashed across Danika’s face for a brief moment, her delicate features finally settling into what looked like a forced smile. Her rapid change of emotion had happened so fast no one but Ty would have been able to see it. With his quick reflexes and keen eyesight, he’d been able to pick up on her fleeting sadness. It pained him to cause her grief, but he didn’t have a choice. Becoming involved with anyone while he was on a mission was simply out of the question.

  With a shrug and a sigh, she slid her tray from the table, haphazardly plopping her mask on top. “Okay then, Mr. No Name. Hope you enjoy your evening. I’ll be back in a bit to—”

  A rough, grating voice filled the air, cutting Danika off mid sentence. “And just what do you think you’re doing with your mask off, sweetheart?”

  Danika stiffened, the forced smile she wore quickly morphing to an expression of panic. She snatched her mask from her tray with a shaky hand. “I-I’m sorry, Tony,” she stuttered. “I…”

  Short, greasy and stupid, the Tony character jabbed a finger toward her, a vicious sneer painted across his face. “I don’t want to hear you’re sorry. You know the rules. You are never to break character while you’re on the clock. I should fire you right now.” He stepped back and crossed
his arms, leering at her with a smug grin drawn across his thin-lipped mouth.

  So, the douchebag is her boss. Ty grimaced and shook his head. It was plain as day the asshole was getting off on making Danika squirm, and dammit, he was not having it.

  “I told her to take it off,” Ty said. He leaned forward and glared at the greasy pipsqueak who had mistakenly assumed he was in control. Small dogs tended to compensate for their tiny size by barking loud and long, and Tony was no different. Her yippy boss was in serious need of a muzzle—and maybe a shock collar.

  Living up to his small dog classification, Tony foolishly stepped forward with his chest puffed out, apparently ready to put Ty in his place. “And just who the hell are you to make decisions regarding my employees?”

  With an eyebrow raised, Ty rose from his seat to stand at his full height of six-foot-six. Jaw clenched, hands balled into fists, he towered above Tony, who in comparison looked like a scrawny weakling. Ty stepped forward, his massive frame mere inches from the overconfident club owner, and glared down at him through a haze of red. A low growl emanated from deep within his chest, the lion within hungry for a choice helping of asshole on a stick. Bring it, numbnuts.

  Ty was more than willing to throw down with Greasy Boy if that’s what it took, but something told him a gratuitous display of machismo would send Danika running in the opposite direction. He didn’t want her to think badly of him. Why that was, he didn’t know.

  Scratch that. He did know; he just didn’t want to cop to the possibility that Danika might be his life mate. The timing was all wrong. With a parasitic killer on the loose, sex and romance were out of the question. Still, the urge to protect the blond ingénue was strong—damn strong. And his brothers were trolling the city at that very moment, also in search of the demon. Surely he had a few minutes to spare to ensure Danika would be okay.

  Resisting the urge to pummel the lecherous bastard, he decided instead to play on the owner’s obvious greed. Pulling out a thick wad of cash, Ty tossed several large bills onto the table and eyed the club owner with disdain. “I’m someone who is prepared to spend a lot of money in your establishment. I don’t appreciate your tone or the way you’re eyeballing your employee. I suggest you back off my shit right now or I’ll put you in your place. You hearing me?”