Marcus' Prey

Chapter Fourteen

And I was unprepared for my primal reaction to him.

Every word from his mouth set my stomach fluttering. Every touch made my core clench in want. Every moment in his presence made the throbbing between my thighs worse and worse.

It was torture. It was bliss.

I needed him.

"Of course, this buffoon didn't plan this. Come now, even in his prime, Hades was no strategist," Athena was saying, not unkindly, but not exactly kindly either.

"Guilty," Hades agreed, throwing up a peace sign. "Can I go now? Eternity won't waste itself."

My mouth fell open, and I felt my mate's visceral sadness at the sight of the god brought so low.

"No, you can't," Athena reminded him patiently. "You need to stay for your reward, remember?"

His eyes lit up, and he nodded excitedly, jumping to stand at his considerable height. "My lotus. Yes, I remember."

Athena smiled encouragingly, like a mother with a son. "Good, Hades, good."

"Just what was your game here, goddess?" Lacedaemon asked, managing to walk the fragile line between respectful and irritated admirably.

Athena turned to him, her posture all offended grace. "Game? Cleaning up the messes of other pantheons is no game, Spartan. I come because Michael's hubris irritates me, and because if Hera will not stand up for the women violated by the recklessness and psychosis of the archangel, then I must."

My mate snorted. "Hera would be of little help regardless, Athena. You are the asset we needed." He tightened his grip around me when the goddess went to speak again, "however, right now is not the time for strategizing and plans. Currently, I have some business to attend to with my Kaiah." He sent a stern look to each of the other Greeks in turn. "I expect to see you both in the Hell dimension of Christ in a few days' time."

Frustrated, Athena snapped, "Thanatos! We don't have time for you to be fraternizing needlessly! We need to be ready—"

"And we will be," my Champion promised, his manner uncompromising. "But Michael is obviously in no hurry to make an offensive attack, so for once we have the luxury of time. Give me a few days to warm Lucifer up to having two unfamiliar and," he glanced quickly to Hades, "somewhat volatile gods in his realm and around his mate. Alright?"

"Fine," Athena spat from between grit teeth. Choosing to ignore her tone, my Greek grinned.

"Buh-bye!"

And we were thrust through the void.

We reappeared in the middle of what appeared bafflingly to be an apple orchard, heavy red fruits weighing down the dew-dappled green leaves of tree boughs, sunlight speckling through them to strike the grassy ground in a brilliant show of light. White, four-petaled flowers grew around the base of each one, seeming to glow under the ethereal lighting. A gentle breeze occasionally rustled the branches around us, the trees whispering to each other in a language forgotten by all but them. I gaped as a sleek gray-golden bird lit atop a tree near us, instantly recognizable as a turtledove.

"Are we still in the Underworld?" I asked, the heady scent of plant life and apples swirling in my nose.

Marcus chuckled. "Yes, babygirl. The Underworld is a vast dimension, and unlike Hell, it wasn't created solely to punish those who've done wrong. This," he gestured at the lush paradise surrounding us, "is one of the Fields of Elysian. The place of heroes and good souls. There's one for each god, and when souls come here they go to the field of the god they worshiped."