Goddess in Training Read online

  Heat poured through every vein, her body perspiring as he pressed against her, his skin sweaty, his musky scent an aphrodisiac.

  She tasted the sweet nectar on his lips when she climaxed and cried out. Embedded to the hilt, he spilled his warm seed inside her, his breath labored. “Sweet goddess.”

  “Aphrodite,” Lisandra said, shoving him aside.

  “What?”

  “She is a goddess. I am not. Love them and leave them,” she said, her finger tracing his nipples.

  “Nay, I pleasure them, Lisandra.”

  “Same thing.”

  He shook his head. “’Tis not the same thing. I never lost my heart to any of them.”

  “And me?”

  He sat on the edge of the desk and studied her. “I don’t want you seeing other men.”

  “Ah, you want me for your own, godly one, but you will sow your seed where you like.”

  He smiled, then his face hardened. “Zeus waits at yonder door. You will not succumb to his charms.”

  “Zeus?” she squeaked.

  “Aye. He intends to make you his for a time.”

  “Fight for me.”

  “I do not fight my king.”

  She slugged him in the shoulder, then hurried to get dressed. “Get out, and never come back.”

  “Zeus will not touch you if you tell him no.”

  “You’re a jerk, you know?” She pulled up her skirt zipper.

  He ran his hand over her hip, then stood and pulled her close. “Tell me you will see no other males.”

  “I will not.” She wiggled her fingers. “I’m unattached, and before this, it didn’t mean a thing to me. But after you…” Tears pricked her eyes. “Well, hell, after you, I realized I needed someone in my life.”

  “Like me.”

  “Yes, like you, but not you.” She jerked her jacket on and fastened her buttons.

  He reached down and unfastened them. “Wrong holes, love.”

  “Don’t you dare call me that. To someone like you, love means nothing.”

  With regret that his encounters with the nymph always ended in strife, Asarian stormed out of the library, giving Zeus an uncustomary glare. The god of gods grinned back at him.

  Planning to seek out the lovely lasses who needed to be pleasured, Asarian returned to Mount Olympus, but he wasn’t there twenty minutes before he popped back into the library. Only this time like Zeus, he had changed his appearance. Zeus wasn’t anywhere in sight, but that fact didn’t lessen Asarian’s concern any.

  Dressed in the finest of suits, Asarian strode to the checkout counter, trying not to look toward Lisandra’s office to see if she was even in. “Where do I make donations to this fine library?” he asked one of the librarians.

  The place was small for the diminutive-sized Texas town Lisandra lived in. But he wanted to see if she’d truly fall for any mortal who tried to catch her eye.

  The young girl smiled at him and fluttered her dark lashes. Her actions meant to entice him, triggered not a spark of interest.

  “Donations?” he asked again, rather brusquely this time.

  “Ms. Lisandra Atkinson would handle that, but she’s speaking to a patron at the moment.”

  “Patron?” As in sexual customer? Zeus perhaps?

  Asarian stormed around the counter and shoved Lisandra’s office door open.

  Before he could control his actions, he shoved the man standing too close to Lisandra against the wall.

  “What…who…what…?” Lisandra sputtered, shrinking behind her desk.

  “I’ll call the police,” the other librarian said.

  “Who the hell are you?” the man said, his lip quivering with cowardice.

  “You were getting ready to molest Lisandra.”

  “I was not! I was trying to sell her some of my books.”

  “She doesn’t want any.”

  “Who do you think you are,” Lisandra asked, “coming in here and abusing my patrons?”

  “I came to make a donation.” Asarian let the man go and jammed his hand in his pocket. Pulling out a check, he handed it to her. “So you can buy some more children’s books.”

  She stared at the amount on the check, her wide-eyed gaze quickly shifting back to him. “A half-million dollars?”

  “Is it not enough?”

  She sat down hard at her desk. “Who are you?”

  “Someone who wishes the best for you…and your patrons. Will you go out to lunch with me?”

  “Well, uhm, yes, of course. Can we drop by the bank, and I’ll deposit this in the library account? And, well, thank you so much, Mister…?”

  “Candy,” he said, showing only a hint of a smile.

  ***

  Lisandra could barely eat her enchilada she was so excited about the money for the library, now sitting in their bank account as she sat opposite the most generous benefactor they’d ever had. “Are there any restrictions, Mr. Candy, as to what you want us to spend the money on?”

  “Whatever your heart desires.”

  She couldn’t help thinking the man seemed familiar somehow, the way he gazed into her eyes with sexual intrigue, the way he ran his hand through his hair. But the only one who came to mind was Asarian and unless he’d had a face and body job, and replaced his long curly black hair with a blond bur and his vivid blue eyes with brown…

  “I can’t thank you enough for giving us such a generous amount of money.”

  “You’re most welcome. I’m from New York City and haven’t made reservations at a hotel. Can you recommend a good place to stay for the night?”

  “Sure, the Holiday Resort is the nicest hotel we can offer here.”

  He lifted his chin, a small smile settling on his lips, then nodded. Pulling a cell phone out of his pocket, he punched in numbers. “Yes, I’m calling to make reservations for a room tonight. You’re booked?” Raising a brow, he glanced at Lisandra. “I see. I don’t have a flight out until tomorrow morning. Can you recommend another place for me to stay? The Canton Hotel? Thanks.” He took a deep breath and punched in some numbers. “Yes, I need a room for the night. Booked? Is there a convention in town?”

  Lisandra shook her head.

  “Old car exhibit? Can you recommend anything else? Thanks.” Mr. Candy considered the table, then punched in some more numbers. “I’m looking for accommodations for the…booked until Sunday? Because of the antique car show. Thanks.” He faced Lisandra. “You wouldn’t consider putting me up for the night, would you?”

  “Well, I…uhm, well…”

  “I promise I’ll be out first thing in the morning.” He pulled out a checkbook. “I don’t mind paying for my accommodations, really.”

  “No…no, that will be all right.” She was a sucker for anything stray or stranded. What the heck, the bank verified the check was good. He had to be legitimate. “What did you say you do?”

  He gave her a slow, easy smile and she swore then he looked like Asarian, kind of.

  “Broker in love.”

  She raised her brows.

  “Wedding arrangements at some of the most high-classed establishments in the world. Wealthy clients will pay anything for the experience of a lifetime.”

  “Why give to my library?”

  “I was here a while ago on personal business and saw how much the children loved hearing you read to them. Many of the books are old and worn. I thought you could use some extra money for funding.”

  “Well, I can’t thank you enough. We’d like to honor you, and your firm for such a generous offer.”

  “I’d prefer to keep it as an anonymous donation, Lisandra.”

  “Sure…yeah, sure.” She couldn’t help feeling there was something else going on with the guy, but she couldn’t place her finger on it.

  After they ate, she gave him directions to her simple one-story, three-bedroom house. “My grandmother’s,” she explained as they walked along the rose-lined brick walk. “Smells heavenly nearly every season. Jasmine in the spring, roses in the summer and fall.”

  “Beautiful,” he said, staring at her, but she didn’t think he meant the flowers.

  She rubbed her arms, then motioned to the door. “When my grandmother died, she gave the house to me, her only granddaughter.”

  “And your parents?”

  “Killed in a car accident when my brother and I were little. My grandmother raised us, but my brother moved to your city and settled down. He hates the small town life. Only visits once in a blue moon.”

  She closed the door behind him and waved to the living room. “Have a seat. Would you like something to drink? Coffee, tea?”

  “You,” she thought he said under his breath.

  “Water, if you don’t mind.”

  “Uhm, tap water okay? I don’t have any of the fancy bottled stuff.” She turned to find Mr. Candy behind her, way too close for comfort.

  “Has anyone told you how beautiful you are?” He reached out to touch her cheek, but she moved out of his path.

  “Excuse me, but I have no idea what you think your check buys, but books is all, Mister Candy. I’m not part of the bargain.”

  Mr. Candy chuckled. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to come on so strong. I’ll sleep on a park bench tonight, if they’re not all taken.”

  She folded her arms, ready to let him do just that.

  He waited, she didn’t contradict him. He gave a small bow, just like Asarian did when she had first laid eyes on him.

  Narrowing her eyes, she glowered. “You wouldn’t know Asarian, would you? He didn’t put you up to this?”

  The guy’s lips rose.

  “Damn him! I’m not seeing anyone, but if I do, it won’t be one of his blasted friends. Get out. Go sleep on a bench for all I care.”

  The man gave a smug smile, tilted his head in her direction, then snapped his fingers and vanished.

  And she stared after him—or where the man had been—in shocked silence. But next time, if there was a next time, she’d be better prepared.

  ***

  Weeks had passed since his last encounter with the librarian, and Asarian was bound and determined to go on with his life of pleasure as it had always been as he reclined against a tree in a mist-laden forest, while the goddess of the hunt, Artemis, sat nearby with twenty of her wood nymphs in audience.

  “I think you love her,” Artemis said, drawing one of her silver arrows from its quiver.

  “Like you love Orion?”

  She hmpfed.

  “What if it’s just a passing fancy?”

  “Hera says you’re not eating, not sleeping, not pleasuring the ladies.” Artemis shot her arrow into the air. “Sounds to me like love, Asarian.”

  “I don’t fall in love.”

  “Maybe not before.” Artemis glanced at him. “Cupid hasn’t been around, has he?”

  Asarian grunted. As if Cupid could play tricks on him, god of pleasure and turn his life around.

  But the breeze shifted and a familiar fragrance wafted in the air. Of Lisandra, the woman he hadn’t been able to quit thinking about since the first day he saw her. He tilted his nose up, took a deep breath, and turned. His heart thudded at the sight of her, his body instantly hardening.

  Like a goddess, Lisandra walked toward him, a sheer toga of violet hanging from one shoulder, leaving a breast exposed, the hem of the gown reaching her ankles, her feet bare. Her blond hair was tied up with a string of pearls on top of her head, her pink lips frosted, and her large brown eyes as alluring as ever. She bowed her head to Artemis, no smile gracing her lips, maybe a hint of annoyance in her expression.

  “I’m the goddess of the hunt,” Artemis said, standing, tilting her head slightly forward in greeting.

  “Yes, I’ve read all about you and loved hearing your stories” Lisandra glanced at Asarian as he quickly rose to his feet, her gaze sharp with accusation. “I am the goddess of fertility. Seems I lost in a bet between Hera and Zeus.”

  Asarian stared at her, then noticed her belly slightly swollen, her breasts larger than before. “You carry my child,” he said under his breath.

  She snorted. “So it seems. Do I have my own temple, or do the demi-gods have to share?”

  “You are mine,” Asarian said, grabbing her wrist, wanting no mortal or immortal to claim the woman who had stolen his heart.

  She raised her brows. “Dear Asarian, how can you say such a thing? I am now a goddess in my own right and won’t succumb to your charms.”

  Artemis laughed. “She loves you, Asarian. Take her to your temple before I get weary of this and have to search out Orion.”

  “Because you love him,” Asarian said to Artemis, then faced Lisandra. “Zeus did not win the bet, if you love me, Lisandra.”

  Tears welled up in her eyes. He pulled her close and kissed her cheeks. “I love you, too, you bewitching vixen, so Hera won the bet.”

  “You’re not saying this because I’m having your baby?”

  Asarian chuckled devilishly. “Ask Artemis or any of the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus. I’ve been intolerable to live with since I met and lost you. Now, I will show you my…our home and how much I truly love you.” He lifted her chin. “You do love me, don’t you?”

  Her lips curved up in the most deliciously wicked smile he’d ever seen. Aye, Aphrodite could learn a thing or two from the minx, or was it just he, god of desire, who could be so won over by the lady?

  No matter, he would not give her up for all eternity.

  She kissed him back. “So if Hera wins the bet, I will not be the goddess of fertility?”

  “Nay.”

  “But,” she said rubbing her belly, “I like the idea of being a goddess. That way you can’t boss me around.”

  He laughed, but before he could transport her to his chambers, Hera and Zeus appeared in the grove.

  “News travels fast,” Asarian said, bowing.

  “Aye, so the lady wishes to be a goddess, though Hera has won the bet, and the two of you are free to do as you please,” Zeus said, stroking his beard

  “’Tis acceptable to me, my husband,” Hera said, “just knowing I won the bet.”

  Lisandra smiled. “And Asarian said I could read from the library anytime I wanted.”

  “You can manage it, my dear,” Hera said. “Zeus?”

  “’Tis all acceptable to me.”

  When they vanished, Asarian and Lisandra said their goodbyes to Artemis, and Asarian transported Lisandra to his chambers. “What gave Mr. Candy away that he was not who he said he was?” he asked, pulling the silky toga down Lisandra’s shoulder.

  She reached down and touched his cock already rock hard and ready. “He wasn’t the marrying kind, yet he owned a wedding brokerage?”

  “Seems he’s the marrying kind after all.”

  Their tongues tangled as their fingers tore off the rest of their clothes. “Yeah, and he found us the most extraordinarily extravagant place for us to get married in the whole world. I’d say he was pretty damned good at his job.”

  “I’d say.” Asarian suckled her breast. “Tell me how you want me to pleasure you this time, love.”

  “Hmm.” She tongued his nipple. “Let me show you the ways, my god of desire.”

  ***

  Hera pulled her hair loose in a cascade of blond curls as Zeus eyed her with interest in her chamber. “I like the girl and knew she was the one to win Asarian’s heart.”

  “Never would have guessed it,” Zeus said, pouring fresh goblets of wine. “She’ll make the perfect demi-goddess of fertility, don’t you think?”

  “She’s got a good start on it,” Hera said, smiling. She sipped from her goblet, then licked Zeus’s lips. “But I wonder…”

  “Aye, what now, my love?”

  She peered into her Pool of Visions. “Nestor, demi-god of wisdom needs a match.”

  “Playing Cupid again, love? He will be miffed.” Zeus ran his hands down her silky arms. “What will the bet entail this time?”

  ###

  About the Author:

  Award-winning author of urban fantasy and medieval historical romantic suspense, Heart of the Wolf named in Publishers Weekly's BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR, NOR Reader Choice for BEST PARANORMAL ROMANCE.

  Terry Spear also writes true stories for adult and young adult audiences. She’s a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves and has an MBA from Monmouth University and a Bachelors in Business and Distinguished Military Graduate of West Texas A & M. She also creates award-winning teddy bears, Wilde & Woolly Bears, to include personalized bears designed to commemorate authors’ books. When she’s not writing or making bears, she’s teaching online writing courses in the Heart of Texas.

  Be sure to sign up for her newsletter where she gives a free serialized read once a week.

  http://www.terryspear.com/

 

 

  Terry Spear, Goddess in Training

 

 

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