Ash knocked on Tory's front door. He heard the women giggling like girls in the living room before Kim snatched the door open and gave him a devilish grin that made him nervous.
"You like black, don't you, Ash?"
Not sure if he should answer, he frowned. "It's okay."
"But what's your favorite color?" she asked, stepping back so that he could enter the house.
He walked in and wondered if maybe he shouldn't be running in the other direction. What were they up to? "I've never thought about it."
Pam cleared her throat. "But if you had to pick one, what would it be?"
He flexed his hand on the strap of his backpack. "Anything not white." That was Artemis's favorite color and the thought of it made him sick to his stomach.
Tory huffed at his evasive answer. "Could you narrow that down a bit?"
Pam tsked. "She's not going to let you have peace until you answer."
Still apprehensive over what they had planned, he shrugged. "Uh, okay. Red I guess. Why?"
Something came flying at his head. Without flinching Ash caught it and it squeaked. Scowling, he opened his hand to find a small red demon duck that had black horns . . . it strangely reminded him of Simi in her demon form.
He scowled at the women. "Uh . . . thank you?"
They burst out laughing.
Ash glanced around at them as Kim moved to sit beside Pam. "You ever feel like you've just walked into the middle of a movie and they forgot to tell you what it's about?"
Kim waved her hand in dismissal. "Happens to me all the time at work. I just go with it."
Pam laughed. "Which is really bad when you consider she's a labor and delivery nurse."
"Oh shush," Kim said, playfully hitting at her friend on the arm.
Pam and Kim grabbed their jackets from the couch. Pam shrugged hers on. "Well since Ash is back, we'll leave the two of you alone. Ash, if she throws another hammer at you, let us know and we'll take her to task for you."
Baffled, he didn't move or speak again until after they'd left. "You have interesting friends."
Tory locked the door as she smiled in pride. "No, I have the best friends in the world. I don't know what I'd do without them."
Ash felt his heart sink as he thought of Nick. "Yeah I had one of those once."
She turned to him with a frown. "What happened?"
He slept with Simi and I killed him for it. Well, not in actuality. He'd only cursed Nick to die which was the same thing as having pulled the trigger that ended Nick's life. "We don't talk anymore."
They only fought and tried to kill each other. And it was all his fault. In one fit of anger, Ash had destroyed their friendship.
She placed a comforting hand on his arm. He was sure she thought nothing of it and yet it touched him deep inside that she would even bother to reach out to him at all. "I'm so sorry, Ash. I can't imagine what I'd do without my girls. It's so comforting to know that I can call on them anytime of day or night and they'd be here as soon as they could. Everyone should have friends like that."
"Yes, they should."
Tory picked up the pizza remains as she remembered Ash telling her that he had no family either. "So who do you call whenever you're down?"
He shrugged off his backpack. "I don't."
She paused. "You don't ever get down or you don't call anyone?"
He looked around the room. "So am I sleeping on the couch?"
She didn't miss the fact he was changing the subject away from the personal topic. "No, I have a spare bedroom upstairs. You can even leave your backpack there and have no fear that I'll touch it."
He nodded slowly.
The silence was a bit awkward as she tossed the pizza boxes in a garbage can. "We finally got everything the burglars screwed up put back in place. OCD reigns supreme once again."
"Good. Did you figure out what was missing?"
She ground her teeth at the innocent question. "Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Obviously they were looking for something that wasn't here-like you and the police thought. Which makes me wonder when they'll come back."
"You want to go to a hotel to sleep then? I'd offer you my place, but I only have a one-bedroom efficiency. At four hundred square feet, there's not a lot of room for two people."
Wow, that was a small place to call home and it told her a lot about his solitary nature. "Do a lot of entertaining, do you?"
He smiled. "I told you, I like to be alone. But I do have some friends we could crash with if that would make you feel more comfortable. Their places are huge and you'd have plenty of room to get away from me. I'm sure some of them even have toolboxes should you need them."
She patted his arm again as she laughed at his gentle jibe. "If it makes you feel any better, I missed you on purpose with the hammer. I'm a championship hatchet and ax thrower. Believe me, if I'd really wanted to hurt you, I would have."
He snorted. "Not really comforting from my perspective. You don't date much, do you?"
Tory laughed again as she thought about that. "I try, but it never goes well for me."
"Really?"
"Yeah. It's like I'm cursed or something. Any time I get really close to a guy, he either discovers he's gay or he has a freak accident and decides to break up with me."
"Freak accidents that include hammers?"
She rolled her eyes. "No, but one guy did break his leg while trying to climb into bed with me. Kind of put a major kibosh on my love life. Not to mention a serious blow to the ego. Oh well . . . you haven't eaten. Would you like some food?"
He shook his head. "No thanks. I grabbed a sandwich at my place."
She looked at him suspiciously as she tossed away the last of the beer bottles. "You know we're Greek. We're supposed to eat and eat a lot."
"That's a bad stereotype."
"Not in my family, it isn't. In fact, it's more like an Olympic sport. My aunt Del is a twig of a woman who has been thrown out of all-you-can-eat buffets because she plows through food like a line-backer in training camp. In my family, we women cook and you men eat. That's just the natural order."
Ash crossed his arms over his chest as he noticed the curve of her ass as she bent over to pick up a small napkin that had fallen on the floor. Damn, that position went through him like fire as an image of her doing that naked tortured him. He could make some serious use out of her like that . . .
His breathing suddenly ragged, it was all he could do not to reach out and cup her in a place that was guaranteed to get him slapped hard. Then again, it might be worth it.
"Well I truly don't eat much so don't worry about feeding me."
She straightened to scowl at him. "Are you like some sort of weird vampire? You never take off your sunglasses and you only subsist on beer . . . then again, that also sounds like a frat boy and I have seen you out in daylight . . . So ends my vampire fantasy."
If only his fantasy of her naked would end as easily. "And on that note," which was a little close to home for his tastes, "I'm going to take my stuff upstairs. Which way do I go?"
"Second door."
Ash headed for the stairs and as he ascended them, the family photos on the wall struck him again. Tory was so completely normal. He'd spent so little time around people like her that he couldn't help but smile.
But more than that, he wondered what it would be like to have grown up in such a large family environment, loved. Everyone looked so happy in all the photos. Tory was standing with cousins in Greece as they hugged each other. There were more photos of them in Theo's deli in New York.
His favorite was one of Tory around the age of fourteen on a boat with Geary. The two of them were wearing brown wide-brimmed hats with white sunblock on their noses while they were locked in an embrace and laughing. Before he could stop himself, he reached out to touch her face. And against his will, he tried to imagine someone holding on to him like that, someone who was that happy to be with him.
What did that feel like?
You are tired.
The only person who loved him like that who could ever touch him was Simi. She thought the world of him and it was why he was so protective of her.
He touched the tattoo of her on his chest, grateful she was with him. He needed to let her loose soon, but honestly he hated whenever they were apart. There was such comfort from having her with him . . .
It was selfish, but he couldn't help himself.
Gripping the strap of his backpack, he continued up the stairs, to his room. Like the rest of the house, it was small and cozy. The curtains and comforter were beige with pink flowers.
Someone had come in and turned the sheets down for him. He didn't know why, but it made him feel welcome.
He set his backpack down and reached for an acoustic guitar that was set in a rocking chair. He felt a presence behind him. Turning, he saw Tory in the doorway, watching him.
"Do you play?" he asked.
"I torture it from time to time. What about you?"
"I do sometimes."
"You any good?"
"I do all right."
She entered the room with a small stack of towels and washcloths that she set on the dresser. "The bathroom's across the hall. You need anything else?"
You to touch me like I matter . . . He shook his head at the forbidden thought. "I'm a man of few needs."
She sighed. "I've noticed that about you."
Before Ash could stop himself, he took a step closer to her. Close enough that he could smell the precious scent of Tory mixed with peaches from her shampoo. He savored it. Just as he savored the sight of those inquisitive brown eyes that questioned everything about him.
Gods, how he wanted a piece of this woman . . .
Tory couldn't breathe as Ash stood so near her, she could feel his body heat. He was so incredibly sexy. So beautiful.
He's going to kiss you . . .
She could already taste those masculine lips. Feel his arms around her.
But that wasn't reality. The moment he would have touched her skin, she leapt away. "All righty then. I'll just leave you alone."
Ash wanted to whimper as she shot out of the room so fast she left a vapor trail. How could she not want him? All his life he'd been fighting people off. Fending away unwanted gropes and touches. Now he finally found someone he wanted to touch him and she treated him like a leper.
What the hell was this?
Aggravated, he raked his hand through his hair and cursed under his breath. It was going to be a long night with her sleeping so close to him and yet so far away.
Too early the next morning, Tory was awake and still bleary-eyed as she staggered downstairs to her kitchen. The moment she entered the room, she froze in her tracks.
Ash was there. Dressed only in jeans, he stood with his back to her.
Holy saints! The expanse of flawless tawny skin was more than a mere mortal woman could see and not salivate over. Wide muscled shoulders tapered down to narrow hips and a perfectly formed butt. His hair still mussed from sleep, he popped the top off a beer.
Tory made a sound of disgust over his actions. "You have got to be kidding me."
He turned and what little sanity she had fled. Yes, he still had those annoying sunglasses on, but the top button of his jeans hadn't been fastened. They rode low on his hips, and the dark trail of hair that ran south of his navel was slightly thicker at the opening.
He was commando . . .
And that long, hard body was made for sin. Really, no man should look like that and definitely not one who was standing in her kitchen . . . In her bed was another story. Man, how she wanted to take a bite out of him.
"Is something wrong?" he asked innocently.
It took her three heartbeats before she could remember her objection to his near naked state. "You're drinking a beer first thing in the morning. What kind of alcoholic are you?"
He flashed a taunting grin at her before he took a deep swig. "I'm not an alcoholic."
Yeah, right. "That's what they all say. At least put something on your stomach before you drink that."
His features hardened. "I don't need a mother, Tory."
She didn't believe that for one minute. Angry at what he was doing, she tried to take the bottle from him, but he refused to let her.
She glared at him. "You need someone to take care of you. Jeez! How can you do this to yourself?"
"It's just a beer."
"And hell is just a sauna." She went to the fridge and grabbed eggs and some cheese. "Sit down and I'll make you something to eat."
"I'm not hungry."
"And I'm about to be wielding a frying pan and a knife so if you know what's good for you, you'll stop arguing with me and sit down."
"I don't eat breakfast," he mumbled under his breath as he moved out of her way.
"I really don't care," she mocked in a sing-song voice that was as close to his thick accent as she could manage.
He moved to the other side of her breakfast counter. "You are so bossy."
"Yes I am. Now sit."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"Put a shirt on like a civilized human. Do you know how unsanitary it is to be in a kitchen with no shirt?"
Ash laughed even though he wanted to strangle her. She had to be the only person he'd ever met who wanted him to wear more clothing. He started to get up, but she made a squeal of disapproval.
"What now?" he asked, truly baffled by her mood swings.
She pointed threateningly at him with her knife. "Don't you dare move until after I see you eat something."
He let out a frustrated breath. "You told me to go put on a shirt."
"Since when do you listen to a single thing I say? Never. I know what you're planning to do. You'll go upstairs and not come back. So sit."
He held his hands up in surrender while he watched her crack open two eggs and put them in a bowl so that she could beat them with a fervor that would have scared him if he wasn't a god with protective powers. "You're not a morning person, are you?"
She put a handful of cheese on top of them. "No and I haven't had my caffeine IV either which means it would be wise of you to humor me."
Ash hid his smile. Why did she amuse him so? He didn't understand it and unless he wanted to tell her the truth about what he really fed on, he had no choice except to sit here while she made him an omelette, bacon and toast.
She plopped the plate down in front of him. "Fie!"-Eat in Greek.
He stared at the delicious smelling food as buried emotions surged. You want to eat, whore? Please me . . .
In the back of his mind, he saw himself in Estes's office, on his knees on the floor, naked and chained to the desk while his uncle read late into the evening. Starving because he'd been allowed nothing to eat all day while he'd worked until he was bleeding and sore from it to make his uncle rich, Ash had stared at the bowl of dried sugared figs Estes had left in front of him. His stomach cramped from hunger, his mouth had watered for a single taste. For over an hour he'd stared at the food, biting his lips in desperate agony. Convinced Estes was so engrossed in his reading that he wouldn't see him, Ash had reached for one.
He could still feel the sting of that vicious slap. See the anger in Estes's eyes as he snatched at his hair and held Ash at his feet. "Did I give you permission to eat, whore? You don't ever take from me without earning . . ."
Even Artemis withheld her blood from him in an effort to control him. If he didn't please her, he starved. More than that were the memories of being force-fed by his father's guards. Shovel it down his throat. Hold his mouth and nose shut until he swallows. And when he'd choked on what they were brutally pouring into his mouth, they'd punched and slapped him, too.
He hated to eat.
Tory reached for the cheese and froze as she caught the strange look on Ash's face. If she didn't know better, she'd swear he was afraid of the food in front of him. "What's wrong?"
"I really don't eat breakfast."
This time she heard the underlying note in his voice that reminded her of a small, fearful child. Before she could stop herself, she walked over to him and stood by his side. He continued to look at the plate.
Gently, she took his whiskered chin in her hand and turned his head so that he was looking at her. "I won't force you to eat against your will, Ash. But I don't want to see you starve. Please, eat something."
Ash stared at the vein on her neck that throbbed with the vitality of her life. He could hear her heart beating . . . that was the food he craved.
His incisors elongated at the surge of hunger that went through him. His senses sharpened as he felt his eyes turning red.
Eat . . .
But he couldn't bring himself to feed from her the way Artemis had done him when he'd been human. Even though he could make it pleasurable for her, he couldn't do it. It was such a feeling of being violated to have someone drain the blood out of your body. Have them rip through your flesh with their teeth while you were powerless to stop them . . .
I won't do it.
She reached down and cut a small bit of the eggs off before she brought the fork up to his lips. "Would you please take one bite?"
His instincts were to shove her away from him as his teeth receded. Instead, he found his lips parting so that she could place the eggs on his tongue. The taste stunned him. He hadn't tasted food since before he'd died.
But even better than the food was the satisfied smile on Tory's face. She reached out and stroked his jaw with the backs of her fingers.
Closing his eyes, he savored the tenderness of that touch as his cock hardened forcefully. In that moment, it took every ounce of strength he had not to pull her to him and kiss her. Or more to the point, strip her naked and sate the hollow ache inside him.
Never in all of his existence had he tasted lust like this. It was more than a mere craving, it was a raw, demanding need.
She broke off a piece of toast and held it up to his mouth. Dutifully, he parted his lips and let her feed him again.
Tory couldn't explain the peculiar sense of satisfaction she had from feeding him, but there was no denying it. She felt as if she were taming a feral lion. And when she fed him a piece of bacon, he gently nipped her fingers.
A shiver went over her.
"It's not so bad, is it?"
He shook his head.
She gave him another bite of the eggs. He swallowed them, then took a swig of beer. She couldn't see his eyes, but she could feel the weight of his gaze on her and it made her entire body hot.
"Now that I've placated you . . ." He pulled her against him and captured her lips.
Tory moaned as his tongue touched hers. Never in her life had a man kissed her like this-as if he were breathing her in. Possessing her. His kiss was hot and demanding as he cupped her face in his hands.
Ash was on fire from the taste of her, of the feeling of her tongue against his. Over and over, he could imagine himself buried deep inside her. Feel her hands on his back, stroking him with the same tenderness she'd used to touch his cheek.
Unable to stand it, he trailed one hand down her arm, and around her hips to press her closer to him.
Tory's body throbbed with an unbelievable demand. She wanted to strip those jeans off and taste every inch of his body until she was blind from ecstasy, but at the end of the day, she wasn't stupid.
A man like this didn't date a woman like her. It just didn't happen.
"Whoa, boy," she said, pulling back. "Down. We just met. For that matter, I don't even know what your eye color is."
Ash wanted to whimper as she stepped away from him. His gaze dropped to her nipples that were plainly visible beneath the tank top she wore. All he wanted was to shove her shirt up and take one of them into his mouth.
Would she hold him like he mattered?
Or would she slap him after he'd pleased her and kick him out her bed?
That last thought went over him like ice water. He didn't want to feel used anymore. Not to mention he had one large, red-headed problem who would beat him until he had no skin left on his body if she ever found out he'd kissed another woman.
Damn it. His life had never been his own.
"I'm sorry," he breathed. "You're just extremely irresistible."
"Strange, men have been resisting me for years."
"Yeah well, they were idiots."
Smiling, she reached up for his glasses. "Can I take these off?"
Ash swallowed as fear tore through him. "I wish you wouldn't."
"Why?"
"Because they'll make you uncomfortable. No one likes to look at my eyes."
She scowled at him. "What are you? Rosemary's baby?"
"Kind of."
She shook her head at his fear. "Well in case you haven't noticed, I'm not most people."
No, she wasn't. But not even the gods could look at his eyes without curling their lips in disgust. "Just remember, when you do this, there's no going back."
Tory froze at those dire words. Now she had to know what they looked like. Reaching up slowly, she pulled the sunglasses off his eyes.
Ash looked down at the floor, preventing her from seeing their color. But dayam, the man was even more gorgeous without the sunglasses on. Never had she seen a more perfect set of features.
"Look at me, Ash."
Ash ground his teeth as he remembered Artemis telling him the same thing. Back then, he'd been afraid of her hurting him over them. Now there was no fear of Tory doing him harm, but even after all these centuries he knew how seldom people met his gaze without curling their lips or cringing. He hated for anyone to see the evidence of his godhood.
Tory stroked his brow with a light, gentle touch. "Please, Ash?"
Bracing himself for her horror and fear, he looked up and met her gaze levelly.
Tory stared in shock at the swirling silver color. Never in her life had she seen anything like them. The color was so pale and pure. They reminded her of mercury. "Are you blind?" Even as the question left her lips, she knew it was absurd. He could see plainly.
His features were stoic. "No, I'm not blind. It's just an unfortunate birth defect."
She saw the shame in his eyes as he spoke and it made her chest tight that something so beautiful would hurt him so much. "It's not a defect. Your eyes are beautiful. Unique . . . like you. I think they're very cool."
He glanced away.
She caught his chin and forced him to look at her again. "Who hurt you?"
His gaze was guarded. "What?"
Tory stroked his jaw as she realized how shrewish that must have sounded. "I'm so sorry, that was so nosy of me. It's just, you're so guarded and private about even the most innocuous thing. Like you're afraid to let anything out for fear of it being turned against you. And it's everything, right down to your eye color. I'll bet black isn't even your natural hair color, is it?"
Ash swallowed at her question. She was eerily perceptive. "Like you said, we barely know each other."
She brushed his hair back from his face. "Have you ever been intimate with anyone?"
"Of course I have."
"I don't mean sexually intimate. I've no doubt you've been with countless women, even at your age. What I'm talking about is having someone who knows your most intimate thoughts. Someone you can be yourself with without fear of them judging you or thinking less of you?"
Ash laughed bitterly at the mere thought of being so open with another person. "It's in the nature of people to hurt each other. No one really cares about your thoughts or your feelings."
Tory ached for him. He was so closed off that it made her want to weep. "I care about your thoughts, Ash."
"You? You've misjudged everything about me from the very beginning. I'm nothing but another asshole you have to deal with."
"Because you haven't given me anything other than your worst to judge you by. Why did you come to Nashville? Huh? Why was ruining my reputation so important to you?"
She saw the light fade from his eyes as he withdrew further into himself. But it was the pain in them that made her ache for him and in that moment she knew he'd had a very personal reason for what he'd done.
"Why, Ash?"
Her hall clock chimed.
He pulled back. "It's nine o'clock. I have a date."
Bemused, she frowned as he left the kitchen with his beer and headed to her living room where he'd set up an Xbox 360 to her TV. At least that's what she thought it was, but instead of being white it was covered with black hacker/pwn3d stickers.
Ignoring her, he pulled a T-shirt out of his backpack, put it on, then sat on her sofa and attached an earpiece to his head.
She sat on the arm of the couch. "What does pwn3d mean? I see that all over the Internet."
"It's a gamer's term that means you've been owned or defeated badly." He turned everything on.
"You do this a lot?"
"Every Saturday morning."
She rolled her eyes, waiting to see something like Halo or Gears of War or some other macho male game come up. So when it started out with pink dancing animals, she scowled. "Viva Pinata?" It looked like a young kid's game.
"Yeah," he said as he signed in under his own name. "Hey Tobe."
She realized he was talking to someone on the earpiece.
"Yeah, I know I'm a little late. Sorry."
Confused, she saw Ash pick a fox character while someone named Tobinator was a bear. Then JadeNX joined in and Toki-san.
Ash glanced at her, then turned all his attention to the game. "Toby, watch Jaden. I heard he had a bad night and is in the mood for annihilation." He laughed. "End of the world's not on me today, bud. Hey Takeshi, get your fat butt off me. You're squishing the fox." He skidded his character sideways in the race. "There is no honor in sacrificing the fox, you ugly hedgehog."
Completely baffled by the fact a grown man was playing a small kid's game, she went to bathe and dress.
She came back thirty minutes later to find him still at war with his opponents.
"Where's a friggin' rocket when you need it? Ah crap, Jaden, stop with the pollen. I hate that." Screwing his face up, he hit a button. "Yeah taste honey, you punk."
She heard the sound of a little boy's loud laughter through the earpiece.
Ash's phone rang. He glanced at it before he muted his earpiece and answered. "Hey, Trish. Yeah, I understand." He hung up the phone and returned to the game. "Guys, I think we have to declare Toby the de facto winner. His mom says he has to get out of his pajamas and get cleaned up to meet the world." There was an audible cry of protest. "I know, Tobe. PT sucks, but I'll see you later, right?"
Ash smiled sadly. "Listen to Takeshi, buddy. He's right." He paused to listen. "Good game, gentlemen. Thanks for the competition. Jade, me and you are going to rematch on this later. Peace, my brothers." He hung up and turned the game off.
Tory watched as he packed everything up. "Toby is how old?"
"Eight."
"And the other two?"
"Older than eight."
"So you grown men get online to beat an eight-year-old kid every Saturday morning?"
He laughed. "Nah, Toby always wins."
Tory let out an irritated sigh. "You see, you're doing it again. Telling me nothing."
Ash turned to look at her. "You know trust is always a good idea . . . for someone else. Every time I've ever made the mistake of trusting someone . . . it was a mistake that I regretted and paid for dearly. I'm really happy that no one has ever hurt you badly. I haven't been so lucky, okay?"
"I would never betray you, Ash."
He shook his head bitterly. "I've had people I've known a lot better than you tell me that. In the end, they lied and I was screwed over by them. No offense, but I don't want a repeat."
Tory wanted to weep at that. How badly had he been burned that he couldn't even tell her if the people on the other end of the game were friends, family or other?
"I'm going to go grab a shower." He picked up his backpack and took it with him.
Damn, she'd never seen anyone so mistrusting. He probably didn't have anything in that backpack except for dirty underwear. But God forbid someone should ever see his undies-they might learn something personal about him like his clothing size. Call the feds! Such a thing could jeopardize national security.
Sighing, she picked up the black controller from the coffee table and paused as another thought occurred to her.
Don't do it.
She couldn't help herself. Turning the system back on, she signed in under Ash's profile. JadeNX was offline, but Toki-san was still there.
She messaged him. "Are you a friend of Acheron's?"
He came back with, "Are you?"
Dang, was everyone Ash knew defensive like that? "Yes. My name is Tory, would you please call me? 204-555-9862."
Her phone rang a few seconds later. Tory turned the game and TV off before she answered it. "This is Tory."
"Takeshi," he answered in a voice thick with a Japanese accent. "What do you want with me?"
She suddenly felt ridiculous and prying. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have bothered you. Forgive me." She started to hang up.
"Wait. You wouldn't have contacted me without it being important. Is Acheron in trouble?"
"No. I'm an archaeologist and he's staying with me because we think someone might be trying to steal some Atlantean artifacts my team has found." She had no idea why she was telling him all this. "Ash is so quiet about everything that I just . . . I don't know."
"I wouldn't tell him that you spoke to me. He's very closed about such things and would take this angrily."
"I know. I shouldn't have contacted you. I just needed to know that he's . . . not insane or something."
Takeshi laughed. "You're safer with him than with your own family. He holds his honor above all things, even his own life."
That made her feel better. "Thank you."
"You are very welcome." He paused before he spoke again. "Take care of him, Soteria. And remember it takes great courage and heart for a man who knows no kindness to show it to another. Even the wildest of beasts can be tamed by a patient and gentle hand." He hung up.
Tory stood there, digesting that last bit when it hit her . . . he'd called her Soteria.
How on earth had he known her real name when she hadn't given it to him?
