A Taste of Greek (Out of Olympus #3) (21 page)

“What the fuck! Let go of me!”

“Penny, open his suitcase!” Hermes ordered without taking his eyes off Curtis.

At his command, the guy’s eyes went wide in shock. Oh yeah, he had something to hide. Hermes heard the suitcase snap open.

“You got a warrant?” Curtis asked, his jaw clenched tightly, his eyes shifting to the side as if he was looking for help.

“Got it!” Penny exclaimed triumphantly.

Hermes glanced at her and saw her holding his winged sandal. A bolder the size of Mount Everest was lifted off his shoulders. He motioned to the sandal, then glared at the pawnbroker.

“Dealing in stolen goods, taking stolen property across state lines, dealing in protected antique artifacts without a license,” he rattled off, making charges up as he went along. “How much prison time is that, Penny?”

She played along. “I’m counting twenty-five years so far.”

“I bought the sandal! I didn’t steal it!” he protested.

“Lying to a federal agent,” Hermes continued, enjoying himself now.

“I’m not lying, you asshole!” the guy shouted.

Hermes turned his head toward Penny, winking. “Remind me what the penalty for insulting a federal agent is.”

Penny could barely keep a straight face. “I believe it’s a kick in the balls.”

“You heard the lady,” Hermes said. “So, if I were you, I’d leave here very quietly without causing a fuss, or I’m coming after you. And it won’t be pretty.” He loosened his grip on the guy.

“You’re no federal agent!” Curtis grumbled.

“No, and that’s your luck. Because if I were, you’d be going straight to jail. Dealing in stolen artifacts is a serious crime. Now leave, before I change my mind and deliver that kick in the balls after all.”

Cursing, Curtis grabbed his suitcase, jerking it shut, and scampered away.

Hermes was finally alone with Penny again, or as alone as it was possible to be at an airport under a bomb threat. He reached out his hand.

“May I have my sandal back now?”

Penny dropped her lids, wiping the smile off her face simultaneously. “Oh, of course.”

He took the sandal from her and felt a surge of power go through him. Everything would be fine. While he had only one sandal in his hand, the other was in Triton’s possession, and therefore in the possession of a god. The gods’ power of teleportation was restored.

“What now?” she asked, her voice laden with apprehension.

Hermes shelved her chin on his palm. “Now it’s time for your punishment.”

29

Zeus pushed himself into Hera’s exquisite sheath one more time before exploding and filling her with his seed. He collapsed on top of her and pulled in a deep breath, remembering why he married her in the first place. The woman might be a razor-tongued shrew but she was one of the best fucks he’d ever had.

He’d entered his antechamber earlier and caught her spying in his looking glass. No one was allowed in his antechamber without his permission, and he had to admit he enjoyed punishing her for her disobedience. He’d fondled her glistening ass cheeks that had been so nicely displayed in front of him as he’d thrown her over his desk and fucked her from behind. She’d come twice before he had, bucking him so hard she’d almost knocked him to the ground. A wild one she was.

He gave her ass a hearty slap, liking the way the creamy white skin reddened. “Now let that be a lesson to you.”

She gave a little yelp and turned around, smiling as she rubbed her hands up his chest and gave his nipple a long kiss. “Nice job, Zeus.”

He grunted. “Glad you enjoyed it.”

She grinned, flicking his nipple with her tongue, when Zeus heard an uproar outside his chamber doors. Then the buzz increased to loud, boisterous cheering. He snapped his fingers, dressing himself in a split second, then curiously walked through the wide French doors onto the terrace. He saw the gods cheering outside. They were disappearing and appearing at will. They could teleport again. It appeared his no-good son Hermes had found his sandals.

“Well, isn’t that great,” Hera said in a displeased tone as she joined him on the terrace, dressed in her tunic again. “Guess your boy got his sandals back.”

“You don’t sound very pleased about that.” And he could imagine why. She’d had him to herself for the last few days and it had been a regular fuck-fest between them, but now things were bound to change. As they should! He was ready for some variety.

“Huh!” she huffed.

“Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Hera!” he chastised. “Oh, I forgot, you’re not wearing any, cause your hunk of a husband ripped them off you earlier.” He laughed out loud and let the sound roll down the hills as thunder. “Now go and annoy somebody else! I have to punish that sexy feline who duped Hermes, and whose traitorous mind rivals yours, my sweet.” The endearment tasted bitter on his tongue but he hid it with his trademark charming grin.

“Punish the woman? You should punish your son. He was the careless one.”

“The woman will pay for her deception. No mortal brings Olympus to its knees without repercussions.”

“Will there be no repercussions for Hermes?” Hera asked, her eyes narrowing.

“I think watching what I’m going to do to his precious Penny will be enough.”

“You’re not going to punish this woman! Punish your son instead!”

“But that’s exactly what I’m doing: punishing him by punishing her.” He turned and walked back into his chamber, Hera on his heels.

“Zeus, as the mother goddess, I forbid you to punish this woman. She’s under my protection!”

He whirled his head to her, narrowing his eyes. “Are you trying to give me orders?” He growled low and dark. “Now you’ve done it, woman! Don’t interfere with my domain! Or that woman won’t be the only person who’s going to feel my wrath!”

Zeus stormed through his antechamber and crossed to the viewing portal in the floor. For a moment he wondered where Hermes would be now. Knowing that he would most likely want to celebrate the return of his sandals with his friends, Zeus thought of Triton and Sophia’s B&B and conjured the image onto the screen.

“Bingo!”

Hermes and Penny were just pulling up outside the house, parking under the large oak tree in front.

“Look at him! He has his powers back and he’s letting her drive him around! He might as well have a collar and chain around his neck.”

“Zeus,” Hera said, a hand on his shoulder, but he didn’t let her finish.

With a flick of his wrist, Zeus aimed a lightning bolt at the oak tree.

“Zeus, no!” Hera yelled.

30

Penny turned the key in the ignition, her hand shaking slightly.

Hermes reached for it. “Let’s go inside.”

She shook her head. “I want to get this over with now. I’m not any better than my father or Kenton. I’m a thief.”

At her colleague’s name, Kenton’s dramatic words came back to Hermes. “About Kenton.” Something about his words had made him wonder about the pretty-boy professors’ motivation. Had it truly only been blind ambition? “What did he mean when he said he was going to lose his job anyway without tenure?”

Something flashed in Penny’s eyes, and he knew immediately that he was on to something. When she shrugged, he gripped her shoulder, forcing her to look at him.

“What did he mean by that?”

Penny looked away. “There’ll be budget cuts in the department. The non-tenured faculty with contracts expiring at the end of the fiscal year will be let go. Kenton’s contract is due to expire.”

Hermes let out a breath. “So he did it to save his job.”

Penny nodded. “Guess he figured sleeping with Michelle wasn’t enough to secure him the spot. Anyway, can we talk about what happens now?”

The eagerness with which she changed the subject gave him pause. The wheels in his mind clicked into place. “Your contract is expiring, too, isn’t it?”

Before she even opened her mouth, he already knew the answer. “You’ll be losing your job if you don’t get this tenure spot.” When she simply nodded, he understood everything. “You need this job to support your grandmother and yourself. That’s why you need tenure.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Damn it, Penny, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t think you wanted to hear any more excuses. I did what I did. I stole from you.”

But she hadn’t stolen from him because of blind ambition. She’d stolen to save her job and her means to support her grandmother. “Let’s go inside. We need to talk.”

She nodded slowly and opened the car door. Relieved, he got out and waited for her to walk around to the sidewalk, when a bright thunderbolt ripped through the sky and slammed into the oak tree.

Penny screamed and raised her hands above her head, just as a large branch plummeted toward her.

“Fuck!” Hermes barreled toward her, wrapping his arms around her. In the blink of an eye, he teleported them both out of danger.

Penny was still screaming in his arms when he set her down on her feet in the kitchen of the B&B. Her eyes were screwed shut, her arms hugging her head to shield herself from the falling tree she’d just escaped.

“You can open your eyes again,” Hermes whispered to her. “You’re safe.”

The moment she did, he pressed his lips onto hers and kissed her. Later, he’d beat the crap out of his jerk of a father, but right now, he needed to feel Penny in his arms to know she was safe. He kept his kiss brief, aware that they weren’t alone in the kitchen. Upon teleporting in, he’d sensed Triton and Sophia there.

Reluctantly, Hermes released Penny’s lips and smoothed his hand over her hair. “You’re safe now,” he murmured once more.

“What happened?” Triton asked.

Hermes allowed the stunned Penny to step out of his embrace. “Zeus happened! He tried to kill Penny just now by felling the old oak tree with his thunderbolt.”

“My tree?” Sophia said. “Does he not know how old that tree is?”

“Zeus?” Penny’s voice cracked. “That can’t be.” She took a step back from Hermes.

Hermes ran his eyes over her body, assuring himself once more that she was okay. “Yes, it can. And it is.”

Then she looked around the kitchen, her eyes widening, her jaw dropping. “How did we get in here? We were on the sidewalk. Did I pass out?”

“No, Penny, you didn’t pass out. I teleported us inside to get you out of the way of the falling tree. Now that I have both sandals again, I can teleport.” Hermes watched her stunned face. “And fly too.” Maybe he would give her a demonstration later.

Penny continued shaking her head. “Oh my god, you were really telling me the truth all along. You
are
a god. You
are
Hermes.”

He smiled, nodding. “The one and only.”

“I think I need to sit down.” She pulled out a chair from under the kitchen island and collapsed onto it. Then she pointed at Triton. “Then Triton is really Triton, the son of Poseidon.”

His friend chuckled. “Looks like your friend finally believes you. About time.”

Hermes rolled his eyes, then motioned to Sophia. “No offense, Sophia, but you didn’t believe Triton at first either when he told you he was the god of seafarers and sailors. In fact, from what I recall, you actually thought he was mentally ill.”

Sophia let out a quick laugh. “Well, you know, the circumstances . . . ” She exchanged a loving look with her husband.

Suddenly, Penny slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh my god!”

“What?” Hermes asked, concerned.

“At the party. Your father, the man who introduced himself as Z—was that Zeus?”

“Oh yeah, that was he in his full glory, philandering and all.”

“I can’t believe I met Zeus. The ruler of all gods, the most powerful of all. I still can’t believe it.”

Hermes noticed the fascinated glow in her eyes and didn’t like it. Was she happier about having met Zeus than having met him? But before he could say another word, a familiar voice came from the door.

“Yeah, believe it. But by the looks of it, you really pissed him off.”

Hermes turned to look at Eros, who leaned against the door frame. “Hey, Eros, thanks for pointing out the obvious as usual.”

“Eros,” Penny muttered, trying to digest the truth.

Her head was spinning. Greek gods! Hermes, Triton, Eros, Zeus. They existed. They were real. And they were here in Charleston. They had been here under her nose all along. Possibly for many years.

She had to believe it now, after all, teleportation didn’t exist, and Hermes
had
teleported her from the street to the kitchen to save her. No other explanation was possible. He was not from this world. He was a god. The god she’d always hoped would come to life and sweep her off her feet, like a knight in shining armor. Only, she’d stolen said armor and angered him, thus destroying any chance at whatever could have been between them.

She paused her thoughts for a moment. So if he was so angry with her, why had he kissed her again? Passionately—no, she corrected herself—not passionately, desperately. Penny tilted her head to the side and looked at Hermes, but she didn’t get a chance to say anything.

“So what are you going to do now?” Triton asked. “Because if Zeus has it in for Penny, there will be no stopping him.”

Penny’s heartbeat accelerated. “Zeus really wants to kill me?”

Triton nodded gravely, while Hermes simply stared at her, his jaw tight.

Sophia put a glass of wine in front of her. “Here. You might need this.”

Penny gratefully grasped the glass with her shaking fingers and took a deep gulp. “What am I going to do now? I know I deserve to be punished. What I did was wrong. But I don’t think I deserve to be crushed to death.”

“At least that way is quick and easy,” Eros said from the door. “Zeus has thought of many more horrific tortures for those who betrayed him over the years.”

“Eros, please!” Hermes cursed. “There’s no need to scare her even more.”

Eros shrugged. “Just figured she should know what she’s up against.”

Penny gave Hermes a pleading look “But I didn’t know I was betraying Zeus,” she said. “Surely there must be something I can say? Something I can do to make him understand. I didn’t mean to do it.”