Read Kiss of a Star Artemis Lupine Online

Authors: Catherine Banks

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Vampires, #Adult, #Fantasy, #Magic, #Witches, #werewolves, #teen, #fairy, #Fairies, #Fae, #YA, #young, #sidhe, #dhampir, #ares, #artemis, #lupine

Kiss of a Star Artemis Lupine (3 page)

BOOK: Kiss of a Star Artemis Lupine
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I smiled. “You’re full of wonderful
surprises, Ares. Thank you.”

He took my hand. “There’s more.” He led me
out of the closet, past Koda and to the bathroom. The bathroom was
painted and decorated in a warm blue tone. The his and her sinks
each had a toothbrush and holder next to them. Ares opened the
cabinet doors under the sinks and pointed in. I looked inside and
gasped. It was stocked full of feminine products, hair care
products, hair brushes, curling irons, and devices I couldn’t name
or even imagine how to use. “I wanted you to have everything you
needed. I want this to be your home as much as it is mine.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged
him tightly. “Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to
me.”

I kissed him and he rubbed his thumb down my
cheek. “Why are you crying?”

I laughed and wiped at my eyes. “Sorry, it’s
not you. I just…with Darren I never felt loved. Sure he provided
all of the necessary items for me and he kept me safe, but it was
never a loving home. It wasn’t really even a home to me. But with
you…I feel loved and this feels like home to me already.”

Ares kissed both of my eyes softly, stopping
the tears. “I’m sorry your childhood was hard. I promise that I’ll
do everything in my power to keep you safe and happy. I love you,
Sunshine.”

I smirked. “Sunshine?” He’d been trying to
come up with a nickname for me, but I’d rejected “baby” and a few
others I simply refused to let him call me.

Ares frowned. “You don’t like it?”

“Why Sunshine?” I asked as I played with his
hair.

“Because you gave me sunlight in my darkest
day. I thought I was going crazy before I met you. Now, even with
all that is happening, every time I look at you, I feel happy and
warm. So, yes, ‘Sunshine’ is your name.”

I kissed his lips quickly. “I like it.”

Matt cleared his throat. “Darius isn’t going
to like you being late.”

Ares sighed. “Duty calls.”

I kissed his cheek before walking out of the
bathroom and towards the closet. “I promise Koda and I will stay in
the room, away from Achilles until you get back.”

Ares stopped at the bedroom door and turned
back to me. “After I return we’ll be going to dinner. The whole
town will be there. Will you wear the white dress?”

I saw the hopeful look on his face and
curtsied, bowing my head. “Of course, my Prince.”

All three men laughed. Ares rushed over and
kissed my lips hard, making my heart race. “Don’t forget your
necklace.”

I touched the diamond heart necklace which
was on my upper chest. It had been a present from Ares, a sign so
that everyone would know that I had his heart alone. “I’ve still
got it on.”

Ares smiled happily. “Good. I should be back
in an hour or two.”

I hurried into the closet and to my
cabinets. I’d never had so many clothes before. I took down the
white dress and stroked the soft fabric. It had spaghetti straps, a
v-cut neckline and an hour glass shape like I had. I hung it on a
hook on the wall and stared at the assortment of shoes. “Koda,” I
called softly.

He walked silently into the closet. If I
hadn’t been watching for him, I never would have known he was
coming. “Yes?”

I pointed to the cabinet. “I need you to
help me figure out what to wear with this dress.”

He smiled. “No problem.” He stopped in front
of the cabinet and whistled. “Wow, he went all out for you. Not
that I suspected he wouldn’t, but this is amazing.”

“I know. I’ve never owned so many clothes
before,” I said dreamily.

He looked at the white dress and then at me.
“Hm…alright, here’s what we’re going to do.” He took out a pair of
white two inch heels and set them on the ground, underneath the
dress. “Those.” He started riffling through the underwear and I
stared in shock at the thongs and lingerie in the pile. I’d never
worn lingerie before. He picked up a white silk thong and set it on
a chair that I hadn’t noticed was next to the dress. “This.” He
turned to me now and frowned. “You’re too big busted to go
braless.”

I frowned. “Thanks.”

He shrugged. “Just being honest.” He turned
back to the cabinet and pulled out a white strapless bra.
“Perfect.”

I stared at the completed outfit and smiled.
“You’re good.”

He smiled wide. “I know. Now go take a
shower before you put all of that white stuff on. You’ve got dirt
all over your legs.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, father.”

He smacked my arm playfully. “You want to
look great for Ares, right?”

I nodded my head. “Right.” I gingerly took
off the diamond necklace and handed it to him. “Keep it safe while
I’m in the shower.”

He took the necklace slowly and held it in
one palm. “I promise. Now hurry. I want to tell you some things
before we go to dinner.”

I jogged to the bathroom and took off the
robe. I started to reach for the door to shut it, but knew if Koda
was supposed to be protecting me that he’d want it open. Plus, I
felt safer having it open. The tub to the left of me was giant, big
enough to fit all four of us in comfortably. “Koda, is this a spa
or tub?” I asked curiously.

He laughed. “It’s a spa.”

“Why is there a spa in the bathroom?”

“Don’t ask me. Ares designed this house,”
Koda said loudly.

The shower had no door, consisting of one
long tiled wall with a shower head, which came out of the middle
with a large drain in the middle of the floor. If I had been less
modest I would be running to shut the bathroom door now. I turned
the shower head on and quickly scrubbed my hair and body. The
shampoo and soap didn’t have a smell, which was surprisingly
refreshing to my nose. I hadn’t realized how much the scented soaps
bothered me until then. After drying off, brushing my teeth and
blow drying my hair I finally felt clean. Clean for the first time
in weeks. I strolled across the bedroom. “It’s great to be
clean.”

Koda grunted. “Sure, rub it in.”

My foot hit the floor awkwardly as I tried
to stop in mid-step before turning to him. “What?”

He sniffed his arm. “I stink, but until Ares
comes back I can’t shower.”

“Sure you can. I’ll just do my hair and
makeup in the bathroom so that you’ll be protecting me while you
get clean,” I said with a smile.

He stared at me in shock. “You’d be willing
to do that?”

“It’s not that big of a deal. Let me put on
my underwear and dress.” A patch of sun was shining on the dress as
I walked in. It looked too perfect for me to wear, but Ares wanted
it on. The underwear felt somewhat uncomfortable as I put them on,
but after a minute I barely noticed them. Of course there wasn’t
much fabric to notice. The bra fit well, but without straps I felt
awkward. Finally, I slipped the dress on over my head and shimmied
it down my body. It was snug, but not uncomfortable. After
smoothing the dress down again, I walked out of the closet and
twirled in a slow circle. “What do you think?”

Koda was sitting perfectly still, I couldn’t
even see his chest rising or falling with breath. “Wow,” He said
softly. He walked slowly towards me, making me stop twirling and
blush. He smiled, but his eyes looked sad. “You’re beautiful,
Artemis. Ares is a lucky man.”

Achilles spoke from the doorway, making me
jump since I hadn’t realized he was there. “Does Ares know that you
have feelings for Artemis?”

Koda frowned. “Of course I have feelings for
her and Ares knows. She’s part of my pack.”

Achilles smiled and it took my breath away.
He looked like a Greek god. Wait? Achilles was a hero in greek
myths, right? Was he… “Achilles?”

Achilles looked at me and his smile
faltered. “Yes?”

“Are you
the
Achilles?” I asked
nervously. Being around him was uncomfortable, but not in a fearful
way. He made me want to relax and be near him, which wasn’t normal.
Even Ares didn’t feel like this to me.

Achilles smiled. “That is a long discussion
that you and I will be having at a later time.”

Koda grumbled. “Speaking of that, I need you
to go back downstairs.”

Achilles frowned at him. “Ares gave you
orders to keep me away from her?”

Koda nodded his head. “I’m sorry, but he is
my alpha and his orders were clear.” Achilles looked like he wanted
to argue, but Koda whispered, “Please.”

Achilles sighed and rubbed his temples. “You
were always my favorite, Koda. What do you want me to do,
Artemis?”

“I promised Ares I would stay away from you,
please leave,” I said quietly.

Achilles bowed at the waist in a graceful
motion that made me stare in awe at him. “As you wish,” he said
before turning on his heel and heading down the hallway. The tone
in which he said the words made me think of Wesley from Princess
Bride and made me shiver involuntarily.

Koda handed me the diamond heart necklace
and whispered, “It’s a good thing Achilles is a reasonable
male.”

I clipped the necklace in place and walked
towards the bathroom. “Come on. I want to be ready by the time Ares
gets here.”

Koda followed me in and started undressing.
I pulled out the hair straightener and the box of makeup I’d seen
earlier. Koda started the shower behind me and began singing. If he
hadn’t been such a talented singer I would have laughed at him, but
his voice was amazing and after a moment I hummed along as he sang.
My hair didn’t take long to straighten, but I was having trouble
deciding what makeup to use. If I used too much makeup I would
smell funny, but I needed something to spice myself up.

Koda reached around me, making me jump and
squeal. He laughed. “Sorry, I figured you had heard the water turn
off.”

“I was focusing on the makeup and what I
should use,” I said as my heart calmed down.

He held up the black eyeliner that he’d
grabbed. “This around the bottom of your eyes and…” He grabbed
white eyeshadow and black mascara. “These. Go light, but with just
these things you’ll look great.”

He moved away from me and started brushing
his teeth in the sink next to me. “You have a great voice,” I said
to him as I applied the eyeshadow.

Koda smiled with toothpaste filling his
mouth. “Thank you.”

I giggled at him and finished with the
makeup. My purple eyes stood out drastically with the makeup on and
with the white dress below I looked amazing. Was I conceited?
“Koda? Do you think it’s conceited for me to think I look amazing
now?”

Koda shook his head. “No, just truthful.
Sidhe women are generally beautiful anyways.”

I heard the front door open and ran towards
the closet. “Shoes!”

Koda followed me in and quickly got dressed
in a pair of black slacks and a deep blue button up shirt. “Don’t
wear the shoes,” he said quickly and quietly, “I forgot that we
were going to dinner with the town. We don’t wear shoes to events
that the King and Queen are attending.”

“Why not?” I asked curiously.

“Werewolves need to be able to change at any
time and shoes are often destroyed in a change because it takes too
long to take them off.”

Ares and Matt were walking up the stairs, so
I tossed the shoes back in the cabinet and adjusted my dress. Koda
whispered, “You look great. Stop worrying.”

Ares spoke from the bedroom doorway. “I’m
going to change before we go, Achilles. We’ll be down after I’m
ready.” I hid in the cubby area where my cabinets were. Ares walked
into the closet and started rummaging around in the front area.
“Why are you hiding, Artemis?”

“I’m waiting until you’re ready before I let
you see me,” I said.

Ares began speaking to Koda. “Darius wants
to speed the process up. He wants it to be finished in six
months.”

Koda groaned. “That’s crazy. I mean it’s not
like it can’t be done, but why? Why not just let the chaos linger
for a while?”

“I need to do my hair,” Ares said before
walking away.

Matt peeked his head around the corner
making me jump since he hadn’t made a noise. “Wow, you look
great.”

I smiled. “Thanks.”

Koda cleared his throat. “Matt, shouldn’t
you be getting changed?”

Matt sighed and turned around. “Alright.”
Matt was acting different. I couldn’t put my finger on what exactly
it was, but something wasn’t right.

Ares spoke from nearby, “Artemis? Are you
ready?”

I smoothed my dress down, checked the
placement of my necklace and took a deep cleansing breath. “Yes.”
My heart was beating faster than it should have, but I tried to
keep the smile on my face to show I wasn’t that worried.

Ares stood outside of the closet in a pair
of black slacks and a black button up shirt. His eyes sparkled like
diamonds, catching my attention. “It looks better on you than I
would have imagined,” he said softly.

“You look amazing, Ares.” I managed to say
between the back flips the butterflies were doing in my
stomach.

Ares slipped his hand in mine and kissed me
on the lips. “You’re breathtaking.”

I inhaled his scent and the butterflies
released. “Thank you.”

Koda stepped out of the closet with his arms
spread. “What about me?” Ares shook his head and I rolled my eyes
at him. Koda twirled in a circle. “So?”

“You look great, Koda,” I said as I tried
not to laugh.

Koda frowned. “Ares is amazing and I’m only
great
? Now you’ve hurt my feelings.”

Matt stepped out of the closet in a pair of
dark blue slacks and a white button up shirt. “We better hurry or
they’ll eat without us.”

Ares squeezed my hand. “Let’s go. I can’t
wait for you to meet my mother.”

I groaned. “Great, the mother-in-law.”

Ares kissed my cheek. “She’ll love you.”

Koda and Matt were discussing female names
as we walked down the stairs, so I chose to ignore them. Achilles
stood by the front door, leaning against it. He was wearing a black
suit that hugged the curves of his body. The sight of him made me
gasp, which made Ares growl, which made me blush.

BOOK: Kiss of a Star Artemis Lupine
13.49Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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