Poseidon's Bride (Olympians, Book One) (4 page)

There was one way to find
out.

With a small gesture from him, the
French door opened silently, and he stepped inside. He took a deep
breath, trying to summon the right amount of seduction and power to
his voice.

“
Layla,” he
murmured.

Her eyes snapped open, and she dropped
the vibrator. It took her a few moments to realize he was there.
Her eyes widened when she finally looked up at him.

“
Oh my God,” she
squeaked.

I am, if you want me to
be.
He held his hand out as he moved
toward her. “Don’t be afraid. I would never hurt you.”
Just as I hope you will not hurt me.

She stared at him, looking stunned and
unbelieving. “Who are you? How did you get inside my head? Or
outside of my head, I should think now. You’re in my house. How did
you get here?”

Confused, Poseidon said, “Outside of
your head? I’m afraid I don’t understand, my dear.” Her statement
did, however, give him some hope that the connection he’d felt to
her earlier was, in fact, real. She seemed more surprised that he
was there than that a man had just walked in through her window.
Perhaps she had been thinking of him, remembering her brief glimpse
of him.

She pointed her finger at him. “You’re
the guy from the beach. And you have blue eyes. Tell me who you
are, right now.”

He realized he should have thought
about this more before barging into her room. Instead of becoming
wrapped in his spell, she had caught him completely off-guard. She
was in control. She was the one demanding answers he hadn’t thought
he’d have to give. She looked more surprised than scared, but he
couldn’t be sure that was a better alternative. “I’m the man you
saw on the beach. And, yes, my eyes are blue.” He wasn’t sure why
that meant so much to her. “Is my name so important?”

“
It might be. Are you
human?”

It was his turn to be surprised.
“Wouldn’t you be afraid if you thought I weren’t?”

“
That would depend on what
you were. You disappeared right before my eyes. Humans don’t do
that. Ghosts do that. So do vampires and other weird things, but
you were in the sun, so that can’t be right.”

He nodded as he tried not to laugh,
wondering if he qualified as a weird thing. “You’re right about
that. Humans don’t just disappear. I’m not a ghost though. In fact,
I’m sure I’m not any of the things you’re thinking I might be. And
my name is Poseidon.”

Layla surprised him again by walking
toward him. “I don’t know what I’m getting myself into, but I’m not
afraid of you. I can’t explain why.”

He looked down into her flashing green
eyes. “You have no reason to be afraid of me.”

She eyed his bare chest and tight
black pants. “There’s a half-naked man in my bedroom. I think that
gives me good reason to—” She gasped and ran into the bathroom, as
though it had taken her that long to realize she was completely
naked.

He closed his eyes and let out a deep
breath. He couldn’t help fearing he had ruined everything. The look
on her face had been hilarious, but he couldn’t even chuckle
because he had doubts as to whether or not she’d ever come back out
of the bathroom again. For a moment, before she’d realized she
stood naked before him, not to mention that he had interrupted her
while she masturbated, he’d felt she was opening to him, that
somehow the Fates had been weaving the strands of their lives
closer together, just as she had been walking closer to him. She
might have been so shocked to see him she’d been able to ignore her
own nakedness and what she’d been doing for a few moments as she
questioned him. Now that she’d come crashing back to reality, would
she also suddenly be afraid of him, even though she’d just said she
wasn’t?

Something had been drawing them
together. He could still feel the power of it hanging in the air.
They’d been so close he could have taken her in his arms. Then
she’d run into the bathroom. That wasn’t a good sign.

“
Are you still there?” she
called.

“
Yes,” he blurted, trying
to sound calm and unthreatening.

“
I’m coming back out
then.” She emerged wearing jeans and a baggy T-shirt. She still
looked unbelievably sexy to him, and he could smell the musk of her
heated sex lingering in the air.

He decided to trust the Fates and take
a chance. “Do you believe in destiny, or fate, Layla? You said you
weren’t afraid of me, and you didn’t seem surprised I might not be
human. Would you be willing to listen to my story with an open
mind?”

She crossed her arms under her
breasts, stretching the fabric across them and revealing her still
hard nipples. He took a deep breath and told himself to be
patient.

She ran her hand over her eyes, then
looked at him and let out a deep breath. “I’d be willing to listen
to anything if it will help make sense of the last few hours.” She
gestured to the chair at her dresser. “Have a seat.”

* * * *

Layla tried to concentrate
on the words of the man sitting across from her and not his
amazing, chiseled chest. His pecks and abs rippled deliciously as
he gestured while speaking to her, and watching this was not
helping to kill her sex drive. She’d been close to orgasm when
she’d heard him say her name for the third time that night, and
she’d been knocked for a major loop when she’d looked up to see
that, in a way, her wish of moments before had literally been
granted. She’d been imagining this very man driving his cock into
her, pushing her to orgasm, and then suddenly he was standing there
watching her.
Watching me masturbate,
completely naked and sprawled across my bed.
She tried to take deep breaths so her face didn’t flame red
with embarrassment.

“
When I saw you lying on
the beach, I couldn’t help lingering. You were so beautiful…and so
alluring.”

“
You were really there the
whole time?” That revelation brought her back to reality. Her face
grew hot, and her entire body flushed.
So
he’s seen me masturbating twice in one night. Wonderful.
She could hardly tell if she was embarrassed or
aroused as she gazed into his eyes. Something in them pushed her
humiliation away. They shone with desire, and even as she turned
away, she felt her sex tightening as she thought of him lying on
the sand next to her. “You were beside me, doing something to
me?”

He shook his head. “I was beside you,
but I wasn’t affecting you in any way.” He pulled his gaze away,
then peered back into her eyes. “I will admit that I did touch you
earlier.”

Her eyes widened, as she realized what
he meant. “That was you? You touched me in the water?” She shook
her head. “I don’t understand.” Her mind raced. What must he think
of her? That she was sex-crazed and an easy lay? Or that she was a
passionate woman he could find fulfillment with? Or something in
between those two? That seemed more likely. She couldn’t deny he
still seemed interested, but that was only one of the puzzling
things about him.

He paused for a moment, then asked,
“Doesn’t my name mean anything to you?”

She had to admit it had
struck a chord in her brain and made her wonder. “Well, yes, but
are you trying to tell me that you’re
the
Poseidon? As in the Greek god
Poseidon?”

He smiled. “Yes. You did say you
wouldn’t be surprised if I weren’t human. I thought simply telling
you who I was would clear that up for you.”

She shook her head. “I didn’t say I
wouldn’t be surprised. I just said I thought it was possible.” She
ran her hand over her forehead, trying to think of how to explain.
“I mean, you disappeared right in front of me. And you got up here
somehow. You certainly didn’t come through the door.”

“
I felt you calling to me.
And you never answered my other question.”

“
I really don’t think I’m
the one who needs to be answering questions.” She didn’t know
whether she was becoming angry because she was frustrated or
because every moment in this man’s presence aroused her more and
more. She almost wanted to just make love to him and ask questions
in the morning. “Yes, the name Poseidon means something to me, but
that doesn’t mean I’m automatically going to believe you. I thought
you were a ghost or something.”

“
Before that, I asked if
you believed in fate and destiny. I wanted to know if you would be
willing to believe that other powers or forces had brought us
together.” He looked at her pleadingly, waiting for her
answer.

Layla didn’t understand what this
amazingly sexy man who claimed to be a god could possibly want from
her. God or not, he could have any woman he wanted, and yet he
appeared determined to convince her he had been drawn to her for a
reason. There was no denying that he was attracted to her. Even
with her body completely covered, she still felt his eyes roaming
all over her.

“
I don’t know. I used to
believe in that kind of stuff, but I’m not so sure
anymore.”

“
Is it because someone
hurt you?” he asked.

His eyes had darkened, and Layla
wondered what he, in all his supposed Greek god glory, would do if
she told him about Colin and said he was a bastard who had broken
her heart. However, she knew that wasn’t true. She had never loved
Colin, so while he might have crushed her dreams, he hadn’t broken
her heart.

“
I broke up with someone
recently, but it wasn’t him. I guess I just gave up on the dream of
being swept off my feet by some tall, dark and handsome god among
men.” She bit her lip. She hadn’t meant to use that phrase, but she
couldn’t take it back now.

He laughed. “Then maybe I’m the answer
to your prayers. Your loneliness probably drew me to you on the
beach.”

“
I didn’t say I was
lonely.” She was, but she didn’t want to add to her desperate,
sex-starved image.

“
I only meant there was a
longing in your heart that reached out and touched me. I’ve never
been so drawn to a woman in all my life, and that is saying
something.”

“
So, why not just seduce
me? Use some hocus pocus on me. If you’re telling the truth, you
must be able to do something like that.” She didn’t want to admit
outright that she was beginning to believe him or that she wouldn’t
object to being seduced. She knew there were things in this world
that were beyond most people’s understanding, so why couldn’t the
ancient gods of legend be real? She couldn’t deny the strange
things that had been happening either, not to mention the fact that
she felt drawn to him too, and it wasn’t simply because he oozed
sex appeal.

He shook his head. “I didn’t want to.
I wanted things to be different.” He looked away for a moment.
“I’ll be the first to admit that barging into your bedroom probably
was not the best way, but I simply couldn’t resist when I heard you
say those words.”

“
Oh,” she said. So he had
heard her saying she wished he was real. How had he known she meant
him? “How did you know I meant you? Can you read my
mind?”

He shrugged. “I could, but I promise
you that I have not, and I never will without your permission. I
guessed, actually. I knew you had seen me on the beach, and I
couldn’t resist coming in to find out.”

She felt her body come alive as she
imagined him coming into her room and climbing on the bed with her,
tossing the vibrator aside and burying his cock in her. She shook
her head, trying to get a grip on herself. “So, why not play the
Greek god card? What would you have said to me if you’d known how
willing I’d be?” Her head was spinning, but she didn’t care. Her
body ached for him, and at that moment she felt prepared to throw
herself at his feet.

He stood up and walked over to her. He
took both her hands, and she tried to stop them from shaking as he
pulled her up off the bed. He looked down into her eyes. Her face
was inches from his warm, muscled chest. “I would have told you I
was destined to be your lover and give you all the pleasure any
mortal woman could ever endure.”

As her breath caught in her throat, he
leaned down and kissed her softly. She placed her arms around his
neck. Her knees shook, and she didn’t know how long she’d be able
to stand. He wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss, his
tongue dancing against hers. He pressed her body close to his and
looked down into her eyes.

“
You must be sure this is
what you want, my love,” he whispered.

My love.
The words rang in her ears, echoing all the way
to her heart. She’d never wanted a man so much, never felt so right
in anyone’s arms. She knew this man was, in fact, destined to be
her lover, and she didn’t really care how she knew it. She drew him
closer and brushed her lips against his. “Love me,” she whispered.
“I won’t be complete until you love me.”

He captured her mouth in a hungry
kiss, and she felt her entire body go electric. His power and his
heat flowed through her body, and she felt sparks going off deep
inside her as her skin tingled. Her pussy began to throb, all too
aware of the orgasm she’d been denied earlier. Poseidon’s hands
moved down her body, molding every curve, finally cupping her ass
and lifting her up off the ground and into his eager arms. Her legs
went around his waist immediately without any encouragement. Layla
sighed as his tongue danced against hers. His hard cock pressed
into her ass, and she wanted to get rid of their clothes as quickly
as possible. She let go of him and pulled her shirt off first as he
held her. Poseidon’s eyes drifted down to feast on her breasts. He
lowered his head and she arched her back, giving him full access to
her aching nipples. His tongue swirled around each rosy tip. She
tightened her grip on him as tight as she could, trying to ease the
torture he was putting her through.