Shafted (3 page)

Oh and since you asked, my name is Anteros,
God of Love Returned, Dread Avenger of Unrequited Love, brother of
Eros and son of Aphrodite and Ares. Let’s have sex right now. How
do you like me so far?

Oh, yeah, that should go over real well.

Chapter 3

It was official, the Universe hated her. Why
else would this be happening?

Not only does she trip over the most
delectable example of the male of the species she’d ever seen in
her life moments after she’d sworn off men, what does she do? She
kicks him...well...
there
. Not that he hadn’t scared the
be-jeepers out of her or anything, but still; she wasn’t normally a
violent person, a bit testy sometimes maybe, but not violent.

What in the world was he doing lying out here
in the snow anyway? Didn’t Mr. Luscious have any sense? He could’ve
frozen to death for Pete’s sake. He’s lucky she came along, even if
he didn’t seem to think so at the moment. Well, since he was still
trying to catch his breath and hadn’t been able to get up off the
ground yet, he probably had reason to think her coming across him
wasn’t so lucky.

“Can you tell me your name?”

He reached up and rubbed his hands over his
face – beautifully shaped hands with long strong fingers – so she
didn’t catch his answer at first.

“Mmm, Ter Nandrs, atter zvise.”

Either he had to start to annunciate more
clearly or her ears were freezing up. “Sorry?”

He pulled his hands away and looked up at her
with sink-into-forever dark eyes which, to her disgust, sent her
stomach off into a little jig.

“Teran Anders, at your service.”

Oh crap, he had a voice to match the rest of
the package, deep and velvety with a sexy as hell accent she
couldn’t quite place.

He started to stand and faltered. “Hold on
there, let me help you.” Callie instinctively dove in, ducking
beneath his arm and leveraging her body to support him - bringing
her up close and personal. He was a good foot taller than her; rare
for a woman of nearly six feet tall and she couldn’t help notice
the mix of fresh air and his personal scent had her mouth
practically watering.

Oh yeah, the Universe was definitely messing
with her.

He stumbled again, his lips had a blue tinge
and his face was alarmingly pale. “Okay, come on. The path up to
the top is this way. We need to get you somewhere warm. Then we’ll
decide if you need a doctor. Do you live close by? And how did you
end up out here in the first place?”

He went stiff and seemed to expand, then with
a deep breath, he dropped his head forward effectively hiding his
face behind a curtain of black silk and was back to leaning on her
as they slowly struggled toward the pathway she’d come down less
than an hour before.

“I, uh, remember getting into a fight with my
brother and deciding to have a couple of drinks to cool off. Yeah,
uh, guess I must’ve indulged too much and like an idiot thought
some fresh air would fix me up. I think maybe, I must’ve fallen
asleep, but don’t really remember.”

Something in his tone didn’t ring true, but
it really wasn’t any of her business so Callie chose to leave it
alone. Besides, they’d started their climb up the hill and she’d
need all her breath to get them both to the top. By the time they
were in sight of the welcoming lights of the B & B, he was
doing better and could manage under his own steam.

What did it say about her that she missed him
leaning on her? Idiot, that’s what. Before she could beat herself
up anymore, she noticed he wasn’t beside her anymore. He stopped a
few feet back and was looking down the lane-way toward the main
road.

“I guess I should be on my way, I appreciate
your help but I don’t want to be any more of a pain, so if you’ll
point me in the direction of the nearest town and tell me how far
it is, I’ll leave you with my thanks.”

Cute did not make up for stupid. Another
argument for her ‘who needs a man’ stand.

“Are you nuts? First, how is it you don’t
know how far the nearest town is? It’s the only one around here for
miles. Second, unless you have a car hidden under that duster, you
aren’t going anywhere. It’s already below zero and dropping fast.
Third, you’re lips are blue for heaven’s sake. You need to warm up.
I didn’t drag you all the way up that hill so you could freeze to
death a mile down the road.”

The stubborn ox wrinkled his brow and crossed
his arms over his chest, appearing to puff up more than her jacket.
“I can assure you, I’m tougher than I look at the moment. I’ll make
it if you point the way. It’s not that cold yet.”

“Argh men!” She grabbed her hood with her
mitten encased hands but found it wasn’t nearly as satisfying as
pulling her hair. “Look don’t be an idiot, I’ll drive you in once
you’ve warmed up and had something to eat, unless there’s someone
you’d rather I call to come pick you up.” Night had fallen but it
wasn’t dark enough yet to miss the thundercloud that passed over
his face.

“No, there’s no one.”

He’d gone so still it was hard to tell him
apart from the ice sculpture gracing the back deck of the bed and
breakfast. Slightly unnerved by how completely motionless he’d
gone, Callie instinctively softened her voice. “What about your
brother, I know you said you’d had a fight, but surely he’s worried
about you by now?”

Reanimation returned to his frame with a
derisive shrug of his broad shoulders. “Ha! I don’t think so. I’d
be surprised if he even stuck around.”

The snarl in his voice and haunted look on
his face startled her. True, Callie and her mom had issues, but
obviously nothing compared to this man and his brother, and the
scowl aimed her way, spoke loud and clear. It was none of her
business.

Fine, he could have it his way. To get him
moving in the right direction again, she retook her place under his
arm and muttered under her breath. “Must be a real sweetheart, your
brother.”

A rumble somewhere between a laugh and a
growl bubbled up from deep in his chest and tickled its way down
into hers, startling and confusing her at the same time.

“Sweet
heart
? You
have no idea.”

Chapter 4

Stuck in his corporeal form with no way to
shift back, Anteros was no longer imperious to mortal fatigue and
the persistent female had insisted he needed to rest the night
before she’d drive him into whatever town was close by. The warm
fire, hot stew and her constant chatter worked their magic and he’d
finally given in taking a room down the hall from her for the
night. It wasn’t like he had anywhere else to go.

On his own in the sunny breakfast room the
next morning, under the inquisitive eye of the owner puttering away
trying to look busy at the front desk, he managed to feed himself
without too much difficulty. Solid food wasn’t something he usually
needed but he had indulged a few times so he only dropped his fork
twice.

He took a sip of the coffee he’d discovered
could be made palatable by dumping a ton of sugar and cream in and
glanced at the stairs for the hundredth time. He was actually
beginning to fidget by the time his little mortal finally made an
appearance and if the pull from the arrow’s magic hadn’t told him
it was her, he wouldn’t have believed it. There was no sign of the
puff monster from the night before.

“Zeus’s....”

“Pardon me?” Her hair was no longer frozen in
clumpy ropes but swept up in a big thick knot of amber gold at the
back of her head, a few curls free to frame her face and she’d lost
all but the important and very desirable lumps from her frame.

“Huh?”

Without all the blotches, her face had a soft
glow to it and her deep green eyes sparkled in the morning sun
shining through the windows. She tilted her head and grinned at him
as though he were a child who didn’t quite understand spoken words
yet.

“Hello. Wakey, wakey. You were saying
something as I walked up?”

“I was? Oh, right. Zeus’s...I
mean...
juices
, that’s it. Yes, the juice is really good. You
should try it.” Great, now he was stammering like a little kid, but
he couldn’t get over how different she was without the layers of
padding and frost.

She walked past him toward the breakfast
selections on feet half the size of the rubber ones from the night
before. His eyes were drawn to the long line of her back and
naturally followed the length to the shapely denim encased bottom
below.

“Thanks, but I’m running a little late for an
appointment, so I’m just going to grab a muffin for the road. Once
you’ve squared up with Mrs. Turnbull I can take you into town.”

Anteros heart skipped once and his stomach
sunk a few inches. Square up; as in pay? Uh oh, he hadn’t thought
about that. The few times he’d chosen to go corporeal his god
powers had stayed in tact and he was still able create whatever he
wanted out of thin air, including money, but having been trapped in
this body against his will, he had no idea if he still could.

Reaching for the full length leather coat
he’d thankfully been wearing when he was shot, Anteros slipped his
hand in a random pocket he knew was as empty as Hera’s heart and
focused on what he needed.

“Mr. Anders, you look a little pale. Are you
sure you’re feeling all right?”

The crisp edges of currency filled his hand
and a sigh of relief escaped his lips. It had been much harder than
it should’ve been, but at least he could still draw on some of his
power.

“Mr. Anders, are you hard of hearing?”

Her slender hand on his arm brought him back
to the moment. “What? No, I’m not hard of hearing. What makes you
think that?”

Her left eyebrow lifted and she shook her
head slightly as she turned and headed for the door. “Okay, if you
say so.”

Anteros stepped from behind the table to
follow her. “I’m not. I was lost in thought for a minute, that’s
all.” Slipping his arms in his coat he caught his reflection in the
windows, it billowed out behind him like a pair of raven’s wings as
he started after her.

With the light herbal scent of her hair
enticing him, Anteros stride lengthened and he ended up banging
into her when she unexpectedly stopped for her own coat.

A tiny shock of awareness zinged through his
system, and he couldn’t resist taking advantage of the situation,
pulling more of her scent in before he stepped back. “Oops, didn’t
know you were going to stop. Sorry about that.”

“Guess we’re both in a hurry, huh?” She had a
puzzled look, but thankfully didn’t pursue it. “I’ll go bring the
car around and meet you out front.”

Turning to the desk, Anteros was met with a
sly grin and one raised penciled-on eyebrow. Okay, he hadn’t been
as subtle as he thought and having to worry about what these
mortals saw or didn’t was starting to annoy him. He was a bloody
god for Hades sake.

Unfortunately it wasn’t doing him much good
at the moment and trying to deflect her, he adopted what he hoped
was a charming façade. “Thank you for the hospitality Mrs.
Turnbull. Both the room and food were wonderful. How much do I own
you?”

Other than adding a tiny smirk, her
expression didn’t change, nor did she take her eyes from him. He
suddenly had the urge to either shuffle his feet like the child he
pictured earlier or blast her with a God bolt.

“It was my pleasure Mr. Anders; anytime. The
rate for one night is eighty-five dollars, but are you sure you
don’t want to stay on a little longer?” She finally released him
from her intrusive stare by glancing down at a piece of pink paper
on the counter and pushed it toward him. “The Bandit Creek Ladies
Auxiliary is hosting a Valentine’s Day dance this coming Saturday.
Thought you might like to hang around for it. Might give you a
chance to get over that ‘sniffle’ you seemed to have developed a
minute ago.”

Anteros stared down at the chubby cherub
representation his backstabbing brother so hated plastered across
the bubble-gum pink paper and didn’t register her last pointed
comment. The betrayal he’d felt the night before flared and he
clamped his jaw tight to keep from gnashing his teeth. How could
they have done this to him? Heat flashed along his nerves and the
corner of the paper curled on its own, accompanied by the tiniest
wisp of smoke. Had he been at full power the entire B & B
would’ve burst into flames.

Without counting, he peeled off more bills
than required and slapped them down. Snatching the flyer and
stuffing it in his pocket before the sharp-eyed inn keeper
registered what had happened, Anteros spun on his heel and stormed
out the door, an unnatural turbulence blowing the remaining flyers
off the desk and banging doors shut behind him.

Chapter 5

He’d looked awful when he’d gotten into the
car and hadn’t said a word the whole way into town. Now, watching
him stand on the curb looking up and down the row of buildings
lining Spruce Avenue, Callie wasn’t sure what to do. He still
looked angry but completely lost at the same time. Leaning over
toward the open passenger door she waved to get his attention. “Mr.
Anders? Hey, you sure you don’t want to call someone?”

“Teran.”

“You want to call someone named Teran?” He
turned his dark head and for the first time a spark seemed to leap
in his velvet black eyes and a genuine smile lit his handsome face.
Lord have mercy, the man should be locked up for the sake of
feminine sanity everywhere.

“No, Ms. Jamison, I’m Teran remember? It’s my
mort...first name.” He braced his hands on the roof of the car and
bent down closer. Callie felt like a mouse in a falcon’s sights and
just like that mouse couldn’t move a muscle to do anything about
it. “I wanted to hear you say it once before we part ways.”

His smile faded replaced by an air of sadness
and the next words were out of Callie’s mouth before her brain
kicked in. “Okay...Teran. In that case, call me Callie, and listen,
I don’t think I’ll be too long, so...if you want...you could wait
next door at the Powder Horn.” Her heart started to beat faster and
she had to look away from his handsome face. “That is if you want
to of course. Lunch, we could have a bite of lunch you know, if
you’d like to that is.” Could she have sounded any more like a
thirteen year old if she tried? Callie wanted to crawl under the
driver’s seat.