Green Tea and Black Death (The Godhunter, Book 5) (5 page)

   “
There's only one woman who's been able to awaken Death,” he looked so lost, my heart faltered and the butterflies swirled around it. “I'll be happy with none other.”

   “
You can be,” I sighed. “It just seems like I'm the only one, right now.”

   “
You
are
the only one.”

  
He climbed in the driver’s side and looked over at me. His eyes were swirling with jewel tones, and I swallowed uncomfortably to see them. It had been months since I'd seen those colors and there, in the privacy of my car and under the influence of a lot of alcohol, I could finally admit to missing them.

  
Anubis had done horrible things to me. The thought of a relationship with him should not only have been impossible, it should have been horrifying. Unfortunately, it wasn't. The problem was, I'd had a glimpse into his head. A small look really but it was enough to show me what kind of man he was. He was a man worth loving, worth saving, as my love magic was making known.

   “
Do you even know how to drive?” I asked to break the tension.

   “
How hard can it be?” He gave me a one-sided grin, obviously messing with me, and I surprised myself by laughing. He joined me, our laughter mingling with an ease our bodies had never known. It was a first for us. I'd made him laugh before but we'd never laughed together and it did something that none of his seductions could ever have achieved, it made me lower my guard.

  
I found myself leaning in towards him, almost as if I was back in Duat and my body wasn't mine to control. He met me halfway, sliding his arms around me hesitantly. I think it was the first time he'd ever touched me without supreme confidence and it lowered my walls even further.

  
The kiss was soft at first, then a jolt seemed to go through us both and it became almost crazed, with roving hands and deep moans. It was not something I should have been sharing with Anubis. As if I didn’t have enough trouble with men, adding him to the mix would only result in heartache. I broke through my drunken haze long enough to remember that this man wasn’t mine. In fact, he was about as far away from being mine, as he could get, and I definitely wasn't his.

   “
I’m really sorry,” I panted as I pushed out of his frantic embrace. “I shouldn’t have done that. I think maybe you should just let me sleep it off here, and leave.”

  
Anubis ground his teeth. “I’m not leaving you here.” He started the car and drove off towards my house. “You can sleep it off in your garage.”

   “
Fine,” I eased the seat into a reclining position and tried to forget that Anubis was even in the car with me.

  
The ride lulled me into the deep sleep of the intoxicated. When I came to, Anubis was leaning over me, brushing the hair out of my eyes. The feeling of waking up like that, with him above me, was so familiar. Not exactly a comforting familiarity but one born of repetition. Repeat something enough and it becomes second nature, you just automatically respond to it in a similar way. I responded by running my hand through his slick hair, letting the cold of the gold beads tingle my fingers.

  “
You’re home, Miw-sher,” he whispered and kissed my forehead.

   “
Am I?” I watched his eyes start to swirl, entirely mesmerized by them. Home? Where was home again? Was I back in the Underworld, seducing my way out?

  
His lips lowered to mine and I sighed as the heat shot between us. I’d forgotten how amazing kissing Anubis could be. He wasn't just the God of the Dead, he was the God of Mummification and as disgusting as that sounds, it meant he knew his way around a body. Now that my body remembered his talent, it just wanted more and more. My hands reached around him, pulling against his shoulders till we were pressed chest to chest, not even a whisper between us.

  
Then my door flew open and I followed it out, landing in a tangled heap in my front yard. I blinked drunkenly up at the moon for a bit before the sound of fighting broke through to me. I sat up, things shifting in my vision, and made it to my feet with a certain amount of stumbling involved.

  
In front of me was a pile of men… sort of. Trevor was in half-form, so there was bits of black fur thrown into the mix. Kirill, my normally cool cat, was growling and snapping right along with my crazy wolf. I had a moment to feel sorry for Anubis, right before Trevor went flying into a tree. He launched himself back at Anubis within seconds though.

   “
Enough!” I screamed and jumped on top of the pile. Well, okay, it was more of a drunken lunge. Bodies shifted beneath me, rolling out until I was lying between the two factions in a sort of stunned sprawl.

   “
How could you do this to me?” Trevor was screeching, his voice cracking as he shifted back to human, “To us?”

   “
I…” I looked at Anubis hopelessly and then Kirill. “I had too much to drink and Anubis drove me home.”

   “
You zink being drunk is valid excuse?” Now Kirill was getting into the action.

   “
No, I just…” I groaned and rubbed my head. I couldn’t think straight. Why had I drank so much?

   “
You just what?” Trevor was still screaming… and naked in my front yard.

   “
Can we go inside please?” I looked around at my neighbor’s windows, curtains were beginning to shift, and tried to roll to my feet.

   “
No, we’re having it out right here, right now!”

   “
I’m sorry, Trevor… Kirill,” I was starting to sober up real fast. I even made it to my feet. “Anubis showed up and I was drinking. I wasn’t able to drive, so he drove me home and I fell asleep along the way. When I woke up, he was there and I forgot myself for a second.”

   “
No,” Trevor grabbed me by my upper arms and shook me. “You forgot me, you forgot Kirill, and you even forgot Odin. You have
three
lovers, one of whom I didn’t approve of, and still you want
more
? Where does it end? Where do
we
end?”

   “
Trevor, please, I love you,” I stroked his face and he rubbed his cheek into my hand for a brief moment, before his eyes hardened.

   “
I love you too but I can’t let you keep walking all over me.” He pushed away from me. “You just push and push, and I’m just supposed to take it, right? I’m bonded so you can treat me however you like and I won’t leave. Well, that’s bullshit. I’m gone.”

  
He started to chant a tracing spell and I launched myself at him. I ended up sprawled on the ground with a face full of grass, no trace of my werewolf. I stayed there, curling up in a ball and watering the yard with my tears. I heard a growl and looked back to see Kirill restraining Anubis.

   “
It’s time for you to leave, Jackal,” Kirill shoved Anubis back. “You’ve done enough damage.”

   “
Vervain,” Anubis' eyes were wounded, “I’m so sorry. I never intended to cause you more pain.” He chanted and traced away.

  
Kirill looked at me like I was Jezebel for a second before his eyes cleared and he walked over. He picked me up and carried me into the house, while I cried into his shoulder like my world was ending. Big, body-wracking sobs. I felt the softness of my bed support me as he laid me down and then he crawled up next to me, to hold me until my tears had waned to occasional hiccups.

   “
I’m sorry, Kirill,” I must’ve looked like hell, red eyes and a runny nose, but he just brushed my hair back and kissed me gently.

   “
I know, Tima,” he wiped my face with a tissue. “It’s okay, I have you. It vill be okay.”

   “
You’re not mad at me?” I felt about three-years-old, saying that.

   “
About Egyptian?” He smiled gently and stroked my face. “Nyet. You know I have no issue vith ozer men. As long as you love me, I can deal vith you loving ozers. I know love has no limits and I’ve shared a voman for most of my life. Ven it comes down to it, I am Intare first, man second. Zis is normal for me, better zan normal actually.”

   “
But you attacked Anubis with Trevor,” I sat up and gently pushed his hands away. I couldn't think straight with them on me.

   “
I know,” he sighed and followed me into a seated position. “Zere’s something unexpected zat occurred vith Trevor’s acceptance of me as your mate. Ve bonded… all of us. You and me as lovers, Trevor and I as brozers… of a sort. I can feel his emotions and zey have effect on me.”

   “
But I can’t feel his emotions,” why did that hurt so much? Maybe if I’d had something like that with Trevor, I wouldn’t have messed with Anubis. Oh, great, now I was making excuses.

   “
You have part of him inside you, Tima,” he took my hand and began to rub soothing circles in my palm. “It’s different for us. Our bond is pure sensation… feeling. Vat ve feel vith you, for you, has connected us and so ve can feel it in each ozer. You understand?”

   “
Yeah,” I sniffled, “I think I do. So his anger pushed you into fighting Anubis.”

   “
I vas upset zat he vas hurt,” Kirill frowned. “It more I vanted to defend my brozer, zan anger I vas feeling because of him, but his anger did prompt me as vell. Once he vas gone, I vas able to return to myself. But why Anubis? He is bad choice for you.”

   “
I know, I have no excuse.” I started to think, and it was hard, harder than it should have been. I should have sobered up already. Why hadn't I? Why had I got so drunk in the first place? I'd had lot of alcohol before with no effect. Why had it been different this time?

   “
Trevor can not forgive past.”

   “
Trevor,” I moaned and covered my face with my hands.

  
It was so much worse than when Thor and I had ended. Now I knew, for a fact, which man I loved more, which man I didn’t want to live without. I had been hurt when Thor had left me, severely wounded, but a lot of that was over his betrayal not the ending of the relationship. I hadn’t felt this debilitating pain, like all the colors had faded and my world had been reduced to shades of gray because he wasn't a part of it anymore.

  
A soft mewl brought my head up to find Nicholas, my gray tabby, padding over the blankets to me. Cats always knew when you needed them. They could seem aloof to some people because they weren’t as needy as dogs but I wasn’t a needy person, I didn’t want an animal hounding my every step. I preferred the way a cat would snuggle up to you for a little cuddle, then scamper off to hunt something down, kill it, and leave it on your doorstep as a present. Now, that was love. And they always, always knew when you were sad. There was nothing like a warm, purring kitty to help you feel better.

  
I guess Kirill had a little of that in him too because he pulled me back against him and snuggled us under the covers as Nick took up residence on my open side. The purring of my two cats eased my tension and lulled me into a false sense of security. I closed my eyes, knowing that when I woke up, things wouldn't be any better but I was determined to ignore it for the moment.

Chapter Seven

   “Tima, you have to get up,” Kirill’s voice was gentle but his hands on me were insistent.

   “
No, baby, let me sleep a little more,” I pulled the covers over my head and dislodged Nick, who nosed his way beneath them with me.

   “
You’ve slept two days,” Kirill crawled under the blankets as well, to push his face into my neck.

   “
I got up,” I sighed and shifted, trying desperately to get back to blessed oblivion.

   “
To shower and eat,” Kirill complained, “zen you vent straight back to bed.”

   “
Has Trevor called?”

   “
No, Tima,” he sighed into my shoulder. “I vould’ve told you if he had.”

   “
Yeah, okay,” my heart started its painful bleeding all over again.

  
He’d walked out on me once before but he’d been back in less than 24 hours. It was when I’d refused to marry him. When I finally came to my senses, it was too late. I had become this polygamous Queen of the Intare. Marriage didn’t seem to be an option for me anymore but Trevor had been alright with it. He’d accepted the multiple mate thing. He’d even accepted Odin as one of them… sort of. But he couldn’t accept Anubis, the god who abducted and raped me. Who could blame him?

  
And once again, I’d fucked it all up.