ThirteenNights

Sabrina
Garie

Book one in the Divine Temptation series.

Annie’s always been different. An empathic Amazon, she hides
her emotional anomaly beneath legendary fighting skills. Not wanting to pass on
her genetic disorder, she’s always avoided the Thirteen Nights Ritual—the Greek
pantheon warriors’ annual breeding rite. Months from thirty, she’s duty-bound
to participate. When she meets Tai, who inflames her body and nurtures the
gentleness she’s had to keep secret, thirteen nights of pleasure don’t seem
nearly enough.

As a half human, Tai has survived by being smarter and more
lethal than his brethren. While the male warriors accept him for his achievements,
the Amazons never give him a second look. Until Annie, whose smile is warm and
real and whose body shudders with desire—for him. Determined to have her, he
hacks into the Thirteen Nights database and rearranges the pairings to make
Annie his partner.

But Tai’s actions are forbidden, subject to death. To stay
together, they must take on the Greek pantheon.

A
Romantica®
paranormal erotic romance
from Ellora’s Cave

Acknowledgements

No writer ever really works alone. Many thanks to Jennifer,
awesome critique partner and the godmother of this story. She knows what that
means. My gratitude also goes to Lisa, Denise and Grace, critique partner, beta
reader and editor, whose advice and insights keep me on the straight and
narrow. Sort of. What makes all these ladies so special is that they still let
me fly.

Annie hovered in the alley, watching the human family walk
hand-in-hand past Neutral Ground, the Washington DC pub that was her
destination for the evening. Their happiness bubbled into the air and wrapped
around her senses. A dull ache formed in a secret corner of her heart. Closing
her eyes tight, she wished the yearning away.
Amazons do not marry, they do
not raise families.

“Why are you skulking in my passageway, Antiope?” The velvet-soft
voice whispered into the wind behind Annie. The sound so enticing it sent goose
bumps marching down her neck. She stiffened and turned to face her inquisitor.
A slim sylph woman stood firm behind her, white-blonde hair and a cloak
whipping around her body as the fall winds plied their trade. The steel in her
gaze was at odds with her delicate stature. Power, lots of it, hid in that
petite body.

“Hello, Sylla,” Annie greeted her old friend, the
half-siren, half-oracle proprietress of Neutral Ground. Sylla’s reputation for
fairness and diplomacy, backed by her exceptional powers of voice and foresight,
had established the venue as a trusted sanctuary for all interpantheon
negotiations and delicate events. As one of the Amazons’ top negotiators, Annie
spent a good chunk of her adult life within the antique walnut-paneled walls of
Sylla’s domain. Three blocks from the Capitol building, the Democrats and Republicans
also used the place for behind-the-scenes parleys. The club allowed Senate and
Congressional staffers and other humans to mingle unknowingly with the denizens
from the supernatural world. The venue existed in one form or another since DC
became the US capitol. Annie was sure if she looked hard enough, she’d find a
George
Washington Slept Here
memorial sign somewhere inside.

“Why aren’t you inside, preparing for the
evening’s…festivities?” Sylla’s pause indicated she knew the event was not
always the sexual pleasure fest many hyped it to be. Every fall, when the
Hunter’s moon filled the night sky, the Amazons and the Gargareans—the warrior
races who guarded the Greek pantheon—met at Neutral Ground to find a breed partner
for the Rite of Thirteen Nights. Matched on the first evening, each pair would
spend the next twelve nights together to conceive a child. Female children
would be raised in the Amazon crèche, males in the Gargarean.

“Most Amazons are jumping out of their skin to get started,”
Sylla continued.

Annie was not most Amazons.

Sylla glided from the door and circled around her. Even
though Annie preferred male lovers, she often felt the sensual pull of the
siren. Shivers crawled down her spine, her lower body clenched in primal need.
“Are you reading me?” As a half-oracle, Sylla could sense the past and future.

Sylla paused, her head quirked as if in question, and her
skin tightened around her cheekbones. “The aura around you has changed. You’re
at a fork in time.”

“Meaning?”

“A point when an individual decision decides how the future
unfurls. Despite your own trepidations, you are meant to be here tonight, old
friend.” Although Sylla’s voice sounded firm, sweat beaded across her forehead.

“Did that drain you?” Annie asked. The lack of worshipers
and the slow destruction of the natural world in the modern era weakened the
pantheon immortals who drew their power from nature and human adoration.
Amazons were mortal, their enhanced strength and stamina had been written into
their genetic code and remained intact.

Sylla nodded. “It’s getting worse, takes more energy to do
less. But that discussion is for another time, Antiope. Tonight is about you.
Come.”

Annie followed her through the alley entrance, up a back stairway
into a large, open room. The walnut paneling gleamed from hours of polishing. A
series of small, thick, two-person tables were set up in a grid pattern
throughout the space, each equipped with computer pads built into the frame
adjacent to each seat. A bar nestled in the corner manned by a water sprite mixing
drinks for an eclectic range of tastes.

Sylla directed her to the justice nymph in the corner giving
out name tags and data cards to a long line of participants. The breed pairing
was hidden in the monthly speed dating event held at Neutral Ground. The nymph
would also oversee the voting, the DNA compatibility tests required by the
Amazon Elders, and the couples’ breeding agreements. For the Amazons, the
exchange had to meet strict genetic regulations, but choice was also considered
in the coupling. Her older sister Marta participated in prior years and filled
her in on the details. Annie had avoided this for as long as possible, not
wanting to pass her otherness to a child. But her thirtieth birthday was only a
few months away, and all Amazons were sworn to participate before they reached
thirty.

A strong drink in hand, she found her seat by matching the
number on her name tag with the table number. Following the instructions on the
card, she swiped it over the datapad and put her thumbprint on the screen where
directed. That would tap into her medical records to ensure genetic
compatibility. A bell rang in the distance and the first male slid into the
seat. A small human. She smiled politely but knew that weak frame could never
handle an Amazon lover. Humans were not forbidden, but strongly discouraged.
Not all were as frail as this one, but humans usually wanted more than the
Amazon vows permitted. The bell couldn’t come soon enough. Annie clandestinely
hit the
no
button on the pad.

A giant of a man swaggered into the now-open seat, all
testosterone and appetite. Linebacker shoulders, six-pack abs straining against
a muscle shirt chosen to show them off, thighs so big they could choke a horse—and
probably had. Elaborate tattooing covered his left arm from shoulder to wrist,
detailing every victory, every kill. Similar markings ran diagonally across
Annie’s back.

He touched his card to the pad and instantly his resume popped
up on her screen. Black belts in karate, kendo and Kung Fu, expert sniper,
awarded the Golden Shield—the Gargarean symbol for valor—six times, hobbies
included hunting, archery and jousting. Okay, the man could kill, but who was
he really?

“I’ll give you a good ride. You’ll be well-sated. I’ve
fathered two already, one on a first-timer.” Typical Gargarean—built for show
and incapable of mincing words. His eyes burned over her, intent blazing so
fierce she felt the heat crawl across her skin. It was said the male warriors
went celibate for six months before a breeding to build their lust to a fever
pitch. From that look, she’d say it was true for this one.

She nodded, splaying well-manicured, fire-engine-red nails
on the table. The male covered one hand, pushing the his palm against the tips.

“Yes,” he rumbled. “They’ll feel good tearing through my
back when you lose control.” He laid his left arm out in front of her, an
invitation to test the strength of him, and show off his prowess. As expected,
she walked her fingers along the planes and angles of his muscles, periodically
digging her nails in to test his reaction to different pain levels—to see if he
really could handle her and show respect for his military achievements. Those
muscles would ripple well under her fingers and nails.

A Gargarean in his prime, proven in battle and the bedroom. She
should want this. Damn the little voice in her head that told her that it wasn’t
enough for the father of her child, so she rated him acceptable, not preferred.
Some part of her she kept well-buried thought it would be nice to find someone
with an interest beyond weapons and bloodletting.
Someone who could handle,
I don’t know, maybe a conversation.
The next twelve nights joined at the
groin could be a lifetime.

Each new Gargarean who plopped down in front of her merged
into the next one until she couldn’t distinguish among them. They all rang the
same—deadly, dominant and completely interchangeable. She knew she was a
desired partner, and would be many of these men’s first choice. The male
warriors liked to boast about knocking up the first-timers, it was worn as a
sign of their sexual prowess. The DNA compatibility test would have to choose
one of them for her. She didn’t really care.

Lost in frustration, she didn’t register the newest candidate
in front of her. The blue light on the screen identified him as Gargarean, but he
lacked the giant muscular proportions of the male warrior race, that scent of
pure dominance and heightened testosterone. Oh, his eyes revealed menace and the
lethality of the warrior-bred and his arm tattooing was as detailed and complex
as the bigger men who came before him. But he had the lean, muscled strength of
a human soldier, the power he emanated more subtle and highly controlled. From
the way her lower body pulsed, she liked it. A lot. When she eyed the screen
with more focus, the mystery resolved itself.
Tai, human father, Amazon
mother, given to the Gargareans at birth.
That explained his size. “How did
you survive their training as a youth?”

“Your mind can bring you to places your body cannot.”

“That’s not a very Gargarean philosophy.” Or Amazon for that
matter, even though she agreed with him. “How would your background play out
over the twelve nights?”

“Each night more attuned to your needs than the next. You
would be seduced across all dimensions, pleasured in the realm of mind, body
and spirit.” He flashed her a smile that promised all kinds of sin, but those
deep brown eyes, so tender and soulful, pledged warmth and humor. With that,
her panties were drenched, her nipples bullet hard, and tingles ran up her
spine straight into her brain. Swallowing, she struggled to pull it all back
under control and explore this possibility in more detail.

“Your expertise is…” She lifted an eyebrow. “Cyber security.”
She placed her hand on the table as she did for all the others. Instead of
using his palm to test the bite of her nails, he ran his finger across her
knuckles and down her thumb, a lingering caress that promised gentleness, not
just a good, hard ride. When he offered her his arm, she did the same up his
wrist to his elbow, watching lust flicker in his eyes as her fingers glided
across his skin. “You’re not like your brethren, in many ways it seems.”

“No, but I think that’s the pot calling the kettle black and
it pleases you.” His voice lowered a decibel, the sound a rough caress around
her body. “Why? Most of your sisterhood reject me out of hand for my size, my
human heritage, even my talents.” His gaze locked onto hers and held it in an
iron grip. He might be small for a warrior of the Greek pantheon, but he made
it clear he was no less potent and he wasn’t going anywhere without an answer.

“Because you’re different…like me.” She was not at all sure
she should have confirmed his observation but she felt no deception coming from
him. “It tempts me.” She gave him her biggest, sexiest smile.

“Choose me.” His gaze still tethered to hers, he glided his
forefinger along her lips in a quiet tease. “I’ll make it worth it to you.”

She nodded, too choked up with hunger to speak. The bell
rang, she tapped
first choice
and he was gone. Several more exchanges
she’d never remember occurred and the event ended. As per the rules, she would
return home and receive a text identifying her partner chosen by some algorithm
designed to maximize genetic strengths with some respect to the choices of the
individuals. Once received, she would tap her thumbprint onto her phone pad,
which would serve as a binding breed agreement and a commitment to deliver the
child to the appropriate camp.

On her way out, Sylla stopped her. “Did you find someone who
meets your…needs?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Good. I created Neutral Ground to provide the space for new
beginnings and new ways forward. Remember that.”

* * * * *

Tai wanted Antiope and no other. While he believed she would
choose him, he survived a miserable youth in the Gargarean training camp with a
frailer half-human body by never leaving anything to chance. As soon as the
last bell rang, he rushed downstairs, snagged a seat in the backroom of Neutral
Ground, ordered a beer, and before it arrived, hacked into the warriors’ breeding
database.

A grin crossed his face when he confirmed that she had
indeed ranked him first, but it turned to a frown when he discovered they had
not been matched. She had a genetic anomaly that would be exacerbated when
mixed with human genes to the detriment of any progeny destined to be a
warrior. Fuck that and whatever the hell that meant. Only her smile reached her
eyes when she looked at him, and the passion that shone in them had him hard
enough to hammer nails in concrete. The rest of the Amazons made no attempt to
conceal their distaste at his physical size. When he participated last year he
had not been matched but had not cared.
I could rewrite my DNA records and
switch the pairings.

He explored deeper into the data to assess any dangers.
Interesting.
The genetic prohibition stemmed from Amazon law, not Gargarean. He was subject
only to Gargarean law and the will of the Gargarean Elders. Even if they caught
him, the punishment should be minor. His coding skills were unparalleled. The
only way to catch him would be if he got Antiope pregnant, which was unlikely.
The warrior races’ fertility had been on a steady decline. On average, the
Thirteen Nights ritual produced one child a year. The risks were minor. He’d
take on a hell of a lot more to have her. He changed the designations and made
Antiope his partner.

While he packed up to leave, a beautiful white-blonde siren slipped
into the seat next to him. Sylla. All those from a pantheon located in DC knew
of her.

“Stay,” she commanded and he had no choice. Even the extreme
warrior training he survived didn’t allow him to resist a siren’s voice when it
came unexpectedly. “You’re a game-changer.” The gleam glowing bright in her
eyes said she was sure he’d done something. “The future is at a crossroads, it
can go in several directions. Your actions will force a moment of choice that
will determine the path we take.”