Page 3 of Poseidon's Island Flower

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes.” He cleared his throat. “I’ve been selfish, Poseidon. I didn’t know how bad off you were.”

I shook my head, an array of thoughts and emotions swirling in my mind. “You didn’t have to come help me.”

“I know I didn’t,” he snapped. “But I want to.”

I stared at him for a long while. His normally white blond hair was now a deep chocolate brown, but his blue eyes were still as electric as ever. His demeanor displayed every bit of the confident god he was.

“After I saw what happened to you on the beach in Bergarian. Seeing how–”

“Pathetic?” I interrupted.

“No,” he snapped. “How lost you were.” He swallowed. “I realized I have neglected my duties for too long. I’m here now. I’m not going anywhere, and I’m going to prove to you and everyone else that I can be the King of the Celestials. Show you all that I have a heart.”

I wanted to snap back at him. I wanted to yell and berate him for letting me suffer like I had for so many years. But it hadn’t started with him. All this mess, these feelings of inadequacy, these failures of mine weren’t his doing. But he could have stopped them.

This wasn’t just about me. He was also trying to paint himself in a better light. It was about time, but using me for his gain wasn’t what I wanted.

“I don’t need you, Zeus. I’ll figure this out on my own.” As much as I wanted to believe that, I didn’t.

I didn’t know the first thing about humans, and I didn’t know what a proper courtship was. I didn’t know how I should look or act. I may understand the various languages of the world but didn’t understand their slang, their gestures of greetings, affection, or facial features to show displeasure.

I wound my fingers through my bright red hair, feeling the silky strands slip through my grasp.

“Hey, hey now…” Zeus lifted his hand, but pulled away. “Please don’t do that. You don’t want your mate seeing a bald spot, now do you?”

I let go, pulling my hands away. I was used to my longer hair swaying with the ocean current. Now it was lifeless as the wind blew over my hair, barely moving it.

“I tell you what. Since we are on earth now, and the humans don’t know who we are, how about we start off with a makeover?”

I raised an eyebrow, looking for the sarcasm I had a hard time recognizing. But Zeus seemed serious.

“Come on.” He waved for me to follow.

Zeus stood, every male and female in the outdoor restaurant ogling his large muscular body. I followed, my shoulders slumped over slightly, ready for the next wave to flatten the entire area and swallow me back into the sea.

Once we were out in the open, no more umbrellas protecting our skin, I pulled a towel out of the bag I carried and wrapped it around me. The plain, overly large straw hat sat on my head, covering my face from the beating rays of the sun.

Zeus gave me a side eye, looking at my attire, but I paid no attention to his scrutiny.

“Right, you see those males over there?” He pointed over at the group of surfers.

I nodded.

“See how a lot of them have dark hair and are tan and muscular? That’s what you need to change into. Make yourself look more human. Because we both stand out when we are in our god forms, and we don’t want to draw too much attention, right?”

I shook my head, tightening the towel.

No, I don’t want to stand out any more than I have to.

Chapter Two

Lani

Igrabbedthesheetsfrom the bed and felt the fabric give way beneath my fingers. A used condom flew into the air and slapped against the window. I screeched, watching it stick to the glass and slowly slide down the once clean surface.

“That is so gross!” I wailed, backing away from the bed.

Candice popped her head into the one bedroom hotel room, laughing hysterically as the sticky condom flopped to the floor.

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