Page 27 of Art of the Hunt
“I’m sure it’s super easy to make decisions with those three at the helm.”
Her chuckle burst into a full-blown belly laugh. “Sometimes it feels like we can’t ever get anything done unless Dionysus starts plying us with wine.”
Hunter’s smile was indulgent. He still didn’t believe her. Probably thought she was a crackpot. She ought to do something, conjure Cerberus or something, to settle this once and for all.
Except they were in a public place, with humans milling everywhere. Proving herself to Hunter, someone she had come to respect and trust despite the short time they’d known one another, was one thing—outing herself to a cluster of random strangers would likely get her banished from the MC. Or, if Zeus was really furious, he could strip her of her power, and that was not a sentence she was interested in. She’d actually have to change clothes and manually fix her hair, and she’d have to get a real job that paid real money so she could buy clothes to change into and go to a hair stylist once in a while.
No thanks.
“Here’s what I really don’t understand,” Hunter said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the tiny bistro table between them.
Artemis did the same. They sat so close that she could smell the hint of lime in his drink. And the woodsy scent of what was probably the soap he used. Damn it, Orion used to smell like that, and, ugh, she did not need yet another similarity between the two men.
“Why did you all leave Olympus?” Hunter asked.
Maybe, if she told him this story, he’d actually believe she was a Greek god.
“We may need another round.”
Chapter Nine
Hunter fell back in his seat, not because Artemis’s comment was so dramatic but because he needed the space between them.
For the second time this evening, they’d been so close that, with the tiniest movement, they could have kissed. And as strange as this it sounded, he was afraid of that happening. If they started kissing, they wouldn’t stop until they were naked and sweaty and sated, and, Christ, he was getting hard over just the possibility.
So why was he holding back?
Well, for starters, this whole Greek god thing. Gods of Thunder MC. Seriously? And home base was Seattle, which, from pretty much every angle had a spectacular view of Mount Olympus. And Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon were the co-leaders. Oh, and don’t forget Dionysus, who naturally supplied the wine.
Yeah, Hunter had studied mythology in college; yeah, he had a healthy appreciation for the subject. Sure, he could see some similarities between himself and Orion, who happened to have been Artemis’s lover until her brother Apollo killed him in a fit of jealous rage. If Hunter recalled correctly, Apollo had used a scorpion to do it.
Mental note: Avoid all scorpions while in Artemis’s company.
But none of this meant it was real. Artemis was not a three-thousand-year-old goddess. He’d give her goddess status, certainly, but in a purely aesthetic way.
Which was the extent of it. No matter what story she was about to tell.
Artemis used her empty bottle to wave at the server. His drink was still almost full. “I’m good.”
After ordering another beer, Artemis said, “I fully expect you will keep what I’m about to say between the two of us.”
“Of course,” he assured her. He’d never tell another soul that he was attracted to a woman who was not only named after a god but believed she actually was that god.
The server popped back over and handed her a fresh beer. Artemis took a long draw, and Hunter stared at her narrow neck, the way her lips pressed against the top of that bottle.
I bet she’s an amazing kisser.
He shook his head.
“About a year ago, Z was done. He was sick and tired of humans not appreciating our efforts to protect them. He hated the fact that you all don’t believe in us, which I suppose is terribly ironic in that now that we are living here, he doesn’t want you all to know about us at all.”
“Z? Oh, right, Zeus,” Hunter said. “But humans, I mean, we believe in God.”
“Yeah, that guy.” Artemis pointed at the sky. “But not us. Which is crazy. First of all, we came first. And we’re the ones always doing all the heavy lifting. All the work but no appreciation.”
“I can see where he’s coming from, but let’s be honest here, you all had a bad habit of screwing up whatever you were trying to fix. Turning people into plants or animals. Constantly sleeping around. Killing each other in rages of jealousy. The big guy doesn’t get caught up in all our drama. He just lets us do it to ourselves and hopes we’ll figure out our mistakes on our own.”
Artemis flapped her hand and blew a raspberry. “Oh please. Where’s the fun in managing like that?”
