For The Love Of A God by Rosanna Leo (ebook reader for comics .txt) 📕

smiles crept across his features, ornamenting his luscious mouth.

Perhaps he had a plan, after all.

He turned and saw her, and his smile became a wider, crooked thing of beauty which made her want to fly into his arms. She dropped the sheet she was still clutching—at the same time he dropped his towel—and ran to him. Their nude bodies wrapped around each other, and his mouth found hers with the ease of one who'd kissed it a thousand times. Somehow, over the course of two unending nights of passion, he had kissed it a thousand times. They tumbled to the couch, and he trapped her beneath him.

"Let me love you, Maia,” he whispered, gazing into her eyes with equal parts devotion and dread. “Let me love you again, and then I'll take you home. It's time to end this."

And as his tongue slid against hers in perfect harmony, Maia felt relief. Eryx would bring her home and bring her to her father. Somehow, they'd defeat Nemesis, and they'd be safe. All would be well.

It had to be.

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Chapter Sixteen

Jim Douglas was flat on his back on his hospice bed. His face was ashen and his limbs were unnaturally stiff, like those of a corpse. Although Jim's eyes were mostly closed, Eryx could see a slit of white under his lashes. The rolled-back eyes made him look like a zombie from a horror movie.

Nemesis had clearly spun a powerful spell, one which had Jim bound to whatever limbo he was in.

Maia looked just as paralyzed. She was frozen to her spot just inside the room, afraid to go any closer. The look of numb fear on her face ravaged his already-broken heart.

He held her from behind, gently kneading her abdomen. She was rigid under his touch. Cold. Empty. And as much as he tried to console her, he just couldn't warm her up. He brushed her hair away from the back of her neck and kissed her goose-pimpled skin, whispering to her, “I swear I'll fix this, Maia."

"He looks dead.” Her voice was hollow. Just another indication of how fractured her spirit was.

"He's under a spell. I don't think he's in pain, sweetheart. Think of it as a seizure. He's just ... caught."

"And based on what we do, she'll either let him live or die?"

"That's the idea."

She turned to Eryx. “Tell me the truth. Even if she gets her way, she'll probably still kill him. Won't she?"

"It's a possibility."

She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and gnawed hard on it, agonized. Eryx buried his hands in her hair and made her look at him. Gently, he pressed his thumb against her lip so she wouldn't chew it to pieces. “I'll stop her, Maia. I swear it."

"How?"

"You just leave it to me."

"No. You have to tell me what I can do. I need to help."

"The only way you can help me is by staying out of harm's way. I'm worried enough just having you here with me.” He pulled her close, and she buried her face in his chest. He ran his hands up and down her back, feeling her tremble through her cotton shirt. Oh, to have her back on Olympus, where they could be naked and free and he could feel her silky skin all the time!

And yet he knew he couldn't keep her there indefinitely either. She'd have to be a goddess for that. And he wasn't sure he wanted to subject her to such a rare, terrifying ritual. A ritual so frightening it was barely ever used by the other gods. He'd once toyed with the idea of making Chloe a goddess, but knew now he couldn't have been serious about it. He loved Maia, and the idea of subjecting her to such torture scared the shit out of him.

He was grateful when the doctor walked into the room, interrupting his morbid train of thought. He immediately felt sorry for the guy. The man had dark circles under his eyes which weren't there the last time he'd spoken with Maia, and he seemed afraid to approach her.

"Miss Douglas,” the doctor began. “I don't know how to express how sorry I am. We're at a loss. We've run every test in the book. I don't know what's wrong with your father."

Maia clasped the man's hand and then pulled him into a big hug. “It's okay. I know you did everything you could."

Eryx was floored. She was consoling him. Her life was being destroyed, and she still found the strength to empathize with the flummoxed doctor.

Gods, he loved her so much!

The doctor shook his head, rambling more to himself than to anyone else. “I just don't understand it. He was fine the other day. Just as peppy and full of life as the day you saw him. I really was starting to believe a miracle had occurred. One of the new nurses suggested he go out for a walk in the gardens with her yesterday, and Dr. Douglas was excited. He was really excited! And the next thing we knew, he was on the ground. It defies explanation.” The poor man ran a hand through his thinning hair.

"Wait,” said Eryx, feeling a distinct chill down his spine. “Did you say Dr. Douglas went to the garden with a new nurse?"

Maia turned to stare at him.

"Yes,” said the doctor. “And it was the strangest thing. Once we got Dr. Douglas inside, she just ... disappeared. We haven't heard from her. She probably couldn't handle the stress when push came to shove. So many people think they can work in a place like this, but then they get proven wrong on their first day."

"Right,” said Eryx drily. “I'm sure that's exactly what it was."

"I'll let you have some time with your father, Miss Douglas.” The doctor patted Maia on the shoulder and left them alone.

She turned tired eyes toward Eryx. “Well, I guess now we know how Nemesis did it.” Slowly, Maia approached the bed