Acheron nodded before he nocked a new arrow and placated the only real friend he'd ever had. She didn't shun him and he didn't have to hide from her. What scared him, though, were the feelings inside him whenever she was near.
He was falling in love with a goddess and he knew just how stupid that was. Out of all the things he'd been, he'd never been a fool.
Until now.
She made him feel whole. Happy. And he never wanted these feelings to leave.
Pushing the thought away, he took aim at a buck. As he sighted it, Artemis ran at him and tickled him. The arrow flew wide of its mark, embedding itself in a tree where it disturbed a squirrel that actually threw a nut at him.
Acheron laughed before he narrowed his eyes on Artie. He tossed his bow aside then stalked toward her. "You have fouled my perfect shot. You're going to pay for that."
Artemis dropped her bow before she bolted.
He ran for her as she tried to disappear into the woods. Her laughter taunted him and made him smile all the more. He caught up to her right as she reached the small stream.
Wrapping his arms around her waist, he swung her around in his arms.
Artemis couldn't breathe as the full weight of Acheron slammed into her. The sight of his smile, the light in those magical eyes . . .
It made her want to shout out in ecstasy.
He twirled around with her while the birds sang a special melody for them. She was lost in this one time and place with him. This was what she'd always wanted. Always needed.
Acheron didn't care about her quirks or her moodiness. Nor did he flinch from feeding her. He took her as she was and held her regardless. Unlike her family he didn't belittle her or tell her that she lacked the followers he had. He didn't care about any of that.
She wanted to lose herself to this moment and to him for the rest of eternity.
"Make love to me, Acheron."
Acheron froze at her words as his smile faded. "What?" He set her back on the ground.
She brushed his beautiful hair back from his face. "I want to know you like a woman. I want to feel you inside me."
He released her and stepped back, his expression reserved. "I don't think so."
"Why not?"
He swallowed and she saw the fear in those silver eyes. "I don't want anything to change between us. I like being your friend, Artie."
"But you already touch me in places no one else has. Why wouldn't you want to be inside me?"
"You're a virgin."
"Only by a small technicality. Please, Acheron. I want to share myself with you."
Acheron looked away as his emotions burned through him. What she offered him was unimaginable. Yet he'd had numerous princesses and noblewomen come to him so that he could break their bodies in gently for intercourse with other men.
Parthenopaeus . . . Of the pierced maidenhead-that was how Estes and Catera had billed his services to his female clients. Acheron's reputation for gentleness had been legendary. The fact that he was extremely well-endowed and was still careful with them hadn't hurt him either.
Now a goddess offered herself to him. Any other man would leap at the chance. For that matter, any other man would already be naked.
But unlike the rest, he fully understood the intricacies of physical intimacy. Even though they asked and paid for it, some women cried at the loss of their innocence. Others cursed him and themselves. Some had even turned violent over the loss. A small handful rejoiced.
The problem was he didn't know which one Artemis would be.
"I don't want to hurt you."
She walked herself into his arms. "Please Acheron . . . I want to feel you in me when I feed on you."
"I really don't think we should."
Her eyes snapped fury at him. "Fine. Go then. Get out of my sight."
"Artie . . ."
It was too late. He was back in his room. Alone. "I'm sorry," he whispered, hoping she could hear him.
If she heard, she gave him no clue.
You should have slept with her. Would it really have mattered? He'd slept with everyone else. But the others had just been bodies for him to please. Artemis was different.
He loved her.
No, it wasn't as simple as that. What he felt for her . . . it defied love. He needed her in a way he wouldn't have thought possible and now he'd angered her.
His heart heavy, he only hoped that he could find some way to win her back and make her forgive him.
January 26, 9528 BC
It had been two weeks since Acheron had last seen Artemis and with the passing of each day, he grew more despondent. She refused to answer his calls.
He didn't even bother going to plays. Nothing could alleviate the pain inside him that wanted to be with her. All he wanted was to see her again.
Tilting his head back, he guzzled the last of the wine in the bottle he'd been drinking from. Angry and hurt, he threw it over the banister to let it smash on the rocks below. He reached for a new bottle and tried to pull the cork from it. He was too drunk to manage it.
"Acheron?"
He froze at the sound of the one voice he'd been begging to hear. "Artie?" He attempted to push himself to his feet, but instead he fell back to the ground. Looking up, he saw her in the shadows of his room.
She stepped forward, her face pale and drawn. Her left eye was swollen and there was the faint outline of a bruise in the shape of someone's handprint.
Rage darkened his sight. "Who hit you!"
Artemis stepped back, afraid of the man before her. She'd never seen Acheron drunk, but whenever Apollo drank, he turned violent. "I'll come back-"
"No," he breathed, his voice a hoarse whisper. "Please don't leave." He reached his hand out to her.
Her first instinct to run, she swallowed and reminded herself that she was a goddess. He was human and therefore couldn't harm her. Her legs trembling in reservation, she reached out slowly and took his hand in hers.
Acheron held it to his cheek and closed his eyes as if he were content to die now, as if touching her was the greatest pleasure he could imagine. He buried his face against her skin and inhaled deeply. "I've missed you so . . ."
She'd missed him too. Every day she'd sworn she wasn't going to see him, but today . . .
After Apollo's attack, she needed to be held by someone she knew wouldn't hurt her. "You look terrible," she said, frowning at the thick, prickly beard that had grown over his face. "And you smell bad."
He laughed at her criticism. "It's your fault I look like this."
"How so?"
"I thought I'd lost you."
Those anguished words touched her so deeply that it brought tears to her eyes. Falling to her knees, she shook her head at him.
Before she could speak, he whispered in her ear. "I love you, Artie."
Her breath caught in her throat. "What did you say?"
"I love you." He leaned against her and wrapped his arm around her neck before he collapsed and passed out.
Artemis sat there, holding him as his words echoed all the way to her soul. Acheron loved her . . .
She looked down at his face that was still incredibly handsome even in its unkempt state. He loved her. That succeeded in making her cry in a way she hadn't cried since she was a child. And she hated the fact that he could make her do this. She hated the fact that those words meant so much to her when they should mean nothing at all.
But the truth was the truth and she couldn't deny it.
"I love you too," she whispered, knowing that she could never tell him that if he were awake. It would give him, a mortal, too much power over her.
But here in this moment, she could tell him a truth that she wanted to deny with every part of herself. How could a goddess be in love with a man? Especially her? She was supposed to be immune to it. But somehow this mortal had crept into her soul.