Shafted Page 5

  Three things struck Anteros at once. Enormous relief she was okay, the fact he needed to distract her fast, and she trembled when his eyes dropped to where her shirt had twisted revealing the creamy top of one breast. In the space of a heartbeat the fight was over. The head on his shoulders lost to the one in his jeans and without thinking, he swooped in and kissed her.

  Callie thought her head spun when she fell. It was nothing to the ‘Tilt-O-Whirl’ ride of Teran’s kiss. Holy crap could the man kiss or what! He cupped the back of her head with one hand, and smoothly lowered them both back down to the floor with the other, pinning her beneath him. Giving in to the moment for the first time in her life, curses and consequences be-damned, Callie’s tongue and hands eagerly joined Teran’s in an electrifying primal dance.

  His kiss heated up, delving deeper, and becoming more demanding as his hands slowly worked their way down her arms in feathery touches designed to drive her mad. Grasping her wrists, gently he lifted her arms out in an arc away from her body, interrupting her own explorations, until he had them trapped in his fingers above her head.

  His thumbs lightly traced circles on the sensitive insides of her wrists and his hair fell in an ebony curtain around them, gently caressing her face, while surrounding her in his heavenly scent. He traced her lips with his tongue and nipped lightly as his head shifted to a new angle above her. He was careful to keep his full weight off her but like a magnet to steel she couldn’t help arching up into him. The contact was too delicious to deny, her curves and his planes fit so perfectly.

  He freed one hand trapping both her wrists with the other and with agonizing patience kneaded and caressed his way down her body until he reached the damp apex between her legs. Callie held her breath, praying he wouldn’t stop, desperately wanting him to touch her.

  Her yoga pants made access easy and she got her wish. Teran slipped his hand inside and with one long finger between the soft material and the wet silk of her panties, gently rubbed back and forth with varying pressure and speed.

  Just when she thought she’d explode, Teran began to slow things down, easing her back away from the brink. Something had changed and Callie’s stomach clenched. He meshed their fingers together and broke away, pulling an involuntary whimper from her throat at the loss.

  He pressed his forehead to hers so she couldn’t see his face clearly but could feel his heart pounding and hear his ragged breathing. She wasn’t overly experienced but she wasn’t stupid either, and braced herself for what was coming.

  “We can’t. This was a terrible mistake on my part. I can’t believe I got so carried away. I’m so sorry Callie. I should never have let it happen.”

  His words sucker punched her already roiling stomach and now it was Callie who had to catch her breath. Shouldn’t have let it happen? What they’d done was a terrible mistake. Ouch! The ego shredding message dowsed her libido in ice water and snapped her back to her senses.

  This wasn’t only his fault, it took two after all. So what in the world was wrong with her? She’d spent what, a few hours with this guy, and all her promises and grand plans for her fulfilling future go ‘poof’ into thin air the first time he locks lips with her!

  Instead of being angry, she should probably be thanking him for stopping before she had reason to hate herself in the morning. Fool, so much for all her hard won resolve. Thank heavens her mother wasn’t around, Callie could already hear her cheering and starting wedding plans, and poor Grandee must be turning over in her grave about now.

  Teran was right. This had been a huge mistake. One she would not be repeating anytime soon.

  Anteros wanted to kick himself. This must be what mortals meant when they said they’d stuck a foot in their mouth.

  Right now he was sure both his were tap dancing on his tonsils, but the moment their lips touched he’d been lost. He’d never responded to someone like he had Callie, nor had anyone ever responded to him like her. She’d turned to liquid fire in his arms.

  Right before she fell he’d been admiring how sexy and full of life she was but it was nothing next to kissing her. If he hadn’t come to his senses when he did, he might have lost complete control. He panicked, saying things without thinking, only to realize too late how hurtful it must’ve sounded to her.

  She’d gone stone still and he could feel the confusion radiating from her but he couldn’t yet look her in the eyes, he needed a second to try to figure out how to fix it. “Callie?”

  He never got that second. Callie came to life with a vengeance shoving hard at his chest to get him off and he had a flash back to their first encounter. Not wanting a repeat performance he rolled off to the side away from her and she was up on her feet away from him in a flash.

  “Hey, whatever, it’s okay I get it, heat of the moment and all that.” She swiped her hands down to smooth out her twisted shirt and tugged on sleeves that had already fallen back into place. “After all, I’m sure I’m not your type anyway and Lord knows this is the last thing I need. So yah, really no big deal; what say we pretend it didn’t happen, okay?”

  Hades Balls he felt like a heel. She wouldn’t even look at him. Wait a minute, what did she mean ‘not his type’? Was she serious?

  “Callie, it’s not what you think wait, listen—”

  “Okay, so now we’re all clear on that subject and will never bring it out in the light of day again. Where were we? Ah! Right, the hole in the roof, what do you think, can it be repaired...”

  She headed across the floor at a near run and was through the door to the storage room before he could get another word in. The brittle edge and strain in her voice was loud and clear even after her words faded and the door swung shut on its own behind her.

  Chapter 9

  A tingle raised the hair on Anteros’s arms before he heard the click of Callie’s heels descending the stairs behind him. He hoped he didn’t look as awful as he felt. Between dreaming of making love to her and waking up with a burning erection and guilt deflating his body’s efforts for having hurt her, it had been a long sleepless night.

  “Good morning Callie, I assumed you’d be wanting your room over the weekend as well, so I took the liberty of holding it for you. Things get rather busy around here this time of year.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Turnbull, yes I would like to keep my room until the beginning of the week.”

  “Lovely. Oh! That reminds me, not sure if I mentioned it to you earlier, but there’s a big Valentine’s dance planned for Saturday night at the Community Center, you can get reacquainted with everyone and bring your, um, friend here along.”

  Anteros was certain Mrs. Turnbull’s sly reference to his being a ‘friend’ didn’t bode well for him and one look at the resignation on Callie’s face confirmed his suspicions.

  “Valentine’s dance, uh, well thank you for letting me know but I’m sure Mr. Anders won’t be staying in town that long—”

  “Nonsense, he just paid for two more nights which means he’s good till Sunday, didn’t you Mr. Anders.”

  Callie’s jaw clenched and her nostrils flared slightly, not that he blamed her. There had been no more mention of their encounter and the way she’d barely glanced his way as she approached the desk it was obvious she wasn’t interested in discussing things today either.

  “I see.”

  She might not be, but he was, however not till he had her alone. Plastering an innocent look on his face Anteros plopped his arm across Callie’s stiff shoulders and nudged her past the front desk. “It’s all worked out then. The repairs are underway; you can finish your calls about the local delinquent population, while I take a run at deciphering your grandmother’s dust cover of a journal for you. Sound good?”

  Mrs. Turnbull’s voice chased them over the threshold into the parlor. “Well good, since it’s all settled, you two won’t miss the dance after all.” A chuckle bubbled up with her parting words. “But be careful Callie, you might get shot by one of Cupid’s little arrows.”

  A
picture of his brother lifting his bow and targeting Callie jumped into Anteros’s mind and turned the edges of his vision red. His lip curled in a feral snarl and the glass in the door shook from his foot kicking it shut behind them. Every muscle in his body tensed up and his blood seemed to turn to acid in his veins.

  Callie spun on Teran and stopped dead. “What did you do that for?” She’d heard the saying ‘if looks could kill’ but, until now, had no idea what that would look like.

  A low growl answered and Callie took a careful step back. Teran seemed to take up every available inch of space and suddenly there wasn’t enough light or air in the room. What was wrong with him? Her mouth went dry and her palms started to sweat. She didn’t think he’d actually hurt her, but that didn’t mean he didn’t look scary as hell. “Uh Teran? You okay, what’s going on here?”

  If she didn’t know better she’d think he couldn’t hear her. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be trying to regulate his breathing. What could possibly have upset him enough to send him off like this?

  Callie replayed the last few minutes in her head while she debated if she should touch him: he’d rebooked his room; they’d talked about the repairs, and making calls about girls coming to the new camp. He’d mentioned the journal and the only other thing she could think of was....

  “The Valentine’s Day dance.” The words sounded flat as they fell from her lips.

  Callie’s face heated and her stomach threatened to flip. So the idea of going with her to that miserable dance was so repugnant he was acting like this? Reeeaaallly.

  Her eyes narrowed and she braced her feet shoulder width apart. What was up his craw anyway? It wasn’t like she was brow beating him into it for Pete’s sake, and who said she wanted to go with him either. “This is about that stupid Valentine’s dance, are you kidding me?”

  Teran’s eyes popped open at the word ‘Valentine’ looking like two boiling tar pits and another snarl escaped his lips. Okay, that did it. With her righteous head of steam now well underway, Callie planted her fists on her hips and threw her shoulders back. He could stuff his temper. Enough was enough.

  “Whoa, hold on here. If the mere idea of taking me to that dance is what’s got a bee up your butt, we are going to have some serious words here, Bucko.”

  Taking back her share of the space in the room, Callie puffed up herself, stepped in closer and poked at his granite tight chest. “First, I never said anything about anyone going to any stupid dance.” Winding her finger up again she gave him another jab and her throat started to burn and close. “Second, why would I want to go, especially with someone who obviously finds the idea so abhorrent?”

  Tears pooled in her eyes and this time when she connected with his chest her fingers curled into a fist. “I know I’m no Miss America but damn it, I have feelings like everyone else. I’m sick of you jerking me around. There are plenty of perfectly good men out there who’d love to take me to a stupid dance. And finally for your information, the only reason I’m on my own is because I choose to be, that way I don’t have to deal with men like you!”

  During her rant, Teran’s eyes slowly refocused coming back to awareness. Each thing she said opened them a little wider and his face got a little whiter. Her final words died in the air and the room seemed to hold its breath waiting for him to say something, only the voice that broke the tense silence wasn’t his.

  “She’s right. I for one would be honored to take Callista to a stupid dance anytime.” Something darted past Callie, a fist flew out of no where and Teran’s head snapped back, his jaw having had a face to knuckles encounter with...

  “Oh my god! Christian?”

  Callie’s world tilted a little further off center and she didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. What was her ex-boyfriend doing here?

  Chapter 10

  Anteros heart sank as he looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. The arrow wasn’t the issue anymore. Had the gallant and lucky to still be alive mortal not plowed him in the face, he might have fallen right then and there. The mention of Cupid’s arrow and Callie’s name in the same sentence had ignited an all consuming black rage like nothing he’d experienced before. He had a temper yes, but he’d never lost touch with reality because of it.

  He had to give the fool mortal points for sticking up for Callie. However, punching a god, particularly one who’s blown a fuse, was not something most got away with and lived. That mortal had no idea how close he came to being shredded by a God-bolt.

  Only the stricken look on Callie’s face managed to pull him back from the brink. Her every word had torn another hole in him. But he still hadn’t been able to come out of it fast enough, or concoct a believable explanation for his behavior once he could see straight again, to stop her from jumping to painful conclusions.

  Splashing cold water on his face helped put things in perspective. Zeus’s beard, what if he turned on Callie and took her against her will? With the arrow in the mix it was possible. No way would he risk hurting her like that or see her stuck with what he’d become because of that stupid arrow.

  Anteros realized he’d ignored the signs as long as he dared. He couldn’t put things off any longer. His raging black out meant he was in the last stages before falling to ambro-fever like both his brother and father before him. It was simply a matter of time now – and not much of it.

  Thank the gods his Uncle Hades had agreed to set a nice impenetrable cell aside for him. Somewhere he could live out eternity without inflicting his temper and madness on the world. Centuries of absorbing heartache would not a nice ambro victim make.

  Face it Buddy, you need to get that journal translated as fast as possible, find another immortal to watch over Callie, even if you have to beg your mother to do it, then consign yourself into Hades hands for the rest of eternity and be done with it.

  Anteros slowly exhaled, reached for the door handle and squared his shoulders. Now if he could just face the well deserved disappointment in Callie’s eyes and weather the storm he’d created.

  Callie sat next to Christian on the parlor sofa and dipped the corner of a cloth in the bowl of water on the table. After giving it a quick squeeze to so it wouldn’t drip on the carpet she reached out for his hand with a frown.

  “How was I supposed to know his jaw would be made of granite?”

  “If you’d stopped for half a second before going off half cocked you’d have noticed he’s twice your size, might’ve been a clue there.” She still wasn’t sure who she was madder at, the dark cranky one in the bathroom across the hall, or the indignant blond whose bloody knuckles she was trying to clean up. “Honestly Christian since when are you a hit first ask questions later kind of guy?”

  “Since I saw ‘Black Bart’ there glaring at you like he was about to step on a bug! That’s when.” Christian tugged his hand away from her ministrations and his signature smile popped out. “And who says he’s twice my size? He’s only a third again at best.”

  With that little boy grin plastered on his face and his easy-going nature back in place, her anger fizzled. As usual she couldn’t stay mad at him, but she swatted his arm on principle anyway. “Don’t try to wiggle your way out this. Hitting Teran was way over the top, especially for you. So you’re not getting off the hook that easily.”

  His head bobbed like an over-exuberant puppy. “Yes I am.”

  If she wasn’t careful he would get away with it too, also as usual. His inability to stay serious for more than five minutes had been one of the reasons things hadn’t worked out. “Fine, think what you want smart guy, but I’m still mad at you.”

  A tiny flicker of something flashed in Christian’s eyes and Callie took the opportunity to turn the conversation where it needed to be. “Now, don’t you think its time you told me what you’re doing in Bandit Creek, besides punching people in the face?”

  The flicker became a flash of hurt. “I came here for you. Why else would I abandon civilization and trek up here to Hole-in-the-Wall-Ville,
but to bring you to your senses and take you home?”

  There it was, the biggest reason things could never have worked out for them. Christian was a warm and caring man, but he was also full of himself and believed his view of things was the only right one. He didn’t understand when others – particularly her – didn’t see it that way.

  “Bring me to my senses? Take me home?” Her temper was rising again and Callie had to work to remind herself it wasn’t his fault she couldn’t return his feelings. “Chris, this is my home now. I thought you understood that. I don’t know what else I have to do or say for you to see I’m not playing some kind of game here. I’m not going back to Seattle.” She hated having to say the next few words but if they were ever going to get on with their own lives she had no choice but to make her feelings clear. “Or to you.”

  “My sweet Callista, there you go again. You know I can’t resist it when you do that.” He was back to grinning and Callie’s nails bit into her palms at the sight. “Never a dull moment, it’s one of the things I love about you.”

  An angry buzz began in the back of her head. Christian’s stubborn attitude was not what she needed at the moment.

  “After a couple of days you’ll see all this is just a kind of ‘cold feet’ thing and then we can get out of here and pick up where we left off with all forgiven.”

  The buzzing was joined by a band clamping around her chest. How could this be happening, why wouldn’t he see it was over? “Chris—”

  “I’m booked in till Sunday morning, and have two plane tickets home out of Missoula that afternoon, so you won’t need to worry about travel arrangements. It’s all taken care of.” With a quick examination to make sure the bleeding had stopped, Christian looked up with that maddening perma-grin and had the nerve to wink at her. “So, since we’re stuck here, what’s to do in Hick-town USA? Any good places to eat? I’m starving.”