Zeus (Book One of The God Chronicles) Page 5

  “Sorry,” I stammered. “I was coming to check on Jessie.” I rubbed my arms nervously and smiled, trying to ease the discomfort of having almost been caught eavesdropping.

  “I’m fine, thanks. Just tired.” Jessie smiled at me and I relaxed some.

  “Good, good. Is it ok if I take a bath tonight then? Or did you guys need the bathroom for anything?” I said, trying to find another reason for my presence.

  “Nope, we’re all good,” Julie said.

  “Okay, thanks.” I smiled awkwardly and turned to the bathroom. If I was going to be forced to do something, at least it was a bath.

  The tub wasn’t terribly small, but it wasn’t as big as I would have liked either. I turned the water on, letting it warm up before I plugged the drain. Feeling like some extra relaxation was in order, I pulled out some old bubble bath I’d had forever and brought along on the move and poured it in.

  While the bubbles grew in size and number, I went into the bedroom and grabbed the two candles on my dresser. They smelled wonderful and would add a new level to my soak. Once everything was situated and the warm water was calling my name, I stripped down and slid into happiness.

  The silence gave me room to think over everything that had happened since I’d arrived in Las Vegas. I was surprised to find I was more than happy with the way my life was turning out. I also mused over what little of the girls’ conversation I’d heard. What could they have been talking about? Was “he” Zeus, or someone I’d never even met? Why did they need to talk about it privately if it didn’t have anything to do with me?

  Chapter Six

  “No, no, no, no, no!” I groaned. “I can’t afford this!” I looked around, as if I was expecting to catch the perpetrator.

  “You,” I growled, spotting Zeus sitting in his convertible a couple spots away.

  I stomped over to him; my fists clenched and smoke practically billowing from my nose.

  “Did you really pop all my tires over those stupid roses?!” I spat, raising my hands to fight. “You are such an a—“

  “Whoa, hold on there!” He held his hands up in defense, innocence plastered on his face. “I didn’t pop anything.”

  “Really? Then why are all of my tires flat?” I wanted to literally rip his ear off and readied every swear word I knew, preparing an arsenal to loose on him.

  “I thought something was wrong with the valves, so I fiddled with them a little. I guess I accidently let the air out.” He was still the picture of innocence, but I caught a slight twitching of his mouth.

  “I cannot believe you!” I screamed. “Do you know what this means?! I’m going to be late to class because I have to fix them! It’s only the second day of school. What will my professor think?” I grabbed the top of his door and leaned over, right into his face. “If I lose my scholarship, so help me, I’ll—“

  “Hang on baby,” he crooned.

  “Ugh. Do not call me baby.” If I had a knife I would have been slicing things off, Bible style.

  “Chill out, will you? That’s why I stuck around; I’ll drive you to school. Look,” he grabbed a cup and held it out to me. “I even brought coffee.”

  I stared at the cup dumbfounded.

  “You flattened my tires so I would have to hitch a ride?” I raised an eyebrow, folding my arms.

  “Get in the car,” he sighed. “You said yourself you’ll be late if you don’t come with me.”

  “I did not say that.”

  “You implied it.” He smiled at me, lowering his designer sunglasses so I could see his eyes.

  “I did not! I—whatever. But I’m not drinking the coffee.” I walked around to the other side of the car, hating that he was right. I needed the ride.

  “Touchy,” he joked.

  “I don’t drink coffee before art class,” I shot back. “It makes my work jittery.”

  “Art huh?”

  “Don’t talk to me.”

  I fumed through all of my classes, struggling to maintain focus. Zeus agreed to have my tires aired back up and my car dropped off, so I wouldn’t have to find a ride home. I could only hope he’d hold up his end of the deal.

  I couldn’t believe he’d come to my house. Twice. Especially after the way he treated me at the club. He’d still been as handsome as sin, his maroon shirt and jeans practically painted on . . . .I needed to focus. This guy was going to make my life miserable! Maybe I should have forgiven him when he brought the flowers. Then I never would have had to see him again and life would have been great.

  I tried to pay attention to what the teacher was saying. It was my last class for the day, and I was supposed to be taking notes for a quiz next week. I gripped my pen and started writing furiously—leaving ink blots on the page.

  What if my parents were right and this was the start of a stalking? I could end up dead in a dumpster—or worse! Several worse case scenarios started to run through my mind, many depicting my bones being used as decoration in his resort. So much for concentrating.

  I hated him! He thought he could have whatever he wanted—whoever he wanted. Well he was in for a trip if he thought he was getting anything from me. I drummed my fingers on my desk, scowling. Maybe he’d get the picture if I burned his resort down. Running my hands through my hair, I sighed. I was really worked up and couldn’t shake it. Something about Zeus just drove me up the wall.

  I was one of the first people out of the room when the professor dismissed us, heading straight to the parking lot to see if my car was there.

  It wasn’t.

  Cursing under my breath, I headed to the campus student center. At least they sold food there, and I didn’t need my car to go get any.

  I tried to calm myself again over lunch. I needed to remember everything I’d learned in the library yesterday. Being mad wasn’t going to help me at all. I put some headphones on and jammed for a couple of minutes then headed to work.

  Surprisingly, I was remembering everything well. Everyone I’d worked with was very nice and patient. It felt much more comfortable than it had the day before. I must have had the first day jitters.

  I was shelving books next to the window that overlooked the parking lot and rolled my eyes when I discovered my car still wasn’t there. I was off in two hours and didn’t even know who to call to pick me up, other than a cab. At least I’d know who to tell the cops to go after for grand theft auto.

  “Whatcha lookin’ at?” Zeus’s voice in my ear made me jump and bump into him.

  “What is wrong with you?” I demanded. “And where is my car?”

  “I parked it in the lot, like you said.” He raised an eyebrow at me.

  The nerve.

  “It’s not out there, I looked.” I let venom course through my voice.

  “Oh, you meant this one? I parked it next to the math building.”

  “That’s clear on the other side of campus,” I groaned. “I told you to park it here, next to the library!”

  “I guess I’ll have to walk you across campus then—just to make sure you find it alright.” He smiled brilliantly at me, and I wanted to knock his teeth out.

  “Fine,” I ground out through clenched teeth. Turning my back, I went back to shelving books.

  “Need help with anything?” I glanced over my shoulder and saw him holding a couple of books from my cart, a goofy grin on his face.

  “Don’t touch those!” I hissed. “Just leave me alone, okay?” I grabbed the hardcovers from him, shoved them on the cart, and stormed away with it.

  A few aisles later, I went to place some manuscripts on a shelf, and my heart seized when Zeus’s face appeared from the other side.

  “Hey,” he said in a flirty tone. His countenance was still one of conquest. I was pretty sure I’d become a prize for him to win and that was all.

  I shoved the tomes in his face.

  When it was finally almost time to go home, and I was behind the help desk with one of the assistant librarians, he came up to me again.

  “Excus
e me, miss. Can you help me?” His voice was pleading, and he held a novel in his hand.

  I rolled my eyes and turned to pass him off, but the librarian nodded in encouragement to me. I faced him again, my fists clenched under the counter.

  “Yes, sir. What may I assist you with?” He grinned like an idiot as I spoke.

  “Well, you see, I have this book here,” he began in his pleading voice again. “And I wanted to get the whole series while I was here. Could you help me find it?” He held the volume out to me like a child trying to show a parent the picture they’d drawn. Snatching it from him, I quickly jotted the required information into the computer.

  “Excuse me, sir.” I had to bite back a sneer; my boss was watching. “This novel isn’t part of a series.”

  “Oh, my mistake.” His eyes sparkled. “Thank you for your help,” he said with a seductive smile as he took the book back.

  I was going to kill him.

  I hurried to grab my things from the library office and then peered out to see if he was anywhere in sight. I made a mad dash to the door when I didn’t find him. Victory surged through my veins as I hurried across campus, glad to be rid of him.

  “Hold on there!” A rock-hard arm shot out and caught me around the waist, almost knocking the air out of me.

  “How did you catch me,” I groaned as Zeus released me.

  “I figured you needed your keys to start your car.” He dangled them in front of my face, and I made a grab for them, but missed.

  “No, I don’t think so. You can have them when we get to the car.”

  If looks could kill, he would have been dead on the sidewalk. And I may or may not have danced over his body.

  He tried to talk to me for the rest of our little walk but I ignored him. I figured all of the rudeness in the world wouldn’t ever equal what he’d done in the club. When we reached the car, I held my hand out for the keys.

  “Can I have a ride?” he burst out suddenly. “I don’t have my car because I drove yours here.” He flashed me a sheepish grin.

  “Give me the keys,” I demanded. He pulled them from his pocket and dangled them in my face. My glaring finally got to him, and he handed them over. I unlocked the doors, muttering, and got in.

  Immediately, I could tell something was different. Not only did the car now smell like Zeus, but there was a shiny new stereo in place of my old one. I investigated the rest of the interior. It appeared to have new speakers as well.

  “Nice, right?” Zeus nodded his head as he climbed in and reached over to turn the system on. I slapped his hand out of the way.

  “No, not nice! What did you do to my car?!” I looked at him with unbelieving eyes.

  “I got you a new sound system. A thank you would be nice,” he said as he cradled his hand, pretending to be hurt.

  “No! Not thank you! I bought the old system myself! I saved my money for months—every single penny I had during high school! I even installed it myself so I would know how to take care of it!” My fists balled on the steering wheel and I could feel the angry tears filling my eyes.

  “I just thought—“

  “You thought wrong,” I said simply. “I can’t be bought. Not with flowers, not with coffee, and most definitely not with a sound system.” He seemed shocked. “Please just get out of my car. Call a cab. You obviously have the money for it.”

  I was shocked when he did so without saying a word. I practically flew out of the parking lot in my haste to get away from him, the tears finally spilling over. I was so irritated, but I was more hurt. It was upsetting that he thought he could buy my attention.

  I ran inside when I got home. Zeus’s car was still parked in the lot, which meant he would probably be arriving soon.

  “Oh my gosh, Karly, what’s wrong?” Jessie jumped up from the couch where she’d been watching a movie. “Are you okay?”

  “Not really,” I admitted, wounded tears falling anew.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” she said softly.

  “Not now, if you don’t mind.” I hiccupped as I headed to my room.

  There was a soft knock at the front door, and I heard Jessie answer.

  “Is Karly here?” It was Zeus.

  “I don’t think she wants to talk to you right now.” Jessie was soft but sure. I silently thanked her even though she couldn’t see me.

  “Okay. Um, could you tell her I’m sorry? I won’t try to buy her things anymore.”

  “Yeah, I’ll tell her.”

  “Thanks.”

  The entrance clicked closed and Jessie came down the hall.

  “You hear that?” she asked when she saw me leaning against the wall.

  “Yeah.”

  Chapter Seven

  The next morning there were some flowers tucked under my windshield wiper with a note.

  K-

  Picked these from the patch in front of your car. I’ll try to appreciate the things you like more; I enjoyed our time in the library. Have a nice day.

  -Z

  I looked in front of my car and, sure enough, there was a weed patch the flowers had been growing in. I wasn’t happy he was still bothering me, but it was a step up from being showered with expensive items. I laughed as I realized how many girls would have loved to be showered with gifts. I guess I wasn’t most girls.

  I got in the car and headed to school, the weeds—flowers—in the backseat. I was a little curious over the comment about appreciating things I liked, but pushed it aside as I walked into art class.

  “Class, today we have an amazing opportunity!” My teacher, a pretty, middle-aged woman, bounced on the balls of her feet as she clapped her hands. “We’ve had a model offer to pose for us today, so we’ll be taking a break from our oil-based landscapes. Please be advised, our model will be disrobed.”

  I sighed and went to grab one of the school’s easels and paint sets. I wasn’t so concerned about the model being nude, I’d seen lots of nude paintings, but I was disappointed I didn’t have my own materials to work with.

  I picked a spot next to the platform set up in the middle of the room and started laying everything out. I liked to be in front, so I wasn’t craning to see over anyone’s head while I worked. I didn’t look up when the teacher began to speak again.

  “Class, this is our model for the day! And your name is . . . ?”

  “Zeus.”

  My head snapped up so quickly I thought my neck might break.

  He was wearing nothing but a white bathrobe and the cockiest grin I’d ever seen. My eyes must have been like orbs, I was so shocked. He gave me a quick wink, and my mouth popped open in disbelief.

  “Well, Zeus, thank you so much for volunteering to do this for us,” the teacher continued.

  “It’s no problem,” he said. “I simply want to appreciate every art form out there. I thought if I was a part of the art, it would mean more to me.”

  “We’re very happy you’re here,” the teacher said. Her eyes were glazing over as she stared at him, and I could almost see the fantasy she must have had playing in her head.

  “Should I?” He pointed at the platform and moved to take his robe off.

  “Oh, yes, please!” She grabbed an easel herself, never taking her eyes from him, and sat down.

  I gasped as his robe came off, snapping my mouth shut and averting my eyes just in time. I could feel my cheeks blushing a million shades of red.

  “This is officially my favorite class ever,” the girl next to me said with a grin, her gaze devouring the man in front of her.

  “Uh-huh,” I agreed weakly. I glanced around the side of my canvas and saw Zeus, lying on his side with his legs stretched out straight, propped up on his elbow, facing me.

  “Hey,” he said, cocking an eyebrow and smiling devilishly.

  I gulped, my eyes still wide, and made sure my easel was positioned so that there was no chance of me seeing his lower half. If the professor had wanted a full body portrait, then I was getting half off—I wasn’t even
going to look at that part of him.

  I heard him laugh softly and peeked up again. He was still staring at me, a wide smile on his lips.

  “Did you get my flowers?” he whispered.

  I nodded and gulped again, focusing on my still-blank canvas. Maybe if I didn’t speak to him, he would quiet down himself.

  “You know what? This position is a little bit uncomfortable,” he said to the class. “Do you mind if I move?”

  There was a chorus of approval from the females in the room and some grumbling from the males. Zeus scooted a little farther down, laid his head on his arm, and bent his upper leg, so his foot was now on the floor behind his other leg. The position opened up his private area, and I squirmed as I readjusted my painting so I wouldn’t see it.

  “We should go out tonight,” he whispered to me again. “It’ll be fun, I promise. We can talk about today’s class”

  I died a thousand deaths inside. The girl next to me was sending a murderous glare my way. This was not an experience I ever wanted to talk about. To anyone. Ever. I remained silent, trying to paint his head and shoulders. Maybe a bust would still get me a good grade.

  “Is that a yes or no?” There was laughter in his eyes as he spoke, clearly aware of my discomfort.

  “I’m sorry, this one isn’t working either,” he announced loudly and stood up.

  I ducked my head down—my easel was too short to cover anything up. I could hear him chuckling.

  “So date or no date?” he whispered again, in spite of my bowed head. “Wow, it must be hard to paint me without looking. Unless you’ve memorized my amazing good looks. Have you? That would be so flattering, as well as a good indicator you want to go out tonight.”

  I dropped my paintbrush and covered my face with my hands.

  “Just stretching for a minute,” he announced again. From the girls giggling around me I could guess he was pointing his hips in my direction.

  I dropped my hands, without shifting my eyes, and sighed.

  “If I say I’ll go out with you tonight, will you stop trying to show me your crotch?” The whisper was soft and quick, but he heard it anyway.