Accidentally Aphrodite - Dakota Cassidy Page 0,25

because it was the truth.

Quinn rolled up the sleeves of her sweater, her mouth set in a line of determination. “Then consider this Aphrodite thing on.”

* * * *

A hand brushed the hair from her face; the fingertips were callused, the touch gentle. “Quinn,” a voice, thick and deep, rumbled in her ear.

Yes, sexiest man on the face of the planet? “What?” she groaned.

She had a goddess hangover the size of Yankee Stadium. As she peeked at her alarm clock, she realized why. She’d had only two hours of sleep. Two hours of restless, haunted-by-horrible-dreams sleep.

The apple, in all its bitten glory, sat on her nightstand. Still just as perfect and gold as it had been before she’d gotten on her high horse and had chosen that brief moment in time to finally take control of her life.

After deciding she was all in last night, she’d handed out blankets and as many pillows as she could find to everyone and gone to bed, determined to keep Khristos from doing time. While she lay in bed, what she’d done began to really sink in and she’d come to the conclusion she was mostly to blame.

Distracted or not, it didn’t matter what Khristos had been doing at the time the apple fell from the column. She’d refused to heed his words, his very clear warning. She’d stomped all over his wish for her to give it back because she was too busy playing Joan of Arc.

Thinking about it now, it made complete sense that he’d been so evasive when she’d demanded to know why he thought it belonged to him.

Because seriously, who’d believe it anyway?

“Quinn,” he said again. “It’s time to begin.”

She shivered, burrowing deeper into her comforter and trying to ignore the un-ignorable.

Khristos. And being Aphrodite.

The Khristos who’ll be punished severely if you don’t damn well get up, Quinn. Think Actaeon, for example. Do you want this man, whose apple you defiled because you all of a sudden found your backbone, to end up eaten by a wild pack of dogs?

No. She didn’t want that.

She sat upright with a jolt, not even thinking to take the comforter with her—now that her jugs were enormous, none of her nightgowns fit properly, which left her spilling out of them.

But Khristos averted his eyes like a consummate gentleman. He smiled at her as perfectly as if he hadn’t had the exact amount of sleep she’d had. “It’s time to rise and shine, Goddess of Love. The Love Boat leaves in an hour. So up and at ’em. C’mon, lets hit the showers and carpe diem!”

Her stare was blank when she looked up at him, pushing her long tangle of hair from her face. “I take it you’re a morning person?”

“I’m a whatever-I-have-to-be-to-keep-my-butt-out-of-the-pokey person.”

God. The guilt, followed by the flashes of visions of heinous Greek punishments. “Right. I’m on it. Just give me twenty minutes.” She scrambled upward, this time remembering the comforter, and rose to a standing position. But her bedroom was so small, there was little choice except to end up almost touching.

Her heart pounded hard in her chest as she sucked in her stomach. Wow, he smelled good. In fact, if she were to have a picture in her mind of what a god would look and smell like, Khristos with a K certainly fit the bill.

“There’s coffee right there on the nightstand. Marty made it, and Wanda baked some cinnamon rolls.”

“They actually stayed the night?” All but begging Nina to stay after Aphrodite had shown up, she’d also requested Marty, Ingrid, and Wanda stay, too. She’d even offered to pay them for their services. Not that they would hear of it—except for Nina, who named her price at two-point-two-million. The point-two being for her hoodie fund.

There was something about them as a group, something she innately trusted—needed at this very moment in her life—and she was afraid if they left, she’d miss something she couldn’t define or find the right words to describe.

Warmth spread throughout her limbs. These people didn’t know her, even if they’d talked about her with Ingrid. Yet, they’d targeted her fears and offered a soothing balm of comfort to ease them all because of their relationship to her friend.

They were really good at this OOPS thing.

Khristos nodded, sticking his hands in the pockets of his pants “They did. I only know of them through Nina, but they’re exactly as she described. Well, almost. I don’t find Marty at all offensive when she recommends colors that are in