Flirting Under a Full Moon - By Ashlyn Chase Page 0,93
not.”
The god nodded sagely. “Perhaps I can help you with that.”
Nick took a deep breath and hoped for the best. “My girlfriend, Brandee, knows about me and Anthony and the bar, but she’s cool with it. She promised never to tell a human soul and I believe her completely. I want to marry her, but I don’t want Mother Nature worried about Brandee spilling her guts. Bottom line is, I don’t want to worry about Gaia sending me or my girlfriend to Timbuktu. A wolf never deserts his mate—willingly.”
Apollo smiled and a warm glow seemed to radiate from him. “There’s a saying: ‘Sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness later than to ask for permission now.’ Or something like that.”
“So, you’re saying I shouldn’t tell her? And if she finds out, I should apologize?”
“Pretty much.”
“I’d never apologize for making Brandee my wife. She’s already my marked mate. I’d just be giving her the legal benefits.”
Apollo shrugged. “It’s up to you, but you know how moody the goddesses can be—Gaia in particular.”
“Why is that? Do goddesses have a monthly…event?”
Apollo laughed. “No. That’s one of the downsides of being a human female.”
“Or a werewolf,” Nick added.
Apollo set a hand on Nick’s shoulder. “Look, I shouldn’t tell you this, but Gaia has a reason for all her frustration.”
“Really? She hasn’t always been like that?”
“Oh, heavens, no.” Apollo spoke in a whisper. “Keep this to yourself. I’m not even supposed to know, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. Gaia is the primordial goddess. She was born of Chaos and she’s only had four paramours. She fooled around with Ouranos in the sky, and all the heavenly gods and Titans were born. Then she fooled around with Pontus in the ocean and all the sea gods came from that union.
“She even tried a tryst in the hell-pit with Tartarus, and the giants were born. Finally, she gave Zeus a whirl on Mount Olympus and guess what?” He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. “That’s how the rest of us showed up. That’s when she called it quits. She swore off sex, not knowing what other immortal creatures she might accidentally create. That was a looong time ago.”
Nick scratched his head. “So, you’re saying she’s sexually frustrated?”
Apollo shrugged. “It would seem so. I mean, she’d have no trouble enticing a lover and she’s still fertile. It was the aftermath that did her in. Can you imagine giving birth to giants?”
Nick shuddered. “Ouch. Well, that has nothing to do with me, so I think I’ll risk it.”
“Good luck with that.” Apollo slapped him on the back, then wandered off to join a poker game.
A moment later Mother Nature reappeared, brushing off her hands. “There. The situation is all taken care of, thanks to me.”
“What happened?”
“Well, first I had to find the right jail, because someone forgot to tell me which one our dragon was in.”
Nick remained silent despite wanting to point out that she hadn’t given him a chance to tell her much of anything.
“Then I appeared in his cell and removed his immortality. He took one look at me and had a heart attack on the spot. I love situations like that.”
“Like what?”
“Incidents that take care of themselves. In other words, self-solvers.”
Nick had to be sure. “So he’s dead?”
“As a doornail.”
“What about his men? He had a lot of people in his employ.”
“And they’re all singing ‘Ding Dong, the Dragon’s Dead’ right now.”
She seemed satisfied with the outcome and Nick relaxed a bit. “That’s great. Thanks for your help. My client can rest easy now.”
She offered him a rare smile. “And I thank you for your help too. I rather like Boston.”
It’s now or never, I guess. “Goddess, there’s one more thing I’d like to discuss with you.”
She sagged and rolled her eyes. “Oh, that’s right. I forgot you had two questions for me. Well, what is it?”
“I want to marry Brandee—”
“And you’re asking my permission? How very old-fashioned of you.”
“No, not exactly. I realize that you’re concerned about humans knowing the ins and outs of the paranormal factions.”
“Yes, yes. We both know this. Get to the point.”
“I want you to know beyond the shadow of any doubt that Brandee can be trusted. She’ll never reveal what she knows to anyone. She promised Anthony and kept that promise, even when it would have been tempting to tell me what she knew. But she wants the truth. She’s my mate and I need to be honest with her.”