With his head held high, he gripped the padded strap of his black suede backpack and forced himself to walk through the ornate, gilded doorway into Artemis's throne room where she sat listening to one of her women play a lute and sing.
Nine pairs of feminine eyes turned to stare at him curiously.
Without being told, her eight attendants gathered their things and rushed from the room as they always did at his appearance. They shut the door discreetly behind them and left him alone with Artemis.
Vaguely, Ash remembered the first time he'd been allowed inside Artemis's private domain on Olympus. As a young man he had been awed by the intricately carved marble columns that framed the throne room. They rose twenty feet from the marble and gold floor under his feet up to the domed gold roof that was intricately embossed with wildlife scenes. Three sides of this room had no walls. Instead, it looked out over the perfect sky where white, fluffy clouds floated by at eye level.
The throne itself wasn't as ornate as it was comfortable. More an oversized chaise longue that could easily double as a bed, it occupied the center of the open room and was covered with lush, decadent ivory pillows with gold tassels and trim.
Only two men had ever been allowed to set foot inside this temple. Artemis's twin brother Apollo and him.
It was an honor Ash would gladly have ceded.
Artemis was dressed in a sheer white peplos that left her lithe body all but bare to his gaze. The dark pink tips of her breasts were hard and puckered against the gauzy material, and the hem of it rose high on her legs, showing him a glimpse of the dark auburn triangle at the juncture of her thighs.
She smiled seductively at him, bringing his attention back to her perfect, beautiful face. Her long, auburn curls seemed as iridescent as her green eyes while she watched him with fascinated interest. She lay on her side, her arms folded over the high back of the chaise and her chin resting on the back of her hand.
Taking a deep breath, Ash closed the distance between them and stood before her.
Artemis cocked a finely arched brow as she gazed ravenously at his body. "Interesting. You look more defiant than ever, Acheron. I see no proof of the submission you promised me. Do I need to revoke Talon's soul?"
He wasn't sure she had the power to do such a thing, but then, he wasn't willing to chance it. He'd called her bluff before and had lived to regret it.
He shrugged his backpack off his shoulder and dropped it to the floor. Then he removed his leather jacket and draped it over the backpack. Falling to his knees, he placed his hands on his leather-clad thighs, ground his teeth and lowered his head.
Artemis unfolded herself from the chaise and approached him. "Thank you, Acheron," she said breathlessly as she moved to stand behind him. She ran her hand through his hair, turning it golden blond and freeing it from its braid so that it spilled over his shoulders and chest.
Artemis brushed the hair on the left side of his neck aside, exposing the flesh beneath it to her gaze. She dragged a long fingernail down his bared skin, raising chills over his arms and chest.
And then she did the one thing he hated most of all.
She blew her breath across the back of his neck.
He fought down the urge to cringe. She, alone, knew how and why he hated that sensation. It was a cruel thing she did to remind him of his place in her world.
"In spite of what you might think, Acheron, I derive no pleasure from making you bend to my will. I would much rather have you here by your own choice-the way you used to come to me."
Ash closed his eyes as he remembered those days. He had loved her so much then. Had ached any time he was forced to leave her side.
He had believed in her and had given her the one thing he had never given anyone else-his trust.
She had been his world. His sanctuary. At a time when no one would acknowledge him, she had welcomed him into her life and had shown him what it was like to be wanted.
Together, they had laughed and they had loved. He had shared things with her that he had never shared with anyone before or since.
Then, when he had needed her most, she had coldly turned her back on him and left him to die painfully. Alone.
She had spurned his love that day and had proven to him that in the end, she was just as ashamed of him as his family had been.
He meant nothing to her.
He never would.
The truth of it had hurt, but after all this time he had come to terms with it. He would never be anything more to her than a curiosity. A defiant pet she kept around for her own amusement.
Again in a gesture she knew he hated, Artemis knelt at his back, her knees brushing gently against his hips. She ran her hand over his shoulder, and then down the intricate bird tattoo on his arm.
"Mmm," she purred as she nuzzled his hair with her face. "What is it about you that makes me want you so?"