evident in the little touches. The pillows on the sofa, the glass bowl on the table and the pictures on the wall.
Did he live here with someone?
He sat on the sofa with her on his lap and held her against his warm chest. “I’m sorry. What happened tonight was my fault.”
She sat up straight, resisting the urge to lean on his strong shoulder. “I don’t understand. You didn’t hire those men to harm me, did you?” It seemed unlikely since he’d rescued her. Nor did he match the description that her potential kidnapper had given Stavros.
He shook his head and his long, silky hair brushed his shoulders. “No. But my interest in you has brought you to the attention of Hades.”
She knew her mouth was open, but really, things just kept getting stranger and stranger. “Hades? As in the devil?”
Stavros frowned. “The Greek god of the Underworld.”
Toni had a million questions, but for now, she just went with the flow. “Why would he be interested in me?”
“Because I am.” Stavros stood and placed her gently on the sofa. She’d die before she’d admit that she missed his solid presence under and around her. When she was in his arms, she felt protected. Safe. And that was a myth. They had no real connection other than their few meetings, even though Stavros had saved her life.
He hunkered down in front of her and placed his hands on the sofa on either side of her hips. He gazed at her, and she could see sorrow reflected in his eyes.
“This all started five-thousand years ago.”
Toni had a feeling she wasn’t going to like this story one bit. “Go on.”
“The gods of Olympus were at war with the Lady. They are power hungry, never content with what they have.” He stood and began to pace the confines of the small room. He reminded her of a jaguar she’d seen at a zoo years ago when she was a child. She’d always thought it unfair to cage such a majestic beast.
“We fought,” he continued. “Battle raged. In spite of our prowess in battle, we were losing.”
“We?” she asked. Were there more of him? It boggled the mind.
Stavros flashed her a smile that made her pulse jump and her nipples tighten. “I am one of seven warriors. There is Roric the white tiger, Marko the bear, Leander the lion, Arand the wolf, Phoenix the phoenix and Mordecai the serpent.”
The way he said the last name with a slight growl of displeasure told her there was another story there. “So there are seven shapeshifting immortal warriors.” Even saying that aloud sounded crazy. But crazy was her new reality.
Stavros nodded. “Yes. The Lady cast a spell on us when she realized we could not win.” He began to pace again. She watched him prowl around the room, the tension increasing with each passing second. “We were trapped in our animal form, but we were saved from Hades. He was unable to take us to Hell. Instead, he sent some of his demons to watch over us in this realm and took the Lady back to his domain and imprisoned her for five-thousand years.”
This was like something out of a fantasy novel. Come to think of it, hadn’t she skimmed a graphic novel with a similar storyline the last time she’d visited her favorite comic shop in New York?
“Then Hades came up with a new plan. He wanted the power of the Lady’s warriors to help him take over the world.”
This sounded like the plot of a B-movie. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. She was a sucker for a good B-movie. “What happened?”
“Because of the spell the Lady had put on us, Hades could not free us. But somewhere in the world there was a special woman for each of us, one who could free us after thousands of years of captivity. So Hades had his demons build a carnival with a very special ride—a carousel where we seven warriors were displayed. The carousel was hidden from the regular carnival goers, but it drew the women, one by one, and we began to be set free.”
“Holy crap.” This was incredible. It was hard to
Did he live here with someone?
He sat on the sofa with her on his lap and held her against his warm chest. “I’m sorry. What happened tonight was my fault.”
She sat up straight, resisting the urge to lean on his strong shoulder. “I don’t understand. You didn’t hire those men to harm me, did you?” It seemed unlikely since he’d rescued her. Nor did he match the description that her potential kidnapper had given Stavros.
He shook his head and his long, silky hair brushed his shoulders. “No. But my interest in you has brought you to the attention of Hades.”
She knew her mouth was open, but really, things just kept getting stranger and stranger. “Hades? As in the devil?”
Stavros frowned. “The Greek god of the Underworld.”
Toni had a million questions, but for now, she just went with the flow. “Why would he be interested in me?”
“Because I am.” Stavros stood and placed her gently on the sofa. She’d die before she’d admit that she missed his solid presence under and around her. When she was in his arms, she felt protected. Safe. And that was a myth. They had no real connection other than their few meetings, even though Stavros had saved her life.
He hunkered down in front of her and placed his hands on the sofa on either side of her hips. He gazed at her, and she could see sorrow reflected in his eyes.
“This all started five-thousand years ago.”
Toni had a feeling she wasn’t going to like this story one bit. “Go on.”
“The gods of Olympus were at war with the Lady. They are power hungry, never content with what they have.” He stood and began to pace the confines of the small room. He reminded her of a jaguar she’d seen at a zoo years ago when she was a child. She’d always thought it unfair to cage such a majestic beast.
“We fought,” he continued. “Battle raged. In spite of our prowess in battle, we were losing.”
“We?” she asked. Were there more of him? It boggled the mind.
Stavros flashed her a smile that made her pulse jump and her nipples tighten. “I am one of seven warriors. There is Roric the white tiger, Marko the bear, Leander the lion, Arand the wolf, Phoenix the phoenix and Mordecai the serpent.”
The way he said the last name with a slight growl of displeasure told her there was another story there. “So there are seven shapeshifting immortal warriors.” Even saying that aloud sounded crazy. But crazy was her new reality.
Stavros nodded. “Yes. The Lady cast a spell on us when she realized we could not win.” He began to pace again. She watched him prowl around the room, the tension increasing with each passing second. “We were trapped in our animal form, but we were saved from Hades. He was unable to take us to Hell. Instead, he sent some of his demons to watch over us in this realm and took the Lady back to his domain and imprisoned her for five-thousand years.”
This was like something out of a fantasy novel. Come to think of it, hadn’t she skimmed a graphic novel with a similar storyline the last time she’d visited her favorite comic shop in New York?
“Then Hades came up with a new plan. He wanted the power of the Lady’s warriors to help him take over the world.”
This sounded like the plot of a B-movie. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. She was a sucker for a good B-movie. “What happened?”
“Because of the spell the Lady had put on us, Hades could not free us. But somewhere in the world there was a special woman for each of us, one who could free us after thousands of years of captivity. So Hades had his demons build a carnival with a very special ride—a carousel where we seven warriors were displayed. The carousel was hidden from the regular carnival goers, but it drew the women, one by one, and we began to be set free.”
“Holy crap.” This was incredible. It was hard to
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