What a Goddess Wants by Stephanie Julian

Horrible.”
    Considering that this Etruscan goddess had lived through the Dark Ages, the Inquisition, and the Holocaust, these dreams must be excruciating.
    Cal wanted to smash Charun into bits for daring to bring that fear to Tessa’s expression. Then he thought of something.
    “When was the last time you slept?”
    “Your house.”
    That must have been when Charun discovered her location.
    “When did you sleep before then?”
    Her gaze narrowed and she bit at her bottom lip. “I’m not sure. Two weeks, maybe.”
    Shit, that wasn’t good. “So you’re basically running on fumes.”
    And running out of time. How long could anyone, even a goddess, go without sleep?
    “I’ll be fine. For a while.”
    He glanced over at her again, noticing her frown. “Don’t bullshit me. How do you feel?”
    “I’m tired, but I have to admit the short rest helped. And the sex.”
    Her smile said maybe she wanted a repeat of what’d happened when she woke.
    The sex had been the best of his life.
    They fell silent as the road whipped by, the rolling green hills of southeastern Berks County giving way to fields and farms and then later to suburban sprawl.
    After crossing the Schuylkill River on the Penn Street Bridge, they hit the city just before dawn, passing the Reading Area Community College campus before turning left into the heart of the city’s south side. The center-city streets were still fairly deserted this early in the morning, but after they crossed Fifth Street, the activity level increased.
    A few souls loitered on the street corners, prostitutes looking for one more john or drug dealers hoping for one more sale. A few people hung in the doorways of all-night groceries.
    After turning east on Spruce, Cal wound his way through a half street and two alleys before stopping in front of Salvatorus’s home.
    From the outside, it looked like any other house on the block, a three-story redbrick building surrounded by more of the same. The house was well maintained but not too much so. It didn’t stick out in any way, and only someone familiar with Etruscan runes would realize what the decoration around the door frame was.
    No one walked the streets here, but Cal hustled Tessa out of the car and up the walk to the front door. Already, he could see the weak morning rays of the sun. If he stayed out much longer, he’d burn. Not that he’d feel it, but he couldn’t afford to be injured right now and he’d packed his shielded hoodie in his bag, not thinking he’d need it.
    Once on the covered porch, he released Tessa to ring the bell.
    “Come on, you little goat-legged bastard,” he muttered. “Where the hell are you?”
    He turned to make sure Tessa hadn’t gone far and found her standing at the edge of the porch, facing east with her eyes closed and a smile on her face.
    The sun broke over the horizon as the door opened.
    “Hey, Cal. Didn’t expect to see you yet.” Salvatorus stepped to the side of the door and waved a hand, dropping the protection wards so Cal could enter.
    Cal turned back to Tessa. “Come on, babe. Inside. Now.”
    She didn’t answer, her expression one of reverence. And she didn’t move.
    “Fuck, Tessa. Now.”
    She sighed and took a few steps backward, close enough for him to grab her arm and pull her into the house.
    “Sorry.” Her lips turned up in a bittersweet smile. “It’s dawn.”
    As if that said everything.
    Cal took a deep breath, biting his tongue on his suddenly raging fear that this—their situation—was one giant clusterfuck about to happen.
    “And the sun can’t touch my skin or I burn, Tessa. Don’t do that again.”
    “Match made in heaven, if you ask me.” Salvatorus’s rough New York accent broke through the silence that fell as Tessa stared at Cal with her mouth hanging open. “Well, you’re both still in one piece. Come on in, and I’ll get some coffee going. Lady, welcome back.”
    Tessa forced herself to look away from Cal and acknowledge