Empire of Lust (Gods of Olympus Book 2) Page 6

  “They don’t know what they’re missing.”

  “That’s kind of you to say.”

  Rocky emerged from behind a display stand. “We could use help here. Maybe you could come work for us in the gallery? We need all the help we can get at the moment.”

  “I’m sure Dita isn’t interested,” Laird said quickly. It was clear what he thought about the whole idea. I, on the other hand, thought differently.

  “I could love to help out,” I said eagerly. Probably too eagerly, but I was too excited to care. “I would do anything you need me to.”

  “That sounds just like what we need.” Rocky’s eyes were wide and alight. “Laird, weren’t we just saying that we need an extra set of hands around here?”

  Laird shot him a glare. “It would only be for this week until we got everything set up. It wouldn’t pay much, either. It’s probably not worth your time.”

  “It doesn’t matter. This would give me retail experience for my CV. Plus, I love these pieces of art. I would be a real help to you.”

  Rocky and I both silently pleaded with Laird. I knew I liked Rocky for a reason, he was already proving very useful to my campaign.

  Laird let out a sigh. “Fine, okay. You can start tomorrow and then every day until the opening. Does that work with you?”

  “Perfect,” Rocky and I said in unison.

  8

  I had a job.

  I, the mighty Aphrodite, Goddess of love, fertility, and desire, was employed. At least for a week, anyway. After that, I would smack the experience on my CV and nail the next job interview I had.

  It was all looking up for me.

  When I arrived home, Willa was waiting for me. Her face was covered in a grin, and she wasn’t wearing her scrubs. She looked so much younger than her twenty-seven years in regular clothes.

  “I’ve been waiting for you,” she said, still with that sly grin on her lips. She was up to something, and I wasn’t sure whether that was a good or bad thing.

  “I got a job today. I’m going to help Laird set up the art gallery.”

  “That’s great. It’s time to celebrate! Tonight is girls’ night, and you have to come with us.”

  “What’s girls’ night?” I wasn’t going to commit to anything until I knew what it was. If the past had taught me anything, it was to get all the details first.

  Willa grabbed my hands and tried to get me to dance around the living room. “It’s where we all go out and have yummy drinks and then dance like nobody’s watching. You have to come. My friends will love you.”

  They might, but that would probably be because of my goddess powers rather than any actual feelings. But it did sound like fun anyway. And I would like to celebrate my accomplishment. “Okay, I’ll go.”

  Willa squealed and pushed me to go upstairs and change into something ‘sparkly.’ Luckily, I purchased several dresses that matched that description on my epic shopping day.

  We didn’t have time for dinner, and Willa assured me we would be able to get something while we were out. One of her friends picked us up and we went downtown. The small city was pretty at night with all the lights glittering—much brighter than Olympus was at nighttime.

  A group of five girls was waiting for us when we pulled up. Willa introduced me to them individually, but I couldn’t remember what they were all named. They were also dressed in sparkly outfits, so I knew we were with the right group.

  The club had a large, lit up sign outside declaring it was named Salem’s Bitches. I had no idea why it was called that. As we approached, I spotted the very long line to get in.

  “Oh, we’re going to be here for ages,” Blond Woman whined.

  “Maybe the line will go quickly,” Willa replied, always the cute optimist.

  Now was my chance to use my powers. “Let’s try to jump the queue. We might be able to convince them to let us in now.”

  “They never let us do that.”

  I shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt to try.”

  Walking forward before anyone else could protest, I strutted up to the two large men at the door. Hopefully, they wouldn’t have the same immunity to my power that Laird seemed to have. I’d never met anyone with it before, so I was pretty confident it would work.

  “Good evening,” I purred. Both the men looked at me, openly staring. It wasn’t the sparkly dress that caught their attention but my innate ability to exude desire.

  “Good evening, Ma’am,” the one on the left replied. “You’re looking very sexy tonight, if you don’t mind me saying.”

  “Of course not.” I flashed him a seductive smile. “You are both looking mighty handsome yourselves. Are you having a good night?”

  “We are now.”

  I laughed and allowed my fingers to swipe over my collarbone and then perch on my pouting lips. “You’re too kind. I was wondering if my friends and I could go inside. You would really be doing me a favor.”

  They exchange a glance before stepping aside to form a walkway for us. The one on the left opened the velvet rope. “Of course you can. Have a fantastic night, ladies.”

  “Thank you so much,” I said, leading the way.

  It took a moment for the shock to settle in before Willa and her friends trailed after me. They were a giggling mass as they passed by the large men and made it to the inner doors.

  “That was awesome, Dita!” Blond Woman said. She held up her hand like Willa had done to me before. I smacked it in what they called a high-five.

  “They were very nice men,” I replied, playing it down. Perhaps I shouldn’t have used my powers. I didn’t want them to start thinking there was something special about me. It was against the rules, after all. “So, shall we get a drink now?”

  The girls shouted me a pink drink for getting us past the queue. It tasted like pure sugar and was gone too soon. The burn it left in my throat warmed me until my cheeks flushed.

  Music pumped, setting a beat that fueled people dancing all around the place. Dark booths were pushed up against the wall, while the bar sat in the middle of the room. People were everywhere, lost in their determination to have a good time.

  Men stopped dancing to watch us as we moved through the dance floor to claim one of the few empty booths. The women all crammed into the padded seats and sipped their drink—I was on to my second one, this one was green.

  People openly stared at me. One of the men received a slap to the face from the woman he was supposed to be dancing with. It didn’t stop him continuing to stare.

  It wasn’t long before it started to get uncomfortable. They were going to out me and my powers. I had to do something so the spotlight would get off me and go to someone else.

  “I’m going to dance,” I declared. The girls on the end of the booth let me out, and I headed into the fray. It wasn’t easy to sit around and talk anyway, the music was making it too difficult.

  I’d always enjoyed dancing. Something about the rhythm always sent joy singing through my veins and encouraged me to let go. My body knew how to move as it grasped the beat and swayed seductively. Eros once told me that dancing was like making love with your clothes on. It summed it up beautifully for me.

  It took only seconds before a man started dancing with me. He tried to pull me against him, but I pushed him back. I did not want to lead any of these men on. With alcohol fueling their lust, there was no telling how far their desires would go. I didn’t want to start any fights tonight. Especially when I had no intention of going home with any of them.

  We had music back home, but it was nothing like this. Lyres and pan pipes normally played when I took to the dancefloor at a party. It was simple and haunting. These beats vibrated right through my body and made my ribs shake.

  I liked it.

  My next dance partner pushed the first man out of the way and took his place. He was not happy about it but decided to dance at the side of me instead. After that, it was a parade of men as they vied to be the next one to dance with me.

  Through the endless parade of men, I caught a glimpse of Willa dancing with her friends. They were huddled in a group as they busted a move together. It was nice seeing her relax and let go. Willa worked far too hard for her own good.

  I danced until I was hot, sweaty, and in need of another drink. I excused myself from the group of men—much to their cries of disappointment—and headed toward the bar. I didn’t even have to order a drink before the bartender placed one in front of me.

  Turns out I didn’t need money after all.

  I sat on a stool and sipped my drink, trying not to guzzle it down this time. My head was spinning from the previous ones and the stuffy heat. I didn’t want to have to leave before the night was over.

  Willa’s friends flanked me shortly afterward. Brunette Woman brought them all a round of drinks. Apparently, I was the only one who didn’t have to pay for anything. Another side effect of my goddess powers, perhaps.

  “So you have to tell us your secret,” Blond Woman said.

  “I don’t understand,” I replied happily. I found it better to play dumb sometimes. Better than divulging all my secrets all at once.

  She slid onto the stool next to me. Her breath was laced with the smell of alcohol. I think Willa said she was a nurse at the same hospital where she worked. Her name possibly started with a B. “You have the eye of every single guy in this place. They are literally drooling to dance with you. How do you do it?”

  “I think that’s an exaggeration.”

  Curly-Haired Woman took up on the conversation on the other side of me. “Nope, it’s not. Every man is tripping over their own balls trying to get to you. Are you wearing some kind of pheromone perfume or something?”

  Willa stepped in, saving me momentarily. “Come on, guys, you all have eyes. Dita is drop-dead gorgeous. There is no secret why every guy wants to get with her.”

  I started to protest to show some kind of modesty, but Brunette Woman interrupted me. “I’m not denying she’s as beautiful as all hell, but there has to be something else she’s doing. Those bouncers at the door couldn’t let her in fast enough. Come on, what’s your trick for flirting with all these guys?”

  Flirting. I could run with that. “I just smile and try to be really friendly. It’s really no different from what anyone else does.”

  “I could smile until the cows come home and still have all the guys running for the hills,” Blond Woman said, making the others laugh.

  “Maybe they can all hear your biological clock ticking,” Brunette Woman replied. She set them off laughing again. I didn’t quite understand what was so funny. Men loved a fertile woman, surely they wouldn’t run from that?

  They all looked at me again for answers. “Beauty comes from within,” I started. “Men love it when you are confident and happy. If you feel good and are a good person, it shines through. That’s what attracts males, in my opinion.”

  They all laughed at me.

  Perhaps they were just drunk.

  I offered to buy them all another round of drinks and that distracted them from the conversation. I escaped while I could and headed back to the dance floor. At least there nobody interrogated me.

  The men started buzzing around me instantly. This time, I didn’t want them all hanging around. I grabbed one to claim ownership and didn’t let him go. He was tall with dark hair and a chiseled jawline. He reminded me a lot of the men back home.

  We danced together in a fluid motion. Our bodies ground together in sync with the beat of the music. I felt it thrum through my ribcage and come out my feet. Sweat glistened against my skin from the beautiful exertion.

  He smelt nice, very nice. When I nuzzled into his neck, I was consumed by the aroma as it overtook my senses. I could have gotten high off that scent if I continued to inhale.

  But as much fun as I was having, a part of my mind was continually thinking about Laird. I wondered if he danced. I wondered what he was doing that night. I wondered if he was sculpting and stressing about the opening. Above all, I wondered if I would ever get a chance to know him better.

  The man wrapped around my dancing form was nice and all, but he wasn’t Laird. He couldn’t even hold a candle to him. I wished I didn’t think about him so much, but there was no way to force him from my brain.

  Dancing with him suddenly didn’t seem like so much fun anymore. I wriggled from his hold and pushed away from his chest.

  “Hey, what are you doing?” he demanded to know.

  “I need some air,” I shouted over the music. He wasn’t taking the hint as he tried to keep a hold of me. I had to really push to get him to take a step back.

  “You can’t just go.”

  “Yeah, I can.”

  He grabbed my arm and I had to yank it out of his grasp before I could walk away. He followed me, hassling me every step of the way. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get away from him safely.

  “Stop. You can’t just leave.”

  He was starting to really scare me. His lust was overtaking him and was being fueled the longer he spent with me. I didn’t think it would get this bad. Normally men would back down if I really showed them I wasn’t interested.

  Normally.

  Not tonight.

  I frantically searched the room, looking for a way out. The club had grown more crowded since we arrived and bodies writhed everywhere. Apart from a few neon green ‘Exit’ signs, I couldn’t see much else. I headed toward one when the man stopped me by pulling my hair.

  I whipped around and pushed him backward with both hands and all my strength. He stumbled a few paces before lurching at me again. I dodged to the right, but he grabbed my forearms in his hands and squeezed them tightly.

  “I said you’re staying with me,” he snarled.

  “Let go of me!”

  True fear unfurled in my stomach as I stared into his irate face. His eyes were blazing with the look of the devil, and his strength was almost as powerful as Heracles. I didn’t know how to get away from him.

  “Please,” I begged.

  “We’re going to keep dancing.”

  “No, I need to go.”

  He yanked me forward and I almost fell down. My arms were practically pulled out of their sockets from the sharp tug.

  All of a sudden there was a large body between us, tearing our arms apart. One of the large security men was standing in front of me, blocking my view of the horrible man.

  He stood there with his arms crossed, calmly telling the man I was going to be left alone now. The man didn’t like it, but he did eventually give up and merge back into the crowd.

  My body visibly collapsed inwards with relief. The man had shaken me and I couldn’t stay in the club any longer. My head was spinning and bile was creeping up my throat. I regretted all those brightly-colored drinks I’d been downing without any thought.

  The security man escorted me out, and I thanked him profusely. The night air rushed at me with its sudden coolness. I gasped in the oxygen and let it calm my nerves.

  I knew better than to lead a man on and allow them to get too close to me. But it had felt so good on the dance floor that I hadn’t been thinking about all the normal warning bells inside my head. It was as much my own fault as the man’s.

  I sat on the steps next to the club and waited for Willa and her friends to join me.

  With my first day of work looming, I hoped they wouldn’t make it a late night.

  9

  I was dressed in a floral print skirt with a matching pink top. It was summery and practical for my first official day of work at the art gallery.

  Enthusiasm flowed through my veins at all the wonderful work I was going to do. Anything I could do to help Laird and Rocky set up for the exhibition. I was a part of something, and I wanted to make an excellent contribution.

  “There’s a broom in the corner,” Laird said distractedly while I waited for my first task of the day. He hadn’t noticed my beautiful new outfit yet. “Sweep the gallery, it’s a mess.”

  “You want me to clean up?” I asked. Surely I had more skills to offer them than merely cleaning. Because, really, cleaning wasn’t actually a skill I had. We had people for that in Olympus.

  “Is there a problem with that?”

  “No, no, of course not.” If I went to any other place in the world, men would be falling over themselves to clean for me. I guessed that wasn’t going to happen here. My downfall would have been embarrassing if those around me knew of it too.

  The broom was covered in dust, just like the floor. I started in the corner and swept until my fingers were red and my nose sniffled. It was satisfying seeing a clean area once I was finished.

  I replaced the broom in the corner and surveyed the room. Laird was making some finishing touches on a painting and seemed to be in the zone. Rocky was making a cup of coffee, I headed his way.

  “I’m all done with the sweeping,” I said.

  “Oh, well done. Would you like a coffee?” I nodded and he made me one. That was more like the treatment I was used to. “It’s so good to have you here. We have so much work to do and so little time. I don’t know what Laird was thinking making such a tight deadline.”

  “Surely I can do more to contribute than just sweeping.”

  “You want to do more?”

  “I’m here to work. I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”

  A sly smile spread across his face. “Well, girl, let’s put you to work.” He handed me the mug and led the way to the back room. “All these programs need to be folded, and an insert placed between the folds. Then they should be sealed with the little gold stickers. See?” He showed me how to do it with one.

  It seemed pretty basic, but it was better than cleaning. At least this was actually helpful to them. “Got it.”

  Rocky left me to it.

  I spent two hours making the programs. My back started to hurt from being hunched over, and paper cuts dotted my fingers. I never wanted to see another program again in my life.

  After a quick break, Rocky gave me my next task. I had to assemble displays from their boxes. He quickly went through one with lightning speed. It felt stupid asking him to slow down when he had other things to do.