“I happen to know a few very fine warriors who might be good matches—hunters, outdoorsmen, into opinionated, stubborn women.”
She gasped, and he smiled.
“You’re a butt,” she said.
“Perhaps, but it is a large strong butt.”
She stifled her laugh, but Brutus knew he’d gotten her.
“And what about you?” she asked.
“Me what?”
“Aren’t you going to try to find a mate?” she added.
Was the little virgin warrior princess putting out a feeler? His ego ballooned, even if honor would never allow him to consider being with her. “I’m afraid my mating days are over.”
“But aren’t you worried you’ll get infected by this thing?” she asked him.
“Doubtful. Because my heart is—”
“She’s right, you know,” Colel chimed in, sitting on a pile of leaves by the little campfire. “You really do need to find someone.”
He narrowed his eyes at Colel. “No interest. Can you blame me?”
Colel rolled her turquoise eyes. “Brutus, you’re a strong, intelligent warrior with a big heart. You don’t need me to tell you that your heart will mend and your soul will detach from mine.”
“How do you know that?” he asked.
“The Universe gave us a special connection, but you still had free will. You still had to accept it. So you can just as easily unaccept it. When you decide to move on, you will. And you will feel nothing more for me than an esteemed friendship.”
He wished he felt as certain as she did. At the moment, he still couldn’t accept the fact that the Universe had done this to him. Why attach him to a woman who didn’t want him? “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Colel shrugged. “Well, I’m beat, and we have a long day of hiking tomorrow.” She stretched out on the ground and snapped her fingers. “Blanket!” The swarm of bees exited her hat and covered her entire body.
Fina scrunched her pert little nose.
“It is pretty strange to see the first few times, but you get used to it,” he said to Fina.
“Are all of the gods so crazy?” she whispered.
“Yes,” he replied.
“I heard that!” Colel barked.
He and Fina exchanged smiles. It was actually nice to see this side of her. More relaxed, in her element, not surrounded by the weight of her role. Suddenly, he caught himself gazing into her dark eyes, and she was staring back.
He quickly looked away. He knew better. “Well, uh, guess I’ll turn in, too.”
“Sure. Okay. I’ll keep watch for a while.” Fina unsheathed her dagger and dropped it point down in the dirt for easy reaching.
“No need. Chuck is on point,” he said. “No one will be sneaking up on us—those bees are like a thousand tiny guard dogs.”
“Really? Are you sure?” Fina asked. “Because there are dangerous things out here.”
“Yes. Very sure.” He turned his back to her and stretched out over a bed of leaves he’d set down earlier. Honestly, he hated the act of conversing—he’d never been much of a talker—but with Fina, he rather enjoyed it. Which was why it was best not to let things go any further. “Good night.”
“Good night,” Fina said.
This is such a good dream… Brutus had never felt so hard, so aroused before. He was lying on his king-size bed at his home, a small casita in Arizona he’d purchased a few decades ago for those rare occasions he had downtime. Next to him in that bed was none other than Fina. Naked. Her eyes wide with lust. Begging him to take her hard as she lay back against the crisp white sheets.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
She flashed a seductive grin and batted her eyelashes. “Yes. I want you. I want you to fuck me and make me a woman.”
“That’s impossible. You’re already more woman than any man knows what to do with.” He bowed his head and captured her lips, settling his body between her strong thighs. She felt soft and warm beneath him. He loved how her curves seemed to fit perfectly against his body.
He stared into her eyes for a moment, feeling his chest swell. And then, tingles. Oh, so many tingles. He hadn’t even entered her yet, but he felt like he might just come.
“Brutus, don’t stop,” she muttered in his ear.
“Meow.”
“Meow?” Brutus looked at Fina’s face. “Did you say ‘meow’?”
She nodded. “Meow.”
Brutus’s eyes suddenly sprang open to the sight of two green eyes staring down at him. He blinked.
“Señor Gato? Why are you on my face?” The kitten meowed again, and he realized something was wrapped around his cock. His hard cock.
“Snake!” He jumped to his feet, thinking there was some sort of jungle creature engaging with his privates, but the moment he moved, he saw Fina lying there with her hand in the spot where his groin had just been.
“Brutus,” Fina’s dark eyes fluttered open, “what’s the matter?”
“What’s the matter?” he snarled.
By this time, Colel was sitting up, still covered in her bee blanket, looking like a monster from a horror movie. Didn’t bother him nearly as much as being fondled so wonderfully in his sleep.
“You, you, you…” He pointed at Fina, but did not want to embarrass her, given she’d also been asleep. And, yes, he’d liked what she was just doing, but that was beside the point. “You frightened me. That’s all. Why are you not sleeping over there in your spot?”
Fina rubbed her eyes. “I don’t know. I guess I got a little cold or missed Zeus or something.”
“But you can’t snuggle up to a warrior while he is asleep. What if I had my sword? Or a gun?”
“Sorry. Jeez. I didn’t mean to.” She actually looked a little embarrassed.
Meow. Meow.
Brutus gave the kitten a sour look. “And you. Stay off my face when I’m sleeping.”
“No. That’s his battle cry,” Fina said.
Kittens did not have battle cries. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
A tree branch snapped a few yards away.
Colel’s eyes went wide. So did Fina’s. Someone was near.
“Chuck…attack!” Colel ordered. “You two, run!”
Brutus grabbed Señor Gato and then Fina’s hand. Colel was on their tail, but off in the distance yelps and screams erupted. Her bees were putting up a good fight, from the sound of it.
“Ow! Ow!”
“They’re stinging us!”
“What are those?!”
“Fina! You bitch! We’ll find you! You will pay!”
The three of them kept running. In between the panting, Brutus could hear Fina’s sobs. Why was she crying? Whatever the reason, it would have to wait. They needed to get to safety and put distance between them and those women.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Zac, the smartest motherfucking god on the planet, swiveled in his exec chair and stared out at the twinkling LA lights from the fourteenth floor of the Immortal Matchmakers, Inc., office. “I did it, Tula. I did it.”