Mortal Seductions by Allyson James

Author:Allyson James [James, Allyson]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9780425229705
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Published: 2009-09-01T00:00:00+00:00

12

VALERIE faced her goddess after having lain with a man, having done the things she’d done with Demitri. As a priestess, she should feel shame, guilt, remorse, but Val felt none of these. Demitri was beautiful, she loved him, and she wasn’t ashamed of lying with him.

“Talk about what?” she asked Aphrodite.

“This and that.”

“I’ll get dressed.” Val started to turn away, but Aphrodite pointed at the bedroom door, and it closed with a soft click.

“No need, Val darling. I know what a woman’s body looks like, and yours is very pretty. If you’re cold, your scarf is there.”

Val refrained from covering herself, knowing Aphrodite would take it as a sign of weakness. Right now, Val wanted to appear strong.

“What do we need to talk about?” she repeated.

“You, dear.” Aphrodite patted the sofa beside her. “Come. Sit. Have a grape.”

Val perched herself on the sliver of sofa next to Aphrodite’s foot. Val didn’t reach for the fruit, not trusting where it came from. Eating food from Mount Olympus or some other sacred place could carry unknown consequences.

“I obtained them at the market at the end of the road,” Aphrodite said, as though reading her thoughts.

“You bought them?” Val couldn’t imagine Aphrodite marching into a market and actually purchasing something with mundane money.

“I persuaded the merchant to let me have them. He will have peace and prosperity for a year for his generosity.”

Val didn’t answer. She’d worked for Aphrodite for several thousand years and still feared her a bit. Goddesses did things for a variety of reasons, not all of them beneficial. They were short-tempered and easily offended, and their vengeance for the smallest transgression could be dire.

“Do eat, Val. You’re too thin.”

Val obediently took a grape and ate it, putting the seeds in a small bowl already filled with a collection of them. The grape was sweet and good.

“I am looking forward to having you back in my fold, my dear. You are so pretty and obedient. A joy, really.”

Val nearly choked on the grape. “You want me to go back to being your priestess?”

“Of course I do. Why do you think I persuaded the gods to let me try to cure you?”

Val coughed, her eyes streaming. “I thought, if I conquered Valenarian, Demitri and I could . . .”

“You can spend time with him, of course, but no, you will come back to me. I thought you might misinterpret that, so I wanted to pop along and make sure you understood.”

Val stared at her, stunned. She had somehow assumed that if they won, she would stay with Demitri. And Leon. Demitri was growing fond of Leon, it was obvious. The three of them together would be unconventional by human standards, but demigods could follow different conventions.

“Then I will have to lose him again,” Val said softly. “No matter what happens.”

“I believe you’ll find that when you drive the demon out of you, you won’t want to stay with him,” Aphrodite said, sounding complacent. “You’ll be my obedient servant, living for your work.

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