Accidentally in Love With a God (2012) Read Free Page A

exactly”—I swallowed hard—“are you?”
    “ You are in no danger from me.”
    “How reassuring. Really. Don’t suppose you’re going to tell me more? Species might be nice. Or, how it’s possible your body is in the Mexican jungle, yet I can hear you?”
    “ Those points are not open for discussion.”
    Of course not. Why should I believe he’d make this easy? “You wouldn’t happen to look like a troll or have a body covered in giant warts?” At a minimum I hoped he’d be uglier than sin; it would help me end my obsession.
    He sighed in that special tone, which sounded more like a groan and made my toes curl. “Not even close.”
    Dammit. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me who the hell you really are,” I said.
    He let out a soft, arrogance-filled chuckle, as if he already knew he’d get what he wanted without any concessions. “ Rest, my sweet. You need to heal. There’ll be time later to make our plans, but I am truly sorry for this. Sorry for putting you in this position when I am supposed to protect you.”
    “Protect me from what, dammit?”
    Silence.
    “For once, answer me!” I demanded.
    “ For starters, yourself.”
    “I'm a grown woman. I don't need a babysitter.” Except around bright yellow taxis.
    “ Heads, Emma. Frozen heads. Twenty of them in his fucking freezer. The bastard.”
    “Now is not the time for a deranged haiku, Guy.” He always did have a bad, bad sense of humor.
    “ Not a haiku, Emma. That male you went on a date with, Jake. They found heads in his freezer. He was a serial killer.”
    “I—I don’t believe you.” I cupped my hands over my mouth. I would have gone home with Jake if he’d asked. Not that I was easy, but I’d been desperate to make a stand against Guy, and Jake was too hot.
    “ Just ask your friend, Anne. She was here visiting and spoke of it.” His tone was smug. Too smug. “ I saved your life. Twice.”
    I suddenly felt sick. Not because of the heads, mind you—although, that was certainly gross. But because if Guy had been telling the truth about Jake being “off,” then he was also telling the truth about protecting me from that “something else,” he kept eluding to. I was in danger. But from what? Bastard. It was my life. Why wouldn’t he tell me what was going on? “Fine. You were right about Jake. But I don’t care if you saved my life; I’d face the fires of hell to be rid of you.”
    “ I do not believe that for one moment, Emma. You. Need. Me. But you might get your wish anyway, little girl.”
     

Chapter THREE
     
     
    1940. Bacalar, Southern Mexico.
     
    “For the love of all things big and small, which way?” The towering naked god stood alone in the middle of the dense jungle, dripping like a wet dog.
    Silence. Not even the waking birds lifted a beak to clue him in.
    Votan growled. He didn’t have time for petty games. Not when there was killing to do, and not when he was in a hurry to return home. Or, more accurately stated, in a hurry to get the hell out of his weak human-like form. It was nothing shy of annoying.
    “Amusing, Cimil. Very amusing. Just remember, I never forget. And worse, I never forgive,” he barked into the air above him.
    The goddess Cimil, who was on point as his lookout, delighted in tormenting others, and sometimes she simply went too far. Just yesterday, for example, she’d taunted him mercilessly after she had had another vision. True to her sadistic nature, she disclosed only enough information to bring about his suffering. She’d said a female would soon enter his life and emasculate him. “At this very moment”—she’d chuckled and clapped—“I’m watching the future-version of you in my head, Votan, as you grovel and pine for her.” She sighed. “Good times. Good times.”
    Who was this woman from Cimil’s vision? And what sort of powers would she possess? Cimil would not say, but for any female to control him, she’d have to be a force of nature. The thought