Pan's Conquest (Entangled Covet) Read Free

twice their height. “Hopefully, this one doesn’t have any ghosts.”
    Syrinx laughed. “I doubt it.” Ghosts were confined to the underworld. Gods could roam the earth freely, but you’d find no chain-dragging skeletons here. Thank goodness, because Hades would have a field day. She wished she could reassure her friend that her spectral worries were for naught, but giving her any more information would only blow Syrinx’s cover. And she enjoyed playing along with the mortals way too much.
    “Where’s the doorbell?” Kaye bounced on her heels. Usually, they wore sneakers and jeans while kneeling in the dirt, but Syrinx had insisted they dress up for this meeting because this was an important client. Kaye looked adorable in her beige pencil skirt and floral blouse. It reminded Syrinx she needed to take her on a girls’ night out soon. As the goddess of chastity, Syrinx didn’t need love, but Kaye might want to go looking. Setting up her friend would be more than fun.
    “Looks like we’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way.” Syrinx picked up a large bronze ring and knocked three times.
    They waited while a hot summer breeze played with strands of their hair.
    “Looks like no one’s home.” Kaye moved to leave, but Syrinx grabbed her arm. Mortals were so impatient.
    “Wait a sec.”
    “Hey, do you think Mr. Thomas is a brooding, handsome older man like Mr. Rochester with a deep, dark secret?” Kaye glanced around the grounds.
    “Honestly, you have a way overactive imagination.” Syrinx shook her head. “I’m sure he’s just as boring as any other man.”
    Kaye’s eyes came to rest on Syrinx. Intrigue sparked in her gaze.
    Reaching out to touch a strand of Syrinx’s hair, she said, “Your hair glows lighter each time you’re out in the sun. It looks magical, like…iridescent moonlight.”
    Syrinx pretended to be annoyed. Kaye was brighter than she led on. Her wit coupled with her imagination brought her closer to Syrinx’s secret every day. Someday, she’d catch on to the fact that Syrinx never aged, got sick, or slept. “It’s called bleach.”
    Just then, the door opened, and an elderly man with an elephantine nose peered down at them. “Ladies, I assume you’re from Sylvia’s Creations?”
    “Excellent assumption.” Syrinx smiled and offered her hand. “Sylvia Rain. This is my assistant, Kaye Underhill.”
    He shook both their hands. “Rutherford Hayes. I spoke to you on the phone.” With a wave of his hand, he led them in.
    A crystal chandelier hung in the center of the foyer. Two grand staircases spiraled on either side to a balcony carved in wood. A vase of hyacinths sat on a large oriental rug, the flowers splayed out in the perfect arrangement only a true florist would notice.
    “It’s beautiful.” Syrinx was impressed, and it was hard to impress a god who’d seen primordial spring envelop the land of the nymphs in all its glory.
    “In a spooky, Mr. Rochester sort of way.” Kaye frowned.
    Syrinx elbowed her in the arm. She should have left her pruning the roses.
    Rutherford raised an eyebrow at her comment. “Master Thomas will be with you shortly.”
    As Rutherford paced slowly back up the stairs, Syrinx pulled her friend aside. “Let me do the talking, okay?”
    “Sure, silence the brains behind the organization.” Kaye winked at Syrinx, then gazed past her shoulder. Her eyes widened. She whispered under her breath. “Holy Mary, mother of hotness. Who is that?”
    Maybe Syrinx didn’t have to take Kaye out on a girls’ night after all. She turned around.
    A clean-cut young man in his late twenties claimed the balcony like the throne of a king. He wore a pressed suit that hugged the curves of his rugged shoulders and broad chest. The strong angles of his face and his smoldering copper-brown eyes drew her attention.
    But the way he looked at her made her feel as though they’d known each other for centuries. She studied his face, looking for anything to bring up