“You asked about vampires,” Re said. “Here is one of their creators.”
“Really?” I gaped at the painting. “I suppose that makes sense.”
“I've never met Huitzilopochtli, but from what I've heard of him, this seems correct,” he said.
“What about her?” I went to the next painting; becoming as intrigued as he was. “This is Persephone.”
“Persephone,” Re whispered sadly as his hand hovered over the face of a beautiful woman with large, child-like eyes. “Yes; that's absolutely her.”
“She break your heart or something?” I teased.
“No.” He turned to me with a grim look. “She was murdered; ten years ago. They never found her killer.”
“Someone murdered a goddess?” I asked as a horrible ache filled my chest.
I have no idea why it made a difference to me; it wasn't as if I knew her.
“It's not easy to do, especially not for one of us, but yes; someone managed to kill the Goddess of Spring,” Re confirmed. “Another grandson of mine was close friends with her, and I know her husband, Hades. He has nearly lost himself to his grief.”
“That's awful,” I murmured.
“It is.” Re stared at me strangely; his eyes softening as his lips parted slightly. “Will you have dinner with me?”
“Now?” I asked in surprise.
“After the show,” he clarified.
“It'll be late,” I said. “I don't think there will be any restaurants open.”
“Not here.” Re started to smile again. “But I can take us anywhere you like.”
“Anywhere?” I asked skeptically. “You're not talking about tracing are you?”
“That's right,” he said in a surprised tone.
“Tracing isn't safe.”
“When you're with a god, it is.” Re took my hand and used it to draw me closer. “I promise you; I will never knowingly put you in danger.”
“But you might do it without knowing about it?” I challenged.
He shrugged. “I can't be held responsible for things I can't control, and I don't make promises that I can't keep.”
“I can respect that,” I said softly. Then I surprised myself by saying, “All right; I'll have dinner with you.”
Re smiled brilliantly.
“But right now, I have to sell these paintings,” I said. “So, I have to mingle.”
“Let's take care of that then.” Re took my hand and walked me over to Jennifer. “I'll take them all,” he said as he pulled out a black American Express card.
I gaped at Re as Jennifer's eyes lit up.
“I just need an ID and an address to deliver them to,” Jennifer said as she snatched the card.
Re pulled his ID out—that shocked me nearly as much as the purchase—and handed it to Jennifer.
“I'll send someone to pick them up,” he said.
“You don't even want them delivered?” She asked gleefully. “I think I love you.”
“Well, of course, you do,” he said.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“You are the most obnoxious, arrogant asshole,” I said to Re.
We had left the show early since I wasn't needed to work the crowd. The paintings were left up for everyone to enjoy, and the booze continued to flow, but little tags were placed discreetly beneath each painting to show that they'd been sold.
Re had asked me to take him someplace private where we could trace, and I'd showed him into the storeroom. I was nervous; my mother had warned me that tracing was dangerous and was a talent lost to history. But when Re tucked me in against his chest, I felt safe. He held me tightly as a shivering magic pulled us into the Aether. I felt my body fade until I was just energy—pure thoughts—surging through the place in between realms. Then we had reformed inside an Egyptian palace.
“Why am I an asshole?” Re gaped at me as I stepped away from him.
I stared around the magnificent home—at all the décor that looked authentically Egyptian—and then back at him. I put my hands on my hips and glared.
“This is your home, isn't it?” I said in accusation.
“Yes,” he admitted readily. “What's wrong with it?”
“Nothing's wrong with it,” I growled. “The fact that you brought me here after just meeting me this evening is what's wrong. Do you think I'm going to have sex with you?”
“Aren't you?” Re blinked in confusion. “You want to, don't you?”
“I don't have sex with strangers,” I snapped.
“I'm not a stranger; we've met.” He started looking even more confused.
“Women just fall into bed with you, don't they?” I shook my head at him.
“Of course.” He waved a hand down his body. “I'm the Sun God, Re.”
“Ugh!” I threw my hands up in disgust. “This is why you're an asshole. I'm not having sex with you, Re. I take time to really get to know someone before I get naked with them.”
“Why?”
“Because it's more than just pleasure for me,” I said as if I was explaining it to an idiot. “It's an act of love, and I don't love you.”
Something surged through me when I said those words; an uncomfortable shiver that I always felt when I lied. I was a horrible liar and usually didn't bother to even try, but when I did, my body rebelled. I frowned in confusion and when I looked up at Re, I saw a matching expression on his face. Except Re looked more than confused; he looked hurt.
“What in all the realms is happening?” Re whispered.
“A woman was bound to say no to you sometime,” I said to cover my own unease.
“You know that's not what I meant,” Re said as he drew closer to me. “When you said that you don't love me, I got this horrible ache in my chest.” He lifted a hand slowly to my cheek. “Why would that hurt me?”
“And why does it feel like a lie?” I
