He pinched the bridge of his nose and nearly started praying to the Christian God for strength and patience. "It's a house. There's no electricity. And sorry to disappoint, but no orgies or sex furniture." He glanced over his shoulder at her. "If your abilities have recently awoken, it may have you a bit out of sorts, and you'll get used to the overactive sex drive. It becomes a part of you that is impossible to completely ignore but can be tamed."
Sage snorted. "Who said I want to be tamed?"
Gods help him.
Jacen leaned back in the plush chair behind the desk and listened to the mortal man complaining about needing reservations for the week prior to The Aegean Inn's impending reopening. He tried to keep his face from expressing his annoyance, he really did, but he didn't think he succeeded. "Sir, I understand you need lodgings for those days, but we are not open that week. There's nothing I can do."
What should he say? That one of their good friends had been brutally murdered in one of the rooms in the staff quarters. That a fight between two satyr factions in the room adjacent to this one had caused tremendous damage that had recently been renovated? That the influx of satyrs finding their true loves was making it a bit crowded at night, and well…walls were only so thick?
"I want to speak to your manager."
"I am one of the owners and managers," Jacen replied dryly.
The guy huffed. "Is there anyone else? Anyone?"
Evander was enjoying a much-deserved sabbatical with Bremusa, and Calix still had not been seen or heard from since his imprisonment, followed by his disappearance. Orestes was dead, and though Melancton had recently joined the staff, he hadn't had to deal with customers yet—so that was out of the question. Though he'd probably intimidate this man without having to open his mouth, so it might have merit…
Enough.
"Pardon my frankness, sir, but what part of I'm one of the owners made you think there is someone over me that would change the answer I've given you already?" Most days, customer service didn't get to him, but some customers made him want to drop his glamour and scare them out the building.
The man huffed indignantly. "I'm going to leave a strongly worded review on your website." He turned to leave.
"Be sure to include that we were closed for renovations and there were safety concerns. I'm sorry, but I will not risk the health or wellbeing of our guests before we get approval to reopen." It didn't matter anyway. They were booked for five months straight with no vacancies already past the opening date. Being a supposedly haunted inn in downtown Savannah, there were always people trying to get a room. Jacen often wondered if people would be as fast to reserve a room if they knew the things going bump in the night at The Aegean Inn were satyrs instead of ghosts, and guests weren't entirely off limits…when they were single.
His blood heated as the door slammed behind the angry customer while thoughts of his lover, London, filled his mind. She had come to this very bed and breakfast to look for ghosts, and what she found was him. Naked. Hooved. And especially horny, because…horns, naturally.
He smiled. That had been a fun night. He loved London, and he couldn't imagine ever being with anyone else, but one day he would have to. She wasn't a nymph, and because of that, he'd never be able to break his curse to live a normal life with her—if Pan couldn't fix it.
It was fine now, but in fifteen to twenty years? She would age, and he wouldn't. How long until it bothered her, and she resented him? How long until he had to watch her wither while he was trapped in immortality and in his prime? It was like one of her dumb vampire novels. He narrowed his eyes at the ceiling. Is that why she reads them? Didn't seem healthy if so.
Was their relationship the least bit healthy? The sex was off the charts, and as long as he was cursed, it would be. Even afterward, if Ariston keeping his satyr stamina hadn't been a one-off. She definitely had motivation for being with him, but sex alone was not what made a healthy relationship. He loved her, would do anything to make her happy, but the only thing he could do for the betterment of her was to let London go live a normal human life.
He should do it, yet he couldn't. Maybe he was selfish, and gods knew he was a lustful creature of both a curse and his own making. But…
The phone rang, and he jumped at the sudden sound in the darkness in the midst of his brooding. The inn might not be haunted, and the Halloween decorations throughout the lobby not necessarily eerie, but he laughed at his reaction as he picked up the receiver and said, "Thank you for calling The Aegean Inn, this is Jacen."
"Theron is up to something."
He sat up straighter, humor dying as swiftly as it arrived. "Who is this? …Chrys?" Chrysander had been Hermes' informant the past few months after Calix had been taken. While the Arcadians considered him an ally and had gifted him a set of panpipes, they weren't exactly calling each other up and chitchatting for the fun of it.
"He's taken a vial of Priapus' blood from Dionysus' safe as well, as the Hephaestion steel axe," the Boeotian said in a grim tone. "He wants Calix. Last I heard, Theron assumed he was back in Savannah. Keep alert, and if I hear more, I'll let you know." He hung up.
Well, that didn't sound good. The axe was designed to kill Pan—or any satyr if given a mortal blow with it. With a long, sigh, Jacen pulled out his cell phone to call the others
