"I'll call him and have him call you." He bit his lip and suppressed a groan as London slipped out of the bed and into the bathroom, gracing him with a great view of her ass. As soon as he hung up the phone, he would bend her over and—
"Any sign of Theron?" Chrys' question served as a bucket of ice water. Theron was the monster the curse intended the rest of them to become.
"No. To be fair though, it's not exactly like we can hunt for him in the middle of the night. No glamour after sunset."
Chrys grunted. "It's so annoying how Cyprian is getting away with it these days."
"Yeah… But for how long?" Jacen had a feeling that Cyprian's fame and antics would get him into trouble. Too many humans knew about his curse, and as his band became more popular, too many who didn't were around him all night. He was an exposure problem waiting to happen. Pan wanted him to have his freedom, but the rest of the Satyroi had hidden their satyr form for so long that it didn't seem fair that he was allowed to continue his theatrics the way he did.
"Remains to be seen. Looks like he's going to be here in Atlanta for Christmas, doing a show and a televised program."
Jacen stood and riffled through his closet. "I didn't know you were back in Georgia."
"After Calix…" Chrys cleared his throat. "I couldn't stay there anymore. After I called you, I finalized relocating to the Atlanta office. Board meeting was called today last minute, and here I am…in Dionysus' office. By the way, I may have to leave the country for a few days and will be difficult to get in touch with where I am going."
Jacen snorted as he pulled on a pair of navy-colored pants for work. "Running away already? You didn't even last a day."
"Ha, ha." The Boeotian chuckled, and a sound like ruffled paperwork came over the line. "Something weird is going on where Lamia and Echidna were hiding out in Brazil. I'm hoping it's some new made-up cryptid after all the conspiracies following what happened with the sun and in Greece…"
All humor faded from his thoughts. Echidna, the Mother of Monsters, could have left anything behind in that jungle. "Don't go alone. Do you need someone to have your back?"
"Nah." Chrys didn't sound too confident about it. "I also need to get in contact with Myrine and the vrykolakas. I may see if they know anything about the sightings or want to tag along."
Jacen blinked. That actually wasn't a bad idea, and he didn't know if he would have thought of it. Maybe Chrys taking over for Dionysus would be a good thing. A welcome change. "I can text you their last known whereabouts once I get upstairs and start working. Think you can handle all those warrior women on your own? Vander can barely handle Bremusa."
"She handles him just fine, I bet."
They laughed as the conversation came to a close, and Jacen ended the call then finished getting dressed as London came back out the bathroom, dripping wet and wrapped in a towel. "Dressed already? I wasn't done with breakfast."
Jacen looked down at the clock on the nightstand. "I have fifteen minutes."
London kneeled on the floor in front of him and unzipped his fly, grinning up to him. "That's perfect. Did I mention I'm an expert at time management?"
She could manage him however she liked.
6
Adonis woke with a start. There, at the end of the couch, Sage perched on the armrest staring at him. She still wore his clothes, the material loose around her slender frame, and the dim morning light behind her cast her face in shadow beneath her dark purple hair. "That is creepy as hell." His voice came out scratchy.
"I can't believe you snore so loudly." She shook her head. "How can you sleep cooped up on this couch? Your legs barely fit on it. And your horns…" Did she ever stop talking?
"Don't worry about me or my horns," he snapped. "And I don't snore."
"Yes, you do. Like a friggin' freight train."
He glared at her, but she didn't seem to catch the hint to leave him alone. In fact, the more annoyed he got, the wider her grin became. That wouldn't do at all. He would not be the butt of her jokes. He wouldn't!
Sage cocked her head to the side. "Why are you scowling at me?"
Really? "Oh, no idea. Some woman woke me up by staring at me and thinks it's funny that I didn't care for it."
She giggled and covered her mouth. Acting all coy.
Women. Three thousand years, and he still didn't understand them. "My mistake. Some little girl."
Her smile faded and she rolled her eyes. "You're a crabby old man trapped in a college boy's body."
And best she remember it, too. Still, the description grated. "Did it at least stop raining?"
Sage stretched and hopped down from the couch. The movement reminded him she wasn't wearing a bra under his baggy clothes. Unsurprisingly, he continued to not have a reaction to something that even before the curse would have gotten a rise out of him. It took all his patience not to let out the growl of frustration eating at him.
"Eager to get rid of me already?"
He bit his tongue to keep from agreeing with that assessment. He'd love it if she'd leave and never come back. He wasn't sure what was worse: not being turned on or a beautiful woman who knew it. His pride was his greatest downfall, and he'd always reacted horribly to humiliation. This shit was embarrassing as hell. But…he couldn't let her leave until he got ahold of Hermes or found an alternative to
