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  So, why was he looking at her as if she were a freaking goddess? It was enough to make her feel like one. A peculiarly decadent one who needed a certain itch scratched.

  Oh, boy. Was she going to have to be the strong one here? Or would they molder in this covetous place, Eurydice all but forgotten?

  Dionysus swore. Several times. His face changed, and he pulled her from the room, even as the wanton horde of fake wine gods cried out for them. “Let's get you out of here,” he muttered.

  But as he dragged her away, as they ran down a hallway that boasted even more rooms full of orgiastic inhabitants, Josie feared it was he as much as she who needed to be away from the lure of all that naked flesh.

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  Chapter 9

  "Where are you taking me?” she asked Dionysus as he yanked her back into the hallway. “Those folks back there seemed ... friendly. Maybe it's rude to run off so quickly. I mean, we didn't even get any of their names."

  Damn the frustrating woman! He'd really hoped she wouldn't fall quite so quickly. Yes, there was a part of him that really wanted to throw her to the ground and fuck her senseless. An astonishingly big part of him, one that had been throbbing in agreement ever since he'd first laid eyes on her. But at the same time, there was another part of him who wanted to see her vanquish all the evils of this place. To somehow rise above them.

  And yet, he'd seen it in her eyes. She'd been as tempted as he was. And he couldn't say he blamed her.

  It would be so easy. To fall back into the depraved patterns that had made him a legend. To succumb to the siren song of The Sinners for a while, knowing that as a god, he could get out whenever he grew tired of the perpetual X-rated activity. But what about Josie? She was mortal, with mortal limitations. If he let her give in, he might not be able to get her back out again.

  He looked down at her. All of a sudden, she seemed tired. She was sighing and rubbing her eyes. The action made her look even younger than her twenty-seven years. And despite the fact the naughty thing still hadn't buttoned up her blouse, exposing a good amount of soft waist and hip, he just wanted to take her somewhere and snuggle with her.

  Snuggle. Him.

  "Is it so wrong?” he murmured.

  "Is what wrong?” she yawned, interrupting his protective, scattered thoughts. “Dionysus, I'm tired."

  "Of course, you are, baby,” he whispered, drawing her in for a hug. “You've been to hell. Not quite back yet, but we'll get you there.” He kissed the top of her head, loving the fine texture of each golden hair against his skin.

  She looked up, her pretty hazel eyes appearing so foggy, almost inebriated. The lids were heavy. Her lashes wanting to droop. Surprising him, she got up on tiptoe and kissed him on the mouth. A soft, sweet kiss that made him hunger for more, just the tip of her tongue flicking at his bottom lip.

  She touched her lips. “Hmm,” she said drowsily. “Did you know you taste like a big grape? Your kisses are so good. Like wine. They make me feel drunk."

  And hers seared him! Burned him through to his very core.

  Who was this woman, that she had this debilitating effect on him?

  She rested her head on his chest and spoke into his robe. “Can I just rest for a few minutes? Please."

  He swept her into his arms and carried her down the hall. “Yes, Josie. I'll watch over you while you sleep.” If memory served, and if things hadn't changed too much in The Sinners, he recalled a quiet room somewhere at the end of the hall. They'd be safe there for a while.

  "Thank you,” she whispered.

  The simple sweetness of those two little words made him ready to take on all of Hades for her. That and a lot worse.

  He hadn't even felt that for Ariadne. She'd been the most important woman in his life for years. No one had rivaled her in his affections. And yet, not once had he ever felt compelled to retrieve her from the bowels of Hades. He'd never gone to look for her in this place, had just assumed she'd moved onto a better plane. But the thought of losing Josie here scared him to death, which was saying a lot for someone who was basically death-proof.

  He wanted to see Josie happy. Wanted to brush aside her hair from her face as she slept. Wanted to give her peaceful dreams of him making beautiful love to her. Needed to hear her sigh in ultimate satisfaction and joy. Somehow, he knew the sound of her sighing like that would nourish him for a thousand years.

  He also wanted to find out who Sean was. He'd never heard her mention that name before. When she had, her voice bubbling with rage and regret, he'd wanted to wipe every memory of the mystery man from her mind. And replace those memories with ones of him instead.

  Cold comprehension smacked him in the head.

  By Hera's rectum! He was falling in love with his mouthy coffee girl!

  A few minutes later, Dionysus was carrying Josie into the empty room at the end of the hall. Another room with lavish furnishings, gilt details, and soft, lavender upholstery. He marveled at the sights her brain was creating, for each person in Hades created their own environment. And man, for a woman who lived in sweatpants, her taste in fantasy rooms was distinctly girly!

  Once they were inside, safe from the sexual throng whose pants and moans he could still hear, he closed the door. Facing it, he uttered an incantation that would ensure they were not disturbed.

  Then he gently laid his womanly burden on the plush bed and lay down next to her. She surprised him by opening her eyes. He'd thought she was already asleep.

  He ran a hand over her hair and smiled at her. “It's okay. You can rest now. We won't be disturbed."

  Not for a while, anyway. They were in Hades, after all. Eventually, all beautiful things turned sour here. But he figured he had some time to see that she recharged.

  Her lips parted in a small smile. She closed her eyes, breathed in and out a few times, then opened her eyes again. “What were those words you were whispering at the door?"

  He narrowed his eyes at her, but couldn't stop grinning. “You should be resting, not asking nosy questions."

  "I will but tell me what you said first."

  He snuggled in closer to her, permitting himself to hold her hand. She didn't push him away. “Oh, it was nothing. A little spell, you could say, to make sure we're not disturbed."

  "Do you ... cast spells often?"

  "That makes me sound like a wizard. It's not quite the same thing. But yes, here and there, there are ancient words I can use to make things go the way I want,” he said. “I guess all gods use that power to make the little things in life easier."

  She yawned again, but was clearly too interested in the topic to close her eyes. Stubborn thing that she was.

  "But don't you think working through those little things is what makes us better people? You know, human?"

  His smile fell away. She still thought he was too big for his britches. “I'm not human, Josie. Why should I have to waste my time struggling? Why should I walk from one side of town to another when I can snap my fingers and fly there?"

  "Because you're missing the most important part of the journey,” she said simply. “I think in doing those routine things we learn a lot about ourselves."

  "I've had eons to analyze myself, sweetheart,” he said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. “Trust me. I know everything I need to know."

  "But isn't it kind of ... boring, living forever, and not working toward something?"

  He permitted himself to think about it for a moment, until it made him uncomfortable. He'd never questioned the value of his own existence before. He was Dionysus. He just was. Always had been. Forever and ever. Amen.

  No goals. No emotion. No regret.

  "What about you?” he asked, deflecting her hard-hitting question. “You do the same thing every day. Don't you want to work toward something else?"

  She stared at him for a second, then closed her eyes. She just lay there, head on the pillow, not saying a word. For a second, he thought she'd chosen that moment to fall asleep.
But then she opened her eyes again, and spoke.

  "I do have a goal,” she said quietly. “At least, I did. I wanted to open my own winery."

  "A winery?” he asked, unbelievably tickled by the idea. Now there was an idea that appealed to him! “That's amazing. So, why aren't you doing it?"

  Her face grew tight, as if remembering something that troubled her. “I was trying. I even went to the vintner's college in Niagara-on-the-Lake to learn all about it.” She looked up at him, her face animated now that she was talking about the college. “It was so amazing to take those classes. To be among people who had the same passion, to be learning from professionals who knew every grape inside and out. I was just gobbling up the information. Growing conditions, soil. I was even contemplating an exchange course that would have taken me to France to visit the Loire Valley. Vintner's college was everything I'd hoped it would be."

  He frowned. “What happened? Did your love of cannoli take over?"

  "My parents died. Well, my mom died when I was pretty young. But my dad went a few years ago. When he did, my brothers and I discovered he'd made a lot of bad investments over time. Owed a lot of money to people. Mike and Angelo just didn't have enough cash to pull through on their own. They'd only ever worked at the bakery with Dad, but never saw much of the profits. But I'd been working part-time while in school and had been saving hard. So, I gave them my savings to keep the family bakery afloat. There was no money left for college, and I've never been able to quite make it back."

  Dionysus was filled with an anger that astounded him. “You gave up your dream to help them, and they won't even make you a partner?"

  "What can I say? It's always been the Marino Brothers Bakery.” She shrugged, obviously unwilling to bad-mouth her lousy brothers. “To be honest, it doesn't really matter to me. My heart's not in the bakery anyway. I love that my family's energy is in the place, but it's not my true calling. I just hate being treated like a second-class citizen by my own brothers."

  What shits. He made a mental note to have a serious talk with Mike and Angelo when he was done in Hades. He'd make them see reason. Then he'd snap his fingers, create a dozen wineries for Josie, and make her the CEO of every last one.

  She was stretching on the bed, clearly restless and still so tired. But he suspected she was either unable or unwilling to sleep after her admission. He watched her roll around in the covers for a few minutes, trying to get comfortable in the strange bed.

  She needed to sleep, but her mortal brain was too much in overdrive with everything she'd seen and done.

  Suddenly, a wonderful idea occurred to him. A way to alleviate her stress and to help her relax.

  It might even ease the hard-on that was yet tormenting him.

  But would she go along with it?

  "Josie,” he whispered. “You need to rest."

  She turned to him, dark circles under her pretty eyes, looking desperate for sleep. Or desperate for some other release? He wasn't sure.

  "I can't,” she moaned. “I can't stop picturing them."

  His cock throbbed. “You mean the people in the rest of the house?"

  She nodded.

  He gritted his teeth and took a chance. “You want to feel good like that, too?"

  Once more, she nodded, looking thoroughly ashamed of herself for doing so.

  "I can make you feel like that, Josie. If you let me."

  She looked so tempted, but obviously needed an excuse to give in. She'd spent her life giving to others and needed to be able to justify taking her own pleasure.

  "Then you'll be able to sleep,” he said, giving her the excuse she so needed. “I promise."

  Dionysus waited. And when he saw that third little nod, his heart leapt. As the most tantalizing excitement inflated his chest, he lowered his head to kiss her.

  Josie reasoned with herself as thrill upon thrill coursed through every vein in her body. He was going to kiss her! In fact, she had the distinct impression Dionysus was going to do a whole lot more than that.

  Was she okay with it? Right now, hell, yes! She was tired of being responsible.

  Sure, he was sometimes egotistical and demanding, but she couldn't deny she wanted him any longer. She was sure that was the reason she couldn't sleep next to him. She could never put her body next to his and think of sleep. It was impossible. Her body wanted more.

  Her body wanted to be taken. Ravished. Consumed by him.

  And from the roguish glint in his eye, that was indeed his plan!

  He touched his lips to hers, and once again her pores were filled with the intoxicating scent of a September grape harvest. That gorgeous fragrance from her childhood, the sweet memory which had ultimately lured her to vintner's college. And, clinging as it did to Dionysus's skin and hair, the scent called to her unlike any other.

  On him, it made her dream. Made her hope. Gave her wild and crazy fantasies in which he was the star and she was happy to bask in his glory.

  She opened her lips to him and his tasty tongue slid inside, feeding her at the same time that it made her crave more of him. And as he kissed her, she closed her eyes and reveled in the slow, drunken sensation that was creeping through her bones. His tongue flicked at hers, and she tasted pinot noir. He nibbled at her bottom lip and the flavor of chardonnay exploded through her. He plunged his tongue deep into her mouth, exploring and claiming her at once, and she swore she was swimming in a delicious river of cabernet sauvignon.

  He was giving her a winery in his kiss!

  He ended the delectable embrace on a breath and pulled away from her for a moment. She opened her eyes with difficulty, feeling so drugged, and looked to him with worry.

  He wasn't done, was he?

  As if reading her mind, Dionysus grinned. “I'm nowhere near being done with you."

  He slowly began to undress her. And, as inebriated as she felt, she also felt completely alive and eager to see what he'd do next. With leisure, but with fierce need darkening his eyes, he rolled her already unfastened blouse down over her shoulders and arms. Licking his lips, making them look like plump, juicy fruits, he unclasped her bra and discarded it.

  Only then did he look as if he were losing a bit of control. Josie saw how his hand shook as he reached a finger to her right breast. Saw how his lips trembled as he rolled her tight nipple. Witnessed the hard set to his jaw as he palmed her breast.

  And as he lowered his head to it, she heard him murmur her name again and again.

  "Josie. Josie. My beautiful Josie."

  Beautiful? Her mind reeled.

  But then his mouth claimed her nipple, and all thought ceased. Her breast felt on fire, lit from within by the most fantastical flame of desire as he suckled her. He scraped his teeth along her nipple, and she felt an electric shock seize her body. And then he soothed the area, licking, licking. Gently sucking, then licking again. His tongue on the underside of her breast. Dancing between them. Familiarizing himself with every hollow and curve. Nibbling her collarbones. Nuzzling her neck and then returning to the nipples that were already crying out for more of his painstaking attention.

  She was speechless, as much as she wanted to sing her praises of his incredible technique. She couldn't move, could barely breathe as his mouth asserted its claim to her breast. All she could do was bury her eager fingers in his dark curls and try not to expire of happiness as his head roamed south.

  Wait! He was roaming south?

  Alarmed, Josie held up her tired head and saw him kissing his way down her belly. Watched him unzip the fly on her jeans and start to wiggle her out of them. Oh, God, the sight was so sexy! But this was a big step, wasn't it?

  He raised his head to smile at her and saw her concern. “I just want to make you feel good, Josie."

  She found she was nodding, all worries about the proceedings dissipating. She wanted him to make her feel good, too. Although, all the man had to do was kiss her and she was already more titillated than any time she'd ever had sex in her life.


  He wiggled the jeans over her hips, stopping to admire the lacy blue thong she had on. She was so glad she'd taken the time to put on a nice set of underwear. The man was a freaking god, after all! He'd probably seen his share of expensive lingerie and on prettier models.

  In one fell swoop, Dionysus ripped her jeans off and pulled the thong off with them. She lay there, completely bare, while he was still completely dressed. Open and vulnerable to his hungry gaze.

  And had never felt more sexy in her life.

  He seemed frozen to his spot at the edge of the bed, just staring at her body. He seemed to have lost the ability to move.

  So she moved for him. Her eyes riveted to him, she spread her legs.

  Dionysus sucked in a quick breath. Then he looked her in the eye and smiled a smile that could only be described as feral.

  Before she could do another thing, he lowered himself between her legs and began to lick her anxious pussy.

  Josie thrashed on the bed, her back arching, her hips rising to meet his plundering mouth. She screamed in rapture.

  Dionysus chuckled as he sucked, clearly enjoying what he was doing to her. He ate her as if he were ravenous, moaning and sighing as he did so. The sounds of his enjoyment made Josie's heart palpitate, just as much as his tongue and lips did. He explored every tiny crevice, burying his tongue in each sweet seam. Gliding into her. Nibbling her swollen lips. Torturing her panicked clit with each sensual flutter.

  She'd never felt such joy.

  And as she started to come, as the glorious wave of pressure began to build, she swore she heard angels singing, “Hallelujah!"

  And then she realized there were likely no angels in Hades. Which meant she was the one singing, making Dionysus chuckle again.

  The pounding began somewhere at the back of her brain. As if sensing the tightness in her body, he swirled his tongue around her clit. The fever spread quickly through her, lighting up her chest, her face. Making her arms and legs stiffen. She groaned loudly, and on hearing it, he sucked her clit even harder.

  Just before she went insane with the pleasure, he slid two fingers inside her pussy and scissored them back and forth.