Ensnared: An Eternal Guardians Novella Read online

  “I couldn’t sleep so I went for a walk. I didn’t want to wake you.” He reached for her arms, gently tugging her close as he ran his hands up and down her tight muscles, then leaned down and softly kissed her.

  Her head grew light. She lifted her lips to his without even realizing she was doing so and sighed as his mouth brushed hers. He drew back and smiled down at her, still massaging her arms, still as blindingly beautiful as the sun. And as she blinked up at him and tried to tell herself he was a stranger, that she should be wary and cautious and smart, she realized...she didn’t want to be any of those things. She wanted him. Here, now, all over again. She didn’t care about the consequences.

  Something in his eyes heated, and he leaned down and whispered, “I want you again too,” just before he kissed her once more. Only this kiss wasn’t soft and gentle and chaste. It was wet and erotic and demanding, and it burned through her entire body like molten lava on the move.

  She was breathless when he drew away from her lips. Fuzzy-headed when he squeezed her arms and said, “But first we need to talk.”

  “T-talk?” Holy Hades, what was this man doing to her? “About what?”

  “This.” He let go of her with one hand and raked his fingers through his hair. “I think I have it figured out. It’s unconventional but I think it will work. Do you want tea? I didn’t find coffee in the kitchen but I think there’s tea.”

  Confused, she turned as he stepped past her and moved into the kitchen, filling a kettle with water and setting it on the stove. “Ryder, what’s going on?” Now that his heat and scent and sexy touch weren’t distracting her, she could think again. “And where are we? I don’t recognize this place.”

  “I don’t either. I was kind of hoping you knew.”

  “Why would I know? You brought us here.”

  “Actually, I didn’t.” He pulled a canister from the cupboard and set it on the counter next to the stove. “I took us to that tropical beach. You brought us here.”

  “What?” That made absolutely no sense. “No, I didn—”

  He moved back in front of her. “You changed the dreamscape. You made it real.”

  Real...

  She glanced around the cabin, her mind spinning. She’d sensed it was real only moments ago, and now he was confirming it for her. Her pulse picked up speed. “But I... I can’t—”

  “Apparently you can. Pretty cool gift, if you ask me. One I didn’t expect when I went to find you.”

  She had no idea what he was babbling about. All she could focus on was the fact she’d somehow shifted a dream into reality.

  And Holy Hades...the implications of that were too numerous to even comprehend. The blood drained from her face as she stumbled back a half step. She never would have done the things she’d done last night if she’d thought any of it was real.

  “Now listen.” He moved closer and gripped her upper arms. “I’m going to have to run a quick errand before we leave. It shouldn’t take long, but it’s important. Once I’m back we can head to my place and pick up where we left off. It’s not what you’re used to, but I think you’re going to like it.”

  Skata, she was having trouble focusing. “Your...place? In Argolea?”

  “No, not in Argolea. My home’s far away. In the center of the cosmos. Outsiders aren’t usually allowed in, but I can protect you there. Keep you safe.” He moved even closer, his body brushing hers and his scent swirling around her. “And we can be together there with no one telling us who to be or what to do or how to act.”

  Nothing he was saying made sense. Except for the fact he didn’t live in Argolea. “I... You want me to run away with you? We barely know each other.”

  “You know me.” He brushed his knuckles down her cheek, leaving a line of heat in their wake. “You’ve been drawing me into your dreams for years, only I was such a stupid fool I resisted. I shouldn’t have done that. I should have made you mine years ago.”

  Dreams. The center of the cosmos. Safe... Those weren’t normal words.

  She looked up into his eyes, a warning tingle rushing down her spine. “Who are you? If you’re not Argolean, then you’re either human or...”

  Her words faltered as he stared down at her. And in the silence it hit her, sending her a step away from him. “You... You’re a god.” Her chest seized. “From Olympus?”

  “No.” He moved close once more and reached for her hand, preventing her from stepping further away. “I’m not from Olympus. I promise you that.”

  She tried to pull her hand free, but he closed his fingers tightly around hers. “Don’t tou—”

  “I’m not like the Olympians, and I’d never do anything to harm you. I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for you.”

  She tried again to pull free but his hold was too strong. “What the heck does that mean?”

  “It’s hard to explain. Complicated.”

  She wasn’t buying that. Her eyes widened. “Well, try. Because I’m not going anywhere until you do.”

  He sighed. “Okay, just...try to keep an open mind.” His gaze met hers. “I’m what the Olympians consider a cosmic deity. I can exist in mortal realms, but I spend most of my time in the dream world. That’s where we met. A long time ago. You pulled me into a dream you’d conjured, and I was tempted by you, but I learned long ago that mixing dreams with reality rarely ends well. At least for those from my line. You see, thousands of years ago, the Olympians lured my family out of the dream world and into reality. And that’s when Zeus destroyed them.”

  “All of them?”

  “Every single one but me. I was... I was away at the time. They were all killed. And I...I couldn’t help them.” He glanced away and then looked back at her. “I’m the last. I’ve spent every day since making sure I don’t fall to the same fate so my line lives on. And when you started pulling me into your dreams, I was attracted to you, and clearly tempted, but I was able to keep my distance. Until last night.”

  She felt herself falling under his spell all over again. Growing weak at the way he was caressing her hand. Going soft at the intense look in his eyes as he gazed down at her as if she were the only thing he could see. “W-what was so different about last night?”

  “You were different. You were confident and strong, and you had a plan I couldn’t compete with. Make no mistake, I had every intention of sending you back to sleep, just as I’ve always done when you’ve drawn me into your dreams, but you changed my plans. You changed the dreamscape. You made it real. You brought us here and rocked my entire world, and now”—he reached for her other hand, lifted both and pressed his lips to each, one by one—“now I don’t want to send you back to sleep. Now I don’t want to leave without you. Now, I just want more of you. More of what we had last night. More of us and this feeling inside me.”

  She stared wide-eyed up at him, confused and anxious and—dammit—completely awed by the tenderness in his gaze. “W-what feeling?”

  His lips curled in a sexy smile. “Alive. You make me feel alive, fantasía. Alive and whole and real. And those are things I haven’t felt in a very long time. Since before I lost my family. I didn’t plan this any more than you did. I didn’t want it. But now that it’s happened...I can’t go back to pretending as I did before.”

  He let go with one hand, wrapped his arm around her back, and drew her into the heat and life of his body as he brushed his lips against her temple, hypnotizing her with the sound of his voice. “The repercussions can be damned as far as I’m concerned. I want you and this and us. You told me you were mine last night, and you are. You’re mine and no one else’s, and I’m not giving you up. Come home with me. I promise you won’t regret it.”

  Oh, he felt heavenly as he pulled her closer. His words were like poetry, everything she’d dreamt of hearing from a man who adored her. And when he kissed her...it was like tasting the sweetest wine. But something wasn’t right. She still had no clue who he really was or what was actually going on. And as much as she longed for adv
enture and passion and something different in her life...this wasn’t it.

  “No.” She shifted her arms to his chest and pushed against him, breaking the kiss that could so easily sway her will and buckle her knees. “No, stop. I can’t.”

  “Zakara—”

  “No.” She stumbled back a step, thankful and surprised he’d released her. “This is insane.”

  “Insane would be ignoring what’s happening between us.”

  “Happening? Nothing’s happening.” She moved another step away, a rising panic growing inside her. One she didn’t understand and couldn’t seem to stop. “All that happened was I let you fuck me. And I only did that because I thought you were a dream.”

  “Zakara.” He reached for her again but she shot to the side, out of his reach.

  “No, don’t. Oh my gods, this is nuts. You are nuts. I must be nuts for even listening to all this.” She pressed a hand against her abdomen. “And after one crazy night you want me to go home with you? To the cosmos?” A hysterical laugh got stuck in her throat. “I have a family. I have friends. I have a life in Argolea. I can’t just drop all that and run off with you when I don’t even know anything about you.”

  “Why not?”

  “Why not?”

  He stepped toward her and grasped her hand before she could pull it away. “You yourself told me you don’t fit in with that life in Argolea.”

  “That doesn’t matter. It’s—”

  He stepped toward her. “You told me you feel like an outsider there.” He brought her knuckles to his lips and gently kissed her skin again. “You’re not an outsider with me. You fit perfectly with me. And you do know me. You’ve known me for a very long time. If you didn’t, you never would have come here with me. You’re not a reckless girl, Zakara. You came here because you trusted me. And you made love with me all night long because you felt the same connection I feel every time I look at you. That’s not crazy. That’s not insanity. That’s real. Reality is simple if you think about it. It means being true to yourself. To who you are and what you want to be. And being true can set you free. I’m free in my world, fantasía. You can be free there as well. You can be free with me.”

  She stared up at him, mesmerized by the swirling colors in his eyes, searching his gaze for any sense that his words were true. What she saw was a tender honesty that pierced her heart and awakened some long-sleeping part of her she didn’t know existed. He believed everything he was saying. He truly wanted her. He was everything she’d fantasized about all these years, standing in front of her, offering her things she’d only dreamed of.

  “I...”

  “Say yes, Zakara.” He eased in closer and brushed his sinful lips across her temple, hypnotizing her all over again with his words and heat and seductive scent. “Say yes and come with me.”

  Come with me...

  Could she? Could she leave her family? Her eyes drifted closed as he pressed his lips down her cheek, a shiver following the heat of his mouth. Could she run away with him like that? Abandon everything and everyone? She wasn’t sure, but oh, she suddenly wanted to. She longed to live her life the way she wanted, not the way others experienced. Ached to experience adventure. Passion. Freedom. To be the hero of her own story. And he was offering all of that to her. The chance to truly be alive instead of asleep as she’d felt all these years. And he was offering himself. Her fantasy man brought to life.

  Yes... She wanted all of that. Turning her head so she could find his lips, she lifted her hands to his chest and opened the moment his mouth closed over hers.

  Yes, yes, yes... She wanted him. She wanted everything.

  The door to the cabin burst open, breaking the spell. Startled, Zakara jerked back from Ryder’s mouth and whipped around to stare wide-eyed at the three female warriors dressed in boots, leggings, and curve-molding tops, their long hair blowing in the slight breeze behind them, each with a bow and arrow aimed right at her heart.

  Sirens. Oh gods...

  Every muscle in her body went rigid with terror.

  “Hello, Horae,” the one on the right said.

  At her back, Ryder’s big hands closed over her arms and held tight.

  “Nice work, dream weaver,” the Siren on the left said, stepping further into the room, her arrow still poised for release. “It was smart of you to keep her from fleeing before we could arrive. But now it’s time to take her back to Olympus.”

  Chapter Six

  Panic wrapped like a boa constrictor around Ryder’s chest as the closest Siren to Zakara reached out and jerked her away from him. “The king of the gods is waiting, little one. Let’s finish this, shall we?”

  If he let her out of his sight, he knew he’d never see her again. “Hold on—”

  “Your job here is done, dream weaver,” the blonde Siren in the middle said, glaring over Zakara’s head toward him. “You’re free to return to the cosmos.”

  Zakara turned shocked eyes his way as the Sirens tugged her toward the door. Shocked and bitterly betrayed eyes. Eyes he had to ignore if he was going to get them out of this.

  He looked past Zakara and focused on the Siren. “Zeus is waiting for my report on her Horae abilities.”

  “We can fill him in.”

  “And what are you going to tell him? You know nothing.”

  The Siren’s jaw clenched down hard. At her side, the redhead lowered her bow and whispered, “He’s right. Let him report back what he knows. If Zeus isn’t satisfied, he’ll punish the dream weaver. If he is, he’ll send the dream weaver on his way. Neither are our concerns. We were only sent to get the girl after he lured her into the human realm.”

  Zakara’s eyes narrowed with blistering anger, but Ryder continued to ignore her. Her only chance now was for him to play along. And for him to find a way to somehow convince the king of the gods she was useless.

  “Fine,” the blonde said. “Bring them both. Zeus is waiting.”

  The redhead grasped his arm and tugged him toward the door behind Zakara. She grunted and stumbled but he didn’t have a chance to check to see if she was all right. By the time he stepped foot on the front porch of the small cabin, she was already gone, flashing to Olympus. That panic seized his chest all over again, but he forced himself to remain calm and let the Siren at his side open her own portal.

  Light flashed, and he felt himself flying. And then ground solidified under his feet, and he looked up to see the familiar yet stomach-churning view of Olympus—ornate marble and gold temples, towering fountains, and immortals of all kinds milling about, doing nothing but eating and drinking and feasting over their successes.

  “This way.” The redhead dragged him forward, toward the biggest and most elaborate temple at the end of the street. The one dripping with gold that stretched into the sky.

  Zeus’s temple always turned Ryder’s stomach. There wasn’t a single thing beautiful or relaxing about it. A large hall with towering columns greeted him. A long rectangular pool took up most of the floor space in the center. At the end, on an enormous raised dais, the king of the gods lounged in his opulent chair, looking bored as he waited for the Sirens to haul Zakara and Ryder to a stop at his feet.

  He was old, thousands of years old, but you’d never know by looking. Zeus was the epitome of the perfect male specimen—tall, muscular, dark—with chiseled good looks, a human in the prime of his life who didn’t look a day over thirty-five. But he wasn’t perfect. And he wasn’t human. And as he pushed out of his gilded chair and rose to his full height at over seven feet, Ryder was reminded just how powerful the god really was. What he could do to those who crossed him. And the games he liked to play with the underlings he kept at his beck and call.

  “Well now, dream weaver. It seems you brought me a prize.”

  Zakara didn’t speak. Just stared up at the king of the gods with wide eyes as he moved slowly down the marble steps, almost as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

  Ryder held his breath and silently cursed himse
lf for not forcing her to go to the cosmos with him sooner. For wasting time going for a walk this morning to sort things out in his head. If he’d stayed with her, if he’d convinced her to leave with him earlier, she wouldn’t be here now. Zeus wouldn’t have her. The king of the gods wouldn’t have possession of one of the Horae descendents—the ancient goddesses of balance and justice. Ryder still didn’t know if Zakara had any untapped Horae powers, but if she did, Zeus would find them. And if that happened, she wouldn’t just be in danger, those in her realm, those in every realm would be in jeopardy.

  Zeus stopped in front of her, tipped his head, and let his gaze wash over her. “Pretty little thing, isn’t she? Odd choice of clothing, but I’m sure we can find something a little more appropriate.”

  He glanced to his left, where a servant girl dressed in a white toga stood waiting. “Find our guest something more suitable to wear. And have a room prepared.”

  “Yes, my king.” The servant girl bowed, then quickly rushed from the room.

  Zeus made a slow circle around Zakara, then stopped in front of her once more. “Definitely pretty. Prettier than her cousin, I must say. What do you think, Morpheus?”

  Ryder chanced one look at Zakara. She didn’t glance his way, but he saw the way her shoulders stiffened at the use of his formal name. “I wouldn’t know, my king. I never met the cousin.”

  “Elysia was definitely a looker. Would have been better with some of my adjustments, had she stayed with the Sirens, but this one doesn’t need any of those. Tell me, girl. What’s your name?”

  Zakara didn’t answer. Only continued to stare up at the god.

  Zeus looked Ryder’s way. “Is she mute?”

  “No. I think just shocked. Her name’s Zakara.”

  “After her father, the Argonaut Zander, no doubt.” Zeus looked back at Zakara. “Pity she won’t be seeing her father for a good long while. I’m sure that’ll piss off those meddling Argonauts.”