Part 5 (2/2)
”You're just being nice. You can't possibly want to hear any more of my sad story.” The devastating smile was a pale ghost of itself. But it had reappeared.
Had he heard her nudge, or were his words just part of a normal conversation? She had to know before she could continue.
Picturing an arrow, she let her nudge fly silently. Tell me you honestly still believe in the goodness of man.
”I can't tell you that.”
He'd heard! Nia flattened her hands on the desk.
Thomas shook his head sadly and continued as if she'd spoken aloud. ”I disprove myths and legends for a living. And the biggest myth of all is that people are innately good. That trait no longer exists in this world. If it ever did.”
”I think you're wrong, Thomas.” Leaning forward, she slid her hands along the desk toward him. ”I believe my task is to prove just how wrong you are.”
”Hmm. You're certainly welcome to try. Maybe over dinner tonight?” When he laid his hand on top of hers, that frisson of energy sparked between them again. He wove his fingers under hers and lifted their joined hands. He stared deeply into her eyes, waiting for her answer.
She swallowed hard before replying. With his company, saving the world was going to be a pure pleasure. ”That's as good a time as any to start.”
”See there, I already believe a little.” Holding her gaze, he squeezed her fingers, then leaned forward to kiss the tips.
The gentle press of his lips to her knuckles made her stomach jump like water in a hot frying pan. Or maybe it was the connectedness between their gazes. She was drawn to him like iron shavings to a magnet.
”I'll pick you up at half past seven, if that's okay.”
He released her hand and she was immediately hit with unexplainable loneliness. It took every shred of will power to not reach out for him again. She jerked a pen from the mug full of them on her desk and pulled a pad of sticky notes from her drawer. While she wrote down her address, Thomas rose from his seat. He slipped his hand into his pocket and waited with his weight propped on one hip. His casual stance accentuated his lean waist and long legs.
Yes, ma'am. Pure pleasure.
The doorbell chimed promptly at seven-thirty. Nia hurried down the stairs to the mullioned gla.s.s in the front door of her turn-of-the-century bungalow. The sun, lowering in the west, splashed a puddle of light across the decorative rug that protected the tiles of her entry hall.
Nia summoned calm with a deep breath as she grasped the k.n.o.b. Letting him through the front door felt like so much more than just the simple act of allowing someone entry to her home. The minute she opened it, she'd be letting him into her life, and beginning the challenge Pierus had set for them.
Except that Thomas didn't have a clue what he was getting into. It didn't seem fair, but how in the world would she explain to a man whose job included debunking myths, that she was as old as time? In the world's eyes, she was as much a myth as the Kraken.
Shaking her head, she pulled the door open. ”Hi.” Her words were drowned out by the staccato chattering of a magpie sitting on a limb in a maple tree in her front yard. The bird flapped its wings vigorously and several black and white feathers floated to the ground.
Before greeting her, Thomas turned toward the noise, and then jumped backward as the bird flew straight toward him. Supernatural sound pierced the air as the bird screeched and veered away at the last second. Nia covered her ears and aimed a thought toward the b.i.t.c.hing creature to mute her cry. When the bird's cry fell silent and it went into a bit of a tumble before righting herself, Nia knew her jab had scored a direct hit.
”What the h.e.l.l?” Thomas exclaimed. ”Dive-bombing birds? That thing sounded like a banshee.”
Nia laughed at the idea of him believing in banshees. Those beings had been made up by smugglers to keep people indoors at night so they could go on with their nefarious ways. Nia had blown away the cloud cover on enough of the bootleggers to make sure they got caught.
”That was weird,” she said as she gestured him inside. ”I'm almost ready. Just need to grab my purse and set my alarm.”
It was an elaborate system Mars had insisted they install after first learning of the challenge from Pierus. If something happened in any of the Muses' homes, the alert sounded at the Olympus home office and a legion of battle ready demi-G.o.ds would rush to the rescue. Thalia had accidentally set it off right after hers had been installed. They'd all had a good laugh about that. And Thalia had scored a grown-up sleepover with Xander, the captain of the legion guard.
”Am I dressed okay? You didn't really say where we were having dinner,” Nia asked as she glanced over her shoulder at Thomas.
He didn't bother to hide that he totally checked her backside out while he examined her outfit. Which included jeans, a floral blouse and strappy turquoise sandals. An appreciative light deepened his eyes to match her shoes.
”You look great.” His husky tone induced fluttering along her spine. ”We're going to The Rowan Tree. Do you know the restaurant? It's pretty casual.”
”Yeah, it's one of my favorites.” Of course, chances were good that she'd run into at least one of her sisters there. It was the Muses' preferred haunt. Please, don't let it be Callie. She picked up her purse and turned to face Thomas.
Who'd moved into the s.p.a.ce immediately behind her. Caught off guard, she stumbled. Her shoulder brushed against his chest as she pivoted and found herself engulfed in his arms as he steadied her.
”Sorry.” She s.h.i.+fted away from his embrace, but he stopped her backward progress.
”I'm not.” He searched her face for a moment, and then concentrated his gaze on her mouth. He bent his head and whispered against her lips. ”How about we get the horrible, awkwardness of the goodnight kiss out of the way first?”
Cheesy for sure. But she loved it. His breath kissed her mouth an instant before his lips. The brief caress was b.u.t.terfly soft. She sighed. ”Good idea.”
His chest rose and fell under her palms, solid and strong. He eased his hands along her arm, leaving a trail of heat in their wake. A broad smile illuminated his face as he wove their fingers together. There was an undeniable link between them. She saw it in his eyes, felt it in his brief kiss.
Thomas Wilde was the man to help her with this challenge. Had to be. Why else would Mayhem have appeared to both of them?
”I'm glad to have that out of the way. Ready to go grab dinner?” Thomas asked.
He still held her hand as he led her through the front door. He scanned the maple tree in the yard, as if looking for more threatening birds, while Nia locked the house.
A big, black BMW sat in her drive. When Thomas turned on the ignition, the theme song from Frozen blared from the speakers. He laughed and quickly changed to a rock and roll station. ”Somehow, Hailey takes control of the station whenever she's in the car. We listen to Disney a lot. I know all the words to this song. And the dance moves, as well.” He mock groaned.
She joined him in laughing. ”I'd pay money to see that show.”
”No, you really wouldn't. It's unsightly and ungainly.”
Nia doubted there was an ugly or awkward thing about him. She'd be willing to bet his dancing would be charming. Catching sight of the pink creeping up his cheeks, she changed the subject. ”I have a confession.”
Thomas turned on his signal light and slid her a glance as he navigated around the corner. ”You're a Disney addict, too?”
”Um...no.” His lighthearted banter warmed her insides. ”I've been watching your program. It's quite entertaining.” He didn't need to know she'd binge watched for an entire day.
”Do you have a favorite episode?”
”The one about the Humboldt squid in the Sea of Cortez was engaging. I caught myself yelling at the TV as you swam toward that nightmare of a sea animal.” He also didn't need to know she was yelling that his a.s.s was perfection as the camera operator followed behind him. ”What was it you called that thing? Intelligent...opportunistic?”
”Those beasts are considered the big, bad outlaw biker of the marine world. We wanted to capture a group of them communicating and coordinating as they hunt for food.”
”Seeing them herding the school of fish was astounding. But things got interesting when the hammerheads showed up. Weren't you a little nervous being surrounded by giant squids and sharks?”
”I live for danger.” His laughter was scoffing. ”But we were perfectly safe. And the biggest squid we came across was only eight feet. So much for the twenty foot legend.”
Only eight feet? Almost two feet taller than Thomas didn't sound like only to her. ”That episode was recent. Where was Hailey?”
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