“It is an ode to the person I once was,” she said simply.
“I don’t have any tattoos, but you already know that,” he said with a sweet grin and laugh.
“Afraid of needles are you?” she pressed as she sat back in her chair, letting the warm breeze kiss her skin.
“No, I’m not afraid of a little pain,” he said with a blush. “More or less, I just never had the courage. I’ve always wanted one though,” he said flippantly.
“What would you get?” Athena asked, wanting to know absolutely every detail about this man and then some. Her phone vibrated in her pocket again, and she ignored it. She’d answer Callie when the night was over, when she would come back to Earth from the heavens Brian had her sequestered in.
“I kind of always wanted an owl and a shield,” he said as he ran a hand through his hair.
Athena’s blood chilled.
What were the odds that he knew those were the very symbols that represented who she was to countless people who once worshipped her...
“The symbols of Athena,” she said quietly.
Brian nodded. “My dad has studied mythology my entire life and isn’t partial to one God or Goddess, but I’ve always kind of had a thing for the Goddess Athena.”
His blush stirred a deep fire within her.
He’s perfect.
Absolutely perfect...
“Ah, well, that explains a lot.”
“Kind of funny I ended up being swept off my feet by a woman who’s a literal embodiment of the Goddess herself,” he said boldly.
Her heart threatened to jump right out of her chest.
“You think I’m a Goddess,” she said, her voice almost a whisper.
Brian finished the last of his drink before looking her in the eyes.
“I think you are unlike anyone I’ve ever met, and when I’m with you... things are just...”
“Easy,” she said, feeling the flutter beneath her skin of a contented owl.
“Yeah. I don’t exactly... connect... with people... the way I connect with you.”
His words left her feeling flustered and she immediately rose from her table.
Brian watched her intently as she held out her hand.
“Come with me. There’s something I wish to show you,” she said, feeling on the edge of a cliff.
Brian settled his hand in hers and she tugged him down the steps toward the beach. When they were far enough away that the lights were small specks, and the darkness consumed them, only then did she drop his hand.
“What if I told you it was all real?” she said as she kicked her shoes off into the sand.
Brian stood there, the moon lighting him up in a silver glow, and he looked positively ravishing.
She slowly unbuttoned her jeans, gazing back at him.
She did not miss his hand as he slid it over his visible erection.
Next, she removed her shirt.
