Home was always the one place Calliope could tire away and forget about her immortal muse curse.It was the one place where she could paint and write and exist without having to be someone for someone else.In the space of her apartment, she could be herself.Not Calliope the muse, but Calliope thewoman.
David had only visited her off-campus apartment a few times, and those times had been troublesome, not desirable.He’d only come to Calliope’s door begging for his spark, his inspiration in fits of madness because he couldn’t write.He couldn’t sleep.The voices in his head weren’tloudenough.
Though Calliope felt they were louder than anything else.
Something about this realization made her tense, like an angel on her shoulder beckoning her to be careful.Letting a man into her personal space could be dangerous.She didn’tknowhim.She did not even know his name.For all she knew, he could have been a serial killer who loved to prey on beautiful masked women.
Do not be silly, Calliope, you are a better judge of character than that.
While she knew enough to know her perfect stranger was probably not going to murder her, she still knew the danger was there.The mistakes were surmountable at this point, but Calliope did not care.The spark was too hungry.She was already in for a penny, why not go in for the whole pound?
Before she could process or hold onto her diminishing self-preservation, her masked Prince Charming’s hands pulled her close, under the illuminating streetlights and his mouth found hers once more, and the world stopped.
Oh, sweet death, this man’s kiss is a weapon all on its own.
“Calliope,” he murmured drunkenly, with a deep rasp that made her insides twist.It was part whisper, part prayer.She could only imagine how it would sound in a temple, echoing off the walls.His voice dropped an octave.
“But you can call meCallie,” she whispered.
He leaned into her space, running his nose up her neck as he breathed her in.The motion was strangely erotic, even though she knew it was just drunk impulse.Still, impulse or not, Calliope could not help but shiver from the sheer feel of his lips grazing her neck.
“Theodore,” he muttered against my neck.“Like the chipmunk,” he chuckled.“But you can call me Theo.”His tone darkened once again, the rumble in his tenor making her blood rush.Calliope was acutely aware of the moisture blooming between her thighs as his smooth voice drowned the world out around her.
The image ofTheo, on his knees, hands on his thighs while he stared at her with suchadoration, mask and all, filled Calliope’s psyche, and she let out an unavoidable groan.
“Theo...”she breathed his name, her lustful voice strange to her own ears after so long.It was like she was someone else, for the moment anyway.
Calliope wrapped her arms around him, her clutched phone dragging along his back as she tightened her grip on it in her hand while getting lost in his sweet, perfect kiss once more.She only let up when the sound of a blaring horn honked and the driver started yelling at them to get in.
Ah, that must be our ride.
The two of them parted for a moment, if only to catch their breaths.“Come, Theo,” Calliope muttered, dragging Theo across the pavement.He stumbled a bit before letting go, if only to open the door for her to get in.
“After you,Callie,” he said, the sound of her name on his tongue like music to her ears.Callie’s grin brightened from the polite gesture, as it seemed men nowadays did not go out of their way to show their manners anymore and she could not deny this pleased her.But politeness was forgotten the moment they got into the car, the heat rising between them as Theo settled on the backseat next to her, shutting the door.Not a moment sooner was Calliope pulling Theo back to her lips, her fingers finding his neck once more.He did not fight her forwardness, and for that, she was rather grateful.Instead, he parted his lips, groaning in submission as she slid her tongue into his mouth.He tasted like sugar and coconut cream.Combined with his spicy, earthy scent, it was quite an intoxicating cocktail all on its own.
Calliope let herself slip once more, losing herself in the feel of his tongue in her mouth, his pulse beneath her palm.The spark inside her grew and the desire, the hunger inside of her grew with it.
The spark was always relentless, always seeking more, greedy like a spoiled child.It’s never enough.It will never be enough, because no one will ever worshipme.For me.
Humans were always drawn to a muse, like moths to a flame.Whether they knew it or not, their bodies, their soulscravedwhat Calliope and other muses could give them.They worshipped the gifts they received, not the muse themselves.Humans only desired their spark of inspiration, the magic that would change their lives forever.
A number one single.
A masterpiece of art.
A bestselling novel.
But no one had ever, truly worshippedCalliope.She thought David was different.Thought that he wanted her beneath all of the gifts and inspiration she had given him.She thought he’d do anythingfor her.But she was wrong.
I’m probably wrong about Theo, too.And perhaps that’s truly my curse.I always know better, but desire is a demon that is too hard to fight.
So she did not fight it.Not one bit.
Calliope let Theo pull her into his lap in the back of the car, reveling in the momentary high as his mouth traveled along her neck, as his hands slid underneath her toga.
She let him slam her against her door, his mouth kissing every inch of her face, neck, and chest he could reach as they stumbled across her threshold, eliciting sighs of pleasure and wonder from her throat as his quick hands slid beneath the cool fabric of her costume and lifted her up.His hands settled beneath her thighs, grabbing her ass as he squeezed lightly, and she wrapped her legs around him.He held her tight, through his stumbling as he carried her into her apartment, her motion lights turning on and bathing them both in faint illumination.
With Theo’s hands on her, everything felt right in a way it hadn’t felt in a long time.He set her down, if only to adjust his evident hardness, and Calliope bit her lip as she took in the sight of him, here in her apartment like this.His dark hair falling over his mask, the faintest sheen of sweat on his neck.His dress pants pulling tight and the vivid outline of his cock.The spark inside her flourished into a flame as she felt the desire in her veins thrumming beneath the surface.
