Chasing Terpsichore (Muses Across Time) Read online

  “Hey, I’m dying here.”

  She gave him a wicked smile. “The wait will do you good. Be patient, it’ll be worth it.”

  She sat upright, her body a picture of beauty. “Look at me, James.”

  When she rubbed her hands over her body and breasts he felt his body twitch inside her. “I’m looking, but I won’t last much longer if you keep that up.”

  She laughed as she leant forward again and kissed him and all thought left as she began the triple assault on his senses. Her mouth was magic itself as she explored him with her tongue and sucked on his bottom lip. The electric touch of her skin rubbing against his was unlike any sensation he had experienced before, and with her in the driving seat, squeezing and moving back and forth over him, he really thought he’d died and gone to heaven.

  He lifted his hips to meet her and she moaned.

  “Oh goddess, yes!”

  Their bodies were in a haze of movement and heavy breathing as she came around him, squeezing him so tight he couldn’t wait any longer and followed her with the most amazing orgasm ever.

  He’d better be careful or he could get used to this.

  Chapter Three

  Corey woke to sunlight blazing through her bedroom window. She sighed, stretching her arms over her head and turned to smile at James. Only he wasn’t there.

  Strange. This did not feel good.

  She slipped off the bed, and reached for her robe, tying the belt tightly around her waist as she walked out into the kitchen. The knot in her stomach grew.

  “James?”

  No answer.

  She closed her eyes and listened. He was gone. No goodbye, no note. Gone.

  Great.

  Working on automatic pilot, she filled the kettle with water for a cup of tea before sitting on the stool at the breakfast bench.

  How could I have got it so wrong? The best sex she’d had in several lifetimes and she’d fooled herself into believing it was more than that. She’d been convinced he felt the same way she did.

  He’d been so passionate, but so gentle. Plus the way he’d supported her through the whole hanging mannequin incident must mean he cared something for her. Or so she’d thought. It had been more than sex, she was sure of it.

  So why would he run out on her like that? Whatever the reason, she wasn’t a goddess of the arts for nothing. She was creative. All she needed was a plan to show him he needed her in his life.

  What am I doing? She couldn’t use her powers, it wouldn’t be right. If he didn’t want her for herself, she didn’t want him at all. And that’s what scared her more than anything. She’d never got emotionally involved before. What was different now?

  She’d changed in the months since she’d been banished by Hera. Having to fend for herself had forced her to realise what a self-centred and totally self-indulgent spoilt brat she’d always been. Watching how these mortals willingly worked to better themselves added a new perspective. The kindness of the people who had helped her since she’d arrived in this alien and confusing world humbled her, whereas her past behaviour left her ashamed. But her memories of Olympus were not all bad. Travelling with her family and Apollo to entertain the courts and inspire the artists was fun. She missed her sisters, particularly Calliope, who loved to play tricks on their other siblings.

  If she made it home, things would be different. She wouldn’t still be taking advantage of her position to get her own way, that was for sure. She would reward those who served her and honour those who pledged their loyalty. She’d also encourage her whole family to do the same.

  She thought back to Eros’ visit the night before. What was he up to? That warning about Titan rebels had to be a ruse, surely. What would a Titan rebel want with her? She wasn’t in her homeland, so her position and powers meant nothing here. It must be an excuse to play some mischief. Eros was her friend, but he loved to play jokes. Over time, she’d learned to take what he said with a grain of salt. His little game the night before was proof that he continued to love playing tricks.

  She sighed, as she thought about last night. If only she could be sure the feelings she’d sensed in James had come from his own free will, and had not been enhanced by Eros’ spells.

  There was no use dwelling on it. She needed a new plan of attack. Moreover, she should figure out what she was going to do with James once she’d won him. Was this love? She didn’t know, but her heart was telling her she’d never cared about someone as much as she cared about James. As a firm believer in fate, she knew deep down that James was her destiny. He just didn’t know it yet.

  * * * *

  The taxi driver was one of those who talked so much he didn’t take a breath while he told her his life story. Corey’s normal exuberant self usually liked chatting back, but today all she felt was irritation. It wasn’t the cab driver’s fault. When she’d walked out of her house, she’d remembered that James had driven her home and her car was still at her work.

  She was relieved when the driver had finished his tirade on how the government wasn’t doing enough for the working classes, and stopped the cab in front of the dance studio. She paid her fare and stood on the footpath, inhaling the delicious aroma of freshly ground coffee. She checked her watch and realised that her first class didn’t start for another forty-five minutes, so she crossed the street and made her way to the local coffee shop.

  Coffee in hand, she headed back towards the studio. A car sped towards her, veering from side to side along the road. She stood there, stunned, like a deer caught in headlights. She couldn’t breathe, her heart pounded and her limbs wouldn’t work. The world moved in slow motion until someone called out and she realised she was about to be hit if she didn’t do something, and fast. She threw her body to the ground between two parked cars and, landed on her knees, hot coffee spilling all over her as the offending car sped off in the distance.

  “Are you okay, Corey?” She looked up as George, the owner of the coffee shop, took her arm and helped her to her feet.

  “I think so.” Her voice shook. “Let me catch my breath.”

  “Come and sit in my café. I’ll get you another coffee, on the house.”

  She looked down at her stained clothes and bloody knees and sighed.

  “Thank you for the offer, George, but I’ve just lost my appetite for coffee. I think I’ll get to the studio and clean myself up a bit instead.

  He looked down at her ripped stockings and gasped.

  “Holy cow, Corey. You’re wounded!”

  She glanced at the small grazes and laughed. “I think I can handle a few grazes.”

  “Okay, if you’re sure, but I’ll still walk you to your door. We don’t want any more mishaps, now, do we?”

  “You’re very sweet, George,” she said as she shook her hands to free the grass clippings sticking to the wet coffee on her skin. “Tell me, George, how come all the good men are married?”

  He flushed red to the roots of his grey hair and laughed. “Don’t you let my Maria hear you. My wife, she is a very jealous woman.”

  She laughed as they reached her door. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  She turned to him, her voice still a little shaky. “Thanks for your help, George. I’ll be fine now.”

  “You take care. It looked to me like that car deliberately tried to run you down. You should call the police.”

  No way. Not after the last few days. “No, no police. I’m sure it was just some hooligans out for a joyride. Anyway, they’re long gone. What can the police do now?”

  He sighed. “I suppose. I wish I’d gotten the whole number plate, though, but I did get part of it if you change your mind. I’d better get back to the café. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’ll be fine.” She plastered her best reassuring smile onto her face. “Thanks for your help. I can take it from here.”

  Somehow, she managed to get the key in the lock and get inside without falling over. Once there, she slumped against the closed door and slid to the f
loor. Oh shit! Someone had tried to kill her. She knew that now, despite what she’d told George. Two threats in two days was definitely no coincidence. If she counted that weird trumped-up charge from the night before, she was three for three in the bad luck stakes. Maybe Eros wasn’t joking after all. She stared at her hands as she held them out in front of her.

  Oh goddess, I’m shaking like a leaf.

  “I told you to be careful.”

  She jumped. “Eros?”

  Her best friend stood in front of her, grinning like an idiot. “The one and only.”

  “Bloody hell, Erie, you scared the pants off me.”

  He looked her up and down. “No, I didn’t, but if you want some help to finish the job, I can oblige.”

  She shrugged. Joking wasn’t high on her list of priorities at the moment. “Whatever.”

  “Sorry, Corey, some habits are hard to break. You know I don’t mean it.”

  “I hope Psyche doesn’t know you’re still using your old lines.”

  “She knows, but she trusts me. It’s all part of my charm. Besides, I would never betray her. She’s the love of my life.”

  Corey thought of James, and for the first time in her life could relate to the idea of fidelity. “I know, and I’m happy for you,” she said as she hugged him. “But can you help me out and tell me what’s going on?”

  Eros waved his hand in the air and in no time at all Corey found herself seated on her couch.

  Head spinning, she grabbed hold of the armrest to steady herself as she landed. “Jeez, I forgot you could do that. Warn me next time, won’t you?”

  Eros raised his eyebrows and snickered. “You really are becoming one of them, aren’t you? Forgetting to use your powers, speaking like a common mortal. Soon you’ll forget completely that you’re a goddess. You are Terpsichore, the Muse of Dance”

  “Eros, how can I ever forget? I’m stuck here in this place so I have to blend in.” She pulled her skirt up and grimaced when she saw the blood dripping off her grazed knees. “You think I sound like one of them? Cool.”

  “See, that’s what I mean. Since when did a Muse use words such as ‘cool’?”

  She poked her tongue out at him.

  “When you do that, you look like them, too. Disgusting! Now let’s get to the reason why I’m here.”

  She lay back against the couch. “Please do. And while you’re at it, you can apologise for zapping James last night when I particularly asked you not to.”

  Eros slapped a hand against his chest. “I’m deeply affronted, Terpsichore. I did nothing of the sort. After I removed that little nudge, I left him alone, just as you asked.” His eyes lit with mirth. “Oh, I see… He and you?”

  “None of your business.”

  But he wouldn’t let it go. “You and James? Horizontal folk dancing?”

  “Now who’s talking like a mortal?”

  “All right, I get the message. Now to why I am here.”

  “Pass me a wet cloth from the bathroom first, will you?”

  He shook his head. “Tsk, tsk… You’ve really forgotten, haven’t you?”

  He snapped his fingers and her knees tingled. And just like that her wounds vanished.

  She hadn’t remembered she could have done that herself.

  “Thanks, Eros, though I’m not sure you should be throwing the magic around so freely. In this world, you don’t know what entity might be attracted to the cosmos.”

  “Actually, it’s evil entities that bring me here to see you.”

  “Last night you mentioned something about Titan rebels?”

  He nodded. “Titan rebels have threatened Zeus by capturing his progeny. He sent me to find you and your sisters, and to warn you.”

  She jumped up off the couch. “My sisters? You’ve found them?”

  He shook his head again. “No, not yet. You are the only one I’ve tracked down so far, but I have some ideas about the others.”

  She touched his hand. “You must find them. I’m fine here, please go and warn my sisters.”

  “Oh. My. Goddess. You really have changed. But I can’t do that. Zeus would have my head. Trouble has already found you and I fear the rebels have already arrived. Once you are safe I’ll find them, I promise.”

  “Thank you. I’ll keep you to that.” Corey sank back on the couch, slowly blowing out a breath. “And yes, there have been a few strange happenings over the last couple of days.”

  “Almost being run down in the street wasn’t the first?”

  She pointed towards the ceiling. “I found a doll that looked suspiciously like me hanging from those rafters last night.”

  Eros grimaced. “That’s just sick.”

  “And there’s that small legal problem I had yesterday. But James got me out of that one.”

  “He’s a lawyer?”

  “They call them solicitors here in Sydney.”

  “Solicitor then. Whatever you call them, you can’t trust them.”

  A loud knock sounded at the front door. She flinched as the sound got louder.

  “Would you like me to see who that is?” Eros asked.

  “Corey? Open the door for God’s sake.”

  Her eyes widened. “James?”

  Eros smiled. “I guess that answers that question. Shall I let him in?”

  Her shoulders slumped. “No, I’ll get it. He can’t see you.”

  “What? I’m being pushed aside?” He placed his hand over his heart in a mock act of being wounded.

  She shooed him away with her hands. “Eros, please. We can talk later.”

  The door shook and the screws in the hinges were working themselves out. She zapped them with her eyes to retighten them. When she looked back, Eros had disappeared.

  She opened the door to a dishevelled-looking James, his hand poised to do further damage to the poor timber. “There’s no need to destroy my property, James.”

  “Corey. Thank God you’re all right.”

  What is he doing here? The compulsion should still be working. “Of course I’m all right. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Can I come in?”

  She turned on her heel and walked towards the sitting area. “So what’s with the pounding on the door? Did you leave your personal organiser here last night and discover you can’t get through the day without it?” Why did I say that? I sound like the bitch I used to be.

  James came up behind and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head. His comforting warmth seeped into her tense muscles. “I came as soon as I heard. Are you okay?”

  She stiffened. How did he know about the car? She didn’t call the police. Only George knew. “What are you talking about?”

  He released her and turned her around. “The car that almost ran you down. I had to make sure you were okay.”

  “How did you find out about that? It only happened half an hour ago, and I haven’t spoken to anyone about it.” Except for Eros, but he didn’t need to know that.

  His eyes narrowed. “I was worried about you, so I asked a friend to keep an eye on you.”

  Really? Her heart did a little happy dance, but she wasn’t letting him off the hook yet. “You’ve got a funny way of showing it. You left this morning without so much as a goodbye.”

  He had the grace to look embarrassed. “Sorry about that. I had an early morning meeting and didn’t have the heart to wake you.”

  “You mean you didn’t want to deal with the awkwardness.”

  “Not exactly.”

  It was probably not a good idea to continue that conversation, so instead she walked into the kitchen and poured a glass of water. “You have someone spying on me?”

  James followed her, invading her personal space and preventing her from leaving. “Someone is threatening you, Corey. We may have only just met, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about what happens to you.”

  “After last night, I thought we knew each other rather well, actually.”

  Heat flared in his eyes. “We
had great sex, but we hardly know anything about each other.”

  Her heart stopped for a few seconds as the air whooshed out of her lungs. Great sex? The guy had a serious case of denial. His presence here proved that.

  “Keep telling yourself that and we both might believe it one day.”

  “Corey—”

  “Don’t worry. I’m still trying to get over the fact that you put someone on my tail.” “So where is he? Or is it a she? “She moved to the front window, and opened the curtains. “Is it that blue Corolla? The green Holden?”

  James crossed the room and drew the curtains back in place. “Don’t make yourself a target, Corey. You have to be careful.” He slid his arm around her shoulders and steered them both towards the couch and sat her down next to him. “This is serious. Someone is trying to kill you. We need to call the police.”

  “No.” How could she explain the Titan rebels? He wouldn’t believe her. No one would believe me. She sighed, and shrugged her shoulders. “It’s probably just a series of coincidences. Why would anyone want to kill me?”

  He narrowed his eyes. “You tell me.”

  Thank the goddess one of her talents was acting, because the innocent laugh she gave would have won her an Oscar. “No one wants to kill me, I have no enemies. I’m just a dancer.” She could have sworn she heard someone coughing in the background. Be quiet, Eros!

  “I don’t see any harm in getting the police to investigate.”

  “You wouldn’t say that if you were in my position. Remember, only a few days ago they were happy to believe I was a prostitute. As if they’re going to take this seriously!”

  James sat back against the couch and crossed his arms. “Fine. I’ll do some investigating myself. I’m not without my own resources.”

  Her heart started pitter-pattering all over the place. Oh wow. He really does care about me. Maybe her plan would work after all? But she didn’t want him to put himself in danger—he had no idea what he was up against. It would take all her and Eros’ considerable powers just to keep themselves safe, let alone keep a mortal out of harm’s way. No, she couldn’t let him be involved in this.