Artemis's eyes were glowing bright. "I've given you the power to fight to protect yourself. You were right. I can't always be there when you need me. But—" she placed her fingertip on his lips. "You can't use those skills on a god, only a human."
"Why would I want to attack a god?"
Artemis leaned her head against his shoulder and inhaled his masculine scent. She adored the innocence inside him that couldn't even conceive of hurting her. "Some men do."
"Men do a lot of things I don't agree with."
"And that's why I've given you the powers you need. I don't want you hurt like that ever again."
Acheron tried to fight the swell of love inside him. But he couldn't. Not when she gave him so much. Not when she touched him like this and made him feel decent and wanted.
Artemis squeezed him tightly, then pulled back to hand him a small box.
"What's this?"
"My gift to celebrate your birth. Open it."
Stunned, he gaped at her. Honestly, he couldn't fathom what he held in his hands. "You're giving me a present?"
"Of course."
But it couldn't be that simple. Nothing ever was. "What payment do you want?"
She scowled at him. "I want no payment, Acheron. It's a gift."
Still he shook his head in denial. "Nothing is ever freely given."
She closed his hand around it and caressed his fingers. "This is freely given to you, akribos. And I wish to see you open it."
Truly, he couldn't fathom this. Why would Artemis give him a present?
His heart pounding, he opened the box to find a ring inside. Picking it up, he saw a double bow and arrow on it, but when he moved the ring, it shifted to an image of Artemis with a deer.
She smiled happily. "It's an insignia ring. I give them to my followers whom I grant the ability to summon me. Most of them have to find a tree and perform a ritual and say the right words. But you, my Acheron, you may summon me at any time."
When he started to put it on his finger, she stopped him. "It should be worn over your heart." A gold chain appeared and as Artemis placed it around his neck, another thought occurred to him. It wasn't just over his heart . . . worn like this the ring was also out of sight.
At least she thought enough of you to give you a gift.
That was true.
She kissed his cheek, then manifested a sword in her hand. Handing it to him, she winked. "Show me what you do."
"What do you mean?"
She inclined her head to two shadow warriors behind him. "Fight them, Acheron. Whatever you need to defeat them will be yours."
Skeptical, he stepped away from her. But the moment they approached, his body knew instinctively how to fight.
Artemis smiled in satisfaction as she watched Acheron spar with the shades. She'd done a good deed for her human. And as she watched, heat invaded every part of her. He moved like quicksilver. His muscles rippled and flexed, straining and defining with every blow he parried and delivered. Her hunger built and she wondered why his blood was so addictive . . . more so than even her brother's.
Why did she crave Acheron so?
Yet there was no denying his allure. Right now, she wanted to throw him on her bed and keep him there for the rest of eternity.
The smile he gave her as he finished off his sparring opponents made her melt.
"I told you," she said, approaching him.
Acheron held the sword in his fist with a confidence he'd never known outside of someone's bed. He couldn't believe that he finally knew how to fight as well as he knew how to use his body to please others. It was a heady concoction.
Power . . .
Grateful to Artemis, he tossed the sword aside and pulled her into his arms. Something strange rippled through him. It was like a part of him had been unleashed and it shook him to his foundations.
Artemis trembled as she saw his silver eyes flash red at the same time his lips turned black. It happened so fast that she wasn't sure she hadn't imagined it.
Then Acheron took possession of her mouth with a fury that was dizzying. She felt the power of him and it made her tremble. Her heart pounding, she surrendered herself to him. He pinned her to the wall behind her. His lips and tongue burned her, and let her know exactly how much he'd been withholding from her these months past.
This was a new side of her pet. And when he entered her, she almost passed out from the sheer pleasure of it.
He was as wild and untamed as a predator in the wild. The sound of his breath, punctuated by grunts of pleasure set fire to her soul. A laugh caught in her throat. Had she any idea he'd be like this, she would have given him this gift long ago.
Screaming out as her orgasm ripped through her, she dug her nails into his skin. But he didn't even pause as he delivered even deeper and harder strokes to her body. She wouldn't have thought it possible, but her pleasure increased as another orgasm exploded.
When he finally came, she was completely weak and sated. So much so that she realized she hadn't even fed from him.
Blessed Olympus, how could this be?
Effortlessly, Acheron swung her up in his arms and carried her back into her temple, to her bedroom.
"How can you even move after all that?" she asked breathlessly.