Across from her, Killian and Zane quietly growled in unison, their eyes locked on Anthony’s hand on her shoulder. Killian’s jaw tensed with jealousy, while Zane’s calculating glare shifted to Anthony’s face.
Deep down, Tina had hoped the kickoff dinner would be amicable. It would set the tone for the contest and establish that even though they were competitors, they could still be peaceable with each other. She huffed, frustrated and convinced she should stop the group dinners. It would probably just make everything worse.
As they all scowled in a tense and awkward silence, Tina frowned and surveyed the five princes who had all done nothing but scream at each other the first time they had assembled in her throne room.
In their mind, they were at war. These five strong, sexy men were fighting for her, and she was fairly certain they would do whatever it took to win. It would take dedication and focus to keep them all in line.
After the awful kickoff dinner, Tina retreated to her room. Lounging on her bed, she stared at the canopy above her. With a deep sigh, she rubbed her eyes and wondered what kind of a mess she’d gotten herself into.
Someone knocked on the door, and inwardly, she groaned in annoyance. If the guys were going to continue their shenanigans from dinner, she was going to send someone home.
She ripped open the door, ready for battle, but found Zane in the hallway with one hand in his pocket and the other behind his back, all nerdy charm and tousled hair.
Arms crossed, she gave him the once over. “What’s up, professor?”
Zane chuckled at the nickname. “I know dinner was awful, so I wanted to make it better by giving you a present.”
Despite her annoyance and exhaustion from the long day, Tina laughed. “Smart move. Buy my love with gifts.”
“You said you wanted to learn more about Damara’s power, right?”
“Yeah,” she said, perking up with excitement. Did he possibly …? Could he have found something …?
He shot her a lighthearted grin and revealed what was in the hand hidden behind his back: a dark blue book with a golden spine. “I want you to have everything you need, so I pulled a few strings to find this one.”
Curious, Tina lifted it into her hands and studied the cover. In ornate gold script were the words Discovering Damara.
Zane explained as she turned it over in her hands. “It is a complete history of your goddess, from her recorded abilities and powers to her habits and—” He cleared his throat, the barest hint of a blush creeping up his neck. “Sexual exploits.”
Tina grinned broadly. “I assume you read this already?”
“Erm, maybe.” He chuckled. “I’m a fast reader, though, so I gave this to you as quickly as I found it. Promise.”
“Thank you, Zane.” She ran her hand over the smooth cover. “I really appreciate this. I want to learn as much as I can about Damara.”
His shoulders relaxed, and he seemed happy with her reaction. “I’ll look for more. Do you read other languages besides English?”
“Afraid not.”
“Not a problem. A lot of the resources on gods and goddesses have been translated, so I should still be able to find more information.”
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure. Good night, Tina.” He bowed his head and turned down the hallway.
“Wait, that’s it?” Tina quirked a brow at him. She had expected he’s use this as another loophole to get another moment of her private time.
He hesitated, glancing awkwardly around the hallway for a second. “Did I do something wrong?”
“It’s just …” She let out a happy and relieved sigh. “You’re not trying to push your way into the room or break the rules. I was expecting … I don’t know. Nothing good.”
Zane smiled warmly. “I just want you to be happy, Tina. That’s all I’ll ever want. Now, if you want me to keep you company tonight …”
She laughed. “I’m set, thanks.”
He bowed his head again. “Well then, maybe I’ll bump into you again before our date, Tina. I have something fun planned for our day together. Good night.”
Smiling, Tina shut the door and leaned her head against the wood. She held the book to her chest, happy with the tiger who continued to prove to be both kind and compassionate. Honestly, his visit had been a pleasant surprise. Despite her threat, she was glad she wouldn’t have to send anyone home.
Her attention drifted to the blue and gold book, and she cracked it open in her hands. She had some time to herself, so she might as well learn a bit more about the goddess that was sharing her body. She reclined again on her bed and settled into her soft blankets as she began to read the first page.
She lost track of how long she flipped through the book. Now and again, she would pause and run her finger over one of the portraits, always wondering what life was like for the women Damara had chosen in the past.
“Fascinating,” Tina said as she turned another page toward the end of her book hours later. Her mind buzzed with everything she had learned.
Tina paused and flipped back a few chapters, settling on a hand-drawn sketch of Damara from six hundred years ago. At that time, she was a blonde, her bright blue eyes glimmering like the sea as she walked through a garden in London. Three men followed behind her, each carrying something different. The first had a glowing sword, the second a flame suspended in his palm, and the last bore a blistering orb that shone like a tiny sun.
Damara did indeed give powers to the people she slept with. The more often her partner shared her bed, the more powerful he became. When she no longer welcomed him between her sheets, however, the powers began to slowly fade.
Most interesting of all was the fact that not even Damara herself could predict what powers her partners would get. The gifts and abilities were unique, based solely on the genetics and personality of the men who shared her bed.
Tina flipped ahead to another picture that was far older than the first. Damara was in another body, her skin darker than before. This time, her dark eyes crackled with fire as she hovered in the air with a fearsome expression. An army of men were doubled over at her feet, holding their chests. Some lay on their backs, lifeless. When Damara had access to her full power, she could stop the hearts of an entire platoon. It seemed as though it took time, however, to fully access the magic.
Damara’s magic was based mostly on connection and intuition. Tina sighed. “We’ll figure this out, Damara.”
A happy swarm of joy swirled in Tina’s chest, and she took that as an agreement from the goddess within her.
Page after page held fascinating insights into the goddess’s abilities. The humans Damara merged with aged gracefully and were beautiful to their dying day. Damara was known for taking several partners, and she only became pregnant when she wanted to.
That piqued Tina’s interest more than beauty or longevity. Science could delay the whole pregnancy thing, sure, but Tina loved the idea of having built-in birth control. It was apparently her default state. If she wanted to get pregnant, she would have to actively go into intercourse with that intention. It would have to be on her mind during the orgasm.
Her body warmed at the realization, and something within her leaned toward the idea. Intrinsically, every fiber of her soul knew that, yes, this was how sex worked for her.
“Oh, this just got a million times more fun,” Tina said to herself, a devious little smile spreading across her face.
16
Tina