Accidentally in Love with…a God?(Accidentally Yours #1)(27)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

“More weakness.” Revolted, he shook his head.

After he’d escaped the Maaskab with a nearly comatose Emma, the Uchben arrived and met them near the old fort by the lake. They quickly debriefed, also confirming the absence of the other gods for nearly sixty years—all except for Cimil who had been spotted multiple times in the area, near several Maaskab strongholds, up until about a decade ago.

Then the guards gave Guy the supplies, weapons, and clothes he’d requested, including one of those tiny square phone devices, and left with Sleeping Beauty along with his elaborate instructions for her care. Guy traveled back to his cenote—the one he’d been trapped in for seventy years—but when he immersed himself in the water, reciting the ancient words to open the portal, nothing happened. Not even a pathetic little flicker.

Perhaps the curse, which had imprisoned him, somehow sealed the passage to his world, too?

It wasn’t until he traveled to another portal and yet another, finally arriving at this last cenote, that he realized they were all impassable. Hexed. He could smell the poisonous energy wafting from surface. He didn’t dare enter.

This can’t be. It’s impossible.

What disturbed him most was that had the other gods needed to, they could’ve easily created new portals. Of course, the creation had to be done from their realm, but it took little effort to tap into the River of Tlaloc, the underground channel of energy flowing in this part of the world. But that hadn’t happened, and now a startling realization swept over him: those buzzing voices in Emma’s head weren’t random echoes or meaningless noise she picked up with her powerful, satellite-dish-like-mind. Those voices were the other gods. Trapped.

How had this happened? How was it possible Emma could hear them? Through her connection with him, perhaps? And why couldn’t Emma understand them?

Hell, he didn’t come close to understanding this connection with Emma. In fact, there was no explanation for their link in the first place; no one had ever inherited a bond. On the other hand, Payals were a completely new breed. There was much to learn.

For now, he had to focus his energy on more important things. “I will be back to free you, my friend,” he said to the water, suspecting one of the gods was inside.

His thoughts immediately returned to Emma. She was the whiniest female to ever walk the planet, but she had the heart of a warrior like him. She would be beyond livid for being kidnapped, but she would go ballistic when he told her she’d have to return to Mexico and free the others—a task he couldn’t do himself without risking his freedom once again. But Emma had been able to break the water’s hold, break the curse. She was the only solution he could think of.

An uneasy pressure began building inside his chest. He didn’t want to upset her. He also missed her. Twenty-two years he’d shared his existence with hers. The separation was almost too painful to stand.

“Wait. Am I actually afraid? Of facing a girl? And…I miss her?” he said aloud. “I need to get home; being human is driving me insane.”

Chapter NINETEEN

Barolo, Italy.

I stood inside the steaming hot shower, letting the powerful jets pulse at the back of my aching neck. Eyes closed, I began floating the silky bar of rose-scented soap over my body. It was the first time in days that my stomach felt calm. Heaven.

I turned to let the water work on the tightness in the side of my neck.

“Emma, you look irresistible in that outfit,” said a melodic voice infused with evil.

I gasped and jumped back against the cold white tile. Standing in the shower, his bright turquoise eyes glowed with amusement, piercing through the dark shadows that hugged his body. “I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to speak to you again, but apparently, you don’t REM sleep much these days.”

Sleep? Of course. This is a dream! I let out a sigh of relief, wondering if I could summon a delicious hot dog to the scene. I hadn’t gotten my fix of junk food lately. Or maybe a Belgium chocolate. I closed my eyes but nothing happened. “Darn. Okay then, I’ll settle for that black cloud going away.”

He made a soft chuckle as the haze began to evaporate. “As you wish.”

I stared at his face in shock; he looked almost exactly like Guy. His skin was a silky smooth golden brown. His long black hair was wetted back, and his stomach rippled all the way down to the ropes of muscles that ran diagonally across the front of his hips, creating a V shape that ended right at his large thick penis.

Well, hats off to my subconscious for the effort, but somehow, this vision didn’t quite stack up to Guy. Don’t get me wrong, this man was stunning. It was like comparing crème brulee to that Belgium chocolate truffle I’d just tried to conjure. I’d blissfully gobble down either one, but only the chocolate made my eyes roll into the back of my head. Guy’s skin had a hint more glow to it and his hair was a bit longer. He was also a bit taller and undoubtedly much huskier. Then there was the size of his man-gear—not that I’d measured, but it was pretty substantial. Guy was definitely a Belgium chocolate.

Well, dammit. Now, I officially double-hated Guy. Not even my dream-men could survive the side-by-side comparison. That just wasn’t right.

“Done yet?” his black brows shrugged with amusement.

No, not really. “But since this is just a dream, and you’re not real, can you wash my hair and shave my legs?”

“A dream, yes. But I’m as real as you are. This is the only way I can reach you.”

Suddenly, I wasn’t liking my hot dream so much. Hoping to change the scenery, I squeezed my eyes shut and began thinking of shoes.

“Emma, that won’t work,” he said. This time the tone had changed. It reminded me of when Guy wanted something. “I need you to promise you won’t run,” he commanded.

My eyes widened. “Run?”

“I’m sending someone for you, several people, in fact. Their appearance will frighten you, but you mustn’t run. If you do, bad things will happen to those you love.”

Oh, pickle. That sounded ominous. What a crappy dream. I shut off the water and stepped out, wrapping a fluffy white towel around my body. “What kind of bad things?”

“You want to find out? Then run.”

“Why do you want me?” I shoved a towel at him.

“You belong to me,” he said coldly, letting the towel drop to the floor without even attempting to grab it.

A prickly shiver quaked through my body. I walked to the bedroom and looked around. Was there something I could use to wake myself up? I didn’t like where this was going, and for some odd reason, I was beginning to believe him; this was more than a dream, and my self-preservation radar sensed it somehow. “Sorry, but I belong to no one.” I picked up a pen from the nightstand. “Wake up. Wake up, dammit.” I jabbed my palm.