Accidentally…Over? (Accidentally Yours #5)(24)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

I cannot believe I just said that. I am an idiot.

Her eyes went from anger to something resembling wounded, and his heart instantly retreated from its self-righteous rage. Why had he said that? Yes, he’d meant it—well, sort of; the woman wasn’t without her jaw-dropping, attractive qualities, to be sure—but that didn’t mean he had to hurt her feelings. After all, she was his mate. It was his job to make her realize how special she was and to make her feel adored.

Perhaps it is you who is beneath the dung. Yes, you belong in a dungeon for unworthy dung.

Shut up, you idiot.

Her gaze dropped to the floor. “I see.”

“What I meant to say was—”

“Don’t.” She held out her hand. “I get it. No need to explain. You win. I can’t fight anymore. I don’t have the strength.” Ashli sighed exasperatedly and turned toward her bedroom.

Fantastic job, ass**le. “Ashli, you must listen—”

“Will he mind?” She stopped with her back to him.

“Will who mind?”

“Your brother?” she asked solemnly. “Will he mind us barging in?”

So she’d given in and seen he was right. Winning! He hit pause on his ego’s victory lap and noticed something odd. Funny, the victory feels more like a loss. Why was that? Could it be because his winning the argument had been at the expense of her feelings? He didn’t quite know.

“In this particular juncture of history, he and my other brothers and sisters are currently trapped inside several cenotes a few hours from here.”

She looked toward him from over her shoulder. “Should I ask why you don’t free them?”

“I, too, am with them—the version of me that exists in this time—but we will be freed in about nineteen years.” He chuckled. “Ironically, twenty years into the future, they are locked away again but inside glass jail cells. I sense a theme emerging.”

Ashli glared for a moment and then shook her head.

“It is a long story,” Máax explained, “but I’m sure it will all work out in the end.” Perhaps.

“Whatever. I’ll go pack.” She disappeared down the hallway, punctuating her annoyance by slamming her bedroom door.

Fury, confusion, denial, and sadness churned inside Ashli’s heart like a temperamental time bomb, ready to burst in her chest. Was the world really going to end? How? And why did he believe she’d be the one to stop it?

Completely ridiculous! There was nothing special about her other than she’d been right about death chasing her. And that those dreams of hers weren’t dreams at all. She really had died. Or was about to die?

Ohmygod. This is depressing.

She sank down on the edge of her unmade bed, trying to catch her grip. But what shocked her most was how wounded she felt. That invisible being in her living room had said he couldn’t stand her. He’d compared her to a pile of poop and went so far as to say she was beneath it.

What a complete jerk! Arrogant, pompous, a-hole extraordinaire! And yet, a stupid little part of her actually felt wounded. Yes! Wounded. Like a child on a playground who’d been told she had cooties or had bad breath by the cute boy.

She cupped her hand in front of her face and sampled her breath. Still smelled like raspberry tea.

She chuckled at herself. Oh my God. You’re better than him. Who cares what he thinks? That’s right. In fact, I’m glad he’ll be out of my life for good once this is all over. The dude is transparent and the biggest Cro-Mag to walk the planet since… well, the Cro-Mag! Though she knew damned well he was a god and had the body to prove it, which brought her to the next set of unsavory thoughts. She still felt drawn to him. Yep. Genuinely—gulp!—fascinated by the entire unfathomable mess.

Gods actually exist. Gods actually exist. “Gods actually exist,” she repeated aloud.

Who would have thought? Now she had so many new questions. Not only about Máax, but about the others, too. How old were they? Where did they come from? Couldn’t one of them speak to Death and just tell him, her, or it to go away? Were all of the male gods as sexy and mysterious as that invisible, card-carrying member of the club-toting club; that manpig; that testosterone-spewing, tank-sized male in the other room? He is not, and I repeat, not sexy and mysterious. Nor does his smell drive you crazy. And you do not have fantasies of him climbing into your bed at night, feeling that warm, solid co…

Ashli! Stop that!

But for three long years, she’d had those erotic dreams of the faceless man. The way he held her against him, their na**d skin pressed together, the weight of his large body moving between her thighs and his thick, hard—

Gah! What is wrong with me?

But were those dreams premonitions, too?

Wait. Hadn’t she just established that he was beneath her? Hell, the “guy” had just shown his true col—okay, not colors—but the guy was a complete miscreant! So why had her mind made this lame-girl U-turn and meandered back to pining for him without her permission?

Strange. That was so unlike her. The urge to want him, despite her not wanting him, felt overpowering, as if someone else was in the driver’s seat. Maybe it had something to do with this mate thing that Máax had mentioned? But then the connection couldn’t be that strong, could it?

Ashli’s heart returned to an erratic beat. He’d said he was going to erase her from his mind. Maybe the connection between them was more than just a subtle, annoying attraction. Truthfully, she’d been feeling strange from the moment they’d met. She felt all weird and tingly. Maybe when he’d said “soul mate,” he’d meant it as the true meaning of the word.

I’m in serious trouble. Maybe she’d ask to have him erased from her mind, too, once this was all over.

“Over can’t come soon enough,” she mumbled.

Ten

After the strange, uncomfortable walk to her café with the pretentious invisible man—uh, deity—on her heels, Ashli didn’t know what to expect when she arrived.

More weirdness, she guessed. Of course. What else? This entire situation was an insanity apple covered in insanity caramel. On an insanity stick.

Apocalypse! Yeah, right. And there was no way in hell she was any sort of savior of the planet. She ran a café.

Okay, but a few days ago, you would have said that the existence of gods or that Death was really after you was crazy.

Crap. Could there be any truth to what Máax had said?