Accidentally…Over? (Accidentally Yours #5)(34)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Well, so did he. He simply had no clue how he might accomplish it. And what the hell had gotten into Brutus?

“Get in line.” Máax bellied up to the crazy man who was only a few inches shy of Máax’s height.

“Afraid of a little challenge?” Brutus asked.

“I’m a deity. I fear nothing. Not even nudity.”

“Then let the woman decide who she chooses to be her guardian.” Brutus smiled coldly.

“She will never choose an overgrown monkey over a god.”

Brutus lunged.

Thirteen

Ashli woke to a head filled with shards of glass and to the sounds of male voices grunting and growling.

Slowly, she sat up in bed. “Christ. What happened?”

She vaguely recalled feeling like her body had been on fire, her emotions completely getting the best of her. She’d wanted Máax. So much so that she’d almost had sex with him up against her kitchen wall. It was quite the shock when he told her they weren’t compatible. She’d flown off the handle. Why? She didn’t know exactly. Perhaps her deprived body simply needed to blow off steam after receiving the oh-so-disappointing news. Or perhaps it was something else. Maybe her desire for him had been on a much, much deeper level. Máax was the first “person” she’d allowed herself to connect with since her parents’ deaths. After being alone for so very long, being with him felt like a vitamin for her malnourished soul. Everything about him felt so inspiriting and so right. She imagined the two of them lying on the beach, laughing and kissing. She saw herself waking up to him twenty years from now. Not the invisible Máax, but the one she saw in her head: thick waves of caramel-brown hair streaked with gold and auburn, a delicious growth of dark stubble, and those perfect lips. She saw his golden-brown skin and hard, rippling muscles. Yes, she saw every detail of this man. And she sensed—there was no other word for it—what their lives together would be like. That sensation of bliss, being in love, feeling whole and grateful for every moment. The luckiest woman on the planet. Within the space of a few heartbeats, she saw and felt it all, only to see it evaporate like a phantasm.

Unable to think straight, she’d thrown on her swimsuit and gone down to the beach for a swim. The ocean was always the one place that helped her put everything into perspective. But before she’d made it even twenty feet beyond the shoreline, an enormous wave crashed over her. The undertow drew her down to the rocky ocean bottom. When she opened her eyes again, that man’s face, the enormous mercenary-looking dude with the dark cropped hair, hovered over her, smiling as if he’d won some prize. She’d never felt so strange in her entire life. Her body buzzed and tingled as if she was soaking in a tub full of warm, electrified seltzer water. No, it didn’t hurt. It felt kind of nice. Even nicer when Máax’s strong arms scooped her up and held her tightly to his chest, thanking the Universe for allowing her to live.

Yes, she’d get to live another day. Maybe. But now she wanted a whole mess of days. She wanted the dream, a life with Máax. She couldn’t get enough of him or their connection.

The wailing and grumbling continued to echo through her house. She slipped on her red robe and staggered her way toward the disturbance. When she got to the doorway between the kitchen and living room, she saw that enormous man who’d saved her pinned to the floor, his arms and fists flying toward something invisible.

Máax! “What the hell is going on?” she mumbled.

The man froze and looked up at her. He threw Máax off.

“Ashli. You are awake,” Máax said. “You should not be up. Please return to your bed, and I will bring you a meal.”

“No. I will bring it to her.” Brutus scrambled to his feet.

Máax replied, “Over my dead—”

Brutus lunged for Máax, but instead of attacking, he hugged him tightly. Ashli wanted to comment on the situation (Brutus hugging an empty space in front of him), but she was stunned into silence. After all, Máax was naked… Awkward!

“Get the hell off me!” Máax pushed him away. “What’s gotten into you?”

Brutus looked like he’d been hit in the head with a stupid branch. “I, uuuh—I don’t know, actually. I feel sort of… strange.”

So did she, actually. Then Ashli felt the room spin and her knees giving out. She landed with a crash on her small coffee table.

“Ashli!”

The taste of blood filled her mouth.

“Ashli? Dammit, woman.” Máax’s hot hands ran over the side of her head and then popped open her mouth.

“Brutus, get me a towel from the kitchen and some ice.”

The man returned quickly. Máax placed the plastic bag of ice against her jaw and the towel in her mouth.

It stung like hell. “Owwww.”

“Let me take a look.” Máax pulled the towel away for a moment and sighed. “You cracked a tooth.”

Great. Just what she needed.

Máax carried Ashli back to her bed and lay her down. In that brief moment, holding her in his arms, he realized this wasn’t going to work. If he wanted to keep her alive, he’d have to do something drastic. He’d have to go against Cimil’s instructions.

Which means the prophecy will go unfulfilled. But if he did nothing, she’d continue dying over and over again, in which case the prophecy was void anyway. Yes, he had to take action, which meant doing the only thing he could: make the best of it.

He beamed down at Ashli and then kissed the top of her head. “I’ll be back in one moment.” He pulled a grinning, googly-eyed Brutus into the hallway. What was with this guy? He looked like he’d been smoking something.

“She needs a dentist,” Máax whispered.

“There is one in town. I will send for him,” Brutus replied all too eager to help.

“Do you not see the complication?” Máax asked.

Brutus rubbed his jaw. “I am not a fan of visiting the dentist, but even for immortals, clean teeth and healthy gums are simply a part of life. I am sure Ashli will survive.”

“No, you ass**le. They will need to anesthetize her.”

Brutus lifted a brow.

“It’s another disaster waiting to happen; I am convinced that Death is after her.”

“Death? You mean Cimil?” Brutus whispered.

“No. Death is not a deity. It is a force that maintains the fragile balance in the world. The planet can only sustain so many lives at any given time.”