db1bd484fe8700408f51338793ca8c56

Afraid she’d missed something, Claire never got the chance to ask.

“Sexual tensions,” Aphrodite caroled from the doorway. “How I do love sexual tensions.”

“Not at the dinner table,” Hera snarled, pushing past.

“Fish.” Dripping slightly, Poseidon wandered into the kitchen and peered nearsightedly down at the platter of salmon. “Finally, an edible meal.” He straightened and blinked rheumy eyes in Claire’s general direction. Fingers of both hands making pincer movements he moved closer. “Wanna do the lobster dance? Pinchy, pinchy.”

“No. She doesn’t.” Still holding the spatula, Dean moved to intercept. He didn’t care who the old geezer was, a couple of his granddad’s friends had been dirty old men and the only defense was a strong offense. The God of the Oceans bumped up against his chest.

“Ow.”

“Serves you right.” Aphrodite pulled her husband from the kitchen and steered him toward his chair. “You promised you’d behave.”

“My nose hurts.”

“Good.”

When all the gods but Zeus had assembled, Hermes cleared his throat and gestured toward the entry into the dining room, announcing,“The Lord of Olympus!”

“Where’d the trumpet fanfare come from?” Dean murmured into Claire’s ear.

Claire shrugged, an answer to both the question and the gentle lapping of warm breath against her neck.

Striding into the room like a small-town politician, Zeus clapped shoulders and paid effusive compliments as he circled the table. The recipients looked sulky, senile, or indifferent, depending on temperament and number of functioning brain cells. Finally settling into his seat at the head of the table, he lifted his sherry glass of prune nectar and tossed it back.

With the meal officially begun, everyone began buttering buns and helping themselves to salad.

“Stupid, irritating ritual,” Hephaestus muttered as Claire set his plate in front of him.

“If it makes him happy,” Hermes cautioned.

“What’s he going to do to me if he’s unhappy, run over me with that domestic hunk of junk you’re driving?” The God of the Forge smiled tightly and answered himself. “Not unless he wants to trust to secular mechanics the next time it breaks down.”

“It’s so pleasant to be ourselves,” Amphitrite said quickly as Zeus frowned down the table. “But shouldn’t you be eating with us, Keeper?”

Claire had already been over this with Dean.“As guests of the hotel, you’re my responsibility. Besides, Dean did all the cooking.”

“And it looks like a lovely meal. I find men who cook so…” Aphrodite’s pause dripped with innuendo. “…intriguing.”

“You find men who breathe intriguing,” Hera muttered.

“Harpy.”.

“Flotsam.”

“More nectar?” Claire asked.

[Ęŕđňčíęŕ: img_5]

“I thought dinner went well,” Austin observed, climbing onto Claire’s lap. “Everyone survived.”

“You have salmon on your breath.”

He licked his whiskers.“And your point is?”

“Pick it up. Put it down. She drops a stitch in that infernal knitting and I must pick it up for her. If I were not already dead, that woman would drive me to chop off my own head.” Jacques collapsed weightlessly down on the sofa beside Claire. “I thought that you should know, His Majesty, the Lord of the Dead, is downstairs talking to Hell and Her majesty wants him to come to bed. She is getting—How do you say?—impatient?”

[Ęŕđňčíęŕ: img_5]

“…them to sit down and they did, but what they didn’t know was that I’d shown them to the Chair of Forgetfulness and they couldn’t get up again because uh, they, uh…Who was I talking about?”

THESEUS AND PIRITHOUS.

“I was?”

YES.

“Oh. They weren’t the ones with the pomegranate seeds?”

NO.

“Are you sure? There was something about pomegranate seeds.”

THE LADY PERSEPHONE ATE SEVEN POMEGRANATE SEEDS AND HAD TO REMAIN WITH YOU IN TARTARUS FOR PART OF THE YEAR.

“No, that wasn’t it.”

YES, IT WAS.

Hades’ voice brightened. “Do you know my wife?”

Listening at the top of the stairs, Claire was tempted to leave Hades right where he was. Another hour or two of conversation and Hell would seal itself. Unfortunately, there was an impatient goddess in room two. Fortunately, it took very little to convince Hades, who’d forgotten where he was, to return to her.

KEEPER?

Almost to the door, herding the Lord of the Dead up the stairs in front of her, Claire paused.“What?”

IF WE WERE CAPABLE OF GRATITUDE…

“I didn’t do it for you.”

NEVERTHELESS.

[Ęŕđňčíęŕ: img_5]

Backed up against the dishwasher, the goddess of love so close he could see her image in the reflection of his glasses in her eyes, Dean had no easy out. The room started to spin, beads of sweat formed along his spine, and he knew that in a moment he’d do something he’d be embarrassed about for the rest of his life. He wasn’t entirely sure what that was likely to be, but it certainly appeared that Aphrodite had a very good idea. Taking a deep breath, he dropped his shoulder, faked right, and moved left.

Fortunately, Aphrodite’s corseting insured that her reach impeded her grasp.