ARIK'S BREATH CAUGHT IN HIS THROAT AS SHE UTTERED the words he'd been dying to hear since the moment he'd made his deal with Hades. A slow smile spread across Arik's face before he slung his hand out to lock the door. Nothing happened.

He cursed as he remembered his human limitations. If he wanted the door locked, he'd have to do it manually, which seriously sucked.

Time's wasting. Arik raced to the door and locked it tight.

Megeara was frowning at him as he returned to her side. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not going to take a chance on your changing your mind. By the time we find someplace else, something could happen to ruin your mood, and I don't have any chocolate here to entice you with."

She laughed. "So we're just going to make out in here like horny teenagers?"

"Works for me."

She looked around the room rather sheepishly. Afraid she'd chicken out, he pulled her against him and slow-danced with her. "Come on, Megeara. Walk on the wild side with me. Let's get naked and ruin Solin's upholstery. It serves two purposes. We're happy and he's pissed."

Geary bit her lip in indecision. Arik was adorable when he was like this. Playful and charming. How could she resist him?

She cast her gaze around the room again. "There's no comfortable place in here."

"I'll be on bottom. I promise, I'll make you a good cushion."

He was incorrigible. "There's nothing I can say to dissuade you from this, is there?"

"Nope." He took her hand in his and pressed it against his fly so that she could feel his swollen cock in her palm. "I'm too desperate for you. You have to take pity on me."

Geary's heart pounded as she lifted her chin to receive his kiss. Oh, he tasted like divinity. She wrapped one arm around his neck as their tongues danced and she stroked him through his pants.

Arik drew a deep ragged breath as Megeara nibbled her way around his jaw, down his neck while her hand massaged him with an irritatingly slow rhythm that only added to his craving for her. The stroke of her tongue on his flesh was like being hit with electricity over and over again. Every part of him shook from the sensation. His nerve endings were alive and throbbing.

Growling, he jerked his shirt up over his head so that there would be no more barriers between her mouth and hands and his skin. He only wanted to feel her touch.

She gasped at the sight of his torso and splayed her palms against his bared chest.

Geary couldn't believe the scars Arik carried. They were everywhere. Mostly faint and faded by time, she'd failed to see them when he was fished out of the water. But up close, they were extremely prominent. "What have they done to you?"

He ran his hand gently through her hair. "They tried to control me."

It was obvious from the amount of damage that they'd failed repeatedly. Arik was truly a stubborn man.

He dipped his head to kiss her, but she pulled away. "What will they do to you over this latest action?"

"Don't know and right now I don't care."

" I care, Arik."

He scowled at her as if he couldn't understand her words. "Why?"

"Because no one should be tortured. It's wrong."

"It's the way of things. You break the rules and there are consequences. I'm willing to pay that price."

She trembled as he returned to nuzzle her neck. How could he be so nonchalant over this? But then judging by the look of his body, it was such a common occurrence that he most likely didn't even blink over it.

As he said, to him it was normal. But to her it mattered. She didn't want him to be hurt, especially not for being with her. He was a decent man who deserved so much more than this. She couldn't stand the thought of his being punished any more-it ached like a physical pain.

Arik was fascinated by the true softness of her skin as he toyed with her neck. By the way her body smelled so fresh and sweet. She skimmed her hands over his back while he unbuttoned her shirt. He'd expected her to be bare beneath it. Instead she wore...

Bondage gear. Pulling back, he scowled at the white thing that wrapped around her chest like an oversized bandage. "What is that ?"

Geary laughed as she realized that in dreams she never wore a bra. And judging by his reaction, she deduced that no one else ever had, either. "It's a bra. Haven't you ever seen one before?"

He ran one finger under the strap and curled his lip as if it were the most repugnant thing he'd ever seen.

"No. What's it for?"

"It keeps me in place."

"Yeah, but I don't want you in place. I want you in my hands."

On any other man, that line might have angered her to the point of nailing him in a certain part of his anatomy and walking away. But it was said with such growling sincerity that it only made her laugh again.

She reached around and unsnapped her strap. The look on Arik's face as the bra fell to the floor was priceless. No man had ever looked at her with such satisfied hunger.

He lifted one hand, then hesitated as if afraid to touch her breasts. She took his hand and led it to her.

The instant he touched her, she moaned and ached at the center of her body. And all she could think of was having him hard and deep inside her.

Arik's breath caught in his throat as he cupped her swollen breast in his palm. It was so soft... He'd

never felt anything like it.

He brushed his thumb over the taut nipple and was delighted as she literally squirmed. Grinning, he dipped his head down to draw that peak into his mouth so that he could taste her. She let out a moan as she cupped his head to her breast.

Oh yeah. This was what he wanted. He reveled at the taste of her, at the way her puckered nipple rolled against his tongue. But all it did was make him burn for more of her. He wanted to see her completely naked.

With that thought in mind, he quickly unzipped her pants. She kicked her shoes off as he slid the pants down her body and then tossed them over his shoulder.

"More surprises, huh?" he asked as he studied the small pair of panties.

Geary couldn't speak as he reached up to brush his fingers between her legs. She felt on fire from his touch. And all she could think of was her dreams when he'd licked her until she'd screamed out in pleasure.

He massaged her with his thumb through this silk until she was wet and begging for him. She buried her hand in his hair, as he continued his relentless torture.

Arik pushed the silk material aside so that he could touch her intimately. She was so wet already and he was dying for a taste of her on his tongue. He hooked his finger in the bottom of her panties and pulled them off.

He was still in his slacks while she stood naked before him. Gods, but she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. She wasn't skinny or lean but rather voluptuous and tight. He could see the outline of her bikini where her skin went from tan to a paler tawny color.

But that wasn't what held him captive...

Geary licked her lips as their gazes met and locked. Arik took her hands into his and led them to the center of her body that ached for his touch. Using her thumbs, he spread the folds of her wide so that he could see the most private part of her body.

He ran one long finger down her cleft, drawing a shiver along her spine. "You're so much softer than I thought," he whispered. "Wetter."

And when he slid his finger deep inside her, she almost came just from the sheer pleasure of it. Groaning low in her throat, she panted while he explored her at length. His fingers swirled and teased until she was weak from it.

Just when she was at her end, he lifted himself up and replaced his fingers with his mouth. The shock of pleasure was so great that she rose to her tiptoes. She gasped his name as he tongued her with an unrivaled skill. Widening her stance, she lowered herself on his mouth as his tongue flicked inside her over and over again.

Unable to stand it, she came with a small cry. But still he didn't stop. He continued to tease and torment her with his mouth and tongue until she was cresting another orgasm.

Wanting him inside her more than she wanted anything else, she buried her hand in his hair and pulled him away from her.

Arik was dazed by her taste and by the fire in his blood as she sank to the floor and captured his lips with her own. Her hands sought out his body with an unrivaled eagerness.

Now this was the Megeara he'd come to know. She was relentless with her exploration. Relentless with her kissing. Shoving him back on the floor, she quickly removed his clothes so that she could run her hands over his body.

He spread his legs for her as she ran the back of her hand over his sac. He actually whimpered from the pleasure of that sensation.

Taking no mercy on him, she dipped her head down and took him all the way into her mouth. Arik arched his back as unimaginable pleasure ripped through him. Everything was swirling. In all the times he'd had sex, he'd never known anything like this. Never felt any pleasure equal to it.

He tilted his head to watch her and met her hungry gaze. The look of her there tore through him. He reached down to stroke her cheek as she again took him in all the way. Her throat tickled the tip of him before she pulled back to nibble the very tip of him. He was in ultimate heaven.

Megeara sucked him in hard before she pulled away again and kissed her way up his body until she was able to straddle him. Blind with ecstasy, he lifted his hips as she impaled herself on him.

Arik cried out from the warmth of her body surrounding his. It was all he could do not to come immediately, but he didn't want this to end so soon. He wanted to stay inside her forever.

Geary smiled at the unabashed pleasure on Arik's face as he held her hips in his hands and urged her on.

And she did just as she'd promised. She rode him with everything she had.

Fast and hard, pulling him in as deep as she could and then rising up until he was about to fall out. There was nothing better than the feel of his hardness inside her.

And as she thrust against him, she knew they had no future together. But even so she felt closer to him than she'd ever felt to anyone.

It was like he was a vital part of her and for once she didn't feel self-conscious around him. She was completely at ease with her nudity and with her sexuality. Completely at ease with his knowing how much she craved him. There were no barriers between them now. No secrets.

And when she came again, she actually screamed out loud.

Arik groaned at the sight of Megeara's ecstasy. It was so intense that it set off his own. He drove himself deep inside her as his body shook out of his control. A thousand emotions and sensations tore through him, robbing him of all reason and thought.

All he could do was feel. Feel her and the moment of pure, uninterrupted bliss as his body spasmed inside hers.

She leaned over him to kiss his lips. Arik held her there, letting his senses swirl.

"Are you all right?" she asked, her brow creased by worry.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "I think my body just turned inside out. And I can't understand why Solin would ever venture into dreams if this is what it's like in a human body. He must be out of his mind."

She laughed at Arik's indignation. "That was not what I was expecting to hear. But I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

He cupped her face in his hands before he kissed her again. "I could drink you in all day, Megeara.

What is this feeling that I have inside me? The one that hurts with the thought of not being with you? The one that wants to be inside you again even though I just had you?" He hesitated before he whispered his last question to her. "Is this love?"

"No," she answered quietly. She didn't believe in love at first sight. "Real love takes time to build. What you feel is just infatuation."

"But it doesn't feel temporary."

"It never does at its onset. It's only in hindsight that we realize the difference between infatuation and love."

He didn't seem to buy her argument. "And what if it's not?"

"What are you saying, Arik? That you love me?"

Arik fell silent as he considered it. There was no denying what he felt. But then his feelings were very new and they would expire in only a few more days. It might be love now, but how could someone continue to love when they had no emotions?

Maybe she was right. Maybe it was only infatuation.

But even as he thought that, he knew better. The very idea of returning to his old existence burned through him with so much pain that he could barely stand it. It made a complete mockery of any punishment he'd ever known. He wanted to stay with her for all eternity.

Afraid of losing her, he held her close, naked body to naked body, and tried to forget how soon his departure would be.

Geary lay there quietly, listening to Arik's heart beating under her cheek. How strange to be with him now knowing how finite their time together would be. There was none of the optimism of most affairs, where you hoped they'd last forever. In some ways that made her lucky. She knew to the second how finite their time was.

But it was also a curse to know when she was going to lose him-because she suspected that she was already in love with him. How could she not be? He was the only man who'd ever seen the real her. In her dreams, she'd told him everything. Her hopes, her disappointments. She'd never been restrained with him. Never held back. He knew her in a way no one else did.

And that was why she couldn't let him go.

"There has to be some way to keep you here."

She hadn't realized she'd spoken out loud until he answered her. "I could stay, but I wouldn't be the man who's with you now."

"What do you mean?"

"I could give up my godhood, but it would change nothing other than I'd become mortal. When my time is up, I'll revert back to what I was. I won't have any emotions and I wouldn't be able to visit in you in dreams. There would be no reason to be around you then."

"I don't believe that. You have emotions. You feel too deeply not to."

"In the dreams, I was syphoning off you. Everything I felt came from you. I promise you that if I were to become mortal, that would stop. I wouldn't even have the power to feel you anymore, either physically or emotionally."

"How do you know that?"

"It's the curse, Megeara. There's no cure for that. No god can alter the curse of another. I'm damned."

She still couldn't accept that. It wasn't in her nature to just accept things because someone said so. She was a scientist and she needed proof of his theory. "Has any Oneroi ever gone free?"

"No," he said emphatically. "There has never been a single case of freedom for any of us. The few who tried were hunted down and killed."

"That's not fair. You should be able to go free if you want to."

He let out a deep breath as he stroked a lock of hair from her forehead. "Who has ever said that life is fair?"

"Maybe, but I'm going to ask Tory about this."

"Tory's just a child."

"Yes, and she's obsessed with Greek mythology. If ever there was an escape for you, she'd know it."

Arik adored the fact that Megeara was willing to try, but he knew it was hopeless. No human knew more about Greek mythology than he did. Megeara was human and he was a cursed god. All he could hope for was to find some way to keep her safe once he was gone.

As long as they were at Solin's they had a haven. Solin had told them that he had a truce with the other gods. They didn't tread into his home uninvited and he wouldn't kill them for it. But Arik and Megeara couldn't stay here every minute of the day. And she wouldn't be content to live her life here within these walls. She'd never liked cages of any sort.

She's going to be dead, so just stay here and enjoy her company until it's time to return.

Return to what? Emptiness? Coldness?

That was bullshit. He didn't want to go back to the Vanishing Isle.

Then you die in her stead.

Arik leaned his cheek against the top of her head as she lay against him. She felt so good in his arms. So good with her naked skin resting against his. I would rather be dead than live without her .

It was true, and actually that was the only solution that made sense. He would spend his time with her and then surrender himself to Hades. Hades would torture and kill him, then everyone would be happy.

You won't be happy, dumb ass.

That was actually quite true, but even if he gave her up and went home, he'd still be tortured, not to mention the Dolophoni would kill him anyway.

So why not just let them have him and end this?

"Live your life with purpose."

Arik blinked as those words came out of the very distant past to haunt him. It'd been back in his days as an Oneroi when he'd ironically gone to help Trieg. Acheron, the leader of the Dark-Hunters, had summoned him so that they could discuss the problems Trieg was having over the death of his family and how best to help the man cope with them.

Tall and black-haired, the Atlantean had been even wiser than Athena. He'd been trying to make Arik understand the human psyche and essence. "Remember, Arikos, the key to humanity is simple. Live your life with purpose. They need goals to strive for. All of Trieg's have been taken from him by his enemies, so we need to replace them with new ones that matter to him. Without goals, humanity is lost and a single man can't function."

Acheron had been wrong about one thing. Without goals, everyone was lost. Even the gods.

Until now, Arik's goals had always been selfish in nature. As a Skotos, his goal had been to find the greatest pleasure to be had. As an Oneroi it had been to do just as he'd been told so as not to be punished. He'd never once considered anyone else's feelings or life.

But now he understood how to live with purpose. He understood sacrifice. There were things worth dying for. His was simple. Megeara. His only regret was that he wished he'd enjoyed their past more. He should have savored every second of their time together.

Still, he had a few days left. Those he would make count. And when the time came, he would put his neck in the noose with no regrets.

Yeah, right.

Okay, so there would be one single regret-he'd never see or touch Megeara again.

He could die with that.

And in the back of his mind was that same sarcastic voice laughing at him. " Trust me, boy, you will."