Pandora's Pain Read online

  “I’ll just put this away.” His fingertips skimmed over the shining lid, and my heart almost lunged out of my chest.

  “Don’t touch it.” My voice shook as I stepped past him, my shoulder skimming against his. Quickly, I snatched up the ominous thing, cradling it like a child and a weapon all at once.

  Alex wasn’t in any real harm, I knew that. He was a god after all. But I also knew the damage this thing was capable of, and I couldn’t stand the thought of it harming someone else.

  But that was its purpose.

  That was my purpose. That was what I was here for.

  “You okay?” He touched my wrist lightly.

  “Perfect. Everything's perfect.” I pushed out a harsh smile.

  Everything was awful, but I wasn’t about to share a weakness with a god.

  “Okay, well… Then I think we should discuss what’s going to happen at eight.” He sank down into the couch, his legs spreading wide as he looked up at me.

  “What do you mean? I’ll have a drink, I’ll ask him back and…” And then shove his soul into a cursed box and pray the gods don’t torment him the way they did me.

  “And then?”

  I shook my head, my hair skimming over the silky gown. “Then I’ll… you know.” It was hard for me to say it. To say I’d take his life away.

  “No, I don’t know, and I don’t think you know, either.” A heavy sound of annoyance left his lips as he exhaled. “He’s a rockstar who’s influencing the world with lust and greed. You invite him back, and his greedy dick is going to think that means one thing.”

  I winced at his choice words. For a god, Alex was more uptight than I remembered them being.

  “I can take care of it.”

  “And I’ll what? Hide in the closet like a damn creep while he tries to have sex with the overly flirtatious little sin keeper?”

  Sin keeper? Hmm, that was my one job I supposed. I wasn’t very good at that job. Not at all.

  “I said I can take care of it. And yeah, if you could just hide over in that small closet, that’d probably be for the best.”

  His jaw ticked. Pent up words appeared to be stuck in his tight throat.

  “I’m not hiding in a fucking closet. If you think this is such a fantastic plan, I intend to be front and center for the outcome.”

  “And how am I supposed to explain an obnoxiously uptight god sitting in my room?”

  “I’m not uptight.”

  The way his lip curled back almost made me laugh but I bit my cheek hard to contain myself.

  “And just tell him I’m your brother. I’m responsible for you. I’m not letting some mortal creep paw all over you on the first day.”

  Was this god trying to protect my long-lost good name? It’d been gone for quite some time. No use trying to save what was left of it.

  “Fine. Don’t get in the way.” A simmering part of me liked telling the mighty god what to do. It felt good to make demands for once. “And order me a drink while you’re at it.”

  His head tipped back as a hard line pulled between his brows. “Yeah, I’m not doing that. I’m your guard, not your servant. You seem to have found an abundance of confidence. Figure out how to use room service yourself.” Once again, he clicked on the television without giving me a second glance.

  I guess I should choose my demands more carefully.

  Chapter Six

  “You can’t wear that.” Alex seemed genuinely outraged by my dress.

  Oh well. Sucked to be him.

  “I think you’ll find I am,” I replied.

  “Dora…”

  “What’s wrong with it?” I demanded, smoothing down the fabric for no other reason than it’d draw his attention to my body. He’d made his position pretty clear on how much he liked me. Not at all, basically. So, it was only fair that I made myself as difficult as possible.

  “You might as well be wearing nothing.”

  “I think that’s the point.” I’d spent the afternoon reading women’s fashion magazines. And by reading, I really meant flipping through and looking at the pictures. Those things really insulted a woman’s intelligence. What were they thinking when they put them together? That we’re all idiots who only ever think about what to put on our bodies and how to please our men?

  At least it had given me a good idea of what to wear. One that hadn’t involved the gods’ input. While the information was sort of useful, I also didn’t trust it all that much. It wasn’t outside the realms of possibility that Zeus would put the idea of wearing underwear in my head and try to tell me it was what everyone was wearing. I’d have believed it too. Maybe. It was hard to tell.

  “He is…”

  “Going to want to come back here the moment I ask?” I supplied. “Isn’t that pretty much the plan?”

  He didn’t look very comfortable with me suggesting that. Which was going to be a problem. There wasn’t any room in our mission for doubt.

  “What you’re saying is that it’s perfect then?” I tried again when he said nothing.

  “It is,” he admitted quietly, his eyes raking up and down my body.

  Now that was more like it. “Good.”

  I turned back to the mirror and fluffed up my hair. I looked good, even I had to admit it. The dress fit in all the right places, as if made for me. Which was pretty impressive given that I’d just picked it up in a store. The credit cards and suspicious stack of cash the gods had provided was both helpful and alarming. Shopping in today’s world was nothing like using a tailor had been. I simultaneously loathed and loved it.

  “Are you ready?” I asked Alex when there were just five minutes left before I had to meet Ashton and Zavier. I would make them wait. I probably should make them wait. But I wanted this over with.

  “I’m not coming,” he protested.

  “Of course you are,” I replied. “You’re not getting out of this whole protector business.” And if I was honest with myself, if he didn’t come, then there’d be next to no chance I’d actually go through with it all.

  “But—”

  “No buts. Get your ass down to the bar and order yourself a drink,” I demanded, already worrying that he wouldn’t listen, and I’d have to do this alone.

  “Fine,” he grumbled. “But you better be down there soon.”

  “Oh, I plan to be,” I replied, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. Why was he having to make things so damned difficult. It wasn’t like I had an easy road ahead of me, and this asshole god was making things worse.

  I shouldn’t have expected any different. For some reason, assholeness seemed to come along with divinity. I’d yet to meet one god who wasn’t at least a little bit of a dick. And the goddesses…well, they were even worse. All that stuff about Artemis being as sweet as can be? Complete lies. She wasn’t a virgin either. But her father ruled the gods, so he hid the truth for her. I wasn’t even sure why it mattered. Sex was just sex.

  Other than when someone was using it to lure someone back into a box...

  Maybe I’d be changing my stance on it soon.

  I checked the clock again, and discovered it was time to make my way down to the bar as the corresponding nerves fluttered away in my stomach. This wasn’t going to go well if I didn’t get them under control.

  The walk down to the bar was torture. The clack of my heels against the floor sounded far louder than it should, and it felt like everyone was staring.

  Maybe that was because of how hot I looked. Even if there was a little voice in the back of my mind trying to tell me it was because they all knew who and what I was. And more importantly, what I was planning to do.

  Which was ridiculous. I knew that. There was no way for them to know. None of their myths even knew what I properly looked like. Neither did they do any justice to the real events of my story. I wasn’t about to correct anyone though. It was better they didn’t learn how twisted the gods could be.

  Walking through the archway into the bar, I was surprised by just
how busy it was. There were people everywhere. And I did mean everywhere. But there was no structure. Some were sat on tall chairs next to the bar itself. Others were crowded around tables strewn with empty glasses.

  And the noise…

  I hadn’t heard anything like this since… ever. Most of the events in my past life had been open air, which had made them a lot quieter.

  “You actually came then,” a voice said from behind me.

  I turned, coming face to face with a pair of smoldering eyes. The kind that really could, and probably would, set a girl alight.

  But I couldn’t let him get to me. I was here to seduce him, not the other way around. Pulling on all of my reserves, I looked up at him, letting my gaze trail over his face.

  He really was too perfect.

  “Didn’t you think I would?” My voice came out a lot huskier than I’d anticipated, but I’d roll with it. He’d take it as attraction while I lied to myself over that being what it was.

  “Not all women do.”

  I laughed. “I find that hard to believe,” I purred.

  A smug and satisfied smile covered Ashton’s face. No. He didn’t believe any woman would stand him up. Was this the power of being a rockstar?

  “You’re right, but that’s hardly the thing to admit to a woman,” he replied, his gaze drifting down to my lips.

  “Maybe not, so why did you?” I kept my voice low and sultry, but I was also genuinely interested. I had the basic knowledge in my brain of what the world was like, but that didn’t mean I understood the ins and outs of motives. Learning to recognize and understand them was going to be my main task here. Only then would I be able to find and capture the sins I needed.

  “There’s something about you, Hope.”

  My legs almost buckled as he said my fake name. I needed to pull myself together.

  Ashton raised his hand, nearly touching my cheek with it. The tension in the air was thick and growing more so by the minute. I’d even lost track of whether I was attracting him or he was attracting me. Either way, I was screwed. Maybe in the good way as well as the bad. No one said I couldn’t have fun while doing my duty.

  Our breathing matched in pace, slightly ragged and certainly heated. A little part of me doubted I could go through with this already.

  A loud cough interrupted us. Ashton’s attention ripped away from me as he turned to scowl at the man behind him.

  Oh, wait. Not just any man. Alex. Of course, he was about to witness my weakness. If I knew my luck, Zeus had probably gifted him with some kind of mind reading ability just so he could keep an eye on me.

  “Shall we,” Ashton said, indicating towards a surprisingly empty corner booth.

  I gulped loudly, nerves building up within me again. I wasn’t sure if I was completely ready for this, but I’d try my best.

  As I slid into the booth, a broad silent man in a black suit and matching glasses moved to block me from the rest of the bar. Ah, a bodyguard. That explained why the booth was so empty. This was one of the times I was grateful for Zeus’ magic brain dictionary.

  A warm leg touched mine, sending a jolt of desire through me.

  “Champagne?”

  I nodded and took the thin flute of pale liquid Ashton offered. Our fingers brushed as I took the glass, and I tried my best not to shiver.

  Trying to distract myself, I took a sip of my drink, delighting in the bubbles as they touched my tongue. I’d never tasted anything like this. I certainly hoped there’d be more to come.

  “Good?” Ashton asked, a knowing smirk on his face. This was a man who knew how to woo women and frequently used it to his advantage. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn I was just one in a long list of conquests. A small part of me wanted to make things difficult for him. The rest wanted something a lot more primal.

  “Very,” I replied.

  “It should be. I only drink the best.” He seemed a little full of himself when he said that. The heated look he gave me suggested that only the best applied to me too, not just the drink.

  I smiled, making sure it reached all the way up to my eyes. I knew a compliment when I heard one. Making sure I seemed flattered could clear my way to getting him back up to my room.

  “Why are you here, Hope?” Ashton leaned in close as he spoke, closing the tiny gap between us.

  “You asked me to be?” I replied, setting the champagne flute down and playing with the stem. I needed to reign my nerves in, they were starting to get the better of me.

  His laugh filled the booth, but it felt genuine, not fake in anyway. “Not here, here. Why are you in town?”

  “I’m here for work,” I answered, hoping he wouldn’t sense the lie. Not that it properly was one. In a way, getting sins back into the box was a job. Just not in a very traditional sense.

  “Me too.” He brought his mouth level with my ear so his breath fanned against my skin. “I hope you have time to play while you’re here too.”

  This time, I couldn’t repress the shiver. The anticipation was a little too much for me. There was next to no way I’d be able to trap this man without anything further happening.

  My gaze flitted to his lips, then away again once I’d caught myself. I wanted to kiss him more than I was accepting even in my own mind. Maybe this was what Alex had meant when he said the man attracted sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Though I hadn’t seen much evidence of the latter two yet.

  “So?” he prompted.

  “Sorry?” Heat rose to my cheeks as I realized I had no clue what he’d just said. Instead, I’d been too busy daydreaming about what else we could do with our mouths.

  “I asked if you wanted to come backstage at my show?”

  I perked up, thinking back to how he’d appeared on the television screen upstairs. Did I want to see that? I thought so. He’d been captivating and raw while singing.

  “Yes, that would be great.” I took another sip of my champagne, mostly to cover up the slight hint of nerves that’d made their way into my voice. “When is it?” I blurted. I didn’t want to delay finishing my mission for too long. I had a feeling it was going to get harder the longer I stayed here and experienced freedom for what felt like the first time.

  “Curtain goes up in an hour.”

  “An hour?” I squeaked. “Don’t you have to get ready?” I searched through my information overload to try and work out how long it would take to set up that kind of show. Hours, at the very least.

  “I am ready.” He waved down at his outfit, which left nothing to the imagination. I had to wonder if men just came this way now. “I have staff to do the rest of it, Hope. I’m at the stage where I don’t have to do it all myself.”

  “Oh.” That did make sense, I just hadn’t considered it. Probably because the information on this new world was still so new to me.

  “I do need to leave in about five minutes or so. I’d drink up if I were you.” He winked at me, and I took his advice, drinking more of the champagne and wondering what I’d just gotten myself into.

  Chapter Seven

  The bar was noisy, but the concert was all-consuming sound. A roar of cheering shook the stage itself. The feel of it reverberated through my heels and all through my body.

  And Ashton, he was hypnotic.

  I’d never seen anything like it; the pale white lights, the sounds that went right through me. It was amazing and terrifying all at once.

  It felt like the building was going to fall to the ground just from the force of his words.

  The harsh sounds of his anger ripped through his vocals only to be mellowed out into a tone of pain and love and surrender to his feelings. I found myself connecting to that sound. It pounded through my heart and twisted through my stomach with too much feeling.

  I lingered in the dark shadows of the side stage, memorizing every detail about him.

  Could this magnetic man really be one of the world’s biggest sins?

  Could I really send him away for all of eternity if he was?

&nbs
p; “He’s intense, isn’t he?” The question was a shout against my ear. That accent drifted across his tongue and against my skin. The man’s body heat skimmed against my arm as I turned to look up at him. Instant gold sprung to life around him. I really hoped the gods’ magic would wear off soon.

  Zavier studied me from his close proximity. His amber eyes were even darker here. The shy look in them melted away as his gaze dipped to my lips.

  Ah… and then there were two.

  I wondered what Zavier’s story was.

  His business is responsible for so much greed in the world, it’d make you furious to even think about it. Alex’s stern voice drifted through my mind, making me flinch.

  I searched the darkness for his brooding face.

  Nothing.

  Only staff members surrounded me.

  Stay in your own pathetic and lonely thoughts. I don’t want you in my mind. My jaw tightened but I tried to keep a sour look from my face.

  Pathetic? My mind is pathetic? Yours is ninety percent smutty thoughts and ten percent self-loathing.

  My mouth parted as if he’d slapped me with the insult.

  “Are you okay?” Zavier’s soft cotton shirt brushed against my arm.

  My attention darted back to the handsome blonde man at my side. “Perfect. Everything’s still fucking perfect.”

  A crease lined his brow, but he didn’t press my odd, strange, and completely bizarre behavior.

  A blurring sea of hands and bodies was all I could see as I stared out at Ashton’s adoring crowd. Flashes of white light blinked through as they all tried to take a little piece of him home.

  “How do you two know each other?” I shouted up at Zavier.

  They were so opposite.

  “We were in band together in high school. I was the new kid in the states, and he took pity on me.”

  A tingling feeling spread through me at the nostalgic look to his smile. His happiness made him seem less dull and more… sexy.

  “What did you guys play?”

  He paused before bringing his lips closer until they brushed against my jaw. “What do you think we played? Guess.”