Goddess in Training
the goddess wanted him to ensnare the
woman’s heart, and give his own to her, which he could never do.
Love the ladies, pleasure them, but not with his heart—that was the
only way he could manage to remain devoted to his queen, his heart
intact. Forever pledged to her, his first and only true love.
Though he’d never pleasured her, he’d lusted after her, the woman
charmingly seductive in her own right.
    But as soon as Asarian entered the
reading room where Lisandra Atkinson read to a bunch of children,
he knew there’d be trouble. Her brown eyes, already strikingly big,
widened even further. The words she’d read from the book instantly
died on her tongue, and her gaze shifted from his black hair
hanging loose at his shoulders, to his naked chest, down to his
shorts, all the way to his bare feet.
    The way she appraised him made his
shaft jump with intrigue. How the mousy woman could do that to him
with just a look was unfathomable.
    Twelve children of various ages, all
young, stared at him, too, and for an instant, he felt embarrassed
for the intrusion. Him, the god of pleasure. He couldn’t remember a
time in his life he’d ever felt that way.
    Lisandra swallowed hard, then rose
from the tiny chair she was sitting on that looked to be designed
for one of the cross-legged children on the floor. “I’m…I’m afraid
you can’t be in the library without wearing shoes and a
shirt.”
    His lips curved up. He’d seen the sign
on the library door. No shirt, no shoes, no service. But he
intended to provide the service. The fewer clothes, the better. “I
had naught else to wear, my lady.” He bowed his head slightly, his
eyes focused on hers. ‘Twas the way to gain a woman’s
intrigue.
    She was supposed to look away
demurely, cheeks flushed, but then again look at him, to show how
interested she truly was in him. Or, hold his gaze and bold-faced
ask him to join her at the nearest bar for a drink after work. One
or the other. She did neither.
    Instead, her expression turned into a
myriad of emotions ranging from horror and disbelief to compassion.
He read women’s feelings well, ‘twas why he was so attuned to
pleasure them with the proper skill. But he wasn’t sure how to
handle this woman one bit.
    “ I’m…I’m sorry,
Mister…”
    He offered his hand. “Asarian. Please,
call me by my given name.” Though he had only the one, but no lady
ever seemed to mind. Most he’d charmed hadn’t even cared he had a
name.
    She took his hand to shake, but he
captured her small-boned fingers and raised them to his lips and
kissed. It should have turned her knees to jelly. Instead, he was
the one overpowered by her scent, her sweetness. The smell of
lavender scented her skin, and at once he wished to get on with the
seduction, anywhere but here in front of an audience of young
mortals. However, Zeus had commanded he bring Lisandra to Mount
Olympus, the perfect place for lovers to mix.
    Her skin blushed from her upturned
face to her small sandaled feet. She pulled her hand free and
cleared her throat. “I’m Lisandra Atkinson and the head librarian
here. Uhm, we have the Salvation Army next door. Perhaps you could
go there to…” Her eyes glanced down at his shorts and shot back up
to his gaze. Did she see how willing he was to have her?
    He tried to remain serious, though he
was certain his eyes sparkled with humor. Ladies oft said that
about him.
    “ Do…do you have any
money?”
    Money? He had no need of money. Best
to humble himself. He motioned to the children. “I wished to hear
you read to the small ones. Would you mind my listening too
terribly much?”
    “ But…but our policy here
is that everyone must be properly clothed and…”
    He folded his arms. “I have no shirt
or shoes.” It wasn’t the first time Zeus had steered him
wrong.
    She bit her lip, like he wished to do
with a gentle nip, then she said to the children, “I’ll be right
back.”
    The kids stared up at him in awe. He
smiled,

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