To them he was only her pet. A human curiosity, easily discarded and dismissed.

If they only knew...

He'd removed enough of everyone's memory of that night so they would only recall that a fight had happened and who the winners were.

Not even Artemis remembered everything. Artemis had promised him Dionysus wouldn't go after Zarek for retribution. But then Artemis had thought to kill Zarek herself.

When would he learn?

She could never be trusted.

Ash moved away from her. "You have no idea what it does to someone to lock them away. To place them in a hole where they're forgotten."

"And you do?"

Ash fell silent as suppressed memories flooded him. Painful, bitter memories that haunted him whenever he dared to think of the past.

"You'd best pray that you never learn what it feels like. The madness, the thirst.

The anger. You've created a monster, Artemis, and I'm the only one who can kill it."

"Then we're in for a bit of a problem, aren't we? You can't leave."

He narrowed his eyes.

She stepped back again. "I told you, I will contact the Oracles and have them bring him home again."

"You better, Artemis. Because if you don't get him under control, the world is going to become the very thing that makes you wake up screaming at night."

Zarek lay on the beach, still inside Astrid, as the waves ran over their bodies.

This dream was so real and intense that he never wanted to wake from it.

What would it be like to have her for real?

But even as he thought about that, he knew the truth. A woman like Astrid had no use or need for a man like him.

It was only in his dreams that he could be wanted. Needed.

Human.

He moved to her side so that he could watch the water run over her naked body.

Her hair was wet, plastered to her skin. She looked like a sea nymph that had just swum ashore to bask in the warm sunlight and seduce him with her curves and silken skin.

She looked up at him with a sweet smile that made his heart pound as she ran her hand over his arms and chest.

Astrid lay in silence, watching him, too. Zarek looked so lost now, as if their lovemaking had left him confused.

She wondered what it would take to tame this man, just a little. Only enough so that other people could see what she saw.

At least now he let her touch him without cursing or withdrawing from her.

It was a start.

She trailed her hand lower over the hard planes of his chest, down the perfect definitions of his abdomen. Hunger ignited in his eyes as she moved her hand lower.

Astrid licked her lips, wondering if she dared be even more bold with him. She still wasn't sure how he would react to anything.

She played with the small, crisp hairs that ran downward from his navel, raking her fingers through them. He was already starring to harden...

Zarek held his breath as he watched her. Her hand felt wonderful on his body as she drew circles around his navel and trailed her fingernail down the short, light dusting of hair on his stomach.

Already he was craving her again.

Then she moved her hand lower.

He growled as she cupped his sac in her palm. Her warm hand enclosed him, squeezing him exquisitely.

His groin jerked, and all the blood rushed back into the region, making him hard and aching for her.

She ran her finger down his shaft to the tip, where she toyed with him. "I think you like it when I do that."

He answered her with a kiss.

Astrid moaned at the passion he showed. He throbbed in her hand while his tongue danced with hers, exciting her to the highest level of need.

She pulled away reluctantly, desperate to give him what was unknown to him.

Kindness.

Acceptance.

Love.

The word caught in her mind. She knew she didn't love him. She barely knew him, and yet... He made her feel again. Touched the emotions she had feared were forever lost.

She owed him much for that.

Kissing his lips lightly, she scooted down his body.

Zarek frowned at her actions. He didn't know what she had planned until she laid herself over his stomach. Her bare back was exposed to him as she continued to stroke him with her hand.

He ran his hand through her long, wet blond hair, trailing it over her bare back while her breath tickled his hip. Her skin was so soft, so tender. There wasn't a blemish anywhere on it.

She moved lower.

Zarek gasped as she took the tip of his shaft slowly into her warm mouth.

He was frozen by pleasure. The feel of her lips and tongue caressing him was unlike anything he'd experienced before. No woman but Astrid had ever touched him there. He'd never allowed it.

But he doubted he could deny her anything after this. She had laid claim to him in a way no one ever had.

Astrid moaned at the salty taste of him. When her sisters had told her about this, she had always considered it obscene and nasty. At the time and for centuries afterward, she couldn't imagine herself ever doing something like this with a man.

But she did it for Zarek; there was nothing obscene about the feelings inside her.

Nothing obscene about the way he tasted.

She was giving him a rare moment of pleasure, and strange as it seemed, she enjoyed it, too.

He gripped her shoulders and groaned in response to every lick, nibble, and suckle she gave him. His warm response urged her on. She really wanted to please him. To give him all the things he deserved.

Zarek arched his back, letting her have her way with him. It amazed him that he allowed her to do this. Never before had he trusted a lover with his body. He'd always been in complete control.

The woman didn't touch him. Ever.

She didn't caress or kiss him.

He bent her over, did his business, and walked off.

But with Astrid it was different. He felt as if he were sharing himself with her.

As if she were sharing herself with him. It was mutual and wonderful.

Astrid started as she felt Zarek's fingers slide down her cleft. Opening her legs for him, she gave him access as she continued to pleasure him with her mouth.

Zarek turned more to his side all the while his fingers stroked and delved.

She shivered at the warmth of his touch as the cool surf rushed around them. The heat of the sun on her skin was nothing compared to the heat his touch provided.

He made her burn.

He nudged her legs farther apart.

Astrid moaned as his mouth covered her.

Her head swam in pleasure as he ran his tongue over the center of her body where she craved more of his touch. His tongue flicked across her, spearing her.

Enticing her.

His hands gripped her hips as he pressed her pelvis closer to him so that he could torture her with more wicked delights.

Zarek shook at the sensation of tasting her while she tasted him. This was so much more than sex they shared.

She was right, they were making love to each other.

And it shook him all the way to his missing soul.

They took their time with each other, stroking, caressing, making sure that they were both sated. They came together in one pure burst of emotion.

Astrid pulled back as Zarek continued to tease her.

So intent on her, Zarek wasn't paying attention to the water. Not until a large wave rolled over them.

He sputtered as he swallowed a large amount of water.

The wave rolled back, leaving both of them choking and gasping.

Astrid laughed, the sound dulcet and vibrant. "Now that was interesting."

He kissed his way up her body so that he could smile down at her. "More aggravating, in my opinion."

She reached her hand up to touch his cheeks. "Prince Charming has dimples."

He stopped smiling instantly and looked away.

She turned his head back toward her. "Don't stop smiling, Zarek. I like this side of you." His eyes flared angrily. "Meaning you don't like the other side of me?"

She made a disgusted sound at him. "You are so surly." She ran her hand down his back until she could cup his naked butt in her hands. "After today, haven't you realized I'm rather fond of all sides of you? Even though some are more prickly than others." She ran her hand over his whisker-covered cheek to emphasize her point.

He relaxed a degree. "I shouldn't be with you."

"And I shouldn't be with you. Yet here we are and I am very happy about it."

She wiggled her bottom against him, making him groan in response.

He looked at her as if he couldn't believe she was real, and in his mind she wasn't. She was only a dream.

Astrid wondered how he would react when he woke up. Would any of this help or would he withdraw further from her?

She wished she could strip his bad memories from him. Give him a happy childhood filled with love and tenderness.

A life of joy and friendship.

He laid his head down between her breasts and stayed there quietly as if content to feel nothing more than her under him while the sun warmed them both.

"Tell me of a happy memory, Zarek. One thing in your life that was good."

He hesitated for so long that she didn't think he would answer. When he spoke, his voice was so soft that it made her ache. "You."

Tears gathered in her eyes. She hugged him with her body, cradling him, hoping that in some way she soothed his troubled, restless spirit.

Astrid knew then that she would fight for this man, and in the back of her mind came a frightening realization.

She was falling in love with him.