Page 5 of Make Mine Nymph

CHAPTER 3

GIRL TALK

DAPHNE

The first time Noelle asked me about it, I made a face. It was only the second encounter I had with her, and I still couldn’t get past how this tiny, dark-haired woman with the pale skin and the silver eyes was Alex’s twin sister. I’ve gotten a better handle on how the relationships work here in the Other—like how Zeus is considered Alex’s dad, and Eros’s mom is a pink-haired goddess who I haven’t met yet—so I accept that she’s his sister, but that just made her curiosity when it came to our sex life a little weird.

We get together every couple of weeks. Alex always moans when there’s another invite, but he never refuses to see Noelle. He just bitches because he can’t stand Hunter, but I call bullshit on that, too. I think part of him is happy for his sister and her husband—though, if you ask me, it’s only because he finally has something similar to what they have.

He sure does love to show me off. In Delphi or around his friends—well, subordinates—he can’t keep from slinging his arm around my waist, tucking me close, and telling the whole fucking Other that I’m his soulmate.

His nymph.

His Daphne.

But will he fuck me? He hasn’t yet—and not for a lack of trying on my part.

I’ve been good, though. I don’t want to screw up what we have so it’s not like I can just yank off my dress, point to my pussy, and tell him that I’m waiting. And, I mean, the idea has a certain merit to it—when I had little time and was horny as hell with some of my previous dates, I might’ve done something just like that—but I’m not looking for a one-night stand. In the Other, forever means something. If he’s not ready, then we’re not ready, and I get that.

Does it make it any easier to admit when Noelle impishly asks if we sealed the deal just yet?

Not even a little.

Alex’s sister is a Jersey girl. She might’ve grown up in the suburbs instead of the city like me and Willow, but we see things the same. Plus, she’s only been in the Other for a couple of seasons. Alex might not get along willingly with Hunter, but I don’t mind hanging out with Noelle. It’s not like she’s a perv, either. She’s just looking out for her brother.

Looking out for family. I can respect that.

After checking to make sure that Alex and Hunter aren’t near enough to hear our conversation, I shake my head. The words want to stick, but I manage to spit them out. “Not yet. Anytime I try to make it clear that I’m ready, Alex backs off.”

“Really? That’s not like him.”

She’s not wrong. When it comes to almost everything else, Alex is the type of guy to push. It’s the self-confident side of him, coupled with the arrogant god, I guess. He goes for what he wants—but he’s being careful, too. As if he’s afraid that, if he pushes too hard, I might say ‘fuck it’ and go searching for a portal.

Silly Alex. As if he’ll get rid of me that easily. Once I picked him, that was it for me. I’m like fucking velcro. Ask Willow. I’m the spiky side that sticks to the fuzzy bit, and I’m not going anywhere.

I would’ve thought he figured it out by now. Especially since he’s the one who believes in the soulmate crap, that we’re meant for each other.

I shrug. The glass of water that I drank with my dinner is still sitting on the tabletop in front of me. I swallow the last sip, waving away Noelle’s offer of more. “It is what it is. If Alex wants to wait ‘til he’s comfortable, I’m fine with it.” Horny, sure, but I’m not the one who spent the last four decades celibate. If Alex can keep it in his pants, I can wait until he’s ready to fuck me.

“Now, don’t take this the wrong way,” Noelle begins in that high-pitched voice of hers, “but are you sure that he… you know. Is into girls? Because I told you about my book, right?”

Before I tell her my opinion on Alex’s sexuality, I want to see where she’s going with this. “‘Mythology for Dummies’, yeah. I remember.”

“Exactly. I read it cover to cover, plus I did some research when I went back mirrorside the first time to get my Dud. Some of the stories I read… Apollo is a switch-hitter, if you catch my drift.”

I know. When your soulmate is holding off on putting out for some reason, and there’s no television or internet in the Other, there’s not much to do but talk. I’ve learned all about Alex Harcourt—the man, and the life he had in Nevada before he found his way to the Other—as well as interesting tidbits about the sun god, Apollo. From what Alex told me, there isn’t a hole that Apollo wouldn’t stick his dick into.

Not Alex. He’s not a virgin by any means—neither am I—though he hasn’t gotten laid since he crossed over into the Other. When he was still in the human world, though, he was strictly into women only.

Besides, Alex is cocky. Me? I’m vain. My red hair is striking, and there are times he has full conversations with my tits as if he forgets there’s more to me than my cleavage. He tells me I’m gorgeous all the time, and even if we haven’t had penetrative sex yet, neither one of us are nuns. Our kissing has progressed to a little more… exploring lately, though we always stop before we go all the way.

In the beginning, I was the one who pulled back. Lately, though, I’ve been following his lead. Too bad he always leaves me wanting.

“I know I turn him on. When he’s wearing that toga things of his⁠—”

“His chiton?”

I guess. “Looks like a skirt, right? Whatever it is, when he gets hard, you can’t miss it. I mean, I haven’t seen him completely naked yet, but that bulge is fucking huge. Definitely draws the eye, if you know what I mean.”