Page 10 of Cursed By Fate

“I’m not ordering you. I’m asking.” His voice was dialed all the way down to velvety-smooth and oh-so-inviting. Damn those soft lips.

Penny knocked my elbow. “The nice, normal-sized demigod is asking, Maya.”

“You should go,” I told her, fighting the magnetic pull of the demigod’s eyes.

“As much as I would love the challenge, I’m still training,” Penny objected. “I’ll lose the momentum I’ve been building if I leave the island right now.”

“But if I’m not on the island, there won’t be anyone here to teach you,” I shot back. My head swung back to Vale. “Sounds like your team will have to handle this one without us. Maybe next time.”

Vale accepted defeat with his usual grace. “Best of luck with your training, Penny. It was a pleasure to meet you. It was good to see you again, Maya.”

“The ferry doesn’t run for another hour,” Penny said. “You can kill time in Rise and Grind. They make a perfect cappuccino.”

“Vale has his own means of transportation,” I told her. Why travel by ferry when you owned a yacht?

Vale turned and walked in the direction of the dock.

I waited until he was out of earshot to unleash my ire. “Why did you do that?”

Penny’s face was the picture of innocence. “Do what? Encourage you to accompany the hot demigod to his place of residence? Gee, I can’t imagine.” She beamed at me. “See? I can do sarcasm.”

“Gold star for you. I offered to send you with the hot demigod. Why not go?”

“I’m a girl’s girl. I would never stab you in the back like that.”

“There’d be no stabbing. He and I are not a couple.”

“But you like each other. That much is obvious.” She cocked her head. “So what’s the issue?”

“I’m not interested in a relationship.”

“Who said it had to be a relationship? Help the guy out as your primary quest and let a bit of fun be your side quest.”

I inhaled deeply, trying not to envision what that side quest would look like. Feel like. Taste like.

Brain: danger! Abort mission!

“I’m married to my job,” I said. “The Neighborhood is my priority.”

“Now you’ve got me to help, Maya. I can handle the island for a few hours while you make nice with our mainland neighbors. It’s a good strategy for us to keep the local demigod happy, right? We never know when we might need him.”

A monster in the waterways could become a threat to Evermore. All the creature had to do was swim another few miles and it would run aground on our very private beach.

“You don’t have to exchange saliva or anything,” Penny continued. “Unless you want to, which I fully support. Nay, encourage even.”

I couldn’t decide whether Penny was the little angel or the little devil on my shoulder. Either way, I felt my resistance wane.

“Fine, I’ll go.” I raised a finger. “But do not pursue anything serious without me.”

“I’m a fury, Maya. Pursuit of serious issues is one of my greatest strengths.”

That was my concern. “Stick to the mundane tasks. Take a golf cart and do a perimeter sweep. Respond to any minor calls but alert me if you receive any Code Reds to Oranges. I’ll fly back.”

“What if it’s a Code Cinnamon or Vermilion?”

“We don’t have those. It’s rainbow colors only.”

Penny cracked a smile.