Then Banning looked up at me and smiled wickedly. “Shall we see how long I can hold my breath?”

  I lifted my brows as he sank beneath the surface, between my thighs. An ecstatic cry launched from my lips as his tongue split my sex and started moving in slow circles at its peak. My legs tried to clamp around him, muscles working without my permission, but Banning held them back easily and covered me with his mouth. Sucking, licking, and even lightly biting, he brought me screaming into orgasm.

  As I shivered through aftershocks, Banning pushed me further up onto the wide, marble rim encircling the tub until his head and my sex were out of the water. I set my feet on the rim to either side of him and lifted myself to give him better access as I pushed the hair back from his face. It clung to his scalp and laid sleekly down his shoulders like a second skin. Banning glanced up at me—an emerald fire in his eyes and water droplets on his lashes—and then added his talented fingers to his endeavors.

  I couldn't stop shaking. Sounds rocketed from my throat unbidden; whimpers and moans and sudden shouts. When I thought I could take no more, Banning rose up, water sluicing off his magnificent body, and entered me. He grabbed me around the hips and pulled me further onto himself, groaning with me through the sublime sensation. My thighs fell open loosely; I could barely hold onto him, I was so liquid with pleasure. But Banning had enough strength for us both. He slammed into me as water splashed wildly around us, and I limply flailed. My mind swam with the ecstasy of his flesh in mine, and as he leaned forward to kiss me, I rolled up into pleasure again and screamed into his kiss. Banning teased the sounds out of me with his tongue and cock and grasping hands used with masterful precision. I was still coming when he finally found his own release.

  Banning crumpled over me, his rough breaths heating my skin, and then slowly eased us down into the water. His hand reached out casually and hit the button for the jets. Bubbles shot over my trembling body like tiny massaging fingers; pushing the soothing heat even deeper. I closed my eyes and relaxed into Banning's embrace as he stroked his fingers over my skin tenderly.

  “Now, I feel married,” Banning whispered.

  Chapter Eleven

  That evening, Banning and I strolled downstairs arm-in-arm to find several of our guests already at dinner, which was actually breakfast, I suppose. My family, Cerberus, Freya, and a few of the visiting blooders smiled at us as we made our way outside.

  “You sure know how to throw a party,” Giovanni Borgia said as we joined everyone at a long table on the veranda.

  The veranda had a view of the golf course, which is nicer than it sounds, and soft lights twinkled above us on electric strings. The scent of steak, roasted chicken, and buttery vegetables made my stomach rumble, and I eagerly searched for the food. The remnants of our wedding feast laid on a sideboard behind us. A few blooders had stayed behind to watch over Crouching Lion while the rest had gone to my rescue. They had put away the food and saved the feast, and I was supremely grateful.

  “I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves,” Banning said as he helped me into a seat.

  As Banning went to make our plates, Torin leaned over to kiss me hello. The rest of my lovers sat to his right, and we shared smiles for greetings. My parents sat together on the other end of the table with some sirens and the Spellsingers.

  “I'm just glad we got my daughter back,” Mom said. Her midnight wings shivered in agitation as her lavender eyes blinked back a sheen of tears.

  “Kalli, don't start that again,” my father said gently.

  “This is just the beginning and you know it, Robert!” My mother snapped suddenly, surprising us all. Then she set her stare on my new husband. “Why would you risk a wedding when you knew this could happen, Banning Dalca?”

  Oh, damn! She used his full name; that meant he was in tro-u-u-u-ble.

  I smirked and lifted my brows at my husband to prompt his response. Banning sighed deeply as he laid a plate before me and then turned to face the firing squad. I mean; my mother. But it was Darcraxis who answered.

  “Happiness shouldn't be postponed,” Darcraxis said firmly. “Joy shouldn't wait for the 'right time' to be felt. This was what we wanted, and we refused to allow our circumstances to hinder us.”

  My mother blinked. Uh-oh; she was thinking. When Kalliope Scorcher contemplated an answer before she gave it, bad things could happen. As in death. Dismemberment. Mom-glare.

  “I can answer for myself, thank you, Darc.” Banning sent a narrow-eyed look at Darc.

  “Oh!” Slate laughed as he sat back in his seat and settled his Stuart Hughes suit jacket with an aggressive shift of his shoulders. “Look at this; one day married, and he already has an attitude.”

  “Stuff it, Gargoyle!” Banning snapped. “Mrs. Scorcher, I've waited over two centuries to marry your daughter after she was brutally murdered before my very eyes. I wasn't about to let anything stop me; not Gorgons, Cyclops, or even a mouthy gargoyle.” He shot a glare at Slate. “The wedding may have been disastrous but it was a beautiful disaster that ended with Elaria safe in my arms. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.”

  My mother's response died on her lips. My father, however, couldn't be swayed by romantic words, no matter how heatedly they were said.

  “By the same reasoning, you should have had no problem waiting a few months more,” my father said. “Kalliope is right; this was a poor decision; one that risked my daughter unnecessarily. You should have listened to the mouthy gargoyle; he seems to have more sense than the lot of you.”

  “Gage and I argued for postponement too,” I added. I couldn't let Slate soak up all of my dad's backhanded compliments.

  My father spared an approving nod for my griffin before he said, “I hope you're postponing the rest of the weddings.”

  Torin, Darc, and Declan exchanged grim looks. I knew those looks; they wanted to go through with the ceremonies despite the danger.

  “If another wedding of mine is ruined, I shall be very put out,” I growled in a sharp accent.

  Banning chuckled, and I shot a glare his way.

  “Sorry.” Banning held up a warding hand. “It's just that sometimes when you get angry, you sound like Fortune again. You go a bit British.”

  I rolled my eyes. Mainly because Banning was right.

  “The other weddings will be in Tír na nÓg,” Torin said reasonably. “There is significantly less risk to them.”

  “Tír na nÓg is where most of Elaria's most dangerous battles have been fought,” Cerberus tossed that gem out with a gleeful look. He loved causing trouble.

  “This happened because we're on Earth,” Declan argued. “In our kingdoms, we'll have more control. No Greek monsters will be able to get past a Shining One army.”

  “I don't know,” I said softly. “Hydra waited for the perfect opportunity to strike; a moment when she could grab Hades, Persephone, and me all at once. How could she have known they'd be at the back of the line? Only one possibility makes sense to me; our enemies are watching us, and they have Gods helping them.”

  The table went silent.

  “Well, I'm sorry to have brought it up,” Gio said with forced brightness.

  “Thank you for coming to rescue us, Gio,” I said. “Thank you all.” I looked around at Ilasande and the other visiting blooders. “That went beyond what was expected of you as wedding guests.”

  “As if we'd miss out on a fight; especially one of such grandeur,” Gio scoffed. “No. We owe you, Elaria, and you're family. It was our honor to help.”

  “But I think I'll pass on your other three weddings,” Ilasande added with an apologetic grin.

  “I understand,” I said gently to her before I transferred my heavy look to my lovers.

  “Our weddings will be for our people,” Torin reminded me. “No one else has to come if they don't wish to.”

  “Foolish.” My father shook his head. “You put your people at risk along with my daughter and my wife because you can be damn sure Kalliope will be attending every wedding Elaria has; be it one or one thousand.”

  “It had better fucking not be one thousand,” Slate muttered.

  I glanced at my mother and then back at the men. That was something I should have led with. Putting my family in jeopardy was simply unacceptable.

  “El,” Darc growled. He knew my look.

  “No; it's settled.” I slashed my hand down. “I won't put my family in danger. The weddings will have to wait.”

  “Elaria!” Torin growled.

  “I said; no!” I shouted at him.

  The table went silent again. Correction; silent except for a couple of snickers from Cerberus, Slate, and my uncle Eilener.

  “I didn't think this through,” I went on as Torin gaped at me. “I let you”—I pushed Banning with my pointer—“sway me with your sad words. I should have remembered that it wasn't just us. We had to go to war last night; war in our wedding clothes. I warned all of you that this was a bad idea, but you wouldn't listen. You pressured me into this. My parents are right; you're all acting foolish. You're royalty, leaders, you should know better. But you can't get married without me, can you? So, I say no, and that is the end of it.”

  Slate made a snorting laugh, and I transferred my glare to him until he looked away and fell silent.

  “A relationship is about two people,” Declan said. “The whole point is that you make decisions together. That being said, I agree with you, Elaria.”

  “You do?” I asked in surprise.

  “I do,” he assured me. “A fact which you would have known had you bothered to ask me before you announced your decision so highhandedly.”

  “Now, see here—” my father started.

  “Stay out of this, Robert,” Declan said in his king voice.

  I often forgot how long Declan had lived or how keen his intelligence was. He behaved so blithely most of the time; a shining one king enjoying life hedonistically. But that carefree attitude was cultivated and treasured because he had been around so long and knew the value of living life to its fullest. That didn't mean the serious king was gone; quite the contrary. He lurked just beneath the surface and emerged when necessary.

  Declan gentled his tone, “I understand she's your daughter, but she's going to be my wife, and this is not about you.”

  My father gaped at Declan, and I waved him down before his element made an appearance and burned my honeymoon breakfast.

  “He's right, Dad,” I said firmly. “I'm sorry, Declan, I should have spoken to you first. I should have asked for all of your input before I made assumptions. But your compatriots here made it a little difficult for us to have a reasonable conversation. So, if you agree with me, great, but next time, speak the fuck up. Don't just sit there silently and then bitch about me not asking for your opinion. You're a grown man—more so than anyone at this table with exception to Darc—you know how to make yourself heard.”

  “Fair enough.” Declan smirked. “In my defense, I was waiting for a lull. I'm not a man who enjoys shouting over others. It's so... plebeian.”

  “And I'm not a woman who enjoys shouting at her men,” I said. “All of you know better than this.” I looked at Torin and Darc. “You know me. Did you honestly think I'd go through with the other weddings after last night's debacle?”

  Torin and Darc sighed and grimaced at each other.

  “Exactly,” I said. “And still, you pushed me. In front of my family and our guests. Not cool.”

  “I'm sorry, my fire,” Darcraxis said sincerely. “You're right; I knew better. We will wait.”

  “I pushed you because your fears are unreasonable,” Torin said. “There is no danger in Tír na nÓg for us. But if this is how you feel, then we shall wait.”

  Not exactly an apology but then Torin isn't a man who apologized just to make his woman happy. He believed he was right. I believed I was right. Neither of us thought we should apologize when we weren't wrong. Fair enough.

  “Does this mean our honeymoon is postponed too?” Banning asked with a teasing grin.

  “Yes; unless you're going to take that honeymoon in Tír na nÓg,” Odin answered Banning's question before I could.

  We all turned in surprise to see Odin walk up to the table with Vivian at his side. Odin looked as if he hadn't slept much. His dark hair was mussed, hanging about him in wild disarray, shadowy splotches drooped beneath his eyes, and his leather eye patch sat slightly askew. In contrast, Vivian looked impeccable in a pink, silk, sheath dress that toned down the slight blue tinge in her skin. Her pale hair shimmered in a cape down her back and her liquid blue eyes stared steadily at us.

  “Odin?” My father stood to greet the Witch Leaders. “What's happened?”

  “We've started receiving reports from the governments we warned,” Odin said. “Various phenomena have occurred on their planets; from tidal waves to rapid, out of season animal migrations.”

  “How many planets are experiencing these phenomena?” Declan asked.

  “Seven to date, but I'm certain more will be reporting in soon,” Vivian said. “We've sent people to investigate and work with the locals to determine what process was used to deal with their gods originally. We're hoping they can recreate the old rituals.”

  “But what concerns us the most is how the Gods intend to break free,” Odin said. “The easiest way to release them seems to be with another god's blood. I know I hypothesized that Elaria's blood may not work for gods trapped on other planets, but those gods may not come to the same conclusion, and Ellie isn't the only god among us.”

  Odin looked pointedly at Darcraxis.

  “We need Darcraxis and Elaria to go into hiding,” Vivian concluded for Odin.

  “Into hiding?” Darcraxis asked, putting a wealth of disgust into the word.

  “Yes, you and those orbs,” Odin said. “In fact, maybe you should hide in the same place. Then you can defend them if need be.”

  “But if someone gets to them, they'll have Elaria, Darcraxis, and the orbs,” Vivian pointed out.

  “And if we split them up, we give people more chances at freeing a god,” Odin argued. “All they need is one; a god or an orb filled with god magic.”

  “I agree with Odin,” I said. “I shouldn't have given the orbs into someone else's keeping, to begin with. They are our responsibility. I jeopardized people I love with my careless assumption that no one would discover who I'd given the orbs to.”

  “Regret is pointless, Ellie,” Odin said gently. “There are no mistakes, only opportunities to improve. Take what you learned and use it. Again, I suggest Tír na nÓg for your honeymoon.”

  “Tír na nÓg will be the first place they'll look for us,” I disagreed. “Perhaps we should go to the first planet Darc and I created.”

  “Wow,” Slate whispered.

  I looked at him questioningly.

  “Sorry, love.” Slate grinned. “I know about your goddess past but hearing you talk about making a planet is still a bit shocking.”

  “Imagine being her mother and hearing it,” Mom said with a commiserating look at Slate.

  “This is ludicrous,” Torin snarled and interrupted Slate's bonding moment with my mom. “Do you hear yourselves? We just helped Elaria put all of the Titans into an enchanted sleep, and you want her to go into hiding? What's your plan to take care of the rising gods? You're going to hope you can find the original spells?” Torin shook his head. “Kingdoms fall when fools rely on hope. We need action; action made by those who can actually attain results.”

  Torin slammed his fist on the table and stared everyone down.

  “You can be damn sure the people those gods convince to help them aren't going to bother with researching spells, hoping they can find one to free their god,” Torin went on furiously, his eyes flashing sapphire. “They're going to go straight for Elaria and Darc. They'll go on the defensive, and that's what we should be doing too. We need to put those gods back to sleep before they have a chance to contact anyone.”

  Odin and Vivian exchanged looks. Then they transferred their gazes to my father before finally setting their stares on me.

  “We didn't want to assume,” Vivian said. “It's a lot to ask; a dangerous and daunting task. Several of them, in fact. But is that something you'd be willing to do, Elaria?”

  I glanced at my men, and they nodded. “This is my mess; of course, I'm willing to clean it up. I don't want to hide and force others to handle it.”

  “Sending you to those planets could end up placing you directly into the hands of those who want to raise the Gods,” Odin warned me. “It would be safer for you to go into hiding.”