I chuckled, “Okay, how does she afford that without a family?”

  She smirked, “It was in the papers. Her first college was Cal-tech, and she invented a couple of things, support modules in communications technology, though I couldn’t tell you what they do, except they were revolutionary for the industry about eighteen years ago. Royalties in the billions since it’s now part of every smartphone and cell tower in the world, even at just thirty percent since the school takes the lion’s share.”

  I nodded, “Didn’t read them in their entirety, I was hungry. Speaking of which…”

  She chuckled, and we headed back inside the diner to finish breakfast and pay the bill.

  The apartment complex was off campus in a really nice area with a large park with trees and a pond across the street. They looked more like luxury two-bedroom condos than apartments, and there was a community pool and workout center. The apartments were white, outside access with large walks, bushes, and were beautifully landscaped. The outside lights on the apartment above the garage looked like black wall sconces, and the porch was fairly large and held a couple of outdoor chairs and a small table.

  When I thought of the goddess of war, wisdom, and crafts I imagined a tall athletic woman with a piercing gaze and a serious demeanor, and I couldn’t have been more wrong about that guess if I tried.

  We’d decided on a slow approach, because she was a tier-two, and two tier-one gods showing up would be intimidating. There wasn’t much we could do about that, but we didn’t want to make it worse by landing on her doorstep without warning. So we’d teleported in about two blocks away and slowly walked the rest of the way hand in hand.

  “You’re driving me crazy, baby. I can’t get enough of you, and my mind is not on recruitment,” I admitted baldly.

  It was true enough, finally giving in to the promise of our sexual tension had made it explode even more. Every single movement she made, every look, every sound of her voice, and her very scent and aura just made me want to ravish her. The more I was buried in the varied pleasures of her body, the more I wanted her. Goddess of love, so at least I had that excuse, but damn was it intense, and distracting.

  She giggled, “I know, it’s all knew and amazing. If we had the time, I’d say we should shack up for a week or two, but Brandon found us, and we know Nate is looking. We’ll just have to manage it. I mean, you’re hot, and right now you’re not the only one with your mind in the gutter, honey. I’m so wet for you right now.”

  That so didn’t help, and she giggled naughtily at the look I gave her.

  I tried to get my head back in the game as I knocked on the door. And as I’d already indicated I was shocked by the woman that answered it.

  She was adorable. I mean, truly cute as a button and beautiful, with a tightly petite sexy body.

  Mandy Cohen might have been five foot one, in her two-inch heels. She had extremely light blonde wavy hair down to the small of her back, and warm light gray eyes. Her face was heart shaped, with very light cheekbones, giving her a soft and adorable beauty, with light pink lips verging on full.

  Her body was petitely athletic, with perky rounded B cups that were obviously not in a bra as the nipple bumps on her pink shirt attested, and she had a cutely petite rounded ass to die for that I wouldn’t actually see outlined in her black yoga pants for a minute or so yet.

  She had a tentative if slightly worried animated smile on her face, and there was a tremendous sense of energy coming off of her. Like she might just have trouble standing still for very long. If Natasha could be called exuberantly warm, I’d call Mandy exuberantly vivacious, enthusiastic, and bubbly.

  “Mandy?”

  She nodded, and said brightly, “So, if you’re going to kill me, can you come back in oh… thirty years? There’s still so much to learn, and oh my god, I’m being a freak. I’m a little nervous. Umm, come in?”

  Natasha smiled, “I’m Natasha, and this is Gary. Thanks for the invite.”

  Mandy turned, which is when I got that delightful look at her petitely rounded ass. I waved Natasha ahead and closed the door as I came in, and Mandy led us into the living room. Not that I perve on checking out every woman’s body I met, but the idea she might be part of our family had been firmly set by Natasha, and a guy gets a bit curious about potential lovers, if you know what I mean.

  “Have a seat, can I get you something to drink? Oh my god, I can’t believe Love and Darkness just showed up on my doorstep. So umm, what brings you by?”

  Natasha said, “Coffee? I know it’s weird since we don’t need it, but I started drinking it at fifteen and haven’t lost the taste. I mean, I like it for more than the caffeine.”

  Mandy smiled, “Not weird at all, I myself mainline Coca-Cola, and I do keep some coffee on hand and have a Keurig for study friends dropping by, and I enjoy a cup on occasion myself. Coffee is like ambrosia for college students, and it’s also a social drink like tea or alcohol. The milk might even still be good, since college just let out last week. So… milk?”

  Natasha said, “Yes, please. Just a splash, and a single teaspoon of sugar.”

  “That’ll work for me too, thanks.”

  Mandy said, “Be right back. Coffee is so much better than an early death.”

  I snickered as she blushed in a horrified way from saying that out loud, and then left the room.

  If I thought it would’ve helped, I’d have assured her we were here in peace and would leave in peace if asked too, but it wouldn’t help. Words were empty, she’d just have to come to terms with it and come to believe it as we treated her with respect, and not with overbearing and threatening arrogance.

  Natasha giggled, “She’s an adorable handful, so not what I was expecting in a goddess of war.”

  “Still raised human, I suspect just like you she’s still herself outside of her driving need to learn with the wisdom mantel. It also tells us she prefers knowledge over violence, or she’d have served in the military which would satisfy her mantel just as well as learning. Plus, if she’s really compatible to us, then all of that has to be true.”

  She winked, “Good points all. I just meant the adorable and bubbly part.”

  “Oh good, as long as we’re keeping it shallow, I like her body too.”

  B cups were hardly small, after all, and her body was perfectly proportioned and all mature womanly curves, even if she was under five feet without heels. Her smile and bubbly exuberance, along with her adorable beauty, also added to that on a shallow level, and I was sure that package would be even more alluring once she lost the nervousness of having two tier-one gods in her living room.

  She giggled, “Petite and perky? So do you hate my overgrown twins?”

  I snorted, “Not even dignifying that, you know you’re hot and irresistible to me, all of you, shallow to deep. No more fishing.”

  She bit her lip, and pouted, “But I love fishing.”

  I laughed, “You’re fishing for a spanking later.”

  She giggled, then reached over and squeezed my cheek, “You’re going to keep your promise, aren’t you? Even good girls need a spanking sometimes, to keep them in line, sir.”

  I glared at her, but I’m fairly sure all that did was make her wetter for me, “Count on it.”

  Her eyes twinkled, “Sorry, honey. I can’t help myself. You make me feel so sexy, and all I want to do is seduce you into taking me, using me, and possessing me.”

  I grunted, “Now I can’t stand up.”

  She giggled.

  “I didn’t mean to be a brat, what I’m saying is my mantel is affecting me there, big time, when it comes to you. Beyond my princess and whore desires, I mean as a woman, the pleasure mantel is enhancing it, magnifying my need in that way. I’ve never been so… insatiable before, for a man’s pleasure taken in me, and not my own at all. I mean, beyond being generous in bed, I’m…” She trailed off with a blush.

  “Still not helping.”

  She sighed, “Sorry, we’ll talk about it later when we can do something about it too.”

  “After the spanking, trouble.”

  She said breathily, “Yes, sir.”

  Damn. I was in so much trouble.

  Mandy came back in with three mugs of steaming coffee, fisting two of the mug handles together, she handed me the one in her left hand, then separated the last two and handed the other to Natasha.

  Mandy sat down across from the sofa in an easy chair, right on the very edge of it.

  “So, what can I do for you?” while her face added silently, ‘That hopefully won’t kill me.’

  I said, “It’s a pretty big ask, high stakes and high rewards. I know you can’t trust this, but we won’t influence or compel you, and you’re free to say no, but we’d appreciate a fair hearing first. It is risky, but Natasha and I will be in the most in danger that way. How have you stayed off Nate’s radar?”

  She grimaced, “I haven’t. I umm, tend to really annoy people after long term exposure, more than a few hours at a time I mean,” she blushed, “I tend to be too perky? I have an insane amount of positive mental energy, and the more I work out the worse it gets, war goddess mantel I suppose. I literally can’t tire myself out. I tend to babble at times, get excited? He recruited me for the council pretty early on, since I was on it in my last life as Athena.

  “Anyway, he kicked me out after two days of me getting on his nerves and talking over his head, and he said to never show my face again. I kept making suggestions on how he could improve things based on modern political theory, and I’m pretty sure he didn’t even comprehend the problems much less my solutions. So, I started to go to college and focused on Wisdom to calm and feed my mantel, I really don’t like hurting people, even when they deserve it. See what I mean about babbling, my mind is fast, and my body hyper, and that just ends up making me spew things out non-stop.”

  She clamped her jaw shut with effort, and I smiled.

  Natasha asked, “What kind of problems?”

  She bounced on the chair for a moment, then said, “Well the whole ruling though fear and power is so Middle Ages of him. He almost has to be an ass to keep us all in line, so it’s no wonder his anger causes him to cross the line out of expediency at times. I imagine keeping gods in line is as hard as herding cats would be. A solid government structure is needed. He’s smart enough, but it’s his mantel that rules, and his mantel sees everything as a nail while he’s the hammer. He needs to go to college and major in political science and history. He needs to delegate some of his power, and he definitely needs a spy organization, like the equivalent of the CIA. Mark is great and all, but he can’t catch the small stuff that snowballs to large stuff before it reaches that point. Like it or not, spying is an essential part of a modern government. It wouldn’t even have to be gods. It’d be better not to be actually. The fae would make fantastic spies for us if we compensated them, witches too.

  “Then there’s all the war gods, which would make a decent internal police force while channeling their mantels in a positive way. I also suggested pestilence would make a fantastic health minister, that’s when he tossed me out.”

  I frowned, and asked doubtfully, “Pestilence, as a health minister?”

  Natasha interjected, “Sure, his mantel would let him track all diseases across the world, know which ones were the most virulent and dangerous. That needed to be handled carefully, and the humans would be grateful for it, the sane ones anyway.”

  Mandy beamed at Natasha, “Yes, exactly. Just because his mantel is disease, and he can spread it or start it, doesn’t mean he can’t channel that mantel to a positive end and satisfy it while keeping his humanity, morals, and principles that he grew up with.”

  Natasha winked at me smugly.

  I laughed, “Fine, so basically you told him how to do things better, and he took exception to it because he’s a control freak and won’t delegate or change. That’s related tangentially to the reason we’re here. I was illegally his puppet, under compulsion, for twenty-two years. Three other gods were put under compulsion as well currently, though only two are left to be freed. Brandon was under compulsion and freed, and he’s now imprisoned until he can face a true trial. The other two are Aria and Gregory.

  “Beyond abusing his power and position to control other gods against our own laws, he also has a habit of sticking political opponents and enemies into Tartarus without real cause. I should know, since I’m the one that was forced to put them there. For leverage against another god, just because they pissed him off, or because it’s a simple and expedient solution to a complex problem.”

  Mandy nodded, “I’d guessed as much. I suspected if he hadn’t judged me as harmless, and just too annoying to have around, he’d have done much the same to me or killed me outright.”

  Natasha said, “So we hatched a plan to put an end to his injustices by right of power. He’s corrupt, was corrupted from the start, despite his mantel of justice I suspect he can ignore it whenever he wants by focusing on his mantel of rule. Much like you’ve been focusing on wisdom and not war.”

  Mandy bounced, “That’s it exactly, Natasha. I did learn martial arts and how to use weapons, but once I did my mantel on that side calmed down a lot and I was able to shift focus. So a plan? And you want me to be a part of it?”

  I said, “Yes, it’s narrowly defined and won’t cover any of the things you mentioned. Neither of us want to rule, we just want to check and balance his corruption, and in the process undo some of the harm already done as much as it can be. Baby?” I asked as I turned Natasha’s way.

  Natasha tilted her head, “Are you hungry, Mandy? We could talk it over at lunch, my treat. Say… Longhorn steakhouse, one somewhere in Texas?”

  Mandy tilted her head, “You’re worried about being found.”

  Natasha touched her nose, “I freed Gary two mornings ago, Nate’s bound to have everyone looking for us, and we were already found once. He doesn’t know what we’re planning, but he must assume Gary has some plan to avenge the last twenty years, because that’s what he’d be doing.”

  Mandy nodded, “I’ll listen at least, and I can always go for a rare porterhouse and loaded baked potato.”

  She bit her lip, then looked us both over, “So… I can really say no?”

  Natasha smiled, “That would probably be the wise thing to do, but we’re hoping your wisdom and desire to fight injustice wins over self-preservation. But yes, we’re building allies and a council, forcing you would defeat the purpose of it and be against what both us believe is right.”

  She giggled, “I see. That’s clear enough, and I think I do believe you’re not a threat to me, directly anyway. You’re just taking me into a forest fire without a gas mask. Be right back, these are my workout clothes, I never wear them outside the house.”

  She hopped up and moved quickly toward the hallway leading to the two bedrooms and bath.

  Natasha stretched, then leaned against me, and I put an arm around her shoulders and held her tight. She let out the cutest little sigh of contentment at being held so firmly, and it didn’t just hit me in the libido, as usual she was hitting both that and my heart with her actions. Worming her way deeper.

  She said, “She probably wants to put a bra on.”

  I faux sighed in worry, “I hope not, her huge nipples are fun to look at.”

  She giggled, and then started to caress my leg, “You like all sizes?”

  “Trouble,” I accused.

  Her hand froze, but it stayed there too, which was nice without being dangerous.

  I answered, “Yes, to answer your question. Never met a pair I didn’t enjoy playing with. The big ones are fuckable, but the smaller ones have their charm too, and she’s more than a couple of handfuls.”

  She looked up at me hungrily, her eyes warm and promisingly naughty.

  “Goddess, I want to see you playing with them, is that wrong?”

  I snickered, “She asked the pervert,” I quipped.

  She giggled, “Fair. And we are being really bad, but this tension is killing me. I swear I’m not usually like this. I’m just really glad I’m a submissive in bed right now.”

  “Why is that?”

  She winked, “Because if I had to decide which of my four fun-zones to pleasure you with, I’d go insane. I kind of need your cock everywhere right now. There’s a calm joy in knowing that you’ll pick and take me, and I just get to relax and enjoy you taking pleasure in me, or on me. Goddess, sorry, I’ll shut up now, I’m so bad.”

  “And I’m hard again.”

  She giggled, “Sorry.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  She pouted, then slowly nodded, “I’m really not.”

  I moved my arm down her back and pinched her ass, which made her gasp, giggle, and squirm in delightful ways against me.

  We both looked up as she came back out looking adorably sexy as hell. She’d changed into a shiny black pencil skirt that went down to just above her knees, and the skirt was slit up the left side so she could walk, revealing tantalizing glimpses of her leg and fair skin with each step. She also had on a pair of three-inch heels on calf high black boots. I was betting all of her shoes had high heels, save perhaps her running shoes, at her height. The sides of her hair were pulled back into a clip, so it fully revealed her adorably beautiful face while her wavy light blonde hair still running down her back.

  Up top she had on a strapless and snug red stretchy crop top that hugged her breasts tightly and slightly below, revealing at least half her stomach and her upper chest, shoulders, and arms. There were also two very prominent nipple bumps, and I gave Natasha a smug look that made her giggle, when I stood up and gave her a hand up.

  I mean, I was hoping she was in the free the nipple crowd, because that was hot. They were pert Bs on a goddess, never having to worry about sag or them bouncing dangerously like Natasha’s did or would during a workout or jog, she’d never have to wear a bra. They’d bounce of course, but delightfully, the keyword in that sentence was dangerously.