Page 13 of On a Pale Horse
She wasn’t the only one.
“Sometimes I wonder if I did. I think if I weren’t immortal, I wouldn’t have.”
“So, Cloris thinks your damaged goods?”
It was his turn to flinch. “Not in that particularly unfavorable vernacular.”
He stared at her and the thought struck him. She’d had zero reaction to him since he entered the palace. She hadn’t batted a coquettish lash or made an excuse to touch him.
“Do you…”
She lifted an eyebrow. “What?”
“You don’t seem to be reacting to me?”
She leaned away from him now, as if he might lash out. “And how am I supposed to react to you?”
He blinked. “Do you like men?”
She snorted. “That’s a very personal question for strangers. But I’ll humor you since you seem distressed. Yes, I do like men.”
“And women?”
“And women. Why?”
“It’s part of my power. My aura, or whatever, draws people in. They react to me in personal ways. Definitely noticeable ways. You haven’t reacted to me at all. This is the first normal conversation I’ve had with a woman who wasn’t a lesbian in… Well… Ever.”
“Do women who only like women react differently?”
He nodded, still watching her, waiting to see something, anything that showed she was reacting to him. Maybe she was good at hiding her emotions. “Well, yes, their reaction isn’t sexual, but there is still a reaction. You have nothing at all.”
“It’s disconcerting for you,” she said with a wide smile. Her eyes wrinkled at the edges. She enjoyed the idea of making him uncomfortable. And if that wasn’t a dominant trait in a woman, he’d lash himself.
Years spent at the club taught him everything he needed to know about people who enjoyed power games, and Persephone was one of his own.
He offered her an easy smile. Hoping she didn’t think her lack of interest truly upset him. “Well, your happiness at my discontent is making me even more nervous.”
She laughed this time, and it sounded like waterfalls and crystal-clear springs. “Let’s just say Cloris and I share similar … hobbies.”
He nodded and spread his hands wide. “I’ll admit, I’m confused.”
“Probably not for the first time.”
He chuckled. “You aren’t how I imagined you.”
“And what did you expect?”
He shrugged and pointed to the nymph-filled tree. “Something more like them.”
She watched the nymphs climb through the tree limbs. “No, I’ve never been like them. My mother is too shrewd a woman to allow me to frolic like they do. My upbringing was rather traditional for a deity.”
He laughed at that. “Do you think you can help me?”
“Well, tell me what you tried and maybe we can start there.”
The humiliation of the previous attempt washed through him. He cleared his throat before he could say anything coherent. “Well, I tried to just surprise her naked and bound.”
“Hmm… And thatdidn’twork?”
