How to Worship a Goddess by Stephanie Julian

We’ll wait downstairs. For however long it takes.”
    Brand caught the blonde’s raised eyebrows and bright grin aimed at Lucy before she turned and dragged Cal out of the room.
    Lucy’s frown worried him as she reached for a silky blue robe lying on a chair in the corner, then tossed his jeans and T-shirt on the bed.
    â€œYou okay?” he asked as he pulled on his clothes.
    She stood in the doorway, watching him with a look he couldn’t decipher.
    â€œYes, I’m fine.” She gave him a smile before she turned and walked through the doors, probably headed for the stairs. “We’ll be in the living room when you’re dressed.”
    Throwing on his clothes, he dragged his hands through his hair then flat-out ran for the stairs.
    Lucy was worried. What the hell would a goddess have to be worried about? Jesus, did he really believe she was a goddess? He stopped at the top of the stairs, weight settling on his chest.
    All the doubts and questions he’d forced himself not to think about last night barreled through his brain now like a runaway train.
    Common sense told him there was no such thing as gods or goddesses. He should be running for the nearest exit, not running to her. Not worried that she’d take his memories for good this time.
    So how the hell do you explain that?
    He couldn’t. He didn’t have one Goddamn rational explanation for his jumbled memories of the night they’d spent together before last night. Drugs? He’d never heard of a drug that would do that except in TV shows. Electroshock therapy? Hypnosis? What?
    Maybe she’s just telling you the truth?
    Shit.
    At this point, he wouldn’t be surprised if she told him the sky was falling and that there was a goddess to fix that.
    The oceans overflowing? Surely Poseidon—wait, Poseidon was Greek, right? Was there an Etruscan Poseidon? Oh, hell, were there Greek and Roman gods and goddesses?
    He forced himself to take a deep breath, bending over until he felt the need to hyperventilate pass.
    He’d have to go to college to study ancient mythology just to date this woman. Goddess. Lucy. To him, couldn’t she just be Lucy? Because if he continued to think about the rest of it, he might not think about anything else. And that was one fucking awful migraine just waiting to happen.
    After a deep breath, he took the stairs to the second floor and followed the sound of voices to that amazing living room.
    Tessa sat on a chaise, Hard-Ass standing behind her, one hand stroking through her golden hair.
    In here, with the lights shining, he saw how beautiful Tessa was. Her blonde hair was the exact color of the sun and her blue eyes recalled clear fall skies.
    â€œAre you a goddess too?” Tessa’s smile broke out again. Shit, he’d said that aloud.
    â€œYou’re just too darn cute,” Tessa said. “And yes, Thesan, Etruscan Goddess of the Sun, at your service. Well, not really, but you get the meaning. But you can call me Tessa. And this is Caligo, but you can call him Cal.”
    Caligo, huh? Sounded foreign, though he had no discernible accent.
    â€œBrandon, why don’t you have a seat?”
    His gaze shifted to Lucy, sitting on the chaise opposite Tessa. She stared at him, an inscrutable expression on her face. So fucking beautiful.
    She held out her hand and he moved to take it before he realized he’d done so. When she tugged on his hand, he let her pull him down onto the seat beside her.
    Lucy’s gaze tangled with his for several seconds. She was searching for something… acceptance, fear, confusion. Whatever it was, she finally took a deep breath and turned back to Tessa.
    â€œAlright, Tess. Spill it. What’s going on? Where have you been?”
    After a quick glance up at Cal, who nodded, his hand squeezing her shoulder, she started. “Lying low. We know Charun is attempting to break free of Aitás by consuming deities. Namely,