Chapter 4

Derek hated his job. Monotonous, repetitive, and long. So very long. He kept eyeballing the huge clock over the exit. He didn't usually pay it much mind, but thoughts of Athena kept intruding. Had she left his place? Would he see her again? Would his stuff be there? Had she used his shower? Touched her body with his soap?

By the time one a.m. hit, and he could clock out, he'd convinced himself she'd be gone, most likely with his cash stash. He probably should have been more discreet, but honestly, if she fled with it, then so be it. He kept the bulk of his savings in random spots—a chunk in the bank, more inside his mattress, a few wads tucked in the eaves of his old treehouse. Derek believed in being prepared. The jar held only his fun money.

He snoozed on the bus ride home. At his stop, he hit the pizza place that stayed open late, picking up an extra-large loaded with meat. He'd skip the jog tonight in favor of push-ups and squats. Maybe watch the highlights of the hockey game.

To his surprise, Athena sat on his couch, wearing a soft pink sweater, his boxers, and a smile. "Do I smell pizza?"

"Yeah. Meat lovers, hope that's okay."

"Oh hell yeah." She vaulted off his sofa like a gymnast.

"Glad to hear it. So many folks going vegan these days. I tried it but didn't even last a week." He'd never been so damned hungry. Fucking tofu and veggies and fruits and nuts just weren't a meal to his carnivore brain.

"Fuck the rabbit food. Give me meat!" she declared, holding up a slice.

He'd love to give her his meat. Uh… He chewed, lest those words come out of his mouth.

As they ate, he asked her about her day. "So, did you have to escape any bad guys?"

She snorted. "Nope. Just dealt with my mom, did a bit of shopping, and then proceeded to suck searching stuff up on the internet."

His turn to make a noise. "That was your first mistake. Everyone knows the regular net only shows you what the government wants you to see."

A pizza slice hovered in the air in front of her mouth. "Hold on, are you a conspiracy theorist?"

"I'm sure some would call me that. I prefer the term well informed." He shrugged. "I don't take shit at face value. I like to hear both sides before I make an informed opinion."

"Fair enough. So how do you get your news?"

"Dark web," he stated before taking a bite of his pizza.

"Wait, that's a real thing?" Her eyes widened.

"Why would you think it wasn't?"

"Because I assumed it was like a thing they invented for movies." She waved a hand. "You know like for John Wick and the Marvels and stuff."

"It's real."

"And you can access it?" she asked, leaning forward, the vee of her sweater gaping. He averted his gaze but not before he got an eyeful of cleavage.

"Yeah. Just let me know what you want to find."

She chewed her lower lip. "That would mean involving you in my problem."

"And?"

"And these people I'm dealing with are kind of shitty."

"Obviously. All the more reason to let me help you."

"Let me think about it."

"You said you talked to your family?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah. They're all right, if worried. Good thing our neighbor the psychic told her I was okay, or Mom would have had the RCMP out searching for me."

"A psychic?" He laughed.

"You don't believe?"

"Nope."

"Says the guy with an apocalypse plan."

"Wait, how do you know I have one?" He frowned.

"Gun under the couch, crossbow under the bed, vacuum-sealed meal rations in the cupboard. Jugs of water in your linen closet."

She'd snooped, but he didn't take offense. He'd been known to do the same thing. Nothing like poking through some closets and cupboards to get a feel for a person. It kept him from getting involved with the chick who collected dolls. Dolls she later claimed killed a guy she was dating less than six months after Derek went to her place for dinner.

"The world is going to shit," he stated. "Figured it's best if I have some emergency supplies to tide me over just in case."

"You think it will be zombies or a nuclear blast?"

"I'm currently thinking alien invasion that triggers a nuclear blast, which then causes radioactive walking dead."

She didn't laugh at him. Not like some girls had. "With everything going on, you might be right. Let me guess, Grandma is just as prepared?"

"I'm small potatoes compared to her. She's got the entire cellar under the house retrofitted as a bomb shelter. Air circulation, underground well, shelves and shelves of canned goods, rice, medicine." He spread his hands. "The plan is if the world gets fucked, I get my ass to her basement."

"Won't you be lonely?"

"She's got hundreds of movies, books, puzzles, games."

"Things to do, not people," she pointed out. "Unless you're planning to bang your grandma."

He wrinkled his nose. "No. But if I had a girlfriend, I'd be dragging her along."

"You're different from most guys," she murmured.

"Which probably explains why I'm single," he joked.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way. You're actually rather interesting."

"Why do I hear a but?"

"But you're too nice. You left me alone in your place after showing me your cash jar. Not too bright."

"It's just money." He rolled his shoulders. "And if you'd have taken it, then you obviously needed it."

"Too trusting by far." She cocked her head, and her lips curved slightly as she asked, "So what kind of partner are you in bed?"

He almost spat out the pizza crust in his mouth. He chugged some water before gasping, "What the fuck?"

"Don't be shy. I'm curious. You're obviously hot. Despite your sometimes crude language, you're actually well-mannered. Kind. Funny. Not a pig. Your place is clean considering it's just you. You work. So you must have a flaw or someone would have snatched you up."

"Why would you assume I suck in the sack?"

"Do you?"

"No."

"How can you be sure?"

He gaped before mumbling, "Because I always make the woman come first."

"Doesn't make you good."

"I've never had complaints," he retorted. "What about you? Are you the kind who just likes to receive?"

"I don't lay there like a starfish, if that's what you mean."

"Any particular reason why we're even discussing sex?" Because he wasn't used to women being so bold. It was kind of a turn-on. Actually, everything about Athena revved his engine.

"I haven't fucked anyone in a while, and quite honestly, I miss it. Especially now that I'm kind of under a lot of stress."

"Is this your way of saying you want me to make you come?" he asked boldly because he got the impression she'd prefer him being direct.

"Yes. I would. That is, if you're in the mood."

"Am I alive?" he drawled. "Of course, I'm in the mood, but don't you think it's kind of soon? We just met like a day ago."

"And? I'm not asking to marry you, just sex."

"Just sex," he repeated. "Okay. Let me know when."

"Now."

"Now?" The surprises kept on piling up.

"Unless you had other plans?" She arched a brow.

"No."

"Then no time like the present." She stood and, without preamble, stripped off her shirt.

He stared. Didn't blink. Didn't want to blink in case her breast-ly perfection disappeared.

"You going to get undressed?" she asked as she shoved at her pants.

"Shouldn't we, like, start by making out?" He'd never had a woman move so fast before.

"We'll kiss in a second. First, let's see what I've got to work with."

There was something a tad daunting about a woman standing there naked, hands on her hips, staring as he took off his work shirt. It wasn't boasting to admit he had a nice chest. He kept fit. His hands fumbled at his pants, though. Yeah, he knew his dick was above average at eight and a half inches, but would she like it and the slight tilt at the tip?

At least it didn't embarrass him by being limp. It sprang to attention the moment he freed it from his boxers.

Her lips curved. "That will do very nicely. Come here." She crooked a finger.

There wasn't a man alive who would have said no, and yet he hesitated. "Maybe we should hold off."

"Your dick says otherwise."

"You just came out of a traumatic situation."

She sighed. "Yeah, and I need relief. Something to remind me I'm alive. But I had to get stuck with the one guy with morals."

He shrugged. "Trust me, I'm not happy about it either."

"So what are we going to do if we don't fuck?"

"Hang out?"

"If we must," she stated dramatically.

He grinned as he dressed himself. He wanted to slap himself silly when she hid those gorgeous boobs, but at the same time, he wasn't one to take advantage.

She pursed her lips. "You know what, if you're not going to make me sing hallelujah, then maybe you can show off your dark web skills."

"My pleasure, but it does mean you'll have to tell me a bit more about what happened and what we're looking for."

"More like who." She paced his living room as he got out his laptop and set it up to crawl beyond the regular internet. Not something most knew how to do, but Derek had always had a curious nature. Combine that with his grandparents muttering about the evil government and he had a need to look beyond what the media liked to say.

"Where do you want me to start?"

She sat on the couch beside him, legs tucked up.

"The man I need to find is named Dr. Montgomery Rogers."

His fingers paused over the keyboard. "Wait, the Dr. Rogers? The guy who debunks myths?"

"Yeah."

"He kidnapped you?" His voice went a little high-pitched with incredulity.

"He did."

"But why?" he blurted out because it made no sense. Athena obviously wasn't a monster.

"Because the silly bastard seemed to think I was something I'm not." She laughed.

"Like what? An elf?" The first thing that came to mind because she had an ethereal beauty about her.

"Something like that," she murmured. She tilted her head and swept her hair. "No pointy ears, in case you were wondering."

"What exactly do you want to know about the doctor? Most of his work is public knowledge."

"Not really." She paused before adding, "He has a lab under one of the buildings at the Experimental Farm.

"Like fuck. Seriously?"

She nodded. "It's where I escaped from."

"Jeezus fucking Christ. That's insane." Also slightly unbelievable. Was she fucking with him?

"I know it sounds crazy, hence why I didn't want to tell you. Still having a hard time coming to grips with it myself, and yet I was there for almost a month."

"What happened while they held you captive?"

"Blood tests and other shit. Rogers kept trying to prove I had some weird genetic anomaly, which I don't."

"And now you want to find him? To do what?" He wasn't keen on being an accomplice to murder, especially of someone who would draw media attention. It was one thing when he thought they were dealing with a gang. No one gave a shit if they suddenly disappeared.

"I don't know. Maybe dig up some dirt to discredit him. Bring to light some of his unethical practices."

"You want to shut him down." That he could get behind. "Okay, let's see what we can find on this doctor."

Not much as it turned out. Despite the dark web being a bastion of information, there was a suspicious lack when it came to Montgomery Rogers, as if he didn't exist or someone had wiped his record clean.

"Well, this was a bust," Athena grumbled when he closed his laptop lid a while later.

"Yeah, it's weird. For a man that famous, there should have been something. I couldn't even locate a home address." Not to mention no connection to the Experimental Farm in downtown Ottawa. Even his business had no office, just a postal box.

"Surveilling the farm will likely be noticed," she mused aloud as she rose to pace, her legs bare, given his boxers only went mid-thigh.

"Don't give up. Could be I'm not searching deep enough or he's mentioned but under an alias. We'll try again tomorrow. I gotta get to bed."

"Thank you," she murmured. "I really appreciate all you've done."

"No problem. You want the bed?"

"Depends. Will you be in it?"

He wanted to say yes. He shook his head. "We both know there wouldn't be any sleep happening, and I gotta work."

"Can't tempt you to play hooky?"

She sure could. At the same time, did he want to mess up his life for someone who would most likely disappear from it in a day or two? "You are tempting, but the bills need to be paid." He stood from the couch.

"In that case, good night." She leaned up on tiptoe to brush a kiss on his cheek and murmur, "Dream of me."

He did. And in the morning woke so hard he jerked off in the shower, a process that took an embarrassing thirty seconds. In the light of day, he couldn't believe he'd turned her down. He doubted he'd be so strong if she made the offer again.

She greeted him with a warm smile. "Morning, sugarplum."

"Hey, honey. You sleep okay?"

"Only after I played with myself, seeing as how someone left me hanging."

Yup, he spit out his coffee.

She laughed. "You're cute when you blush."

He did not blush. He did, however, mumble to escape, "I gotta get to work."

If he'd thought his last shift proved tediously long, this evening was even worse. To the point his supervisor pointed it out. "Not paying you to watch the clock."

Soon as Derek could leave, he booked it, actually making it home in under an hour, having caught all his buses. At times, he thought of getting a car, but the cost of parking it, plus insurance, and all the rest was a financial dent he couldn't justify. Usually, his commute didn't bother him. But that was before he had someone who excited waiting for him at home.

At least, he hoped Athena was still there. She'd said see you later when he left for work.

He walked in with some Chinese food he'd picked up to find her naked on his couch.

The bags almost hit the floor.

She turned a bright smile on him. "Honey, you're home."

Fuck yeah, he was. "I brought food."

"Ooh." She bounded over the couch, boobs bouncing, and he just about hit the floor in worship.

He tried to not focus on the hottie as he grabbed the plates and cutlery to eat.

"How was your shift?" she asked.

"Long," the honest truth. "What about you? Did you go out today?"

"For a bit. I put on a disguise and headed over to the Experimental Farm."

"Was that wise?" He spooned some rice onto his plate and dumped some crispy honey chicken on top.

"Probably not, but it didn't matter. Looks like the doctor cleared out."

"How can you tell?"

"Because Simon, the guard I flirted with, told me Rogers drives a Mercedes, and the parking lot most definitely didn't have one. It appeared rather empty."

"So what's next?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"Could be he isn't looking for you," he suggested.

"Is this your way of trying to kick me out?"

"No!" Almost shouted. "Stay as long as you'd like."

"Thanks, honey. Don't worry. I'll try to not cramp your style."

He almost said cramp it all you want. He'd not been this entertained in ever. However, there was something appetite-killing about sitting across from a woman eating. Not entirely correct. He might not be hungry for food, but damn, he craved something else.

And she knew it.

She tossed him a few coy looks before saying, "So am I masturbating for dessert, or are you going to cream me yourself?"

He'd been strong the night before.

He could not say no twice.

He rose from his side of the table, only to drop on his knees in front of her. Nothing was said. She just parted her legs and uttered a happy sigh as he leaned in for a lick of her pretty pink pussy.

She was wet. So very wet. And she moaned as he licked her. Moaned and grabbed hold of his hair as he spread her nether lips and teased her sex. He slid his hands under her ass, dragging her partially off the chair, changing the angle of her hips so he could thoroughly devour. Tasting her, teasing her. He flicked her clit with his tongue and was rewarded with a shudder.

He sucked her button while he thrust a finger into her.

She growled, "Give me another."

Two fingers thrust in and out as he plied her clit with attention. Her hands tugged at his hair. Her hips rolled and pushed against his mouth. The heels of her feet drummed his back.

Her channel tightened around his fingers, and her breathing emerged short and ragged. When she came, her pussy clenching and pulsing around his fingers, she wasn't quiet about it.

She yelled, "Oh fuck yeah," and he just about came in his pants.

Her eyes opened, and she gazed at him before purring, "Now that was what I call epic oral. Your turn next. Drop those pants, honey."

He couldn't stand and unbuckle his belt fast enough.

Just as her knees hit the floor and her hand gripped his straining dick, her head cocked as if she listened. He heard nothing, but she whispered, "I think we have company."

Not for long because his tight and very blue balls would kill them for interrupting.