Lottery King 2, page 11
“Right,” Poppy laughed. “Like Chris Hemsworth? It’s just too much. He spends all day in the gym.”
“Give me a Tom Hiddleston any day.” Helena feigned swooning at the idea of the Marvel actor.
A smug grin tugged at my lips to know my fiancée and the gorgeous harpy much preferred the kind of body type I had, and my teenage self would have been very happy to learn it.
“What do you both find attractive in a man?” I asked.
“Hmm…” Poppy hummed as she thought for a moment. “Hands.”
“Like good hands,” Helena said in a suddenly breathy voice, and her eyes were locked on my fingers. “There’s something about a strong pair of hands that just… uuuuhhh.”
“Especially when those hands are wrapped tightly around… well… any part of me.” Poppy bit her lip as she gave me a smoldering look.
“Ohhh, yeeeeesss…” Helena’s eyes rolled back in her head as she moaned softly, and I struggled hard against a sudden rush of heat that had nothing to do with the ninety-degree day.
“Speaking of which,” Poppy giggled as she pulled a bottle of sunscreen from the bag, and she stared at me with a very pointed look in her purple eyes.
“Want some help with that?” I asked. It gave me the perfect thing to focus my mind on, and I kneeled down beside my lover.
“Yes, please.” Poppy smiled and handed me the tube.
I carefully spread a generous layer of the protective cream over Poppy’s shoulders, neck, and the cut-outs on her sides. I wondered briefly if her wings were susceptible to the sun’s harmful UV rays, but I figured if they needed sunscreen, she would have said something.
“I’m going to read,” Poppy declared as she pulled her novel out. “My book is getting really good.”
“Good idea,” I said. Then I smeared a little of the SPF 30 on my nose, and I lounged back on the blanket to enjoy the view some more.
Lady Helena didn’t apply any sunscreen to herself, and I assumed she was going to end the day with a golden-brown tan that would only add to her allure. She braced her palms back on the blanket, and her feathered wings draped almost lazily as she lounged back.
We sat quietly for a little while before a burst of girlish giggling caught my attention. I didn’t have to search long to find the cause of the noise, and I wasn’t very surprised to find my golden-haired advisor in the middle of it.
Rune was using every last bit of his charm to enthrall a group of paranormal ladies. There were two mermaids, at least one siren, and even a gorgon with purple snakes standing around him in a circle as he flexed his muscles.
My eyebrows knitted together as I looked at Rune’s chest a little closer. I figured it must have been the intensity of the hot sun, but his chest looked broader and more muscled than I’d thought it was before. There was a bit too much curve to his biceps as he curled his arms into a strongman pose for the ladies.
I shook my head at his antics because I didn’t see any reason to spoil his fun. My advisors, indeed all of my employees, had lives of their own, and I was happy they continued to enjoy them. I didn’t need Rune’s advice for anything at the moment, either, so I was glad to see he was enjoying himself.
When I turned back to the ladies beside me, I nearly choked on myself as Helena reached up and unhooked the clasp at the front of her bikini top. Her full breasts and brown nipples were suddenly on full display before me, and I only just barely managed to keep my mouth shut from sheer shock.
I swallowed hard and tried to convince myself this was totally normal, and for a topless beach in Greece, I knew it was. But this was my first time at a topless beach at all, and now the gorgeous Grecian harpy was flaunting her chest like it was nothing.
“It’s a beautiful day,” Helena sighed as she took a deep breath that only served to sear the sight of her full tits further into my brain.
“Uh-huh,” I muttered, and I forced my eyes away from Helena’s seductive form.
“Beautiful,” Poppy agreed, but there was something teasing in her tone that brought my eyes right to her face.
Poppy smirked at me and glanced slyly over at our harpy companion, and I knew she could read exactly what was going on in my head. I chuckled and shrugged at her in response, and she giggled back at me.
I managed to find enough honor in myself then to keep from drooling like a dog at Lady Helena’s assets, and we settled into an enjoyable trip to the beach. We had a picnic-style lunch of the meats, cheese, crackers, and fruit Mrs. Baros had packed for us, and we downed enough water bottles to stay hydrated in the summer heat.
A while later, Helena stood up, stretched, and put her top back on as she scanned the beach bar where Firo and Nyxx had been passing the morning.
“Would you like to take a walk with me, Michael?” Helena asked as she stretched her tawny wings out.
I glanced at Poppy who was so thoroughly engrossed in her book that she hadn’t even heard what the gorgeous harpy had asked.
“Yeah, that sounds nice.” I nodded.
Lady Helena started to walk across the scorching-hot sand toward the quiet street that seemed to be lined with little shops. I caught Firo’s gaze at the bar, and I gestured toward the street to let him know our plans.
The flame-haired dragon-man nodded once before he turned to confer with the shadow nymphs beside him. A moment later, Nyxx and Kage’s dark forms slipped into the shadows that led toward the shops in front of us.
The area was pleasantly occupied by a small number of shoppers, and there was a wide variety of stores along the street. A pair of male gorgons joked together as they stepped into a smoke shop that boasted the finest cigars in the city, and four giggling mermaids wandered into a fashion boutique.
There were only a few empty storefronts, and one further down on the opposite side of the street was boarded up. There was bright-colored graffiti all across the front, and the damaged sign in the window said the space had once been a jewelry and accessories store.
A large patch of graffiti at the front caught my attention. It was a crown that was broken in half on a pile of bones, and there were long streaks of red spray paint that dripped down from the ugly marking.
“That’s the symbol of the radical group,” Helena mumbled when she followed my gaze to the image. “According to their propaganda, the crown has been standing on the dead bodies of paranormal species for centuries.”
“Yikes,” I hissed. “Is that their main message?”
“Yes,” Helena sighed. “And I suppose there’s an argument of truth in that idea from King Vairn’s rule, but this group has been around since even before King Roman’s rule began.”
I nodded as I recalled the two monarchs who’d ruled before me. The vampire, King Vairn, had only ruled for about ten years, and in that short time, he’d caused a lot of discord among the various species. For the most part, he was not well-remembered by anyone beyond the vampires.
King Roman, on the other hand, had been well-loved by nearly everyone in the Eternal Realm. He’d been a dryad and had ruled with honor and compassion, from what I’d learned so far.
I frowned as the reality of my new life came back into focus. Being King Eternal wasn’t all money, fun, and games. There was a real threat that had brought me to Greece, and I needed to stay on my guard. Within my first week as king, two separate attempts had been made on my life, and there was no reason to think being in Athens would be much safer.
Nyxx and Kage were surely hidden in the shadows somewhere very close by, and I assumed several more guards had been pulled from reserve duty before my jet had even landed in Athens. I suspected I was pretty damn safe here, but I lightly gripped Helena’s elbow and started to steer her back toward the beach. Firo’s voice rumbled in my head, and I knew he’d prefer if I was well within reach of Poppy’s mind and magic. There was still plenty to see that close to the beach, too, and I was honestly more interested in Helena’s company than the shops along the street.
We strolled slowly past the shops, and all the while, Poppy’s teal hair and iridescent wings remained within view. I was so engrossed in Helena’s explanation of the various shops and different interesting aspects to the city that I didn’t notice the people who had started to gather behind us.
“King Michael! King Michael!” a female voice shouted from behind us. “I love you!”
I turned over my shoulder and was surprised at how many paranormal citizens had started to follow Helena and I down the street.
“Oh!” I gasped with shock.
There were probably sixty or seventy people huddling together on the sidewalk, and when I turned around to greet them, they rushed forward and swarmed around us like a crowd of fangirls at a One Direction meet and greet.
“King Michael, can I have your autograph?” a pretty young mermaid with pink hair asked, and she looked like she was about to faint as she thrust a pen at me. Then she brushed her hair aside and pointed at her cleavage. “Right here? Please!”
Dozens of shrieking and squealing voices scratched inside my ears as the crowd seemed to lose their collective minds, and they all pushed tighter around us.
There was a heady rush of excitement in me at the sudden attention, and it felt like being a celebrity on my way to a movie premiere. Bright camera flashes went off all around me, and I would’ve been blinded by them if not for the brightness of the day and the protection from my sunglasses.
The crowd grew rapidly, though, and dozens of more people came rushing up from the sand. Pens, printouts of my coronation announcement, and even a few swimsuit tops were shoved in my direction. They cried out for autographs and selfies, and several urgent hands reached out like desperate claws to try and get a touch of me.
“Michael!” Helena gasped with sudden worry.
“Your majesty!” Firo shouted nearby.
The dragon-man’s head stood quite a bit above the crowd, and it was easy to spot him as he shoved his way through the crush of bodies to get to my side.
“We have to get you out of here!” Firo growled, and he wrapped his hand firmly around my bicep.
It was a harsher grip than he’d ever used with me before outside of our training sessions, and it worried me. I suddenly felt the tension and seriousness of the situation that had risen out of nowhere.
The whole day had come to a screeching halt, and I wondered if there was some gossip Twitter account or something that had posted about my whereabouts in the city.
“Poppy–” I started to say.
“Rune and Ena have her,” Firo cut me off. “Come with me, now!”
Chapter 7
Panic tried to rise in my throat, but then I caught sight of the anxiety in Helena’s eyes. I’d never seen the self-possessed harpy look so worried before, and it made something solidify inside me.
“Come on,” I growled under my breath.
Firo started to shove his way through the crowd as Nyxx and Kage materialized between me and the rising insanity of the fangirls. The shadow nymph guards used their dark bodies to create a barricade between us and the crowd.
My head of security barreled through the front of the crowd, and I pulled Helena close to my side as I followed Firo. Several more shadow nymph guards appeared as we moved further away, and in a moment there was an entire wall of dark bodies between us and the crowd.
Firo guided us straight toward the car, and James was pacing anxiously by the door when we arrived.
“Your majesty! Thank the goddess,” James breathed with relief as he opened the door for us. “Please, get in.”
Rune and Poppy were already inside the car, and my fae lover’s wings sagged with relief when she saw us.
“Michael!” Poppy gasped. “Oh, I was so worried.”
“I’m okay,” I assured her.
Helena, Firo, and I climbed inside the car, and then James closed the door tightly behind us. He rushed around, hopped into the driver’s seat, and started the engine in rapid succession.
“That was insanity,” Helena muttered.
“It seems your presence in Athens is common knowledge now,” Firo rumbled.
“Were we trying to keep it a secret?” I asked, and I suddenly worried I’d drawn too much attention to myself somehow.
“No, your majesty,” Firo assured me. “I anticipated this as a possibility. Which is why I alerted the entire reserve guard.”
“So that was all the shadow nymphs who popped up back there, wasn’t it?” I asked.
“Yes.” Firo nodded. “I would suggest you stay in for tonight and let the excitement of your presence in the city wear out a little.”
“Yeah, good idea,” I agreed.
“I have no issues with that,” Poppy huffed, and her cheeks were pink with a touch of sunburn. “Being in the sun all day always exhausts me anyway.”
We headed straight back to Lady Helena’s house, and Nyxx, Ena, Kage, and a few other shadow nymphs were waiting in the driveway for us when we pulled up.
Firo and Rune climbed out of the car first, and then I helped Poppy and Helena climb out.
“Your majesty.” Nyxx nodded her dark head dutifully. “The mansion is secure, and we have a perimeter of guards around the entire estate. You are quite safe and fully secluded here on Lady Helena’s property.”
“Thank you, Nyxx,” I said.
The head shadow nymph always seemed to go above and beyond the call of duty, and I was grateful to have her as second-in-command of my security team.
“I’m going to go have a shower,” Poppy murmured. “I feel all greasy and gritty from the sunscreen and sand.”
“Go ahead,” I said. “I’ll be in in a few minutes.”
“Mrs. Baros will have dinner ready for us soon,” Helena said. “Shall I have it sent to your rooms? Or would you like to eat together?”
“We should eat together,” Poppy said.
“That sounds good to me,” I agreed.
“Wonderful,” Helena said with a smile, and then she walked into the house.
Poppy smiled tiredly at me before she followed the gorgeous harpy inside, and I turned to Firo. The dragon-man was scowling down at the end of the driveway, so I cleared my throat to get his attention.
“Your majesty?” Firo asked, and he raked a hand through his flame-colored hair as he turned away from the road.
“I just wanted to thank you for the good work today,” I said.
“Just doing my job, your majesty,” Firo said in his deep voice.
“You’re really good at it,” I assured him. “And needless to say, something like that has never happened to me before. I wouldn’t have known how to handle it without you, so thank you.”
Firo just nodded at me, so I turned toward the house and walked inside. The entrance hall was quiet as I strolled through and down the long corridor to my room. There was a private bath off the luxurious room, and I decided a nice refreshing shower was exactly what I needed.
“Ugh,” I grumbled to myself as I thought back on how many strange hands had clutched at me in the crowd. “Fangirl germs.”
I was pleased to find I hadn’t burned too badly, and the cool water of the shower felt incredible as it cascaded down my body. After I was clean, I applied a little bit of lotion to my shoulders and forearms to rehydrate my thirsty skin, and I dressed in light cotton pants and a simple dark green t-shirt.
Poppy was just coming out of her room across the hall when I stepped out of my room, and she looked gorgeous and comfortable in a simple cotton dress that fell to the middle of her thighs. It was a pastel blue with tiny white stars dotted all over it, and it was tied in a little bow behind her neck. Her teal hair was still damp from her shower, and it fell loosely around her shoulders.
“Hey,” Poppy sighed as she walked right into my arms. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I hummed as I sniffed at the citrus smell of her shampoo. “I’m fine. Are you okay? I know that was pretty crazy today.”
“I’m fine,” Poppy murmured. “I’m glad Firo was able to get to you so fast.”
“I was fine,” I said softly, and I pulled her back so I could look into her purple eyes. “I had Nyxx and Kage with me, plus probably a dozen more guards nearby. I also made sure I was close enough to you to be able to access your shield if I needed to.”
“Good,” Poppy breathed, and she relaxed a lot after that. “I can’t tell how far away you are until you actually tap into my magic, and I didn’t feel you do it, so I was worried.”
“I didn’t mean to worry you,” I apologized. “But Firo and the others were there before things got to a point I would’ve needed it.”
“I’m glad.” Poppy smiled up at me with love in her eyes.
“Come on,” I said. “I’m pretty hungry, let’s go have dinner.”
I laced Poppy’s fingers with mine as we walked down the hall toward the main area of Helena’s mansion. One of Mrs. Baros’ daughters waited for us, but I wasn’t sure which one since they looked similar enough to be twins.
“This way to the dining room, your majesty.” The gorgon girl dipped in a curtsy, and her snakes watched me with curious eyes.
She led us down a short hallway, around a corner marked by a very Greek statue of a naked male, and into a high-ceilinged room. The floor was pristine white tiles like most of the house, and there was a gleaming wooden table that looked big enough to seat fifty people. Three places were set at the head of the table, and a large floral arrangement filled the middle.
Lady Helena stood near the windows that looked out onto the backyard of the estate, and she was as beautiful as ever in a tan-colored cotton romper with an open back to accommodate her feathered wings. Her hair was still damp like Poppy’s, and she’d pulled it all over one shoulder.
The Grecian harpy smiled when she saw us, and she gestured for me to sit at the head of the table.
“What’s on the menu?” I asked as I sat down.
Poppy and Helena sat on either side of me, and three servants appeared to lift the trays that covered fresh garden salads with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, green peppers, and Greek dressing.
“Salads to start with,” Helena answered. “And I believe Mrs. Baros has prepared falafel and lamb moussaka. It’s my favorite, and she usually makes it whenever I come home.”
