Page 27 of Achille's Earth Angel
Hercules grinned then. “Sounds like a good project for you, father.”
“Something like this is not easily accomplished,” Zeus grumbled to himself, already losing interest in his son. “It will take hundreds of years to create a change such as this.”
As Zeus mumbled on to himself, Hercules let himself out. Maybe Achilles couldn’t come to Olympus anymore, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t go to him. He’d just have to be very discreet about it. And if there was one thing he could be, it was discreet.
***
THE NEXT TWO DAYS WEREidyllic for Ange. They picked up Trolley from the animal shelter, and with the dog’s help moved the goat pen further away from the water. It was now closer to the back of the house where Achilles’ sharp hearing could pick up Trolley barking if anyone tried to get near it.
They went to another beach on the opposite side of the island for a picnic and enjoyed sunbathing and swimming. There were other people about with no hint of anything dangerous in the water.
They talked and talked about everything and nothing. She loved his historical descriptions and couldn’t wait to travel with him to Thessaly. There they would investigate the differences between the time he’d lived there and the current day. Travel had always been on her agenda to do some day. History was everywhere, and the pyramids of the Egyptians were especially fascinating as were their gods.
Ange was falling hard, she couldn’t deny herself any longer. Her body was becoming so in tune with his that she could sense when he was approaching without seeing him. She very much wanted to become his wife, she just hadn’t told him yet.
Achilles had also helped her finish sorting her father’s belongings, giving much of it to family and the rest to charity. She’d kept a few small things that meant a lot to her, and of course, all the memorabilia. With her love of history, scrapbooking her own family history was important to her. She only had a few pictures of her mother, Alissa. Her father had never remarried and sometimes Ange wondered why that was.
“So, you’re sure you don’t want to live here?”
Achilles’ question brought her out of her reverie. They were curled up together on the settee in front of her cottage watching the sunset together. The question had been heavy on her mind the last few days.
“No, I really don’t think I want to live here right now,” she responded slowly. “Are you saying you want to?” She glanced up at him. “Do you fancy just living here and making goat cheese all your life?” she teased.
“I don’t have any real plans other than to make you happy,” he returned, smiling down at her. “This is a beautiful place and a simple life, if that’s what you want.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Yes, it is. But taking care of goats and animals isn’t really my thing. I thought about it a lot because of Dad, but now that he’s gone, it really has no appeal.”
Ange shifted and sat up where she could watch his face easier. “What about you? Have you thought about what kind of work you would like to do? I know you were a warrior before, but the world doesn’t really need warriors anymore. And you have to make a living somehow. I can always teach.”
Achilles chuckled. “I don’t have to work if I don’t want to, Angel, and neither do you. I’ve got plenty of money for us to live the way we wish.” His palm caressed her bare upper arm. “We can go to Athens and buy a house there if you want to teach.”
“Where did you get money?” she asked, incredulous.
“Hercules created an account for me in a bank in Athens under the name Achilles Peleus Thessaly. I have the entire packet of papers and cards in my room. Peleus was my mortal father’s name.”
Ange was agog. “How could he do that? It’s complicated to do something like that.”
Achilles chuckled. “It’s as if it’s always been there for years. I come from a long line of Peleus’. It’s considered family money. I just need you to teach me how to use it in this world.”
“I guess there are advantages to being friends with a god,” she replied.
“I was going to surprise you with this, but apparently, I am also the owner of the ruins of the old palace I lived in centuries ago, and the land it sits on. Hundreds of acres. We could go there and build a home, or rebuild the palace if you like.”
Ange squealed, she couldn’t help it. “Oh my gosh, that is so incredible!”
He bent down and placed a sweet kiss on her lips. “Does this mean you might like me just a little and want to marry me?”
Ange’s heartrate sped up. “Oh, more than just a little. And it has nothing to do with your wealth, Achilles. I just can’t take your immortality away from you.”
“So, you do love me?”
His grin was a bit uncertain and Ange’s heart melted. “Achilles, I fell in love with you that first day, I think. And have only fallen further since then,” she admitted shyly. “It’s just all so complicated.”
She laid her head in the crook of his shoulder, enjoying the warmth of his big body protecting her from some of the cooling, evening sea breeze. With his arms wrapped around her, she’d never felt safer. She was snuggling in closer when he just picked her up and sat her on his lap. “Mm...mm...this is even better,” she said throatily. Her arms stole up around his strong neck. Her fingertips played with the hair at the back of his nape as he pulled her in closer.
“You’re so beautiful, Angel,” he whispered as he leaned down and kissed her gently.
Ange melted into him as his arms tightened around her. Wanting to be with him was fast becoming a twenty-four-hour need. Although they’d fooled around quite a bit, so far, he’d shown no intentions of taking her to his bed. Maybe he’d taken her completely seriously when she’d said she’d like to spend some time just getting to know him. That was good, wasn’t it? If so, why did she feel so frustrated?
