God of Temptation (Immortal Matchmakers, Inc)

Tula was only twenty-eight, but she’d already spent some time in Hell, aka “the underworld,” after dying once. A tragic boating incident. Luckily, she got to come back, and now she hoped her unfortunate experience might work as some sort of entry pass, like a member of an exclusive club.

Fingers crossed? Honestly, she just didn’t know, but Tula had nothing left to lose.

“Are you sure you’ll make it out on your own okay?” Tula unhooked the half-empty water bottle dangling from the side of her backpack and took a small sip. “You look like you’re about to have heatstroke.”

“Da. I will be fine. More better if I leave this place, yah?”

She gave him a quick nod. “Wait at the trailhead like we agreed. If I don’t show up after twenty-four hours, then you go.”

Yuri’s dark eyes turned glassy. Maybe the nasty cave fumes? Maybe worry. “Miss Tula, we have traveled to many danger places over these many months. You and me make good friendship now, da? I wait for you.”

“You only have a few days’ supply of food, Yuri.”

“I can hunt and—”

“No. One day. That’s it.” Tula held up her index finger with chipped pink nail polish and shook it at him. “I won’t have you risking yourself out there for nothing.” Besides, if this cave was truly an entrance to the underworld, her fate wasn’t going to rest on whether or not Yuri hung around, freezing his butt off outside. Much bigger forces were at play. Things completely out of her control.

For example, over nine months ago, almost every naturally born immortal—demons, mermen, fairies, Minky the unicorn, Bigfoot, the gods, etc.—disappeared, including Zac, God of Temptation. The other immortals, who were originally born human, such as demigods and vampires, remained on Earth but had their powers taken away. Human again. She’d heard rumors of a few odd exceptions, but one thing was clear: Anyone still on Earth was mortal again. No powers. No magic. Everyone else? Poof! Gone. Disappeared.

How had it happened?

Why?

That was what Tula hoped to find out. Well, mostly. In truth, she was here for Zac. She’d never truly loved anyone until him, and he claimed to love her back. Now she had her doubts.

If he really loved her, why was he messing around with all those women down in the underworld? Or up in the underworld? Whatever. She didn’t know exactly where this underworld existed in the cosmos, but a mystery person had texted her pics of three women straddling Zac’s naked body, everyone in various stages of ecstasy, with “o” and “o-o-ooh…” expressions on their faces.

What annoyed her most was how beautiful the women were. Long dark hair, big breasts, flawless skin and, from the angle of the camera, tall. She, on the other hand, was just over five feet with long blonde hair that now contained way too many split ends. Living on the road and using hotel shampoo for nine months had taken a toll on her perky outlook, too.

Zac, you jerk hole!

But here was the thing—the seed of doubt swimming in Tula’s head that had driven her on this journey: The person who sent the pics claimed to be from the underworld. He claimed to be holding the gods as prisoners. But did she really know if they were telling the truth?

Nope.

And did she really know if the photos were recent or taken during Zac’s pre-Tula days?

Nope.

Either way, she had to find the truth. If not for herself, then to free the immortals, many of whom were her friends.

Except Minky. She can rot! Tula loathed unicorns, which said a lot. She’d never hated anyone. Still, there’d been no sign of Minky either.

Yuri pointed his flashlight at his feet and stared at Tula’s face, as if trying to memorize it. “Miss Tula, please consider come back witt me. I feeling bad things will happen to you here. Diss unholy place is not meant for the living.”

Being in this cave didn’t scare her. Going to the underworld didn’t scare her either. The only thing that frightened her was that perhaps Zac had been lying, that nine months ago, he’d said all those sweet, sweet loving words simply to get her into bed. Which he had.

But what if he never loved me? He was, after all, the God of Temptation. Tempting humans was his job.

Okay, fine. And sometimes he helped them learn about their deepest desires, too. But mostly, he was the king of second guesses, forbidden desires, and greener grass—basically all things that could tempt a human on a disastrous detour.

Did that make him untrustworthy, unfaithful, or bad?

I wish I knew.

Until recently, Tula had been a water-bottle-half-full kinda gal. She always saw Zac as the god who helped humans tap into their hearts and discover their inner strength. After all, the antidote to temptation was knowing what you truly desired. It was being loyal to those around you. It was knowing your destiny. Bottom line, resisting temptation made people stronger.