God of Temptation (Immortal Matchmakers, Inc)

“Shut up, Távas,” said Zac. “That giant, slobbering mess is my woman. Maybe. I’m not sure. But she might be, so cool it.”

“My apologies, Zac. I meant that as a compliment.”

Zac cocked a brow.

Távas elaborated, “You must truly love Tula if you’re willing to bed her in that body. You are brave and fearless.” He made a fist and pressed it over his heart. “Respect.”

Emma, mate to Votan, stepped in front of Zac, preventing him from leaving. She was a redheaded beauty with stunning green eyes. So not Zac’s type, though. Red hair always reminded Zac of his insane sister, Cimil.

“Zac, I get it. I do. And I would never dream of telling you to abandon Tula. But you are the only god we’ve got, and this is a pretty messed-up situation. I mean, a demon takeover? What kind of world will our children be left with after we’re gone? Just promise you’ll do what you can.”

“Of course I will, but a man must put his family fir—”

“Hey, everyone. Whatcha all doin’ here?” Tula asked, coming up on the group.

Everyone greeted the two women.

Távas looked up at Gola. “We understand you are a minion of the demon king who has stolen our mates.”

Gola said nothing and swiped a long string of slobber from her lip.

Távas then looked at Tula. “Or perhaps it is you who is the demon.”

Tula said nothing and blinked her big blues at him.

“No one’s speaking, huh?” Távas studied both women for a long moment before suddenly throwing his head back and laughing into the air. “Zac, my brother, you certainly have your work cut out for you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Zac asked.

Távas flashed a wicked grin. “You refuse to scratch my back, so don’t ask me to scratch yours. Besides, evil never rats on evil.” He walked away, chuckling.

Wicked asscrack. Zac didn’t have time for this. Maury still hadn’t shown up, which was a miracle, but it wouldn’t be long. Especially now since the word was out they were getting on a plane to El Corazón. Luckily, no one really knew where the island was except for the mermen, Cimil, Minky, himself, and…

Well, dammit. Just about everyone who knew was currently in the underworld. Wouldn’t take long for Maury to squeeze a few pinkies and get the location.

“Shall we, ladies?” Zac gestured to the staircase. “Your flight to paradise awaits.”

Tula and Gola boarded. Zac followed, determined not to look back at all the disappointed faces. He had to be more than a god now. He had to be a man. And men protect their women.

Six hours later…

“Aloha, sir!” said a strange-looking man with extra-long arms, dressed in a Hawaiian shirt. “Welcome to El Corazón.”

“Who the fuck are you, and what are these people doing here?” Zac barked his way down the staircase. It had been a fairly uneventful flight, with both Tula and Gola deciding to take long naps, avoiding any conversation with him. All the while, he felt a strange vibe in the air, a sort of tension coming from the two women. It left no doubt in his mind that Maury held something big over their heads.

Perhaps he’d threatened Tula’s family. Maybe he told her he’d destroy her human body, thereby ending her chances of getting that happy ever after she’d always dreamed of. As for Gola, Zac didn’t know what sort of threats would make her play along, but when it came to the demon king, nothing was beneath him. All Zac knew for certain was that the heaviness in their eyes was major.

Then, about forty minutes ago, their plane began to circle. At first, Zac thought the pilot was having issues locating the hidden island, but when he entered the cockpit, the thing was right there in plain sight. The supernatural energy that once cloaked it was gone.

And the landing issue? Well, that was another surprise. Air traffic.

“Answer me,” Zac demanded. “Who are all these people?”

“I’m not sure what you mean, sir,” said the long-armed guy.

“What’s going on?” Tula descended the staircase behind Gola.

“Good fucking question.” Private jets and helicopters were parked all along the edges of the airstrip, and people in festive hats were pouring out of them.

“Sir,” said the man, “there’s another plane coming in, and you need to park your vehicle or get back in the air. Which do you prefer?”

Zac looked around at the hordes of people dressed for a rave. Somewhere off in the distance, the bass of dance music thumped away, and the roar of a huge crowd cheering vibrated through the air.

What is going on? Zac turned to his pilot, who was leaning out the door, waiting for instructions. “Park the plane. Be on standby.”

“Yes, sir.” The pilot disappeared inside and closed the door. Moments later, a crew dressed in the same Hawaiian shirts as the other guy came to roll the staircase away. They also had creepy long arms.