Divine Awakening Read online

  Divine Awakening

  Text copyright © 2013 JoAnna Grace

  Published 2013 by Winged J Press

  Cover Design by Once Upon a Time Covers

  Formatting by Champagne Formats

  This is a work of fiction. Therefore all names, places, characters, brands, media, and situations are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, or events is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  All right reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission form the author or publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be resold or given away. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  OTHER BOOKS

  DEDICATION

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  DIVINE DESTINY

  EXCERPT FROM DIVINE DESTINY

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  DIVINE DESTINY

  DIVINE JUDGMENT

  PRIDE BEFORE THE FALL

  BREAK HER FALL

  THE ROLES WE PLAY

  DIVINE AWAKENING

  DIVINE DESTINY

  DIVINE JUDGMENT

  Pride Before the Fall

  The Roles We Play

  To every woman that has ever fallen on her rear end in front of that guy,

  and to every guy who loved her anyway.

  A TREMOR WENT up her spine. Her breath became lodged in her chest. She rubbed her sternum, hoping to relieve the mysterious pressure. Avery looked up from the table she was clearing to see two men walk into her café. One she recognized and one she didn’t. It was the stranger who captured her attention.

  Even in a simple gray shirt he looked ready to take someone’s head off. He had to be bordering on six and a half feet and his shoulders were as wide as a barn door. Not an inch of fat to be found. The cotton shirt stretched over every bulge and dip of his muscles. When deep brown eyes met hers, her pulse hiccupped, and she gasped.

  The world froze. She couldn’t help but stare, which was why she dropped the cup in her hands and sent it crashing to the floor. The mug shattered and coffee splashed everywhere. Idiot! She bent to clean up the mess. Why did she have to do something so clumsy in front of someone so handsome?

  “Let me help you.” Two large hands scooped up the pieces of the mug.

  Avery’s eyes shot up and met with the stranger’s again. The staggering weight of his presence made her fall over. The minute her body started to shift, the man reached out and grabbed her elbow. A zing of current went up her arm. She would’ve fallen right on her ass.

  “Easy there.” When he spoke again, Avery swore that angels began to sing. His lips were delectably full and she watched them move.

  You should come with a warning label, Avery thought as she let out a nervous laugh. When he smiled and his cheeks tinted pink, she realized she’d said that out loud. Mortified, she jerked upwards and whopped her head on the table.

  “Damn it!” She rubbed the sore spot. The delicious stranger stood and placed the pieces of the broken mug on her tray.

  “Let me look at that. You might have a cut.” Acting as if he owned the rights, he stepped in close and used his hands to tilt her head to see.

  She stopped breathing for a moment. His hands were warm and soft on her skin. She could only imagine how they would feel when he touched a lover. The lustful thought made her suck in air. His scent nearly knocked her back to the floor. It was a combination of spring in the woods, hints of earth and crisp mountain air, and fresh rain on leaves. Notes of exotic spices that begged to be tasted and savored. Dear god, she wanted to roll in his scent until it was embedded into her pores.

  “Great cologne,” she whispered, because she didn’t have much oxygen left.

  “Oh.” He looked from her head back to her eyes. His brows dipped. “I’m not wearing any. But thank you.”

  Damn. This man was dangerous with a capital D. Taking a step back, Avery tried like hell to gain her composure. Their whole interaction had only taken a minute.

  “I’m fine. Really. Please have a seat and I’ll be right with you.” She gathered up the dirty and broken dishes and walked into the kitchen.

  “Oh. My. God. That man is a walking orgasm inducer,” Izzy, her best friend—and best employee—said as Avery closed her eyes for a moment. “I’m all hot and bothered, and he didn’t even touch me. You must need a cigarette.”

  Avery chuckled and shook her head. “He’s just a man, Izz. Just a man.”

  “Well let’s pray that he’s just a man that wants a feisty blonde woman to have his babies, shall we?” Izzy fluffed her corkscrew blonde hair and adjusted her top so her boobs were pushed up even higher. “C’mon girls, Mama needs a boyfriend.”

  “Izz. No.”

  Her friend blanched. “What? Why?”

  “Cause I have dibbs.” Avery and Izzy were still for a second before they both bolted for the door to the dining room. The minute they exited, they were composed except for the matching grins.

  “Can I have the young, blue-eyed one at least?” Izzy whispered and grabbed some menus.

  “He’s a new officer with Frank and Jerry. Keep that in mind.” Both Frank and Jerry had claimed the girls as sisters and had a tendency to scare off any men who made a play at the girls.

  “I think Mr. Muscle can take ’em both.”

  Avery sidled up to the table before Izzy, who winked as she walked on to the next group of customers. “G’morning. What can I get you gentleman?” Avery kept her eyes on the notepad in her hand. If she looked up, her brain might misfire again.

  “Your name would be a great start.”

  Since that was the last damn thing she expected, Avery glanced up at the handsome stranger. Once again, her brain stopped working and she stood there with her mouth hanging open like a moron.

  As if he noticed the awkward silence, the blue-eyed guy chuckled. “The bacon and egg platter for me, please. Over easy. No personal information on the side.”

  Avery tried to smile or laugh or something except stare at the man who left her speechless. Dang, she had to get it together. She had a café to run here. With a slight headshake, she focused on the man ordering.

  “Right. Bacon and eggs, over easy.” She clarified and then turned to the flirt. “And what would you like to eat, sir?”

  As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted her phrasing. The man’s eyes drifted down the length of her body and back up before he quirked a brow and tilted his head. He licked his bottom lip and Avery saw stars dance in her vision. One corner of his mouth pulled back. It didn’t take a genius to figure out exactly what he was thinking. Her body went rigid. The apron over her chest was too tight. The heat in his eyes when he grinned was enough to set her insides on fire.

  “From the menu,” she spit out before he could say something that made her blush more than she already was. “What would you like from the menu?”

  “Same as he’s having.” The two men exchanged a look.

  The blue-eyed one shook his head at his friend. Avery had seen him around once before and knew he was new to town and the police station. Since all the officers came to the café, Avery treated them l
ike family. This rookie would be no different, so she didn’t give him special treatment.

  Using the two menus she lightly hit him on the shoulder. “Behave.”

  He held his hands up in surrender. “I am! He’s the one trying to get all personal.” He snickered as Avery walked off then spoke to his friend. “You shouldn’t do that to her, man. You’re going to make her pass out.”

  “I don’t think so. She’s tough.”

  Avery shouldn’t have heard their words, but their voices drifted to her over the crowd. Before she walked through the doors of the kitchen, she glanced back at the men. Blue-eyes stared at something out the window. But her sexy stranger focused on her. When he winked, she couldn’t help flashing him a quick smile in return.

  It was hard to work knowing he watched. She’d waited on her other customers as normal, but she could feel his eyes track her movements. He was a force of gravity pulling her body in every time she wandered too close. The coffee in his cup had never been an inch lower than the rim.

  Thankfully two of her favorite people came in and offered a needed distraction. Frank had been her friend since grade school, when they’d gotten into trouble together over setting frogs loose in the classroom. Since then they’d been inseparable. Frank was her age, but the job had made him older. He was a police officer, same as all the other men in his family. Frank had always been her personal protector. When her parents had been killed in a car accident, Frank had delivered the news. They had history.

  With him came Jerry. He’d joined the police force a couple years ago and was Frank’s partner. Jerry had one goal in life: to get under Frank’s skin. His most common tool of aggravation was flirting with Avery.

  “Hey baby girl!” Jerry slapped a wet kiss on Avery’s cheek and draped his arm over her shoulder. “You working hard or hardly working?”

  Avery glanced over to see if her stranger was watching. He was. His eyes were glued to the scene and he didn’t look pleased.

  “You know me.” Avery slipped out of Jerry’s hold. “Try to keep moving ’til I fall over.”

  Frank gave his usual greeting. “Hey kiddo.” He hugged her, then let out a huge yawn.

  “Night shift?” Avery guessed as she poured them coffee.

  “Yep. And wouldn’t you know, there was a party in one of the subdivisions. Got five calls about the noise. Damn kids.” Frank huffed and sipped the black coffee.

  “Don’t act so holy. We used to be those damned kids that partied all the time.” Avery gave him an affectionate wink. Frank couldn’t deny it. Back in their youth they’d been troublemakers.

  “Speaking of parties,” Jerry chimed in. “Avery, you have to come out with us tomorrow night. We’re going to Marshall’s to kick up our heels. I need a date, baby girl.” He kept rubbing his neck and rolling his shoulders.

  “No dates, you know that. But I’m in. What’s with your neck? You’re really tense.” She rubbed his shoulders until his head fell forward and he sighed.

  “Oh, nothing. Just need some sleep. I think I’m going to head out. Thanks for the coffee.” Jerry left the café without another word. Poor guy, he must have been exhausted.

  Blue-eyes came to the bar to talk to Frank. Avery overheard them agree to meet at Marshall’s Bar. But her attention was on the stranger. He motioned her over with two fingers.

  “Enjoy your meal?” Avery gathered up his empty plate, but he stilled her hands.

  He placed his hand on her hip and she froze; her heart kicked up in her chest.

  “Have dinner with me.”

  Avery narrowed her eyes. Excitement flooded her brain and her southern accent thickened when she spoke. “Are you askin’ or tellin’? Because that’s gonna determine my answer.”

  His lips quirked. “Begging.”

  Oh hell.

  “I—I don’t know you.”

  He squinted and whispered, “Hence the need for a dinner date.”

  Damn he was sexy with his smartass remarks. He kneaded her hip and she naturally leaned into his hold. Hell, she wanted to crawl into his lap and snuggle her face into his neck.

  What on earth is wrong with me? She never reacted to a man in such a way.

  “I don’t know your name.”

  “Ryse.”

  Ryse, like the candy. How fitting. She thought about all the things she wanted to do with that candy. Avery took a deep breath and pulled out her order pad from her apron pocket. She scribbled down her information and ripped the sheet off.

  “I close at six on Fridays.”

  Ryse looked at the name and number. This piece of information was his prized possession. The instant he’d walked in and her gorgeous green eyes met his, he knew this was the woman he was searching for. There was no doubt about it. Those eyes alone could have convinced him. The finest gems didn’t compare to their depth and beauty. His hands itched to touch the soft skin of her heart-shaped face or remove the clip that held back a thick mane of luscious brown curls. Her curvy frame was just the right height, not too tall or too short. She would fit perfectly in his arms.

  By the gods, she was remarkable! It took every lesson of control he’d ever learned to keep his hands off her. Odd, since he never wanted to touch or be touched by anyone.

  Avery had waved shyly when he left. Walking out of that café was the hardest thing he’d ever done. Somewhere in this town was a rogue. And that bastard was after Avery. If Ryse didn’t figure out who it was quickly, her life might be in danger.

  A couple weeks ago, Bren had come to the area and confirmed something was going on. He could sense the traces of a powerful Olympian aura, but couldn’t pinpoint the source. Once Bren had visited the café a couple times, he knew it was Avery. Ryse arrived and felt the same pull.

  “See what I mean?” The boy had said when they left the café. “It’s like power buried beneath the earth just waiting to erupt.”

  “Her aura is blocked. It’s a good thing. Our presence will cause it to surface. Whoever is watching her knows we’re here. We have to be on guard.”

  Brenden had kept up with Avery’s movements via GPS. Three cameras were installed in her home, one in her café and a tracker on her car. They were missing something and her safety took precedence over her privacy.

  The Elites, Ryse’s personal squad of Olympian soldiers, had set up a base of operations with modern technology. Cutter, his master swordsman, hacked into the local police database and ran facial recognition on everyone who came into the café. Philippe, an Elementalist, kept his eyes on any atmospheric changes caused by a powerful Olympian using their magic. Yankee—well, Yankee was there to eat until there was an actual fight. Then his unparalleled strength and speed would benefit the group. Until then, he watched the video feed of her house.

  “Master.” Hammon, the senior member of his Elites and their tracker, sat in meditation. His eyes glowed with the use of his abilities. “I sense something. It is not the woman. Something much more powerful is in the area.”

  Yankee noticed something on the screen at the same time. “Someone is in her house!”

  THEY HAD ARRIVED. He could sense the auras of Thracian soldiers around town. They too were shielding themselves, same as he was. If the gods sent in Thracians, and an especially potent one, the girl must be special after all. He had to make sure.

  Sweat beaded on his forehead. He was only a stone’s throw from the woman’s house. But he needed backup. In his pocket was a remote with GPS tracking. He pressed the button and waited a second before a short, bald man dressed in brown monk’s robes appeared in front of him. The teleporter was one of the best in the world and had a deep-seated grudge against the gods. The perfect ally.

  “This better be good. I was with our leader.”

  “I need to get into her house to see if anything’s changed. They have cameras, but I know where they are.”

  The bald man nodded and held out his hand. “Think of the place.”

  He did just that and the next thing he knew, he was standin
g in the corner of her living room where the tiny cameras wouldn’t see him. He applauded his own intelligence for finding them so easily.

  Dogs barked outside, but in the middle of the day no one was around to hear them. He searched quickly for any sign that would indicate her association to the gods or Deities who ruled on earth. The bald man waited patiently, his eyes closed to conserve every ounce of energy.

  Minutes into his search he felt the pressure of a mighty Olympian aura. His time was up. “Let’s go.”

  He reached for the teleporter and thought about his safe house. They were standing there in the blink of an eye.

  “That was a close call. Do not attempt such a risk again,” the teleporter scolded him. “I’m much too valuable to the cause.” Another blink and he was gone.

  Arrogant bastard, he thought. Too bad it was true. But soon he would be valuable to the leaders too. Once he killed the girl, exposed her for what she was, the rogues would exalt him as well.

  Avery sat in her living room, her heeled shoe tapping nervously on the hardwood. It was eight o’clock and her cell hadn’t rung all afternoon. Upon returning home from work, she’d showered, fixed her hair, put on a sexy dress, and even dug her high heels out of the closet. By seven, she had checked her cell phone to make sure it was charged. She’d called Izzy just to see if the damn thing worked. And now she sat—staring at it—waiting.

  It never rang.

  She let in her two dogs, Castor and Pollux, so she could feed and play with them to pass the time. The German Shepherds were happy to see their master. She didn’t mind the dog hair on her dress. If Ryse didn’t like dogs, they didn’t have a snowball’s chance in—

  What the hell was she thinking? The jerk hadn’t even called! Who gave a rat’s ass if he liked dogs?

  By ten, she stomped to her bedroom and threw the heels back into the closet. Damn jerk. This was what she got for putting herself out there. A man as good looking as Ryse could have any woman he wanted. Why would he waste his time on her? Avery was an overworked, overstressed woman of—a certain unnameable age—who usually smelled like a kitchen and hadn’t had a real boyfriend since fourth grade when a freckled-face Frank shoved a potted plant in her hands and said “My mom told me to give this to you.” That was the extent of her relationship knowledge.