Dogs and Goddesses Read online

  That she could wrap her mind around.

  “Okay,” Noah said. “I’ve got a new song, and you’re the first to hear it, so … lucky you.” The crowd gave an encouraging cheer, and Noah met Daisy’s eye and smiled. “Hopefully, you’ll like it. But if you don’t, don’t throw anything, okay? Abby’s gotta clean up after you guys.”

  There was a light laugh from the crowd, and Noah’s focus locked onto the guitar as he started to play, picking out a gentle bluesy tune, one foot tapping the floor in time to the rhythm, his fingers working the strings like—

  Whoa. Daisy felt a sudden warmth come over her, and a slow breeze tickled at her bare arms. Someone must have come in the front door, but she couldn’t pull her eyes off Noah, who leaned into the microphone and sang, his voice somehow soft and rough and worn, all at the same time.

  “The winds of summer, they flew out from her

  They curled around, pulled me down, but what the hell?

  A pretty girl and a whirl of color

  She was sauced; I was lost; it was just as well… .”

  Daisy laughed. Noah’s eyes met hers, and she felt a shock wave go through her, killing the laughter. She heard a woman say, “Oh!” somewhere in the coffeehouse, but Daisy had no interest in anything but Noah, his strong arms holding the guitar, his lips looking so soft as they hovered over the microphone, his voice seeming to touch her skin as he sang.

  “Give it a try; there’s no good reason why

  But why not gets you more, and more is better… .”

  “Oh, hey,” Daisy said as the breeze picked up the edges of her skirt a little, as if it were Noah’s hands shifting her skirt aside, running up the insides of her thighs—

  “Frederick!”

  Daisy released a breath and glanced over at the door, where Frederick and his elbow patches were dragging a giggling Lucille out of the coffeehouse in a flurry of napkins picked up by the breeze they’d let in. Once outside, he grabbed her and kissed her neck, throwing her up against the glass storefront.

  “Yikes,” Daisy said under her breath, her heart rate picking up as a feeling of joy and recklessness came over her. She noticed in the back of her mind that some napkins were still flying, even though the door had shut, but her focus was locked on Noah, who looked at her, his eyes smiling as he continued to sing.

  I want you, she thought, and he sang, “If you want me, take me; don’t make me wait… .”

  Daisy got off the stool at the counter and started toward Noah, who stopped singing and put down his guitar. The sudden absence of the music was almost jarring, and Daisy caught motion in the coffeehouse out of the corner of her eye, flurries of activity and the sounds of heightened voices, napkins swirling in the air on a breeze that seemed to come out of nowhere….

  Oh, who cares? she thought, and moved toward Noah, but Shar grabbed her arm and whispered, “Stop clicking that damn pen!”

  Daisy blinked and put her hands up. “I don’t have the pen. It’s upstairs. I left it up there when I went to go change.”

  Shar’s eyes widened, Daisy turned to see two people tugging at a chair as if it were a case of money; she pulled Shar out of the way just as they lost their grip and the chair flew past them, banging against the counter and falling to the floor.

  “Oh.” Daisy shook her head. “I swear, Shar, I didn’t—” A girl at one of the front tables said, “Screw the diet, I have to have some of those cookies,” and got up and rushed Abby, her two friends following her. Abby stood in the middle of it all holding her tray up above her head as the girls mobbed her, grabbing for cookies, and then the door opened again, and a fresh swirl of wind rushed through the place and there were napkins flying everywhere, people grabbing for things….

  “Crap,” Daisy said, pointing at the melee. “I didn’t … Did I do that?”

  “You don’t need the pen,” Shar said, pulling her toward the kitchen door. “That was just how you focused it. You must have the power within you.” She hustled Daisy through the French doors and into the kitchen and then out into the courtyard. “Stay here until we get this under control,” she said, and went back inside, leaving Daisy alone in the brick-walled courtyard with its doghouses, stone benches, and tangled weeds.

  Daisy leaned against the wall, her heart beating so hard in her chest, she thought it might explode. She breathed deep, taking in the cool night air, staring up at the stars in the sky, wondering what the hell was happening to her. This was insane. All that chaos couldn’t be from her. She didn’t do anything. All she did was get a little hot and bothered over—

  Noah.

  She closed her eyes and felt it again, a deep want pulsating within her, and then she imagined him there, with her, his hands on her skin and—

  A wind blew, throwing the doors open again, and the chaos coming from inside got louder. Daisy pushed them fully shut, then walked over to the stone bench, sitting on its cool, hard surface, gripping her hands around the edge.

  Okay. Maybe stop thinking about Noah. She closed her eyes again and took a deep breath. Ducks. Think about ducks. Ducks aren’t sexy.

  Unless they’re wading in a lake where Noah and I are having a picnic on a nice, soft blanket and then he reaches over and touches my—

  “Daisy?”

  Daisy shifted around and there he was, standing in the doorway. His hair was sticking out on one side and his T-shirt was pulled a bit at his neckline, as though he’d had to fight someone to get out there—probably Shar—but he looked amazing, his eyes burning, his skin seeming to give off waves of heat Daisy could feel even through the space between them. They stood motionless, staring at each other, and she felt confused and conflicted and dangerous. She knew she should ask him to go until she figured out what was going on, but the plain fact of it was, she didn’t want him to leave.

  He closed the doors behind him, lowered his head, and took a deep breath, then looked at her again. Daisy sat where she was, gripping the cool stone, trying to keep her head. She couldn’t ask him to go away, and she wouldn’t be able to resist him if he touched her, but maybe if they just didn’t move, maybe things wouldn’t get out of hand, maybe she could control …

  “Daisy.”

  His voice had less question in it this time, and she raised her eyes to his. This doesn’t happen to me, she thought. I don’t understand this. But she knew what she wanted, and she wanted him, more than anything she’d ever wanted in her life.

  Screw understanding. I’m a goddess.

  She pushed herself up from the bench. A warm breeze swirled around them, the feel of it on her skin wearing down the last of Daisy’s reservations. She rushed toward him, and he met her halfway. He grabbed her, his hands on her hips, pulling her to him, his lips meeting hers with desperate force as she pushed herself against him, throwing her arms around his neck. He lifted her up with so little effort it felt almost like flying, and she wrapped her legs around his hips and let herself go, not caring about how it seemed or what it meant. She knew it was right, knew it in a place so deep inside her she couldn’t name it, and it felt so good, so good, not to have to think or fight or control anything.

  He brought her back to the bench, sitting down with her straddling him, his hands moving over her, running under her shirt, over her legs as the breeze picked up around them. He kissed her mouth and worked his lips down the line of her jaw, to her neck, her collarbone….

  I am a goddess, she thought, looking up at the stars as one of Noah’s hands settled on the small of her back while the other slid over the inside of her thigh. Oh, yeah. She looked back down at him, her hands locked at the back of his neck, her eyes on his as he slid one long finger into her, then the next, his thumb working slowly outside, making her feel wild and reckless. She leaned against him, allowing herself to feel everything, to worry about nothing. He moved inside her, his fingers reaching deep, the pressure building. The wind blew around them, picking up pieces of mown grass and random flower petals, the cool of it hitting her hot skin and making