Goddess (Starcrossed)

back around them without touching their skin. “ You’re doing it.”
    Helen stopped mentally shoving the water away and instead imagined the water touching her. The invisible envelope that held back the water collapsed and a wave rushed in, covering Helen and Orion up to their waists. She looked up at Orion with an apologetic face.
    “Yeah . . . so I forgot to mention that I sort of absorbed some of your talents when the three of us became blood brothers,” she said tentatively. “At least that’s what Lucas thinks.”
    “I’d say he’s right,” Orion replied, giving Helen a funny look.
    “The one thing he didn’t figure out was why ,” Helen said, biting her lower lip. “Any theories?”
    “About why you’re crazy strong?” he asked distractedly. “No idea. But I have a feeling the Fates are involved.”
    “What?” she asked cautiously. “Are you mad at me?”
    “No. It’s just that I have a talent that I wouldn’t wish on anyone,” he said softly. Another wave pounded around them. “Can you cause earthquakes, Helen?”
    “I don’t know. Where do you feel them?” Helen asked, knowing he would know what she meant. She felt lightning low in her belly. She felt gravity deep inside her individual cells at the smallest level and guessed that earthquakes had to be felt somewhere in the body like these other senses. Orion moved closer to her, his face serious.
    “Here,” he said, brushing his hands up the inside of her bare thighs. “Like riding a horse the size of a continent,” he added, his voice low. Helen put her hands on his shoulders, her knees suddenly weak.
    The ground trembled.
    Orion caught her before her legs gave out and pulled her tightly against him. “That’s a yes,” he whispered.
    Helen ran her fingers across the scar on his chest, and then fanned her palm out to touch as much of him as she could at once. He lowered his head and kissed her, pulling her down with him beneath the next oncoming wave.
    Helen didn’t have a chance to freak out about being underwater—she was too intent on returning the kiss. She didn’t even notice that she was breathing the water like it was air as she slid her hands across his shoulders and the back of his neck. The only thing that she could think was how amazing Orion felt. Amazing. But not right.
    Orion pulled away suddenly. Helen opened her eyes and clearly saw the sad look on his face even though the water was dark. She knew she was making a mess of things. Her one chance to be happy with another guy—a guy who was pretty much perfect—and she was absolutely wrecking it. She reached for him again, desperately hoping to push past her ridiculous fixation on Lucas. If she was with Orion, really with him tonight, she hoped that maybe she would be able to leave Lucas behind.
    Orion dodged her embrace, his jaw set. He took her hand firmly and kicked for the surface, towing her along behind him.
    They had sunk deeper and drifted farther out than Helen thought. She realized that she might be able to control the ocean now, but she still didn’t know how to swim. It didn’t matter. In a few powerful strokes Orion had them both back to shore. He didn’t say a word on the way. As soon as they stood on sand, he dropped her hand and headed directly back up the beach to where they had left their clothes.
    “Orion. I’m sorry, okay?” Helen called out, trailing behind him. He didn’t even slow down. She scurried to keep up, but he only went faster. “Will you just wait ?”
    “Why?” he said, spinning around. “What about you and me is going to be different five minutes from now, or five years from now for that matter? I could wait my whole life for you, and you’d still be in love with Lucas.”
    “But I love you, too,” Helen stammered.
    “I know you do,” he said heavily. “But not like you love him.” Orion sat down on the sand. Helen stood over him, fretfully wringing her hands.
    “Maybe it’s not the same, but that doesn’t mean that eventually . . .” Helen trailed off.
    There was no “eventually,” and Helen knew it. Even after she’d touched the water from the River Lethe and couldn’t remember her own name, she’d still remembered Lucas. She’d never get over him. Lucas was it for her.
    Orion pulled her down next to him and sighed. “My parents are like you and Lucas, you know. They love each other more than they love anyone or anything else in the world—more than they love me. My whole life I’ve