Free Pan's Conquest (Entangled Covet) by Aubrie Dionne Page A

thing for him, yet he did so much for me.”
    “Oh.” Syrinx searched for the right thing to say. She needed to be comforting and sympathetic. She needed to make him feel better about his relationship with the old man. “I’m sure he’d appreciate you taking the time to drive and meet his family.”
    Parker sighed. “It’s the least I can do.” He glanced over at her, looking deep into her eyes. “Thank you for coming with me.”
    Syrinx placed her hand gently on his arm. “Anytime.” She meant it. Parker Thomas’s earnest vulnerability started to crumble all the walls she’d built around herself. She was the goddess of chastity, but she was also a river nymph, and river nymphs were a passionate, caring people. Well, at least besides Coral.
    Parker Thomas reminded her of a man who’d visited her river’s banks eons ago every year on the third day of spring. His betrothed had drowned while swimming in Syrinx’s domain. Syrinx had tried to save her, but when she dove in, she found the woman tangled in the riverweeds at the bottom. By the time Syrinx had reached her, she only had seconds to live. Syrinx tried to breathe air into her mouth, but the woman fought her and panicked. The last bubbles of air drifted from her lips, and she became lifeless as Syrinx untangled her.
    Syrinx surfaced with the lifeless body in her arms. The young man spited her and cursed her for letting his love die. “May you never find true love,” he shouted as she laid the woman’s body on the shore. He cursed her every year on that same day. Syrinx would stand on a drifting log and take his words in silence before returning to her watery depths below.
    The man came back every year, until white hairs spread upon his head, and he hobbled to the bank with a cane. Finally, he came no more. Syrinx had checked in town even though she knew what had happened. Only one thing could keep him away. The man had died, and Syrinx mourned his death. Even though he despised her, his loyalty and dedication to his love drew her to him each time he’d come.
    The farther they rode, the cloudier the sky became until a persistent drizzle accompanied them into the mountains. Syrinx watched the countryside change from small landscaped trees to giant evergreens. The forest towered over the highway and stretched on in valleys and peaks as far as she could see. The drizzle turned into a pelting rain, pattering against her window.
    Syrinx realized she was drifting off, leaning on the passenger door and watching the endless blur of foliage. Parker stirred beside her. “Have a good nap?”
    “I don’t take naps.” She answered groggily before she realized that didn’t sound too mortal. “I mean, I don’t usually take naps.”
    “Of course. You work too hard to take naps. I can’t imagine managing a business like yours.” He gave her a knowing look. “You must never sleep.”
    She turned away toward the window so he didn’t see the uncomfortable look in her eyes. “Let’s play that game from dinner.” It would shift the conversation and tell her more about him in the process. He’d been right about the game the first time. She’d enjoyed deducing aspects of his personality from his answers. “Sleep.”
    “Bed.” He raised both eyebrows and smiled shamelessly.
    She should have known where that would lead. Syrinx sighed, trying to get the game out of the gutter. “Lam.”
    He gave her a questioning look.
    “Bedlam. You know—chaos, mayhem, disorder.”
    “Oh.” He frowned. “Unfortunately, Lam reminds me of my next word…dinner.”
    Syrinx’s eyes widened in horror. She’d made him think about the awful rack of lamb the waiter had brought over. Parker started to laugh, and she joined in.
    A figure on the side of the highway caught her eye, and she froze mid-laugh. A slight woman with a head of long dark hair ran from the side of the road into the forest. She wore only a tattered slip, and her feet were bare. The person jogged a memory