Heroes aren't meant to act like their villains -- or fall in love with them. The elements touch everyone on Earth -- Fire, Water, even Light -- but every so often someone becomes more attuned to their elemental leaning and develops true power. When an evil Elemental known as Thanatos arrived in Olympus City, it saw the rise of its first hero -- Zeus. But the death toll caused by defeating Thanatos changed Zeus, who by day is young detective Danny Grant. It's been six months since Thanatos terrorized the city at the start of Lovesick Gods. Danny should be used to his duty behind the mask, but the recent past haunts him. His girlfriend left him, he snaps at the barest provocation, his life feels empty -- he needs an outlet, any outlet to pull him out of his depression. Enter notorious thief Malcolm Cho, the Ice Elemental Prometheus. There was a time when Danny welcomed a fight with Cho, filled with colorful banter and casual flirtations that were a relief compared to Thanatos. Even as a criminal, Cho had recognized the threat Thanatos posed and promised to help Danny stop him, but the day Danny needed Cho, he never showed. Cho was the reason so many people died that day -- including Danny's mother. Danny decides to teach the man a lesson and fan the fire of their attraction into something more. At worst, he'll get some no-strings-attached sex out of the deal and finally blow off steam; at best, he'll get Cho to fall in love with him and then break his heart to spite him. Danny doesn't expect to fall for Cho in the process, and he certainly can't predict the much darker threat on the horizon.

Lovesick Gods

Danny choked out another laugh. But he was choking on too much, so much more than laughter, as unforeseen emotions caught in his throat.


“Zeus in my bed, now, that is something to brag about. But I know where the real power is. All the parts I like to see bare, that’s not Zeus. Zeus is your mask. I like what’s under it.”


“You don’t know what’s under it,” Danny said without thinking, because Cho didn’t know, not really, and he wouldn’t want the truth if he ever found out how low Danny had sunk.


“Think you’re such an enigma, huh?” Cho pressed his thumbs into the arch of Danny’s foot again and held them there, applying firm pressure that hurt, but the pain was good, solid. His eyes looked so blue when they met Danny’s gaze. He was flushed and damp with sweat, casually dressed in his own home, attending to Danny when this time Danny had done nothing to earn his keep. “Tell me. What’s so terrible about Danny Grant?”


Chapter 69