by Anna Edwards
Chapter Sixteen
VICKY
The nightmare rips me from sleep. Eyes snapping open, I lie shaking, terrorized I’m still back in the cell. Mario’s stinking breath against my face as he whispers obscene things.
It takes a few minutes to realize my surroundings. A bedroom, open and airy.
The weight of an arm slung possessively over my stomach also registers.
Mars.
Turning my head, I examine his handsome sleeping face. He looks younger when relaxed, at peace. As if whatever responsibilities he carries on his shoulders during his waking moments have slipped away.
Hair tousled, he’s so deeply asleep I wonder if he’s experienced the same bone deep weariness that claimed me.
Do I love him? Is he right?
With everything happening so fast, can I trust this feeling I have in my heart? This unstoppable attraction between us. Or is it an illusion? Something to bind us together because of what I’m supposed to be–the Goddess of Love and Beauty. An ancient being, and his opposite. What I feel is fierce, and all consuming–when we are together it takes me over.
As gently as I can, I move his arm and wriggle from the bed.
Watching him, to be sure I don’t disturb him, I can’t help that my attention drifts down to the sculpted muscles of his bare chest and his tanned, firm skin. The thin sheet barely covers his groin.
He’s perfectly posed in slumber, one arm tossed carelessly above his head, the other resting over his stomach. Strong, yet vulnerable.
My fingers twitch in response, desperate to draw him. To lovingly recreate the picture before me through an artist’s eye. With it comes the painful reminder of the last time I’d sketched. The night Susan and I were taken. I’m not sure I’ll ever get pleasure from my artwork again. It’s just another piece of myself that’s been ripped out.
Tearing myself away, I grab the white robe, which has been left idly draped over a wicker chair. The second I thread my arms through it, a masculine scent envelopes me. God, he smells so good. It sends a flutter through my pussy.
Padding from the room, I slowly begin to explore my new surroundings.
Spacious, clean, the villa has the perfect blend of modern and country style. Beyond the windows, rows of lush green vines, heavy with grapes, roll along the landscape. A vineyard. It’s breathtaking and remote. The perfect place to hide.
I should have known Mars’ house in Tuscany wouldn’t be something simple. The whole place screams money.
Finding a glass, I fill it with tap water. I need it to rinse the bitter taste left in my mouth from the dream. It goes someway to easing my parched throat. The thought of food repels me. I know I should eat, but I can’t face that right now. I crave something else.
Quietly as I can, I unlock the front door and step out into the sunlight. Its heat hits my skin, sultry and baking. Freedom. Inhaling deeply, I savor the fresh summer air.
After being confined and tortured, I thought I’d never experience something so simple again. As my mind starts to slide toward memories I want to keep buried, I wrap my arms around my waist.
I don’t want to remember. Not now. Not ever. My body may be miraculously healed, but the scars that remain in my mind are left festering. They’ve changed me. I’m no longer the same woman I was. Shadows linger in my thoughts. Darkness.
Barefoot, I move aimlessly toward the nearest row of vines. Beneath my soles, I savor the feel of the hard-packed earth. It’s real. Something to focus on.
The earthy scent of the soil soothes my fears.
It’s such a peaceful place. Only me, the sounds of nature, and the plants that flourish so lovingly.
Houses are dotted here and there along the horizon. Black silhouettes. Perhaps belonging to families who work the land? Mars must employ people to gather his crops. To make the wine. Maybe he has a well-known brand for all I know.
A sound disturbs me. It’s small, subtle, but makes my heart race as I spin to face it.
Hand pressed to my chest and dread cramming my thoughts, I’m not prepared for the boy.
Standing a few feet away, he observes me with curiosity in his bright brown eyes. Dark-hair curls around his young face. It’s his features that capture my attention. The resemblance to Mars is stunning. He has to be at least twelve or thirteen years old.
“Buongiorno,” he murmurs, dipping his head in a nod.
Licking my dry lips, I try to recover my voice. “Buongiorno.”
“Ti sei perso?”
“I don’t understand,” I reply, fingers lacing together. “I don’t speak Italian.”
“Are you lost?”
“I...no, I’m staying with a... friend.”
His brows pinch together as he studies me some more. He’s curious about the bathrobe I’m wearing. “This is my father's land. Nobody's supposed to wander around here without permission except me and my mother. Even someone as pretty as you.”
His father? Any hopes this could be Mars’ younger brother fade into dust. A son. He has a son, and maybe a wife? Pain knives inside my fragile heart, making me wince.
How could he fuck me when he has a family? When he’s married with a child.
The knowledge sends the shards of darkness digging inside me a little deeper.
Mars’ words echo in my head. How he can’t let me go. His beautiful poetic speech on the beach. More secrets. More lies. Is anyone actually telling me the truth?
“Are you ok?”
The soft concern brings me back to an awareness of the boy. “Yes, I’m sorry. I’m not feeling too well. The heat,” I lie.
I avoid his gaze. It’s almost too much to bear, looking at him.
“You’re English with pale skin. You’re not used to the Italian sun.” Stepping closer, he offers me his hand. “Come, I’ll take you somewhere cooler. A place where you can have a cold drink.”
Panic sets in, but I push it aside. There had been no signs of anyone else living at Mars’ villa. It can’t be the main house.
“I should get back to my...friend,” I tell him with a small smile.
His frown deepens, making him look so much like his father it causes my heart to clench. “As you wish.”
On stiff legs, I turn and walk away farther from the house and the man I’ve left sleeping.
Even the thought of letting his son see me return there is repulsive. I couldn’t do that to the boy. It wouldn’t be fair. His father might be a bastard, but the child is innocent. I’d never hurt anyone intentionally. It would be far too cruel.
Trekking past vine after vine, I don’t stop until the gaze on my back lessens and finally ebbs. Even then, I keep walking. I don’t want to go back. The pain only sharpens, and I’m lost in a world I don’t recognize anymore. Emotions churn up inside me, and I feel the dampness rolling down my cheeks. I want to be numb. Why do I have to feel so much? Each blow hurts with something new. I need stability–normality. Even if it’s wrong and leaves me aching, I want to go home. I might love Mars, but I won’t be second in his heart. A hidden pleasure to visit when his wife is away. What I need is to distance myself. Lock down everything, keeping it contained until I’m somewhere I can curl up and face each and every jagged agonizing truth. However, Pluto still hunts me, leaving now would be suicide. Once everything is resolved, I’ll make my escape.
Ignoring the sweat, which pours down my face along with my tears, I follow my feet wherever they lead me.
Chapter Seventeen
MARS
I stir in the bed and reach out to bring Vicky into my arms but find only empty space. My heartbeat accelerates as I sit bolt upright and adjust my still sleepy eyes to my surroundings.
“Vicky?” I call with nervousness, fearing that an answer won’t come. When it doesn’t, I’m out of my bed and into the hallway of my villa, immediately.
“Vicky?” I shout louder this time, but still there’s no answer.
“Fuck.” My legs take me down the stairs at a rapid pace. The front door is wid
e open, and I’m out of it, shouting her name loud enough to wake the dead.
“Papa.” Luigi appears at my side. His brows furrow together when he looks at me, “Why are you naked?”
I drop my head and realize I’ve come running out of the house, butt naked. I place my hands over my groin.
“It’s one of those weird adult things we don’t talk about, piccolo.” I shrug my shoulders, and he just narrows his eyes further. For a child of twelve, my son is bright enough to know what is going on in the world. He knows his mother and father aren’t in a relationship and accepts we will never be. He still has the best of both worlds, though, with us living so close to each other most of the time. He’s also adored by his grandparents as he was their first grandchild. He doesn’t have specific powers like his mother and I, because he doesn’t rule over anything, but he’s learning and will be a strong warrior in the future. “You haven’t seen a strange woman wandering around here, have you?” I ask.
“You mean the woman who wasn’t wearing a lot and was walking around your vineyards? I told her she shouldn’t be in them. I know you don’t like it.” He screws his face up–it still has a little of his puppy fat around the edges. “She’s a funny one. I knew she came from your villa. She said she was sick and going to return to you, but she went off on a funny path. I think she’s probably got lost in the vines. Are all woman that strange, Papa? I know Mama is at times. I’m so glad I’m a boy.”
I can feel myself physically relax with every word my son speaks. I even end up with a big smile on my face at the end of the conversation. But then, I realize she’s seen him. I look over to the vineyards and instantly notice the point where she met him. The grapes have soured and shriveled up. I sigh.
“Women are always going to be funny creatures,” I tell my son and ruffle the shaggy mop of hair on top of his head. “The fact you’re learning it now will only serve to help you in the future. Run home to your mama, now. I’d better go and find my strange friend.”
“Ok, Papa. Can I come over later? I want to show you how much I’ve been practicing my fighting skills.”
“Of course.” Luigi turns on his heel and runs off back to the home he shares with his mother on the far side of the vineyard. I may not have love for Bellona, but I’ll always be grateful for the son she’s given me. It was the best thing we ever did.
I look down at my naked form and curse the fact I’ve forgotten my clothes. The workers here don’t need to see me in my birthday suit. I don’t have time to worry too much about it, though, as Vicky appears from in-between the vines. She gasps.
“Mars.”
I raise an eyebrow at her.
“I’m not sure what to punish you for first: leaving me alone in bed, making me run outside naked, giving everyone a shock at the size of my manhood, or the fact you’ve ruined this year’s grape stock.”
“What?” She turns and looks back at the path she’s just taken. “Did I do that?” Her eyes go wide, and I can see the traces of tears around the red rims. They look sore from the emotions that have coursed through her in the last few days.
I drop my hands from my groin and stride purposefully to stand before her.
“I think I’ll start with the grapes. Yes, the boy you saw is my son. Yes, he lives here with his mother. No, his mother and I aren’t together, now. She’s a consort of mine. I’ve been on this planet for a long time, Vicky, and I have needs. Gods are highly sexual people. Bellona is one of them. I visited her when I needed an itch scratching. We had a happy accident one day, and Luigi was conceived. It’s a common mishap with us. Have I told you I have, roughly, nineteen brothers and sisters that I know of, not all with the same mother but all with the same father. When you’ve been on this Earth as long as we have, accidents will happen.” I take a deep breath in the middle of my explanation, and I see Vicky start to sway as she takes everything in. “And this is probably the last thing you want to hear, but if it stops you from ruining my grapes and the livelihood of the people who live on this land, then I’m not going to keep anything from you. There..”–I fold my arms across my chest, and Vicky’s eyes look down to my cock as it starts to stand to attention just from being near her– “I’ve said my piece. Do your worst now.”
She brings her top lip into her mouth and sucks on it before letting out a small laugh.
“I’ve been cursing you my entire walk. Thinking you were married and using me as a bit on the side. I’m sorry about your grapes.” She looks down at the ground and twists her foot in the dust, slightly. “If I knew how to fix them, I would. I didn’t mean to do it.”
“I know.” I drop my arms to my sides and step closer to her. I don’t dare bring her into my arms, yet. I need to know she accepts I have a son.
“What did you think of Luigi?” I ask.
“Your son?”
“Yes. His full name is Enyalius, but I call him Luigi. It’s easier and makes more sense in this modern world.”
“Yes, Enyalius is a bit of a mouthful.” She comes closer to me and presses a slender hand onto my chest. My dick bobs higher, hoping for the touch instead. “He looks so much like you. He seems to have a charm with the women as well.”
“He’s his father’s son.” I wink. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about him sooner, and you had to find out this way. I would have told you, eventually. I just wanted to give you some time to adjust to everything else, first.”
“It’s a lot to take in. All of it.” She turns and looks at the vineyards. “Will this sort of thing happen every time?”
“No, you’ll get control.”
She nods.
A noise to our left has our heads spinning around. One of the maids from my house emerges with a basket of washing in her hands. She sees us, specifically me naked with a hard on, and turns bright red.
“Sorry, sir,” she blusters and disappears back into the house.
“Will you allow me to take you back into the house before we cause anymore commotion?” I ask, desperately hoping she says yes.
“Please.” She drops her head down onto my chest, and before she can object, I’ve scooped her up into my arms and am striding purposefully back to my bedroom. I sit her on the bed and step back, searching her face for any hint of lies or fear.
“Are you sure you’re ok with Luigi?” I ask.
“Yes,” she utters. “It’s another thing about this new life of mine I have to adjust to. I won’t lie, Mars, I’m terrified of what everything means. At this moment, I’m torn between staying here or running back to England, curling up in a little ball, and hoping everything will just go away. I’m not stupid, though. I know that can never happen, now.”
“You’ll see England again.” I lean forward, stroke her face, and bring my hand to rest at her chin. “How about I take you there this afternoon? You can show me where you live. We can get some of your stuff and bring it back here? What do you say?”
“Will your father allow that? Won’t it be dangerous?”
“We can take some of my brothers with us,” I offer.
“I’d like that.”
Her face drops.
“Susan. What happens to her? I have to tell her parents. We have to bury her.”
I swallow and shut my eyes.
“I’ll help you do all that. My father has her body. Let yourself grieve and adjust first. We don’t have to rush into anything.”
She nods, and her small hand comes out again and touches the tip of my cock. I groan long and loudly at the pleasure surging through my body from her delicate touch.
“I didn’t sleep that well last night with nightmares. Mario, and what he did to me echoed through all of them. I need a new memory, Mars. What he did to my mouth, I need to forget it.”
“No,” I whisper. “I don’t want you to do anything you don’t feel you are ready for.”
“I need it,” she pleads and grips my cock harder. “Make me forget him. Only you can do that. Only we can, together, repair the memories of the hatred
I feel when it comes to him. Bring me beauty–bring me love. Show me how amazing having you in my mouth can be.”
She opens her legs, and I settle in-between them with my dick in her face. We both go silent. No words are needed, now, as I rescue her again.
Her tongue darts out of her mouth and licks at my length, which jumps with delight. I can already feel my balls tightening. I groan when she wraps her lips around the tip and moves me into her mouth. I curl my fist around her hair and twist, so I can help control her movement. I like my dick sucked roughly, but in this moment, I just need to be in the warmth of her mouth. I don’t need her choking on my length. I don’t need to see her eyes watering as I cut off her breathing by shoving myself too far down her throat. I’m getting lost in the feeling of her tongue, twirling around the sensitive flesh on my shaft. Her small flicks send fizzles of electricity darting through my body. All of my blood is rushing to my dick, and my head is spinning. I’ve never experienced this before.
I look down, and my balls tighten when she looks back up at me. Vicky with my cock in her mouth is the most beautiful thing in the world.
“You wanted beautiful. You should see how you look to me. I’ve never seen anything like it before.” My own mind is awash with the memories of Mario forcing her to suck him off, but each time she slides up and down my length, they dissipate into nothing. I shift both of us on the bed, so she can see our reflection in the mirror in the corner of my room. I push my hips forward, and my cock slides deeper into her mouth. Her eyes widen as she watches with the lust in them evident.
“Quicker,” she mumbles around me, and the vibrations have me gripping her hair tighter and sliding into her quicker. We’re both looking in the mirror. I follow every expression on her face as I pump faster and faster. I can feel my orgasm as it winds through my body.
“Vicky, I have to pull out.”
“No,” she orders, and I push into her one final time and erupt. While my dick is still pulsating, I withdraw and allow my cum to decorate her lips. I lose my breath, and staggering back to a chair, I collapse down into it. Her tongue comes out and wipes my essence from her lips. Fuck, I think I’m going to come again, already, just from that one action.
