by JJ King
His seduction was exquisite and Cate thought that if it were possible to die from pleasure, she would gladly do so. And he wasn’t even south of her belly button!
She longed to touch him, so she did, scraping her nails over his pecs, down his darkly tanned abdomen and felt like the Cheshire cat when he sucked in a shaky breath as she approached his Adonis belt. She got close, almost touching the soft patch of pitch black curls that topped his very impressive erection, then curved her hands around his hips and palmed his taut ass.
Morpheus chuckled and looked down at her with a playful glint in his eyes. “Two can play that game.” His hand left her breast and came to her hips.
Cate thought he would throw her on the bed again but he just lifted her, one inch at a time, against his body, until her breasts were at his face level. It seemed to take no effort and, although she tried not be be impressed, his control made her stomach flutter.
Then his mouth came down on her nipple and she cried out. His teeth scraped her sensitive flesh then was replaced almost instantly by his tongue, which laved and soothed. He did this over and over, sometimes leaving her nipple to bit down on her full breasts, leaving bite marks that she couldn’t summon the strength to object to.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and pressed her hot, aching core against him, undulating as his mouth drove her wild.
He groaned and let out a deep shudder then moved swiftly to the bed to lay her down. The moment her back hit the mattress, Morpheus’ hands shifted from her hips, spreading her knees wide, and his fingers dipped inside her.
Stars swam behind Cate’s eyelids, bringing with them a wave of sensation that sizzled up her entire body. She pulsed her hips, moving in time with his gentle strokes and melted into the bed.
When he shifted, moving down her body, she cracked an eye open to watch him and caught him watching her with a greedy look on his face. Cate arched an eyebrow, knowing that look all too well, and lifted her hips for his mouth.
The pleasure of his mouth on her breasts had been nothing compared to this. Impossible heat poured from his lips, making her body tremble in anticipation. Cate’s breath huffed out of her as his strong hands lifted her even more, opening her to his hunger, and giving him full access.
She rocketed impossibly high and fast, moving from a sleepy satisfaction to wild throes in only moments. Cate writhed, bucking her hips against his mouth, wanting this but needing more, as she strained towards that peak.
His mouth left her heat and she cried out in disappointment feeling the perfect release slip out of her grasp only to gasp a moment later when his cock pressed against her opening and inched inside. Despite their frenzied passion, he waited there a split second for her response, a wild look of desperation and a pulse of her hips, to sink inside her.
He moved then, hard and fast, plunging into her while one hand remained under her hips, holding her at a tilt so he could push his full length inside. Cate clung to his arms and hung on, meeting him thrust for thrust and getting closer to release with every searing inch. She held his gaze and saw the emotion behind the passion in his eyes. It stole her breath away and pushed her over the edge.
Cate’s fingernails sunk into Morpheus’ arms as waves of pleasure washed over her, seizing her inner muscles, gripping his cock until he roared out his release and poured into her. The stars she’d seen earlier exploded again, covering her skin in sensation that made her shiver.
Morpheus rolled to his side, pulling her with him, and wrapped his arms around her as they both came down from their pleasure high. Cate snuggled her face into his neck and pressed a kiss to his salty skin.
She must have fallen asleep because when Cate opened her eyes, Morpheus wasn’t with her anymore. Instead, standing by the bed, watching her intently with a soft smile on her lips, was Nyx.
Assuming it was just a dream, Cate went with it. “You’re family seem to have a habit of whisking people away like this,” she said sitting up in the bed. The sheet slid down from her body, revealing her nakedness. “I’d complain that I’m indisposed but, frankly, I don’t care.”
Nyx’s smile grew. “I like you,” she said decisively. “I like you for my grandson. You suit each other well.”
Cate paused, finally considering that maybe this wasn’t a dream. They had no idea of Nyx’s full power since her magic was so unstable and she doubted she’d be having dreams about a primordial goddess right now, especially following such amazing sex. She stood up, taking the sheet with her, and wrapped it around her body like an ironic toga.
“I saw what you did for Morpheus back there,” Nyx continued, speaking softly. It took a moment for Cate to realize that she was actually speaking, not communicating directly via telepathy. It made her seem less intimidating, especially since she’d let the shimmer of light die down a fair bit.
Cate opened her mouth to apologize again for walking away to tend Morpheus but she didn’t get the chance.
“You chose to go to him rather than stay and impress me.” Nyx’s eyes sparkled a gorgeous blue, so much like Morpheus’ that it made Cate relax. “You walked away from my power to sacrifice your last vestige of magic to heal him, even when you knew it wouldn’t be enough. You followed your heart.”
Cate chewed his lip for a moment, wondering where Nyx was going with all this. The goddess seemed pleased with the choice she’d made, so imminent destruction didn’t seem likely. A thought popped into Cate’s head, making her frown.
“You wonder why I didn’t just heal him myself,” Nyx said, reading her mind.
“You can read my mind?” Cate narrowed her eyes, knowing the answer already.
“In here I can,” Nyx smiled, looking pleased Cate was so bold. “And to answer your question,” she paused, “I wanted to see what you’d do.”
A long moment passed with just static in Cate’s head, then Nyx’s words sunk in and anger surged. “You let him suffer unnecessarily to test me? What kind of grandmother does that?”
“He was in no danger,” she said seriously with no trace of the smile on her lips anymore. “And I am his grandmother. He is my family and you are his heart.” Her eyes softened again. “I understand your anger but know this. I will protect him and now you from anything or anyone that threatens. That is my promise. And this,” she moved forward without seeming to walk and laid a kiss on Cate’s forehead, “is my gift.”
Cate stood still while the goddess pressed her lips against her forehead, too startled to move an inch. Nyx’s lips were hot against her skin, but not nearly as blisteringly hot as her light had been when she’d appeared, so Cate closed her eyes and accepted it without comment.
“What are you doing?” Morpheus’ voice snapped Cate out of the moment and her eyes flew open.
She was standing a few feet away from the bed, wrapped in a sheet, facing away from Morpheus. The heat of Nyx’s kiss remained on her forehead. Cate blinked a few times, climbed back into bed beside her lover, then said with a laugh, “Guess who just paid me a visit.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Cate couldn’t seem to wipe the grin from her face.
All the players gathered around the table, faces drawn in consternation while she grinned like an idiot. Cate brought her hands up to cover her smile and drew her eyebrows down so she’d fit in.
“We failed,” Selene whispered, looking down at her knotted hands. Cate noticed she was twisting them, a fact she hadn’t know about her best friend even after all these years. They’d have to get to know each other in different ways once they succeeded, she realized.
She couldn’t wait.
The sadness in Selene’s voice penetrated Cate’s joy, and the smile fell from her lips. “We didn’t fail,” Cate insisted, leaning towards Selene to touch her arm. “We discovered a lot and that means we’re closer to cracking it. We discovered that we can’t have a stand in for you.” She squeezed Selene’s arm then glanced up at Medusa. “No offense, Medusa. What you did was amazing but I think we might need the real de
al.”
“No offense taken,” Medusa said, reassuringly.
Cate took a deep breath and turned her gaze to each person at the table in turn. “Selene and I have spent over two thousand years going over this and we could be ashamed that we’ve never broke the code or we can be thankful for the fresh eyes you all provide.” She glanced at Selene who was watching her intently with shining eyes.
“We choose thankful,” Selene murmured quietly. A look of determination crossed her beautiful face and she sat up straighter. “Thank you,” she said louder. “We’re happy to hear any ideas you have.”
Beneath the table, Cate slid her hand into Selene’s and squeezed.
“We might get more traction if we try it at sunset rather than sunrise since the moon is stronger then,” Artemis mused, getting nods of agreement immediately.
“Sure, yes, that makes total sense.” Cate felt like kicking herself. They’d rushed into the ritual because of fear and because of that, and probably a dozen other inaccuracies, they’d failed. She wouldn’t let that happen again. “Also, Zeus won’t expect us to try again so soon,” she pressed her hands palm down on the table, thinking furiously about where they went wrong and what they’d need to succeed. “So, let’s use that against him and figure this thing out.”
Everyone started talking, playing out different scenarios with the person next to them, pointing out determinants to plans not yet made. Selene wrote furiously on a pad of paper Morpheus had magicked out of thin air, circling some ideas and crossing out others.
“So, I guess the obvious factor that wasn’t present this morning is a full moon. I assume you’d have more power with the moon at its fullest?” Medusa asked looking at each of the triple goddesses.
“Definitely,” Cate agreed. “I’m always strong then. You?” She looked at Selene who nodded immediately.
“But the full moon was a few weeks ago,” Artemis pointed out. She sat forward, looking fierce. Gone was the uncertainty she’d had during the ritual. This was the huntress. Cate approved.
“Damnit,” Medusa muttered.
Something tickled Cate’s mind and she frowned, puzzling it out. The full moon was when their powers were greatest but she’d also felt strong during new moons. She turned to Selene to ask, “What phase is the moon in tonight?”
Selene thought for a moment, “It’s a new moon. I’ll be directly between the earth and the sun.”
“I’m actually strongest during a new moon.” Artemis’ eyes were excited now. “I’m the maiden goddess, remember? I represent the waxing moon.”
“And I represent the waning,” Cate added, wondering how she’d never really given that much thought. “Which means that we should be able to access the celestial magics necessary to make this work!” She beamed, turning to Morpheus to see him grinning back at her.
“Is there supposed to be an eclipse of any kind tonight?” Medusa asked, already pulling out her cell phone to search an answer.
“No,” Apollo answered. “It’s too bad this didn’t all go down a month from now. We’re due for a total solar eclipse then. That would have boosted your powers, right?” He poked Medusa. “You know I’m the sun god, right?”
Medusa looked embarrassed and put the phone away.
“Not really,” Selene said slowly. “Normally I’d say yes, blocking out the sun would focus the lunar magic but maybe with you here…” she lifted her eyebrows dramatically in Apollo’s direction.
His eyebrows joined hers and a look of disbelief crossed his face. “No. You don’t want me to pull the sun closer to the earth, do you? Because that would be insane, even for us.”
“Don’t be dramatic,” Selene scolded. “We wouldn’t blow up the world or anything. If you could just get the sun to move slightly closer to the moon, it would move the moon slightly closer to the earth and…”
“Increase our magic even more,” Cate felt incredulous and knew her gaping mouth showed it.
They all went silent. Cate could feel each of them thinking it over, assessing the danger to every human and god on earth. Could it be done? Would it make a difference?
The silence broke as they all began talking again. Theories were shouted and discarded, some were mocked, which set the mood of everyone on edge. Voices rose higher and louder, Apollo’s being the loudest.
Cate’s mind spun as she listened to all the arguments for or against the hail Mary. Everyone had an opinion or, at least, mostly everyone. She noticed that Poseidon wasn’t speaking much. His eyebrows were drawn down as if he were deep in thought while his fingers tapped a steady beat on the table.
“Poseidon,” Cate called over the arguing, “what do you think?”
He looked up at her, surprised to be called on. For a moment he said nothing, then he brought his hand to his chin and scratched before replying. “What if,” he said just loud enough to be heard, “I raise the tides?”
The table went silent as each head swivelled to look at him.
“You can’t be serious!” Apollo barked.
Poseidon raised a hand and frowned at Apollo. “Get off your high horse for a second and think about it. The moon and the tides are mystically linked, so if I could push the tides to their highest point, it would pull the moon forward a bit. With Apollo working from the other side on the sun, we could control the movement. It couldn’t be much but I think it’s possible.”
“And how exactly do you propose realigning the lunar orbit when the spell is complete? Apollo scoffed, still looking as if he thought everyone present was insane.
“Let me take care of that.” Selene lifted her chin defiantly and arched a single eyebrow. “I’ve got a little pull with the moon, after all.”
Cate’s lips quirked at the subtle dressing down and noted that it seemed to have worked. Apollo’s mouth opened and closed several times, then he shook his head and said, “Alright, but if we destroy the world, I’m not taking responsibility.”
“Deal,” Cate grinned, not knowing exactly if she should be happy about all of this or extremely afraid of the lengths they were willing to go through to save one man and screw over Zeus. She decided to think about it later.
“Alright then,” Apollo said, sounding resigned now. “Let’s do this.”
*****
“It’s a solid plan,” Selene argued with Apollo for the millionth time.
“Plans don’t have huge unknown factors, blondie.” Apollo continued pacing the length of the dreamscape, his jerky movements unsettling Cate’s stomach, which was already angry in anticipation of their big move.
That’s what they’d decided to call it. Their “big move.” They’d actually taken a good ten minutes to hash it out. Well, the guys had. The women had taken that time to roll their eyes a lot.
“Who exactly are you calling blondie?” Selene ground the words out through clenched teeth.
Emotions were running high, sparking even more arguments than before. Cate closed her eyes and summoned a trickle of power, calling upon it to soothe the tension from the air and give peace and clarity to her friends. The moment the spell was cast, Apollo’s face relaxed and he turned to Selene. “Sorry, just a bit tense, I suppose.”
Selene nodded. “Ditto. We should get it out of our systems though. It’s not safe to go into something like this with a weighed down soul.”
“I’m good.” Apollo rubbed his hairless chin. “We can do this.”
From next to her at the table, Morpheus muttered, “Thank the gods those two finally stopped sniping at one another.”
Cate leaned into him and batted her eyelashes. “And who do you think managed that miracle?”
“You didn’t!” Morpheus chuckled and reached for her hand. He raised it and pressed his lips to her knuckles. His five o’clock shadow scraped sexily over her skin making her stomach flip-flop.
She shrugged. “Nothing devious. Just a little help from nature to calm and soothe. We’re all going to need clear minds to make this work. In fact,” she pulled out a small satc
hel and opened it on the table, “I conjured up a little something for you men.” She undid the tie and pulled out a deep obsidian amulet on a leather necklace and handed it to him. “It will help keep negativity at bay and keep you guys mentally focused. It’s not much…”
“It’s something.” Morpheus lifted the necklace and slipped it over his head. “Thank you.” He touched a finger to her chin, tilting it up so he could claim her lips. “I can’t wait to have you all to myself for eternity,” he murmured before deepening the kiss.
Cate’s stomach nearly dissolved. She leaned into him and drank greedily of his taste. Her pulse raced, not from fear, not from arousal, although that was quickly coming on, but from the wonder that someone so amazing could love her forever and that she would want that with every part of her being.
