Adonis and Aphroditus

by Crystal Dawn

  They rounded the corner with Hades in the lead. Good job you two,” he said including Nettie in the praise.

  “Hades,” Afrod started.

  “Yes,” he said looking up questioningly.

  “Nettie sent some information to the local cops,” Afrod informed.

  “Don’t worry about that. Pluto intercepted it and checked it out before sending it on. It doesn’t hurt us and it helps them,” he said agreeably.

  Nettie sent him a victorious look. It wasn’t a ha-ha, I was right look, it was a see, doing the right thing will pay off look. Afrod knew that wasn’t always the case. Origin had taught him all about might made right and that they could control the law and the actions of others. This was one time of many where doing the right thing didn’t result in punishment.

  “Let’s get all the files, computers, and the big boss, here, loaded. We can arrange for Nettie’s friend to deal with the guards. I don’t think the outside guards were aware of who ran this place but a scare might make them more careful about who they work for in the future. The inside guy can come with us too. He may know something. Hurry up everyone!” Hades ordered.

  “We need boxes for the files. Several of the offices have them and I saw patient files that might help us to track down the mothers that birthed gods. At least we can get a count of how many babies we’re looking for and if they know anything. I also found a file with potential facilities in New Orleans. We may have gotten a lot of intelligence but it won’t be useful long,” Afrod said.

  “You’re right. Once they know we have it, they’ll move and we’ll have to hunt them again. Let’s just take the file cabinets whole. They’ll fit in the back of the SUVs if there aren’t too many. Let’s get it done, gods!” Hades instructed. It was obvious he was ready to move out and get back to the hotel.

  Afrod wondered how he was going to deal with Nettie and her sister. Julie needed to go with them for her own safety and he wanted Nettie to go so she’d be near him. “What are you’re plans after this?” Afrod asked as he and Nettie disconnected the computer so they could load it.

  “I’m taking Julie home with me where she’ll be safe and protected,” Nettie explained.

  “Do you honestly think you can keep her safe from Origin?”

  “What do you mean?” she asked as she stopped what she was doing and sat down. She looked up at him waiting for his answer.

  “You’re no dummy. I know it’s occurred to you that Julie might not be having the usual pregnancy.”

  “You’re wrong. Gods can’t reproduce. Everyone knows that’s true.”

  “We were all born of woman from a womb. I think Origin bred her and they’ll want that baby. If I’m right, you can’t protect her. You can’t even tell anyone she’s carrying a child Origin put in her.”

  “Oh, dear God! Is it like you? Is it something else?” she asked as a look of horror showed on her face.

  “I’m not positive but if they did this to her, the baby will be a god.”

  She looked relieved. “How do we find out?”

  “Come to Olympus with us. They’ll test her and give her the care she wasn’t getting here. If it’s fully human, we’ll fly you back. If it’s a god, she’ll have to stay there. No one in your world can be trusted not to tell others. Both Julie and the baby would be endangered if they aren’t secure.”

  Nettie worried her lip as she thought. She let sighed having come to a conclusion. “You’re right. We have to keep things quiet until we know. If the baby’s human, no harm done. If not, she’ll need your doctor and the help of your people.”

  “What about you?” Afrod asked hoping against hope that she’d come.

  “My baby sister finally came to me for help. Nothing will keep me from going with her.”

  “You’re a wonderful sister. I wish I had a sister.”

  “I’m sorry. You don’t have any family, do you?”

  “That’s not true. I have brothers in the thousands. Each one would give his life for me and me for him.”

  “You guys were lucky in a way after all. Big families are always the best. Julie and I only have each other.”

  “You have us too now. You’ll be part of our family.” He saw the look on her face. She thought he was being sweet but she didn’t believe him.

  He moved closer and put his fingers under her chin pulling it up into his kiss. Damn, he couldn’t keep his hands or his mouth off this female. He deepened the kiss until he was devouring her and he didn’t want to stop. A loud noise in the hall where some gods were moving file cabinets made them move apart. They needed to get their job done. They finished disconnecting the computer in this room and carried it out. They had the third seats down in order to have the room they needed for everything. They had two more computers to disconnect and load.

  They went to the next room and worked quickly and efficiently. Afrod thought they worked well together. He knew they’d do other things even better. Wicked thoughts kept rearing up in his head. He pushed them down and kept working. They got the computer loaded and only had one more. This computer was a little more difficult because it older and heavier. The wires seemed to be soldered into the computer so he disconnected the power and cut it.

  He heard a noise and looked underneath and saw a timer. “Hades, I think I have a bomb counting down in the first office near the outside door.”

  He heard running down the hall as Eros came in out of breath. Bomb expert, he mouthed to Nettie who looked a little calmer once she understood him. Eros cut a wire and cursed. That didn’t sound good. He cut another one and sighed. The count down had stopped. Just another minor emergency deflected by superior god know how. He was so grateful Eros had come along.

  Chapter 4

  Olympus

  Nettie found herself drawn to Afrod more than she had been drawn to a man, ever. He didn’t try to charm her or fool her with sweet lies. No, he just kissed her and she melted all over him. He was handsome, all gods were but he appealed to her on a level she didn’t understand. He was so damn cheerful and easy going. Nothing upset him and he seemed to take her sometimes disagreeable attitude in stride. It was both refreshing and aggravating because sometimes she liked to fluster people. It was good for them to get knocked out of their comfort zone and not know what to expect from someone. Few people ever knew what to expect from her and she liked it that way.

  He was tall and broad, built like a god. His curly golden hair was shoulder length and her fingers wanted to run through it. She giggled to herself as she wondered how he would react if she gave in to her impulses. His blue green eyes would widen but would he be delighted or step away from her? His skin looked smooth and his muscles hard and she wouldn’t mind sliding her body over him. When had she become so naughty? Since she met Afrod she supposed. Looking at him made her skin heat and her blood pump.

  “Nettie? Nettie!”

  She was startled out of her imaginings. “What?”

  “We need to leave now. Julie is waiting for us,” Afrod stated.

  “Lead on,” she said and gestured in front of her.

  Afrod hurried in front of her leading the way to Julie’s car. They were leaving just ahead of the rest of the team. They would go to the hotel and take Julie home to pack. Nettie already had a bag so that would save time. Hades had said he wanted them all to meet at the plane but Nettie knew he hadn’t told Julie he wanted her to go back with them. Had he expected Afrod to tell her?

  Afrod had explained that while Julie’s apartment wasn’t much, it would work for the two gods slated to stay behind. They would be searching for clues on the day personnel and the doctors from the clinic that would otherwise get away. They wanted to get them all because they deserved to be punished but even more, they might have information leading to more lost gods. Realistically they knew they might not ever find all of them, but that just made them more determined to try. Nettie felt for them and she hoped they would find them all. She would even help them while she and Julie were visiting. She did
n’t believe Julie’s baby was a god so she wasn’t planning on staying.

  They made it back and went in to get Julie who was sitting by Pluto and talking to him. She didn’t look much older than he was and they seemed to get along well. Nettie explained what was going on and Pluto started packing up his stuff before they left. They took Julie and went to the car. Nettie knew Afrod was thrilled to drive but wasn’t sure if he just liked to drive or had worried that they’d put him in the back.

  Afrod drove them to Julie’s place while Nettie sat in the back so her pregnant sister wouldn’t get car sick. They went in with her, helping her pack and then he drove them to the airport. They loaded on to the plane and they were the first to arrive. Afrod was solicitous and brought them a snack and drinks. Nettie had never been on a private plane before but she had been on a police helicopter. It wasn’t the same thing at all. The copter was strictly functional and this plane was luxurious. Well they said if you had to travel you should travel in style.

  Afrod went outside to wait for the others giving Nettie time to talk to Julie. “We need to go with them,” Nettie said.

  “What? Where?” Julie asked.

  “We need to go back to Olympus with them. Afrod said they will check your baby out and we can look at it like a vacation. You’ll get to see how Apis is doing.”

  “There’s more you’re not telling me.”

  “They think your baby is a god. They think those people you worked for impregnated you with god seed.”

  “But I thought gods couldn’t breed? It’s been on the news and everything. They can’t have babies.”

  “Maybe not in the usual way, but they were all carried inside a mother and birthed naturally.”

  “What will I do, Sis?” Julie looked up at her with big eyes shiny with unshed tears.

  “Kiddo, we’re in this thing together and if the baby is a god, they’ll help us out. I bet they’ll give you a job and a place to live. Everything will work out, you’ll see.”

  “What about you?” Julie whispered in a small voice.

  “I’ll do whatever I have to do to make sure you’re okay. It’ll all work out. I’ll make sure of it.”

  Afrod came back in. “The rest of the guys are here now and we’ll be leaving in soon.”

  Nettie nodded and she pulled Julie in for a hug. “Don’t you dare worry about a thing. You understand? I’ll make sure it’s all okay.”

  Afrod came back to sit next to Nettie. Julie yawned so he showed her how to lean her seat back so she could sleep. She was out in seconds. Poor kid must have been wore out. Hades and the others came on board carrying their bags but Nettie assumed they had loaded the file cabinets and computers in the cargo area. They sat down but they left some space around her, Julie, and Afrod so they felt like they had some privacy. She and Afrod spoke quietly for at least a couple of hour before they leaned their seats back and slept too.

  Nettie dreamed, not an unusual thing since most people did. She dreamed of Afrod and her dream was sexy. Nettie didn’t usually have hot dreams. She usually dreamed about work. She’d be faced with a dangerous criminal and her gun wouldn’t work. Sometimes it wasn’t loaded and the guy would laugh at her. She wasn’t sure why the criminals in her dreams were always men, she’d met some ruthless women on the job too. It wasn’t like the men were attractive. She always dreamed about the ugly ones. At least she woke up before they killed her. Their guns never seemed to malfunction and they always had bullets, but she would wake up just before the bullet struck. Freud, the famous albeit dead psychiatrist, would have a field day with her. This dream about Afrod would have been a welcome change had she had it at home. Having a sex dream on a plane surrounded by males just wasn’t right.

  She would take a dream about Afrod over those terrifying dreams any day, but today. She was so drawn to him it seem unbelievable. She could usually take or leave a man or men in general. She’d had her share of men and relationships although the relationships were usually short. She couldn’t handle being bossed around. It just ate at her until she sent the guy packing. She could handle a partnership, give and take, she believed in compromise. Men just seemed to believe in their way and no other. She wasn’t having that, she’d just stay alone.

  She’d given up on the hope of having children someday, but being a favorite aunt would be a nice substitute. Julie would find love. She was too sweet and lovable not to. She had the innocence of youth and Nettie hoped she’d never lose that. Nettie had lost that a long time ago. Any fragments that had survived her youth had been beaten out of her, figuratively, by her time in the army. The things she had seen, the things she wished she could forget but couldn’t were horrific and she pushed them out of her mind like she always did. They always came back, but she couldn’t stop them.

  Now that she was awake, she took a moment to check out her surroundings. Julie was still asleep on one side of her. She had been through so much, she was probably exhausted. She might sleep all the way there. Afrod was on the other side also still asleep or at least he appeared to be. Most of the other gods seemed to be sleeping too but she could hear Hades talking to himself? No, he had a headset on no doubt preparing Olympus for their arrival. She had seen Olympus on the news, part of it anyway. What would it be like in person?

  She slid her seat up into its sitting position. There was no way she would sleep any more. “You’re awake, good!” observed Hades. “Come with me, I’d like to talk to you.”

  Nettie nodded then stood up and followed him. She was curious to know what he wished to discuss. She assumed it had to do with Julie. They moved to the front of the plane and the area around them cleared out like magic. Gods scrambled to get out of Hades way and sit somewhere else.

  “First I’d like to tell you that my mate, they call her Doc, will be taking care of Julie and she is the very best doctor especially when it comes to god dna.”

  “I’m glad to hear that but I already knew you had top notch doctors.”

  “The main thing I want to discuss, is love.”

  Nettie drew in a shaky breath. What the hell? Why would he discuss love with her? “Excuse me?”

  “You heard correctly. Gods are different than your human males. We have one mate, one love for our whole lives. I believe you and Afrod are such a pair. You may be feeling things you don’t understand and aren’t sure what to make of them. I wasn’t sure about talking to you, but I hope to save you and Afrod the difficulties most of us gods had when we found our mates. Afrod is ready to commit are you?”

  She was stunned, speechless even. She drew in a deep breath and tried to sort her thoughts. “I just don’t know.”

  “It’s okay. You have time while you’re with us to make the decision but remember that he already loves you and that will not change.”

  Hades dismissed her and she found her way back to her seat. She had a lot to think about and some of it she would never understand. It looked like the gods believed in love at first sight. That was okay, but she didn’t think she did. She had been taught that it took time to learn about someone and to see if they were worth loving. She would admit sometimes love didn’t seem to have rhyme or reason and it just was. She loved her mother even though she’d been young when she died and she couldn’t remember much about her. Yet when she thought about her, a warm feeling wrapped around her heart and sadness filled her.

  Love might be a subject she would never figure out. Right now she needed to assess her feelings for Afrod. She was sure it wasn’t love but maybe it could grow into it. She lusted after him and she admired his convictions. She thought he was funny and he would be a great friend. That was already more than she had ever felt for a man before. He treated her with respect and he wasn’t bossy. That was two points no man had ever had before. It was making her dizzy trying to figure this out. Hades was right, she had plenty of time.

  She sat down noticing Afrod was now awake but Julie slept still. Poor Julie, maybe she was catching up on her sleep because she finally felt safe and at
ease. Nettie had to admit all these big capable guys could make a girl feel safe and Afrod made her feel the safest. She would think on what Hades had said but for now she would just enjoy Afrod’s company.

  Chapter 5

  Nettie

  Afrod woke and was almost panic stricken when he saw Nettie wasn’t in her seat. He calmed when he realized they were airborne and there wasn’t any place for her to go. He looked around finally finding her up front with Hades. She got up and made her way back to him. They sat and talked and Julie slept until they arrived at Olympus.

  They covered up in their winter gear leaving no skin or eyes exposed because the temperatures were too extreme to risk it. Julie was excited about the snow. She was like a kid at Christmas even though she wouldn’t be able to touch or play in it. They left the plane and headed to the building in a line of gods. The walk was short and they entered through the double doors where two guards checked to be sure of exactly who came into the facility. Afrod introduced Julie and Nettie and they were allowed to move on.

  Hades waited for them and they followed him to medical where Julie would go to be tested and cared for. Once she was comfortable with Doc, which didn’t take long, he and Nettie were sent to Zeus and Sierra. They walked into the open office where Sierra sat at Zeus’ side. They sat in the two seats opposite them after Afrod introduced Nettie to them and they shook hands. He wasn’t surprised Nettie was a bit nervous. Zeus and Sierra were considered celebrities and not everyone knew how to act around those who were famous.

  “We’re all glad you managed to make it out safely and we appreciate all your help,” Sierra started out with a smile.

  “It needed to be done, but you’re welcome,” Nettie said. She and Sierra took each other’s measure and decided they were equals. They might even be friends in time.