Past Lives

by Kirsten Bij't Vuur

  She supposed he would visit Aphrodite after his run, make love in the pool or in the Mediterranean. Lukas would miss Aphrodite as well, after all his lonely years he seemed to fit in much better amongst his family. Was that

  just his rise to godhood?

  Fortunately Paul was still asleep, Lukas gone off and Paul still there, that was what things should be like when she woke up in the morning. Her beloved husband was in total rest, face still black and blue as a reminder of his ordeal.

  He was right, as long as his feelings were still shaken by his horrible experience, it was better his body still show the signs, people would be much more considerate of him.

  Once they went back to Katarina's village, he would undoubtedly have scores of ladies trailing him, since they had all been cured of monogamy. His battered appearance would give him a perfect excuse to refuse to share love.

  Used to making love in the mornings, Melissa felt rather heated, and she thought it was a shame to waste the cool morning. They could laze in the afternoon, now it was time to see whether her man felt like a little loving.

  If he didn't, she would try Lukas later, but he was probably making the most of the time he had left here.

  Following Lukas' excellent example yesterday, she did not stroke Paul, but she took his hand and placed it on her breast, and at the same time she gently scratched his curly head, as if he were Lukas.

  He did wake with a shock instead of slowly, but he did not shy away, he recognized the feel of her and fondled the breast, putting his other hand on the other breast. His eyes, now open, showed fire, and he kissed her, still very carefully.

  Melissa could still taste the wounds in his mouth, but less strongly, they were already healing. And she guessed he was either in less pain, or in a lot of heat, for his kisses soon became pretty intense, and his hands on her body likewise.

  She felt free to stroke him too, and he enjoyed her attentions, but when the time came to take the next step he excused himself: 'I'm sorry, love, but I'm afraid I cannot love you yet, my jaw is still very painful, and I can't thrust better than yesterday. I do feel heated though, very much so, and your touch sets me on fire.'

  'It does?' Melissa was truly glad to hear that, 'then let me do something with that.'

  She kneeled over him and lavished attention on his perfectly normal erection, and he was really heated, for he moaned from the very first time her

  tongue touched him.

  Because he was so incredibly excited, she planned to use those tricks on him she had learned from Lukas, to make him last. Her own heat was throbbing now, pushing her to sit on that nice firm penis instead of licking it, but that would undoubtedly hurt Paul.

  She was just about to shift her attention to some other sensitive part of her lover, to make him last longer, when she was suddenly filled up from behind, and her lust exploded inside of her, causing her to cry out in surprise and elation.

  She knew it had to be Lukas, she now recognized his touch on her hips, as he plunged in and out of her with energy, but she also realized instantly that Paul would not have let anyone else surprise her that way.

  Coming in, he must have been unable to withstand the temptation of her view from behind, enticing him to plunge in, winking at Paul to keep him from giving away the surprise.

  It was hard to stay cool towards Paul with her own body sending her signals of extreme bliss, she wanted to pass them on to let Paul feel the exact same ecstasy, but that would end his enjoyment in seconds, when she could make him last for minutes.

  And she did manage to trick his senses into ever greater bliss without allowing him release, his face looking almost pained in extreme lust.

  Meanwhile, Lukas was stroking her breasts with heat, bending over her in the throes of his own ardour.

  She was the first to come, and her intense feeling at the release caused Paul's climax. Lukas didn't last much longer, and they fell on the bed laughing.

  Lukas said humbly: 'A long time ago I promised you I would never enter you without consent. I hope you don't mind my doing it now, it would have spoiled the surprise.'

  'And I caught his eye and encouraged him to do it,' Paul admitted, 'I saw him come in. You should have seen the look on his face when his eyes fell on that sight, our beloved friend looked positively greedy.'

  'I did, it looked so enticing, I couldn't resist.' Lukas was so incredibly cute and loveable when he was cheeky.

  Melissa looked straight at him and said: 'It was a wonderful surprise, I was nearly overcome with heat myself. You may forget that promise, I trust you totally to not do anything against my will or in unsuitable situations.'

  He moved over Paul's body, very carefully, and kissed her lovingly.

  'Did you have a good run?' Paul asked, 'I guessed you'd have had your share of loving by now.'

  'I had,' Lukas admitted, 'I had a swim with Aphrodite afterwards and we frolicked in the sea, very satisfying. But that view just blew me away.

  By the way, my father is back. He nearly came with me.'

  That had all three of them laughing until their sides hurt.

  After breakfast they packed their bags and teleported to the villa, installing themselves in their former room, ready to really enjoy their holiday.

  Ophius was not coming, since Hermes was going to be away from his palace for a few days, the trusted mage was needed there to keep things going.

  It reminded Paul of his promise to tell Hermes more about delegating, there must be many more dependable men and women among his staff who could run part of the operation, freeing Hermes for the duties only he could fulfil, and for his family.

  To Paul's surprise, Aphrodite had come with them, taking the room originally meant for Lukas, and Paul suspected Lukas would spend a lot of time there, knowing his friends were safe and sound in the next room.

  Aphrodite treated Paul with a gentle kindness that she showed no-one else, and he supposed she still felt sorry for him, for having been tormented right under her feet. Miraculously he didn't resent her kind attentions to him, they didn't make him feel weak, just, well, less expendable. Safe, actually. It was as if she really cared what happened to him.

  She saw him look at her and her expression changed instantly, to a kind of mildness, not pity or condescension, just kind attentiveness, and she came towards him and very slowly, very carefully laid a hand on his shoulder. With a certain detachment Paul noticed his body didn't flinch from her, apparently his subconscious deemed her safe.

  'I suppose you're wondering why I am staying with your party?' she asked, almost happily. Paul nodded, he would have thought a goddess had more important things to do.

  The hand on his shoulder now became an arm put around him familiarly, and she said: 'My father wants me to keep an eye on Lykos' people, see if they are indeed back to normal. And I'm glad to have that task, for I have two personal reasons to want to be with you as well.

  First of all I want you all to be safe and to enjoy the rest of your stay here, and secondly, I'm afraid I have a huge crush on Lykos and I want to be with

  him for as long as I can. It will make parting with him even harder, but I just cannot help myself, I want to be with him, teach him, talk to him, love him.'

  Her honesty stunned Paul, as well as her confession that she loved Lukas.

  Loved him as an equal partner, he was sure, not as a cute loveable boy to play with. Paul still wasn't entirely sure that Lukas would be returning to London with them, but if he did, Paul felt sorry for Aphrodite, for she would miss him indeed.

  Before he knew it he had reached out for her and embraced her, to offer her some support for her plight, and she felt free to hug him back. 'Thank you for caring,' she said softly, and he replied: 'I was going to say the same to you.'

  Soon after, they teleported themselves to Ephyra, where Hermes had established a semi-permanent circle in the basement of Katarina and Galan's house, until he could have a mosaic made. That required expert craftsmen, and even a god would have
to wait for them to have time available, and to have the materials shipped.

  The house was in great order, nothing untoward had happened in the night after the spell had been removed. With Galan, Katarina and Ophelie there to greet them, the kitchen was filling up as they sat down to have a drink and discuss the situation so far and plan their next actions.

  Yesterday, Hermes and Katarina had arranged for criers to spread the news that everyone had been spellbound and that the spell had been lifted.

  All the new laws had been made redundant, sharing love and enjoying free time, playing games, socializing, all were acceptable again.

  It appeared that some people had come out of being spellbound quite their former selves, whilst some were suffering from physical complaints like headaches and mental afflictions like confusion and depression.

  Expecting Lukas to come, Katarina had spread the news that Master Lykos and Master Hermes would be visiting people who were in trouble, and there were already some worried fathers, daughters and spouses waiting outside, to see if they could get help for a loved one.

  Katarina herself had changed her appearance, she was wearing a much shorter, much more revealing dress, which clearly showed her beautiful shape and her mottled skin. She seemed a lot happier, and Paul was certain she would share her love again soon.

  They agreed to spend the morning on work, and take the afternoon off to

  have some fun.

  Paul did not want to be confronted with a large crowd, he arranged with Galan to stay in the smithy and explore the use of magic within their craft. He also planned to help Galan improve his forge and maybe even explain tacking to him, though he was a bit afraid of the implications it would have for their own time.

  But in their own world the gods had never ruled ancient Greece, had they? This must be a parallel world, where tacking might never be invented.

  And though Galan's iron-work was of a very good quality, he might benefit so much from the modern knowledge of making steel. And if Paul could find a way to make pig-iron into steel on a really small scale instead of having to buy it from an industrial scale furnace, he would profit immensely himself, using a cheaper resource and getting a much more pure material to work with.

  Although he couldn't wait to start work, he did feel a bit uncomfortable with the idea that he was to stay behind with just one other person. Anyone who knew the spell to the teleport could use it to come into the house, and anyone could just walk in the door of the smithy, where the two of them would be concentrating to the exclusion of the outside world.

  That was not safe, but he felt ashamed to protest, he had always been certain that if he set a ward it would protect him, and he had always been able to defend himself, with a node or a ley-line close, in a city where few people even knew magic existed. But here and now he didn't have that confidence, there were gods and powerful mages here and his power was limited to his own.

  As it turned out, he didn't need to ask for protection, for Aphrodite did not plan to leave the house, explaining: 'I remember Melissa promising not to leave Paul, and I will not take even the slightest risk of something happening to them in their last seven-day here.'

  She suggested Hermes take his wife and Katarina take Lykos outside to review the complaints, and send some of them to her. She would review them with Melissa and treat them.

  It didn't take long for the first case to be brought before them. It was a mixed couple of a satyr woman and a human man, and they did not have physical problems, but their relationship was in trouble, as the woman explained: 'Since we have been freed, I have wanted to share love again, really badly, for it has been such a long time.

  But my Petros doesn't want to share, and he doesn't want me to share either. We quarrel a lot, and we used to be so much in love. Please help us, Mistress!'

  Petros meanwhile looked positively stubborn, and Melissa had a hard time believing this problem could be solved if one party was so pig-headed, but if anyone could, it should be Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

  The goddess started by laying a slender hand on one arm of each, an innocuous touch, which both nonetheless felt profoundly, worship in their eyes, and not a little bit of excitement.

  In a low-pitched voice, the goddess asked Petros: 'Please may we hear your side of the story, Petros?'

  The poor guy was totally overcome by Aphrodite's touch, but despite that he managed to speak: 'Mistress, I love Daphne with all my heart, I didn't mind not sharing love at all, she is the most beautiful creature in the world.

  But I did not like working all day and sleeping all night, and when we finally could have fun again, I wanted to enjoy it together first, instead of sharing those first precious moments with someone else.

  Of course I know sharing love is healthy, but I had gotten used to being together all the time, and I need to adapt to the old ways again.'

  He had totally conquered his awe of Aphrodite, his posture was proud, and he gazed at his wife with intense longing, pleading: 'Daphne, I love you so much, can we please spend some time together first, take moonlight walks, stroll through the harbour doing nothing useful at all, make love in the forest, let me get used to the new situation? And only then share with others?'

  What did Aphrodite do to that grumpy guy, he was positively eloquent, and his plea struck home, Daphne now mirrored his infatuated gaze and replied: 'Oh my love, Petros, I didn't know you felt so strongly, you're so sweet! Of course I'll enjoy our freedom with you first. Do you want to go to the forest right now?'

  Petros really hadn't exaggerated needing some time to adapt, for though his face lightened up in true happiness at her declaration of love, his expression became thoughtful afterwards and he replied: 'I have a few chores I need to do first.'

  But then realization struck, his face cleared and he exclaimed: 'No of course I don't, we're free! I'll do those chores when I feel like doing them.

  Aurio! Yes, please Daphne, let's go to the forest and celebrate!'

  And as they ran off hand in hand, Melissa saw a very soft expression on

  Aphrodite's face, reminding her of Lukas when he observed love being exchanged. At the door, the couple turned around and said: 'Thank you so much, Mistress Aphrodite, for helping us.'

  As their acquaintance had grown, having shared love with her, and observed her care for Paul, Melissa had started to appreciate Aphrodite a lot, but they were Lukas' friends, and caring for friends of family was quite common.

  Witnessing her restore a marriage without even saying a word Melissa realized the goddess did genuinely care for mortals, and these were not even her worshippers, they were Hermes'.

  Though that might change, Melissa thought, as they shared love between them the coming days, the power their love generated might very well be directed at the goddess of love, who helped them find each other again.

  The goddess did not comment on what had just happened, she merely sat in silence for a few moments, most likely savouring the love between the two who had just left.

  And then her mild expression softened even more, moments before Melissa felt a familiar hand on her shoulder. Wondering what Aphrodite's soft feelings towards Paul meant, Melissa looked up, and her heart skipped its familiar beat. So much love in just a look, how did he do it?

  What had she ever done to inspire it?

  Still careful of his face she returned his kiss, not feeling the slightest embarrassment towards Aphrodite to be kissing in her presence, knowing she'd enjoy the exchange of love as intensely as Lukas would.

  'You've been at the forge,' she said when they had broken off the kiss for lack of breath, 'you look happy and you smell so good. Did it hurt much?'

  Paul did look happy as he replied: 'Not yet, but I'll be stiff as a board tomorrow, it's just incredible how fast one loses muscle. Will you help me with something?'

  'Gladly, what would you have me do? Join you in a prayer to Lykos for more power?'

  Smiling at the image she presented him with, both of them kneeli
ng as if in a church, hands folded, Lukas looking down on them benignly, he commented: 'Why bother? If I need more power I'll just offer to kiss that ravishing damsel sitting opposite you, and get as much or more. I think I'll offer to kiss her anyway, though I don't really need more power yet. Iron is a less demanding mistress than gold.'

  Finishing his sentence Paul had moved towards Aphrodite, who looked so much like Lukas in her reaction to their jesting, flattered, and almost shy.

  They were so alike, so eager for love, those Greek gods. It was really best they leave soonish, before those powerful creatures started to realize Paul and Melissa Kenwick were on to them.

  Of course she accepted his offer and kissed him eagerly, feeling strangely privileged to be included in their intimacy, and to be given his trust after what had been done to him. Aphrodite wished she had been able to share love with him before he had been damaged, he had been so strong, such an indomitable will.

  His love was still strong, intense, it was just incredible that one person, a mortal at that, could love with such blinding strength. But it would never be hers, it was reserved for his divine lady and for Lykos, and to be honest, it was fitting they should have it.

  Melissa didn't show the slightest jealousy at seeing her husband kissing a goddess with relish. If anything, she seemed to find it rather enticing. It was admirable, to see someone from such a repressing culture as Lykos had described to her, sharing love with such generosity, but somehow it did make her love less powerful than Paul's.

  It was the exclusivity of his love that made it especially strong, and Aphrodite would keep that discovery in mind for the future. She had always encouraged sharing love, but maybe loving a bit more exclusively made it all the more powerful.

  Maybe she should discuss healing Paul's trauma with Lykos, maybe it was better for him to be strong again, maybe he needed a strong mind to keep that intense capacity to love from overwhelming him.