I'll need to tell her something tonight, before we retire for the night, but I have no clue what. The truth, but it would hurt her badly I fear.
What do I tell her, Paul?'
'What do you want to do, Lukas? Do you want to share love with her? Do you still love her?' Paul kept a tight hold on Lukas, feeling strongly for him.
'I don't love her anymore, and frankly I don't want to share with her. I resent what she did to me, but at the same time I realize she suffered too, for thirty years. Why would she ask?'
'Yes, why would anyone want to share love with the master?' Melissa said dryly. 'Maybe she finally realizes what she threw away. Can't you just do her?'
Both men stared at her in shock. She decided to raise the stakes even more: 'Maybe you'll sire a cute satyr baby on her. That'll teach your father to force a monogamous woman into sharing. Are you sure she wants this? She strikes me as truly dedicated to one person. Paul didn't want to share, why should she?'
Still speechless, the men were contemplating her rude remarks.
Lukas was the first to recover. 'You may be right. She doesn't even know it is perfectly reasonable to not want to share. Out here, it is a sickness. But my father should know that. Maybe he wants an excuse to share himself?'
Paul offered: 'Had you two eloped, you would probably have loved each other exclusively. And gotten a whole herd of little satyrs to fill that huge house.'
'So what you are saying is, that though we think it might be healthy for her to share, she might not be able to. But you did it, Paul.' Lukas was really thinking now, no longer reacting.
'I did it for propriety, but I never really liked it. It was more that I would have insulted people if I didn't, and that I felt I needed to try. I have no desire to ever share love again, though I would have no problem with indulging someone who really needed it.'
'You would?' asked Melissa, 'another woman? That is amazing, Paul, you're really cured. I'm so happy to hear that!'
Lukas could not but grin broadly, and as usual that got him hugs and kisses for looking cuter than could be resisted. Then he got serious again and observed: 'So she wants it to get closure, or try it to please her husband, or she really thinks it is healthy. In either case, there is no real reason not to indulge her.'
That statement got a retort from Melissa: 'But there is: you should not indulge her if it hurts you in any way. You clearly still feel badly about the whole situation, and you have a right to.
Why not discuss this with Aphrodite? She's the expert in matters of love.
Though she doesn't like you to share, that may colour her opinion.'
Lukas said: 'That is a good idea. I can easily detach feelings, you know, usually I only do it with feelings that were pushed on me, by healing before I got my godhood mostly, but I can decide to detach my hurt feelings towards Ophelie if I choose to. I am loathe to do that because those feelings make me human, but if they hurt either her or me further when we can find reconciliation, I shall not hesitate to let them go.
If you two don't mind, I was planning to spend the night with Aphrodite anyway, she wants to spend as much time with me as she still can before I leave, and it doesn't cost me much to indulge her. She's really much nicer than I expected, and she said she would make it worth my while.
That makes me curious of course, though if you want me to stay with you I will.'
Looking at each other, Paul and Melissa had a hard time not to burst out laughing, they knew what was waiting for Lukas tonight, and they most certainly didn't want him to miss out on that. Paul replied: 'No problem, I no longer feel anxious to stay alone with Melissa, I'll set a ward on the door and the window and if something shows up, we'll both be ready. You go indulge your lovely aunt.'
'Wait a minute, did you just say 'before I leave'? Does that mean you've decided to come with us?' The joy on Paul's face was a rare sight. He did not usually show such strong feelings.
Lukas beheld it with intense delight, and this time he did cry, big tears welling up and rolling over his cheeks.
'I have. What would you two do without me? Let the people here pray to my father, or talk to Ophelie, I need your love, and you need my expertise with children. Aphrodite also advised me to go, said I'd never find love like that again.
In an excellent mood from their intimacy and a thorough reality check on pregnancy and children, they dressed and went outside, to sit on the terrace and drink some wine.
Lukas told Aphrodite: 'I've managed to set some of Melissa's fears to rights. She has agreed to come with me tomorrow to see some satyr babies, she wants to know what I looked like as a baby.'
The goddess looked truly happy with this news, she said: 'You'll love
having a baby, Melissa. And Lykos is such a great father. I'll even come over and be your midwife, I've delivered more than a few babies. Hermes and I have been talking of a direct portal to your world anyway. Maybe you can help us work out the, what did you call it, physics, that is your job, isn't it?'
Flattered with Aphrodite's remembering the nature of her work, she almost forgot how the goddess had spoken of her with a baby in the future tense, as if it were already set to happen.
Well, in a way it was set she would have children, it was a logical conclusion to making love after all, it would happen someday, only the exact moment was still unclear.
Still, Melissa would keep a suspicious ear on what else the goddess said with regards to pregnancies and babies the coming days.
As Lukas had announced, he stayed his nights with Aphrodite as long as they slept at the villa. Paul did indeed set a ward, but excluded Lukas from it, just in case he might want to sleep with them after all.
The next three days they spent in a similar fashion, working in the mornings, playing in the afternoon, except Melissa and Aphrodite went with Lukas from now on, and Paul stayed in the smithy with Galan, and they set a ward if they wanted to concentrate on their work.
Hermes and Ophelie went out in the afternoons as well, visiting other villages, not by ship or by horse, Melissa suggested Hermes might take his slim wife along as he had carried her, and Ophelie loved being just with the two of them.
Melissa and Paul had asked Lukas what he had decided with regards to sharing love with her, and he had not shown any hurt. Aphrodite had promised to ask her whether she really wanted to share, or was just trying to fit in. If she really wanted to, Lukas would indulge her. He had detached himself from his sad memories on Aphrodite's advice. She said negative feelings had no place in his life, they would infect his patients.
He was obviously more at ease being around his step-mother, showing her real attention and trying to make her feel more comfortable.
Paul was very secretive about his exploits in the smithy, and Galan didn't say a word either. They were having some success, that much was clear, they were very smug. Every morning, Paul would let himself fall out of bed, do stretches, then swim for a quarter of an hour, supposedly to work out his muscle aches.
His wounds healed and his bruises faded, covered by a beautiful dark tan as well, whilst his hair lightened to almost blonde. He loved to play with the dolphins, who still guarded their villa from the sea-side, and came by to play every afternoon. Somehow they seemed to know when their human friends wanted to make love first, they never interrupted anything. With their help, Melissa's swimming improved manifold.
On the first day after their talk about babies, Lukas had taken Paul along as well for an hour or so, and they had seen and held a really tiny satyr baby.
He was even cuter than Melissa expected, with tiny hands, tiny hoofs and just two slight bumps on his head where his horns would break through after a few months. The mother was very proud of her beautiful son, and wasn't even too worried to let two complete strangers hold him whilst she talked to Master Lykos.
Seeing his beloved with a baby gave Paul a very weird feeling inside, and suddenly he understood Lukas a lot better. There was a place for one of those creatures in their home, e
ven now. And in Melissa it did shake something loose, at first just a huge sadness that a gorgeous, innocent creature like this would be shunned in her own world.
But when they had moved on to other people, and other cases, she found her fear of babies in general greatly lessened. She could love them, even if they had ordinary feet and smooth heads.
Chapter 18
Although she had spent most of her mornings and all of her afternoons with Lukas, they hadn't made love for two days, and she missed him enormously. She got plenty of love from Paul, his shape improved quickly, and he especially liked to frolic in the little bay, but she missed the intimacy with her goat-man.
On the third morning she made love to Paul, and he noticed something was not right. 'You miss Lukas, don't you? I do too. To think I used to be jealous of him, now I wish he'd join us. Let's ask him to make some time for us, before lunch. Agree?'
She nodded, feeling much better. Why hadn't they asked before?
And an hour before lunch they teleported themselves to the villa, running, not to the beach, but to their bed, losing clothes as soon as they were inside, not that they were wearing much, Ephyra was back to normal, and both Lukas and Melissa had adapted to the local fashion.
Paul was wearing trousers, and his leather apron, forging without covering up first was asking for burns all over.
Three naked bodies on the bed, how they had all missed this. They started exploring, and Lukas found Paul back to his usual state of solidly packed muscle, and his scent of smoke and sweat, a heady combination.
Feeling up Lukas, Paul found him getting positively smooth, muscle softening up, but it didn't feel at all bad, nice and soft, and did he have a little tummy, from all the nice cheese and the wine people kept pressing on him?
Paul teased him a bit, but not too much, he had missed him and wanted to make the most of being together.
Lukas thrived under their attention, and when he really looked at Melissa again he seriously wondered how he had lived two whole days without stroking her breasts, and worshipping her creamy curves.
Although Lukas was dying to make Melissa shudder under his hands and tongue, he had picked up this new trick from Aphrodite, and he really wanted to share it with Paul, he'd just die of bliss, he nearly had himself.
And when Paul busied himself with his adoring wife, Lukas waited until Paul was fully occupied, so to speak, and got hold of his manly parts, now well on their way to a full recovery.
Of course Paul thought he knew what was coming, but he was in for a surprise. Lukas would not be the master of love if he hadn't thought of an improvement already, and within seconds his poor friend was rendered totally helpless with fervour.
Melissa looked on with an amused expression, deciding to keep watching instead of finding something else to do. Giving Paul just a few minutes of total bliss, Lukas allowed him a little more time to enjoy their lovemaking by moving his attentions to Melissa. After a short rest, Paul managed to pull himself together, and tried the same trick on Lukas, who was less excitable, but still felt its effect.
He paused a second to say, groaning: 'Oh, I knew that would be even better, how did you know how to do that? Did she?' 'She did, the day after I was taken, when she and Melissa shared love. Everything hurt, but she made me forget it all. We promised not to tell you. But your version is even better.'
And Paul continued until Lukas started to move along in a serious way, and Paul thought he'd like to thrust. But Lukas said: 'The lady is all yours, my aunt has taught me how to refrain from thrusting once in a while, or at least wait until the very last.'
'Did she also teach you to talk so much?' Melissa commented, 'get on with it, I don't care who!' Laughing, Paul bent over his lady and gave her what she wanted so badly, and she shuddered for his thrusting as nicely as for Lukas'.
The latter was summoned to the lady, for she wanted something in her mouth by now, and Lukas who had been taught to enjoy being loved, was something she wanted to experience for herself.
And indeed, he managed to sit still, and she knew that bloody trick as well, but she honoured the old ones, too, keeping him in a constant state of bliss. And when Paul had climaxed and crashed, as he usually did, Lukas saw his chance to get some thrusting in after all.
He was on top of Melissa in a second, plunging in with a relish, kissing Paul first and Melissa next,
feeling over the moon to be back where he belonged, with the people he loved best.
Paul found he could watch easily, totally spent, enjoying the sight of Lukas indulging himself, and Melissa arching in delight. She had missed him
so much.
They slept for an hour, then played with the dolphins and went back for lunch. After lunch Paul and Galan showed them what they had been working on, a lovely new forge, much more efficient and built according to Victorian standards. And steel swords, a pair of blades of a quality that was clearly unmatched, even in Victorian England, Melissa guessed, plus two matching knives, edges glittering in the shafts of sun falling in.
They were both so proud they gleamed.
'And this afternoon I want to defy paradox once more, teaching Galan and anyone else interested how to tack sails. I've prepared sketches, and we're off to the harbour immediately. Galan's captain friend is there at this very moment, waiting for us.'
Melissa was of two minds about it, she knew Paul was certain this world was not really the past of their own, so meddling here did not affect their own future. Hermes and Aphrodite agreed, but Melissa thought it was still wrong to have such a large impact on a different world. But Lukas might yet have a profound influence on their world, so maybe it would all even out somehow.
The whole party went, except Hermes and Ophelie, who were going out to visit remote villages again. They would be back for dinner at the villa, which the rest would bring with them from Ephyra. Galan and Katarina were not coming, having started to get more involved with the local people, both sharing love regularly now, enjoying their new role in the village, and their ability to really relate to their neighbours.
Galan's friend's boat was a small affair, wooden hull painted bright blue with a pair of staring eyes painted on the bow. It had a single mast, and an ungainly square sail. Paul was glad he had his drawings, it would take some adjustments to make this boat ready for real sailing.
The captain was less traditional than most seamen, he listened seriously to Paul's explanation, and Galan was eager to help him adapt the boat to become a ship. It would take time to put the theory into practice, but captain Urian understood the essence of the process, and saw its significance. He would certainly master it and become famous for it, and hopefully wealthy.
Being the only captain able to sail a ship, however small, against the prevailing winds would be invaluable.
They spent the rest of the afternoon in the village, buying food for their feast tonight, shopping for souvenirs. Their time here was nearly up, there
were just two days left until they were planning to return to London, and Lukas' planned attendance of Dionysus' judgement threw a large shadow over their remaining time here.
At their return to Katarina and Galan's house, they said their goodbyes, not knowing if they'd meet again. Lukas and Katarina kept up their spirits relatively well, somehow neither of them could believe he would never return here. That would largely depend on how things ended with Dionysus.
After saying their goodbyes they stepped into the circle and teleported to the villa. They stored the foodstuffs in the kitchen, where they would stay cool, and hung out on the terrace until Hermes and Ophelie would return.
Aphrodite was a little down, too, not because she feared her father or Dionysus of course, but because she hated the thought of Lykos leaving her.
Lukas asked: 'Will your father have interrogated Dionysus, is he in for severe punishment, or will he just be admonished for stealing me away and released? I was after all still a mortal when he had me taken.'
Looking thoughtful at how t
o explain, Aphrodite replied: 'Our father would not think much of Dionysus abducting you, though Hermes said our father seemed pleased to see you. But he spelled someone else's worshippers into insurgence, and that is forbidden.
Letting one underling disappear doesn't matter much, unless father counts you as being a god already, which he might, since you're his grandchild and Dionysus is not related to him.
But interfering with a whole people to a personal end is against our strictest rules. If he does not come up with a very good reason he may lose his freedom, his life or several essential body-parts. Father's wife Hera really hates Dionysus for some unknown reason, she'll try to get him punished as severely as possible.
But to answer your question, father will have incarcerated him somewhere safe and sturdy, and left him to his own devices, priming him to be as forthright as possible. Dionysus is not strong, he'll talk.'
The look in Aphrodite's eyes was positively scary. Paul dared to observe:
'You are really angry at him, aren't you?'
She still had a soft spot for him, for her expression changed instantly, and she said: 'I am, very much so. He had me mad as soon as I realized he had used me against my own brother. But then I got to know Lykos and learned what he had done to him, and I saw with my own eyes what he did to you and to his own niece, I hold him at least partially responsible to what happened to
her as well. I want a piece of him, and you'll all better be miles away when I get it, for it will not be pretty. He'll live of course, but it will take years to grow back, and hurt like hell.'
Paul had really changed, for he held out his arms and said: 'Let me give you some love to calm you down.' She seemed strangely glad to get attention from him, and joined him eagerly.
'I want a piece of him too, though Hailee told me he was not entirely to blame. She said someone put him up to it. If so, there may be trouble. Can I take the gun, Paul? I'm taking George and Tristan's device anyway, we'll just have to make a clear arrangement what to do if something goes awry. Are you sure you can handle yourself, Aphrodite?'
Past Lives Page 30
