The Forge King (The Dark Kings Book 6)

by Jovee Winters

  I could no longer seem to focus on Zeus’s armory. It seemed that now whenever I sat, it was her that came out of me. And I remembered keenly how she’d looked when she’d seen that other me fashion a ballerina. She’d been enthralled, enamored by that puerile creation. And I wanted to see that same look of wonderment in her eyes again.

  I should leave the silly thing here. With a roll of my eyes and thinking myself every kind of fool, I picked up that bloody thing and tucked it carefully into my pocket.

  I was acting like a damned magpie, and I knew it.

  Even so, when I got there, I did as I’d done the day before and gently placed that tiny, fully moveable bird onto her seat.

  Then I turned, and I waited for the inevitable.

  And I was not disappointed when no less than five minutes later, the glittering throng appeared. All of them looking shocked, some of them even looking pleasantly surprised when they caught sight of me. It was funny how when the most beautiful among them finally took note of the troll, suddenly, the troll wasn’t quite as revolting as it had once been.

  Which caused me to glower and feel even more like a penguin in this fucking suit. Why had I done this? Worn this stupid thing?

  She knew who I was. Who she’d married.

  Or had I been different with her then? I think maybe I had.

  And when she finally appeared and finally took note of me and her eyes blazed like my flames, I felt something other than sick dread. There was heat in her eyes and a ghost of something upon her lips.

  She did not nod at me or acknowledge me in any other way. But when she picked up the bird, she held it as carefully as I had. And I saw a true smile steal over her face as she cranked the key and the little bird began to glide gracefully around her head.

  She stared up at it in awe, eyes shining, and laughing with true joy.

  And when the goddess of love laughed, everything stopped. All eyes were on her. Because there was no other place they could be. She enraptured us all, as she’d always done.

  With a happy little sigh, she grabbed the bird from the air, brought it close to her breast, and patted it softly.

  My soul trembled within me.

  Themis stepped forward and cleared her throat. “And so the trial resumes.”

  The colors shifted. The air smelled of ambrosia and heaven. And I hoped, with every ounce of my heart, that I could make her love me again. Then I looked and was lost in the beauty of Aphrodite’s mind.

  Aphrodite’s memory (B.T.C.)

  * * *

  I ran from him, lungs heaving for oxygen as he gave chase, rumbling that terrible beastly rumble of his.

  “Give that back to me, female, or I’ll make you rue the day!” he threatened.

  But he was always threatening me. And really, I did love it when he got so… so beastly.

  “Never!” I cried joyously and ran harder. Pushed faster. But I knew it was only a matter of time before he tackled me to the forest floor. His false legs were longer than mine, and for such a big male, he was unbelievably fast.

  And just as I knew he would, he finally pushed me to the ground. But I did not land upon the bed of flowers. He’d rolled us together mid-fall so that he bore the brunt of it.

  My heart beat fast as I gazed down upon his severe and gorgeous face. My arms and legs sprawled out on top of him. It was all I could do to keep still. But I felt mesmerized by the lightning in his dark eyes, enthralled by the sheer size of him, feeling so small by comparison.

  I swallowed hard and froze when I felt him move. Saw his hand start to glide my way, toward the hank of hair that’d fallen over my right eye. Would he touch me now? Finally?

  He always kept himself so tightly in check around me, rarely touching me, and only accidentally, if ever lately. I’d never kissed him again, because he constantly reminded me that friends did not kiss friends.

  Not like that. Not as I would when I kissed one of my thousands of lovers. How could he continue to resist me?

  Ares had, but Ares had also eventually given in to me. And while I loved Ares’ arms even now, and the wiry strength of him, I had to admit that I wanted more. I wanted the forbidden fruit.

  Then again, I always had. And I feared that once I finally got it, I’d lose Hephy. Because once I tasted the fruit, I usually always found it lacking and unable to live up to the fantasy in my head. Only Ares had kept my attention as many years as he had. We’d been together half a century now. Not exclusive, of course. But I could never do that. And neither could he. We had needs. We met them. But those were only physical. Emotionally, Ares and I had forged our own bond, unique to us. But it worked.

  Hephaestus grinned shyly and tucked his hand back down, and I swore my body tingled all over. Could he be the one to live up to the fantasy? I smiled back down at him just as shyly. The male was starting to get far better looking every day, for some strange reason. I didn’t remember him being quite so stunningly handsome before, but then I could never really recall a time when I hadn’t found him absolutely mesmerizing, either.

  He snatched his breechcloth from my hand and grumbled good-naturedly. “You were not supposed to watch me bathe, young Dite. And you were especially not to steal my clothes while you did it.”

  He pinched the tip of my nose oh so delicately between his big fingers and rolled his eyes before slowly easing out from under me. Gods, he was so soft to lie upon, as hard as he was. It was most annoying. But he’d touched me. Willingly. And though it had felt more like the affections of a brother than a lover, my entire body felt enflamed. It was hard to breathe right.

  I smirked, completely unrepentant. “Well, how else am I to finally catch a glimpse of your legs?”

  His face became impassive and unreadable then. And my pulse was pounding so hard I could literally hear it echoing in my ears.

  I scooted to my knees, watching as he quickly tied the ends of his loincloth together. It wasn’t my first time catching Hephaestus naked, nor would it be my last, but I could say this… the male was hung like a horse.

  Though that was only partly why I liked to watch him bathe. I’d seen Ares so many times I couldn’t even count them now. And he was beautiful and severe and sharp and all those things.

  But…

  It was odd, but I found myself always thinking about Hephy’s body now. And the other day I’d even touched myself and in the privacy of my room had whispered his name. I’d come so hard I’d seen stars for hours.

  And I’d been scared. Because that had been the first time I’d ever done that with him on my mind, but I knew it wouldn’t be the last. I enjoyed the bodies of most everyone. But I was growing more and more obsessed with one in particular.

  But as shocking as it was to imagine, Hephaestus did not want me. Further cementing the idea in my head that he truly was a eunuch. He’d never even gotten an arousal around me, and that was just impossible. So he either preferred the male body, or… nothing at all. And considering I’d never caught him with a male in his lair, I highly doubted that.

  “I’ve told you before, young Dite, it’s not nice to tease.”

  I frowned. “Why do you always call me young Dite? I’m not younger than you.”

  He snickered and started to walk back toward the mouth of his forge. “You certainly act it. Hermes might have mentioned something about grog and a writhing mass of hard flesh, so tell me, Dites, how many this time?” His eyes sparkled, and I knew he teased me.

  I was very open about my sexual escapades, mainly because I had nothing to be ashamed about, but also because I was trying damned hard to figure him out. Just what did make him tick? I’d once told him that he and I weren’t about sex, but the truth was he was a puzzle I was desperate to figure out.

  And so far, my search into just what did make him tick had unearthed absolutely nothing. I’d thought machine, and yet I’d never found a life-size model hidden anywhere in his lair, and there was only so much a man of his size and girth could have done with something as tiny as that ball
erina.

  I quickened my pace to catch him and shrugged. “Only three this time.”

  “Oh ho, only three.” He snickered and shoulder bumped me. “Must be losing your charm, goddess. What happened to the twenty of previous nights?”

  I frowned. “Well, they don’t seem to satisfy me much anymore. Truthfully, not even the three last night did, either.” I rolled my eyes, entirely put out.

  It was impossible to believe, but I wasn’t really enjoying the sex much anymore. And it had to be that I was bored. After all, I’d tried almost everything. But no matter how much I pushed the envelope, I always seemed to walk away from every encounter now thoroughly irritated and unsatisfied. Which for a goddess of lust was tantamount to a death sentence. It wasn’t that I didn’t have orgasms, I did, which should mean I was enjoying myself. But the release was only physical, emotionally I felt completely stunted and that was bothersome.

  “Dear me, scandalous.”

  “I know,” I grumped back and kicked at a rock with my naked toe. Though I was not unclothed.

  Hephaestus had forbidden me to come naked to him now or ever. It was unfathomable that he continued to reject me like that. Not even Apollo, who preferred men near exclusively, would pass up a chance to bed me.

  It wounded the pride, it did. But Hephy was so ridiculously sweet that it was hard to bear a grudge long.

  “So,” I drawled, “what did you do this weekend?”

  “Same.” He said, lowering his head as he entered his smithy and moved toward his forge.

  That was his true love. I glared at the thing. If it were a woman, I’d kill it. I swore I would.

  “Oh, so you bedded three nymphs? Do tell… did they make you tingle? Sing? Cry out their names in exultation?” I giggled, but deep down, really deep down, I was really hoping he’d deny it.

  If he said yes, I was pretty sure I might kill something. I held my breath.

  “Dite. Please.” He snorted and turned toward his favored anvil, as though I were absolutely ridiculous.

  And I wasn’t ridiculous. Furthermore, he still hadn’t answered my question, and now I was really starting to worry that maybe he had found someone. Since when had Hephy kept secrets from me?

  He picked up his mighty hammer and began to work as he always did. And just as I always did, I took up my seat on my oh so comfortable throne he’d built for me ages ago. The fabric was worn in spots. He always said he was going to change it, but I refused to let him. It fit me just right now. And it was mine. And I did not like change. Well, not in fabric, anyway—I rather preferred change when it came to my bedmates lately though. Apart from Ares, I was rolling through my partners, but even Ares and I weren’t lying together near as often as we’d once been. And not for his lack of trying, I just… I don’t know, something wasn’t feeling quite right anymore.

  I kicked out one leg, rolling up my skirt to my knees. That was the demarcation line. I could go no higher, or I was immediately and unceremoniously tossed out on my beautiful ass. My Hephy was an unyielding sort of man.

  I sighed. And he flinched, but he did not stop. Again that hammer came down with a blow that rolled like thunder.

  I loved to watch him work. Usually, it brought me peace and clarity of mind, but I wasn’t sure what was going on with me today. I felt moody and restless. Maybe because Ares hadn’t taken me out on a date in a while, we used to have such fun on our romps.

  But then again, he had asked about a month ago, and I’d turned him down flat. I really just hadn’t felt like it. Which had bothered him, I could tell, which should have bothered me a lot more than it had.

  I sighed again.

  And this time when Hephaestus flinched, he turned to look back at me. His hair was in his eyes, and he shoved it away, as he always did. He was wearing that messy man bun of his, but his hair was just so long. He really needed to be groomed.

  Speaking of grooming, his body wasn’t the only thing needing cleaning. When was the last time my Hephy had cleaned? I stared all around the cave he called home sweet home. There was literally soot everywhere. The only place there wasn’t was my throne, and that was likely due to the fact that I’d complained about the dark stain on my gorgeous bum the one and only time he’d not cleaned it off for me. My beautiful teal gown had been ruined forever. There was no getting that kind of soot off fabric. Ever since, he’d always managed to keep it clean for me.

  My heart flipped at his sweet act that I was sure he believed went unnoticed, though it certainly did not.

  But truly, the male needed a female’s hand. The place was a mess. And he was wearing that same dirty loincloth as always. Honestly. I blew out a harsh breath.

  He lifted a dark brow and sighed deeply. “What do you want, Dites? Just spit out.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Who said I want anything? Keep working. You know I never pester you. Go on, shoo.” I motioned at him.

  He snorted, shook his head, and turned back around. I watched him swing that hammer several more times before I sighed once more.

  “Gods save me,” he growled and twirled and pointed at me with that damned hammer of his he loved more than me, I was sure. “What? And if you say nothing, I swear by Zeus’s bolts that I’ll toss you out of here.”

  My jaw dropped, and I harrumphed. Though I wasn’t angry, and I knew he wasn’t either because lightning sparked in his eyes.

  “You’d just love to see my gorgeous ass, wouldn’t you?”

  Please, say yes. Just once, spare me my dignity, Hephy.

  His nostrils flared, and for a second, a mere moment of time, something other than affectionate annoyance gripped him. There was a tightening of his jaw that told me he was feeling. Feeling deeply. The way his fingers suddenly clenched, all of it told me I’d struck a nerve. And I was sitting on the edge of my seat, feeling like a string that’d been tuned too tight and was seconds away from snapping, desperate to hear him say it.

  My body felt full, and I tingled all over. Gods, he was truly a magnificent beast. My tongue was full of words, words I was afraid to put into being, to even speak, because not once had he ever given me a hint or even a reason to believe that he felt even a tenth of what I did.

  I wasn’t even sure what I felt, only that his was the only place I ever felt was truly home to me.

  But then he smirked and pointed at the entrance. “Go. Now.”

  I gasped, clutching at my breast, ready to have the mother of all freak-outs, because godsdammit, he was denying me. Again! Panic was settling in like a coiled snake ready to strike.

  I shook my head. “You’d really toss me out? And just what in the hell was my offense this time?”

  I wasn’t leaving. Not this time. He’d have to physically haul me off before I did. I wanted to be here. With him. And he could just deal with it.

  “You sigh too much. It’s annoying.” There was a twinkle in his eyes.

  The relief that flooded through my body felt like a tsunami, and with that relief, I giggled. But this giggle wasn’t ladylike or even all that pretty. I snorted when I did it. And it was his turn to drop his jaw. His eyes grew wide, and the lightning danced.

  “Holy hell, did you just… snort?”

  “I did not!” I stood up straight, pointing an imperious finger at him. “Take it back.”

  “Aphrodite, goddess of lust and wet dreams, just snorted like a cute little pig. Have I died?” He started laughing. Laughing so hard that rain fell in his eyes.

  And all my bluster was gone. Poof. Vanished like a puff of smoke as I watched the most serious man I’d ever known devolve into a fit of laughter that made my soul feel as if it soared right out of me.

  I clutched at my breast. I loved when he did that.

  I’d thought him savagely handsome just minutes ago. But it was an entirely different thing to see him this way, and I knew it was special because Hephaestus so rarely was free like this. Open and so relaxed. And then he was snorting with laughter, and oh dear gods, I couldn’t help myself. I started s
nuffle snorting right back.

  And before I knew it, I was the one with tears rolling down my face. “You look like a braying ass…” I teased, breathless with laughter and stomach hurting so, so badly.

  “Yes, well… at least I don’t sound like one!” And he laughed even harder.

  And he was so right. I did sound like a braying ass. I couldn’t stop. “Oh gods.” I pinched my side, breathing shallowly through my mouth. “It hurts. It hurts so badly.”

  “Mm.” He nodded, gripping onto his own side.

  And we smiled at one another, looking foolish and silly just standing there, just looking at each other.

  “It does hurt,” he finally said, “and yet I’m not sure I’ve ever done anything so fun in all my life. Thank you for that, little ass.”

  I snorted indelicately. “Little ass. Of all the pet names I’ve ever been given, I do believe that’s the absolute worst one. You’re a beast, Hephaestus, and I do not like you.”

  The smile vanished from his handsome face instantly, transforming him back into the severe beast of a man that was coming to mean so very much to me.

  “You do like me,” he said softly. “Friends do not lie, little ass.”

  And this time when he called me so, my heart warmed, and I nodded. “You’re right, beast. I do like you.”

  He nodded, and a small smile had fixed itself to his face, and I was stupidly proud of myself for placing it there.

  “Hephy,” I whispered.

  He blinked, taking one small step toward me. “Yes?”

  “Would… would you consider it an impertinence if I asked to groom you?”

  He looked taken aback by my question, as though it was the last thing he’d expected to come from me.

  Lifting his arms, he stared at his finely honed body, and my goddess, my nipples tingled. He was such a fine, fine specimen of man. I almost sighed. But then I remembered he now didn’t like that either.

  “Am I offensive to you, little ass?”

  I giggled, hating that silly name and suddenly quite taken by it too. What a strange creature I’d become lately.