by Laura DeLuca
The thought filled her with an unexpected joy and an even deeper longing. Tara found herself reaching for his hand. She was surprised when his emerald eyes seemed sad. He turned his back to her, and she was amazed when she could feel and understand his words without the ability to read his moving lips or hands. She felt the melancholy in his tones as surely as she felt the earth shudder under her feet.
“There is something else you must know…that you must remember before we can move on.”
Now that was the sort of statement that made Tara nervous. But she wasn’t about to back down from what she wanted. She already knew he was a god. How many other deep, dark secrets could he be hiding? She took hold of his arm and urged him to turn around, forcing the deity to meet her steady but gentle gaze.
“Tell me.”
He paused and took a deep, seemingly painful breath. “When last we met…you died here in my arms.”
Instantly, Tara’s hand slid away from his arm. Her world started to spin again, but this time it was caused by the memories that assaulted her subconscious—memories so old it was strange to think of them as her past at all. She saw a woman and recognized her instantly. It was her and yet it wasn’t. Wisdom from deep within her old soul told her it was who she had once been—in another life and another time.
The woman was beautiful—with long black hair and a brilliant smile. But her simple joy vanished when Taranis, the God of Thunder, appeared before her. Attraction and what should have been instant love was thwarted as soon as he spoke to her. Tara shared Calista’s pain as that thundering voice ruptured something fragile inside her mortal shell. Unable to bare the agony, Tara fell to her knees and wept.
“My love!” Taran was instantly at her side, cradling her, and sobbing right along with her. “Please, Tara, please tell me I haven’t hurt you again. Knowing I did you harm was a fate far worse than mortal death.”
The horrid pain faded quickly, even though the memory and the understanding remained. She grieved for the life she’d lost, but she didn’t blame Taran. She knew he hadn’t intended to harm her, and a better understanding told her that everything happened as it was meant to be. They both had lessons they needed to learn. Suddenly Tara found that she was the one doing the comforting. It pained her to see him so consumed with grief and regrets.
“I wasn’t ready then,” Tara told him. “But I am now. I chose to be born into this body with its imperfections for a reason. I chose to be deaf because my soul knew it was the only way we would be able to be together.”
“You don’t hate me?” Taran raised eyes wet with tears that shone like diamonds against his golden skin. “And you are not afraid?”
“How could I fear the other half of my soul?”
There was no more need for words. Taran pressed his mouth against hers. Unable to contain her desire another moment, Tara pulled the God of Thunder into the thick, damp grass beside her.
* * *
Taranis was a god who was capable of making almost anything a reality. Only love had eluded him, and he found it hard to believe his greatest desire was about to be realized. He was finally going to make love to the woman he had yearned for after countless centuries. He would have thought it a dream if not for the fact that gods did not sleep.
Tara was demanding in her embrace, but Taranis wanted to take it slowly. He needed to cherish every inch of her body and savor each sweet kiss, despite the urgent need they both felt. Not that it was an easy feat. Tara was as wild in her lovemaking as she was in everything else she did. She tore open his dress shirt, sending the buttons bouncing off rocks and skipping into the nearby stream. She kissed and nibbled his chest, pulling the skin gently with her teeth. Just that simple yet provocative touch made his manhood rise to attention.
Taranis undressed her with more tenderness, a part of him still fearing he might harm her. He yanked her black T-shirt over her shoulders and dropped it into the grass. His fingers explored her shoulders, and he was excited to see his touch caused goose bumps to rise on her arms. While he undressed her, he studied the beautiful tattoos that decorated her flesh—flesh that was surprisingly pale considering her Latino heritage. He studied her ink as he unsnapped the back of her black lacy bra and admired the taunt breasts whose nipples stood as erect as his own steadfast organ. Right above her left breast was a tattoo of a black butterfly with wings that looked like lace. Taranis couldn’t resist lowering his lips to kiss the image, then worked his way down until the whole of her bosom was in his mouth. She arched her back and let out a small moan, demanding more. Taranis was ripe with yearning and ready to comply.
With the freedom of his unchained passion, Taranis was no longer able to maintain his mortal guise. He knew his skin shone with a golden tint just as his flesh burned with an immortal fire. Tara didn’t shy away from that heat but embraced it wholeheartedly. She helped remove his khaki pants before shimmying out of her jeans, her motions almost frantic in their haste. The black lace thong she revealed seemed to match the elegant butterfly tattoo perfectly. As she slipped from that last remaining item of clothing, Taranis also noticed one final image stamped upon her firm buttocks. It was a masculine hand gripping a thunder bolt. The image made him smile, because it was just another sign that they had always been fated to be together.
Now bare and naked against the lush grass, there were no more barriers, physical or emotional, to stop their union. They both reached their hands out at the same time. She stroked the thick trunk of his manhood that rivaled the girth of the nearby tree branches, while he used his fingers to explore the warm folds of her nether region. Unable to resist such sweet temptation, he lifted those same fingers to lick them, savoring his first sweet taste of her. It was like giving a starving man a crumb. He had to have his fill after that first morsel of intoxicating fruit.
Taranis pressed his lips against hers one last time, enjoying the feel of their tongues moving in their timeless dance. He was only able to let her go because of the promise that his mouth had something even more thrilling awaiting it. He kissed her one last time before making the slow descent to her honeyed grotto. He paused along the way to cup each perfect breast. He tickled her firm, flat belly with his tongue before finally arriving at her clean-shaven mound. He teased her again with his fingers, making her cry out in ecstasy and expectation. Her hands ran along his hair, gently at first, but as her desire grew more intense and demanding, she clutched a handful of his strands so tightly it might have been painful if he weren’t a god and immune to human frailties. For Taranis, the sensation was only seductive. He wanted to make her scream with uninhibited passion. He wanted to show her erotic pleasure unlike anything she had ever experienced in this life or any other.
When his tongue at last found her clitoris, he released the barest whisper of a hum. The vibration of his voice had her instantly clawing the earth in an explosive orgasm mere seconds after he had begun. Tara arched her back and screamed his name while her body nearly convulsed in unabashed desire. Her sweet juices rushed into his mouth, and he lapped it greedily.
“Oh God! Taran!”
The sound of her cries only spurred him forward. He hardly allowed her time to recover from the first peak before repeating the process. The sounds of her moans were like notes of music as he worked to escalate her to even greater heights of passion. After her second and even more intense climax, Tara finally insisted that he pause, but only so she could get a taste of her own. Her heart-shaped lips embraced his engorged organ, and Taranis felt his eyes roll as her touch consumed all his senses. He had taken many women in his time, both mortal and divine, but none had satisfied him with such intensity. As she sucked, her hands fondled his soft pouch, and now he was the one who cried out as his seed burst forth into her waiting mouth. She swallowed every drop as though it were ambrosia.
Taranis was grateful that his godhood allowed him to recover quickly after his release, because Tara was insatiable. Before she had even wiped the saliva from her chin she was ready for round two
. She lay back in the grass and opened her legs to welcome his throbbing shaft into her moist folds. Her obvious desire made it easy for him to slip inside her, but once enfolded, her muscles tightened and contracted against his manhood in ways he had never experienced in all his millennia. Her body embraced him in every way possible as he thrust into her again and again with reckless abandon. With each plunge, her cries echoed across the empty clearing. Her nails raked across his back and would have drawn blood had he been a mere mortal. He wondered how any human man could ever be her equal. When again they reached a simultaneous peak, she still didn’t have her full, but climbed atop his chest and rode astride him until they shared one final heart-pounding climax. Taranis could not contain the cry of ecstasy that demanded release. His voice had the trees around them quivering for miles into the distance.
Finally exhausted, Tara collapsed against his bare chest. They sat there for a while, quietly studying and exploring every sinew and curve of one another’s bodies, until finally, she fell asleep in his arms. Taranis sighed in satisfaction as above them the sun slid below the horizon. He watched the gentle rise and fall of her chest. He was tempted to wake her and say the words. The one phrase the other gods made part of the test he must complete to win his reward. Should she return his love willingly, he would finally be free of the bonds of immortality and the endless grief it had brought him. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Taranis brushed a loose strand of hair behind Tara’s ear, serenity giving way to melancholy. Before she was born into this life, Tara had made a difficult sacrifice to be with him. It was a gift that he would never have requested, but it was a situation he would happily remedy, even if it shattered his immortal heart to do so.
* * *
Tara awoke cradled in the arms of the God of Thunder, secure and filled with contentment. When she opened her eyes, she found him staring down at her, stroking her hair. Feeling happy and rested, Tara stretched her arms as she admired the half-moon that graced the night sky. It was surrounded by stars that seemed ten times brighter without city lights and smog to tarnish their beauty. She wondered if it was dark in San Francisco as well. She had completely lost all concept of time since their arrival in the glen.
“That was amazing,” Tara admitted through a sleepy yawn. “I never experienced anything like it before.”
Taran nodded but seemed distracted. He wore a sad half-smile that she didn’t understand after the rapture of what they had just shared. His words didn’t seem to match his expression.
“It was the most magical night of my life.”
Despite his sad eyes, Tara couldn’t help but feel a little smug. After all, Taran was a god and she, a mere mortal, had managed to satisfy him. That must mean she was pretty damn good in the sack. But she didn’t get to relish that pride for long. Taran untangled himself from her arms rather suddenly and tried to salvage what was left of his clothing from the ground. Tara was confused and a little hurt.
“What are you doing?” she demanded. “Are you in that much of a rush to get away from me?”
“We have to talk.” He avoided her eyes. “There are certain rules I must follow. Certain choices you need to make.”
Tara didn’t like the implications of that statement. She gathered her own clothes and pursed her lips. “I think my choice was pretty clear,” she announced as she buttoned her fly. “Besides, I do whatever I want. I don’t give a crap about rules. Never have.”
“I envy you for that freedom,” he told her. “But I am shackled by the laws of my fellow gods. And you haven’t been given all the particulars of my…arrangement with them.”
The fact that he looked so serious and depressed was starting to make Tara a little nervous. Even when he took her hand and gestured for her to sit beside him in the clearing, she had a strange feeling in her gut. She wondered if he was already bored and blamed his godhood for his lack of interest. Was he going to dump her or worse yet, sacrifice her? Maybe the whole thing was one big joke at her expense. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time she was the brunt of some alpha male’s joke. And who the hell knew how ancient Celtic deities got their jollies.
“Taran, I’ve gotta tell you, you’re freaking me out a little. You need to be straight with me here and tell me what’s going on.”
“There isn’t any reason to be alarmed,” he assured her. “I am simply going to offer you a gift. Do you trust me?”
It was the second time in one evening that he had asked her that question, and again Tara nodded. Taran stilled the movement by laying his hands over her ears. She felt a strange warmth rush through her body. At first she thought maybe this was the trip home, but there was no vertigo like what she had experienced when he whisked her away from her apartment. Nevertheless, when his hands fell away, everything was different.
Tara gasped, startled by the unfamiliar sense that greeted her. She saw a bird sitting on a nearby tree branch move its beak, and she was certain she actually heard its song. The brook wasn’t just moving, it was bubbling and turning. Somewhere in the distance she heard what she thought was the buzz of insects. Even the light wind seemed to whoosh as it caressed her cheek. Tara suddenly found herself surrounded by sounds she could only identify from descriptions she had read in books or been told by friends who had the patience to explain. There were many other echoes in addition to the ones she thought she could identify, but they were coming at her so quickly it made her feel a little dizzy.
“Oh my God!” Tara exclaimed. Then her hands flew to her lips, because the sound of her own voice startled her. She had never heard herself speak and she was no expert, but she thought it sounded pretty darn beautiful. It wasn’t harsh or coarse, and she was certain it was just the right pitch.
Completely overwhelmed with a vast array of conflicting emotions, Tara wasn’t sure if she should laugh, cry, or both. She simply sat in the meadow with her eyes wide and her hands trembling, drinking in the music of nature. It was easy to get lost in all that beauty. Tara might have stayed there forever in a state of half shock if Taran didn’t tap her on the shoulder. He didn’t speak with his lips but with the quick fluid motions of his hands. For the first time since their arrival, the earth seemed to settle down and stop moving.
“Your soul made a great sacrifice for my sake,” Taran signed. “As you can see, I have the power to restore your hearing. You must decide if you want to accept this gift. The choice is yours.”
For some reason, Taran refused to meet her gaze. Tara had the feeling there was something he wasn’t telling her. Some secret or trick she might be missing out on. It just seemed too easy that she would get the god and get her hearing all in one swoop. She wished she had more time to mull it over, but Taran waited expectantly for her answer.
She chewed her lower lip and looked out at the water. The noises around her were intoxicating, but also distracting. She realized that as much as she had enjoyed the brief euphoria of sound, there was a reason she had chosen the body she was born with. As lovely as the birdsong and whispering winds were, as much as she would remember this moment with fondness and longing in her dreams, in her heart, she knew things were as they were meant to be. Her world was silent, but Tara had embraced and accepted that long ago.
“Taran,” she whispered, “you have offered me an amazing opportunity, and I don’t want you to think I’m ungrateful. But I like who I am. I don’t see my hearing loss as a disability. It may have been a challenge at times, but those experiences are what made me the strong, independent woman I am today. And I like that woman—dirty mouth and all. I have no desire to change her.”
Taran looked at her, stunned. His other expression was hard to read. Was that relief she read in his emerald eyes? Was he angry that she had turned down a boon from the gods? Tara wasn’t quite sure what he was thinking, but she knew she had made the right decision for herself, and that was all that mattered.
“You wish to stay as you are?” Even the gesture of his hands displayed his disbelief.
“Are you certain?” His fingers seemed to tremble as he made the symbols for the words. “I may never be able to offer you this gift again.”
Tara nodded. “I’m positive.”
Again Taran laid his hands upon her ears, gently, lovingly. Tara shut her eyes as the warmth flooded her. For the second time, she felt like the whole world had tilted on its axis. When Taran finally lifted his hands, the world had fallen back into the silence she was accustomed to.
Tara opened her eyes and found they were back in her apartment in San Francisco. She thought she might change her mind at the last minute or feel disappointed now that the decision was irrevocable, but she didn’t regret her choice. She felt only relief to be back to her normal life. The experience had been exciting, but this was who she was, for better or worse. Once her living room stopped spinning in circles, Tara met the eyes of her lover and gave him a reassuring smile. In those depths, she found the real gift he offered. One that was much more precious than the ability to hear.
“I love you,” he told her.
Tara didn’t even care that half the statues in her living room fell to the ground and shattered at the sound of his thunderous voice. Tara took his hand and led him to her bedroom, where she planned on giving him a pretty terrific gift of her own.
“I love you, too,” she whispered before guiding him over to the bed.
* * *
Taranis spent the night at Tara’s apartment. He slept soundly for the first time in his long life, but only after another round of rapturous lovemaking. This time the passion didn’t last as long as the first round. He didn’t have the same stamina he’d had just a few short hours before. The cuts on his back were a testament to that. His whole body felt a little tired and achy. At least, he presumed the throbbing in his muscles were aches. It made him feel delightfully human. Waking up beside her was an even greater joy than the sleeping itself. He had never experienced it before, but his mind had been filled with beautiful images that rivaled even the palaces of the gods.
