by Stormy Glenn
“Nothing yet,” Nikos replied, pushing a hand through his hair. “And that just doesn’t make sense to me. If these guys have been around as long as they claim, there has to be some record of them. Even the most secret of societies has rumors circulating about it.”
“I have not heard of this Brotherhood,” Yannis said. “If they have been around for so very long, how have they kept quiet?”
Curiosity about the one question Nikos had never asked reared its head. “Yannis, what was the last year you remember?”
“I fought in the Battle of Himera. I arrived here right after that.”
Nikos’s eyes widened. “Holy fuck, that battle took place in 480 BC or so.”
“Yes, I believe that was the time.”
Nikos needed to sit down before he fell down. “Wow, talk about robbing the cradle.”
Yannis’s dark eyebrows instantly drew together. “I have never robbed anything in my life.” He sounded so indignant that Nikos almost laughed.
“No, honey,” Nikos said, trying to keep a straight face, “it’s just a saying, kind of like you are way older than me, by several centuries.”
“And that is something I do not understand,” Yannis said. Nikos watched Yannis begin to pace about the room, rubbing his long fingers over his strong square jaw. “When the Moirai spin the threads of fate, they always choose Beloveds at the same time, from the same time period. How else is a man supposed to meet his Beloved if they are from different time periods? It just doesn’t make sense.”
Nikos had never thought of that, and it suddenly made his blood run cold. “Yannis,” he whispered as the severity of his words sank in. Yannis was right. It didn’t make sense. Unless… “Yannis, what if—”
“No, Nikos,” Yannis’s voice was sure, steady, but his arms were shaking when he wrapped them around Nikos’s shoulders. “No, we were meant to find each other. I do not know why we were born in different times, but someone brought us together. I suspect the Gods had something to do with it. They do not like their plans being interfered with.”
“What plans?” Nikos said as he leaned back to look up into Yannis’s face.
“That, I do not know, Beloved. And as long as we are together, I do not care.”
Yannis’s words warmed Nikos inside but also worried him. “If your Gods can bring you into my time, Yannis, they can also take you out.” And Nikos was terrified that was what was going to happen. He was just starting to get used to having the handsome gargoyle in his life. Losing Yannis might destroy him.
“The Gods would never separate True Beloveds, Nikos.”
“I hope you’re right,” Nikos whispered as he laid his head on Yannis’s wide chest.
He was terrified that Yannis’s belief in his Gods was misplaced. At the very least, the Gods had some responsibility in the mess that had been made of their mating. If Yannis’s words were to be believed, someone had ensured that they were born in different time periods but someone had also brought them back together.
Their lives were being messed with like they were marionettes.
And that pissed Nikos off.
Be that as it may, the Gods of Olympus weren’t the only ones Nikos was worried about. There was someone else out there trying to take Yannis away from him. Nikos just needed to figure out who they were and how to stop them because he refused to be separated from the man fate had given him.
Chapter 7
Yannis watched Nikos carefully as he placed the cup of dark liquid into a large shiny silver box with a window in the front. He closed the door and pressed some of the numbers on the panel to the right of the door, and then a loud whirling sound came from the box.
Yannis leaned closer, looking through the foggy window. The cup Nikos had placed in the center of the box was moving around in a circle. Yannis tapped the window lightly with his finger. “How does it do that?”
“Do what, sweetie?”
“How does it move like that? Is it on some sort of pulley system?”
“No.” Nikos chuckled. “It’s electronic.”
“Elec—” Yannis frowned as he glanced over his shoulder. “What?”
“Remember the video of Benjamin Franklin that you watched?”
“The kite guy?”
Nikos nodded. “Remember how he explained electricity?”
Yannis thought about it for a moment then nodded as he glanced back toward the square white box. “Is that what’s happening here?”
“Yeah, pretty much. Electricity makes it operate. I don’t understand the exact mechanics of a microwave, though. I just know that I put my cup of coffee inside, hit the buttons, and a minute later I have hot coffee.”
Just as his words predicted, the microwave dinged. Nikos opened the door and reached inside, pulling out his cup of coffee. “Be careful because it’s hot, but feel the outside of the cup. It’s warm. You can have a little sip if you want one, just be careful.”
Curiosity crawling through every cell in his body, Yannis eagerly reached for the cup. Taking Nikos’s warning into consideration, he carefully lifted the mug to his lips and took a small sip.
“By the Gods…”
“No, by Hamilton Beach.” Nikos chuckled as he reached for the coffee and took his own sip. He held the cup back out to Yannis. “So what do you think of coffee?”
“We had something similar to this back in Syracuse but it was a lot bitterer than this.”
Nikos winked, which Yannis found to be a very odd gesture. “That’s because I added sugar and milk to it.”
“I like your soda pop more.” It made him burp.
“You would,” Nikos gave a low chuckle but opened the large cold metal box that he called a refrigerator and pulled out a can of soda pop. Yannis eagerly took it and popped the top. He had thought Nikos crazy when the man showed him these wondrous little cans last week, but now it was like an addiction for him.
There were many things in this new world that Yannis found amazing…cars, television, the Internet, microwave popcorn. But there were just as many things that seemed more annoying than beneficial…cars, television, the Internet…phones.
It was strange to Yannis that most of these items were considered ways to socialize with the rest of the world or learn information, and yet it seemed to push people further apart. Whatever happened to walking up to someone and just saying hello? It seemed to be a lost art form in this new world he had landed in.
Many things seemed to be lost.
Every time Yannis thought about what had been left behind when he came to this new time period, his mind always went to his brothers in arms. He wouldn’t give up being with Nikos for anything or anyone, but he missed his brothers and wished that he had some way to bring them here.
“Beloved, have you found anything in your notes that says how I might have ended up here?”
“Why?”
Yannis turned to look at Nikos, worried about the sudden bite he could hear in his Beloved’s tone. While Nikos was trying to school his features and give nothing away, his cerulean-blue eyes were screaming with fear. Yannis instantly knew why Nikos was scared. He also knew how to relieve his worry.
“I merely wish for my brothers in arms to join me in this bright new world of yours. If my Beloved was here, who is to say their Beloveds are not here as well?”
Nikos’s shoulders slumped in obvious relief. “No, I haven’t found anything, but I’ll keep looking. I want you to be happy here.”
Yannis smiled as he reached up and rubbed his thumb down the side of his Beloved’s face. “I am happy here, Beloved. With you by my side, how can I be anything but ecstatic? I simply wish for my brothers to experience the same joy I have.”
Nikos’s lips began to curve up as he leaned into Yannis’s gentle touch. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“I would be much appreciative, Beloved.”
Nikos wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Just how appreciative are we talking here?”
Yannis set his soda pop on the coun
ter and dropped to his knees, all in one smooth motion. He unzipped Nikos’s pants and reached inside, gently massaging his fingers over the bulbous head of Nikos’s cock, smoothing the pre-cum at the same time. His thumbnail pressed into the tiny slit at the top of the head, and he heard a low moan rumble through Nikos’s chest.
His Beloved’s arousal, along with the clear liquid seeping from his cock filled Yannis’s lungs, making his mouth water for just one taste. Dipping his head, Yannis pulled Nikos’s cock out of his pants and then wrapped his lips around the flared head.
He heard a swift intake of air, and then Nikos shuddered. Yannis began to suck, his tongue tracing the veins, his cheeks hollowed as he moved Nikos’s thick erection further into his mouth.
Fuck, the man was huge.
For the first time in his life, Yannis wondered what it would be like to feel someone take him, for his Beloved to take him. He seriously doubted he could take all of Nikos’s thick length, but damned if he didn’t want to try.
He forgot about what he wanted when he felt Nikos’s fingers glide through his hair, and concentrated on what Nikos wanted. Yannis sucked and licked, eating the man’s pre-cum and swallowing it down.
Using his tongue, Yannis laved the tender depression beneath the swollen crown and then tongue-fucked the tiny slit, licking away the salty taste of Nikos’s desires. Another needy groan rumbled through Nikos, making Yannis’s chest puff out with pride.
Nikos’s hips plunged hard, driving his cock deep into Yannis’s mouth, causing Yannis’s body to scream with pleasure, with an overload of sensations that made Yannis whimper around the man’s cock. He was also fighting his gag reflex. He only had half of Nikos’s cock in his mouth, but damn, that was more than enough.
Nikos’s body was so hard, so hot against Yannis that it nearly scorched him. He wished like hell they were someplace private so he could rip his mate’s clothes off and explore every inch of his hard, muscular body.
Nikos’s fingers tightened in Yannis’s hair, his hips pumping faster. The pre-cum was leaking like a river, and Yannis knew the man was close. Nikos’s moans were becoming more frequent, his body trembling.
Yannis thrust his head down, taking Nikos’s cock as far as he could into his mouth. Nikos screamed. His hot seed spurted down Yannis’s throat in hot ribbons of release. When Nikos slumped back the counter, Yannis slowly eased back. He let the man’s softening cock slip from his mouth and then sat back.
“Did I show proper appreciation?”
“Oh yeah.” Nikos grinned happily as he shoved his spent cock back into his pants and zipped up. “After a blow job like that, you can pretty much have anything you want.”
“Popcorn.” It was simple. Popcorn and soda pop. There probably wasn’t anything else in this new world he wanted more, well, except for his Beloved, but that was a given. Nikos would always be at the top of his list for everything.
“Oh, honey, there is so much more in this world I want to introduce you to.” Nikos’s breath seemed to suddenly stutter in his throat, his blue eyes growing misty.
“Nikos?” Yannis quickly stood.
“There are a lot of things to experience, Yannis, new places to see, new people to meet, new things to try. I worry that discovering all of this time period has to offer will become more intriguing than what I can offer you here. What if—” Nikos’s throat moved harshly as he swallowed. “What if I’m not enough?”
“It matters not what is out in the world, Beloved.” Yannis pressed his hand over Nikos’s chest, right over his heart. “It matters what is here. This is the only thing I need in order to be happy.” Yannis smiled widely. “This is better than popcorn.”
Nikos’s eyes began to twinkle, growing brighter. “Popcorn is pretty important, Yannis. Are you sure?”
“I am positive, Beloved.”
The next breath Nikos drew in seemed to be fortifying but also one of relief, as if Nikos was finally ready to accept what Yannis was saying. Yannis understood his Beloved’s hesitation and uncertainty. He felt it just as much as Nikos did. He just seemed to be better at hiding it. If Nikos knew how terrified Yannis actually was of losing him, he would feel a whole lot more secure in their relationship.
“Did you know that popcorn comes in different flavors?” Nikos asked in a teasing voice as he turned and went back to his coffee.
“Movie theater butter popcorn is not the only flavor?”
“Oh no.” Nikos grinned mischievously over the rim of his coffee mug. “They have cheese-flavored popcorn, caramel, chocolate, barbecue. There’s sweet-flavored popcorn, spicy, savory. You name it, there is probably a flavor for it somewhere.”
Yannis’s eyes grew rounder. “They have cheese-flavored popcorn?”
“Several different kinds.” Nikos winked. “Would you like me to get you some?”
Yannis groaned as his taste buds flooded. He was ready to go to his knees again if it would get him some flavored popcorn. They had corn when he was around before but never anything like this. How he had missed the delicious delicacy?
Nikos poured the remainder of his coffee down the sink then rinsed his cup and placed it in the dish rack next to the sink. “Come on, Yannis. Let’s go to my office. We can get online and order you some flavored popcorn. They’ll deliver it right to the house for you.”
“They can do that?”
“Oh yes, my gorgeous gargoyle. There is very little in this world that you can’t get done with the right amount of cash.” Nikos grinned back over his shoulder. “And luckily for you, I have oodles of cash.”
“I do not understand what that means, but it seems to make you really happy.”
“Oh, um.” Nikos was frowning when he spun around, stopping their progression down the hallway toward his office. “I have lots of gold and silver. I am a very big land owner. I have many people working for me. Does any of that make sense?”
“You have a lot of aes signatum?”
“Yes.” Nikos smiled as he patted Yannis’s chest. “I have a lot of struck bronze bars.”
“And this means you can make them bring us flavored popcorn?”
Nikos’s grin turned wicked again. “Oh, hell, yeah.”
Nikos opened the door to the study, and Yannis instantly knew something was wrong. The air seemed different as he stepped inside, and there was a foreign odor in the room, an odor that did not belong.
Yannis reached out to grab Nikos, to pull him back, when his Beloved was snatched from the doorway, a piece of metal shoved at his forehead.
“This is a gun,” the man said as his sinister eyes raked up and down Yannis in disbelief and disgust. “It will kill Mr. Papadakos if you come anywhere near him.”
Yannis froze, remembering the numerous conversations he had had with Sahm concerning modern weapons. He knew exactly what the gun at Nikos’s head could do to his Beloved, and it took every bit of his control not to grab the stranger and rip his head off right then and there. Instead, he had to wait until the gun was no longer a danger to his Beloved.
Nikos struggled in the stranger’s arms, his eyes filled with fear and anger. Yannis took a step forward.
“Don’t try me,” The man warned as he shoved the gun harder into Nikos’s temple.
Yannis wasn’t one to take kindly to threats. He was a strong, fearless guardian of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Beloved of Nikos Papadakos. But knowing that the man just might go through with his threat had him rooted to the spot. He had to think of a way to get his Beloved away from the man.
“Papadakos is secured,” the man whispered, and Yannis had no idea who the man was talking to. He was looking directly at Yannis, yet he could tell the man was having a conversation with someone who was not in the room.
Sorcery?
Yannis wasn’t sure, but his instincts were screaming for him to get his Beloved and get out of there. A part of his mind said that this man belonged to the Brotherhood, the same group who had shot him, and Yannis wanted to remove the man’s head. Red-hot ange
r filled him, consumed him, and made him want blood as he saw just how scared his Beloved was in the stranger’s grasp.
“What is it that you seek?” Yannis asked, moving slightly to the right so he could better see out of the office window. His worst fears were coming true when he saw black-clad men moving closer, large, longer metal weapons in their hands.
“Your death,” the stranger replied as he backed up closer to the window, taking Nikos with him. “We have been exterminating your kind since the dawn of time. You’re like little roaches that just won’t die. I’m not sure how you snuck under out radar, but your time here is just about over.”
Yannis smelled a more subtle scent drifting into the office and knew that Sahm was just on the other side of the door. But as long as the man had Nikos in his grasp, a gun pushed into his temple, they couldn’t outright attack.
Yannis gazed right into his Beloved eyes, flicking his down to the floor. Nikos gave a slight nod, as if he understood. The trepidation in his eyes grew tenfold as Nikos slammed his elbow into the man’s gut and dropped the floor, rolling away.
Yannis felt a searing pain in his thigh as Sahm burst into the office and discharged his weapon. Ignoring the pain, Yannis grabbed Nikos, tossing the man over his shoulder as he hurried from the office.
There were more armed men coming.
Even if he took flight with his Beloved, that still left Sahm and his parents vulnerable. He’d grown to care about them in just the few short weeks he was there, and it would kill him if something happened to them.
“Go!” Sahm shouted as he ran from the office, an explosion nearly knocking Yannis off his feet echoing through the house. He heard shouting and the sound of guns discharging once more.
Yannis ducked low as he took off toward the back of the house. He could feel the blood flowing freely from his thigh, but Yannis couldn’t slow down. Slowing down would mean their deaths.
He needed to get his hands on one of those weapons Sahm and the intruders were brandishing. Brute strength was not enough in this time period. Weapons seemed the route to take, and he wanted a big gun, really big. Because he planned on killing every last person who’d invaded Nikos’s home.
