by E. B. Black
"So you are pregnant," he whispered. "I heard rumors about you being raped by Poseidon, but didn't realize a child was involved."
"Yes." Medusa hung her head. If her lizard skin didn't drive him away, then surely a baby would.
"Your belly is smaller than it was in the mirror," he said and wrapped his arms around her again. "It means I can still be on top."
She blushed as she realized what he was saying.
"Sorry, was that too forward?" he asked.
"No." She was surprised she was okay with it. She always expected to be frightened by any man's touch because of her rape.
"We'll take it as slowly as you want," he reassured her.
She looked down at his lips. They were so near and his breath was warm. He lifted her chin. She parted her lips. Her heart sped up as she realized he was about to kiss her.
Her mouth was one of the few soft parts of her body left-along with her womanhood. She had never kissed a man before, even back when she was human. She was surprised by how plump his mouth was and how sensitive hers felt against his. The world around them turned to lava as their lips set their bodies on fire.
Perseus' tongue entered her mouth and the shock of something so soft inside her brushing against him made him fervent. His lips grew hungry as their tongues wrestled. Heat and tightness pooled in Medusa's abdomen as she grew wet with anticipation. She was far from a pretty virgin, but he made her feel like one.
He picked her up and lowered her to the ground, deeper inside the cave. Her mouth missed his the moment the two of them lost contact. He laid himself gently on top of her, positioning his body between her legs, but he was careful not to press down on her slightly swollen belly. She could barely restrain herself from ripping off his robe and forcing him to enter her.
He grabbed her by the face, which rested on its side, staring at the wall. Until that moment, she had been avoiding his gaze, frightened that he could still be turned to stone.
"Look at me," he ordered. His words were so powerful and trembled with so much emotion that she had to obey them. "I know it's been a long time since you've met the gaze of anyone without death, but there's no reason to fear it now. I want you to see the adoration I hold in my eyes as I make love to you. I need you to know that you are beautiful, so you never believe anyone again who tells you otherwise."
His brown eyes swirled with affection as they stared at her behind their long lashes. Tears ran down Medusa's cheeks.
He looked concerned when he heard her sniffle. "Are you crying? Did I hurt you?"
She shook her head, her throat so choked she could hardly speak. "No, you've made me happier than anyone else ever has."
Their mouths melted together once again; their bodies turned into puddles of passion. She could feel him growing hard on top of her. Could she really be arousing this man? She looked like a beast, while he was handsome and had such a good heart.
He pulled away and growled in frustration, ripping off the robe he wore. Medusa gasped as she glanced down at a muscular physique that could have only come from hard work.
He grabbed her arms roughly. He looked pained. "Why aren't you touching me?"
She had gotten so used to the desert, her sisters, the underworld, and the undead. In comparison, he looked like a god. She felt unworthy of touching such a creature, especially with her callused hands. She remembered the mirror she had buried without a shovel. Her fingers were not made for stroking-they were made for war. What if they chaffed the parts of him she was looking forward to touching most?
"Your shyness is tormenting me." He grabbed her hands. "Please forgive me."
He forced her palm against the tip of his erection. He groaned and bucked his hips as soon as she touched him. She rubbed up and down slowly, impressed by his large size. He dug his nails into her skin, desperate for more.
She grabbed his thick shoulders and ran her palms down his muscular chest. She stroked his flat abs and rubbed the back of his hard thighs as well. When her fingers landed near his erection again, she gripped it gently, making sure he only experienced pleasure.
Perseus squeezed her breasts and took her nipples into his mouth. Medusa couldn't imagine what they felt like to him, but at that moment, she didn't care. He made her feel as soft and sensitive as any other woman was. His tongue was warm and his fingers nimble as they reached down and stroked between her legs. She bucked with pleasure. He had the hands and mouth of a man who had been with lots of women: he was gifted and he knew what he was doing.
He kissed her passionately and parted her legs. She shook in anticipation of him entering her. He pinned her down and her body froze as her mind recalled Poseidon. The pressure of his legs holding hers apart reminded her of being raped. The pain she felt between her legs when he made her bleed returned and her body tightened all over.
He pulled away. "Are you okay? We can stop."
She looked into Perseus' eyes once again as he had commanded her to and saw such gentleness that her panic evaporated.
She relaxed as she remembered the days when she was a prostitute. Sex could be pleasurable if done correctly.
He positioned himself near her entrance and then thrust inside. Her body stretched for him. The pressure made her moan and shake her hips. He felt so good.
He moved in and out, stroking her cheek and maintaining eye contact. Medusa had to bite her lips to keep from screaming as her nerves flooded electricity through her body. No matter how good it felt, she had to be quiet. Her sisters were still sleeping next to them. She was surprised the two of them hadn't woken up already.
Perseus' face scrunched together and soon they were both climaxing. The ecstasy was so intense that holding her moans in made sparks flicker behind Medusa's eyes. He filled her with the seed that had felt so horrible coming from Poseidon, but gave her satisfaction when it came from him. They collapsed in exhaustion and bliss.
Medusa wished to hold him and make love for all eternity, but knew they couldn't stay this way for long. She wouldn't allow the pleasure to cloud her mind.
This man was about to face the wrath of the gods because of what they had just done. She couldn't see that happen to someone she cared about again. She could only see one way out of it-she had to convince him to kill her as he was supposed to.
Chapter 9
After Perseus dressed, he wandered outside. Medusa picked up the equipment he left behind and followed after him. She was surprised when the sword and shield she carried disappeared in her arms. Perseus hadn't disappeared when she touched him. Only objects that she carried did so. It made sense-otherwise the invisibility helmet would be pointless. Someone would need their clothes to disappear with them if they wanted to be invisible. If the reach went too far and everything she touched became invisible, then the ground beneath her would be gone.
She dropped all the belongings in the sand. They reappeared before they clattered to the ground. Perseus was staring at the sky, looking content and lost in thought. She wished she could feel as at peace.
Instead, she grabbed him by both shoulders.
He leaped into the air. "I need to get better at hearing you sneak up on me."
"That's not important." She shook him, startled by how easy it was for her to do so. "You have to kill me right now. It's the only way to redeem yourself. The gods will never know we slept together if I take the secret to my grave."
Perseus pursed his lips. "I don't care what the gods do."
"I was once that way, believing that nothing could harm me." Medusa grabbed his sword and laughed maniacally. "I will not allow you to suffer as I have."
Perseus' eyes widened and he lunged in her direction, but she easily ducked out of his way. "Where are you? What are you going to do with that sword?" He stood still to listen to the direction she was breathing from. He leaped the wrong way and almost fell over.
She lifted the sword and aimed between her breasts. "If you won't kill me, then I'll do it for you!"
"No!" he cried.
&nb
sp; She stabbed the blade into her chest. It pierced the tip of her skin before hurtling in the opposite direction. She cried out and collapsed. She should have remembered that Athena wouldn't allow her to kill herself, but she thought it was different now that Perseus, her fate, had come to end her life.
Perseus wrapped her in his arms and she was grateful that the sword hadn't struck him when it flew through the air. "Are you all right? You don't appear to be bleeding."
"Athena cursed me so that I can't kill myself." Medusa frowned. "I will have to die by your hand and I need you to do it now."
"After what we shared?" Perseus narrowed his eyes. "Never."
She grabbed his hands. "Please listen to me." Her heart spasmed. So much rested on the choice he made next. "I never thought I'd have a lover. What you gave me was a gift, but I'm not worth all the suffering that staying with me will cause you.
"You can't fight fate. I tried to change the life I had been forced into as a human and wound up here instead. You have to do what the gods say or they'll make everything worse."
She flinched at the fierceness of his gaze when he looked into her eyes. His fingers dug into her skin. "Don't say that you're not worth it. You're worth the whole world.
"You've been tricked because you've been trapped in this place for so long. The gods told me all about you before I met you to prepare me for the fight. I expected a monster, but they lied to me. You didn't deserve to be raped or treated this way. What you deserve is for someone to fight for you."
Tears streamed down Medusa's face. "Why would you believe all of this?"
His eyes glazed over. "The gods and kings of this world are selfish people who expect their victims to pay the prices of their sins. I've vowed to be a different kind of man myself. I am just one person, but I promise to do all I can to protect the innocent and overthrow the powerful and corrupt."
She could hear the strong conviction in his words. Medusa had to understand where it was coming from. "What do you mean?"
"You probably don't know this, but I am the son of Zeus."
Medusa flinched and pulled away from him. Her whole body stung like he'd just burned her. "You're related to the gods who did this to me, and I let you touch me?" She wrapped her arms around herself. This must be a trick. Athena probably told him to win over her heart and break it before he killed her. "You took advantage of me."
He reached out for her. She moved to the right. To think-she had been willing to give up her life for him.
"Please listen to me before you pass judgment. I gave you the benefit of the doubt even after knowing your past," he said. "I'm just as much a victim of Zeus as you are."
Medusa snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure. You're handsome and half-god. You must have a horrible life."
Perseus clenched his fists. "Do you think I like being related to that man after what he did to my mother?"
Medusa rolled her eyes. "Was she raped like I was? If not, then I'm pretty sure it wasn't so bad."
Perseus fidgeted. "No, but she was held prisoner. Technically, it was my grandfather Acrisus who locked my mother, Danae, in a tower, so no one would ever see her. He received an oracle that she would have a son that would kill him. He thought that if men couldn't see her, she could never conceive a baby.
"Zeus organized the whole thing, though. He was the one who sent the oracle and also the one who kept her company every night afterwards. He could have released her from the tower at any time, but he transformed the inside into a garden instead.
"I spent my first few years there. I remember the heady scent of flowers and fruit. It had so many colors, it was like living in a rainbow, but it was still just a decorated prison. He made it beautiful so maybe we'd forget that we were suffering, but I could see the truth in my mother's eyes."
Medusa kicked the sand with her feet. "At least he took care of you. I spent the first few months in this place slowly starving to death."
"He didn't, though," Perseus said. "When Acrisus discovered my presence, Zeus stopped lusting after my mother. Acrisus punched her and called her a slut. He summoned guards who grabbed us and forced us into a small wooden chest. Our limbs were bent at awkward angles and our muscles cramped.
"She screamed for Zeus to rescue us. She was certain because of his tender caresses that he would listen.
"Instead, our bodies banged against the sides of the chest as we were thrown into the ocean. Water filled the box slowly as it leaked through a small hole next to me.
"A fisherman named Dictys rescued us when he heard us shouting. He had no obligation to help us like our relatives had. He wasn't a king or a god; he was an old man. But he was the one with the biggest heart.
"To this day, I'm terrified of small spaces. I refuse to worship Zeus for doing that to me. I was his son, but I meant nothing to him.
"How dare you judge me this way after I spared your life! It's because I've been close to these people that I understand how cruel they are.
"I'd never kill my grandfather. I fight for others and not myself, but he was so desperate to save his own life that he was willing to murder an innocent child for it. Do not put me on the same level as them."
Medusa was quiet for a moment. "Why did you agree to come here and kill me if you hated the gods so much? It all sounds like a good story until you get to that part. How much did they pay you?"
"Nothing. They blackmailed me.
"My mother and I lived on the island of Seriphos with Dictys for a long while. Once I became a man, King Polydectes started to notice my mother. She had enough of men, ranting to me about the way they were willing to toss her aside at their own convenience as if she were nothing. I spent most of my life fighting off her suitors, but Polydectes was too powerful. He grew tired of me standing in the way.
"He set up a sham marriage. I knew it was fake, so did my mother, so did everyone except the bride-just another victim of a king whose ego had grown out of control.
"He said I must bring him a present worthy of him, even though he knew I had no money. I've worked hard in the fields all my life and earned everything I have.
"When I had no present, he threw me out, claiming that I was disrespectful. He exiled me, saying that I couldn't return until I brought the head of Medusa with me. It was the only present worthy enough for him to forgive my transgressions.
"We all knew of you. Men who tried to travel down to the underworld to retrieve a lost loved one came back and told tales of lizard women who could turn a man into stone with their eyes.
"I didn't want to fight you, but every moment I've stayed away is a moment that he's raping my mother. I had no choice, but to seek you out. I will make him pay for every moment of pleasure in his blood.
"I had no idea where to find you and I refused to ask the gods for help. My father had never assisted me before and I didn't expect him to do anything special now.
"Unfortunately, he found me. Yes, he had Athena give me tools to seek you out, but I think they only did it, not out of love, but out of a selfish desire to see you dead. Zeus could save my mother and kill you himself. He sent me out because I don't matter. They wanted to see what would happen. It's a game to them.
"And now that I am here and have met you, I refuse to kill you. I will find another way to save my mother.
"I have no respect for the gods. Why? Because I know what a real man does. I know a real man defends the helpless and takes care of those he loves.
"Real women are the same. They aren't pampered or corrupt like the queens I've met; they are women like you and my mother. They have experienced life and suffered. They're loyal. That is what makes you beautiful to me."
Medusa's voice cracked, tears leaking from her eyes. "I'm sorry I misjudged you, but like you, I trust nothing that comes from the gods and that's where you came from." This man had such a pure heart. If more men could be like Perseus, the world would be a better place.
Perseus took her face in his hands and kissed her. "Don't remind me. I promise to rescue you, too. I
know you haven't known me long, so I doubt you'll believe me, but I wanted to tell you. I won't allow this place to destroy a beautiful creature like you."
It hurt Medusa to breathe. "But how? It's impossible for me to leave."
He shook his head and smiled. "Have you already forgotten my ability to solve the impossible? There's a solution out there and if you'll trust me, I will find it."
His words filled her shriveled heart with hope. She hadn't realized it before, but when the gods cursed her, a part of her had died. He was bringing the fight in her back.
Medusa looked at the sword and remembered her sisters lying peacefully inside the cave. They had no idea what was going on.
Suddenly, she had a plan. "I know what to do. We need to make it look as if I died."
His eyes lit up. "What do you have in mind?"
Medusa grinned. "Just watch and stay quiet. In fact, why don't you hide in the corner until I'm done? Just in case my sisters wake."
He nodded his head. They entered the cave, and he hid in the shadows.
She approached her sisters slowly with the sword in her hand. She was glad she was invisible. She wouldn't want Perseus to see her shaking. He was so brave and here she was, knowing what she needed to do, but shivering like a coward. She hoped her sister wouldn't feel too much pain.
She walked up to Stheno quietly and pleaded for forgiveness under her breath. She raised the sword above her head and chopped down swiftly. The faster she did it, the less noise it would make and the less it would hurt.
Her sister's head rolled across the ground, away from her body. Bile filled Medusa's mouth, forcing her to close her eyes. She thought after all the ways she had seen her sisters try to kill each other that hurting one of them wouldn't be a big deal.
She placed Stheno's head back in place and dragged her body to where Medusa's had been.
Perseus came out from the shadows. She wanted to wave for him to go back into hiding, that she wasn't finished yet, but he couldn't see her.
"What are you doing?" he whispered. "You killed your sister!"
