“Your ego is bigger than your dick.” She shook her head.
He shrugged. “Yeah. I can own that. But you know, we didn’t get the full experience. I was tied up the whole time. I’ve never done that before—”
She interrupted, “Really?” She thought everyone had played games with whips and chains. Their existence was too long not to sample everything.
“Woman, as talented as that mouth is, close it and let me finish.”
“I thought we just did that.”
“You think you’re cute.”
“I know I’m cute. You’re the one trying to get back in my pants and I’m not even wearing any.” They were right back next to the line that shouldn’t be crossed and she could feel they were about to catapult right over it.
“As I was saying, I don’t think it’s fair that I gave you a first, but you didn’t give me a first.”
“How do you know if I gave you a first or not?” Morrigan let the sheet drop baring her breasts to his view.
“That is totally not fair.” His eyes zeroed in on her bare flesh like a pair of breast-seeking missiles.
“Fair? Who said anything about fair?”
“All is fair in Love and War,” he said.
“Which means that me flashing you my breasts is totally fair.”
“Arguing with you is like arguing with myself.”
“Irritating, isn’t it?” She was smug.
“You know what’s irritating?” His voice was suddenly silky, almost like a touch rubbing her in all the right places. His hands were under the sheet and sliding up her thighs. “Not being able to show you my full arsenal.”
“I feel I’ve experienced the full force of your weapon.”
“And you’d be wrong.”
The dark promise in his eyes made her stomach flutter and sent a shiver running down her spine. It seemed that even her clit shivered with the unholy covenant she saw there.
“What if I don’t have any firsts left, huh? Then where would we be?”
He wrinkled his nose. “That would be sadly disappointing.”
Then before she could give protest, she was flat on her back underneath him. “This isn’t new.” She tried to ignore the catch in her breath.
But he didn’t. “It doesn’t have to be to make you breathless.”
“Ares—”
“So tell me about the first time you were tied up.”
“What?”
“You said you’d tried everything. Tell me.”
“Circe. I was might have shown up to her island unannounced and—”
“This is hot.”
“Not like you think. I wasn’t wearing the maiden, the mother or the crone face. I was testing her to see if she was really turning innocent men into pigs. Innocent Celtic men who’d called on me for deliverance.”
“Wait, so went to her island as a man? How did I not know about this?”
“You don’t listen? I told you about it.” She may not have told him about the part where she’d turned into a man and Circe tied her up and had her wicked way with her/him then tried to turn Morri into a pig. That hadn’t ended well. Circe left the Celts alone.
“You didn’t tell me there was sex.”
“Hmm, you’re right. Because you and Aphrodite were fighting again.”
“So tell me now.”
“Why, so you can store it up in your spank bank?”
“Of course.” He rolled his eyes as if she were stupid for asking. “And because I should’ve listened. You’ve been a better friend to me, Morrigan, than I’ve been to you.”
“At times. It all comes out in the end, though.”
“Does it?” He cupped her face. “Then why won’t you kiss me?”
“Why does it matter if we’re not going to do this anymore?”
“I don’t know. It just does.”
“Let me keep that part of me.” She couldn’t kiss him. This would all be okay if she didn’t know what it was like to surrender to that polarity, that heavy weight that seemed to drag them down toward each other.
“No.”
“Why?”
“We both need all of this if we’re going to let it go.”
“But we’re not letting it go. We’re still touching each other like it doesn’t matter we were under the influence of an aphrodisiac, like you aren’t still aching for Aphrodite.”
“That’s not fair.”
“You keep talking about fair. I don’t think it means what you think it means.” What actually wasn’t fair was that he was cutting through all her defenses as only he could, and he was the best weapon against her. His lips descended anyway. “And I’m seriously considering getting involved with Poseidon.”
Shock registered on his face.
It seemed to glitter between shock and betrayal. He still held her pinned, he didn’t release her. He didn’t pull away. He was only a breath from her lips.
“Why?”
“Because I’m tired of being alone. Because he’s nice. Because he’s interesting. Because he sees me for me.”
“I’m nice. I’m interesting. And I definitely see you for you.”
Part of her wondered if he was throwing daggers on purpose. “Yes, you’re all of those things, but you’re not in the running, remember? You’re not in love with me.”
“I don’t want to share any part of you.”
Suddenly, she understood. “Oh, Ares. Just because I’m with someone doesn’t mean you’re going to lose me. I didn’t lose you when you were with Aphrodite.”
“I can’t stand the thought of someone else touching you. Especially not Poseidon. It makes me want to bleach my eyes.”
“You’re being infantile now.”
“Does this feel infantile?” He ground his hips and his erection against her.
“Only your motivations. You just don’t want anyone else to play with your toys.”
“You’re not a toy to me, Morrigan.”
“Prove it. Let me go.”
“Are you really telling me you don’t want to feel this again, one more time?”
“Not if it means giving you my soul.”
“What do you mean by that? We don’t have souls anyway.”
“That’s not what Demeter says.”
Ares rolled his eyes. “Demeter is in a May/December relationship with Eros. She’s a tree-hugging hippie.”
“Excuse me, but what’s wrong with being a tree-hugging hippie? Trees are beautiful and they’re earth’s life support system. You know, for the humans who give us our powers?”
“Oh, that’s nice.” He hands were on her hips and then slid around to cup her ass. “You squirm when you’re riled.”
“I’m not riled. One does not rile a Goddess of War.”
“No. They spar. I’ve got the sword.” He seemed to consider for a moment. “And the staff.”
“I am not your sheath.” But she locked her legs around his hips anyway. It just felt too damn good. If he didn’t care about the consequences, why should she?
“So play with me like you did Circe.”
Morrigan coughed. She hadn’t seen that coming. “What?”
“Yeah, why not?” He dragged his cheek across yours. “You think because I haven’t let anyone tie me up that I’m some kind of ingénue? I didn’t trust anyone enough to let them tie me up. When the Roman shield mates invoked me as Mars, I had many adventures,” he teased. “I’ll fuck you any way I can get you.”
“Access granted.” She relaxed her thighs and allowed him to settle more intimately.
“Give me your mouth,” he said.
So she did. She tilted her face up to the devastation of his kiss. Morrigan surrendered the fight as the revelation she’d felt building in her bones hit her with all the force of a hurricane.
Aphrodite was right.
That heifer.
Morrigan was in love with Ares.
It was all downhill from here.
Except for the sex. When she surrendered, she thought maybe that fi
rst round had been a fluke. Instead, it was made of starlight and supernovas.
Damn it.
9
ARES
Being jostled awake by a large, sharp beak nipping at his nose hadn’t been on his to do list.
“What fresh hell is this?” The bird demanded in a harsh whisper.
Fucking Corvinus.
“None of your business, birdie.”
“Everything about my mistress is my business, GI Joe.” Corvinus pecked his nose to emphasize his point.
Ares squeezed his hand around the bird’s body hard enough to get a grip, but not to actually inflict pain. He held the bird up. “Listen here, I’ve had just about enough of your nonsense—”
Morrigan grumbled and shifted in her sleep. They both turned to look at her silently, neither wanting to wake her. When it was obvious she was still sleeping, he tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.
“Stop touching,” Corvinus hissed.
“Mind your own business. Didn’t you have a date with twins? Why are you even here?” Ares hissed back.
“Because I knew my mistress would get into trouble without me. And look what happened.”
“She’s not in trouble.” At this Corvinus started to squirm. “Look, if you squawk you’re going to wake her up.”
“Your fault,” the bird cawed.
“No, it’s not. We got the wrong pizza. It was Priapus’s order, okay? It had golden apples.”
Corvinus settled. “Fine. Stop touching me, then.”
Ares released him, but oh so carefully. He wouldn’t underestimate the bird just because he was small.
“It’s not a big deal so you can just go to bed and we’ll work it out ourselves.”
“If you hurt her, I’ll peck your eyes out.”
“Fair enough.” Ares nodded in agreement.
Corvinus ruffled his feathers and stomped around on Ares’s chest. “You should go. Sneak out before she wakes up. Then you can both act like it didn’t happen.”
“No, that’s a total dick move.”
“I think it’s the gentlemanly thing to do. You said this was….” He waved his wing around, gesturing as a biped would. “Like some weird twist of Fate. Why make you both deal with the awkward morning after?”
Ares thought about it. Maybe Corvinus was right. The little familiar had known Morrigan even longer than he had and he always had Morri’s best interest at heart.
Even when he was being the most annoying little fucker.
Maybe she didn’t want him there in the morning. Maybe she didn’t want to roll over and look at her mistake.
“Then you can both pretend nothing happened and she can go on her date with Poseidon.”
Ares growled.
Corvinus held up his wings. “Look, I don’t really like it either. He’s nice and all, but if they end up together how much fun do you think I’m going to have under the sea?” He half-snorted and it turned into a caw, that he muffled in Ares’ hand.
The bird shook his head and ruffled his feathers again, grooming himself with his beak. “Unless you’re going to date her.”
“Excuse me?”
“Hey, I’m not saying I’m for it. But you’re the evil I know.” He continued grooming his feathers. “I know you care about her, so I don’t hate you.” He stopped grooming. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like you. But I might spit on you if you were on fire.”
“Good to know.”
“So what’s your answer?”
“Do I have to answer now?”
“That’s kind of the point. If you’re going to be serious about her, then I’ll shut up and go to my perch and you can sleep.”
“With you looking at me?”
Corvinus gave a stifled caw. “Duh.”
“I…”
“If you can’t say yes, then your answer is no. It’s no big deal, but it is what is. Get your pants. Go back to your temple. And get me a perch to hang out on while I’m there, or I’m going to shit on your theater seating in your god cave.”
He looked down at Morri. What did he have to offer her? Nothing. Friendship, he could give her that.
Ares knew Corvinus was right.
He slid out of bed and he was strangely cold. Ares looked back at the beautiful goddess sleeping on the bed. No matter what Corvinus said, he wasn’t just going to leave her without so much as a goodbye. She meant more to him than that. He’d save her the awkward morning after, but he wasn’t going to slip out like some kind of thief.
He leaned over her and though he felt the bird watching him, the corvid was unusually and blessedly silent.
“I’ve got to go, Morri. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She stirred and reached for his hand and he stood there for a long time with her hand clasped in his.
He’d never thought about her hands much, another detail he’d missed. They were so representative of who she was. They weren’t soft or delicate, there was strength in those hands—and in Morri—that matched his own. Her fingers were scarred from battle wounds and teaching the women of her people the ways of the hearth when the world was young.
The love he felt for her ran deeper and wider than any river, which was why he knew he was doing the right thing.
He slowly untangled their fingers and pulled the blankets up over her. Ares kissed her brow ever so tenderly before turning his back and walking toward the door.
Corvinus hopped on his shoulder and didn’t try to peck out his eardrum. He simply saw him to the door. The bird made a quick pass through a lock of Ares’ black hair, the same as he did to Morrigan.
A sign of acceptance and affection. Something Corvinus had never given him.
“Before you make it weird,” the bird explained, “finally, you put her first.”
Instead of making him feel better, it made him feel worse. What kind of piece of shit was he that only now he’d put her first? Only now, after eons, he’d given her something of himself.
“You were right not to want me around her.”
“Eh.” The bird shuffled around a bit. “But before you feel all down in the beak, remember that she never told you she wanted anything else from you. Remember that she loves you. Don’t betray her now out of some misplaced sense of righting this wrong.”
He couldn’t believe he was actually about to ask the winged terror for his opinion. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, don’t decide that you don’t deserve her and stop being her friend. You definitely don’t deserve her, but she makes the choice of where and with whom she’ll spend the moments of existence she’s been given.” The bird hopped up on a gnarled tree branch that composed the archway of the door. “You have no idea how hard she would smite you if she thought you ever did anything to ‘save her from herself.’ I tried that one when we were young. It took me a hundred years for my beak to grow back to its full glory.”
“I hear you.”
“Good. Now, go home. I’m tired.”
Corvinus flew up the grand staircase toward the bedroom.
Ares wandered outside and looked at the other houses in the neighborhood.
“Ares!” A voice broke the silence. It was Morri’s neighbor and ex, Dagda. He was the only god she’d dated that Ares had found to be worth a shit.
For a moment, he thought about all the ways he’d judged those gods Morri went out with and how helpless he felt that she was spending time with gods who weren’t worthy of her and realized that was exactly how Corvinus had felt about him.
Perhaps he’d been too harsh a judge, and perhaps that judgement had been why Morrigan’s relationships never worked out. Part of him reasoned that if he could screw up the relationship then it wasn’t the right one for her anyway.
But Corvinus had been right. It wasn’t his place to choose for her. Even if it was, he’d unlikely do any better for her. He shouldn’t judge what he thought were her bad choices because he was one of them.
That was an ugly realization.
Dagda approach
ed him. “Are you still drunk last night, my friend? You don’t look at all well.”
“No, I don’t think I am.”
“Well or drunk?”
“Either.” Ares scrubbed a hand over his face.
“You and Morri finally do the deed?”
“Gods, is there a betting pool or something?” Ares grumbled.
“Uh, yeah.” Dagda shook his head. “There has been for as long as I can remember. It’s one of the things Morri and I used to fight about when we were together.”
Ares raised a brow. “Are you kidding me?”
“Aphrodite and I used to commiserate all the time. I realized after we’d broken up that hadn’t been helping things. When I asked her to marry me and she said no, I knew it was because of you.”
Ares gave a bitter laugh. “And you’re the only god she’s ever been with that I thought was good enough for her.”
“That’s probably still true.” Dagda smirked. “So tell me. Finally?”
“Why can’t anyone understand that we’re just friends?”
“Look, you can tell that story as much as you want to everyone else, but you forget I was with her for centuries. We never had the connection or intimacy she has with you. She never put anyone before you.”
“But I put everyone before her.”
“Hmm, you think so? I don’t know that I agree.”
Ares thought of his past behavior and all the times he’d let her down.
“Oh, I’ll grant you didn’t go about it the right way, but you were protecting her. Or that’s how she always saw it.”
“Ditching her at the club wasn’t protecting her.”
Dagda nodded. “So that’s why she slammed the door to her temple so hard that the walls of mine were shaking last night.”
Ares smirked. “Nah. That wasn’t slamming the door, it was slamming the door, if you know what I mean.”
Dagda smirked too. “You have no idea how much ambrosia I just won. I’ll send you a couple thousand cases.”
“Ambrosia? You assholes were betting ambrosia?” Ares shook his head. “She’s going to be so—”
“I told her she could pick the time and bet on herself, but you know Morri likes to play fair. Usually.”
Things had just gotten more complicated. He hadn’t meant to tell anyone what happened between them and now all the pantheons would know.
Ambrosia Lane 1-3: Saranna DeWylde Page 54
