by Simon Archer
“It’s been gone since June?” I said, completely baffled. I was surprised the whole world wasn’t swimming in false love at this point.
“Yes,” Aphrodite said through tight teeth. “We have been searching for surges of desire and lust throughout the world, but it appeared that even though the daughter of Prometheus might have taken the weapon, she had yet to use it.”
Aphrodite twisted her fingers through her hair, nervously. “When we sensed the intense sexual desire at this location tonight, I came down to check it out, hoping that Kari had finally revealed herself. However, I found the campus completely infected but no Kari.”
“She is banned from campus,” Genesis reported harshly. “If she ever crossed into our borders, we would know.”
“Even her clay forms?” I asked.
“Yes,” Genesis confirmed. “We accounted for those as well.”
“So without the girdle, there is no way you can reverse any of this, is there?” I wondered, though I sensed I already knew the answer.
“I have no way to channel my abilities,” Aphrodite explained. “I could try, but the level of power needed could harm the students and I refuse to physically injure any demigods.”
“Oh, so you won’t physically harm them, but you’ll hurt their minds and their hearts?” I snapped, unable to swoop in on her obvious opening.
“Cameron,” Genesis hissed.
Aphrodite stared at me, a hard expression crossing her face. Even though our eyes connected, there was no zap into a different scene this time. We just simply looked at one another.
“Do you not believe in love, son of Hephaestus?” Aphrodite asked, her voice the softest I had ever heard it since meeting her.
“I believe in love,” I argued, “just not false love. I believe in choice, and you don’t give people a choice.”
“I give people courage,” Aphrodite battled back though not a bit of defensiveness slipped into her voice. She never rose from her seat, never showed any anger. She seemed completely confident in what she was saying, never wavering from that belief that she did good in the world. “I give them that nudge needed to pursue happiness. Yes, my armor can be used for evil, to manipulate and bend the mind like what has been done here, but that is not what it was built for. As a weapons maker yourself, you know the dual sides of a blade and armor. The multipurpose uses.”
Aphrodite held out both hands as if mimicking a scale. “It is not the responsibility of the weapon, but the one who wields it, is it not?”
I paused and digested her words. Though they went down my throat like an overcooked steak, they settled nicer in my stomach. She appealed to one of my core beliefs about weapons and blacksmithing. Her argument was that the notion applied here as well.
I considered her points and found that I didn’t need to sit on it very long. I knew she was right. It was my anger that wouldn’t let me see it right away, but thankfully, reason spoke up and allowed me to accept her explanation.
I sighed, relenting. “So what do we do now? If you can’t fix this, and you haven’t been able to find Kari, I don’t know what we can do to help.”
“You really don’t, son of Hephaestus?” Aphrodite raised a teasing eyebrow. “Can’t you guess?”
The way she emphasized my father’s name turned me on to her idea right away. Even before she said it, I knew what Aphrodite was going to ask.
“I need you to make me another golden girdle.”
27
For the first time in my life, I was repulsed by the idea of making a weapon, scared of it even.
“I can’t,” I stumbled. “I can’t make you a new girdle.”
“Cameron,” Hailey said, surprised at my declaration. “You’re the best blacksmith on campus, arguably the world.”
“That’s sweet of you to say, but the keyword is blacksmith, not armorer” I said delicately. “I’ve never worked with gold, ever. It’s a whole different technique, a whole different medium. I don’t…” I shook my head, unable to find the words.
“You had to do the same thing when you worked with the Eternal Flame,” Hailey reasoned. “That thing threw off everything you knew about blacksmithing. And that’s a supernatural element. This is much more natural.”
“I would have asked your father, but he seems to be unreachable,” Aphrodite added. “Had I known of your existence, I would have reached out sooner.”
“We really want two of these weapons out in the world?” I argued, still finding ways to stall the inevitable.
Aphrodite waved her hand, unconcerned. “The first one will run out of juice if it isn’t wielded by me. It will simply become a fancy piece of clothing after a while.”
I licked my lips and looked at the ground, debating with myself. I tried to push past the fear and tap into the excitement of taking up a new challenge. I had always wanted to thrive as a blacksmith and delving into different materials wasn’t something I had done yet. But now was the perfect time to try. While I would have liked to have a couple of practice chances with gold before making one of the most iconic gold armors of all time, I knew this was important. If we had any hope of curing the campus of Tainted Love, then I had to build this armor.
Before I could change my mind, I crossed the garden scene, passing Aphrodite and the Officials. I headed off in the other direction.
“Cameron,” Hailey called out.
“What?” I spun around, annoyed.
“Where are you going?” she wondered, speaking aloud the question on the other three faces.
“To the forge,” I said as I gestured with my thumb behind me. “To make a girdle. The sooner I get to it, the better, right?”
For the first time during this conversation, Aphrodite stood. Genesis and Makayla remained in place, though their eyes were like magnets, attached to her elegant form as she crossed over to me. The goddess of love and desire approached me with a twinkle in her eye that I found way more attractive than intimidating.
“You should begin in the morning,” she suggested gently.
“In the morning?” I gasped. “I’m going to need as much time as I can get. We owe the campus that much.”
“Take a look behind you,” Aphrodite suggested.
I cocked my head to the side, exasperated and annoyed. Aphrodite flicked her fingers, indicating that I should turn around. So I followed orders and spun on my heeled boots to face the direction of the dance floor.
Students had returned from their previously injured states and crowded the dance floor in clumps of joyous gyrations. They flailed about, some with excellent rhythms and others with reckless abandon. Many shouted out the lyrics of the upbeat music, singing them in each other’s exuberant faces. Some students corralled by the food table, feeding one another caramel apple slices or chocolate-covered strawberries, like newlyweds shoving cake in each other’s faces. There were still some couples in the tableaus, enjoying intimate moments together, but everywhere I looked, I saw the same thing: happiness.
“Let them enjoy tonight,” Aphrodite said as she leaned down over my shoulder. “It would be a shame to waste such a good party.”
I sighed and didn’t resist the smile creeping on my face. I had worked really hard on this evening, and it brought a swell of pride to my chest at the sight of my fellow demigods in such a state of joy. The Academy had great moments but was often hard on us, expecting greatness at every level. However, here was a celebration where no rules or expectations loomed over their heads. It was freedom at its finest.
“And, I think you deserve to enjoy the rest of your evening as well,” Aphrodite hinted as her eyes flicked over to Hailey, who stood back in the garden with Genesis and Makayla.
My skin responded instantly to Aphrodite’s implication. The anticipation I felt moments before I found out about Kari, my mom, and the missing girdle. How Hailey and I were headed to…
I left Aphrodite’s side, and I could feel her knowing smirk burn into the back of my neck as I walked away. I stomped determinedly over
to Hailey and took her hand.
“Come on,” I said as I pulled her away. “I believe we were in the middle of something.”
Hailey didn’t hesitate. The fire instantly relit in her eyes, and she met me step for step as we crossed to the edge of the quad. The heavy beat of the music drifted away behind us, turning into a dull roar rather than a blasting sequence. We dipped into a darker part of the grassy area, with only one nearby Eternal Flame lantern.
I wrapped my hands around her waist and pushed her hips in a different direction than she was walking. Suddenly, she found herself back against a tree trunk and my lips upon hers. I cradled the back of her head with one hand while the other explored the curves of her body. My fingers ran up the ribs of the corset and then along the exposed tops, my touch tickling the curve of her breasts.
She inhaled sharply as the sensation caught her by surprise. It was the softest of touches but elicited such an intense reaction.
Her hands left my body, regretfully, but she pulled at the strings at her back, trying to find them amongst the fabric of the dress and in between the bark of the tree. I immediately noticed that she was distracted as she couldn’t focus on her moving lips and her searching fingers at the same time.
“What’s wrong?” I asked breathlessly.
“The corset,” She heaved, “I can’t…”
But she didn’t need to say anymore. I recognized what she needed immediately and set to work about righting it. I took control of her hips again and spun her around so that her back was facing me. She braced herself on the trunk and bent over slightly, pressing herself into my groin.
I moaned and shifted so Hailey could feel the fullness of me, already growing hard. I swiveled my hips up against her while my fingers zipped through the laces. I was as swift as a pianist, whipping my hands up and down the keys, as the corset loosened around her.
I wrapped my arms around her middle and spread my hands up her shirt. Now that there was no corset, she only wore a shift beneath which was little more than a strip of fabric. Quickly, my palms traveled up her belly and stroked the underside of her breasts. I teased her nipples with my thumbs, cupping her in my hand.
She moaned at my touch, encouraging me as I rolled, pulled, and flicked. Her back snapped straight, so she could press more of her body against mine. Her head fell back against my shoulder, and she reached up to nibble on my ear, needing to do something with her tongue as I played with her.
I pulled out of the grip of her teeth so I could whisper in her ear. “I don’t want to take you here, I don’t want the kitchen again either,” I said. “I want it to be just you and me, no one else.”
“Then where?” She gasped as I gave her a final squeeze before sliding my hands back down to her hips. We needed to get wherever we were going and fast before she hiked up her skirts and mounted me against the tree.
“I have my own room,” Hailey said with a moan as I curved one arm around her waist, positioning her, so she faced me again. I kissed her deeply, only offering a flick of my tongue before pulling away. “Come on,” Hailey said, escaping my hold and breaking into a run with a wicked smile.
I watched her run, dashing farther away from me. Her hair blew back, freeing her face so I could witness the playfulness and joy that emanated from her wide smile. Her body moved so gracefully, each muscle tensing and relaxing as she pushed on. I wanted to see the muscles without the cloth against them, pushing against me as we moved as one.
My legs pumped to catch up with her, the cool fall air slipping through the thin fabric of my shirt. Hailey suddenly stopped at the door of the Enka building, watching me.
“What?” I asked, slightly out of breath when I approached.
“You look… ” Hailey shook her head, the words evading her. But apparently not hindering her actions as she untied the bustle and let it pool around her feet.
Hailey opened the door, her eyes never leaving me as she sauntered into the dorm. We teased each other all the way up to her room. We pulled each other against walls, stealing kisses or not-so-subtle touches. With everyone still at the dance, the hallways were empty, so there was no fear of being caught. I was too swept up in the feel of her to care.
The soldier pushed open the door to her apartment. No lights were on, but it looked ridiculously similar to mine and Karen’s dorm, except hers had a full kitchen. The living space was bigger because instead of having two private rooms, there was only one.
I shut the door behind me, and once we were in the privacy of her apartment, immediately shrugged out of my jacket and whipped off my shirt. She gasped at the sight of me, a soft glow coming in through the window at the other end of the room.
She mimicked my movement and also removed her shirt. My mouth opened slightly as she stood bare before me. Though both of us were still half-clothed, there was still something erotic about being topless in front of one another. It was a sign of the anticipation of what was to come.
In two steps, I was on her. The skin to skin contact on our chests lit my insides on fire. We didn’t even kiss one another. Instead, we just roamed our hands all over each other’s bodies. She ran her fingers down my spine and dipped into the curve of my back, slipping a hand down into my pants.
“If you want them off, just say so,” I said into her skin as I kissed her collarbone.
She giggled and slid her hands around my hip bones to the front of my pants. She struggled with the button, as it was on the wrong side for her. I put my hands over his and assisted her in unbuttoning me. I stepped out of my pants, sliding out of my shoes simultaneously. When I was just in my boxers, I charged for her and scooped her up in my arms in a fireman’s carry.
Elated by my enthusiasm, she laughed as I carried her into the bedroom and threw her onto the large bed playfully. It was much darker in the bedroom with the curtains drawn. Hailey quickly fixed this by snapping her fingers. A single flame appeared on her pointer finger. She blew on it, but instead of disappearing, the flame traveled through the air to a lantern sitting on the end table next to the bed.
A soft orange glow illuminated the simple room. If I hadn’t been so consumed with Hailey, laying there practically naked on bed, I would have taken time to examine her room, find out more about this woman I adored.
But I didn’t.
Instead, I chose to look at the woman in front of me who looked up at me with a sultry smile and a hunger in her eye.
Even with a look, she made me burn. Quickly, Hailey sat up to remove her boots, but I stopped her when I crouched down and put my hands over hers.
“Let me,” I commanded softly.
She remained sitting up as I undid the laces of her boots and slipped each off, one by one. I flicked my eyes up at her every so often to make sure she was paying attention. It was agony to wait as I slowly dipped a finger in her sock and rolled them down off her ankles.
“Cameron,” She begged as she leaned forward again to hurry me along.
Suddenly, I grabbed her wrists and pushed her flat against the bed, bracing myself atop her. She felt my hardness press into her stomach and rubbed against her, the soft skin making her shudder.
“Do you want me, Hailey?” I asked, my eyes boring into hers. Even if I knew the answer, as she had displayed in the kitchen earlier, I wanted to hear her say it.
She leaned up and pressed a kiss on me, her tongue pushing through my lips to circle mine once.
“Very much,” She said after she pulled away.
I responded by lowering my own lips onto her body. I traveled down her neck with delightful nips until I approached her sternum. My hands moved along her arms, freeing her wrists so she could run her fingers through my hair as I kissed her. She pulled and tugged, giving me hints at where her most delicate spots were. When I wrapped my lips around her nipple, she dug her nails into my shoulders.
My skinful fingers undid her pants, and she shimmied out of them. However, my speed was too fast, and they got stuck around her ankles. Laughter poured from her as
I tried to yank them off her. She leaned up to help so she could be fully unclothed. She peeled off her underwear, leaving herself fully exposed.
I sucked in a sharp breath upon seeing her. I ran a finger through the tuft of hair and stroked her opening, already wide and wet for me. Instead of closing her legs from the tightness, she fully opened them to welcome me to her.
“Hailey,” I muttered in awe. I played with her folds and teased with the tips of my fingers, never sliding all the way in.
“Cameron,” She groaned back, begging for me.
Her cry was a shot from a gun at the races, and I lowered my head, and fell into bliss. Her hands curled into the sheets, gripping them for dear life as she bucked against my licks. The mindblowing sex in the kitchens to the kiss on the dance floor to the teasing behind the tree led up to this moment. We were both high and wired and ready to burst. She rode the high with me as I treated her well, following her natural rhythm until I coiled her so tight, there was nothing more to do but explode.
She arched her back as the waves crashed around her. I pulled away, letting her experience the pleasure as it zinged through her limbs. When the sensations faded, leaving her breathless and panting, she met my eyes. Her message was clear.
She wanted more.
I pushed myself off the end of the bed and removed my boxers. At the sight of my impressive length, she moaned in wanton desire. It hit me right in my cock as it twitched against the planes of my stomach.
The daughter of Apollo might have heated me up, but I wanted to burn.
Following her impulses, she swung her leg around my torso and sat atop me. She took me in her hand, stroking me lightly up and down. She caught my eye and cocked her head to the side.
“May I?” She asked teasingly.
All it took was a single nod before she lifted up on her knees and positioned herself directly at me. Then she slid herself onto me.
We stood still for a moment, simply taking each other in. I relished in the warmth of her and the connection building between us. She arched her neck back and began to move.
