Primordial gods of the above and below, she was haunting.
“Come with me to the ball,” she said silkily.
He paused in his tracing of her body, and the ease of moments earlier was gone. His face grew stern, no longer so free or light as it had just been. “Dite, no. You know I cannot stand the looks and jeers from the others. We tried this once before. It didn’t go well.”
“Once, Hephy, you’re right. Obviously, it didn’t go well. They were seeing us together for the first time. I’m sure they just needed time to assimilate the idea of us. But”—she shrugged—“I don’t care, and neither should you.”
“Well, I do,” he growled.
I frowned. He was a fool if he really meant to send her off without him. Couldn’t he see how badly she wanted him there? Her eyes were wide and her cheeks flushed. This wasn’t artifice—it was truth. Her chest heaved with breath as she shook her pretty head.
“Beast, why!” She sat up, hugging her hair to her body almost like a shield and staring at him in obvious vexation. “Why must I always go to these bloody spectacles all by myself. I have a mate. I’d like the world to know it.”
He rolled his eyes. “Aphrodite, don’t. We’ve talked about this before.”
“No, you’ve talked at me! I never agreed to this! Seventy years we’ve been together, beast. Seventy!” She shoved seven fingers into his face. “Longer than I’ve been with anyone ever. And still I worship you. Still I hunger for your touch. Crave your hands upon my body. Haven’t I earned your faith by now? Surely you know that I wish to be with you and only you.”
He growled. “Is that why you had someone else in your bed last night?”
I winced, knowing that had been a stupid thing to say the second he’d said it.
Her jaw dropped, and her words suddenly cut off. All I could hear was their breathing, and I wanted to rip his tongue out for saying so. Aphrodite was who she was. How could he not have understood that? That damn fool had had the one woman I’d have killed to belong to. He’d had her, and he’d brought her to tears. I could see the sheen of pain in her eyes, and it broke my heart into a thousand shards. I palmed my chest, rubbing at its ache.
“Hephaestus, how… how could you?” she asked, shocked and clearly upset by his words.
He frowned and sat up, knocking the sheet down around his hips as he wrapped his arms around his legs. “Sorry,” he said gruffly, still unable to look at her.
I growled. If I’d had that jackass in front of me right now I’d have smashed his face in for being such a pathetic loser.
But he did not sound sorry. He sounded like a petulant child, and I loathed him. He had no idea what he had. I did, because I’d been saddled with a version of her that had been the exact opposite of everything that beautiful woman on his bed was. That Hephaestus could not appreciate her because he’d only ever gotten the very best parts of her. It was so damn easy to neglect someone when all they ever did was want your love in return. And I hated him for that.
She blinked.
Her face changed instantly from heartbreak, to fury, and then back to heartbreak again before landing somewhere between the two.
“You know who I am,” she said simply.
I nodded along with her statement. Truth was truth.
“Godsdammit, Aphrodite, of course I know who you are. I’m just… I’m…” He blew out a heavy breath, shoving his fingers through his hair. Looking stern and gruff and so terribly hideous compared to her soft beauty. “I’m sorry,” he sighed. “I don’t know what’s the matter with me lately.”
Still looking grumpy but also compassionate, she tugged on his massive shoulders. Running her fingers through his long hair as she slowly gathered the strands together into a knot upon his head.
I quivered, almost able to feel the glide of those silky beloved fingers scraping along my scalp. But for me it would only ever be fantasy, an unattainable dream. I’d destroyed any possibility of her and I ever seeing eye to eye again. I swallowed the despair in my throat, stomach aching fiercely.
“Gods above, it would be my misfortune to have fallen in love with such a grizzly bear,” she whispered huskily before planting a tender kiss upon his groomed cheek.
He snorted, a ghost of a grin feathering upon his lips as he shook his head and looked over his shoulder at her, love clearly burning in his eyes.
“Little ass,” he murmured tenderly as he cupped her fragile and delicate cheek into his meaty palm. He glanced down at her lips, his intentions obvious.
But she grabbed his big wrist, her small fingers unable to even come close to encircling it. “Look at my eyes, beast.”
And he did. Mouth twisted up, heart in his eyes. I could relate. I always felt as if I could hide nothing from Aphrodite, no matter how much I often wanted to. I could hide from the rest of the world, but with her, I’d never been any good at deceit.
Her eyes were full of tenderness and even sadness. A tiny smile lingered upon her rosebud lips, but the light of it didn’t reach her eyes. Aphrodite was heavy hearted and even from here, I could feel her pain. I shuddered.
“I slept with that female last night because I had to see something.”
He lifted his brows, and his face slowly transformed, from pain to annoyance and then to acceptance of a sort. “Yes, wonderful. Please don’t share. I don’t need to know this. You’re right. You are who you are. And I am who I am, and maybe it’s just best if we don’t—”
“Gods, you’re annoying,” she snipped then kissed him, silencing his words with her tongue and body.
I watched them make love, because that was surely what this was. It was tender. Soft. Slow. He was gentle with her, and she with her expert hands played him masterfully. Aphrodite took the dominant position over him, worshipping him with her tongue and mouth, pulling upon his nipples tenderly with her teeth as she reached between their bodies and lovingly guided his cock into her warm, wet sheath.
And when he grunted as he slid deep into heaven, my whole body trembled. Jerked as I imagined it was not his cock but my own breaching the warmth of absolution. Blood raged through my veins, headed south between my legs. Made me feel full and heavy.
And I didn’t want to watch them anymore. I wanted to see her. I looked over toward my Aphrodite, the one sharing space with me now.
She was not looking at the scene. Instead, she stared at the little dove in her hand, a soft, sad little look upon her face, and my heart squeezed. She was so powerful. Beautiful. And also lost.
I could see it now. The way her fingers played so tenderly upon the head of that mechanized bird. The other Aphrodite had only ever called my creations quaint, and only if she’d been of a mind to be kind.
But this one seemed to delight in my works, found wonder in them. I suspected that she was not looking at the scene of tender lovemaking not because she was repulsed by it, but rather, because the images elicited a powerful emotion of longing in her. This Aphrodite had lost her mate. Her one true love. That kind of loss was a nightmare that haunted the waking and dreaming hours. Relentless and cruel in its torments.
Her skin gleamed like moon pearl, but she didn’t gleam as she often did. She was pale and unwell. Always pretty but soul sick. Just as I was. When I looked at the faces of the others around us, some of them were gazing upon the sex scene with scorn and also longing, others were openly lustful, some even moving their hands over the hardness between their thighs. A few were looking down upon her where she sat on the throne, curiosity and the ever present desire to carnally know her stamped upon their handsome faces. But I knew not a one of them truly cared for the precious soul that burned within her tempting body.
Then I watched my brother. His face was stern. There was no desire or sexual fire burning in his eyes. But there was another emotion being played out. I was not as adept at knowing his mind as I was at knowing hers. All I knew was, he was very deeply troubled by what he was learning.
He looked up and locked eyes with me. I frowned and
shook my head, not even sure what that might mean.
“Oh, my darling boy,” I heard the image of her croon, and I was helpless to her thrall, even knowing she did not speak those words to me.
It was all over, and she was playing with his hair, as seemed to be one of her favorite things to do. “I had to see, Hephy. Had to try and figure out what’s going on with me.”
He frowned, looking down at her with obvious tenderness. “What’s happened to you, Dite? Are you ill?”
“No. No,” she said more quietly and shook her head. “But I have been thinking a lot lately. I’m alone so often now. You’re always busy at the forge, and I understand that. I do.”
He opened his mouth, no doubt to protest, but she planted her palms upon his chest and gently squeezed, giving him a soft smile, and he grew silent.
“But,” she pressed on, “I am a jealous goddess, though I am loath to admit it. I’ve never known jealousy before. I do not know how to handle this new and terrifying feeling that’s come over me. And… and lately, I’ve found my eye wandering.”
She whispered the last softly, as though she was ashamed, and my heart squeezed in my chest. A sense of panic and fear gripped me tight.
Had she left me in that world too? He almost appeared to stop breathing, and I was pretty sure my reaction had been the same as his.
“What?” He sat up on his elbow and looked down at her with pupils large and dilated, the whites of his eyes nearly obliterating the lightning within. “Do you not want—”
“Oh no,” she was quick to assert, “I will never not want you. You must believe that, my forger. But I am telling you that I’m lonely. And I’d hoped that the female would take the edge off, but the truth is…” She blew out a deep breath as her words trailed off, and then she frowned as she glanced over at the white pillow that was rumpled with the imprint of his head.
My heart squeezed as if it were gripped in a vise. My stomach hurt. My body ached all over. Was this it, then?
The moment that she realized I was not worthy of her? I kept trying to remind myself that it was not to me that she’d said those words to, but more and more, I felt myself becoming that man for her. The one that she’d so obviously loved. It was getting harder to separate myself from the one who’d had the privilege of lying beside her. My pulse echoed rapidly in my ears.
He shook his head. “Speak freely, Aphrodite. You are safe with me.”
Tears shone in her brilliant blue eyes as she looked up at him. “Ares has been so kind and… and he—”
I closed my eyes. She had not been mine, not really, but her words pricked at my soul all the same. I remembered the promise she’d made him. That she would never force the brothers to choose.
And yet I knew when I got deep into my creations, I was a man possessed, lost to the rhythms of the making. But was it really possible that he, I, could have neglected such an exquisite creature simply to please a man who’d never cared a damn for me?
I knew the answer to that question before I even finished thinking it. Because yes, I would have. Even now, in this time, I’d often taken Zeus’s side over hers.
I looked up at the male I’d always wanted to call me as his own, but he would not look at me. Though I knew he felt my stare, because of the way his shoulders suddenly stiffened, he refused me, the same as always.
He’d never wanted me. Never cared for me.
But she had.
And yet somehow, dumbass that I clearly was, I’d still chosen him.
I groaned, dropping my head into my hands, and shook my head. The Aphrodite of my time and the other one, the perfect one, they couldn’t be more different. Just because we came from the same worlds didn’t mean we’d shared the same environments, or clearly even the same thoughts or beliefs.
If she’d ever give me another chance, would I be the same too, or was it possible that I could also be different? Was it possible that I could learn from the mistakes he’d made? Was any of that possible?
Fire blazed through the pit of my stomach with those questions. Would I have chosen Zeus if my version of Aphrodite had loved me as deeply as the other version had so clearly loved her Hephaestus? I’d like to think not. Like to believe that I was different too. Possibly even better. But I wasn’t sure I’d ever be given the chance again to prove it, because in the end, I’d acted no differently when I’d refused to listen to her and had cast her aside.
“Then I free you of your oath, Aphrodite,” he said, jaw clenched tight, dark clouds spreading through his eyes.
Fucking pansy-ass loser. The thought exploded in my mind, and I hated him with every ounce of my being. Especially when he slipped on his legs and walked out of that room, headed back, no doubt to his damn forge, never once bothering to look back at her. Leaving her alone to struggle with the pain those words must have inflected.
He’d not chosen her. Yet again. And she lay there on the bed, alone and looking defeated. I would not blame her for stepping out on him. He’d all but handed her off to his brother to do just that. I ground my molars. How could he have left her in question of his love, his desire for her?
Didn’t he understand that a rose could only thrive if tended to? If cared for? Roses were sturdy, but they were also unbelievably fragile blooms. The slightest damage to them could ruin them forever.
The colors shifted, the scene reformed, and she was at the ball. Dressed from naked head to bare foot toe in gold body paint. Beautiful, she was. A wild, exotic bird that had come out to play. And everyone looked at her with desire and naked lust in their eyes. But unlike my Aphrodite, she didn’t seem to even be aware of it. There was turmoil on her face and pain glittering in her diamond blue eyes.
She stood by the doorway, looking as though she wanted to flee. Clearly unsure why she’d even bothered to come in the first place. I leaned up on the balls of my feet and reached for the image, the need to comfort her so strong that I forgot myself. Forgot to hide what I was feeling, forgot to pretend to the glittering throng that I didn’t care about anyone or anything.
My fingers came so close to her beautiful face, but it was just a memory. Nothing but a dream. I could not touch her. Not now. Not ever. I curled my fingers in tight and grabbed my aching chest. And I stared at that image, seeing all the gods and goddesses I so despised having fun without me there. None of them missing me. None of them wanting me at all. Save for one. The very best one of all.
I did not much like the other me, and yet I couldn’t help but hope that he’d show up. That he’d show her just how much she meant to him, that he would take that pain from her eyes. That his pride and ego would take a backseat to her needs and desire. That for once he’d leave her in no question that he’d chosen her, just as she’d so proudly chosen him.
But it was Ares who slipped by her side. Big, powerful, and tall, he was the perfect complement to her beauty. The yin to her yang. Dark to her light. He’d come to the masquerade bathed in the light of the moon, which caused his flesh to glow with an ephemeral radiant light.
My perfect brother stared down at her with something that looked a lot like pity.
“He did not show,” he said, voice low so that only she could hear.
She clenched her jaw but shook her head. “Well,” she said in a voice that was strained and pinched tight, “you do know how much he hates these things. And few are ever very kind to him. It was silly of me to ask.”
He turned toward her, grabbed her elbow, and squeezed. “I always chose you, Aphrodite. Then and even now.”
She trembled, and diamond tears slipped out of her closed eyelids. “Go, Ares. Please, just go.”
He cocked his head. His olive toned skin glistening like oiled mahogany in the moonlight. He growled low. “I thought it would be you, if I’m being honest, Aphrodite. But I’ve seen how you’ve chased my brother. How you worship him even still, and I’ve seen his pulling away. His coldness. I am astounded at your stupidity and also his.”
She gasped. “It’s not stupid to
love, Ares.”
His jaw clenched tight. “I never said it was, but maybe it is stupid to hang around when you’re clearly no longer wanted. Is that what I should have done? Should I have shoved you away? Made you feel inadequate? Would that have kept you by my side?”
She sniffed, swiping haughtily at her tears and glowering at him. “You’re cruel.”
“Godsdammit,” he snarled and leaned in close so that only she could hear him. “You think you’re the only one hurting? Do you honestly think that? I’ve tried to move on from you. I expected this damn thing between you and my brother to end ages ago. I’m vexed with myself. With you. Mostly with him… that fucking bastard has you, and he is probably the only person in the history of eternity who could treat you so.”
I flinched, feeling as though I’d just been slapped by his words and flayed wide open for all to see and gawk at, blood puddling at my feet from the terrible and disgustingly true words he’d just uttered.
Ares turned toward her, his chest brushing up against hers. His hands fidgeting by his side, a testament to the truth and depth of his emotions. My brother had always been a rock, solid and unmoving, unyielding. But he had loved her. Because only a profound love like that could make a fool of even the god of war.
“You want me,” he said low, voice shivering with threads of heat and desire of his own. “I know you do.”
She shook, swaying imperceptibly closer and closer to him. But she was shaking her head, murmuring a denial.
His face twisted, and a low snarl slipped off his tongue. “Do not lie to me, or to yourself, Aphrodite, for I scent your arousal. You and I, we make sense, Love. We always have. I am not jealous of your time. Or who you choose to spend it with. I am there for you only when you wish it. Don’t you see we were made for each other?”
She sniffed, wiping at her nose with her wrist and smearing the paint everywhere, but even so, she’d never looked more beautiful to me.
“That…” She cleared her throat. “That may be so, Ares, and maybe I came here tonight thinking exactly that. But I wouldn’t be true to myself if I went through with this. I would hate myself in the morning, and you would start to hate me, too, because I would give you hope that I could never live up to. Hephy might have freed me of my oath, and yet I am bound to him with all my heart and all my soul.” She plucked at her chest with her long fingers. “Do you know what it is to love like that?”
The Greek Gods of Romance Collection Page 54
