Arcadian Nights

Hermes has been given one
task by Aphrodite—keep an eye on Eris at her son’s wedding. The
last time the beautiful goddess of discord attended a wedding, the
Trojan War was the result. Hermes doesn’t think he has much to
worry about until she takes offense at being watched and decides to
teach him a lesson with a lust spell in the middle of the
reception. Convinced she is not as cold and aloof as she pretends
to be, he sets out to seduce her instead, starting them both on an
erotic path of discovery that will teach them both lessons they
won’t soon forget.

Arcadian Nights

Olympians, Book
Three

by

Marie Medina

MF, MULTIPLE
PARTNERS,

& LIGHT
BONDAGE

Twisted E-Publishing,
LLC.

www.twistedepublishing.com

A TWISTED E-PUBLISHING
BOOK

Arcadian Nights

Olympians, Book Three

Copyright © 2009, 2015 by Marie
Medina

Second E-book Publication: July
2015

Previously Published 2009

Cover design by K Designs

All cover art and logo copyright © 2015,
Twisted Erotica Publishing.

ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED:
This literary work may not be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part,
without express written permission.

All characters and events in this book
are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is
strictly coincidental.

Chapter One

Hermes didn’t really care for parties,
but he’d had no intention of missing this wedding. He stood next to
Aello, Ocypete and Celaeno, better known to most as Ally, O, and
Celine. The Harpies didn’t normally socialize at all, as they could
hardly stand the company of anyone but themselves, and there were
many days they could hardly tolerate each other. They had chosen to
both be social and get along with each other on this day because
their half-sister Iris was marrying Eros. Eros’s mother Aphrodite
had insisted very strongly that everyone come and play nice. The
three sisters, however, were not doing well.

“
I told her she could wear
white if she wanted to, even though she’s been married before. She
looks fabulous in white,” O observed.

Ally snorted. “She looks washed out in
white. She should have worn blue. It’s her best color.”

Celine rolled her eyes at both of
them. “There is no way this marriage will last. He won’t
change.”

“
I think he already has,”
Hermes said.

All three women glared at him simply
because he had spoken, not necessarily because they all
disagreed.

He smiled amiably. “It’s just my
opinion.”

O turned to Celine. “I think they’re
adorable. If anyone can change him, Iris can.”

Ally smiled mischievously. “Well,
Aphrodite did one thing right. She invited Eris.”

Eris was the goddess of discord, and
for the most part her brother Ares was the only god she got along
with. When she hadn’t been invited to the marriage of King Peleus
and the sea nymph Thetis, she’d managed to start the Trojan War by
making Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera fight over who was the fairest.
Paris had been asked to judge, and he had awarded the honor to
Aphrodite when she promised him the most beautiful mortal in the
world, Helen of Troy, could be his. The war had passed and the
goddesses had long since recovered from the conflict, but they had
never quite forgiven the mischievous goddess for causing the fight.
Or the war.

Eris stood alone, wearing a black
dress that covered every part of her body but her neck and hands.
Her hair and eyes were jet black, but silver star-like specks
danced in her eyes. Unlike her brother Ares, Zeus and Hera were not
her parents. Just as Aphrodite had been born from sea foam, Eris
had no father and had come from the dark chaos of Night and been
born to the primal goddess Nyx in answer to Ares’ need for a
companion like himself, for someone to both reflect and compliment
him. She had proven to be the perfect companion over the years.
Around her neck she wore a golden apple. She had used a similar
golden apple, inscribed “to the fairest,” to cause the feud between
the goddesses. Zeus had asked Hephaestus, the blacksmith of
Olympus, to forge it and make the chain short and unbreakable. Zeus
had a love for mischief that had once made him favor Eris, but
after she had turned his wife against Athena and Aphrodite, he’d
wanted to make sure no one ever forgot what she was capable
of.

Aphrodite had asked Hermes to keep an
eye on Eris, since she couldn’t trust her brother Ares to care
enough. Ares always dismissed Eris’ behavior as playful. Everyone
knew he was secretly proud of her for starting the Trojan War.
Hermes couldn’t help wondering what Aphrodite saw in Ares, besides
his looks and skills in bed. He was petty, moody, and often cruel.
He fought with his parents Zeus and Hera almost constantly, but
Hera always managed to keep him out of trouble with everyone else
somehow.

Celine poked Hermes in the ribs. “So,
do you think it was a good idea?”

Hermes sighed. The Harpies liked Eris
because she liked strife and drama as much as they did. “It seemed
like a good idea, given the circumstances and especially
considering how close Aphrodite is to her brother.”

“
Hmmm. I don’t know. I
think Ares is just Aphrodite’s latest toy,” Ally said. “Pretty soon
he’ll be her errand boy, just like you.”

Hermes looked at Ally calmly.
“Considering they’ve been having sex off and on for centuries, I
don’t think he’s just a way to pass the time. And I’m everyone’s
errand boy. I have no quarrel with Aphrodite.”

O groaned. “God, you are so boring. Do
you ever get mad? Sad? Anything?”

“
All the time.”

“
I’d like some proof of
that,” Celine said.

“
It will have to wait.”
Hermes strode away from the Harpies quickly. Eris was heading for
the punchbowl, and he wanted to make sure nothing
happened.

They arrived at the table at the same
time, and she glared at him. She picked up a glass and filled it,
then stood aside. He looked down at the table and took a glass of
champagne.

She smiled at him. “Nice to know my
reputation is untarnished.”

“
Excuse me?”

She walked closer and fixed his
collar. “You thought I was going to do something.” She looked
around and laughed. “That’s what everyone thinks.”

“
Can you blame
us?”

She shrugged. “I suppose not. Seems a
bit unfair though that every other Olympian is eventually forgiven
of their wicked ways, but no one is allowed to forget what I did a
very long time ago.” Her hand had strayed to her necklace, and she
turned the apple between her fingers. She did it so often it seemed
like a nervous habit to Hermes.

“
You did start a
war.”

She dropped the apple. “My brother is
the god of war. What do you expect?”

Hermes shook his head. “He only
supports them. He doesn’t really start them. Humans do that just
fine on their own most of the time.”

She sipped her punch thoughtfully. “So
you hate me as much as everyone else does?”

“
I don’t hate
you.”

“
No, of course not. You
don’t hate anyone, do you? Tell me, what emotions do you actually
deign to use? I can’t say I’ve ever noticed anything but disdain.”
She traced a line down the middle of his chest. “There’s nothing
wrong with disdain, but there has to be something more interesting
in there.”

He backed away just enough to keep her
from touching him. “Disdain? For whom?”

She held her hands up and gestured to
the whole garden. “Everyone. You think you’re better than
everyone.”

He shook his head. “No, I
don’t.”

“
Yes, you do. You think
you outstrip every one of us in virtue and honor. You think you’re
the only one who has never done anything wrong or cruel or
petty.”

“
I don’t think that, but
I’ve never done anything to purposely hurt someone. If that sets me
apart from other Olympians, I don’t care. I’m proud I’ve never done
things like that, and I don’t see the point in criticizing
it.”

“
No, you’re quite right.
You don’t care, and you’ve never done things like that because you
don’t do anything. You won’t even fight for Aphrodite.”

He took a breath and tried to gather
his thoughts. He looked over at Aphrodite, who stood laughing with
Demeter and Dionysus.

“
I’m not in love with her,
and I never was.”

“
You slept with
her.”

He smiled slightly. “That doesn’t mean
I loved her. It certainly doesn’t make me special in any way
either.”

Eris laughed loudly. “Indeed not. That
was just a tiny bit crude.”

“
It’s a statement of
fact.”

Eris looked at Aphrodite. “This could
get interesting. A fertility goddess and the god of wine and
ecstasy. I see a threesome in Aphrodite’s future.”

“
I’m sure there’ll be one
somewhere in her future.”

Eris ran her finger down Hermes’
cheek. “You know, you have a very dry wit.”

“
Once again, a statement
of fact.”

“
Stubborn too. Those were
jokes, and you know it, even if technically they could be just
‘statements of fact’. There might be an intriguing man beneath that
stony façade yet.”

“
It’s not a façade, and
your plan isn’t going to work.”

“
What plan? Do tell me how
clever you think I am?”

She smirked up at him, but he ignored
it. “You want to either make me angry with you or with someone
else. It’s not going to work. And it’s not such a clever plan after
all. You should have picked someone else. Perhaps someone with less
control and more of a temper. I could think of any number of guests
who would have made better targets.”