Arcadian Nights (11 page)

“
Will you give me a
chance? I know you wanted my body. Can you see what you think of
the rest of me?”

She met his gaze. “I can. Please don’t
expect anything though.”

“
We’ll leave it up to the
Fates, then.” He kissed her quickly, but she had stiffened in his
arms. “What is it?”

She smiled. “Nothing. This is new to
me.” She laughed a little. “A boyfriend instead of a boy toy. How
quaint.”

He laughed and fell back on the bed.
“You’re amazing. Get used to hearing that.”

She leaned down to kiss him. “Okay.
Get used to how insatiable I am.” She rubbed her very wet pussy
over his cock, which quickly became hard.

“
I promise I won’t find it
that taxing,” he whispered as he pushed into her, hoping he would
learn how to possess her heart as quickly as he’d learn to please
her body.

* * * *

“
I challenge you to a
duel, sir. You have compromised my sister’s honor, and you must
marry her at once or face my ire.”

Hermes tried to maintain his composure
as he turned to face Ares. The god of war held a breadstick against
his neck as though it was a knife.

“
You dare laugh at me,
sir?”

Hermes smiled. “It’s hard not to. If
you’d chosen a harder breadstick, I might have taken you
seriously.”

Ares threw the breadstick into a
trashcan by the bar and grabbed a napkin to wipe his hands before
sitting down next to Hermes. “It was funny, you have to
admit.”

Hermes looked around Iris’ restaurant.
A few people had looked up and laughed, but the excitement had been
short-lived. “Yes, I guess so. You want something in
particular?”

Ares shrugged. “Just wanted to talk.
Not sure what about really.”

That confused Hermes. Ares always got
right to the point, no matter what the subject. And unless he’d
missed something, Ares should still hate him. “I guess maybe I
should ask who you want to talk about.”

“
Good point. Aphrodite
isn’t speaking to me, but that’s okay. It just makes me wonder what
she’s up to.”

“
She’s really not talking
to you at all?”

Ares shook his head. “She wrote a note
on my mirror about you and Eris hooking up, but that’s been all
I’ve gotten from her.”

That was surprising. It had been
almost three weeks since Eris and Aphrodite had fought. “She’s not
talking to me either, not since she had a good rant about you and
Eris.”

Ares smiled. “She probably doesn’t
trust you. Everyone knows you two are going at it.”

“
Maybe so. She definitely
lost her objectivity after that little encounter. She likes
thinking Eris is out to get me so she can come to my rescue.”
Hermes noticed Ares’ expression darken. He decided to take a
chance. “It’s just possessiveness. I’m an old toy so she doesn’t
want anyone else to have me.”

Ares took a breath and almost smiled.
“You broke it off with her though.”

“
You did too. I’d say
choosing your sister over your girl is breaking up with
someone.”

Ares laughed. “You could say that, but
you were different.” He leaned forward. “I think you’re Eros’
father.”

Hermes shook his head. “No. It was too
long after we were together.”

Ares shook his head. “You expect me to
believe you didn’t sleep with her again, not at all, after you two
stopped your affair?”

“
Yes, I want you to
believe me. It’s true.”

“
But she told me that when
she and Hephaestus had their fight, she had sex with both of
us.”

Hermes stared at the other god. So
that was where it had all started. “And this was right before she
became pregnant?”

“
About a week.”

“
Well, by the end of that
week she’d had him already.” He shook his head. “We didn’t have
sex. I swear. It has to be you or Hephaestus. I have no reason to
lie.”

“
But you might not want to
be Eros’ father. That’s a reason.”

“
I had no reason to deny
it at the time.”

Ares crossed his arms, staring at the
bar for a moment. “You’re very hard on him.”

“
He deserved it most of
his life. He’s very different now, since meeting Iris.” He nodded
to her, standing at the bar. She’d been watching them, but he knew
she wouldn’t eavesdrop on them.

Ares looked at her and smiled. “I’d
change too. She’s certainly unlike any other goddess. She doesn’t
go around trying to wrap every male in sight around her little
finger.”

“
Believe me or not. I
don’t care. I wouldn’t be ashamed to be his father, but I know I
can’t be. She was pregnant for eight days. This was nearly six
months after we finished. They can all think what they want. I
found people left me alone when I didn’t bother to deny the
possibility, so I kept quiet.”

Ares leaned forward on the table and
narrowed his eyes. “You know, you’ve got me thinking. If you really
were the father, she wouldn’t keep it a secret.” He hit the table.
“She’d shout it from the rooftops.”

He looked up to see Iris coming over
to them, and then turned back to Ares. “Hey, look, I didn’t do
anything. I think you’re getting too worked up over
this.”

“
Yes, you did do
something, something very important. You just made me realize I am
his father.”

“
And what makes you think
that?” Iris asked as she leaned over their table.

Ares smiled at her, his expression and
tone bitter. “I’m the only one she’d be ashamed of. Who would want
to have the god of war’s demon spawn?”

Hermes held his hand up. “Let’s calm
down here. We don’t want a scene.”

“
I won’t make one. I came
here to talk about Eris, but we didn’t get to that.” He turned to
Hermes. “It’s much simpler though. She is in love with you, no
matter what she says or does. You hurt her and I will ask Zeus to
let me challenge you.”

Hermes would have laughed, but he knew
Ares was serious. If Zeus gave permission for a challenge between
two gods, they would be mortal for that time and one of them could
die. “What I have to say is simple too. I’m in love with her. She’s
the one pushing me away.”

Ares stood up. “Neither of us are any
good at love.”

Iris touched his arm as he walked off.
“Don’t leave, please. Wait and have a drink with me.”

He took her hand and kissed her wrist.
“You’re so lovely. My son is very lucky.” He
disappeared.

Iris sat down. “But he has no proof,
right? He doesn’t really know.”

He shook his head. “No. He’s only
guessing. It’s a good one though.”

“
You’ve never believed it
was you, huh?”

“
No. Unless Hera helped
Aphrodite cast a spell that could make me forget, it’s not
possible.”

Iris blanched. “That’s disgusting. You
really think Hera would have helped her do that to you?”

“
I thought it possible for
years, but not anymore. There’s no quieting the gossip though, and
I don’t care about being part of the conversation. I know now it’s
not me, and that is all that really matters to me.” He smiled. “I
wouldn’t be ashamed to be his father. I keep everyone at a
distance, and he took that personally. He’s had his faults, but
he’s changed now.”

“
So you wouldn’t believe
Hera or Aphrodite if they said it was you?”

He thought about this. “I’d ask for
proof.” Eros’ paternity had once been a very sensitive issue, but
over the past year Hermes had come to care less and less. He’d
ceased to suspect Aphrodite of foul play, so to speak, preferring
to see her little plot for just what it was. A plot, a scheme, just
another one of her games to beguile and ensnare the men she
desired. Hephaestus, as far as any of them could tell, didn’t care
either. Maybe that proved more than anything else that Ares was the
father.

“
Oh, who cares? Do you?”
Iris asked.

“
No. I do wish we’d gotten
to talk about Eris though instead of the usual drama with
Aphrodite. I can’t believe he told me that. In fact, I can hardly
believe he came here and had a conversation with me, even if it was
a bit one-sided.”

“
Do you believe
him?”

“
Why would he lie? He
loves his sister, even if he loves no one else. Lying about this
could only be meant to harm her.”

“
Are you
happy?”

He thought about that. He felt
something like happiness, a touch of excitement mixed with
nervousness too. “I won’t be happy until I hear her say it. I
thought I was falling in love. Now I find I already am.”

“
Then trust she’ll come
around. I hid my feelings from Eros for fear of getting hurt. He
thought all his efforts were in vain during those days. When she
believes you love her, something will happen.”

“
So, I need to convince
her I love her, all the while worrying about Aphrodite or Ares
coming after me.”

Iris laughed. “You’re stuck either
way. Aphrodite gets more jealous every day, and Ares seems to be
growing impatient for you two to make it official. His desire to
see his sister happy has obviously overcome his anger about you and
Aphrodite.”

“
You think he really wants
me to marry her?”

“
He must believe it will
make her happy. Why not? I think it’s obvious neither of you is the
fall in love a dozen times type. Won’t all of Olympus see Eris in a
new light if she’s your wife? She’ll be doubly happy if your love
wins her the tiniest bit of acceptance.”

“
She’s said something very
similar. About everyone accepting her, that is. She wants me to
speak for her. Or something like that.”

“
Correction. She wants her
true love to stand up for her.”

He rolled his eyes. “She doesn’t think
that way.”

“
Maybe she just hides it
too well.”

He had to admit it was possible,
considering how much she bottled everything else up. “Part of me
still wonders if she’d use me, just to change her
status.”

“
And how quickly would she
lose that status if she dumped you or hurt you? She’d have half of
Olympus out for her.”

He didn’t like having every point he
brought up refuted, typically, but Iris was definitely making him
feel better. “You’re very convincing.”

“
I hope so. Now stop being
paranoid and just live. Go after what you want.”

“
Is it that
easy?”

She smiled, holding her hand up to
admire her wedding band. “Oh yes, and it’s well worth it in the
end.”

He smiled and squeezed her hand,
wondering if Eris would look so lovingly on a ring from
him.

Chapter Five

Eris looked in the mirror again. She
liked the knee-length silk dress, but the color was another matter.
Supposedly though, green was Hermes’ favorite color. She’d chosen a
deep hunter green with a lighter green sash in the back. Would he
see it for what it was? Would he understand she was trying to make
him happy, to show she was more open and less defensive?

“
Pink, I
think.”

Eris watched her dress turn to a deep
rose. It also got tighter.

“
Hera?”

Hera walked up behind her, but she
wasn’t smiling. “I thought I’d come see how you were.”

She and Hera had not spoken to each
other for years. Hera had, in some ways, forgiven Eris much
earlier, as she’d thought the fight with Athena and Aphrodite silly
afterwards. She loved mischief for its own sake also, even more so
than Eris did.

“
You want to talk to me
about Hermes.”

“
Yes. I’m not going to
pitch a fit like Aphrodite, so I thought perhaps we could really
talk.”

Eris looked into the goddess’ eyes.
“I’ve always been ready to talk, but no one talks to
me.”

Hera smiled sadly. “You’re right. I
can’t give you specific assurances, but everyone doesn’t hate you
the way you think. I don’t hate you and never have. Many fear you.
They don’t know you.”

“
Disliking someone and
hating them don’t yield very different results. It’s all the same
from my end.”

Hera nodded. “I know. Even when you
were fucking my husband, I didn’t hold it against you.”

Eris smiled. “I thought you found it
rather amusing.” She knew she was taking a chance, but she’d always
felt Hera was more like her than anyone else in Olympus.

She laughed. “I will admit I spied a
little. Your wit surpasses his by leaps and bounds, so it was very
amusing. I love him, but I do go elsewhere when I need stimulation
above the neck.”

Eris decided to take one more chance.
“Did you watch us?”

Hera raised her eyebrows. “Twice, yes,
I did. I’m very into voyeurism. I also like to dominate, so I
enjoyed watching another woman dominate him. Aphrodite is
submissive, so it’s never as arousing when he takes her to his bed.
Do you care?”