Arcadian Nights (14 page)

Hermes didn’t want to jump to
conclusions or make her defensive, but he leaned forward and asked,
“Who?”

“
My son’s father.
Ares.”

He tried to keep his face a blank. He
was in no way surprised, but hearing her say the words made it so
much more real. “He thinks about you all the time, and he’s always
cared so much more who Eros’ father was. Just tell him.”

“
But he doesn’t love me
any more than I love him.”

“
That doesn’t mean you
meant nothing to each other. You two have been off again, on again
for a very long time. You’re part of each other.”

“
That sounds a little
cheesy.”

He rolled his eyes. “But I think it’s
true. You certainly cause each other as much pain as two people in
love normally do. He got angry with you because he was defending
his sister. Talk to him about it. Tell him that he is Eros’ father.
See what happens.”

“
He’ll be angry I told you
first. He thinks I’m in love with you.” She smiled. “You’re pretty
damn perfect, I will say, but a bit serious for me.”

“
It’s up to you, but I
think you’ll be happier if you take my advice.”

“
We’ll see.”

He hesitated a moment, but then took
her hand. “The man who wins your heart will have to be far more
perfect than I am.”

She smiled playfully. “My standards
are pretty high.”

He smiled too, glad to see her face
brighten, if only a little. “Now, do we have your
blessing?”

She sobered, but she squeezed his hand
reassuringly. “Yes. This is what I felt that confused me. I never
expected her to love you, so I didn’t believe it at first. But she
does. She truly loves you. And you love her. You’ll be happy.” She
sighed and pulled her hand away, crossing her arms. “And I’ll be
jealous.”

“
You’ll get over
it.”

“
I will. I know that.
Please indulge me though if I don’t jump up and down.”

“
You’re forgiven. Think
about what I said.”

She nodded. “No promises though.” She
stood up. “Get some sleep, lover boy.” She snapped her fingers and
disappeared before he could say anything else.

He sat back, thinking. That had
actually been far easier than he’d thought it would be. He knew he
couldn’t count on her following his advice, but he hoped someday
she’d see the wisdom in it, before she drove herself and Ares
crazy.

He closed his eyes, thinking of Eris
and anticipating the next time he would see her. Now that she’d
admitted her feelings for him, he found himself even more anxious
to have her with him every moment.

Chapter Six

Eris hurried down the stairs because
she smelled someone cooking breakfast. She hoped it would be
Hermes. But when she came to a halt, Ares, not Hermes, stood at the
stove scrambling eggs. “Morning, gorgeous. Breakfast for two or
three today?”

“
Just two, but I’m sure
you knew that.”

He turned to kiss her cheek. “I was a
good boy. I didn’t check. I’ve learned my lesson.”

She laughed. He was referring to the
time he had appeared in her bedroom after a fight with Aphrodite
and discovered her tying one of her mortal lovers to the bedpost.
“Good. I’m glad to hear it. Is this a special occasion?”

“
No. Not really. Just here
to annoy you.”

“
You aren’t annoying me.”
She sat down at the island in the middle of her kitchen.

“
Not yet. How are things
going with the speedster?”

She looked down at the counter,
tracing the strawberry pattern on the tiles with her finger.
“Speeding up a bit.”

“
Really? Who took my
advice, you or him?”

She poked him in the arm. “Why did you
tell him I was in love with him?”

“
He was having
doubts.”

She didn’t know what to say to that.
She couldn’t imagine Hermes going to her brother for advice. “How
did you know that?”

“
He told me. I saw him in
Iris’ place and couldn’t resist teasing him. The conversation
turned a bit serious in the end.”

“
Aphrodite,
huh?”

Ares nodded as he moved the eggs onto
two plates. “It’s fine. I just had to vent a bit.”

She’d seen his version of venting. It
could often result in casualties. “You sure?”

“
To get to the point, I
told him you loved him and that he’d be in huge trouble if he
didn’t make you deliriously happy.”

She laughed. “That’s what you
said?”

He put the frying pan back on the
stove and suddenly six strips of bacon appeared there. “Something
like that.”

“
You could conjure cooked
bacon just as easily.”

“
I happen to like
cooking.”

After a moment, she said, “Aphrodite
hates cooking.”

He concentrated on the bacon. “Her
loss.”

“
Oh I know, don’t you
worry. But come on. What did you really say?”

After biting his lower lip and giving
her a sidelong glance, he sighed and finally said, “I told him I’d
challenge him if he hurt you.”

Eris couldn’t hide the shock that
spread over her face. “Are you kidding me? Are you fucking kidding
me?”

He looked up, just as shocked. “No,
I’m not. It spurred his ass into action, didn’t it?”

She shook her head, but then burst out
laughing. “What did he say?”

“
He told me not to worry.
He said he was in love with you and was going to do everything
possible to break through all your defenses. Or something like
that. Basically though, I managed to convince him that was indeed
just what he needed to do. He seemed unsure before
that.”

“
I think things still
would have worked out. The Fates know what they’re
doing.”

He divided the bacon and brought the
two plates over to the island and then poured orange juice for both
of them. “Well, you two can believe that stuff all you want. The
Fates don’t have anything to do with my sex life or my love
life.”

“
Two separate things, are
they?”

He took a bite of eggs and winked at
her. “Much better that way.”

“
Until you find the right
person.”

He shrugged. “I’ll let you know.” He
started to take a sip of juice, but he stopped and stared at
her.

He looked fairly stunned, so she
touched her face and looked down at her clothes. Nothing seemed to
be wrong. “What is it?”

Instead of explaining, he reached for
her neck and ran one finger over her necklace.

“
What?” she asked in a
frenzy. The chain was so short she couldn’t look at it, so she
jumped up and ran to a mirror in the hall. The golden apple and
chain were gone, and a silver heart and chain hung in its
place.

Ares joined her quickly. As she stared
into the mirror, he put his arms around her waist and smiled at
her. “It’s my mother. I know it. She told me she came to see
you.”

“
But this happened just
now.”

He moved away after kissing her cheek.
“So? It means you’re officially forgiven.”

Eris continued to stare at her
reflection. She tried to undo the latch. “It’s still won’t come
off.” She ran her finger over the delicate charm. “Now everyone
will constantly be reminded I’m forgiven.”

“
Only you don’t have me to
thank.”

They both turned to see Hera coming in
the back door.

She smiled and kissed Ares on the
cheek. “Zeus did this. I’ve said nothing to him about you or
Hermes. It’s certainly a lovely thought. I’m proud of
him.”

Eris turned to Hera, searching her
face. “Really? Zeus did this on his own? It was his
idea?”

Hera nodded. “He still has a soft spot
for you. He likes any woman who’s willing to tie him
up.”

“
I’ll have to thank him.
Right now.”

“
Going so soon?” Hera
asked.

Eris nodded. “I want to show Hermes,
but not until I know this is real.” She turned and walked out of
the house, clutching the necklace as if it gave her
life.

* * * *

Eris found Zeus in his private
swimming pool with three giggling mortal girls.

“
Excuse me, ladies, but I
need a moment alone with the gentleman.”

All three girls looked up, and then
looked at Zeus, who nodded.

“
Give us a few minutes,
girls. I promise she won’t wear me out.”

The girls quickly left.

“
Very obedient,” Eris said
with a smile.

Zeus got up and walked over to her,
not bothering to towel off. “Bit tiresome though. I like my women
feisty.”

“
Yes, I remember.” She
touched her necklace. “Hera says this is all your
doing.”

“
It is.”

“
Thank you.”

“
No need to thank me. I
should have broken that thing long ago.”

She shook her head. “I don’t blame you
for not doing so.”

He came closer to her until they were
an inch away from touching. “Anything else you’d like to do to
thank me?”

She smiled. He hadn’t changed at all.
“What did you have in mind?”

He smiled and put his arms around her
waist. “I think Hermes would kill me.”

“
Then a simple handshake
will do.”

Eris felt her heart flutter when she
heard Hermes’ voice. That was definitely a new sensation. She
smiled at him, and he returned her smile as she left Zeus’ arms and
walked toward him. He put his arms around her and kissed her very
soundly.

“
That would do nicely
too,” Zeus said.

Hermes pulled away and looked at her
necklace, touching it lightly before replying, “Oh well. You had
your chance.”

“
So, when’s the wedding?”
Zeus asked.

Eris couldn’t help stiffening in
Hermes’ arms. He pulled her closer, but didn’t reveal to Zeus that
he’d noticed the change.

“
Whenever my lady says it
is. Her every wish is my command.” He kissed her lightly on the
neck. “So if you don’t mind, we’ll be going. Her wish list tends to
be very demanding.”

Zeus laughed. “I’m already jealous, no
need to rub it in.”

Hermes hurried her out the door, but
before she could start to explain he’d pulled her into a passionate
embrace.

When he finally let her take a breath,
he smiled down at her and asked, “Are you happy, my
love?”

She touched her necklace. “Yes. I
didn’t expect this.” She looked up at him seriously, taking both
his hands in hers and squeezing them. “And I didn’t mean to react
that way.”

He freed one of his hands and stroked
her cheek. “Don’t worry about it.”

“
Too late. I’m going
to.”

“
What I want is to have
you with me. I’m going to live in Arcadia, in the mountains where
mortals never go. I want you to come with me.”

“
When?” She couldn’t tell
if she was more excited or more nervous. It felt ridiculous to be
nervous, but there was no denying the feeling.

“
I’m preparing my new home
now. You can come when you like. I plan on being with you
every night from now until then. I know you like
having some space, but I don’t want to spend another night without
you.”

She looked down, rubbing his hands. “I
did miss you last night. I felt very alone when I woke
up.”

“
So did I.”

“
I do love you. Don’t
doubt that.”

“
How could I?”

She touched the silver heart. “It
takes more than this to prove I’m trustworthy.”

He laughed. “One of the most feared
and powerful goddesses in all Olympus, and you still worry so about
what others think. You have no confidence in your ability to
inspire love. I think you got so used to being avoided and feared
that you never noticed no one cared anymore. You convinced yourself
you’d always be alone.”

“
I never wanted to be
feared. That gets old very fast. All I want now is to be
loved.”

He pulled her close. “You are loved,
more than any woman has ever been loved before.” He kissed her
deeply, managing to push her doubts and fears aside. He loved her,
and all her worries suddenly seemed trivial.

She snuggled against his neck when he
released her. “Is it this easy?”

“
We’ll both still worry
and have doubts,” he said as he stroked her hair. “Just promise
you’ll come to me when you have them, when something vexes
you.”

She giggled and looked up at him.
“Like when my need for your cock vexes me to
distraction?”

He cupped her ass and pressed her
against his cock, which had grown hard at her words. “Oh yes. Make
sure you let me know right away.” He pushed her back, pinning her
against the wall. “Say you’ll come live with me.”