The Wager- BBW Erotic Curvy Paranormal Romance (TOUCH OF THE GODS) (30 page)

              “But this secret, Hephaestus---”

             
“There is nothing too big which has been left untold that could hurt me anymore than I've already experienced, my Goddess. So, as much as it hurts to say it… I decline, but know this, any harm you bring to my love, will come back to you. I'm pretty good friends with Karma, since we were yoga partners in Iris's class.”

             
Her eyes widened briefly before she masked her fear at the name of the bitchiest member to ever grace Olympus, but not before I caught a glimpse of fear. For the first time in my dealings with these most perfect gods, I felt a sense of satisfaction course through me. I was done with being their emotional punching bag, thanks to the love that Vanessa blessed me with and it would take a hell of a doozy to throw me back into that black hole of despair.

Of course, I should’ve never put anything past Aphrodite, as she was known for tossing whoppers. When I heard the shocked voice behind me, I turned to see a face that matched the startled tone and felt my insides grow cold.

              “Uncle? What are you doing here? Mom, why is Hephaestus here?”

             
“Sit, Eros. I don't have a lot of time and need my beauty rest, before I go deal with the mortal my ex-husband has taken a fancy to.”

             
“If you don't mind Mom, I'm going to stand as far from you as possible. Because something tells me that I'm not going to like what you have to say.”

             
I glared at the Goddess of Love. “Aphrodite, what is happening? He should be home with Psyche and their new baby girl.” I looked over at my bewildered nephew. “Congratulations, by the way, Eros. What did you call her?”

             
“Thank you. Her name is Voluptas. She's so beautiful, I couldn't be more proud. You must come see her, Uncle.”

             
“Father.” Aphrodite’s voice was barely a whisper.

When I heard that single word so crystal clear, my head swiveled over to look at her levelly.

She was smart enough to not avert her eyes, but they weren’t on me, they were on her son.

From my peripheral view, I saw his face had gone pale with rage. “Repeat yourself woman and do so loud and clear.” My voice was an angry growl, forcing her to face me.

She had the audacity to lift her chin, seemingly uncaring about the information she just shared.

             
“Mother?”

             
“He's your father, Eros. And he's your son, Hephaestus. That night we made love in the dream realm, I conceived him and when you captured me in that damned net, the same night with Ares, I decided to get even. Now you know, and knowing the secret means all bets are off with what I'll do to your little bitch. Have a good night, boys.” Obviously, to avoid the argument that was sure to come, Aphrodite vanished in a shimmer of gold dust.

That left us both to stare at each other, neither of us sure what to say. Vanessa had been right about Eros looking like me more than what was normal, but I was too much of a fool to listen and now the man I had practically raised and loved like a son, was in fact that very thing. A clearing of the waiter's throat forced me to look away from the younger man. After paying the bill that the goddess
accidentally
left me with, I slowly approached Eros as though he were an entirely new person.

Placing my hand on his shoulder, together we teleported back to my home and moving away, I watched him. Even from the distance, I could see his flickering eyes shining with restrained tears and I knew that mine mirrored his own.

The one thing I had always wished from the union between Aphrodite and I, was to have a son, and here, I already had one that I never got to know about for many millenniums. I knew the goddess hated that she was forced to marry me and despised everything that I was but I never thought she would sink so low to punish him with such a secret. So much time lost. “Eros, I didn't know. If I had....”

             
“Don't. It wasn't you who hid this. I can't believe she would do this to me.”

             
“Your mother probably had her reasons.”

             
“Yeah, to hurt you. I always knew I didn't belong to him. I knew I couldn't have been Ares' son.” He did break down then, the tears flowing down his face with all the painful memories that he lived through while under the rule of the War God.

Rules I couldn't protect him from. Taking the two steps to close the gap between us, I pulled him into my arms, holding him as a parent would a hurt child. Not wanting to let him go, Eros's sobs racked his body, my shirt becoming wet, but I didn't care, my own tears fell into his hair. I sang a song, one that used to lull him to sleep whenever he came to me as a child. I just wanted to soothe his pain and my own.

After several moments and a few hiccups on his part, we once again separated from the hug. I looked down and after several flash changes in his eyes, I watched as they settled to fire flickers in the center of his pupils with coal red irises. He had my eyes. My son, the God of True Love who came from me and he was beautiful. “You are the proudest creation I've ever made, Eros.”

             
“Stop, before I embarrass myself with crying again.”

             
“Never worry about showing emotions before me, son. I just hope that before learning this truth, I never made you ashamed to know me.”

             
“Not once. As a boy, I remember trying to wish on flying stars that you'd call me son. I guess wishes do come true, even if they're many, thousands of years later!”

             
Smiling, I laughed, feeling a true sense of happiness that I only thought I gained from Vanessa, and it occurred to me that once I had her in my arms, my life would be complete. Aphrodite was right about one thing, finding out this secret has made a change in my life - one for the better.

The chiming of bells rang from his pocket and I waited as he opened his cell. From the soft, mumbling voice on the other end and the playful smile on his lips, I knew he spoke with his wife. What stunned me was that he told her everything that we had both just learned, then handed me the phone, his eyes glittering.

Tentatively, I held the small device up to my ear while hearing sighs and coos from the baby, the sound was music to my ears. A child I thought would just be another family member was now my grand daughter. I had a grand baby to spoil! “Hello?”

             
“Hello, Hephaestus. I guess I can call you Pop now.”

             
“Are you okay with this? I mean the both of you being associated with the ‘Lame God’ and all.”

             
“You're not lame or broken. Anyone with a heart as sweet and as large as yours, can't be those things. Now you'll have no excuses to keep away from our family dinners!”

             
“Ha! I wouldn't dream of staying away, Psyche.”

             
“Good. See you in about three months with your wife. Now, let me speak with Eros again.”

             
“Yes, dear. Have a good evening and see you soon.”  Handing the phone back to my son, I listened as he spoke to his wife and I thought of how great it would be to have those loving conversations with Vanessa, once she was with me. Though it sounded crazy, I looked forward to her arguing about me coming home late from the forge, making family dinners and giving me more children. The last thought caused my heart to skip with both fear and delight.

Eros finally said his goodbyes, giving me a sheepish grin. I knew he needed to go, but with all that we had learned, calling it a night had become suddenly difficult. Our feet shuffled and finally, after his phone buzzed again, he cleared his throat to break the stretching silence. “I should probably go. Psyche needs to rest, so I have night time baby duty. But between you and me, I love every moment of it.”

              “That's no problem, Eros. I can't wait to see her. Wow, a grand daughter.”

             
“Yeah, I know, right? I'll see you in a few days… Dad. Gee, that feels so natural to say.” He faded away.

             
I was left alone, still reeling over the fact that I had a son and he actually called me father. If Aphrodite had been trying to make my life horrible by telling me her hidden secret, she failed miserably. So disillusioned about what it meant to have a relationship with anyone, she never saw the closeness of Eros and I, but that still left one problem. I could protect my son but couldn't do the same for Vanessa and she would be left to the wolves for the next seventy-nine days.

Mentally, I sent my hope and love to her, praying that it would reach her and keep her safe. Then, I decided to call it a night and go to bed early. I had too many things to finish in the forge. Plus, I wanted to make a special cradle for Voluptas. Perhaps, some toys as well. Yes, yes. I would keep my mind busy and believe all would work out for me. As Eros, my son would say, I deserved it and as Vanessa had taught me to do, I agreed.

Chapter XXIV

Vanessa

              “Your lunch, dearest. Open your mouth, please.”

             
The spirit waiter fed me my daily high protein and carb sludge that had absolutely no taste to it. Which was a good thing, because just the look of it would make a person gag. Since starting this trial, I tried to keep tally of the days I stood in place, counting each time my bluish caterer came to feed me, but soon found that to be impossible. Perhaps, it was the field's enchantment or the fact that there seemed to be a lack of the sun and moon. Whichever it was, I didn't know how long I had been in my spot.

After a few moments, I realized Jerry, my ghost help was still shoveling my mouth full of my meal, as though he were trying to beef me up for the day. Since I couldn't move, even to stop him, I had to keep my mouth shut to get his attention, smirking when his semi-transparent face shifted into a frown.

              “You must eat up, dearest. You've a busy day tomorrow.”

             
“What's happening tomorrow?”

             
“Your first judge will come. I want to make sure you're strong enough for them.”

             
That was Jerry. Always concerned about those he took care of, which always made me angry at his situation. When we first were introduced, the thing that stood out the most was his gear, it wasn’t clothing, but metal contraptions that wrapped around his lean torso, like a candy cane stripe. He was obviously one of the souls from door number three, yet his personality was so kind and endearing, I couldn't understand why he suffered so.

His skin, though nearly clear held a bit of blue which from what he told me, was the same color as his eyes. He didn't have them anymore, but the long, frizzy, yellow hair told me he was probably telling the truth. Jerry was the only character that I had any contact with and I felt that without him, I would have gone insane long ago. Though he came only three times a day, I looked forward to the visits while hearing his many tales of what it was like to live during the time of Ancient Greece.

During those times, I had learned that his full name was Jerricurius. He never married, but loved a woman, was a scribe and sadly died during a raid on his village. He never wanted pity for his end, as it was not an uncommon happening during that time in history, but wished he hadn't made so many mistakes since arriving to the Underworld.

I never asked him what they were, but now as he poked my sealed lips with the spoon, I decided today was better than never. The minute I opened my mouth, he shoved the food in. I had to swallow hastily to get out my words before he fed me another bite. “Jerry, why are you not in paradise? How'd you end up as a tortured servant?”

              “Vanessa, I don't think it's best I tell you that story. Let's just finish up this meal, huh?”

             
“I really am full now, and I'm even more curious. Besides, you didn't get to tell me a story at breakfast, so you owe me one now.”

             
“I guess you’re right, but why don't I tell you of the time I hand fed a Golden Hind and he blessed me with the gift of writing?”

             
“You've already told me that one.”

             
“How about the time I beat Hercules in arm wrestling?”

             
“Yes, that one too.”

             
“Oh… Ah, what about babysat for a family of....”

             
“Cyclopes. Yup, heard it. Please Jerry, I want to know about why you're suffering so, because you know, when I get past this, I'll be a goddess, and then I can set you free!”

             
Instead of smiling, as I thought he would at the prospect of going into whatever his heaven was, Jerry's face dropped and he shook his head sadly, before turning empty eyes back at me. Even without them I knew he was studying me, wondering if he should tell me his tragic story. After what felt like hours, he sighed heavily and nodded, scooping up more food. “I will tell you, dearest, but you must eat all of this while I do. Antimetó̱pisi̱?”