Lover, Divine

by A. Star

  "His lordship saw my death," Conor replied. "He showed it to me in a vision. I would have died in war if I hadn't let him immortalize me."

  Really?

  I yanked on Apollo's hair until he lifted his head. "What?" he growled.

  "You saved Conor."

  "Yes. And?"

  "And tha' was bloody nice of you, is all." Apollo grunted and went back to kissing my neck. Conor laughed.

  "I got the same reaction when I thanked him back then. 'Cept he didn' kiss me."

  "All right. That's enough." Apollo lifted his head again and glared at Conor. "I want to be alone with Siobhan now."

  "O' course, my lord." Conor grinned and pressed the button to roll up the tinted glass partition that separated us.

  "Now," Apollo said, "it's time for me to collect on that kiss you owe me."

  I dodged his lips. "You already got your kiss, remember?"

  "I don't remember any such thing." He leaned in and I leaned back. He sighed. "If you're this nervous when I kiss you, then I can only imagine what you'll be when we're lovers."

  I pushed away from him. "How could I be nervous abou' kissin' you when I've already kissed you? And for the last time, I'm not sleepin' with you."

  He pulled me back. "Yes, you are. You were chosen for me by the Fates and I'm here to claim you."

  I frowned. "I'm not some demigod to be declared, my lord. I won't be claimed by anyone."

  "Yet I've done it anyway."

  "I don't want to be your lover," I lied.

  He sighed and dipped his head to nuzzle my ear, seeming to know it. "But you will be."

  I closed my eyes and tried not to enjoy the kiss he planted on my neck. Those neck kisses were the best. "Are you going to force me, my lord?"

  "I won't have to." Apollo took my face in his hands and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. "You will come to me, wet and wanting, and I will not deny you."

  He kissed me again, deeper this time, and great gods, I kissed him back. I couldn't help myself. His kiss was so wonderful that resisting him was absolutely pointless. I wanted his lips on mine. I wanted his hands on my body. Each caress was its own pleasure and with every touch, I wanted more. More of him. More of his kisses. He made me feel like I could desire the universe and actually possess it.

  Once home, Apollo walked me to the door. "Are you comin' inside?" I asked. "I'm sure you'd be welcome."

  He shook his head. "I have business elsewhere I must attend to. I am a god, you know." He smiled smugly and with a hand on the back of my head and one on my waist, pulled me to him. He kissed me deeply. "I'll see you this weekend."

  I frowned. "I know who you are now. You don't have to stay away for the rest of the week if you don't want."

  "I'll remember you said that." He kissed me again and started to back away. "Turn around, Siobhan."

  "Wha'?"

  "Turn around."

  I studied him a moment, then did as he said. "This is silly. Wha' am I turned around for?"

  There was a bright flash.

  "Apollo?" He didn't respond. "Apollo, wha's going on?"

  I turned around to find that he had disappeared. I realized the flash had been him. Gods came and went in flashes of light, I'd learned long ago, and they could blind you if you stared at them straight on. With a sigh, I turned and went inside. We'd said our goodbyes, but I hadn't been ready for him to go.

  Emmaline delivered tea to my room and after I'd finished with it, I grabbed a few blank score sheets from my desk and went to my practice room. Violin in hand, I sat down and began to arrange the song formulating in my head. For hours, I composed and nothing else. In each note I wrote was every emotion running through me at the moment.

  Confusion. Elation. Arousal. Sadness. Angst.

  All the things I now felt about Apollo and so inspired the name of my piece.

  Lover, Divine.

  VII. A LOVER'S REALM

  "Hello, beautiful."

  I turned toward the deep, ancient voice and bit my lip to keep from smiling. "Wha' are you doing here?"

  I'd arrived at the auditorium several hours early that Saturday to practice my new composition, but was happy for the interruption. Especially this type of interruption. I'd been anxious to see Apollo all week since he hadn't sat in on any more of my classes. My family noticed. Garrett was less than pleased that I'd decided not to stay away from the god, but my parents seemed to be all for it. I figured it was a prestige thing. A male deity taking interest in an Influential daughter was a big deal among the Families.

  Apollo grinned as his arms slid around my waist. "I'm here for rehearsal, same as you."

  "Rehearsal? You still insist on keepin' up this mortal act, Liam?"

  "Yes." He kissed me. "I actually enjoy playing a mortal. Your kind are great entertainment for me."

  "Entertainment? Well, if tha' is all you see me as, my lord, you can jus' find yourself another mortal plaything." I pushed at his chest, but he refused to move. "I mean it, my—"

  "Be quiet, Siobhan," he murmured as his hand slid over my behind. Keeping a firm grasp, he pushed his pelvis into mine. I gasped. Great gods. There was just no way...

  "You'll love it," he said.

  "I still haven' agreed to be your lover," I said softly, as my hands covered my warm cheeks.

  "I'm patient," he replied. Without warning, he gripped my hips and lifted me up onto the podium. He pushed between my legs, grabbed my face, and kissed me hard.

  Heavens help me, there was no way I could stop the onslaught. His mouth ruled over mine, and when I felt his tongue brush over my lips, they parted for him without any help from me. He caught me off guard when his hands slipped under my skirt, but I didn't break the kiss. I was enjoying the thrill of being his object of affection and neither the threat of being discovered by a performer or Corrigan was enough to make me stop.

  I almost threw a tantrum when he pulled away. His thumb replaced his lips, and he grunted when I sucked his finger into my mouth. I don't know what came over me, but he seemed to like it and let me do it for a minute or two before he made me stop.

  He kissed me slow. "We'll further explore your talent for sucking later. Right now, we have company."

  Apollo vanished and reappeared at the entrance to usher a group of performers into the auditorium. I stood in front of the podium holding my written scores just as I had been before Apollo had arrived. It all happened so fast, my mind never registered our movements.

  Practice was rather uneventful. Apollo behaved for the most part, only slipping his hand underneath my skirt once. I shot him the look of death as I slapped his hand away, and though he was hardly threatened by it, he didn't feel me up again. After rehearsal ended and we were all packed up, Apollo tucked my violin and his lyre underneath one arm and offered me the other. We left together, though I was dying to talk with Victoria. I told her to come over for girl time that week and that there would be cider. She happily agreed.

  "Did you want me to escort you home now?" Apollo asked. He sounded quite hopeful, and it filled me with a bit of joy to thwart his obvious seductive intentions.

  "Can't we jus' walk for a bit? My family won't be expectin' me for a while yet, and it's a lovely afternoon." It wasn't. It was still freezing out, but it was either go for a walk or go to bed.

  Apollo scowled and it was hard for me to contain my laughter. He was quite irresistible when he pouted. "Where do you want to walk to?"

  I shrugged. "Wherever fate takes us."

  He seemed to appreciate that answer and stopped to remove his lyre from its case.

  "Wha' are you doing?" I questioned.

  "Fate may only take us to that ruddy pub down the way there," he replied as he led me down an alleyway between two university buildings and stopped. "But I have a better idea. Hold onto me, Siobhan."

  I looped my arm around his again, curious as to what was going to happen next. Apollo struck a chord on his lyre.

  The world started to fade around me. The buildings, the
cars, the sky, all became a swirled palette of colors and then we were spinning. Or maybe everything else was spinning. I held onto Apollo as the world faded into a blur around us. My insides felt like I was being tossed all over the place, but for some reason, I wasn't scared. I had always known about the power of Apollo's lyre and knew he could do more than create music with it. But this? I'd never expected this.

  I heard Apollo strike another chord. The spinning came to an abrupt end and we were there.

  I wasn't sure exactly where there was, but we were no longer in Ireland, of that I was positive.

  We were standing on a giant mesa erected in the middle of a never-ending plane of fire. Flames licked along the perimeter of the mesa and beyond, completely surrounding us. Behind me sat a large villa built like any other I'd ever seen—one level with a terrace and tiled roofing. I would have thought we were in the Underworld if it hadn't been for the beautiful blue sky above us. And it wasn't hot, not even in my coat and gloves, and from there, I could draw only one conclusion.

  "I thought mortals weren' allowed in Myth," I breathed. I released Apollo's arm and turned in a circle. I wanted to see everything.

  Apollo's lyre disappeared from his hands. "You're not. This isn't Myth."

  "It's not?"

  "No. We're in Sol."

  "Sol? Where is Sol?"

  "You're a smart girl, Siobhan. I'm sure you could figure it out."

  I looked out over the fire plane, amazed that I could even see as far as I did. On the outskirts of the plane were unmistakably clouds. Some big and fluffy; others wispy and light. The realization stunned me.

  "We're on the sun," I gasped.

  Apollo smiled, pushed open the front door to the villa, and waved his hand, inviting me in. Reluctantly, I pulled my eyes away from the flaming wonder outside and entered the domicile.

  The interior of the house was beautiful, but not as extravagant as I would have expected from a Greek god who had built a home on the sun. It was rather ordinary actually.

  There were only two large rooms. One was a living area with lounges and giant pillows and a massive wall of books. I knew Apollo considered this to be his andron, or drinking room, and I appreciated the fact that he clearly loved to read as much as I did. There was a long buffet with pitchers and chalices, bowls of fruits, and several jars of ambrosia. I knew what ambrosia looked like from descriptions I'd read of it. It was much like grape jam and was the main food source of the gods. They had it with everything, most particularly, their nectar wine.

  Without an invitation, I ventured into the other room.

  I found a simple bedroom inhabited by the largest bed I had ever seen in my life. Immediately, my imagination ran away with me and all I could think about was all the women Apollo had brought here and shared that bed with. He knew what I was thinking and took my hand. Squeezing it, he smiled at me and all of my worries vanished. I returned the smile, then gestured at the rather unadorned room. There were no statues, paintings, furniture or anything like I would have expected to see in a god's domain. There was an ornate chest sitting beside the bed, but that was the only decorative piece in the room.

  "This isn' very fancy for a house on the sun," I teased.

  "We are on a sun ray to be exact," Apollo replied. "And I happen to think it's perfect just the way it is. The Delphic Chateau is extravagant enough." The Delphic Chateau was Apollo's home and private province in Myth. It was the palace he had built when he and the other gods had left Olympus. Like all the provinces of the celestial world, the Chateau moved around among the clouds whenever Apollo wanted it to. I wondered if the same could be said for Sol.

  "You are the first to ever come here."

  "Really? The first ever?" I hardly believed this to be true. "Or did you mean to say the first today?"

  Apollo threw back his head and laughed. "I meant what I said, Siobhan. No one has ever seen Sol with their own eyes. You are the first, quite possibly the last."

  I snorted. "Yeah, I doubt tha'. I'm sure if you can't get me into bed soon, you'll bring the next wan here and tell her the same thing."

  Apollo pulled me into him and kissed me so deep and fast, there was nothing I could do but let it happen. He devoured me so completely that I couldn't conjure up a single lucid thought. I remained wrapped up in his arms even as he set my lips free. They pulsed from his kiss, and my fingers came up to soothe them, softly brushing back and forth over them as I stared up into his eyes.

  "I will get you into bed, Siobhan. That bed." Apollo nodded in its direction. "You will find the greatest pleasure you will ever know in between my silken sheets. And when you are coming and screaming my name so loud that even the flames of Sol are smothered to smoke, I will make you come again. Your body will crave me like it craves food and water, and you will be convinced that only my love, my cock, will ever truly satisfy you. Do not doubt me in this, Siobhan. You are fated to me and I will have you. That, my Irish darling, you can bet your pert and proper ass on."

  We just stared at each other for several moments as I let my befuddled brain absorb his words. There was no doubt in my mind that he was serious. The expression on his face told me I would have been a fool to think otherwise.

  "I'm hungry," I mumbled after a moment. Or more because I didn't have anything else to say.

  A devilish grin spread across Apollo's face. "And what would you like me to put in your mouth, Siobhan?"

  I hit his chest, unable to contain my smile as he kissed my cheek. "Not tha', my lord."

  "No? So I guess that means I have to actually supply you with food." He kept right on planting gentle kisses all over my face and neck. I resented how right it felt to be in his arms and be adored like this. Even though I knew what Apollo wanted and that he would probably disappear once he got it, it still felt right.

  Apollo eventually led me back into the other room and after stripping out of my winter-wear, I made myself comfortable on one of his giant lounges. While he poured drinks and piled a plate high with fruit, I stared out of the bay window, still in awe that I was actually on the bloody sun. A sun ray, to be exact.

  "What are you thinking?" Apollo said, settling down next to me. He handed me a glass chalice of nectar wine as the plate of fruit simply appeared in my lap. Soft music began to play out of nowhere and it only took me a moment to realize it was coming from Apollo's lyre, which was propped up against the wall playing itself.

  "Can't you jus' read my mind and find out for yourself?"

  "Yes. But I'd rather hear it from your pretty lips."

  Blushing, I cleared my throat. "Well, I was kind of wonderin' why you brought me here."

  "Ah, I see." He sipped his wine, which I could see was laced with ambrosia. "I wanted to share a secret with you." He waved his hand around. "Sol. You and I are its only inhabitants. We are the only ones to ever see it. It is, by far, my greatest secret." His brow lowered as he became serious. "I know you feel betrayed by me, but I swear to you, Siobhan, I have only done what is necessary. The secrets I keep are for your benefit. You may not believe me, but it's true. If I could tell you everything—every single truth—I would. I want no secrets between us, but for now there must be. I hope you can accept that, because there is no alternative."

  I don't know why, maybe because I was indeed a fool, but I believed him. Apollo was an Olympian, and no, they weren't known for their honesty, but I had to be realistic. There was so much I didn't know about him and Myth, and clearly, not everything I'd read and learned over the years had been true. I could only imagine that there were so many more mysteries and secrets still left to be uncovered about the kingdom of the gods. It would be hard, but I had to trust Apollo and know that he had my best interest at heart. Especially if we were going to be together.

  "Sol is beautiful," I said with a smile. "Thank you for trustin' me with your secret."

  Apollo seemed to relax a bit, as though he hadn't been sure I would accept what he was offering. I was a bit surprised. Hadn't the god of the Proph
ecy already known that I would?

  "Gods don't know everything, Siobhan. I only see what the Fates allow me to see."

  I threw a chunk of melon at him. "Get out of my head, my lord!"

  Apollo only laughed, picked a strawberry from the plate, and held it out for me to taste. With my eyes on his, I wrapped my lips around the berry and bit into it. An explosion of sweetness went off in my mouth. "Great lords, tha's good!"

  Apollo shot forward to catch the juice that trickled down my chin with his lips. It quickly turned into a kiss that had my toes curling and my skin flushed with heat. I supposed every kiss he gave me would have this effect.

  "I want you, Siobhan Law," Apollo said, plucking a grape from its vine and feeding it to me.

  I chewed and swallowed. "I'm aware."

  "Do you know that I always get what I want?" I lifted another sugary grape toward my mouth, but he opened his in silent request and I fed it to him instead. He sucked the grape and the tips of my fingers into his mouth and took his time about letting them go. Each pull of his lips sent a jolt right between my thighs. I almost begged him not to stop.

  "You didn't answer my question, Siobhan."

  "Uh..." I took a minute to gather my wits. "Yes. I can imagine tha' mos' find it hard to deny you anythin'."

  He chuckled and fed me a piece of melon, and that's how it went on. He fed me, I fed him and at every opportunity he sucked on my fingers. When he wasn't doing that, his lips were attached to my neck. I was surprised I didn't already have a thousand hickeys from all the neck kisses he gave me. But maybe that was one of the perks of being doted on by a god.

  "Tell me a story," I said after accepting a slice of mango.

  "Another? Must I really?"

  "Yes. The first one didn' count." I sipped my nectar wine and waited.

  Apollo rolled his eyes, but he did as I asked. "I was once in love with a river nymph named Daphne, but she wasn't in love with me. At least, not at first."

  I held up a hand. "I already know your unrequited love story. Gaia turned her into a laurel tree to help her escape you."