Lover, Divine

by A. Star

  "Then charm me as a girl of my status should be."

  "I could just rip your clothes off, sink myself inside you, and not stop until I have you screaming unto the heavens," he growled.

  I giggled. "You're going to fail at this charm thing, my lord."

  He shrugged. "Are you quite sure we can't just skip the courtship, strip down right here, and make love until tomorrow?"

  I kissed him. "Aren' I worth it, though?"

  "Worth what? The wait or my absolutely ravenous, unsatisfied arousal?"

  I laughed. "Both."

  He kissed me gently. "You most certainly are."

  Pushing him off, I rolled out of his arms and right out of bed. "Then let's go out. Ooh, we could go hear a band play or somethin'! Test out your dance skills."

  "Now wait just a minute, woman. I don't dance." He looked completely scandalized.

  "You're the god of Music. O' course you dance."

  "I create the melodies. I don't dance to them."

  "Then we're definitely going. I think Vicky mentioned somethin' abou' one of her favorite local bands playin' somewhere tonight. I'll give her a call and find out."

  "I'm not dancing."

  I sighed. "Okay. You don't have to dance." I sat down at my vanity and looked myself over in the mirror. "I'm sure there'll be some other chap there who'll need a dance partner. Jus' know, the Irish are pretty dirty dancers. There's no tellin' where his hands might end up."

  Apollo appeared behind me and pulled my hair until I was forced to look up at him. "You test me, mortal."

  I smiled. "So tha's a yes for tonight then?"

  His fingers tightened in my hair as he leaned down and kissed me hard. "Manipulation is sexy on you, Siobhan Law."

  I clapped my hands. "We're going to have a grand time."

  "Are you inviting your friends?"

  I shook my head. "Vicky's stuck attendin' a party with her parents tonight, which is how I know abou' the band. She was upset she couldn' go. Rupert would never go out without her, so no, it's jus' us."

  "Good."

  I smiled. "I'll have Vicky bring me a dress like she usually does. All I own are ball gowns and "virgin-wear," as she calls it."

  "Tell her not to bring anything that might force me to kill someone tonight."

  "I promise nothin'," I laughed. "It's Vicky." I picked up the phone to call my best friend.

  X. A LOVER'S DECLARATION

  "Mortal lives will be lost tonight," Apollo said, his eyes narrowed.

  I sort of believed it. But I didn't know if he would be doing the killing or if I would.

  We were at a pub in the Temple Bar district called The Auld Dubliner. The crowd was massive and loud, and the band was still setting up. With a little divine manipulation, we'd been able to skip the longest line in history and be admitted for free. Dating a Greek god definitely had its perks.

  We stood by one of the bars not too far from the stage, trying not to be seen, but being seen by everyone. I had to admit, we made a great looking pair. Seeing Apollo dressed in blue jeans, a t-shirt, and casual boots was such a turn on for me. I loved his warrior garb but this was something else. He looked amazingly mortal with his disheveled hair and diamond blue eyes, and I wasn't the only one who noticed. Just as many women stared at him as men stared at me in the tight black dress and heels Vicky had lent me. Indeed, a massacre was on the horizon.

  "Let's drink," I said, turning toward the bar and looking over the beer selections.

  Apollo's hand slipped into my hair and gripped the back of my head. "You are, by far, the most beautiful woman present," he whispered into my ear.

  I didn't feel like we were in another dimension so I figured there was some other magic at work to allow me to hear him so well in the noisy pub. "Thank you. You're pretty handsome yourself."

  A brow rose. "You like this look on me?"

  I nodded. "It's very nice. Your hair is normally so pristine. It's refreshin' to see it a bit undone." To make my point, I ran my fingers through it.

  "What if I wore my hair like him?"

  I turned to look at the band member Apollo was talking about. I smiled. "Dreadlocks? You want dreadlocks?"

  "You don't like them?"

  I shrugged. "They're okay for someone in a band, I guess. But I much prefer your look to tha'."

  "Ah, I see."

  "Wha' can I get for ya, love?" the female bartender called to me.

  "A cider and a blue label, straight up."

  "We've only got black and red."

  "Black then." The bartender nodded and turned away to fill our order.

  "Did you just order for me?" Apollo asked, but he was smiling.

  "Did it turn you on?" I replied with a wink.

  "More than usual? Yes, and I didn't think that was possible."

  I laughed and our drinks arrived. Apollo settled the tab, and after a swig of my cider, I directed my gaze to the center of the pub where a few wild ones were already bopping around to the house music streaming from the pub's speakers.

  "Don't even think about it, woman," Apollo said, giving me a warning look. I grinned, grabbed his free hand, and started pulling him in that direction. Apollo could have easily stopped me, but he only laughed as I pushed through the growing crowd until I reached a prime spot to watch the band from.

  Turning my back to Apollo, I pushed back with my hips and wiggled them against him. Immediately, I felt him harden and a hand came up to grip my waist.

  "Have you lost all of your senses, mortal?" I heard Apollo growl. But he didn't tell me to stop.

  He spun me around, bringing us face to face. My body temperature soared when I saw the heat in his eyes. I slid my free arm around his neck and tangled my fingers in his hair. Leaning forward, he kissed the corner of my mouth, but it was I who turned the innocent kiss into something more. I couldn't help it. Apollo just did something to me. I always felt so out of control in his presence, which was part of the reason why I kept denying us what we both wanted. I didn't have much control over the other aspects of my life, but I wanted to at least have control over my body. Apollo had said so himself, truce or no truce, the choice was still mine in the end.

  But I knew there was no way I could deny it anymore. I had made my choice the moment I had accepted Apollo back into my life. What my father said about the universe reverberated in my mind, but that had little to do with it. I wanted Apollo. I needed him. I truly believed now we were fated for each other, and nothing was going to keep us from being together.

  An absolutely demonic screech into the microphone is what broke our kiss. Apollo laughed at what had to be complete and utter annoyance on my face as I turned toward the stage. The crowd surged forward as the band kicked off their set with a rowdy number that even I ended up enjoying. I drank and danced and hopped around while Apollo just glared at all the male sharks swimming around me. I couldn't help but find this hilarious.

  The band was really good and I enjoyed their music more than I thought I would, but I got tired of dancing alone and tried unsuccessfully to get Apollo to join me.

  "I've got something better," he said to me. Gesturing to me, he turned and headed back toward the bar. Reluctantly, I followed.

  He set his empty glass on the bar, then headed toward the stage, jumped right up onto it, and whispered something in the bass guitarist's ear. After a moment, the man leaned away, smiling, and nodded at Apollo. The deity turned to me and winked, and I frowned with curiosity at what he was up to.

  The current song ended and Apollo replaced the lead singer at the mic. Now I was really curious and pushed a few fan girls out of my way to get closer to the stage. Apollo didn't introduce or explain himself, but simply turned to the drummer and nodded once. The drummer knocked his sticks together three times and the lead guitarist launched the band into the next song.

  The crowd screamed like they knew the melody and I saw the band's singer hop down into the throng of pubbers and wrap his arms around two women who each kissed him o
n the cheek.

  After a short intro, Apollo's voice blasted through the speakers and the crowd screamed louder. My mouth fell open at what I was hearing. Apollo could sing.

  I knew that the deity was blessed with the gift of song, but I hadn't expected this. His voice was beautiful and intoxicating, and he had the undivided attention of every single person in the pub. Even the band members struggled to keep the melody as Apollo's voice invaded their ears and even though I was slightly inebriated and sloshed off of the melody, there was one thing I knew for sure at that very moment.

  I was in love. With Apollo, with the music, with the universe.

  Tossing back the last of my cider, I kicked off my heels and scrambled onto the stage.

  "Let me have a go!" I shouted at the drummer, motioning for him to move. He checked me out before handing over his sticks and vacating his seat. He'd barely taken one step before I plopped down on the stool and picked up the beat right where he had left it.

  It had been a while since I'd held a pair of drumsticks and it felt so good, like returning home after a trip around the world. Gods knew I adored my violin, but drums were their own kind of therapy. The rhythm embraced me and just wouldn't let go, and pent up aggression poured out of me in a fierce combination of bass, snare, and cymbals. Still singing, Apollo turned to look at me. The surprise on his face made me smile. He hadn't known I could play, hadn't even suspected, and I was glad. It felt good knowing that there were things I could keep secret from the gods.

  Apollo's eyes sparkled with something I couldn't name as he watched me keep pace with his melody. At one point, the band let the tune drop and all there was, was his voice and me. Still, he watched me. His back was practically to the crowd, but he didn't seem to care. Neither did they. His voice was spellbinding, his presence was enchanting, and even unaccompanied he would have hypnotized the entire pub. At the end of the hook, the melody returned, but Apollo's eyes never left me.

  The song ended to screams and shouts for more. Three encores later, we finally relinquished the stage back to the band. It was their set, but even they tried to convince us to play just one more song.

  As soon as we stepped off the stage, Apollo swept me up into his arms and kissed me dizzy. The crowd cheered. Embarrassed and elated, I threw my arms around his neck, kicked my bare feet up in the air and kissed him back.

  We hung around a while and had a few drinks with the locals, before Apollo dragged me out of the pub. I was exhausted but on top of the world, and only reluctantly left without any argument.

  "Told you I was fun," I giggled as we stumbled down the street. I wasn't exactly plastered, but sober wasn't a word I would have used either.

  Apollo pulled me into a dank alley and pinned me up against the wall of a building with his body. "Where and when did you learn to play the drums?" His face was all sharp angles and saintly beauty again. He seemed oddly irritated.

  I giggled drunkenly. "I've known how to play for years. I jus' don't get a chance to tha' much. My parents refused to let me run around beatin' on drums like an Amazon. Their words exactly."

  "I'm well acquainted with the Amazons and would quite enjoy seeing you parade around half naked beating away at a drum."

  "I'm sure you would," I laughed. "Wha' other instruments do you play, my lord?"

  "I play all instruments, of course, even some you've never heard of. But my favorite is the piano. My sister Thaleia taught me to play."

  "Taught you? But you're the god of Music. Weren' you, like, born already knowin' how to play everythin'?"

  Apollo chuckled. "Your preconceptions about the gods are skewed, my love. We do not know everything, and some of the things we know had to be taught to us. I was born knowing how to play the lyre, but all other instruments, I had to learn."

  I shook my head in drunken disbelief. "Wow, tha's amazin'. How long did it take for you to learn to play the piano?"

  "A few minuta, or hours, as you mortals say."

  I slapped his chest. "A few hours!? You insane man!"

  "What did I say?" Apollo actually looked confused. I laughed.

  "You are such a god."

  He smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment."

  "Tha's fine. It was one." I kissed him. Once, twice, then again. "You're amazin', Apollo, and I'm in love with you." I wasn't too drunk to realize what I had just admitted. I meant it and saw so reason to take it back or try to explain it.

  "I love you, Apollo," I repeated, more for myself than for him. My heart burst at how much I meant it.

  Apollo just stared at me with a look I'd never seen him have before. "Oh, Siobhan Law."

  "Yes?" I looked up into his eyes. "Wha' is it, my lord?"

  He smiled as he swept my hair behind my shoulder. "I'm in love with you, too."

  XI. LOVERS ENTWINED

  Apollo was in love with me?

  I hadn't expected him to say it back. I hoped he hadn't felt obligated, but then I remembered he was a Greek god and never did anything that he didn't want to do.

  "Wha' have I done to deserve your love?" I asked, feeling quite a bit more sober now.

  "Exist," he said. "What have I done to deserve yours?"

  I had no other answer. "Exist."

  "Then we are two fools then, drawn together by fate, kept together by the unknown. We do not know why we love each other, only that we do. I can accept that if you can as well."

  I smiled. "Well, we do share a profound love of music."

  His fingers stroked my cheek. "That is true."

  "And you shared your greatest secret with me because you wanted me to know a part of you tha' no one else did." The rest just tumbled out of me. "You make me feel like the universe is mine for the takin', Apollo, and tha' jus' because I'm an Influential daughter doesn' mean I have to live in a box. You make the impossible possible for me. I see a future now, a promising one. I know I have a role to play and although I'm not sure wha' tha' is yet, I'm ready for it. I feel I can achieve anythin' because I'm fearless with you by my side." I took his face in my hands. "Wha'ever it is I'm meant to do, I will. For you, I'll do anythin'."

  Apollo smiled and pressed his forehead against mine. "Thank you."

  I sucked in a breath. I knew it was a big deal for a god to be thanking a mortal for anything. I wasn't sure what it was he was thanking me for, but it didn't matter. I had meant what I said. I would do anything for him.

  "It has been many centuries since a woman has enraptured me such as you have," he said.

  Despite the fact that we had just declared our love for each other, it was hard for me to believe this. We hadn't talked about it, but I knew Apollo had children with other mortal women. I couldn't be the only one he wanted.

  "Lust and love are not the same thing, Siobhan."

  I blushed. "You're not supposed to be in my head."

  He took my face in his hands. "It is no secret that I've bedded countless mortal women. And yes, I have fathered many demigods, but that has no bearing on my feelings for you. The others were but fleeting moments, where you, my love, are like an eternity. You're all I ever think about. Your face is all I ever see. I admire your courage and treasure your forgiveness. You did not have to take me back. It was your choice and your choice alone, but you found something in me, a deity, that was worth keeping, and now here we are, at the crossroads where our hearts meet and journey ahead together. You are more than I could have ever hoped for, Siobhan, and my world is better with you in it. Damn the truce and damn fate. I love you and I don't believe the day shall ever come when I do not."

  Emotion clouded my vision. I smiled up at him. "See? We do know why we love each other."

  Apollo chuckled. "It appears we do."

  I slid my arms around his waist and buried my hands under his shirt, raking my nails down his back. "Take me to Sol, Apollo."

  I felt his body stiffen. "Are you sure? There is no going back once we are there."

  I didn't take this to mean that he would force me if I changed my mind
. I knew he would never do that. But he wanted me and he needed me to be sure I wanted him too.

  "I'm ready," I said, looking him in the eyes. "Take me to Sol."

  After a moment, Apollo slowly leaned down and kissed me. I closed my eyes and fell into the kiss, letting his lips make the rules and set the pace. When he finally pulled away, we were in his secret realm. I never even felt us move.

  Apollo waved his hand and the luminescence from the flames of Sol were blocked out of his bedroom. Candles appeared overheard, floating in thin air, and Apollo's lyre began to play from its perch on a rather elaborate podium that hadn't been there before. I suddenly became very nervous, but it had less to do with the ambience and more to do with the way Apollo was staring at me.

  "The moment I saw you in that dress, all I wanted to do was take it off of you." He came closer and slipped a finger beneath one of my straps. "With my teeth."

  He pulled the straps down over both of my shoulders and after sliding down the zipper, stepped back to watch my dress fall to the floor.

  "Your breasts. Show them to me," he demanded with all seriousness.

  Swallowing, I reached behind my back and undid the hooks. I slid the straps down and tossed the bra on the floor with the dress. I fought the urge to cover myself as his gaze raked over me, but my silly jitters only lasted a moment.

  Apollo had been with hundreds of lovers over the centuries. Beautiful women, immortals, goddesses, but here he was, looking at me like he had never seen a woman's breasts before. To be admired like this was so stirring and wonderful that I couldn't imagine ever getting used to it.

  "Take off your shoes and get in my bed."

  I did as I was told. I slid off my heels, then on unsteady legs, walked to the bed and climbed into it. I crawled to the center and stretched out, figuring that was what he wanted. When he growled, I knew I was right.

  "Your turn," I said. "I want to see you now."

  Apollo smiled, and right before my eyes, his clothes started to fade away. His gaze never left mine and when it was over, he was completely naked. I stared because there was just no looking away from the gorgeous being standing in front of me.