“I didn’t even think of that,” she sniffled.
He tilted her face up to his, and he realized her pain stricken face was too much to bear. Why did he feel such emotions for this woman?
Was it love creeping into his heart after all this time? Could the god of war truly see the more tender nature of sharing one’s heart?
“Never worry, Belle. I’ll always be here when you need me. Always. Never doubt your worth or what will become of you. I will take care of you.” Then he leaned in and kissed her tenderly on salty lips.
Softly, he kissed her, easing away her fears as well as her pain with his love. Yes, his love. He loved this woman.
And strangely enough, he liked the feeling.
“Lieutenant, we need to get going.” Jones said, breaking the moment of tenderness amid the toils of war and misery. “The 82nd will need some help in these winds. I don’t know about you, but when we dropped in here, I had a hard time staying on course for the drop zone.”
“We were really surprised the invasion was going to proceed tonight,” Belle added, wiping her tears with her hand.
“I think Eisenhower didn’t want to wait any longer.” He stood up and helped Belle stand. “It would be easier if we had a jeep or truck. We could get there faster.”
“Don’t know of any near here. Gasoline is rationed to the Germans only. We get around by walking or bicycles.”
“Then we’ll walk.”
* * *
Belle gripped her rifle, comforted by its cool metal. She felt numb, or should feel nothing. Jean-Luis had been her only living relative, and now he was gone. Jacques and Elise appeared at the bunker shortly before she was to leave with Ares, Corporals Jones and Jackson toward Sainte-Mère-Eglise. They’d stay behind to help the Americans and English to proceed inland with the invasion.
As they walked through the woods, they kept quiet, listening for Germans on patrol. It would be a long walk in the dark, and they had no idea what sort of obstacles would be thrown their way.
She was comforted by Ares, his commanding presence calming her nerves and reassuring her in silence. His kisses were less fevered, less passionate, but were filled with more meaning. In a matter of hours, so much has happened, and she was unsure what to feel. Sadness or pride over Jean-Luis, or happiness over Ares?
About after an hour of walking, Ares stopped suddenly at the edge of the woods. He ducked within the darkness, and they all crouched to the ground in silence. Off in the distance in a clearing at a small farmhouse, the Germans were searching the buildings for occupants.
“That is an abandoned farm. The owners were killed, executed.”
“Why?” asked Corporal Jackson in a low voice.
“Collaborators.” She remembered the day the news came of the old couple who had owned this dairy farm. The Germans had discovered their basement of homemade explosives that the Résistance used for saboteur missions. They were shot in the head while they watched the Germans take most of their cows for the starving soldiers.
They sat quietly watching the soldiers about the abandoned house, then once they were sure no one was there and nothing of value remained, they moved on.
“Since the Krauts searched it already, maybe we can use it and get some rest for an hour. I know I could use a few minutes,” Jones suggested to the small band.
“Yeah, we can stay here. I’ll keep guard while you all get some rest,” Ares agreed. When Jones began to go, Ares caught his arm. “Wait, could be mined.”
“No, its not,” she said pointing to a cow grazing nearby.
They raced across the field to the little house. All the windows were shattered and the siding was falling off. The Germans left little behind of the building. It stood as an eerie sentinel to the desolate times that had befallen this country.
Belle helped secure the area, assured no patrol lingered nearby before they all got some rest. She lay atop a woolen blanket he’d given her in the barren room that was once a living room, staring at the open door. Ares stood there watching, protecting them. She longed to go to him, fall into his arms and forget the horrors of the night. But she knew within her heart, there was more to come.
Closing her eyes, she let sleep overtake her troubled mind into a numbing unconsciousness.
* * *
What seemed like only moments later, Ares lay down next to her, his body-heat a welcome comfort on the hard floor. His hand sought her shirt and slipped under the fabric to cup one breast.
“Jones and Jackson are scrounging up something to eat for us.”
She moaned. Her body came alive at his touch and the sound of his voice. “Too bad they’ll be back soon.”
“I told them to take their time. And to knock before coming in,” he whispered in her ear, kissing her earlobe.
She turned her head and met his lips. She was hot, hungry for his loving. She needed to feel the heat, to experience the joy of being alive. She wanted to lose a few moments within his arms.
“Ares, I wish you’d…”
“Belle, sweetheart, I need to make love to you. Now.”
“Oh, oui, mon chere. Si vous plait…” Her plea was engulfed by his mouth, eager to taste her, and she arched up to meet his desires.
He pealed off her blouse and skirt. With only her boots on, she surrendered to his masterful touch. He took off his clothes in rapid movements, anxious to bare himself to her. Her hands mapped his body, each rippling muscle and pert nipple, there for her enjoyment.
How she loved this man.
When skin covered skin, she thought she’d shatter immediately. Such a pleasure to have him loving her. She was in heaven, no matter where she was in reality. Whether it was the godly bed with the thick silk coverlet or the barren farmhouse, she didn’t care. All that mattered was his body intimately connected with hers.
She wanted more, quicker. “I need,” she panted as he flipped her over to straddle his hips.
“Show me…” he whispered as his hands gripped her thighs. “Ride me.”
She slid onto his cock, and breathed a sigh. He filled her so fully, his size a perfect fit into her sheath. “This feels wonderful,” she moaned as she moved her hips, taking him deeper within.
“Sweetheart, you know how to fuck me…by Zeus, you feel like I’ve entered a key into the gates of paradise.” He bucked beneath her, urging her to move fast. Then, he placed a thumb at her crotch, searching for her clit, pressing her further into ecstasy.
“You…oh…don’t…have…to…oh yes…do…that,” she panted as she rode his erection, plunging him further to the center of her core. He needn’t touch her nubbin to send her higher. The head of his penis tapped at her G-spot with each penetration.
“I want to give you pleasure,” he said in husky voice.
“You do,” she whimpered. “Ares, I…never felt so wonderful.”
He thrust up into her and she screamed, climax just on the horizon, barely out of reach. “You were meant for me.”
Belle balanced on her knees and slammed down on his cock, making him toss his head back in apparent ecstasy. She paused in her thrusts, prolonging her orgasm and wiggled her ass, moving him side to side within her.
“Oh, fuck,” he cried. “You’re torturing me, sweetheart.”
She giggled as she slowed her movements, relishing his length and width inserted into her body. She reached behind her and fingered his balls. “That’s the point. Want to come, mon chere?”
“Yes!”
“Tell me you love me,” she said as she resumed her rhythmic ride upon his penis.
“I love you, sweetheart. You know that by now.”
“And I love you too, Ares.”
They came together, a mutual joining based in love born from the misery of war. She screamed as her body rode the spasms of rapture, sensations only this man could create within her body.
Belle arched her back, drawing out her own orgasm as Ares pumped his semen into her, and she relished the streaming hot liquid. It was a moment
she’d never forget, passion and love amid sadness and despair.
It made the entire experience more bearable. And as her body calmed, she lay upon him, and he held her tenderly.
“Sweet Belle, I do love you,” he whispered. “I understand now, I had to let you return here to live out your destiny. I understand, sweetheart.”
“I know you didn’t want to, but thank you for understanding.”
“Anything for my little Belle.”
* * *
Once Jones and Jackson returned with a meager meal of bread and cheese, given to them by a neighbor farmer, they all ate and then continued on.
The darkness of the night was beginning to dissipate as they walked. Along the way, they met several stragglers from the 82nd Airborne. Jones was right. The winds had made dropping into the area treacherous. Many of the men were miles off course. And as the Germans flooded some of the area around the town, the soldiers told of tales of others drowning, weighed down by their own uniform, packed with a M1 rifle, a knife, hacksaw blades, and so on. The added weight pulled them under to a watery grave.
One of the soldiers they met held a higher interest for Ares than normal. A black man, handsome and powerful in build, stood behind the reporting soldiers. His helmet was marked with the Red Cross logo, a medic. But this was no ordinary medic. This one was special.
“We fell only a few feet from the bogs. We stood helpless as the others disappeared into the water,” one private reported to Ares. “I suspect we’re scattered all over the place.”
“How many of you are there?”
“Four, sir.”
“Great, we have about eleven with us. We’re going to take the town no matter what. Come along. Every man is needed.”
Fifteen cold and tired men to secure a town. How could they beat such overwhelming odds?
“Lieutenant?” the private asked looking at Belle.
“Yes?”
“Who’s she?”
“Resistance fighter.”
She simply said, “Vive les Americains.”
He gave her a small salute. “Thank you, mademoiselle.”
It was probably the first time that day the man smiled.
Meanwhile, Ares made his way to the medic. “Tell me, brother, why did you decide to join the army? Wanted to see the world?”
To anyone else, this may have sounded like a jibe against the man, but he smiled and said, “Did you think dad would only let you be apart of this historic day?”
“Herm, you really are a sight for sore eyes.” Ares embraced his half brother Hermes, god of medicine. “You’re going to be needed today.”
“Already got a workout.” Hermes glanced up at Belle who walked up next to him. “And the sun is just about to dawn.”
That was a loaded statement, as they all knew once dawn arrived, so would begin the Allied landings on the beaches.
Ares put a protective arm about Belle’s shoulders. “Let’s get going.”
“I assume you know one another,” she said as the three trudged through the swampy area.
“You could say that, mademoiselle. I’m Captain Herman East,” his brother offered.
* * *
They walked in companionable silence. It wasn’t hard for her to realize who this man was—Hermes, a brother of Ares, another god. Somehow it fit into the scheme of things.
In an hour, they were starting across a field towards the outskirts of the town. There they met with other members of the 82nd, talking of brutal fighting in the town hours before. Paratroopers had dropped into the town and the Germans shot them before they even got to the ground. Tales of horrors, men without a chance to fight, were passed along. Instead of discouraging the entire unit of stragglers they led, the news seemed to ignite an anger that drove them all further.
By the morning light, they arrived in Sainte-Mère-Eglise. The town was mostly in the control of the Americans, with some resistance from the remaining Germans. They had fought fiercely, but in the end, the determination of the Allies won the fight.
“It was a slaughter, sir. Men falling from the sky, and the Germans opened fire on them before they landed.”
Ares appeared horrified at the spectacle before him. She was struck speechless. The scene was mind numbing. There hanging about were the bodies of some of the ill-fated men that dropped into the town.
“Cut them down,” murmured Ares. “Get those bodies down. No man should be left on display like that.”
“Yes sir, we are working on it.”
She saw Ares was angry, so she placed a gentle hand upon his arm. “They’ll get them down.”
What was this change in Ares? Did he care about the killing? After so many wars where he’d seen death, was it getting to him now? And why? Was it because he was experiencing love?
Suddenly, a sniper fired on the group. The men scattered and sought for cover. Ares pulled her to the open doorway of a church located in the town square. Before he could thrust his body behind her as he shoved her inside, a fire struck her back.
He landed on top of her on the church floor, and the burning seared through her body, starting in her lower back on the right side. She screamed in pain as he lifted off of her.
“Fuck, you’ve been shot.”
“Par Dieu, it hurts,” she cried.
He turned her over and groaned.
“What is it? Is it bad?”
“You’ll be fine, sweetheart. Hermes will take care of you.”
Glancing up to his face, she saw his concern etched there, yet she couldn’t say anything other than cry.
She was too dazed to comprehend his words. Pain colored her thoughts.
“Hermes, get in here!” Ares called out towards the door.
“Oh shit,” the medic-god uttered as he appeared at her side. She wasn’t even sure when or how he got there. He eased her onto her left side and pulled up her blouse. The small movement was torture to her body.
“Help her.” Ares sounded strained.
“Ares…” Hermes sighed.
“Look you two, no secrets. Just tell me.” She’d been through hell and back already, she could take the news…she hoped.
“Belle, I’ll do what I can. Looks like you got hit near your kidney.”
“I can live with one,” she tried to joke. Laughing hurt.
“Yeah, you can, but, your blood...the kidney is a major blood oriented organ.” He swiped something over the wound, sending her climbing the wall to escape.
“Belle, hold still,” Ares commanded.
“I would if he didn’t burn me with that fucking stuff.”
“I gotta use antiseptic. You could get an infection.”
“I could get dead too.”
“This isn’t funny,” Ares said angrily.
“Who’s laughing?” she asked, looking up to his face. “Ares, I just want you to know—”
“Oh, hell no. You’re not going to start telling me your secrets. You’re not going to die.”
“Ares, the bullet nicked an artery,” Hermes whispered. “I can’t do much more for her other than apply pressure.”
“Ares, I love you.’ She continued without thought, speaking from her heart. She felt the cold seeping through her, replacing the burning pain with icy numbness. “I loved you since the moment I saw you. Thank you for letting me find love for the first time in my life.”
“Sweetheart, don’t talk like this. No, Hermes is going to help you.”
“I just need to rest now. I’m tired.”
“Belle, you listen to me. You can’t die. I’ve waited too long for a woman to…to love. You heard me, I love you too. Damn it, I refuse to let you die.”
“You don’t have any say in the matter,” a strange voice said.
“Hades, you can’t take her. I won’t allow it.” Ares crouched by her side holding her hand. She was comforted that he felt as if he’d have to fight for her life. But what could he possibly do to avoid her fate?
“Ares, my nephew, always the hot-head. I
’m sorry, but her life is to end here in battle. There is nothing you can do to help her, other than be with her when she dies.”
Hades was a powerful looking man, draped in dark blue robes trimmed in gold. He looked completely out of place in this time and place. His dark eyes examined her briefly before returning to Ares.
“I’m here to help her find peace,” he said.
“And I’m here to see Ares finds love,” added a female voice.
“’Dite,” uttered Ares.
She lifted a golden goblet, the contents emitting a red glow. “Ares, my love, you deserve to have your heart’s desire. And I’m here to help.”
“Aphrodite, do you think tampering in the lives of humans will help her?” asked Hermes.
“It is the will of Zeus,” she announced with a smile.
The image of the pretty blonde with the goblet waved before Belle’s eyes. She was having a hard time focusing.
“If Zeus wants to see this girl saved,” Hades began, “then I see no reason to take her to her awaiting brother.”
Aphrodite handed Ares the goblet. “Make her immortal. Feed her the elixir of the Ambrosia flower.”
He took the cup and brought it to Belle’s lips. Hermes lifted her upper body to help her drink.
Before her lips touched the cup, she heard Ares whisper. “Belle, drink this. Become my immortal lover, my warrior lover for all eternity. I can’t survive without love—without you.”
Chapter Nine
Belle stretched out upon the hard cot. She couldn’t remember who’d laid her down in one, but she suspected Ares had.
“Wake up, sweetheart. We have a full day ahead of us.”
She opened her eyes to gaze into the sea green eyes of her lover. Her war god. “Awful cheerful, aren’t you?” she asked as she sat up slowly.
“Here, have a cup of coffee, hot this time.” He handed her a tin cup, steaming with fresh coffee.
“Where are we anyway?” She glanced around and didn’t recognize the room. It looked like a priest’s bedchamber.
“The padre gave us use of his bedroom for your recovery. He saw how tired you were and wanted to help. The people of this town are so happy that we are here.”
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