by Colt, Shyla
“I’m sorry?”
“Yeah, you are. I’m Aphrodite. You know my cousin Colette.”
“The goddess of love?”
“Is there any other?”
“I guess n—not.” He was babbling, but he’d never been in front of a goddess before. He didn’t even know they existed until last week.
“Colette isn’t here. That’s why she’s not answering. She hitched a ride back home early, convinced you wouldn’t show—I wonder why.”
“I know I fucked up, but I swear I will spend the rest of our lives making up for it. Finding out about her—all of you—was a lot to take in, but I’ve got my head on straight now, I promise.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, but nodded. “I believe you do. Colette is very special and I want to see her happy. I know she won’t be without you.”
The words made him smile and filled him with hope. Maybe he hadn’t ruined things beyond compare.
“Take my hand.” Aphrodite stuck out a French-manicured hand.
Julian complied reluctantly. Her hand felt feather soft. She closed her palm and his stomach dropped out as the world around them disappeared. A few moments later, he was struggling to stand on wobbly legs.
“Sorry, it’s always rough the first trip. Take a few deep breaths and find a focus point.”
He pried open the eyes he’d scrunched shut and gasped. “Oh, my God, this is beautiful.”
The idyllic scenery was right out of a painting. The sky seemed to be an impossible pale blue with not a cloud in sight. The sun beamed down on him, warming his skin. A light breeze brought the smell of fresh grass and sweet flowers.
“Yes, perfect for creatures who thrive on beauty.”
His eyes scanned the sprawling green hills of the countryside and landed on the figures of two woman huddled together on the lawn. One he recognized instantly. He turned toward Aphrodite for guidance. “Can I go to her?”
She nodded.
His footsteps were muffled on the grass and he was only a few feet away when she glanced up and their gazes locked. She pulled away from the other woman and stood. A white Grecian gown flowed around her body and her hair was adorned with tiny white flowers.
The striking image she made took his breath away.
She broke into a run and he opened his arms to catch her when she launched herself toward him. He nuzzled her neck with his nose and whispered into her ear, “I am so sorry. I came over to your house, but you were already gone. I was so stupid to let my pride and fear keep me silent for so long. I was worried you were mistaking pity for love and embarrassed by all of the times you’ve seen me at rock bottom. I could always feel you, this comforting, encouraging presence…” He paused and looked into her eyes.
Collette’s tears streamed down her lovely cheeks as she listened.
“You kept me up on my feet when all I wanted to do was lie down and give up and as amazing as that was, it doesn’t hold a candle to having you in my arms, in my bed and in my life. I love you, Col. I want to make you my wife, because nothing short of forever with you would ever be enough…That is, if you’ll still have me.”
“Of course I will, you stupid man. Don’t you ever scare me like that again!”
Their lips crashed together in a frenzied kiss that stole his breath and made other parts stand up and ask for attention.
Their chests heaved when they broke apart to take in air.
Julian smoothed down her hair and turned to face the petite woman beside his fiancée.
“This is my sister, Calliope. Calliope, this is Julian.” Col’s voice was full of pride.
He felt ten feet tall, despite the death glare the woman was giving him.
“Nice to meet you, Julian. Can I assume my sister will never be subjected to this kind of behavior again?”
“Yes.”
“Good, because I assure you, I know people in high places.”
“Don’t scare him, Call.”
Too late.
“Now, Calliope, I’m sure these two have a lot of catching up to do. You can grill him later, after the glorious makeup sex.”
His jaw dropped.
Aphrodite smirked. “Oh, honey, I’ve seen it all.”
“Get used to it. The woman has no filter,” Col whispered in his ear. “I’d love to stay and chat, but we do have a lot to talk about.”
“Say no more,” Aphrodite said, holding up a hand. “Hang on tight.” She snapped her fingers and the world around him wavered, settling again, in Col’s bedroom.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Wow.”
“Fastest way to travel,” Colette said.
The joy radiating off her told Julian he made the right decision. He could live the rest of his life with her like this. Fame or no fame. “How could you give up all of that for me?”
“I’m not really giving it up as much as I’ve decided to work from home.” She shrugged at his stunned expression. “Once a Muse always a Muse. It’s a club you can never opt out of.”
He snickered. “If you’re immortal, what happens when I age?”
“If you want to age, I can assimilate my life force to yours, or we could go the fun route and you can eat ambrosia.”
“Nectar of the gods?” he asked. His head spun as he continued to try to wrap his mind around the fact that Greek mythology was more than legend.
“Very potent and life extending to humans.”
“What did I ever do to deserve you?” he whispered.
“You were Julian Sorrows.”
He pulled her body up against his own, letting her feel his desire against her waist. Col liked it when he played alpha male and right now, he wanted to give her the world. “I want to be buried deep inside your cunt with this white dress pushed up around your waist while you beg me to fuck you.”
She shivered at his words.
“I know we have things to talk about, but right now I can’t think straight for wanting you.”
“Yes.” Her voice sounded breathy and her nipples hardened, poking out of the dress as they begged for his attention.
He leaned in to suck a chocolate-chip-sized point into his mouth through her gown. Her back arched and he brought his other hand up to cup her generous mound. Massaging, he continued to tease the other with suction he followed with a bite. She cried out and he pulled back. “Get on the bed.”
She lay down, eyes glazed with passion, as she waited for his next command, her body tense. Colette had shown him many ways of loving, but he knew she loved this, so he saved it for special occasions. It wasn’t in him to be dominant all the time, but after centuries of being in control, she liked to surrender occasionally.
“Pull up your dress.”
Her breath stuttered and a whimper spilled out of her throat as she revealed her lithe body to his gaze. Moisture made her trimmed mound glisten.
He leaned down and traced her slit with a finger, smirking when her body trembled. “Open your legs wide…wider…wider. Good. Now spread your lips. I want to see that pretty pink pussy when I push deep inside of you.”
Their gazes locked and held as he pushed down his plaid pajama pants and sprang free, already hard. A drop of pre-cum oozed from the tip of his bulbous head while he palmed his cock and stroked, moaning at the sensation that spiraled through his body.
More liquid spilled from his tip as he stepped to the edge of the bed and pulled her body to the edge of it. “Grab the sheets. You’ve been a naughty little Muse, haven’t you? Coming down here, making me fall in love and revealing your secret.”
“Yes,” she whispered. Her chest heaved and he watched as a fresh pool of liquid fell onto his sheets.
“You like it when I take control, don’t you? Like the freedom that comes with savoring your passion like a fine wine.” He knelt on the bed. Taking his cock in hand, he teased her opening, never quite penetrating as he slid up and down until she was squirming beneath him.
“Julian, please.”
“Please what, Col?”
She thrust her hips toward him.
Julian shook his head, refusing to give her what she wanted.
“Please come inside me.”
“Your wish is my command, love, always.” He pushed inside her tight heat and stopped, savoring the feel of the vise grip she had on just his head.
She flexed her muscles.
“Shit.”
“More, Julian. I thought I lost you. Slow and tender isn’t what I need right now.” Her voice broke.
He smoothed her hair back from her face, nodded in understanding, braced his arms on the bed beside her head and buried himself as far as he could manage in the most exquisite woman he would ever know. He thrust again and again, setting a brutal pace that made the headboard slam against the wall. The muscles in his back bulged and he gritted his teeth as he lost himself in the smell of their lovemaking and the feel of her heat.
She brought her feet up onto the mattress, tilting her hips, pulling him even deeper inside.
With each thrust, he felt as if he were getting closer to reaching the very heart of her.
“Yes, Julian, right there. Harder, harder.”
“Fuck!” He hissed as her walls fluttered around him.
“I’m coming! I’m coming!” She clamped down on him and her body convulsed, taking him over as he filled her with everything he had to offer.
He moved to pull out and she wrapped her arms and legs around him. “Please stay, just for a while.”
“Okay, Col.” He pressed into her body, taking the brunt of his weight on his arms. He breathed in her floral scent, listened to her heartbeat and thanked whatever deities who listened for the miracle beneath him. Exhausted, he rolled onto the bed beside her.
Eventually, he mustered up the energy to head into the bathroom to wash off and brought back a warm washcloth. He cleansed her body, took the black square back to the sink and rejoined her beneath the covers. “I know you’re waiting for me to say something profound, but what it boiled down to for me was how unbearable going back to life being without you would be. No manner of spelling, casting, hexing, or whatever you call it up on Olympus could make me truly forget our time together. A part of me would remember. Just the way I recalled your voice that night in the hospital. I don’t like that you lied, but I do understand it. Had you come right out and told me when we first met, I would’ve called a doctor then and proceeded to freak out when you pulled your magic tricks to prove you were telling the truth.” He winked at her
Colette smiled as tears glistened in her eyes.
“You wanted me to pick between you being my lover or my Muse, but the way I see it, you will always be my Muse, Colette, because what you inspire me to be is a better man. Your love does that, not your powers. Thank you for loving me.”
Tears streamed down her face now.
He leaned in to kiss her salty lips. “You spent the past year building me up, giving me what I needed to thrive and showing me who I had the potential to still be. It’s my turn to take care of you now, Col.”
“All I ever wanted was your love, Jay. Now that I have that, I don’t need anything else.”
“That’s exactly why I plan on giving you everything, Col.”
Epilogue
Humans weren’t really supposed to be on Olympus, but Zeus made an exception for the wedding of his daughter. On a hill overlooking the river stood a brown-skinned beauty in a dazzling white dress with a twenty-foot train trailing behind her. At her side, her human groom.
On Earth, eyes might have been drawn to his outward appearance, but here, the beauty he held within shined bright, making Colette the envy of many.
Zeus himself performed the ceremony, pleased with the match and happy to offer up ambrosia to one who possessed such a brilliant mind and talented genes. He was anxious to see him join his own lineage.
On the outskirts of the celebration stood a pale, slender beauty clad in a black gown. When the groom said, “I do,” something shifted in the icebox of her heart. A smile played on her lips and the heart she thought long dead came to life. Aella scanned the blue sky above her. Her love’s soul had returned to Earth. It was time for a second chance at happiness.
The End
Shyla Colt
Told once 'You have to be an author, then your craziness becomes eccentrics', Shyla Colt has always been in love with the written word and possessed a desire to write. Named after Super Girl in the comics, she often mistakes her mortality for super hero status. So, she holds many hats, Mother, Marine Wife and writer are her top three. Writing allows her to explore new venues, face her demons and touch others. A huge practitioner of paying it forward and putting in what you want to get out, she hopes to inspire, enlighten, move and entertain you with her work.
Mixing humor, drama and strong women, often with a paranormal element, she continues to soldier ahead in the writing field. One of her favorite things is talking to fans.
If you'd like to learn more or just drop a line, please check her out at www.shylacolt.com.
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