She felt his hands slide up her back to her shoulders and lift her hair from her shoulders and neck where it'd fallen. Then he blew softly against her heated neck, trying to cool her. They were both covered by a fine sheet of sweat though the cool night air blew through her open veranda doors and windows.
Alexis stretched out on top of him, loving the way his hard body fit so wonderfully against hers. “I-I've wanted to do that to you all day,” she confessed.
"Baby, you should have said something sooner. But maybe it was a good thing you didn't. We'd have never left the bedroom and everyone would be wondering what in Hades we'd been up to."
She lifted her head and smiled down at him. “No, they wouldn't be wondering at all. They'd know exactly what we'd been doing."
He accepted her sweet kiss and let it go on and on.
Their tongues met again, but Alexis knew this contact was different than the first kiss they'd shared. This one was slow, sweet and very, very deliberate. That was when she realised that two firsts had been delivered into her life. She'd just experienced her first multiple orgasm and no longer believed such a thing was just a myth. She was also in a man's arms who actually seemed to like cuddling after the sex was over. It appeared, for all the world, that Lydon didn't want to let her go in favour of turning on his side and snoring the rest of the night away like so many men she'd bedded. In fact, she was the one who felt so relaxed that sleep was coming on fast. To further add to her confusion, Lydon suggested she do just that.
"Close your eyes, Alexis. I'll keep you warm,” he gently offered.
She'd meant to love the night away, but his softly spoken offer and his warm body were just too inviting. Alexis drifted off while he stroked her body in methodical, slow caresses.
Lydon didn't know what time it was when he awoke, but the candles had been burning for some time. Alexis wasn't in his arms any longer. He'd been so comfortable after she'd fallen asleep that he'd soon followed.
Something ... he wasn't sure what ... made him turn his head to the left. That was when he saw the two eerily glowing eyes from the darkened corner of the room. With barely a moment to spare, he propelled himself off the other side of the bed, just in time to miss the knife that Alexis wielded and would have plunged into his chest.
Fury and outrage at this betrayal fuelled him. There was no mistaking the same blue glow in those eyes that he'd often seen in Hera's gaze when she was chasing down some hapless soul or one of his own siblings.
"What the fuck are you doing?” he cried out.
Trying to fight the insanity gripping her, Alexis backed away from the bed, dropped the knife and ran toward the veranda doors. Though her movements were quick, Lydon's were faster. He pulled her back into the room, slammed the double doors shut and locked them behind him. She was now facing a massively built warrior with all the fierce outrage any man would exhibit under the circumstances. Unlike other men, however, Lydon looked as though he could easily break her into a hundred pieces.
"Who are you?” he furiously growled out between clenched teeth.
Alexis slumped to a kneeling position on the floor. “I-I remember everything now.” She wrapped her arms around her body and couldn't stop the trembling that seemed to shake her to the core.
Prepared for a trick, Lydon warily knelt in front of her and gripped her shoulders. “I'll ask one more time. Who are you, why are you here? And don't tell me Hera has nothing to do with this."
She raised her gaze to his.
Lydon saw the blue glow fade from eyes that now filled with tears. They spilled onto her cheeks as she stared back at him.
"I was sent here to kill you,” she quietly admitted. “But I'm trying to fight her. Zeus, help me, I am trying. I stood over you twice tonight and could have put that knife in your heart, Lydon. I fought her off both times. But I'm not sure how much longer I can keep it up."
"Tell me everything, Alexis. I'll know if you're not telling the truth.” He could see pain in her eyes that almost made him drop his guard. But he wasn't so naïve as to trust someone who'd just tried to butcher him.
"Hera put me here to kill you for burning her temple and liberating her priestesses,” Alexis admitted.
"That's not possible. Hera can't send anyone through the reality portals. Only Zeus has that power."
She shook her head. “She tricked your father into putting me here years ago. I was waiting for you to come."
Lydon ran his hands through his hair in confusion. “Quit screwing with me, woman."
Alexis took a deep breath and started from the beginning. “I was put here when I was only a young girl. Hera's oracles foresaw the burning of the temple many years ago, but warned her that she couldn't stop the inevitable. Even so, she sent minions to fight you, hoping they could best you and take your life. When all that plotting proved futile, she even tried poisoning you once, but a careless barmaid overturned your drink. As time went by, it became obvious that she couldn't change the future and that her temple would be decimated. So, she decided to add an element to the end of the prophecy.” Alexis swallowed hard before continuing. “Hera's oracles have known for many years that Zeus would send you to Earth after destroying the temple. But they could see nothing afterward in relation to you. Hera interpreted this blank space in your history to mean that she could seek vengeance after you were sent away from Olympus."
"I still don't..."
"Let me finish,” Alexis interrupted, then took a deep breath and tried again. “Hera knew she couldn't stop you. But she believed she could have a minion placed on Earth, waiting for Zeus to one day put you here. That minion is me. I've been waiting for years to kill you on her behalf.” She shakily continued. “I'm the daughter of Proteus and Selene. As the offspring of a sea god and a lunar goddess, I was trained in the ways of a warrior. This is why Hera chose me. I was only sixteen when she kidnapped me from my family. She took me to a cave at Ephinea and made me drink a potion that kept me from communicating who I was or that I was kidnapped. I-I couldn't write, speak or utter a word she didn't want me to say. And I think I might have begun to even lose my memory due to that same potion."
Lydon listened in absolute awe. All this was just like Hera. Her cunning knew no bounds. But he had yet to be convinced entirely.
Alexis licked her dry lips and continued. “Hera took me from that cave and marched me before Zeus. She told him that I was a thief and was causing untold trouble in the village of Plateae. She said that I refused to admit my crimes or even speak my name. Still, Zeus took pity on me as I was just a young girl. Hera kept ranting that I should die, knowing your father would never harm me. She craftily told him that if he sent me to some reality like Earth, she'd consider the matter finished."
Lydon shook his head and stated, “And he believed Hera and did as she suggested, just to get her out of his hair."
Alexis nodded. “As I've told you, I was sent to Earth by your father; tricked into doing so by Hera.” She began to shake in earnest, and her tears fell more freely. “I lost my memory of who I was due to Hera’ potions and machinations; all carried out before I ever left the Olympian realm, and all so I could be waiting here for your arrival.” Alexis clasped her hands together, almost unable to bear her recovered memories. “I-I remember awakening on Earth, in a city p-park,” she stammered. “The police found me and took me to a juvenile facility and, though I could finally speak, all I could remember was my first name. I had no recollection of who I really was. This was deliberately done so I couldn't fight Hera's will. She gave me all the knowledge I'd need to make a career for myself ... one that would get me close to Del and Meg one day."
He took her hands in his and felt how badly she trembled.
Alexis tried to finish her story, but it was difficult. Disjointed memories of another time were filling her consciousness. “When no family or relatives came forward to claim me on Earth, I was placed with Grace and David Reynolds. They died in a car crash when I was eighteen.” She began to sob in earnest
. “I-I think Hera might have killed my real parents back in Olympus. If they were alive, they'd have petitioned Zeus to find me. I know they would have never stopped looking for me."
Lydon watched as Alexis slumped further toward the floor. It was likely that she was right about her real parents. Hera would have gotten rid of them to keep Zeus from learning that a child had been kidnapped; a warrior child trained in stealth and survival, even at the tender age of sixteen. “And you're remembering all this tonight?"
Alexis pushed herself off the floor and attempted to run for the veranda doors again, but Lydon looped one strong arm around her waist and stopped her as he had before. Now, the woman was sobbing in torrents. Her entire body shook with the force of her grief.
"I remembered everything when I felt the overwhelming urge to pick up that kitchen knife and kill you,” she bitterly spat out. “I'm no murderer. I'm trying to fight Hera's will, but I'm not sure I can. What's w-worse, s-she may want me to k-kill Delos and Megaira, too. They also thwarted her will by escaping to Earth. Hera wants Meg dead because she bears Harpy blood, and Harpies killed one of her sons long ago. Now that you're all together, she can take her revenge on everyone at once."
Lydon let out a long breath in frustration. Alexis was clearly so upset that she could barely speak, let alone stand and fight. But her previous training as a warrior-goddess still made her a threat. It was clear she was speaking the truth. She knew too much about his life, Del's, and the Olympian reality. “How would Hera know you'd done the deed even if you'd managed it? When I was sent to this reality, Zeus told Delos what he told me. Father said he'd not see us again after we left Olympus. I think, in his own way, he found it too disturbing to open a portal and look down on us as we aged and eventually died."
"You're not remembering Hera's powers, Lydon. Hera can open portals and look into this reality just as Zeus can. When she does so, she can see what I'm doing and who I'm with. And though she can't send anyone here the way your father can, she's found a way to stay connected to me. Through the potion I took, she's controlling my mind and is using me. If that hateful woman can make me do whatever she wants in this reality, other minions controlled by her powers will be sent to go after whoever Zeus protects ... in any other reality.
Lydon took that threat quite seriously, but slightly loosened his grip on her body.
Alexis continued. “I know what happened when you burned the temple, Lydon. I can see the same prophecy the oracles showed Hera long ago. I began to see things from the past this afternoon as well as how we'd be together tonight. That means I might be able to see into the future. Hera is seeing through my eyes, by way of the same magical potion that wiped my memory and put me here holding a knife over you. She may not even need to open a portal any longer. I'm her portal now. I'm acting as her oracle on Earth.” She struggled again, trying to get away before Hera could take control of her mind again.
Lydon was surprised by her strength, but he held on.
"For the love of all the gods, let me go, Lydon. I don't know what Hera will make me do."
"She's done enough to you, sweetness.” He lifted her chin up and made her face him squarely. “There'll be a way to fight her. If she concentrates on you long enough, she'd almost certainly need privacy to keep her secret intact. Zeus will find her absence refreshing, but very suspicious. He'll seek her out, find out what she's done and make her pay heavily for her crimes against you and your family."
Alexis opened her mouth to speak, but could feel the same evil presence possess her.
Lydon could see the telltale glow beginning in her eyes and was determined that Hera wouldn't have this woman's mind. He was certain that once Alexis accomplished her task, the evil goddess would destroy this lovely creature, just as a way of keeping Zeus from finding out what had happened.
The woman in his embrace began to growl ferociously. He held on more tightly and spoke words of encouragement, urging her to resist the power seeping into her mind. His words finally seemed to help. Alexis quit struggling against him and she gazed up at him with a pleading look so desperate that he swore to help her though it might mean his life. Then, as if the thought was planted into his consciousness by some unseen hand, an idea came to him.
"Alexis, what does Hera treasure most?"
She panted and clung to the only saviour in her world. Focusing on his question, she responded with, “Hera is only concerned with self gratification. She holds her own needs and lusts above all other pursuits. The woman cares for nothing but herself and never has."
"Correct. The queen of all the gods is incapable of understanding the passion that two people can have for one another. Even though we've just met, she can't seem to control you when we're making love. The simple act of mutually caring for someone in an intimate relationship confounds her and her magic."
She sighed in frustration. “I know all that. But how long can we keep it up?"
Again, as if by some unseen force, Lydon's gaze took in a full-length, freestanding mirror on the other side of the room. He released Alexis long enough to pull the mirror toward the bed and tilt it to face them. When he sat on the edge of the bed and held Alexis in his embrace, the room's candlelight was more than enough to clearly reflect their images. “If it's true that Hera perceives through your mind, then she's only been seeing me. That's angering her further. Anger gives her strength, as it always has. We'll just put her rage in overdrive."
Alexis understood. “Yes, let her see the image of her servant and her enemy rejecting the revenge she seeks. We'll be thumbing both our noses in her face and it might be too much for her."
"Even if it isn't, everyone in Olympus will probably hear her screams of outraged indignation. That means that Zeus may hear them too."
"I'll try anything,” Alexis gratefully responded, then planted a soft kiss on one of his broad, granite-like shoulders.
Lydon positioned himself at the very edge of the bed, and sat right in front of the mirror. He held out his hand to Alexis. She briefly slid her palm against his, then audaciously sat on his lap, facing the mirror.
She felt his hands run up the front of her body and almost purred as he massaged her breasts. Then she leaned backward slightly to expose more of her chest to his ministrations.
"That's it, baby. Show that vengeful she-wolf on Olympus that she can't have you. Look right in the mirror and tell her what you think. Concentrate on our image and let her do her worst."
"Stay with me, no matter what,” she begged.
Lydon nuzzled her right cheek with his left one. “I have no intention of letting you go, sweetness. Now, enjoy us being together. Make Hera crazy."
* * * *
Alexis revelled in the feel of his hard thighs beneath her butt. Every muscle in the front of his body seemed to mould to her back. His soft breath against her neck sent waves of euphoria shimmering through her like a pebble sends ripples through a pond. Lydon's touch was ultra gentle, not demanding, not grasping or hurtful. Some of the men she'd been with in the past had been more than content to shove their cocks within her body, ejaculate then sleep or leave. Or she'd left, unsatisfied and needing the peace of her own bedroom to finger her clitoris or use her dildo to bring on an orgasm her current beau hadn't.
With Lydon, it was instinctual. He simply seemed to know what she craved and gave everything he had to assure her satisfaction. And Hera wouldn't understand such caressing and stroking. It'd been said that the queen of Olympus had serving wenches arouse her palace guards by stroking their penises, then had those guards sent to her so she could quickly mount each one and experience ready orgasms whether the guards came or not.
But that wasn't her lover's way. Lydon seemed to love touching her and hearing her moan his name. His quiet whispers of encouragement were causing a pool of wet lubricant to drip from her slit. She especially loved the way he kissed the back of her neck and blew soft, gentle breaths on places he moistened with his tongue.
"Play with yourself, honey. Bring my co
ck up between your legs and move against it if you want to."
She did as he suggested and found his hardness rubbed her tingling clit just the right way. “I want you deep inside my pussy. From behind."
Lydon wasted no time fulfilling her desire. He simply placed his hands on either side of her trim waist, lifted her up, then back down on his penis. Alexis widened her legs, moaned loudly and rotated her hips sideways to take more of him in. He gazed into the mirror and saw the ethereal picture she made. Her long hair cascaded back onto his shoulders and upper arms. Her eyes were closed and she put her soft hands over his where his fingers toyed with her nipples. It was his intention to create different sensations on her breasts as well as deep inside her cunt. The way her body gripped his cock was divine. His moans mingled with hers and the heat of their bodies rose with their passion.
Then, as if someone was on the other side watching, he saw two eyes begin to glow in the mirror. The sheen was the same blue shimmer he'd seen in Alexis’ eyes. “You can't have her. She's given herself to me, and I won't give her up. Tell her, baby. Tell her what you want her to hear,” he softly instructed.
Alexis was nearing an orgasm of cosmic proportions. “Go to Hades, you spiteful harlot! Not only will I not kill him, but I'm going to take him over and over while you watch. He and I will make love until neither of us can walk. We'll pleasure each other for hours. And that's something you can't understand.” Hera was actually seeing through her eyes while their lovemaking was reflected in the mirror. As Lydon had said, that act would make the Olympian queen furious.
Lydon joined in the taunt as he felt his semen rise. “Watch us make love, Hera. Watch us and learn what it is to care for someone more than you care for yourself ... Oh, gods above, I can't ... move with me, Alexis. Move with me, baby!"
Lydon's Exile Page 4