Lesson in Love (Olympians, 2)

by Marie Medina

  Tish snorted, making everyone else laugh before she said, “They have been at it like rabbits. It’s no wonder Hera is staying out of trouble. She’s hardly allowed to leave the bedroom.”

  Eros tried to get an old memory out of his head. He’d once walked in on Zeus and Hera, him tied to the bed and her riding him mercilessly. They had both laughed it off, but Eros had always had trouble shaking the image of the beautiful goddess on the verge of coming. He looked up into Iris’ eyes. He saw warmth there, and he knew she was thinking about last night. Suddenly he forgot all about Hera, and his mind filled with the image of Iris coming as he took her from behind.

  She blushed, and he realized he’d been staring at her.

  Tish stood up. “Okay, you two need more alone time. We’re off.”

  Meg and Alex stood up too, giggling.

  “Well, have fun,” he said, trying to keep from blushing.

  “We always do.” The three of them disappeared.

  He looked up at Iris. “Sorry. A really nice thought overtook me.”

  “And what thought was that?”

  He hesitated, and then took the chance. “You coming.”

  She blushed even deeper.

  “Sorry. I promise I was quite intrigued before you even kissed me. Last night only enthralled me more.”

  “Really?”

  She seemed so serious he couldn’t tell if she believed him or not.

  “Yes. I do realize it’s going to be a while before you believe things like that. You’ve probably heard me say them to too many women.”

  “You never said things like that to other women.” She stood and walked over to him, then knelt down in front of him.

  “I didn’t?”

  “No. You didn’t.” She unzipped his pants and released his hard cock.

  He hadn’t realized it was so noticeable. “Iris?”

  “Shhhhh.” She took the head of his cock in her mouth and swirled her tongue slowly.

  He slumped down in his chair. He groaned as her hand stroked the shaft and her tongue worked feverishly over him. She took him deeper into her mouth, and he looked down at her. He stroked her cheek, wanting her to look up at him.

  “You’re amazing,” he whispered when she did. “Are you wet?”

  She nodded, pulling back. “You don’t want me to keep doing this?”

  He cradled her face. “Your tongue is amazing, but it’s you I want.”

  He pulled her to her feet and reached under her skirt, yanking her panties down and feeling her. She was wet, hot and wet and perfect. He pushed his pants down and pulled her onto his lap. She wrapped her legs behind him, around the small kitchen chair.

  “We just might tip over.” She giggled as she leaned back on the table, moving so he was right at her entrance.

  “Well, we both have wings. I think we’ll be okay.” He grabbed a handful of her hair and brought her in for a hot kiss.

  She moaned and pressed against him, taking his cock deep inside her. She leaned back, her breasts bouncing in his face. He pulled her blouse open and ran his hand over them. She pushed harder against him, her pussy milking his cock and driving him wild.

  “I don’t see how you keep the gods and men away,” he said as he pulled her bra down and laved her nipple with his eager tongue.

  “None of them see me like this.” She gasped.

  He held her by the waist and made her ride him harder. He could feel her trembling, on the verge of coming.

  “Come for me, Iris. Please come for me.”

  She threw her head back and moaned. He held her as close as he could with his cock buried in her, enjoying her sweet convulsions and drinking in the pleasure on her face. He thrust three more times and found his release. She tangled her hands in his hair and kissed him. He let himself get lost in the pleasure.

  When they finally parted, Iris searched his face for a long time.

  “What is it?” he finally asked. He hoped he hadn’t hurt her or done something wrong.

  “I feel guilty.”

  He didn’t understand what she meant. “Why?”

  “I seduced you.”

  He couldn’t hide his shock, as her statement made no sense. “So what? I was more than willing to be seduced. I’ve been fascinated by you ever since we met.”

  “But they pushed us together. Hera and your mother.”

  He hadn’t suspected that, expecting an attack from some other angle, but he didn’t care now. “So what?”

  She got off him. She leaned on the table, her legs shaking.

  “Hey, sit down. We went a little fast this time.” He pulled out another chair and made her sit in it.

  “You don’t understand what I’m saying. They planned this.”

  He held up his hand. “This was my idea. I wanted you. My motivations were selfish at first, but I genuinely wanted you. Now I want you even more. They didn’t do this. I’m immune to love spells. I fell in love with Psyche because of a spell, and my mother made sure that would never happen again. I love you for you.”

  “You don’t love me.” She looked ready to burst into tears.

  “I’m sorry. I know you aren’t ready for me to say that yet. I may have screwed up every other relationship I have ever been in, but I know love.”

  “This is what they wanted. They wanted to make you love me to teach you a lesson.”

  “But they didn’t make me. They didn’t encourage me at all. My mother even told me to be careful.”

  She wiped at a few stray tears. “They were just trying to put you off the scent. They knew you’d never have looked twice at me if you knew they wanted you to.”

  “That’s crazy. You aren’t making sense. If I’m just the guy you’re gonna sleep with to get back into the swing of things then go ahead and tell me. Don’t make up excuses.”

  Her tears finally broke. Eros had no idea what she was talking about or why she was upset. He knew she cared for him because she was too honest to fake it. So what if his mom and Hera had set them up or even pushed them together? It was about time they did something good for him.

  “Tell me what’s wrong. I won’t tell you how I feel again if it makes you unhappy.”

  “Eros, I love you.”

  “You do?” Despite the intensity of his confusion, he smiled to reassure her. “I love you too. Maybe it is kind of fast, but you’re amazing. You’re just so amazing. I know I’m not perfect, but you’re good for me. I knew you cared about me. We can work this out.”

  “Eros, please listen.”

  “Okay. What is it?” Surely she wouldn’t tell him she loved him then ask him to leave her alone. They’d just gotten together. They couldn’t be breaking up already. He tried but somehow he couldn’t fight the fear that gripped him.

  “I’ve loved you for years. That’s why they picked me. It’s like they decided to give you to me as a present.”

  “You were already in love with me?” His heart beat faster, and he found it very hard to breathe. “You’ve loved me this whole time?”

  She nodded.

  “But that’s wonderful. Iris, please listen to me now. I am not under a spell. No one has said anything to me to make me love you. I can guarantee you no one could give me to anyone as a present, no matter how powerful they were. And most importantly, I am not saying I love you because of the sex. That’s just an amazing bonus. It simply took those intimate moments to force me to face my emotions.”

  Tears still rolled down her cheeks, but she seemed calmer. “Give me time to think.”

  “How much time?” He didn’t want to leave her side at all, let alone spend several days without her.

  “Until I call you.”

  He reached up to touch her face, but instead he took her hand and kissed it. “I promise I’ll leave you alone, but I won’t be able to stop thinking about you.”

  She looked relieved. “Thank you. It means a lot that you’ll do this.”

  He stood up and nodded. “I’m gonna go then.” He turned and
fled without looking back. He couldn’t make himself turn around and say good-bye. If he looked at her he wouldn’t be able to leave at all.

  Iris sat on the couch in Hera’s study with her face buried in her hands. She had finally stopped crying. She felt Hera’s hand on her head. She wanted to push it away, but she hardly had the energy.

  “Sweetie,” Aphrodite said. “I think you’ve overreacted. Based on what you said, Eros doesn’t care. He’s not mad at any of us. I don’t see what the problem is.”

  She wiped away the last of her tears and looked up at them. “You tricked him into paying attention to me, and then I seduced him. He doesn’t love me.”

  “How do you know that?” Hera asked.

  “He hardly knows me.”

  Aphrodite sat down. “You hardly knew him. You were so critical of him that before he thought you hated him. Why don’t we ask the Fates? They’ll have to answer if Hera makes the request.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  Hera sat back. “Are you afraid they’ll say this was never meant to happen, or that he doesn’t really love you?”

  “Yes.”

  Both goddesses fell silent, and Iris knew they were having a conversation in their minds. Aphrodite spoke up. “Let’s take a walk, Iris. Just you and me.”

  Iris nodded. “Okay. Fine.” She knew better than to disobey. Aphrodite didn’t have a bad temper like Zeus or Hera, but she tended to become mischievous when she didn’t get her way. Iris didn’t need more complications. She stood up and they were no longer in Hera’s study. They stood in Aphrodite’s garden at the entrance to the lovers’ maze.

  Aphrodite took her hand and started walking. “I’m not sure I understand. Are you saying you still don’t trust my son? I’ll admit I wouldn’t blame you.”

  “He’s tricked himself into thinking he loves me.”

  “How has he tricked himself? By convincing himself that you’re pretty or clever? By making you into something you’re not?”

  “No.”

  “I think he knows you very well. You keep to yourself. No one could have coached him on how to understand you or given him some magical secret. He’s fallen in love all on his own.”

  “He saw me as a challenge. Now I’m a prize, a prize that’s good in bed.”

  “This is because you had sex? You’re having doubts because of that?”

  She could hardly keep her own thoughts straight, let alone explain them. She couldn’t explain the doubt and fear she felt. She also couldn’t deny the guilt filling her heart. “It’s not any one thing. It’s the whole situation. It was unfair. I should have been cold to him.”

  “He wouldn’t have gone away. It would only have hurt him and delayed the happiness you’re on the verge of finding. I’m sure it would have caused you pain as well to turn him away. You’ve wanted him for so long.”

  “That’s just it. I don’t deserve a present for being a good servant. I don’t deserve a prize for being a long-suffering lover of an unattainable man.”

  “That is not what this is. Can’t you simply believe happiness would come your way without someone making it happen?”

  She shook her head. “That’s what I’m unsure about.”

  “You’ve wanted this so long and so much you’re afraid it’s going to turn out to be nothing more than a dream?”

  Iris stopped and walked toward the pond at the center of the maze. “Something like that.”

  “There’s nothing I can say then. It’s up to you to accept my son’s love.” Aphrodite turned to go, but she stopped. She didn’t turn around and face Iris, but she added, “Make sure you stay on Hera’s good side. You break my son’s heart, and you’ll need her protection.”

  Iris watched Aphrodite leave. She felt as if an icy hand had gripped her heart. She had never displeased any of the Olympians. None of them had ever even frowned at her, let alone threatened her. She fought back the urge to cry out for Hera. She sat on a stone bench by the water and gathered her thoughts. After a few moments, the panic subsided.

  One thing kept running through her mind. Aphrodite would not have made the threat if she didn’t truly believe Iris might break Eros’ heart. If his heart could be broken, he had to really love her, didn’t he?

  Eros stared at the wine in front of him when his waitress left. He didn’t feel like looking at his uninvited companion.

  “You are no fun today,” Ares said.

  “No, I’m not.”

  “I’m sure I know why.”

  Eros glared at the wall. “I’m sure you do. Everyone is making my life their business lately.”

  “So what else is new around here? Just tell me what happened.”

  “Why do you care?” He couldn’t help being suspicious, given Ares’ tendency to do anything to please Aphrodite. He refused to be pumped for information.

  “I’d like to help.”

  “You sure my mother didn’t ask you to help?”

  Ares narrowed his eyes. “Why would she do that?”

  “Seems she has a vested interest in my love life.”

  “She wants to see you happy, yes.”

  “Maybe.” He took a sip of wine and looked down into the glass, swirling the liquid in it slowly. “It’s what she keeps telling me.”

  “You think it isn’t true? What’s she done to you?”

  “She didn’t do anything to me. It’s Iris.”

  “Your mother is all for you and Iris. Everyone loves Iris.”

  He slid the glass across the table and finally looked at Ares. “That’s not the problem. Iris doesn’t trust me because my mother wanted this.”

  “That’s ridiculous. Your mother has never tried to make a match for you before. She would have broken the spell that made you love Psyche if Zeus hadn’t forbidden it.” He leaned forward. “Just get Iris and your mother together. They can talk it out.”

  “That’s not going to help. Hera and my mother set all this up, so now Iris refuses to believe how I feel about her.”

  Ares stopped with his glass halfway to his lips. “How do you feel about her?”

  Eros groaned. “This isn’t helping. I need to get out of here.”

  Ares put his glass down and held Eros’ arm. “Just hold on. You think you’re in love with her?”

  Eros suddenly wished he’d gone home. “I know I am. Can’t blame it on a backfiring spell this time.”

  “Well, this is big. Only thing bigger would be your mother falling in love.”

  He rolled his eyes at Ares. “Whatever. I think everyone knows where my mother’s heart is.”

  Eros regretted saying it as soon as Ares’ eyes flashed at him.

  “No, you’re wrong. No one knows that, not even Hera or Zeus. I spend the most time in her bed. That’s all. She keeps her secrets locked up quite well.”

  “Sorry. You brought it up.”

  Ares answered very quickly. “Yeah, well, I wasn’t thinking.”

  “Okay. That’s fine.” Eros was beginning to wonder if something was going on with his mother. Ares certainly seemed testier lately, and she had been keeping to herself a lot, except for one or two drop-ins to tease him. Nothing surprised him when it came to her. He focused on Ares again. “Yes, I’m in love with her. She thinks I’m just fooling myself, though.”

  “How does she feel about you?”

  Ares asked the question so casually Eros wondered if he already knew the answer. “That’s the other thing. I thought she hated me. I thought I was spending all this time trying to win her over. According to her, she’s been in love with me for a long time.”

  Ares didn’t look surprised. “How long is a long time?”

  “Years, she said.”

  “So she finds it hard to buy that you’re in love with her after a month? I don’t think anyone would blame her.”

  “I guess. I don’t know. She thinks I was forced to notice her. She thinks she seduced me. She did, but not in the way she means. She started seducing me the day she introduced herself to m
e in her restaurant. I was crazy about her when I thought she couldn’t stand me. I just wasn’t going to admit it then.”

  “I can understand the first part. It is pretty hard to believe you never noticed her. She’s gorgeous. Those flashing eyes and all those curves.”

  Eros glared at Ares. “Anything you want to tell me?”

  Ares smiled. “I kissed her once. That’s it.”

  Eros knew that had to be all that had happened because Ares was enough of a bastard he wouldn’t hesitate to tell all if they had ever been together. “Okay.”

  “I can appreciate a beautiful woman if I want to. I’m a free man.”

  Eros couldn’t help wondering if Ares, macho as he was, wanted to talk about Aphrodite. He certainly kept leading them toward the subject, but he got testy when Eros asked something directly. Well, if he did want to talk, he’d have to wait. Eros had his own issues to deal with. “Yeah, I know. Can’t help it.”

  “Jealousy will do that. You’re lucky. More than one god would have tried to win Iris if she didn’t keep her defenses up so much.”

  All Eros could think about was the way she’d let down every defense with him the night before. She’d invited him into her home and her bed, only to then tell him she’d already let him into her heart a long time ago.

  “I think I’m paying the price for not noticing her before.”

  “She wouldn’t do that.”

  “No, I meant in the bigger scheme of things. You know how the Fates work.”

  “I’m not really that sure sometimes.”

  Eros wasn’t sure how to explain. “I mean I could have made her happy years ago, but I never even looked twice at her. The only time I ever noticed her was at a party, and I only approached her because Poseidon was talking to her. I thought she was the latest mortal he was into.”

  Ares laughed loudly. “That sure wins a girl over, making her think you only want her because she’s someone else’s and disposable to boot.”

  “Thanks. I feel great now.”

  Ares finally stopped laughing. “Look, go talk to your mother if you’re that worried. If Iris has really loved you for so long, she’s not going to stop after all this has happened. Does that make any sense?”