I glanced down at it. I’d refused to take it off and it was one of the few requests my mother had honored, probably because she knew quality jewelry when she saw it.
“They don’t care. Well, they do care. The fact that you’re a vampire makes you completely unacceptable. You’re lucky Mars brought you here to please me. But it was foolish of him. It just delayed the inevitable.”
“What the hell do you mean?” His hands tightened on my waist. “What’s inevitable?”
“We can’t marry, Jerry. I’m stuck here. Even if I get back down to Earth, I will have to please Zeus and marry one of his gods. It’s the only way to placate him.”
“And if you don’t placate this bastard?” Jerry’s eyes were hard, like he was thinking of starting a war.
“Hush.” I put a hand over his mouth. “Zeus knows everything that goes on here. His power is immense. I’ve seen him torture other gods and you saw it too. Look at how Achelous was suffering in the cell next to you.” I sighed. “I doubt Zeus would bother playing with a mortal. And that’s all you are here, Jer. He’ll just end you on the spot if you defy him.”
“I’m not leaving you here, Gloriana.” He pulled me closer, his thighs trapping me.
I pushed him back until he was lying on the bed. “I need you, Jerry. I don’t want to send you home. But let’s not talk about that now. Make love to me.” I slid my hand up to the simple clasp that held his toga together and opened it. The cloth parted and I could see his chest and the smooth skin there. Even after suffering in the cells, he was still strong. I gasped as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close.
“My love. You never need to ask twice.” His kiss was hungry as he found my zipper and slid it down. His warm hand found my bra clasp and opened it. He shoved my dress off and lifted me so that I could wiggle out of it completely. No vampire strength or tricks this time, just a man who’d been fit enough to survive horrors that would have broken many men. Whatever energy drink Mars’ men had used to revive him had certainly worked. He was eager to take me, but determined to make sure I was ready for him. It wouldn’t take much since I couldn’t wait to feel him inside me.
He rolled me under him to kiss the curve of my breast and suck one of my nipples into the heat of his mouth. Heat. The novelty made my womb contract with longing.
“Jerry!” I held onto his hair when he gently bit down on one breast before moving to the other. No blood this time, just sweet loving. I nibbled on his ear and licked a path to the hollow of his throat. His toga landed on the floor along with the last bits of my clothing and my shoes. I wanted to taste him and pushed him to his back, running my hands down to his shaft and sliding my fingers up and down until he moaned my name. When I took him in my mouth he grabbed my hair, his hips bucking off the bed.
Oh, but I loved the power I had to make him need me. Finally he could take no more and pulled me up to kiss me. I sat on top of him, refusing to think about good-byes or what might come next. This man belonged to me. I sank down on him, so that he filled me until I gasped. Then I rode him, his hands on my hips anchoring me when I got so wild that I screamed his name.
Just when I thought I could take no more, he came. His hot seed inside me shocked me into silence. He was mortal. I was a goddess. Neither of us was now a cold-blooded sterile vampire. What did that mean? I took what he gave me and fell on him, holding him close and thinking about how I never wanted this to end. We were so close it was as if we were one person.
One person. No, two. But we didn’t need vows to make us married. I knew, when his arms locked around me as if he’d never let me go, that I was his. And that what we had was forever, no matter what others tried to do to tear us apart. I’d just have to be clever. And maybe what had just happened would help. I’d have to wait and see.
Chapter 6
“Time’s up.” My mother didn’t bother knocking. She stood beside the bed while Jerry dragged a sheet over us. “He’s going back.”
“Not so fast.” Mars glowered at her side. “Gloriana loves him. Perhaps Zeus should get a chance to meet him. Size him up.”
I clutched Jerry’s arm. “No! What chance would he have among those gods?”
“Gloriana, I’m not afraid to meet the man who Mars tells me is your grandfather.” Jerry threw back the sheet and got up, reaching for his toga that we’d tossed on the floor. Of course my mother was checking him out.
“Hebe, let these two have time to get dressed.” Mars jerked at her arm when she nodded at me, eyebrow raised.
“To say good-bye you mean. Gloriana is right. There’s no point in dragging this man in front of my father. He will not approve. Not when he finds out what he was on Earth.” Mother frowned. “Don’t just lay there staring daggers at us, Daughter. This world is what it is. We didn’t make it. We’ll leave you to get dressed. Put on your court toga after you wash off the smell of sex. My father does want to see you. We’ve all been summoned. If Blade doesn’t leave now, he will have to go with us.” She and Mars left without another word.
I felt sick, terrified. Jerry of course had no idea what he was in for. Though he’d been next to Achelous for the better part of a week so maybe he did.
“Stop.” I jumped out of bed as he was about to pick up a pair of daggers. “You heard my mother. We smell like sex. The bathrooms here are decadent. Come into the shower with me.” I took his hand and dragged him toward the door.
“We don’t want to keep Zeus waiting.” Jerry threw off his toga though and picked me up, striding toward the door I indicated. “Don’t try to distract me now. We are just to get clean, nothing more.”
“Of course not.” I skimmed a finger down his jaw. He was worried of course. “You should wait here while I go see him. There’s no rush for you to confront--”
“I’m not a coward, Gloriana.” He set me down on the cold tile floor and faced me.
“I know that. But Zeus is not like the other men you’ve faced. He’s a god. No, he’s the god. Head honcho with the power to go with it. Who do you think is torturing Achelous?” I punctuated that with a finger into Jerry’s chest. “You’ve seen him in action. Do you want to be next?” I was too scared to get weepy. “Say one wrong word and you’d be a burnt spot on the ground before I could even try to save you.”
“I’ll save myself, lass, or I wouldn’t be worthy of you.” He brushed my hair back from my face and kissed my forehead before staring into my eyes. “It’s quite a place you’ve landed in, isn’t it, my girl?”
“Oh, God, Jerry.” I wrapped my arms around him and just savored his comfort. “You have no idea.” We stood there for a moment but a knock on the door brought reality in on a rush. “What is it?”
“Sorry, mistress, but your mother is insistent. You have ten minutes to present yourself to her for inspection.” A handmaiden bustled in with snowy towels. She didn’t look at Jerry, just began adjusting the water in the shower and gathering my hair to wrap into one of the towels so it wouldn’t get wet, even though I was still pressed against my man.
“Ten minutes?” I turned but stayed close to Jer so she couldn’t see what she probably wanted to inspect. Handmaidens acted like they were deaf, dumb and blind, but I knew better. “Then leave us. We’ll be ready. Arrange fresh clothing for both of us on the bench there.” I pointed to one next to the door. She nodded then scurried out.
“There’s not much in the way of privacy here is there?” Jerry pulled me toward the huge shower stall.
“None at all.” I sighed.
“Yet some would say Olympus is paradise. Unless you’re stuck in prison here.” He stood under the water and I admired the way the many jets hit his body. Even down a few pounds after his stint in that hell hole, he still cut a fine strong figure.
I grabbed a bar of soap, careful to pick one not scented with my favorite floral, and stepped in next to him. When I heard the bathroom door open again, the handmaiden with our clothes, no doubt, I shut the frosted glass doors behind me, closing us inside.
>
“Are you sure I can’t persuade you to go home and wait for me there?” I slid in front of him, dragging the soap across his chest.
“No way in hell. It’s clear they want to keep you here. I won’t leave without you.” He jerked me to him. “You have no idea… I went mad when you disappeared, Gloriana. The night before your bridal party?” He kissed me hard. “I knew it had to have been against your will. Florence, of course, went raving mad, convinced you’d been kidnapped.”
“Flo was right. My mother did it.” I dropped the soap. “I never wanted to come here. It’s crazy. The gods and goddesses. Their powers. They hate vampires, of course. And here we’re not.” I bit my lip. “We’re different.”
“You don’t have to tell me that. I feel weak and can’t smell much of anything. Except you, Gloriana. I’d still know you in the dark. Not your blood, your . . .” He shook his head. “I’m not a damned poet. But what is going on with this new form of yours? How is it possible?” He ran his hand down to my backside, slipping a finger into the crease gently. “Look at you. Hardly any curves at all.” He pushed me back a few inches and thumbed on of my nipples. “While I have to say these are pretty bubbies, there’s not much of them.”
I slapped his shoulder. “Beast.” But I had to smile. Of course I’d changed back to a size two when he’d arrived in my bedroom. Trust Jerry to say the right thing. I did love him so. “It’s an Olympus trick. One of the more harmless ones. But now we’ve got to be quick. Pick up the soap and scrub off. We can’t make Zeus wait. If you thought Achelous was bad, you should see my grandfather in a temper.” I shuddered. “He scared me, Jer.”
“Damn it, I should have been here to protect you.” Jerry grabbed the soap and quickly ran it between his legs.
“No one can protect me from Zeus.” I realized how true that was and took the soap from my lover. It said something about my state of mind that I washed efficiently and neither of us made any kind of sexual advance after that statement. We weren’t stupid or so mindless with lust that we forgot how to prioritize.
As soon as we stepped out of the bathroom in our togas, Jerry strapped on a belt and slid the pair of daggers that Mars must have left for him into holsters.
“Gloriana, perhaps your grandfather can be reasoned with. Surely he’d want you to be happy.” He frowned and looked me over. “Damn it, you’re shaking. No matter what happens to me at this meeting, surely your parents will protect you.”
“I have no idea how this will turn out. But it’s you I’m worried about, Jerry. Mars seems to admire you as a warrior. He already risked a lot just bringing you here to please me. But I can’t imagine he’d go up against Zeus and risk his standing here in Olympus for you.” I held onto him, leaning against his chest and breathing in his dear, familiar scent. It was different here, earthier, with more heat. Even more seductive. I stepped away and did the snap trick, enjoying his look of astonishment when I added silver sandals and a diamond brooch to my outfit.
“Interesting trick. Anything else you’ve learned up here that could be of use if Zeus decides to attack me?” That was my man, always interested in defense.
“I can shoot fire out of my fingertips. I’d love to demonstrate but burning down my bedchamber won’t win me any points with Grandfather.” I kissed his look of astonishment. “I did zap Achelous outside your cell. Sorry you missed it. But I wouldn’t dare aim a finger at Zeus. He’d roast and toast me before I could lift a pinky.”
“That powerful, huh?” Jerry followed me to the door where I knew my parents waited.
“You have no idea.” I stopped and grabbed him one more time. “It’s not too late for you to go home, Jer. Believe me when I say you don’t want to meet Zeus. Trust me to get back to you somehow.”
“I don’t run away from a fight, Gloriana.” He leaned down to kiss me, a sweet and dangerous claim that I couldn’t resist. When he finally raised his head, he seemed even more determined. “You’ll belong to no man but me. Mars has made it clear that there is talk of giving you in marriage to a god up here. I won’t have it.”
I sighed and brushed his firm lips with a fingertip. Yes, it could throw fire but I’d never hurt the man I loved. Too bad I couldn’t freeze him in place and leave him here. But I’d promised to never pull that trick on him again and knew he’d never forgive me if I did it, even if it was to save his life. Once a Highland warrior, always a Highland warrior. Of course he fought for his woman. Some primitive part of me loved that.
“Okay. But follow my lead and watch Mars for cues. You have no power and no standing here. But Zeus is a family man and wants to please me. That’s the greatest thing we’ve got going for us.” I held his hand and pushed open the door to my sitting room. “The less you say, the better.”
“I’ll not play the meek and mild suitor, Gloriana. Zeus won’t respect that.”
“He’s right, Gloriana.” Mars stood and walked toward us. “If we’re to do this, Blade must show he’s worthy of you.” He clapped Jerry on the shoulder. “A real man wouldn’t let his woman do the talking for him.”
“Dad, stop it. You’ll get Jerry killed.” I glanced at Jerry’s set face. “He’s in a strange place and outmanned. He’d never just walk into an enemy camp and start making demands without backup. Would you, Jerry?”
“Sometimes the bluff works, Gloriana.” Jerry touched his knives, clearly not willing to listen to me.
“She has a point, Blade.” Mars glanced at my mother who sat at the table, studying her nails with a little smile on her face. “Hebe, you will not try to manipulate this so that Blade here is hurt in any way. Gloriana would never forgive you.”
“Did I say a word?” Mother stood and shook out her toga. “I can no more control my father than you can, Mars. We will see what happens when we get there. Which had better be soon. We’re running late.”
“Mother, Dad is right. You try to hurt Jerry with your little tricks and we are done. I mean it.” I let go of Jerry and faced her. “Even if I am stuck here forever you will be dead to me. Invisible if we cross paths. Understand?”
“I certainly do. You wound me with your accusations when I am doing nothing but answering my father’s summons. Now let’s go. Blame your grandfather if things go awry. Not me, Daughter.” And with that she raised a hand and we were suddenly outside Zeus’s throne room. The walkway was crowded with courtiers. They all looked us over and started whispering behind their hands. Jerry in particular got a lot of attention.
A soldier stepped outside and everyone got quiet. “His Highness is holding private sessions today. He will only see these people.” He held up a scroll and read the names. I wasn’t surprised to hear my own, my mother’s, Mars and then … “Is there a mortal here called Jeremy Blade?”
“Yes, I am Jeremy Blade.” Jerry stepped forward.
“Hand me your weapons, then you are to come with me as well.” The soldier took Jerry’s knives then actually frisked him before he held one of the double doors for us so we could slip inside. The crowd almost moaned with disappointment. I’m sure they had hoped to witness the drama sure to unfold. The whispers swelled until the door shut. The room echoed with our footsteps as we walked toward those golden thrones.
Zeus and Hera were already sitting, watching us come toward them. No smiles. That didn’t encourage me. A tall handsome man stood nearby. Not only wasn’t he smiling, he looked ready to strike someone dead. Lucky for us, he was restrained by a half dozen soldiers.
“Hercules,” my mother whispered. “Obviously he got here first.” She reached the throne and sank down to her knees. It didn’t take a tug on my toga to get me down there too. Jerry and Mars knelt behind us.
“Rise and let us discuss the mess you have created, Hebe.” Zeus’s voice was cold. Obviously whatever Hercules had said before we got here had put my grandfather in a temper.
“Father, I don’t consider this beautiful grandchild I have given you a ‘mess’.” Mother was on her feet, my hand in hers so that I was for
ced to stand by her side. We were a united front. Mars and Jerry stood at attention like good soldiers.
“Your husband is not happy with you. Flaunting your child like this has opened him to ridicule.” Zeus waved a hand and I felt a strong hot breeze hit my face.
“You’ve made me a laughing stock, you unfaithful bitch.” Hercules broke away from the soldiers, sending them to the floor. He leaped in front of us, his face wearing an ugly snarl. “Look at her, grown to adulthood, while all you gave me were little boys who will never father children, never lead men in battle. They are content to play games and--”
“Enough!” Zeus thundered. “Those are my grandsons you malign. They are brilliant, fine young men. I begin to see that it is not Hebe’s fault that their growth was stunted. What other children have you fathered? How have they fared, Hercules?”
“Are you trying to lay their condition on me? I am not the goddess of eternal youth.” Hercules stomped the floor and the vibration almost knocked me off my feet. “I have been laboring in far off lands. I don’t have time to take lovers and sow my seed like my faithless wife obviously has done.”
“No other children, Hercules? I don’t care that you prefer the company of men. It has been a relief to be rid of your clumsy attentions.” My mother watched while half-dozen soldiers kept Hercules from hitting her. His curses rang through the chamber but I didn’t hear a denial.
Mother stepped forward. “I have stayed silent out of respect for my marriage vows, Mother.” She nodded toward Hera. “But this man is brutal. I am glad he is gone most of the time because when he’s home, he beats me as if I were the lowest mule in his stable. Clearly he can’t abide women, even his own wife.”
“Liar!” But Hercules fists were raised and he looked like he was about to take another swing at Mother if he hadn’t been held back.
“Coward! Face a real man with your temper!” Mars lunged, barely missing me as he went for Hercules’ throat. More soldiers appeared from behind the throne and grabbed both men, forcing them apart.
(Glory St Clair 11) Real Vampires Say Read My Hips Page 9