“Are they lies?” I found my voice. “I know a bully when I see one. Take your son’s advice and go, Hercules. I’ve seen Zeus in action lately and I sure wouldn’t want his anger aimed at me.” I reached out and put my hands on the boys’ shoulders. “My brothers haven’t told Zeus a thing, but I’m sure they could add details that would make you a permanent outcast from Olympus. Go now and I’m sure they’ll keep your secrets.”
Hercules stared at his sons. “Put down your swords. I never want them raised against me again. Do you hear me?” He roared those last four words. I’m sure they heard him three galaxies away.
“Yes, Father.” Alex and Anni sheathed their swords.
“You will say no more about my treatment of your mother or anyone else. Swear it.” Hercules advanced on the boys and I couldn’t help myself. I snatched a knife from a scabbard on the back of Anni’s toga and held it in front of me.
“That’s far enough.” I couldn’t believe how determined I sounded.
“What? You’re going to stick me?” Hercules laughed, a deep guffaw that made the leaves on nearby trees quiver. “I could take that away from you without--” He snatched the knife, my fingers empty before I realized what he was going to do. “Stupid wench.” He tossed it aside. “Anni, guard your weapons, boy. Haven’t you learned anything?” He raised his hand as if to strike him, then seemed to think better of it. Oh, yeah. I was a witness. Zeus’s granddaughter.
“I think you were leaving? Boys, you were about to promise your father silence, I believe. Are you willing?” I wouldn’t have blamed them if they’d refused and called for their soldiers instead. But I guess “honor thy father” was alive and well in Olympus. When they each nodded, Hercules growled then spun on his heel and strode off down the path.
“Gloriana, you shouldn’t be out here alone. Where’s your escort?” Alex walked over to pick up his brother’s knife as if nothing had happened.
“I didn’t think…” I surprised him by hugging him when he reached my side. “Thank you. Both of you.” I hugged Anni next. “Your father is one scary dude.”
“You don’t know the half of it.” Anni grinned at his brother. “We pulled it off.” He and Alex exchanged chest bumps. “I can’t believe he backed down.”
“And he didn’t hit either one of us.” Alex shrugged. “He’s bigger, stronger. He can relieve us of our weapons with his powers. But he must have been unsure of your powers, Gloriana. I guess he saw you coming out of Grandmother’s chambers. That connection is enough to make any god think twice.” He finally smiled. “So now he’ll leave Olympus and we’re in the clear.”
“Yes. We’re walking you back to your chambers, Gloriana. Don’t go out again without soldiers to protect you. Hear me, Sister?” Anni made sure I was looking him in the eye.
“Yes, Brother, I hear and obey.” Frankly the run-in with Hercules had convinced me that I would be smart to have an escort everywhere I went. I was pretty sure he wasn’t the only enemy I had here in Olympus. From now on, I was playing it safe.
Jerry was waiting for me when I got back to my rooms. He had arranged a dinner for us, complete with candlelight. There were no handmaidens in sight.
“What’s this?” I admit I liked where this was going. I strolled over to lift covers from the dishes on the table. Roast beef, potatoes, tiny green peas and hot rolls. I recognized this meal. It was similar to one I’d had right before he’d turned me vampire.
“I hope you’ll forgive me for last night. I made a fool of myself.” He put his arms around me and dragged me against him. “I can’t remember the last time I got so drunk or felt so bad afterwards. And you took care of me. I don’t deserve you.”
“I won’t argue with you about that.” I reached up and ran a hand over his smooth cheek. He’d shaved for me and smelled wonderful. He looked great too. I loved him in the snug jeans and soft cotton shirt. I guess one of the handmaidens had found the wardrobe for him.
“Are you hungry?” He kissed me quickly then held out a chair at the table. “I know you like this kind of food. Alesha arranged it for us.”
“Yes, it smells delicious.” I sat and picked up a napkin. “I went to visit my grandmother.” I shook my head when he offered me wine. “I don’t think we need alcohol tonight. How about cold water? I want to keep a clear head.” There was a pitcher on a sideboard and Jerry filled our glasses.
“You’re right. I don’t think I’ll be drinking wine again anytime soon. So what did your grandmother have to say? You didn’t try to stop this fight with Kratos, did you?” He sat across from me. “I’m ready to fight, Gloriana. You will embarrass me if you go around begging for my life like I can’t handle things myself.”
“Do you blame me?” I reached for his hand but he kept his in his lap. “Jer, come on. These are gods. Zeus may claim he’ll make Kratos mortal but I don’t trust any of them. I, I can’t lose you.” I wiggled my fingers and he finally took my hand.
“The fight goes on. Trust me to hold my own.” He squeezed my fingers then let them go and lifted the lids on the food. “Now allow me to serve you. I have to keep up my strength. We will eat this fine dinner and then I want to take you to bed.”
Bed. Huh. Time was flying by and Jer didn’t have a clue that he’d probably die fighting for me here. I found I had little appetite but reminded myself that I might be eating for two. So I choked down food that probably was delicious and made small talk while I fought despair over our situation. Finally, as we were eating dessert, a lemon tart, I decided that I had to just enjoy our time together. Every moment. I had vowed to give him a night of goddess pleasure. Well, tonight was as good a time as any. When we pushed back from the table, I encouraged him to go outside to smoke one of his nasty cheroots while I bathed and changed. We’d have a night to remember, one way or another.
“Gloriana, aren’t you ready yet?” He lay on the bed where I had told him to wait.
“One moment.” I fluffed my hair. The gown I’d chosen was a match for one Flo had given me as a wedding present. We’d never made it to our wedding night so why not use it now? It was the color of the sea with sheer panels of blue drifting down from a lace bodice. It didn’t hide much which was the idea. Instead, it made the most of my new, improved figure. But was it improved enough? I looked at myself critically in the mirror.
“Jerry?” I walked into the bedroom. “Are my hips too wide?”
He sat up, bunching some pillows against the carved headboard. “You’re kidding. Right?”
“No. Look.” I stepped closer. “Look.” I patted my hips and turned around. “And my butt. I think I could make it smaller. You know I can do that. Right?”
“Gloriana, I loved you when you were twice the size you are now.” He reached for me but I skipped back.
“Twice? You’re saying my butt was double this size?” I tried to see behind me. It didn’t bear thinking about. How quickly I’d gotten used to this new size. Spoiled. I’d become spoiled by my mother’s tricks. I closed my eyes and concentrated. Size twelve. That’s what I’d been for centuries. When I opened my eyes again I looked down and gasped.
“There’s my woman. Come here, love. I can put my arms around that woman and know I’ve got my Gloriana.” Jerry lunged and pulled me on top of him.
“I’ll crush you.” I laughed though because this felt familiar and right. My breasts were bigger and Jerry’s grin as he ran his mouth over them made me sigh. Oh, but he knew just what to do and say to have me putty in his hands.
“You’ve never crushed me yet, my girl.” He rolled me over until he was gazing down at me. “I love every inch of you. Stick thin isn’t for me. Not when there’s so much more to love, to taste.” He slid a hand over my stomach and down between my thighs, while he kissed each nipple, pushing down the lace to suck one into his mouth. “Mmm. You are perfect, just the way you are. Don’t let your mother convince you otherwise.”
“She hasn’t. But there are so many other, more beautiful women out there. Slender
, perfectly proportioned--”
“Hush, Gloriana.” He managed to make that happen by kissing me. His open mouth took mine with a hunger that I answered with everything in me.
After that it was as if we needed to claim each other again. To discover that our passion was alive and well and the fires burned as bright. He pushed my thighs apart and dipped his tongue inside until I pulled his hair and screamed his name. Then I shoved him onto his back and took him into my mouth, squeezing his sacs and holding him hostage until he was almost lost. But I needed his seed inside me and sat astride to take it all. The heat once again shocked me. Mortal. My Jerry was a mortal man, vibrant and full of life. I couldn’t let him die. And if he did? Could I bring him back to life? It was something I didn’t dare test.
I stared down at him with all the love I had to give. Surely it would be enough to save him. Because I couldn’t imagine going on without him. And I sure as hell wouldn’t stay here.
“You’re amazing.” He reached up and traced a tear that I hadn’t realized had fallen down my cheek. “What’s this? You’re not still fretting about that fight, are you? Where’s the faith? Haven’t I proved myself to you in the centuries you’ve known me?”
I carefully climbed off of him and snuggled into his arms. “I know you can hold your own on the battlefield. Or you could at home, as a vampire. I’ve seen you fight and felt nothing but pity for the men who met your sword.” I kissed his bare chest. “But here you aren’t yourself.”
“Aren’t I?” He glanced down his body. “Guess you’re right. Shit. Even my cock knows I’m mortal. It should be ready to take you again, yet it’s laying there. Helpless.”
I sat up and saw he was right. “Well, I’m sure I can do something about that.” I threw my hair back over my shoulders and crawled down to sit between his legs. “Hello there, Mr. Campbell.” I ran a fingertip around the tip of his cock. It jerked but didn’t come to life. “Oh, being stubborn, are we?”
“Gloriana, don’t mock him. He’s taking time to recover.” Jerry grinned and put his hands behind his head so he could watch me. “Of course if you wish to speed the process along, feel free to take the fellow in hand.”
“Oh, you think that would help?” I grasped him gently, leaning down as if to study him. “Oh, are you tired from all that action earlier, big fellow?”
“You think him big, do you?” Jerry spread his legs further apart. “Flattery will get you everywhere.”
“I’m sure it will. You are quite an expert at it yourself.” I patted myself on the rump. “You go on and on about my curves. Seriously? Then why stare at those females climbing the poles at that club last night?”
“A man has a duty to look over any woman who crosses his path. It’s how we assure ourselves that we have the best already.” He sat up and pulled me closer with his feet. “I’ve known that for centuries, my love. And as soon as we get away from this hellish place, I’ll stake my claim for all to know that you’re mine and mine alone. For the rest of our lives.” He held my head as he kissed me, his mouth hot on mine.
When he finally released me I felt a nudge between my thighs. “Well, look who came out to play.”
“You’re right where he wants you too.” Jerry stayed sitting up and lifted me so that my legs straddled his hips. We sat facing each other and, as he slid inside me, I gasped. This position filled me like no other.
“You can’t claim me soon enough, Jeremiah. I claim you too. No other woman will ever have you like this.” I grabbed his ear and twisted it, just enough to show I meant business. “Do you hear me? You are mine. All mine. Forever. And I won’t catch you gawking at another woman’s breasts or butt again.” I let go and ran my hands over his chest, tweaking his nipples.
“God, Gloriana, don’t threaten me. A man sometimes can’t help himself.” He began to move his hips, wringing moans of pleasure from me. “No self-respecting male can be blinded to the satisfaction of just looking, you know.”
“I’m a goddess, remember? I can turn you to stone, set you on fire, hell, I can probably do a dozen other things to you if you make me jealous, Jer.” I jerked when he pushed against a particularly sensitive spot. “Oh, do that again.”
“What? This?” He thrust at an angle and I had the orgasm of a lifetime.
I shouted his name and held onto him as I quivered from my toes to my nipples. He was suckling one of those, his love bites making me scream as another tsunami broke over me.
“Are you going to keep threatening me?” He worked a finger in between us, touching off a firestorm that blew me apart again. Water, fire, all the sensations that roared through me had me a shuddering mass of sensation that took all control from me.
“No! I’m sorry.” I sobbed against his hard shoulder and then bit down, drawing blood. It tasted salty and wasn’t unpleasant but lacked the sexy zing that we’d enjoyed as vampires. I traced the bite with my fingertip and watched it heal in an instant. Good to know. Or at least I tried to take note of that as I fell back into my body after one more cataclysmic orgasm.
“I love you, Gloriana.” Jerry sank back on the bed, pulling me with him.
“I love you too. But you’d better stop right now.” I lay on him, spent. “No more orgasms. I think I may have died a little bit this time.” In fact, my insides were quivering so much that if he had planted his seed, I feared for it. So I lay very still, just breathing as I attempted to gather my strength.
“I was just trying to please you.” He ran his hand down my back and patted my butt. I quickly adjusted it back down to a size six. Enough of the generous ass. I’m sure he was happy to have less of me on top of him anyway.
“You pleased me a little too much.” I finally slid off of him and lay on my own pillow. I definitely felt wrung out. I glanced down at the sheet. No sign of bleeding. Good. I needed to ask Alesha about a pregnancy test before Jerry and I did any more gymnastic lovemaking.
“There’s no such thing as too much pleasure. Or at least that’s what you used to say.” He was up on one elbow. “What’s changed?”
“Nothing. I guess it’s this place. Mother listens in on our thoughts. Freaks me out.” I rubbed the hair low on his stomach. “I forgot her completely just now. Then, after all that shouting and calling for God, I remembered, that’s all.”
Jerry laughed and captured my hand. “Hebe can listen, even watch, for all I care. You realize she has Mars in her bed now. Since they’ve had to admit to their affair, Mars is strutting around like he’s caught a big fish. Which he has. Zeus’s daughter. And stolen her away from Hercules.”
“But he’s married, Jer. And Hercules is furious. He even confronted me about their affair.” I pulled up the sheet.
“What? He threatened you?” Jerry looked around like he wanted his knife.
“Relax. Luckily my brothers told him to back off. He got the message. He’s on Zeus’s shit list now so he’s probably long gone. Back to his wars.” I grabbed his hand. “I promised Alex and Anni not to go out anymore without an escort.”
“I should hope so.” Jerry frowned. “This is a dangerous place, Gloriana. And Hercules may have said he was leaving, but Mars told me that god has powerful friends. Your father isn’t taking a threat from him lightly. He certainly never goes out without a half dozen soldiers surrounding him.”
“Wow. And my two little brothers faced their father down.” I climbed out of bed. “All to protect me.” I yawned and stretched. “I’m taking a bath. Are you joining me?” I laughed when Jerry jumped out of bed and picked me up. “Guess so.” I leaned against him as he carried me to the bathroom. Yes, I hated Olympus but I would miss getting to know my brothers better. My grandmother too. A family. After craving one for so long, it was a shame I couldn’t just enjoy mine, strange though it was.
Chapter 11
“Your sister and your friend Florence are here, mistress. They want to come into your bedroom. Shall I let them in?” Alesha had served me my usual hot chocolate in bed. Now she took the tray,
frowning when she noticed it was barely touched. “Or I can send them away if you aren’t feeling like company.”
“My stomach is upset. But I’ll see them.” I threw back the covers. The very fact that Flo and Charis were together made me eager to see what they were up to. Flo was right about one thing, it could be boring here in Olympus. When I wasn’t worried about the future or dodging irate gods.
“Upset?” Alesha frowned. “I can assure you, Lady Gloriana, that your food hasn’t been poisoned. I test everything myself before I serve you.” She stepped back from the bed to give me room when I headed for the bathroom.
I stopped next to her. “What? You think that’s possible? That someone could do that? I’m immortal. Surely…”
“The sorcerers are very clever. More clever than the gods want them to be.” She looked up, her eyes sad. “Oh, what some here wouldn’t try if they wanted you gone. And many do. The handmaidens talk you know. Lady Roxana is furious that Lord Mars is favoring you and that Lady Charis has befriended you. Then there is Lord Hercules, of course. He may have left Olympus, but he has allies. Either of them could pay for a person to sneak poison into your food.” She straightened her shoulders. “I won’t let that happen.”
“God, Alesha. I can’t let you risk your life for me.” I swayed and sat back on the edge of the bed, suddenly dizzy. Was it from the idea that this place could be so deadly? Or was I pregnant? I beckoned her closer and she set the tray on a table.
“It is my choice, mistress. And I take tiny bites and sips. Not enough to kill me. So far nothing has made me ill. But you look pale. Perhaps I haven’t been careful enough.” She pressed a palm to my forehead. “Your skin is clammy. Should I send for the sorcerer Cornelius? I am sure he would never harm you.”
“No. But you can tell me if there is such a thing as a pregnancy test here in Olympus.” I whispered, afraid my mother might be listening. The last thing I wanted to do was alert her to my plan. To my shock, Alesha burst into noisy tears and hid her face in her hands.
(Glory St Clair 11) Real Vampires Say Read My Hips Page 18