Fate of the Gods: A Reverse Harem Romance

by Laura Wylde

  “What was that?” Rose asked.

  “Fuel,” he said. “While I was laying under that metal yesterday, I could smell it. I think that metal is part of the wings. Some airlines have in wing fuel bladders and I think that's what this was. Lucky for me that the flames from whatever exploded didn't hit that.”

  “Damn lucky,” Asher said, as he watched the fire rage. They all stood around for a while and stared into it and at last Rose decided it was time to tell the rest of them about Poseidon. She sat down as she spoke and one by one, all of them except Beau sat down as well. When she finished talking, Beau said,

  “I think these Gods are really appearing to Rose. I don't believe she's hallucinating.” Rose gave him a grateful smile and Dexter spoke up next.

  “I believe it too. I can't say I understand it, yet...but I don't believe that we all had the same hallucination about Henry, therefore, we did see that man disappear. Which means the rest of it could well be true too. Maybe each God is appearing when Rose is alone with one of us, to claim kinship with us.”

  “What does that even mean?” Asher said, sounding annoyed, again.

  “It means that it makes sense that I would descend from Athena. I have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Beau loves everything about the ocean and he survived being in it when the crash took place. He rescued Ryder out there...and Rose saw him swim in with Ryder on his back. Poseidon would make sense as his kin.”

  “Okay,” Ryder said. “Just playing devil's advocate here...what if Rose,” he looked at her and said, “Forgive me for this, okay? I'm not trying to be an ass. I'm just trying to make sense of it all.” Rose nodded and he went on, “What if something in Rose's head was injured and she's “seeing” these Gods and Goddesses based on what she thinks of each one of us.”

  “Well then,” Asher said, “I guess we'll know for sure if it's true or not when she's alone with you.”

  “Meaning?” Ryder asked.

  “That we've all spent over 24 hours together and we barely know anything about you. The rest of us talk about our lives while we're eating or working, or whatever. Yours is a closed book. So, when she sees the “God” that's associated with you...let us know if she's right on or not.”

  Rose stood up and said, “I'm going for a walk and this time, I'd really like to be left alone.”

  Asher looked guilty all of a sudden. “Rose...I didn't mean to be an ass. This is all just so...”

  “I know,” she said. “My head is pounding. I'm tired and I'm confused...and I can hear how crazy everything that comes out of my mouth sounds, trust me. Please, if you will all just give me some time alone. I need it right now, okay?” The four men nodded. They all looked like they felt bad. That wasn't her intention. She meant what she said when she said she didn't blame any of them if they were skeptical. But, she was weary of being judged.

  She walked back toward the beach, this time walking along the water in the other direction, again watching the horizon for signs of a boat...or a plane. She chuckled at that, wondering if they were rescued if she'd ever be able to get back on a plane again. She thought about her parents again and wondered what they were doing. Her heart hurt because she knew them and she knew they wouldn't rest, not for a second, until they brought her home...or they would die trying. She stopped walking and looked up at the sky. Rose had never been a religious person. She was always what she would call “spiritual.” She believed that everything came from a higher being, but she didn't believe in organized religion. She was always more of a believer in the earth, the elements and the fates. Maybe the Gods and Goddesses weren't a far stretch from that. At one time, everyone believed they existed. There were millions of books written on the subject. Every major university in the world taught classes on the subject. No one living didn't know the name of at least one Greek God. So why was it so hard to believe that they really existed? Christians believed in the bible. Muslims in the Quran...why would she rather believe she was losing her mind than to believe that there were Gods and Goddesses that created them, and might just be powerful enough to destroy them as well?

  There was suddenly a loud rumble in the sky, and the sound of it ripped through her and caused her body to convulse. Her first thought was that it was one of those Gods answering the questions she was asking in her head. Another loud boom rolled across the suddenly dark sky and the wind began to whip up. She turned to look toward the trees. They were swaying back and forth, threatening to topple over as the palm fronds were ripped from them and sent sailing through the atmosphere. Rose started back toward where she'd left the men when a jagged bolt of hot, white lightning seemed to rip the sky in two. The ocean was suddenly alive with the sound of monstrous waves as they churned and grew and then everything opened up, and it began to pour.

  Rose felt like she was being pushed backward with every step she took. The wind and the rain battered her body and obscured her vision. She pushed on, simply because she had no choice. The only other option would be to turn and go back toward the sea, and that thought was even more frightening. She felt like she walked through a wall of water that stretched for miles before she finally made it to the trees. Thinking the thick canopy would provide cover, she stepped into them...but, she was mistaken. They offered her no shelter, or respite from the huge drops that continued to beat down on top of her. She wasn't just wet, or soaked even, her clothes and skin were sodden and despite how warm the day had been earlier, she was cold. She was crying as she pushed on, but no one would be able to tell where the tears ended and the rain began. She was overwhelmed and ready to give up, when her body suddenly slammed into something hard, but pliable, and just as wet as she was.

  Rose pulled her head up and found herself looking into Asher's face. “We have to find shelter!” he said, yelling even though they were face to face. The wind was loud and powerful and the rain pounded against the trees like a drum. Rose didn't bother trying to answer, she just allowed him to slide a big arm around her waist and she did her best to keep up as he practically dragged her through the trees. They came to the spot where they had built the signal fire. It was out and the pile of things they had made to burn was crushed under the weight of the downpour. The metal fragments of the plane were lifting off the ground, threatening to fly up and assault anyone who dared get near them. Rose tucked her head against Asher and let his body be her shield. She had to trust him to get her to safety and oddly enough, she found that was easy. With his powerful arms around her she no longer felt the fear that had flooded her system only minutes before. Maybe Beau was right when he said they all had some kind of connection right from the start.

  Rose had no concept of time as they walked and when she felt Asher's lips close to her ear, she had no idea how far they had gone since he'd found her. “A cave, I think. At the least, the rocks will provide cover. I need you to duck down. We'll need to pass through on our knees.” Rose nodded and did as Asher asked. She dropped down to her knees and into at least a foot of mud. Asher helped her reach out with her arms so that she could feel the edge of the rock in front of her. She ducked her head down and tried not to think about all of the other things that might have already taken refuge in there before them, as she crawled inside. The space was dark, and tight...but it was a relief to be out of the rain. She could feel Asher behind her as she crawled and she heard him say, “Let's go in a little deeper. The rocks were higher toward the other end. Maybe there's more space.” Again, Rose didn't answer, she just did as he said. The rocks dug and scratched at her hands and knees, but she would still rather that than going back out in that wind and rain. She was maybe ten feet in when suddenly the floor in front of her seemed to simply disappear. She let out a cry as she fell and it was seconds later when she was crushed underneath Asher's weight as the ground beneath her caught them both. “Shit! I'm sorry Rose!” Asher rolled off of her quickly and she had to struggle to catch her breath as he continued to apologize profusely and try to help her up.

  “I'm okay,” she said when s
he caught her breath at last. “It's okay.” She let him help her sit up, and that made it easier for her to breathe. The space was still pitch black, but at least it was much wider and slightly taller than the crawl space they had come through.

  “Did I hurt you?”

  “No. I'm okay,” she said again. Her eyes were beginning to adjust to the dark and she could at least make out his features and the shape of his face and body next to hers. “How did you find me?”

  “Don't be mad. I know you asked us to leave you alone, but I was worried about you going off by yourself, so I followed you. I was in the trees when the downpour began. It came on so quickly that within a second, I lost sight of you. I started in the direction where I'd seen you last and I guess we met in the middle.”

  “I'm not mad. Thank you. I'm not sure I would have made it without you.” Her body convulsed again as another shiver ripped through her body. The cave was even colder than it had been outside.

  “Rose we need to get you out of those wet clothes and warmed up.”

  “I'm not taking off my clothes.”

  “I'm not trying to molest you. I'm trying to keep you from getting hypothermia. The only way we're going to stay warm is by sharing our body heat.”

  “So you're not only telling me to get naked, but that you're going to get naked to...and...what?”

  “And wrap my body around yours. It's not about sex Rose, it's about survival.”

  She wasn't sure if she believed him, but when another shudder tore through her and she realized that she couldn't stop shaking, she gave in. While she peeled off her shirt and bra she was thankful that it was at least too dark for him to see much. Rose wasn't ashamed of her body...the opposite actually. She just wasn't in the habit of letting just anyone see it either. She'd been photographed in bikini's and lingerie, but she had always refused to do nudes. She believed the human body was something you should only share with someone you wanted to be intimate with.

  Asher was taking off his clothes as she took off hers and once they were both nude, he simply wrapped her up in a bear hug, like it was the most natural thing in the world and he lay them both down on the ground and let his body cushion hers against the rough surface. His body was almost as hard as the rocks, but much more pliable and comfortable. For a while, she just felt warm, and safe and cozy. But the longer she lay there in the dark with her other senses on high alert, the more she began to feel a tightening in her core and something like desire fluttering in her chest.

  “He's strong.”

  “Damn,” she said, “Now is not really a good time, whoever you are.”

  The man who appeared was bathed in light. Rose could feel Asher's breathing and even his heartbeat, they were so close. But she didn't feel even so much as a hitch in his breaths. He didn't hear the man, and he couldn't see him...and Rose realized that she still had her face buried in Asher's chest...so in reality, she shouldn't be able to see him either, even if he had turned on the lights.

  “You can see me because I want you to see me, Rose,” the man said. He was bigger than the man who called himself Poseidon earlier. This one had biceps that were bigger than her waist and shoulders that probably measured six feet across. His hair was long too, hanging down his back in silver waves. His long beard was silver too and it came down in the shape of a “V”, ending at his navel. He wore what looked like a toga white, with gold trim and he had on gold sandals.

  “Let me guess,” she said, “Zeus?”

  “Yes. You're getting good at this.”

  “I am beginning to understand, and believe that the Gods, and Goddess that I've seen, they've all been representative of who I was with at the time. Asher is strong and powerful...like you. Athena is full of knowledge like Dexter and Poseidon, a master of the sea, like Beau. But what they're trying to tell me is what I don't understand.”

  “Sometimes Rose, we need to be given more than a subtle sign to make us see who we were meant to be...and who we were meant to be with.”

  “Meant to be with? That's what this is about? I'm supposed to choose one of these men as my...mate?”

  “One, two...four...the choice is up to you. But first you have to figure out who you are, and what you have to offer.”

  “I know who I am,” she said.

  “But Rose...do you know what you're capable of?”

  “In what respect?” she asked.

  “Do you know the word, fecundity, Rose?”

  Rose knew the term. It meant the ability to produce and abundance of offspring. That was what they wanted from her? She was a model and an actress. Sure, the idea of having children appealed to her at some point in her future, but she damned sure wasn't about to produce a litter. If that was what these Gods were seeking...then they could damned sure seek it somewhere else. She started to tell Zeus that, but it was a moot point since the light and the man both seemed to be gone. As she went over the brief encounter in her head she thought, Did he really just tell her she could choose all four men? What gave these “Gods” the right to force her to choose any of them? She'd been happier, and more free, since the breakup of her relationship with Trevor, than she'd been in a long time. Maybe she wasn't ready to “choose” any man. Of course she almost laughed when she remembered that she was currently twisted up with one of those men like a pretzel...and it felt good. She was not thinking about making babies, but she couldn't deny that she was thinking about things that somebody trapped in a cave on a deserted island probably shouldn't be thinking. Of course...it wasn't like feeling good was a crime, and there was no work to be done at the moment. She had no idea what had suddenly come over her but when she heard herself say,

  “Asher, are you awake?” It was almost like an out of body experience. She was about to do something that she had never done before...have sex simply for the sake of the sex, with no expectations for a future, because who really knew if any of them had a future? At least that's what she told herself.

  Chapter 9

  “I'm awake,” he whispered. She could feel his erection pushed into her body. She'd been able to feel it for a while, but she was trying hard to ignore it. She couldn't see it, but it felt pretty impressive to ignore. Deciding since he thought she was a little crazy anyways, she'd just go with that. Fantasy would be easier at this point anyways.

  “Want to play a game?”

  She felt his body shake with laughter. “Okay. I have to admit, that's not what I expected you to say....considering we have no light, no clothes and not much room.”

  “We don't need light...or clothes for this game, and we can make do with the room we have,”

  He cleared his throat and she felt him shiver. “Alright...” she cut his words off with her mouth. She kissed him hard and hungrily. She could tell that she'd caught him off guard for a second, but then he kissed her back, just as greedily. Their tongues danced together in an erotic rhythm and slowly, tentatively almost, his hands began to move and explore her body in the dark,

  The kiss went on for so long that when Asher broke it, it was hard for her to catch her breath. He was panting too, but his mouth was still moving, sliding down the wet skin of her throat, planting soft, sexy kisses as he went. When he reached her collarbone he stopped and said, “Rose, are you sure about this?”

  She nodded, still gasping for the breath she'd given up for that hot kiss. “Yes. If you are.”

  She felt his smile against her flesh. “Baby I've wanted to touch you since I saw you on the plane.”

  His hands were on her breasts then and she let out a low moan as he rubbed his palms into her hard nipples. “Really? I wasn't even sure you liked me,” she said in a shaky voice.

  He squeezed her breasts and moaned. “I like you, Rose. I've just been so....” his mouth was on the swell of her breath and his voice faded away. She didn't want him to stop what he was doing to explain so she said,

  “I know, things have been crazy.” He nodded and his mouth continued to travel, leaving a hot trail across her flesh. She had
goosebumps, but she wasn't cold any longer. Asher had warmed her up before he even put his mouth on her. Now, she felt like she was on fire, especially when he wrapped his lips around a nipple. She felt his tongue flick across it and then lick around it in a circle. She put her hands in his short hair, getting a good grip and holding on while he began to suckle at her breasts. “Oh Asher,” she breathed out when he moved from one to the other. He used his hand to stimulate the one his mouth wasn't on and the sides of his teeth to scrape her nipple lightly from time to time. Her core was so tight that she felt like her insides would explode. He was incredible with his mouth, and she told him so, “That mouth of yours,” she said, “It's amazing.”

  Again, a smile against her not hot flesh, and then as his mouth began to slide slowly down the front of her to her flat stomach, she heard him whisper, “You ain't seen nothing yet.”

  He drew circles on her stomach with his tongue and dipped the tip of it into her belly button. Every spot that his mouth touched crackled with electricity...it was like he was waking her body up, bringing it to life. Once he had explored her stomach, she felt his lips move lower. He kissed the top of her mound and she felt a rush of moisture between her legs. He licked lower, slowly and it felt so good. When he reached her swollen bud and his tongue flicked across it, her hips bucked up off the ground and she cried out. Asher wrapped his big arms around her waist to hold her in place and then he dove in. Quickly, Rose was almost out of her mind with ecstasy and lust. She wanted to touch him, but she didn't want him to stop what he was doing...ever. She was pushing his face down with all of her strength, holding him against her pussy, begging for more without saying a word. He sucked her engorged clit in between his lips and began to swirl his tongue around it. Rose's cries echoed off the walls of the cave around them and once again she lost all concept of time. It felt both like it went on forever, and it didn't last long enough. But the orgasm that slammed into her was not about to be stopped. It assaulted every part of her body, touching every nerve and traveling across every fiber. Asher continued to hold onto her, slowing his pace but not stopping until she was spent and once again, gasping for a breath. Only then did he lower her gently to the ground and lift his head. Her eyes were only half open. She was in an orgasm haze. It was still dark. But almost as if he were Zeus himself, she could see his beautiful face, glistening with the moisture he had coaxed from her body, and smiling up at her.