~ Chapter Six ~

Vibrations

Seconds later, the God of War was walking by Xena's side, trying to keep up with her transient steps, a nervous look on his face, estimating that her ignoring silence was definitely not a good sign while hopelessly squeezing his brain into figuring out a way to approach his Princess without upsetting her even more.

On a somehow insecure tone he began. "That was a silly question to ask. I could never hate you Xena. You know better than that."

The chilly wind at her back stressed almost on purpose the emptiness that was now sneaking inside her heart, but there he was, just like clockwork, eagerly nipping at her heals like a puppy, yet always managing to fall perfectly in line with her own steps.

"Do I now?" She continued, seriously tossing the idea back and forth before picking a secluded spot to lay out the bedroll, then turning around to face him, a gaze drilling deeply into the God's very soul.

"You would bring up the past and hurt Gabrielle, just to make a point?" Utter disgust trailed purely through her tone. "Ask me again why I could never trust you!"

Rolling his eyes, the God clicked his tongue, thinking twice before answering a tricky question like that one.

Denying it, meant facing one of Xena's never endless monologues on how many times he had hurt and had messed with her head and heart, and some similar stuff of sentimental crap, yadda…. yadda…. yadda, while admitting it was... well... out of the question.

He had to twist the truth somehow, obviously to his own advantage.

"Well, you don't have to make a case out of it. I mean, I did insist on us talking *privately* remember?" Ares decided on answering, stressing the 'privately' part of it.

"And since you brought it up, it would be a very good time for you to stop blaming others for your own mistakes. It's not my fault that you chose NOT to tell Blondie about our... ummmm... intricate past, is it now?" He finished the sentence on a rather high note.

Her gaze fell sharply towards the sodden earth while instinctively trying to block out every single part of his menacing words now swimming shallowly through the biggest rivers of her mind.

"So talk!" Xena brutally insisted after finally letting her heart's rhythm return to a more natural state, knowing Ares had poised a very valid point, one that had the effect of eating into whatever was left of her soul.

Her answer hit him like a thunderbolt, not in a million years having thought that as enraged as she was, he was going to get that kind of reaction out of her.

"She must really be tired...?" He told himself, while scrutinizing her marvellously sculpted features, allowing his fingers to run through her long thick straight tresses, and it always amazed him to see that under the pale moonlight, that distinctive glow of her face could make her look so surreal, just like in those vivid dreams he usually had about her.

She was breathtaking... the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and he did see some during those long millennia of existence.

Besides war, ladies were his main domain of expertise.

But she had that special something that he just couldn't put his finger on, something that made him lose control around her, that made his soul vibrate in ways that no other Mortal or Goddess had ever done before.

"You are perfect." He murmured softly in her ear, almost against his own will, brushing his lips against it, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair, charmed by the sound of her pounding heart, and he knew that if he focused hard enough, he could even hear the blood rushing through her veins, just like the incentive lava of the devastating Santorini.

But this was not the right place or time and he knew it, so he snapped out of it, and as a conclusion he just planted a light kiss on her forehead and added.

"Never mind Xe, We can talk tomorrow. Right now you probably need some rest."

And since his loving gaze seemingly got to her right in time, he took the chance to push it further, caressing her smooth arms, his eyes never leaving her own, trying to guess the thoughts behind her attitude, without reading them.

"Do you wanna' sleep here, or would you like to stay in one of my temples? No strings... okay? I'll take you to Corinth in the morning."

She'd genuinely wanted to strangle the stench of Immortal life right out of him though, beat the God until he was frail and limp, black and blue, and why? Because he'd simply uttered the truth about their past and she couldn't handle it.

But with Ares' already assertive vicinity, she could feel herself slightly giving in and heart instantly skipping beats as it drummed audibly against her chest, for a short moment stripping away any remnants of hate once harboured inside.

And all it had taken was for his exceedingly hot breath and lips to faintly graze upon her silken skin... that tenderly settled kiss, or was it the way his fingers were seductively and lightly tracing up and down her arms?

She couldn't tell.

But one thing was certain, the electrical currents his sensitive touches sent screaming through her body, practically begged every fiber of her being to allow the blazing heat of his centre to warm her inner core.

And the now wild look flashing curiously in his eyes definitely slipped her the hint he'd immediately sensed her growing arousal, but the eager stubbornness of Xena's own nature never failed to butt in, as she slapped a hand firmly against his chest and pushed away, creating some distance between their bodies.

"I don't need or want your assets, Ares."

Obstinate as ever was always her way when she turned on a dime, until something roughly grasped her waist, wrenching her back around.

"Who said anything about you wanting my assets?" The God answered, forcefully spinning her back to face him, pushing her body against a nearby tree, while blocking it with his own.

There was intense lust in his eyes and it was strangely mirroring her own uncontrollable desires for him.

The heat spreading throughout her body, starting with her belly, made way for a predatory smile on his face, and though her brows were drawn together in a frown, he knew better.

She was just dying to feel him so unbearably close to her.

As so many times before, her arched back gave her away, and that flawlessly traced waist, her voluptuous hips, those perfectly round breasts, actually every little inch of her seemed so invitingly conceived, that only looking at her, still dressed as she was, could awake animalistic instincts deep inside him, increasing every dirty thought he had about her.

And by Zeus himself, he did have a lot.

Releasing his grasp, he cupped her chin in one hand to tilt her face up, the other burying into her dark silky hair, as he captured her lips in a deep, bruising kiss, the pressure of her burning tongue against his own bringing him on the verge of ecstasy, driving him crazy as he almost struggled to remain in control.

When he couldn't take it any longer, feeling his own temperature rising like wildfire, he feverishly started kissing the line of her neck, intertwining the tip of his fingers through her already entangled hair, pressing her even harder against the tree, whispering hoarsely against her crimson, swollen lips.

"I want you, like I've never wanted anything in my life. Just stay with me damn it! And I don't mean all that 'Warrior Queen' garbage. I mean Olympus Princess."