Five

We fell into the bed, Zeus never allowing me more than an arm's reach away from him. I started out underneath him, one hand in his hair, the other gripping the small of his back, my own need rising to meet his. He wiggled out of my grasp and moved lower, unfastening my jeans. As soon as enough fabric was out of his way, my cock was in his mouth, his hand pumping the stem while his mouth sucked at the top, his tongue twirling around the slit. I whimpered, pressing the heels of my hands against my eyes. He kept at it for another couple minutes, pausing only when I was good and hard. I pushed myself into a sitting position, kicking off my jeans and boxers. He helped me out of my shirt. I fell back into pillows and spread my legs for him, knowing that he doesn't care for much foreplay when he's in this kind of mood. He paused, looking at me from the end of the bed with a strange expression. I tilted my head to the side, evaluating him. Seeing my look, he glanced away, his mouth twisting.

I pushed myself upright again and crawled toward him on my hands and knees, turning his face back to me.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

He smiled a little, but it didn't touch his eyes. That same vulnerable look was in them again, like he was pleading with me but couldn't find the right words to say. At last he just shook his head and said that he was fine.

I wasn't convinced. Cupping his face in my hand, I leaned forward and kissed him softly, carefully. I felt him kiss me back, his arms encircling my waist, his hands skimming over my back. I kept the pace slow, deliciously slow, our breathing turning ragged. My fingers stroked his hair, touched his face, brushed over his bare shoulders. He was just wearing a pair of loose pajama bottoms that I couldn't wait to get them off him. I breathed his name against his lips, trying to persuade him into opening up.

"I—" he said, when I moved lower to kiss his throat. "Could we—I mean, could you . . ." He huffed in frustration. "Forget it."

I looked back at him, taking in his torn expression before kissing him again. "Could I what?" I asked, catching his bottom lip between my teeth.

He sighed. "Ganymede, I . . .I want you today," he brushed some invisible dirt off my collarbone, not looking me directly in the eye. "You know, like we did that time in Paris?"

I raised an eyebrow but quickly rearranged my expression, not wanting to make him more embarrassed than he already was. "Of course," I said, bringing his face up so that he was looking at me again. "You know that we can do that whenever you want."

"I know," he said and I was sure that I saw him blush. I smiled and kissed him, my tongue stealing into his mouth and touching his own, making him sigh and lean further into the kiss. I turned him so that we could both lay out on the bed.

"How do you want to do it?" I asked.

He smirked, his eyes starting to regain some of their fire. "You're the one in charge, remember?"

I laughed. "That's not really how it works, but alright. Turn on your side, facing the window."

He obeyed, watching me out of the corner of his eye. I curled up behind him, reaching around his waist and touching him, running my hands down his chest and over his flat belly and finally catching the edge of his waistband with my finger. I pushed it down and helped pull off his pants. Zeus kicked them onto the floor. Going back behind him, I reached out and slowly ran my hand down over his cock, feeling it jump against my hand. I went further down, cupping his balls and running my thumb over them, before going even further, pausing at his perineum and rubbing my fingers in a slow circle. He groaned when I picked up the pace. Using my other hand, I began massaging his cock, loving the sounds he made as my fingers worked him. Soon his breathing became labored and I pulled my hands away, not wanting him to get too worked up. He made a disgruntled noise when I stopped, but I just tsked him.

"I'm in charge, remember?" I teased, reaching behind me.

"Whatever."

I laughed. I found what I was looking for, the bottle of lube hidden between the mattress and the wall. I shook the bottle and poured a little into my hand. "Do you want to use some nectar?" I asked.

He shook his head, not looking at me. I winced. We didn't do this very often and every time—even the first—Zeus had refused to use the nectar, choosing to feel the discomfort of anal sex. I'd often wondered why. Zeus said he didn't mind the pain, that it felt good. I didn't understand it. Pain and I weren't friends and we definitely weren't lovers. I'd used nectar every time he'd gone into me, but that was me. Zeus could like whatever he wanted.

I'd been Zeus' lover for three hundred years before I'd first gone into him. In those days it was still considered indecent for an influential man to be penetrated. Men like Zeus were supposed to be powerful, the dominators, the conquerors. I'd never thought much of the rule, but it had taken centuries for Zeus to give it up. It was still in the back of his mind to this day, which is one of the reasons why we had only done this a few times since we'd been together, and most of those had been in the last couple of centuries. There had been an especially spectacular evening in Paris about fifty years ago that he always referred to whenever he wanted to try it again.

I spread the lube over my fingers and dipped them down against his entrance. He let out a sound that sent a shiver of anticipation down my spine. I slipped a finger into him, feeling the soft walls clenching around me. I wiggled my finger and he moaned.

"Does that feel okay?" I asked, kissing his side.

"Yeah," he gasped. "Yeah it does."

"Good," I slid another finger in and then another, slowly pumping them in and out of him. "You feel really tight," I said, grinning up at him.

He laughed a little, making his muscles quiver around my fingers. "You sound like a teenager the first time he sticks his finger up his virgin girlfriend."

"Well, I wouldn't know much about that."

"You would if you read more smut."

I rolled my eyes and leaned close to him. From this position my head came about halfway down Zeus' spine, my hand reaching lower, getting him ready for me. I left little airy kisses all up and down his side, from his rib cage to his hip bone. He was ticklish around his belly which usually amused me to no end but I didn't want him to twist around too much in our current position so I avoided those spots.

My fingers kept pumping in and out of him, spreading the lube around and getting him nice and relaxed. I saw him wrap his hand around himself, slowly moving it in time with my fingers. I watched him through half closed eyes, feeling my own erection jerk to life. I tried to be patient with my preparations but watching him touch himself was not helping my resolve.

"Gan," he breathed, looking over at me, his eyes grown cloudy with desire.

I didn't need to be told twice. I grabbed the lube and spread some over my cock before positioning myself behind him. I had to use my hand to guide myself into him. Zeus never had to do that anymore, but I didn't have nearly as much experience with this. I pressed myself against him, marveling at just how small the entrance was. The first time we did this, it had taken me forever to even get inside him. Small wonder we hadn't done it again for another couple centuries. Now I wiggled the tip a little, just barely putting it inside. Zeus gasped quietly. I pushed forward with my hips, easing my way into him at a snail's pace. Once, he made a tiny pained sound and I saw him grab a fistful of the sheets. I immediately pulled back. "Babe, we can use some of the nectar."

He shook his head, letting out his breath through his nose. "I'm fine. Just give me a second, please."

I did, wrapping my arm around his waist and kissing along the back of his shoulders. I felt terrible for causing him pain and even worse for my own impatience. I was so aroused. It was all I could do not to shove the rest of my cock up into him and feel his walls squeezing around me. Zeus finally gave the go-ahead and I slid a little farther into him, my eyes rolling back from the sensation.

At last I was completely inside. Zeus moaned and leaned his head back, feeling me fill him up. My initial thrusts started out excruciatingly slow and gradually became a little faster, my breathing uneven. He was tight around me, tighter than anything I'd ever felt, all heat and friction and slick lube.

"You feel so good," I told him, doing my best to keep my control.

Zeus was breathing heavily, his eyes closed and lips parted.

I tried to adjust the angle of my thrusts, attempting to hit his prostate, the bundle of nerves that had the power to make a man come unglued. After a few more thrusts I got it. I felt a shudder ripple through him and he let out a little whine.

"Oh my God," he said, moaning when I hit the spot again.

His response made me go a little wild and I thrust into him again and again, loving the sound of his voice. My arms were wrapped tightly around his waist, my forehead against the back of his shoulder.

"Oh, God that feels so good," he gasped.

"Hell yeah it does." I said through gritted teeth, "I want you to cum for me." I slid my hand up and started playing with his nipple, my erection brushing up against his g-spot again. My own orgasm was slowly building and I wanted to make sure that he found his release before I did.

Zeus shivered, his erection curled up over his stomach. I leaned up on my elbow so I could see his face better. He looked up at me, his beautiful eyes delirious. He brought my face down so we could kiss, both of us moaning with every thrust.

"I love you," he whispered against my lips, squeezing his eyes shut when I thrust into him again. "Oh, don't stop," he said. "Whatever you do, don't stop."

"I love you, too" I said, shoving myself into him, "Oh, Baby I love you so much." I bent and started attacking his neck, sucking on the skin under his jaw. He gasped and leaned up into it. It wasn't much longer before his moans became louder, and he began moving into my thrusts.

"Gan, Baby, I'm gonna, I'm gonna . . ." He cried out, his body shuddering as he came. I felt his walls grip me even harder, making me groan. My pace quickened, his ecstasy fueling my own desire. Zeus gasped for air, his skin dewy with sweat. He went limp in my arms.

"You are so beautiful," I whispered against his skin. I breathed in the scent of him, a heady mix of sweat and sex and rain.

"I want you to finish inside me," he said.

"Oh," I breathed. My hips bucked against him, my climax surging up within me. "Oh, here it comes," I said, gripping him as pleasure exploded through me.

We both moaned as I came, my semen spilling inside him. I spasmed for several seconds before collapsing against him, both of us breathing heavily. I eased my way out.

He rolled over to look at me. "That was nice," he murmured.

"Yeah it was," I agreed, grinning at him. "Don't get too comfortable though. If you're thinking about becoming the bottom of this relationship you're going to have to fight me for it."

He smirked. "I don't think you have to worry about that." He reached over and caught a strand of my hair and twirled it around his fingers. "Sometimes it's just nice to let someone else be in control," he said.

I pushed myself up on my elbows. "Do you wanna talk about it now?"

He sighed, dropping his hand. "Not much to talk about really."

"Hera?"

He made a face. "It was just the usual stuff, how I'm a terrible husband and a terrible father and a terrible person. It just gets old after awhile."

I sat up and picked up his hand, kissing it. "I don't think you're a terrible person."

"Then you're an idiot."

I glanced at him, surprised.

He grimaced and apologized. "But you can't honestly say that I'm a good person. Or father or husband."

"I can say whatever I want," I declared. "But I do know that you're a much better father than you used to be. And you were always kind to me. A truly awful person wouldn't be nice to anybody."

He laughed a little. "What did I do to deserve you?" he asked.

"You let a snake burn up your clothes," I said with a smirk. "I think you did it on purpose too. There was no way I was going to let you get away from me once I saw this body." I ran my hand down his stomach, making him twist away. I raised an eyebrow.

"Don't," he warned, narrowing his eyes.

I grinned and attacked him, tickling his sides until he howled, thrashing in the bed.

"Dammit, Ganymede! Get off!"

I let him go, still laughing, pushing the hair back out of my eyes. "You know, I was thinking about that earlier, about how I met you, I mean."

"Yeah? And how sexy I was?"

I rolled my eyes. "If you do say so yourself." I laid back down, my arms stretched out. He curled up next to me, his head on my shoulder. I smiled, pleased by his reaction. I kissed his hair and tugged him closer to me. "Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of how different we both are around each other now."

He snorted. "You had the self-esteem of a kicked puppy."

"I was pretty pitiful, wasn't I?"

Zeus propped himself up to look at me. "No. You were perfect. It just took you forever to realize it." He brushed his thumb over my cheek. "I like the new you. The one who knows you're amazing."

I smiled. "I am pretty awesome."

He laughed. I loved his laugh. It was deep and loud and contagious. "You are. And you're dead sexy."

I was about to answer when a voice called from the doorway: "So this is where you've been hiding."

I fidgeted with the edge of my himation, slowly shifting my weight from foot to foot.

The women stared at each other across the small table. The frosty morning air was thick with tension, making my hair stand on end and a shiver run down my spine. Finally, the woman on the right reached out and slid the round game-piece across the table, knocking her opponent's square token out the of the circle. The woman on the left groaned.

"Why can't you ever let me win?" Hera grumbled, leaning back in her chair. She tapped the rim of her cup and I hurried to refill it.

Athena laughed. "You'd be even angrier if I did."

"True. But can't you at least have an off game? Must you always be so perfect?"

"Maybe we can play something else next time, Your Highness."

"No," replied Hera. "I will continue this until I master it."

"As you wish." Athena glanced up at me. "And how are you today, Ganymede?"

I squirmed. I hated being noticed by the deities, much preferring to stand in the corner until someone wanted more wine.

"I am well, my lady," I murmured.

"Speak up, Ganymede," Hera snapped. "Nobody can hear you."

"Are you adjusting to life here, then?" Athena asked, ignoring the other's outburst. "I'm sure it's a lot to get used to."

I smiled a little. I liked Athena. She was a witty, generous sort of person. "It is, my lady, but I am happy to be here."

"He is doing quite well," Hera said, her voice echoing inside her cup as she lifted it to her lips. I couldn't help but look at her profile as she did so. Hera's face made me feel totally inadequate. Everyone was beautiful on Mount Olympus, from Zeus to the lowliest dryad. And Hera was lovelier than anybody. She was small and soft, with a delicate face and a perfect little nose and skin fair as fresh cream. Her dark hair was curled and braided into an elaborate up-do that made her seem taller than she was. Her eyes were large and dark and her voice was surprisingly low-pitched for such a tiny person, booming out of her with the force of a tidal wave.

"Well we are glad to have you," Athena said, standing to leave. "Have a good day, Your Highness."

Hera waved her away, not bothering to look at her. "We'll resume this tomorrow."

"As you say." She left, leaving me alone with the Queen of Heaven. Hera slowly swirled the wine in her cup. Silence fell so thick that when one of her peacocks crowed I nearly leapt out of my skin.

"So," she said at last, staring into her cup. "You're his new toy."

Nausea rolled over me. I wasn't sure how to answer, and paused so long that she seemed to think that I wasn't going to.

"No denying it?" she wondered. "No desperate denouncement of your trysts?"

"I am my king's humble servant, Your Grace," I said. My voice was barely more than a whisper. "I am honored that he chose to bring me here."

Hera scoffed. She finally looked up at me, her dark eyes sharpened by malice and pain. "Do you really think I'm that stupid? That I believe he just brought you here—you, with your obscenely pretty looks and pathetic spinelessness—to stand around pouring wine? Any half-wit can pour wine. He brought you here to squeal into a pillow."

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Every defense that I'd practiced for this moment had fled and all I could think of was what horrible thing she was going to do to me now.

She saw that I wasn't going to reply and her lip curled. "Still have nothing to say? How odd. Maybe you are a half-wit."

I turned my eyes to the floor and said nothing.

"Tell me, Ganymede," she said my name like it was a filthy thing. "Do you intend to steal him away from me? To seduce him into some plot that removes me from his side? Then you could have him all to yourself."

I glanced up at her. I found my words again, but Hera barreled ahead, making it impossible for me to say them.

"But let me tell you," she snapped. "I am not going anywhere. I am his wife and the only way he'll be rid of me is if he kills me the way he did Metis." She smiled then, her tiny rosebud mouth splitting back over her teeth. "And I am no Metis. I am a goddess, daughter of Kronos the Crooked One, and I will see you strung from the stars by your slithering guts before I let you separate me from what is mine."

I gazed at her in perfected understanding. "You're right" I told her. "I don't belong here."

Her eyes shifted.

"Your husband asked me if I wanted to leave Troy and come here to be with him. I agreed to it, mostly just to get away from home. I do like your husband, he's an interesting, passionate person. But I am fully aware that he will never really be mine—I'm not sure he can be anybody's. He's not somebody you can pin down with rules and rites. He's wild. But isn't that untamed, vibrant spirit the part of him that attracts you the most? It's true that the two of you are opposites; you're grounded and practical and unswervingly devoted, while Zeus is reckless and restless and driven by passion. But when you two are near each other it's like watching two halves of the same soul. Zeus isn't used to people contradicting him but for whatever reason I think he enjoys a good quarrel with you. It's a challenge for him. You sharpen his mind and burgeon his creativity. How could I or anybody else ever compete with that?

"So what I'm saying, Your Grace, is that I'm sticking around here as long as I can. I won't lie to you and say that I'm not attracted to Zeus. I am. He's too charismatic for his own good. But I also know that even if I tried to get him away from you it'd never work. So I'll take what I can get, appreciate his attentions as long as I have them, and count myself lucky that he ever noticed me at all. And, eventually, when he stops caring about me, I'll go away somewhere and think about how lucky you are that you'll always get to have a place in his heart."

Hera stared at me for several long seconds. "You're a fool," she said at last.

I smiled a little. "I suppose I am, Your Grace."

"So you're willing to be in a relationship where one of the participants is disloyal?" she demanded. "What about when he takes a new lover, hmm? How will that make you feel?"

I shrugged. In truth the idea of Zeus loving someone else made me die a little inside, but that feeling didn't change my outlook. "Zeus is a god. Who am I to contradict what a god does?"

Hera scoffed. She rose to her feet, the folds of her spangled peplos falling around her like a purple waterfall. She squinted up at me like I was a wormy, half-rotten apple hanging from a pretty tree. "If he hadn't made you immortal, I'd slit your throat and hold you over the side of my balcony. Then Zeus would know that he's not the only one who can make the rain fall."

I just bowed my head.

She brushed past me. "Oh, and Ganymede?" she said.

I turned toward her.

She stood with her hand on the door. "You can be quite eloquent, even if you do have foolish notions. You should try expressing yourself more often."

I smiled. "All I need is a pen and ink and I will express myself as often as you wish, Your Highness."

I spun around to see Hera standing there, just inside the door, her face blank, watching us. Zeus pushed himself upright, smoothing his hair down. I pulled the sheet up around me, knowing that she'd already seen everything I was trying to hide.

"I see you're really mulling over your sins," she said.

"What do you want?" he asked. "I'm kind of busy right now."

"I was coming to see if you wanted to go out for breakfast with us, but I realize now that you have other activities planned for the day." She turned to go, her back rigid.

"Wait," I called. "He'd love to go."

"What?" asked Zeus.

"Really?" Hera asked sarcastically, turning back to sneer at us.

"Yup, he'll be right out." I leaned over Zeus and picked up my boxers, shimmying into them under the sheets. Once I wasn't naked I climbed out of bed, strode over to the dresser, then pulled out the bottom drawer where I kept several pairs of Zeus' clothes.

"Where were you planning on going?" I asked, sorting through the clothes. I hoped they hadn't been aiming fancy because I didn't have many formal things here.

"Chloe wants to go to Taylor's," Hera said. Chloe was their youngest daughter, only six years old and cute as a button. Taylor's was her favorite restaurant, a classic country diner where she always ordered chocolate chip pancakes.

I could feel the tension behind me as husband and wife stared each other down. I pretended not to notice, pulling out a blue flannel shirt and a pair of designer jeans out of the drawer. "Here," I said, tossing them to Zeus. He caught them automatically.

"I don't really feel like breakfast," he muttered.

"Yes, you do," I told him. I turned back to Hera.

"He'll be right down," I said, smiling pleasantly. She curled her lip and left, slamming the door behind her.

Zeus glared at me. "What are you doing? I don't want to go."

I just looked at him.

"What?" he demanded.

"She came here to find you," I said. "She invited you to breakfast with her and the kids. She's apologizing."

"You call that an apology?"

"I call that walking into a room and seeing your husband rolling around in the sheets with his male concubine. She's be stupid not to be mad." I sighed. "Go after her. Take your family out and show them a good time. She called you a bad father. Prove her wrong."

He shook his head but started getting dressed. "She called me a bad husband too. Do you want me to stop coming to see you so I can prove her wrong?"

I eyed him. "You couldn't stay away."

He grinned. He dressed quickly, coming to stand beside me afterwards. He took my hand, running his thumb over my knuckles. "I'd kind of wanted to stay in bed with you all day," he murmured.

"That would have been a waste of time," I told him.

He smiled, reaching up to cup the back of my head. "Always so practical."

"One of us has to be."

He kissed me. "I love you," he whispered afterwards.

"You love her too," I replied cutting him off before he could protest. "You do. You always have. That's why you care so much about what she thinks of you."

He glanced away. "It's alot easier to love you," he muttered.

"You've always liked a challenge." I smiled at him. "Have a good day, sweetheart. Don't stay away too long."

He kissed me once more before striding out the door, going to meet the other half of his life. I stood there a moment, noticing how empty the room felt without him in it. I shook my head and went to pick up my clothes. Zeus would be back soon enough.

I hopped back up onto the bar stool, pondering what my next scene would be.