Author's Note: THREE, that's right, THREE CHAPTERS IN ONE NIGHT! Woohoo! Enjoy my friends!

For a bit of a warning, this chapter gets... steamy at the end.


Chapter 18

A Night To Remember

"Rippling, rippling, rippling, like a flapping overlapping of soft flames, as soft as feathers, running to points of brilliance, exquisite, exquisite and melting her all molten inside."

D.H. Lawrence

I awakened in Ariston's arms, I could hardly wait to see his face. The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the cinnamon skin that covered the muscles on his chest. Needless to say, my heart started beating faster.

"Good morning, my love." Ariston greeted me, his voice so tender. I smiled up to Ariston, meeting his ancient eyes in wonder.

"Good morning to you as well, my love." I said to him. "You are always up before me."

"Gods do not require as much sleep as mortals do. Three or four hours and we are fully rested." He told me.

"That would be wonderful, sleeping less, being able to get more done." I said and smiled.

"How did you sleep?" Ariston asked.

"Peacefully. And you?" I asked.

"The same." He said. I raised myself up on my elbow, my golden hair falling over my right shoulder as I looked at him. He raised his hand and caressed my cheek.

"You are beautiful, do you know that?" He asked with such wonder in his voice.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, my handsome love." I said and he laughed.

"It comes with being a god." Ariston told me and I shook my head.

"It is not just your godly beauty, it is your soul, it is who you are that I find so beautiful." I told him.

"Now you stole my words." He said, and we laughed.

I leaned down to kissed him. He pulled me to him and I laughed as he kissed me again. Our kisses soon became deeper, more passionate, his arm wrapping around my waist as my hands went into his hair to deepen the kisses. Things became wonderfully intense from there, with a moan he rolled on top of me as we felt each other's bodies. My leg wrapped around his waist to hold his body even closer to mine, as his hand traveled up underneath my shirt to take my breast into his hand for the first time. I gasp at such a feeling, Ariston kissed down my neck and my body arched against his as a moan escaped my lips, his fingers teasing my flesh in a way that made another moan come. One of my arms went around his back to hold him to me as my other hand still gripped his hair. Ariston's lips returned to mine, he was driving me wild until he stopped and pulled away to hover above me. Our breathing was ragged, his muscles strained in an attempt to control himself.

"You do not have to stop." I said breathlessly as I ran my hand down his bare, granite-like chest, wanting with all my being for him to continue.

"This time, I do." He said, then rolled off of me and to my side.

I laid there for a moment, trying to get my breathing and heart rate back under control, while Ariston tried to get... other things calmed. When it was somewhat reasonable I turned on my side. Ariston turned so that our bodies were flush to one another's and I took his hand in mine as we looked into each other's eyes.

"I hate it when you stop." I told him.

"So do I." Ariston said, then smiled with a look in his eyes. "Someday, I will not stop. Are you ready for that?" He asked. A blush covered my cheeks.

"Yes, I am." I told him. I did not even have to think about it, I was ready, that much I knew. He smiled and took a deep breath before laughing breathlessly.

"I will keep that in mind." He said with such a look in his eyes, it brought such feelings forth within me. I kissed him, hoping to persuade him.

"Not now." He said in a way that sounded like 'please don't stop' as he held my body to his, my hand gripping his shoulder.

"Why not?" I asked, kissing him again.

"You have school?" Ariston's words came out in a question. I chuckled once.

"Is that the best you can come up with?" I asked. He ran his hand down my arm.

"Believe me Mera, you have no idea how badly I want you." He said. "Every time I am near you, each time I kiss you everything within me screams not to stop." He looked into my eyes, his eyes resolute. "I am going to do right by you Mera, you are worth waiting for." I was so touched by his words, by his honor. I smiled.

"I love you." I told him.

"I love you, my Mera." He said.

We just looked at each other in silence for a time, no conversation was necessary, just being with him was enough.

"I wish I did not have to go to school this morning." I said a while later. "I want nothing more than to be with you. I miss you when we are apart, even only for a few minutes." I told him. He laughed, I could almost swear he looked slightly embarrassed.

"Mera, I am with you far more than you know." Ariston informed me with a smile. "As I have said before, being with you brings me to life and makes me whole. When I am not teaching or visiting with my family, I am with you. Even though you do not see me, I am almost always there by your side. Though I do make certain to give you privacy if you are... indecent." He said. I smiled and blushed even though I liked the thought of him seeing me naked, and it meant more to me than I could say that for most of the time, he is with me. It must be more than that though, I feel him with me, not just part of the time but always.

"You have no idea how hard it was for me to stay hidden after your last date with Aaron, and the week after you ended your relationship." Ariston shook his head. "I wanted so badly to hold you, to comfort you and tell you that everything would be alright, that I was there for you. I dared not even have a conversation with you, I knew that one thing would lead to another, I knew how easily we would end up in each others arms, and I could not bare to rush into this only to lose you because we took a step you were not ready for. I am thankful for Margret, it was only because of her that I had the strength to give you the space you needed." I smiled and looked down at his hand that held mine.

I knew he was right, I had no doubt that if we had been alone for long enough during that week we would have made love. But I could not imagine regretting it. I am surprised enough that we have not made love yet, I do not know where he finds the will to stop when we are holding onto each other.

"It is hardly fair, you get to see me, but I do not get to see you." I told him a time later.

"I would show myself to only you, but I fear I may distract you." Ariston said, I could hear the smile in his voice, and when I looked to him it was there upon his glorious face.

"Ah, but what a distraction you would be." I smiled and he laughed. "Tell me about you." I said.

"What would you like to know?" Ariston asked.

"Everything." I said. "I want to know every detail of your life, everything that made you who you are." He laughed.

"That could take years." He said

"I am content to lay here with you for the next few years hearing your story." I said, and he smiled.

"Where would you like me to begin?" He asked.

"At the beginning." I said.

"I was born from one of my fathers many affairs." Ariston said. "My mother was a Princess of Thera, what is now known as Santorini, her name was Demetria. She was the only child of King Athanious and Queen Gianni. My father saw her in the forest and fell in love, or fell in lust I should say, with my mother and you can imagine what happened next. Two months later my mother realized she was pregnant with me."

"So your father appeared to your mother and… took her?" I asked.

"It was not like that." Ariston said quickly, although he did not seem angry with me for wondering. "My father would never take a woman by force, he sees it as a sign of great weakness and cowardice.

"When I was a young man, my father told me that there is no glory and certainly no honor in taking a woman against her will. The glory is in the seduction, in having the ability and skill to persuade a woman to want to be with you. And if you cannot woo her, then you are not worthy of her." Ariston explained and I smiled.

"So why all the stories?" I asked.

"What else were those women to tell their fathers and in some cases their husbands? In those days they would have been beaten or worse if they had said that they had willingly made love to another man." I could see his distaste for such treatment of women.

"That makes sense." I said.

"No matter what they say of him, he is a great father, a great god and a great king. My father has always been there when I have had need of him, he is like that with all his children." It was easy to see the love and respect he holds for his father.

"Back to the story at hand." Ariston said. "When my mother realized she was pregnant, she knew that Zeus was my father, he was the only man she had ever been with. She also knew that he was married and did not want to cause trouble for him. She kept her pregnancy quiet for as long as she could, she did not even pray to my father to tell him she was carrying his child. When she started to show, my grandparents knew and were outraged since she was unmarried. They demanded to know who the father of the child was, but she would not tell them. Not knowing what else to do, they dragged my mother along to an oracle to find out who my father was so they could punish him.

"Apollo heard their prayers and went to my mother in the guise of an old man. Once he felt me growing within her and knew that we were brothers, he called to my father to tell him." Ariston smiled with such love in his eyes. "Zeus appeared before my mother and her parents in his true form and claimed me as his own."

"My mother told me the story a thousand times. My father took her aside and asked her 'Why did you not tell me you are with child?' and she replied 'You are the King of the Gods, I did not want to burden you with this.' My father smiled to her and placed his hand over where I grew and said 'This is not a burden, this is my child.' He went to his knees before her and kissed her womb." I could see how much this meant to Ariston, I could see his total love and admiration for his father. "He told my mother that he could not be with her, but that he would care for her and raise me with her. He said that I would want for nothing.

"When my grandparents found out that their daughter was carrying the child of Zeus, they changed their tune and were suddenly overjoyed at the pregnancy. They apologized to my father and congratulated him. They promised that my mother and myself would have every comfort and that someday, since my mother was an only child, I would be king. My father looked at my mother and saw her unhappiness, he knew that she wanted nothing to do with her parents and that she felt that she had no choice.

"After speaking with my mother in private, my father told my grandparents that he would not have me raised in their home. He had a house built for my mother and myself in the forest of Thera with a view of the ocean and set nymphs to attend to our every need."

"While my friends were off riding their horses, I was being groomed to be a king. The only time I got to be a boy was when I was visited my father on Olympus." Ariston explained. "My father, he was there every moment he could be... but it was not what I wanted. I wanted my father to live with mother and I. I saw how my mother would light up every time he would visit and she told me that she loved him. I was too young to understand what it takes to be King, and so I became very rebellious during my teenaged years and would barely listen to my mother, knowing that if I was stubborn enough, she would call to my father and he would come to help her. It came to happen that I ended up burning one of my friends families barn down, do not ask me how, I was too drunk to remember.

"Watching how my mother cried, wondering what she had done wrong in raising me..." Ariston shook his head, guilt clear on his face. "I tried to tell her it was my fault, that she had done nothing wrong, but she could not hear it. My father... it hurt more than I could say, to see the disappointment in his eyes and how I had broken his heart with my carelessness. I was confined to my room, and during that time my parents had a long conversation which I could barely hear. He said that he was sorry I acted the way I did, to which my mother kindly said, 'He misses his father, we both do.' After their conversation, my parents came to talk to me since they chose what to do with me.

"For the next two years, my duty was to clean the Olympian stables, and for that time, I would be living with himself and my stepmother, Hera. I did not argue. Once I packed my things and kissed my mother's cheek, only to be taking into a tight hug by her, telling me how much she loved me. Hera was kind to me and though I had only met her a handful of times I was welcomed in her and my fathers home. It was a completely different experience, being with my father that much, seeing him every morning before I left for work in the stables. To be honest, I loathed the dirty work and thought it beneath a son of Zeus and a crown prince. My father told me I was not only a king, I was a man and I had to remember that, if I were to be a kind, compassionate and trustworthy leader of my people. Those were the happiest years during my young life, especially when father would bring my mother to visit." Ariston was quite for a time before he spoke again. "One cold winter day when I was twenty-four, my father appeared. He told me that my grandfather, King Athanious died in his sleep and that I was now King of Thera."

"You were a king?" I asked in amazement.

"I was." Ariston said. "My father gave me a parting gift, twin adamantine swords engraved with lightning bolts. Ennina and Cronus went with me to the palace and left their duties to their children. I called them Nina and Orin in public, they were my advisors. My mother also went with me."

"Even though I had skipped many lessons in favor of the company of the nymphs, I ruled well." Ariston said. "Five months into my first year as king, a powerful emperor from the mainland's sailed with a fleet of three thousand ships to my island. I knew his purpose was intimidation, he would not have needed even half that number to crush my little kingdom. At my sister's council, I welcomed him to my island and prepared a feast in his honor. He was a short man with a big gut who wore more gold than I had in my entire kingdom. He brought his widowed daughter, Princess Shaena, with him. Shaena was twenty-two years old and beautiful, with raven hair and tan skin. I disliked the woman the moment I laid eyes on her, she was controlling, manipulative and demanding. Her two small daughters however," Ariston smiled. "I found adorable."

"Emperor Terello was the kind of man who disliked games, he stated simply what he wanted. He gave me a choice, I could either marry his daughter or he would conquer my island by sunset. He said that he was only giving me the offer because I was a son of Zeus and he dared not anger the King of the Gods. Like my mother, Shaena was an only child and with only two daughters, her father needed her to have a husband and a son that he could pass his lands onto." Ariston said, with not a trace of smile on his face.

"So you married her?" I asked.

"I had no other choice." He said. "Once I agreed, King Terello had us married right then and there, not wanting to wait, and stayed to make certain the marriage was consummated. That night was more dutiful than passionate for the both of us, there was simply no attraction between us since she knew I saw her for what she was. When we finished she got up then she said, 'I hope you have given me a son, I will come to your bed again tomorrow night just to be sure.'

"A year later our son Cristo was born." Ariston smiled. "I was thankful he looked so much like me. Shaena and I's relationship was better after that, but we still did not love each other. I loved her daughters as much as I did my son, and I did everything I could to keep them away from their mother's controlling grasp. Shaena no longer visited my bed after Cristo was born and I never went to hers. Ennina and Cronus liked her even less than I did, and my mother? She loathed the woman." He shook his head.

"Couldn't you just have divorced her?" I asked.

"I did not dare." Ariston said. "Shaena had her father wrapped around her finger, she told me time and time again that if I should even consider divorcing her, she would have my island burned to the ground. She could only become queen if I were to stay married to her, if I did not, then our son would become king before she had the chance to rule. So I accepted my fate, that I would live in a loveless marriage to keep my people safe. I let her control the household, it kept her out of my hair. The only things I would not allow her to control were my people and my children. Even though Agatha and Chloe were Shaena's daughters from her first marriage, I considered them my own and raised them as such."

"Sex became my only escape. All too often I would either leave my palace for the abode of the nymphs, or choose a willing woman within my domain. Shaena cared not who was in my bed, and I did not care in the least who visited hers. We went on like this for the next thirty years.

"I died when I was fifty-six years old," Ariston said. "A neighboring island wanted to expand and tried to invade. We were out numbered and had no time to call for help from my father-in-law, but we had the gods on our side. Even with the storms my uncle sent by sea, hundreds of ships still made it to shore and I prepared my people for battle. Before I left for battle I told Shaena that when I returned our marriage would be over, that I would divorce her and send her away. Shaena vowed that I would regret my words."

"I fought off the invaders along with my army and saved my island at the cost of my own life. To this day, I do not know if the arrow that killed me was from the enemy or one of Shaena's men." Ariston said. "When my vessel died, I ascended and became an immortal and within a few years earned the title of god."

"My son did something I never dared to, he sent his mother away, keeping his sisters with him." Ariston said with such pride in his voice. "When his grandfather King Terello died, Cristo became king of what was the largest empire on Earth in those days. He married well, he truly loved his wife Alitheia, they had many beautiful children together and I was beyond grateful that he was happy. He was a great king, I watched over him every day of his life. My Descendants were kings and queens for a thousand years until they were overthrown by what would become the Persian Empire."

I shook my head, still astonished at the story I had just heard, and placed my hand on Ariston's cheek. I looked into his eyes and knew that my mission in life would be to make him happy. I kissed his lips.

"It was all worth it to be with you." Ariston told me and I smiled. Him saying that everything that has happened in his existence was all worth it just to be with me, spoke magnitudes of his love for me.

"What happened after that?" I asked.

"I watched over my line for many, many years and did my duties as a god. I enjoyed life, I enjoyed being free from Shaena." Ariston told me. "Some of my siblings would suggest from time to time that I find a new wife, I would always say no. Why would I want to risk being trapped like that again? I saw that marriage worked for others, but for nearly three millennia I was against the idea, until I met Elianna." Ariston smiled. "With her I knew that I would never be trapped, I wanted to be with her and have a life with her more than anything. I think of Elianna as my first wife, what I had with Shaena... that was not a marriage. She is a part of my past that I have left behind me, and I would rather you not mention her." I nodded.

"Gladly." I said to him. "After what that woman put you through I never wish to speak of her again." Ariston smiled.

"I have let go of that past, of her. Elianna helped me move forward with my life, she showed me what love is." Ariston told me. He looked into my eyes and his tender smile grew. "And now I have you. I love you, my Mera."

"I love you, my Ariston." I said and kissed him. "Tell me more?" I asked, he smiled and nodded. For the next hour he told stories from his life, I enjoyed every moment of it.

"Who was the first girl you kissed?" I asked, wondering.

"A nymph by the name of Kerra. She was quite lovely, but you put her to shame. I have never felt anything like I feel when I kiss your beautiful lips." He said. I smiled and laid my head back on his chest.

"I have to say that the rest of forever is looking pretty good from here." I told him. He chuckled.

"I could not agree more." Ariston said, I could hear the smile in his voice. "May I cook you dinner at my house tonight?" He asked a few moments later and I looked up into his eyes.

"That sounds perfect." I kissed him.


The sun was close to setting as Ariston drove us up his long driveway. I smiled when the house came into view.

"Wow." I breathed, once again stunned by the majesty of the building, with its white gold veined marble and columns partially covered in climbing vines.

"If you see this as amazing, just wait until you see Olympus. That is truly a sight to behold." Ariston said with a smile, my smile grew at the thought.

"I cannot wait." I told him.

Some beautiful classical music was playing as Ariston led me into his home through the front door.

"May I show you something?" Ariston asked, I nodded.

He led me down the hall and stopped at a painting of a middle-aged woman with caramel colored hair and gray green eyes. She had a lovely face with classically Greek features and a rounded chin. She wore a pale pink dress held together with pins of gold and belted at the waist with a braid of rose gold.

"That is my mother, Princess Demetria of Thera." Ariston said, I was in wonder.

"She is beautiful." I said, looking at the motherly woman. "What was she like?" I looked to Ariston to see him smiling, his eyes far away while looking at the portrait of his mother.

"She was amazing, the best mother anyone could ever hope for." Ariston told me. "Kind and sweet, beautiful and loving. She never married after my father had her, she said that no man could ever hope to live up to him, so what was the use in looking?" He laughed as a sadness came into his eyes. "I miss her greatly." I placed my hand on his arm.

"Do you think she would have liked me?" I asked a moment later, his smile grew as he took his eyes off the painting and looked into my eyes.

"She would have loved you." Ariston stated. "She was always telling me I needed a good woman, that I needed a wife. I wish my mother could have met you, you two would have gotten along famously." He caressed my cheek. "Now for dinner."

Ariston brought me into the beautiful kitchen and offered me a seat. I sat down on the bar stool at the island and watched him cook in silent fascination as he chopped up some vegetables with amazing speed. He put some marinated chicken in a copper pan and placed it on the stove, he poured some wine over and lit it on fire.

"That smells good." I said. Ariston smiled to me over his shoulder.

"I am glad you think so." He said.

"Is there anything you cannot do?" I asked, he laughed. When the food was cooked, he placed it on two plates with such beauty and drizzled a sauce over it. "Wait here." He said.

"Alright." I said.

Ariston smiled to me one last time before disappearing from the room. He was back not a moment later with a dinner jacket on, he looked amazing.

"This way, my lady." He said, I laughed and took his proffered arm.

He led me out of the kitchen, through the living room and out to the balcony where we had breakfast together last week. I gasped at the view, above the brightly colored landscape, the sky was stunning in its brilliant shades of light pinks while the clouds were painted in gold.

I looked around at the balcony again and smiled. A small round table was set up with two blue glass plates that held our dinner, purple napkins, silver utensils and two chairs. Hundreds of unlit candles were all around the balcony.

"Oh Ariston." I breathed. "It is beautiful." He snapped his fingers and the candles all flickered to life at once. "Show off." I said, Ariston laughed and held my chair out for me.

I sat down and he took his seat across from me and poured wine into the two wine glasses on the table.

"Wine?" I asked.

"You have not had wine until you have tasted my brother's brew. I asked him for something light of alcohol." Ariston told me, I laughed.

"I take it you want me sober tonight?" I asked jokingly, he laughed.

"It would be preferable." Ariston said with a smile, I knew he was teasing me.

We ate our dinner to classical music and the smiles, laughs and conversation we shared. The food was beyond exquisite as always, the only thing that outmatched it was his company.

"Next time I will cook for you." I told him, he smiled at the offer.

"Deal, and the time after that we can cook together." He said, I smiled and nodded my agreement to his idea. "I do have something for you." He added.

"Another gift?" I asked with a laugh.

"I did warn you." Ariston said with that crooked smile.

In his hand a beautiful box appeared out of golden light. It was oval and made of gold that was inlaid with sapphires, rubies, diamonds and emeralds all cut in different shapes and sizes. I took it from his hand and admired it.

"It is beautiful." I said, turning the ornate box over in my fingers. "Thank you, I love it." Ariston laughed.

"The gift is inside, my love." He said.

I found a latch, opened the jewelry box and gasped. Inside was a huge pink, rose-colored stone that sparkled in such a way in the light of the candles and that of the setting sun, that I knew it had to be a diamond. The diamond was huge, 15ct's at the least, and cut into the form of an open rose with remarkable detail. The pendant was set on a chain of white metal that shimmered like the metal of Nell's chain that held her black jade dragon. I was speechless, I looked up at Ariston to find him smiling at my expression.

"Ariston..." I could not find the words.

"I take it you like it?" He asked.

"Like is hardly the word… is this a diamond?" I asked.

"It is," Ariston replied with his wide crooked smile. "The metal of the chain is adamantine, a metal only the gods can forge. The metal is stronger than the diamond itself, which is why it is used to forge weapons for the gods." Given that the hardest substance in the world is a diamond, that was truly saying something about the metals strength.

"This was my mother's," Ariston said, I looked up at him. "It is called the Rose Diamond. My father gave it to my mother to protect her. I gave it to Elianna when we wed, and when she passed she placed it in my hand and said to give it to the woman I am destined to be with." He smiled to me. I was deeply touched.

"What about Kallisto?" I asked. Surely she would not want me wearing something of her mother's. "It should be given to her."

"I already spoke with my daughter," Ariston said, his smile never faltering. "She said that she has no need of it and she would be happy for you to have it." I looked at the diamond, once again touched. "There is a secret to the diamond." He said.

Ariston took the necklace out of the box, and placed his finger to the back of the stone. As his finger began to glow, the balcony burst to life with sparkling pink lights and I gasped. On the wall to my left, among the lights were symbols that I had never seen before.

"What are they?" I asked in amazement.

"It is the language of the gods, it spells out a charm of sorts. The pendant will protect you against the Shadows stronger than anything else. A Shadow will not be able to bind with your soul so long as you wear this, it repels them." He removed his finger and the pink lights were gone, the balcony once again lit only by the setting sun and candlelight. "May I?" Ariston asked.

I nodded and he rose from his seat and walked around the table, the diamond still hanging by its chain in his hand. Ariston placed the chain around my neck, I moved my hair out of the way and he fastened it.

"I would ask of you to always wear it. It will protect you and give me some peace of mind." Ariston said.

"I will wear it always." I promised him. His hands lingered on my neck before he placed a soft kiss there, a kiss that I treasured far more than the diamond itself.

"Thank you." Ariston whispered into my ear from behind me. I turned my head to look at him, into those beautiful sky blue eyes. "Beautiful." He said in a breath.

He leaned in and placed a sweet kiss on my lips, his fingers brushing over my cheekbone in a soft caress as I became lost in his lips for the duration of the kiss.

"May I have this dance?" Ariston asked, I smiled and nodded.

I took his hand and rose from my seat. We slow danced as the sun went down and the bright, full moon rose. It was heaven being in his arms, dancing to Frank Sinatra and looking into his eyes.

"How do you feel on the subject of marriage?" Ariston asked, looking into my eyes as we danced.

I smiled and blushed. Even though he was only speaking of it and not asking me, my heart still skipped a beat at the word.

"To anyone in particular?" I asked playfully, he laughed and turned us as we danced.

"To myself of course. Would you want to be my wife someday?" He asked. My smile grew and I nodded.

"Yes, very much so." I said in all honesty. He smiled in such a way. "And do you want to be my husband?" I asked.

"With all my soul. You are the one I want, always." Ariston told me with such passion. My smile grew and matched his.

I cannot describe the joy I felt from the truth in his words. He kissed me, and in that moment I could see our whole future. I could see my father walking me down the aisle and placing my hand in Ariston's, an age-old tradition. I could see being pregnant and bearing him those children I dreamt of. I could see so much and wanted it more than I could put into words.

"I love you, so very much, my Mera." He said, his forehead leaning against mine.

"I love you, my Ariston." I replied.

We kissed again and I held onto him. He held me close, just as lost in this kiss as I was, his lips trailed down my neck before he stopped and sighed against my skin, his hot breath making me shiver.

"Mera," Ariston said.

"Do not stop, please my Ariston." I begged him, my hands in his black curls. It felt too good for him to stop.

"If you only knew how tempting that is." He said, still holding me close.

"Some temptations are made to be given into." I told him, but Ariston pulled away and disentangled himself from me. He stood a few feet from me, his breathing barely under control. "How can you pull away from me if you want me as badly as I want you?" I asked, not understanding at all. What could be holding him back?

"Because I love you." Ariston answered simply.

"That makes no sense." I said with a laugh. "Have you taken a vow or something?" I asked, he laughed and shook his head.

"No, nothing like that my Mera. It is not a pledge that binds me, it is my honor." He said. "You have to understand the way I was raised. I was taught that when you truly love a woman, you do not make love to her until your wedding night or at the very least until you are betrothed. By resisting her charms, you prove your love, devotion and respect for her." Ariston explained.

"So that is why you always pull away." I said, he nodded.

I shook my head with a smile at the reality of this moment. It figures that I would find one of the few men who would wait for marriage, and I do not want to wait one moment longer. I need to make him understand how I feel, what I want and need.

"But what if said woman does not want to wait?" I asked, looking into his beautiful eyes, my heart rate becoming faster with each word I spoke. "What if she is certain of your love, devotion and respect for her and wants you now?"

"Shouldn't this conversation be reversed?" Ariston asked with a raised eyebrow and a smile. "Shouldn't I be telling you that we do not have to wait because we love each other, while you try and defend your virtue?" I laughed and he joined in.

"Perhaps, but that is not who I am, nor what I want." I told him, looking into those eyes I love so much. "I do not need a wedding band or even an engagement ring for you to prove the love and respect you have for me, nor your devotion to our relationship. I know how you feel, I see it in your eyes and feel it when you touch me and I know how I feel for you. That is enough for me."

I walked up to him and placed my hand on his cheek and slid it down his neck, loving the feeling of his cinnamon skin, and to his chest, my hand coming to rest where his heart once was. Ariston's breathing quickened and I looked into his eyes then kissed him with all the passion of the moment and then some. When the kiss came to its conclusion, his hands lingered on my hips as he looked into my eyes, his eyes dazed.

"Mera, once we do this… there is no going back. What if," He began softly.

"What if I change my mind?" I asked and shook my head. "Not going to happen." I told him then realized something with a smile. "If it takes the next five thousand years I will prove my love for you. Every moment of every day I will do everything I can to show you how much you mean to me. I am here my Ariston, with you, and I am not going anywhere. I do not want to go back, I cannot even bare the thought. You are the one, my one, my love. And I am yours, to the deepest depths of my soul I am yours and I love you." I told him.

"Are you certain?" He asked, caressing my arms with the gentlest of touches, it gave me goose bumps. I reached up and kissed him deeply.

"Does that answer your question?" I asked moments later, he nodded, his breath quickening and he looked to me. "Must I say please?"

He caressed my neck and shoulder and shook his head with a smile on his lips. He kissed me then and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"One moment." He said, stopping the kisses.

Ariston closed his eyes then opened them and kissed me again. I wondered what he did. He took my hand in his and turned to lead me off the balcony, that was when I saw what he had done. There was a huge trail of red rose petals and thousands of candles lighting the path we walked, all the way down the end of the hallway and through his open bedroom doors. I smiled, I do love how romantic he is.

We walked quickly down the hallway hand in hand, stopping every now and then and kissing, undressing each other bit by bit, leaving his dinner jacket and my shawl and our shoes on our way to his bedroom. The rose petals continued all the way onto his bed, the royal blue covers of which were pulled back so that the white silk sheets showed. Candles were everywhere and moonlight poured into the room from the opening at the other end of his bedroom, the breeze ruffling the white silk curtains now and again.

It was all beautiful, but it was the king sized bed with the rose petals on it that had my attention. I turned around and looked up at Ariston, he smiled down gently even though his eyes raged with the storm of his passion for me.

"I love you." He said, his voice low, a whisper in the night, a truth meant for my ears alone.

"I love you." I whispered back.

Somehow, knowing that we were about to make love made everything different, made it real. I was not in such a rush anymore and neither was he. He caressed my cheek then leaned down to kiss me, a long, deep kiss. I looked into his eyes and he gazed into mine before our lips met again and I went to work unbuttoning his shirt. I looked down at his beautiful muscular chest and slipped my hand under the silk of his shirt on his chest and up over his shoulders where it fell to the floor with a hushed sound. I admired his godly form for a time before kissing him again.

He kissed my neck and I clutched onto him. His hand found the zipper at the back of my dress.

"Mera," He whispered with his hand on the zipper. I opened my eyes to look into his. "Do you trust me?" He asked.

"With all my soul." I told him truthfully.

He smiled and kissed me, a long, passionate, lingering kiss as he unzipped my dress and slowly slid it off my body with his warm, tender hands. Our lips parted and I watched his eyes scan over my exposed flesh. My navy blue, lace underwear was all that was left and his eyes lingered on it. When his eyes found mine, I smiled and laughed as I leaned up on my toes to share a passionate kiss as his hands danced over every inch of me, my body arching against his while I nearly shook within his embrace. His hands went down to my hips as he kissed down my neck and he slowly began removing that last piece of lace as he kissed all he could, and I stepped out of them as he came back up to me to taste more of my lips. I leaned back and then looked into his eyes as I held his face between my hands.

I leaned away from him, my hands running down his incredible chest and abs, my eyes trailing down to the bulge I could feel only too well while he held me close. For a moment I paused before my hands went to his belt. Once I removed the leather, sliding it from its keepers and tossing it out of the way, I undid the button and then the zipper. With a push, those trousers fell to the floor, along with his boxers. There he was, naked before me, it was in that moment I knew I had never witnessed something so beautiful as him and his soul was somehow the best part, even with how impressive he was in every single way.

My eyes trailed back up to his in wonder, and he bent down, putting one arm around my back, the other behind my knees and sweeping me up into his arms. I gasped, kissing him ardently as he carried my form, then he laid me down in the middle of his bed. His fingers knotted in my hair as he kissed me, while his hand and fingers toyed and stroked my breasts, causing me to cry out in aching need, and when his mouth replaced his fingers, and he began kissing lower, lower, lower, until,

"ARISTON!" I called out his name, my sight becoming blurry, my back almost painfully arching as I gripped onto his head of warm, black curls that were between my thighs. I was... gone and when that moment came that was unequal to anything I was quite certain I screamed. Yet as I rode that high down, I still wanted every part of Ariston, I needed him within me. Two words escaped my lips in that moment. "Ariston, please..." Whether I had whispered or called out, I was too intoxicated by this to even try to guess.

"With pleasure..." Came his reply, in a voice which made me shiver and dig my nails into his shoulders as he came between my thighs.

His hands ran along the outside of my thighs as he came to hover his body over mine, his lips found mine as my hands roamed over his back, his tongue tasting of a new flavor which could only have been what he just did to me. Running his hand to the inside of my leg where I felt his heat pressing against me, he seemed to guide himself closer, and then I felt him as he came into me for the first time. There was no rush as we became one, my breath hitching as I winced for a moment, my eyes tightly closed as I tried to get a handle on this new sensation. Once he was fully inside of me, he buried his face in my neck as he rested on top of me and his hand touched my thigh.

"I am here, my love," He whispered. "Right here with you."

He kissed the tip of my jaw and that was when I opened my eyes, everything was different, intense, powerful... and our very souls began to meld in an entirely brand new way. Ariston leaned back and gazed into my eyes, he captured my lips as he slowly began making love to me. It was a pace that was soon left behind as we held onto each other, needing to discover the extent of this brand new experience that had taken over...