Transgressions XV
Xena studied herself in the small mirror that sat atop the dresser in her bedroom. The waning evening light cast shadows across the room, reminding her that Ares would soon be arriving. What was she doing? Was she insane to start back down this road with him? Things between them were already complicated enough! She was pregnant for crying out loud! Xena's mind screamed for her to call things off. But her body, especially her raging pregnancy hormones, begged her to give in to the lust. Frustrated, Xena pulled a pewter-handled brush through her dark locks as she watched through the mirror as the last rays of the sun reached their long fingers over the tops of the hills. Time was running out, she knew she needed to make a decision.
A light rapping on her door startled her. Gabrielle peeked her head into the room. "Goodnight," she called. "Need anything?"
"No," Xena answered and knew there was nothing Gabrielle could do for her that was going to satisfy her ripening need. "Night," Xena smiled at her friend warmly.
When Gabrielle pulled the door closed behind her, Xena took a calming breath. She closed her eyes and counted to ten. Another deep breath. The air thrummed with his arrival. As usual, he moved in behind her. She looked at him in the mirror as he nuzzled into her hair, inhaling her. "Gods woman, you are intoxicating," he whispered and it tickled the ridge of her ear, thrilling her.
Xena leaned into him and for a moment didn't care if it made her seem weak. He was impossible to resist. When he wrapped his arm around her waist, Xena mused that whatever philosopher had said "you regret the things you don't do more than the ones you do," had never lived her life. She was plagued with so much regret over the things she'd done in her life, and here she was about to add another notch to the belt.
"Close your eyes, Xena. And keep them closed until I say open them." Ares tightened his hold on her, making certain she was secure for the long journey.
Xena did as instructed. Suddenly, the dizzying rush of traveling through the aether was causing her head to spin. Her stomach turned a bit, but not enough to make her retch.
"You okay?" He asked, feeling her discomfort as he guided them through the void at breakneck speed.
"Fine," she answered, wondering why it was taking them longer than normal to move through the aether.
When she felt them slowing, she immediately noticed a change in the atmosphere. Still, she didn't open her eyes. The air was hot and wet, it felt much like the grotto from the palace complex. She wondered hopefully if he'd rebuilt it. The sounds were different though. She could hear birdcalls, but the songs were unfamiliar to her. A shriek piercing cry split the air. The urge to open her eyes was nearly overwhelming. If she'd been with anyone else, she would've readied her defenses at what sounded distinctly like the roar of a big cat. But she knew without question that if danger presented itself that Ares would protect her and their unborn child.
They alit on a hard surface which gave ever so slightly to their weight, telling Xena that it was likely a wooden platform or structure of some sort.. The air around her lay on her skin like a wet blanket. She'd never felt such a damp heat. What kind of thermal bath had he brought her to?
Keeping one arm around her waist, Ares stood beside her and extended his hand outward. "Now, open your eyes, Xena, and behold the wonder."
Xena's mouth fell open in awe at a vast jungle stretched out before her. She and Ares stood in a house built into a gigantic tree. Instead of exterior walls, the house was shrouded in gauzy muslin curtains. They were high off the ground. Xena looked over the edge of the platform and estimated the drop to be at least 100 meters. In the distance, a broad, muddy river snaked its way through the green as far as she could see. To the west, the sun hovered over the verdant horizon.
"Ares, it's, it's magnificent." She couldn't think of a word deep enough to describe the sight before her. Xena never seen a place more alive. Even the flowers around her seemed more lush, more vibrant. The cacophony of birds, monkeys, frogs, and insects created an exotic song. The air was so heavy with moisture that Xena could taste its fresh kiss on her skin. As a sheen of sweat broke out all over her body, Xena was glad she was only wearing her shift. The humidity would have killed her leather. For the first time, she noticed that Ares had come without his leather too. He was topless and wore only black linen trousers. She surveyed the treehouse, it was really hardly more than a large a sitting area with a table and two chairs and a queen sized canopied bed. Austere, but perfect for what he'd brought her here for. Heat quickened in her core. Xena looked back out over the jungle and the winding river. The setting sun told her that they were far, far away from Greece. Maybe further than she'd ever journeyed. "Where are we?
"Far to the West Xena."
"This doesn't look like Gaul, or Spain, or the Isles of Britannia."
"Farther West than that, my Dear," Ares grinned.
"Ha, there is nothing farther West than that, save the Ocean and the end of the Earth."
"How very limited your mortal perspective is, Dearest Xena." Ares ran his hand up her back and rubbed the ends of her dark hair through his fingertips.
"What are you saying? That there's land beyond the great sea?"
"Not just land Xena. Two vast continents and you are standing in the jewel of one of them. This rainforest."
As if on cue, the heavens opened up and curtains of rain fell all around the tree house. Xena breathed in the heady, earthy scent and moved closer to the edge of the platform. "How far beyond the great sea?"
Cautiously, Ares pulled her back from the edge. "Very, very far. Too far for triremes to sail."
"Show me. Draw me a map." Her curiosity was piqued.
"Okay." Ares waved his hand and a bowl of black dye appeared in the center of the table. "But you are going to do the drawing."
"But I don't know. . ."
"I'll guide you."
"Okay," she agreed.
"Grab the bowl," Ares commanded and kicked off his pants before laying down on the bed. He propped his head up with all three of the bed pillows so that he could watch her. Realizing he would need a better canvas, he snapped his fingers, and at once, his body was smooth, hairless from sternum to his groin where he left a trim bit of fur around his cock. "Take the paint and draw a map of the world as you see it, here, on my torso."
Xena smiled, this was going to be fun. Geography lessons with Professor Ares. She dipped her finger into the bowl as she studied his abdomen and considered where to start. First she drew the jagged coastline of North Africa just below his belly button, curving along his left side to show the Levantine coast. Ares shivered at her touch. Xena smiled at the goosebumps that rose on her map. She continued to trace lines on his body. Persia crept back in toward his navel but above the recess of his belly button, and below his breast. Mainland Greece and her isles took up the central line of his abdominal muscles. The boot of the Italian peninsula jutted below his right nipple, running down his belly to where the island of Sicily came near to the North African coast. She then traced the Iberian Peninsula to the Strait of Gibraltar. Finally, she dotted his right shoulder with the British Isles. Xena pulled back and looked at her handiwork. She blew across his torso to help the dye dry. Ares smiled and with the wave of his hand her drawing was set.
"Roll over," Xena ordered. Ares complied. Xena dipped her finger in the dye again and picked up again at Persia, drawing the rest of that broad empire. She drew triangles for the Himalayas before drawing India.
"Remember, you need to save some space," He whispered. Her hands on his body caused his body to respond in the age old way that it always did to her. He struggled not to press his stiffening cock against the mattress.
"Right," she answered, then hastily traced Chin and the islands of Jappa.
"Okay, Xena. There between Jappa and where it would meet Britannia on my right shoulder, look." Slowly, where only his bare flesh had been, she saw a thin line of dye begin to run over his back. She watched it grow from nearly the top of the Earth to the bottom of it. Could there really be two worlds that massive that no one in her world had ever imagined. A place the gods kept to themselves?
"Wait, there's more," he called and Xena watched as another line skirted along his firm ass cheeks. "There's a massive, inhospitable land of ice at the southern end of the Earth."
"Is that everything?"
"No, there are other places, Africa, for one, stretches much further south than you've drawn. And below India there's another island continent. And hundreds of smaller islands dot the sea there."
"No one's ever gone to these places? Are they forbidden to mortals?"
"No, not at all, they are all peopled, except the land of ice."
"Peopled?"
"Yes, of course. There are people here. Some of their cities are actually quite large but many people live in small tribes just like in Europa. But I didn't really bring you here for a geography lesson." Ares had fought the rising ache as long as he cared to.. He rolled back over. Xena studied the map with a hungry look in her eyes. Ares asked, "Xena where would you like to travel first?"
"Well, I've always wondered about the source of the Nile," Xena purred as she looked at her tracing of North Africa above his pubis bone.
"Well, Xena, the Nile can be traced to the deep center of Africa."
"This far?" Xena teased as she ran her finger along the bottom of his torso.
"Deeper by far, I'm afraid," he played along.
"How about here?" She ran her hands through the top of his pubic hair.
"Yet a bit deeper," his breath hitched.
"Oh, I think I've found it," she murmured as she wrapped her hands around his proud shaft that stood ready like a soldier at attention.
Ares' eyes rolled back into his head as he thrust himself into her hand. It had been too long. He knew he wasn't going to win any records for timing on this one. "Take me into your mouth." Ares commanded in as much of an even a tone as he could manage with her devouring his flesh with her ravenous eyes.
Holding his cock firmly at the base, Xena closed her mouth around his head. She swirled her tongue around and then lay it flat along the back of his cock as she slid him deeper into her throat. When her lips reached the base, she moved her hand from his shaft to his balls, gently rolling his sac with her skilled fingers, and hummed along his manhood. She watched with vigilant eyes as Ares fisted the sheets in his hands. She loved watching him like this, completely hers. Nothing in the world mattered except the two of them. There was no world, no heaven, no hell, no hate, no war, no regrets. She felt his cock grow hotter and thicker and he began thrusting into her mouth as his explosion neared. Xena let his cock pop free as her mouth raced toward his balls. She gingerly suckled the hard knobs between her lips, massaging them as her hand glided smoothly over his hardness, keeping the friction alive.
"Ahhhhh," he called. "Ahhhhh, Xena, baby," Coherency was gone.
"Give it to me, Ares. Give me your essence." She fisted him more vigorously, then took him back into her mouth. He cried her name across the jungle as he sprayed the back of her throat with his dew. Yes, he was hers. Completely hers. But the taste of his salty essence hadn't left her mouth before a pair of cat green eyes stared at her in the darkness of her mind. Cat green eyes that were anything but feline. They were something far dangerous still. Xena shook her head. There was nothing there but a memory. Mavican. Xena had seen the woman's desire for Ares shining in her eyes even after all of those years of being imprisoned by him. Ares had played false with her and yet she'd still tried to prove herself to him. To win back his affection. Is that what Xena was doing? Still trying to find some sort of validation? "Good, for a mortal," the bandit's words burned Xena's ears.
Ares lay boneless on the bed. Xena climbed on top of him, settling down on the tops of his strong thighs. When he opened his eyes, he realized he was in trouble. "Do you like the way I suck you off?" Xena growled like a panther.
"Yes," he managed to choke out.
"Did Mavican pleasure you as well as I do?"
Fuck! He'd known his day of reckoning for that little stunt was coming. Eventually! But, why now? Oh yeah, because things were going pretty good between them. Ares decided the best course of action was to try to defuse the situation. "Xena, I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I was. . ."
"You weren't thinking! You were reacting. As soon as we hit a little snag, you reverted back to your old tricks."
Ares looked away. She was right. He was as bad as she was at relationships. He'd gotten defensive and when he got defensive, he always went on offense. Gods, he feared they were destined to never get past their hangups. Was he fated to a life of misery? Was that part and parcel of being the God of War? Did he also have to forsake love? Xena grabbed his face and squeezed his cheeks causing his lips to scrunch up into a fish face. "Don't look away from me."
When he looked back, his eyes glistened. Was he going to cry? Anything but that. She wasn't prepared for that! Xena released his face and sat back on the tops of his thighs. She looked through the gauzy curtains. The rain had stopped, the setting sun created a cotton candy sky over the landscape.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"I don't know, Ares. What are we doing?"
"I don't know, either. This is all new territory to me. I know I fucked up. I know I could have gotten you killed. You and my baby."
"Our baby."
"Our baby," he agreed. See it was shit like that. Of course he knew it was their baby. And she knew that he knew it. But she would find the one word he screwed up on and make out like he'd meant something sinister by saying it. Ares closed his eyes, took a couple of breaths. He opened his eyes and looked back up at her. There was genuine hurt there and he didn't know what he could do to fix it. And something inside him told him it went far deeper than Mavican. But he didn't want to open another can of worms. Ares smiled at her tenderly and brought a single curved finger up to her belly and rubbed it gently with the back of his knuckle. This tiny being, that was what they needed to focus on.
"Can I see you? Naked?" His voice dropped to a whisper.
Xena looked down at him. His wet eyes begged to touch her. Xena lifted the shift over her shoulders and dropped it to the floor. Ares studied her. Her breasts were undoubtedly heavier. Her hips showed a little more cushion and yes her belly was a bit thicker, hardly noticeable. In fact, had he not known that she was pregnant, it might not have even registered. "So beautiful, Xena. Raise up."
Xena went up on her knees and Ares curled up toward her until his face met her belly. He smothered her abdomen with kisses. "I'm sorry," he whispered. She wasn't sure if he was talking to her or the baby. She wasn't really sure what he sought absolution for. Mavican? Or something more? Xena ran her fingers through his hair. Absolution. Would they ever be absolved from their sins? She doubted that she could ever forgive herself, she hoped for the child's sake that she could forgive Ares. But where did she start? It seemed that as soon as she forgave him for one thing, something else came between them. Xena felt his soft lips moving across her belly, whispering something to the baby, something she couldn't hear, something she thought that she wasn't meant to hear. How could he love her? How could he love their mortal child when he held mortals in utter contempt?
"You know this child is mortal, right?"
"For now." he replied.
"I don't know what you have in mind. But I am warning you now that you will not take the child's free will from her. You will not make her immortal. When she's an adult, if she wants to choose that, then I won't stop you, but you will not turn her while she is a child."
"Agreed," Ares swallowed. "What age?"
"Thirty."
"Thirty!" Ares exclaimed. Xena was being ridiculous.
"Yes, thirty." Xena's defiant eyes told him that the age was non-negotiable.
"Hades, Xena, if it is a girl she might die in childbirth before that! If it is a boy then he could die in battle."
"My son will not be a warrior," Xena challenged.
"What do you think his instincts will be? He's our child! For Zeus's sake, our daughter will even probably want to take up the sword. Look at you, do you seriously believe there was ever another path for you?"
Xena pulled away from him. Was he right? Was their child destined to live and die by the sword? They were getting nowhere. This was supposed to be a night of sexual abandon. Instead they'd marched right into the steeltrap of their own baggage.
"No more talking," Xena said as she pushed his face toward her fur. "You brought me here to fuck me, didn't you?"
Ares pulled his head back and looked at her, a darkness swirling in his eyes. "If that's who you want, Xena. You'll have him." Ares curled his arm around her waist and in one swift movement, pinned her beneath him.
When he savagely pushed himself into her, Xena bit into his shoulder to keep from crying out. Her bite mark created a dividing line on the Emerald Isle she'd drawn there.
