Her Man XII

If the ranch had seemed totally out of character for Ares, the condo Xena thought, fit him to a tee. The small foyer that served as an entryway was painted in blood red with black trim. A large round mirror framed in ebony hung above a claw-footed ebony table upon which Ares tossed his bike keys. He hung their helmets up and flipped the light to the living room. A humongous flat screen television dominated an entire wall, on another wall he had mounted two swords connected by a chain that were eerily similar to his and her old swords. And, what looked like her chakram was displayed in a shadowbox.

Ares saw Xena's questioning gaze, "the one at the C.H.A.K.R.A. conference was a cheap imitation. I have the real thing. I took it after Gabrielle died."

Xena walked to the display case and lovingly touched the glass that separated her from her signature weapon. "The swords?" she asked.

"I had those crafted after you passed?" I think I was searching for a way for us to be together. I suppose I thought that if our bodies and souls could not unite at least I would have a visual symbol of our bond. "They're made out of Hephaestian metal. After the Twilight, Hephy's son Spinter took over the forge. He made quality weapons. Still does, but few of them see any action, they are almost always purely decorative. He does a lot of prop weapons for films and crafts a lot of the replicas for companies that sell movie collectibles.

"Spinter? I don't think I know him," Xena responded.

"Probably not, he was not much of a troublemaker, like some of us, but you will get to meet him on Friday. Hestia has sent out invites to everyone. I haven't figured out her game yet, but I will," he promised.

"You think she is up to something?" Xena continued to look at the weapons, but Ares' comment had aroused Xena's curiosity. At least they were on the same page where Hestia was concerned. Wait and see.

"Well, I know she is having you come to Malibu and she has a pretty clear policy about mortals, except staff, at that place. Let's just say, I think she is trying a little too hard to be accommodating."

"You don't think it is just fear? Fear that I am here to finish off the Olympians?"

"Oh, I am sure that is part of it but think about it, Xena. I brought you back, not the god of Eli or another deity. Why would I bring you back to kill off the remaining Olympians?"

She was silent for a moment while she thought things over. She tried to see things from Hestia's perspective. As the new matriarch, it was her job to protect the rest of the gods, even if that meant from Ares. Xena had to admit that if she were in Hestia's position, she wouldn't trust the God of War, either. He'd shown his ambition more than once and they all knew where his loyalty lay where Xena was concerned. He was hers, mind, body, heart, and soul. Total domination, Xena knew, that was what Hestia feared and in Hestia's mind that would be the answer to Ares' question. If he wanted to make a play for power, who else would he summon to his side?

Finally, Xena broke her gaze with the chakram and turned to face Ares. Slowly she moved toward him like a panther on prowl. A darkness came over her that Ares hadn't seen in millennia, a darkness that he had once relished, a fire, a lust, a passion for power that he thought she had long ago buried. He found himself becoming quickly aroused.

When she reached Ares, Xena trailed her fingers up his chest and snaked her hand around his neck and pulled him in close to her. Her lips were so close they grazed his ear and sent shivers of warm pleasure coursing through his god body when she spoke, "To rule the world of course, with the Olympians gone there would be nothing standing in our way, nothing Areeeeeeees. There was a time that we had promised as much to each other, sealed it with blood and our bodies. A time I vowed to my god that I would deliver him nothing less. A time when he would have settled for nothing less." The closeness of their bodies and memories of unbridled lust and campaigns of conquest got Xena's juices flowing. She licked his neck and then nipped it. If she had still been able to kill gods she would have drawn blood. She traced her hand down his hard pecs, past his abs, and squeezed his generous package. Ares's body responded, he bucked his hips into her hand, his cock strained hard against the leather pants. But he gained enough control to take her hands in his and lead her to the black leather couch.

He sat her down, took a strand of hair that had fallen into her face and tucked it behind her ear. He fingered her jaw and placed a soft kiss on her lips and said, "Years, I've waited years to hear you say that! But gods be damned that is not who we are anymore. Xena, being with me doesn't mean going back to that. Do you really want to lay a path of destruction across the world? No! I know you don't, this is the lust for power talking. You like power, you love it Xena, and there are plenty of ways to harness power without resorting to all-out bloodshed and murder."

"You're right," she jerked away from his hand that was stroking her face in a soothing rhythm. "But don't you see what you do to me, what the darkness does? I don't know why I thought I could control it? Ares, this is a bad idea! This whole damn thing, you bringing me back, you and me. I mean I walk in here and it feels almost like walking into one of your temples or the Halls of War and look at me. I start analyzing Hestia's motives and I am off like a firecracker." She stood up, "You don't have to give me a ride home, I'll get a cab."

"Whoa, Whoa, wait a minute. You are ready to throw this away, throw us away because you had a little relapse. Xena, sorry, but I ain't lettin' you off that easy. And you know what, fuck you Xena, because I know you and I know you are attracted to more than the power here. Sure, I saw the look on your face when you gave me my godhood back. Quite frankly, you looked like you were about to come your pants. But when you realized that you were not going to join me on Olympus. I also saw the tears, and you know what those tears were Xena? Because I do! I have thought long and hard about it over the centuries, and I know exactly why you were holding back a torrent of tears. Because you knew that you were afraid that by gifting me my godhood back you had lost the man in me, forever. And it is the man in me that you love. You may want to fuck the devil out of the god, but you love the man with all your heart. And, I will not let you walk out on that!"

"Ares," Xena started to protest but Ares grabbed her up in his arms and carried her down the hallway to his bedroom. He nudged the door open with his foot and cut off her further protest by crushing his lips to hers.

When he sat her down on the bed, Xena took in her new surroundings. The black sheets shimmered from light that filtered in through the window. The headboard had built in handcuffs and the ceiling was mirrored. So this was his little fuck den. Bile rose from her stomach as she wondered just how many tawdry toys he had played with in this room.

He didn't sit down next to her, instead he began taking his clothes off. He gave her a moment to admire his bare form before he spoke. "Xena, you want power, fine take it, but take it from me,," he said and bowed to her on one knee.

Xena couldn't count the times that the boot had been on the other foot; before she had met Hercules and reformed. How many times had she offered her god her body to do with what he pleased? And now, here he was in all his godly glory, offering himself to her.

Her insides churned. His words had spoken truths that had lay dormant within her consciousness across her lives. Power seduced her. But love sustained her. She did love him. And she wondered if he was right. Was it possible for her to feed off his power sexually? Would that be enough? To claim him in bed? Would that give her the rush that would let her walk through the world cleanly but indulge in the darkness in their most private moments?

The image of the god before her, made man again by his desire to belong to her, ignited a fever in her. Xena stood, taking up the position of dominance between them. It felt odd but strangely exciting to be the one leading the dance. Not that she hadn't been in control of their previous encounters. He'd never taken what she hadn't freely given. And she'd stopped him plenty of times. But this was different. He was truly the supplicant.

Xena studied his face. The hardness and softness of it. How could one entity encompass both in equal measure? It wasn't fair for anyone to be so blessedly perfect. That was the allure she supposed. He was so utterly masculine he begged to be fucked but at the same time the fullness of those lips and the warmth of his eyes belied a heart that yearned for things a god of war should not.

Xena's inaction made him fear that she was going to balk again and go home. Ares opened his mouth to speak, but Xena pressed one finger against his lips, "Uh-uh, you hush your little mouth, take your pretty cock and climb into bed." Ares crawled across the sheets and laid on his back. He was thankful when the warrior motioned with her hand for Ares to flip over. He eagerly complied. His cock was maddenly hard and it helped to have something to press it into. "Is this your little fuck nest, Ares?" He didn't need to be a god to hear the heavy stain of jealousy that colored her question.

"Yes," he answered.

"How many cheap bitches have you sweetly tortured here?"

"Hundreds."

"You're a little cunt whore, aren't you?" Xena asked, as Ares heard her clothes fall to the floor.

The weight of the bed shifted as he felt her climb onto it.

He could hear fabric rustling but didn't dare look as he had not been granted permission to do so. Even without using his powers, his senses were on red alert. Her skin was ablaze as her thighs brushed against his sides when she straddled him. When her cunt settled against the small of his back, it felt like one of his fireballs primed in his hands.

"I said, you're a little cunt whore, aren't you?" Xena demanded and pressed her heat against him to emphasize the word cunt.

"Yes, yes, I'm a cunt whore,"Ares stammered but his words were muffled as Xena slipped a black silken pillowcase over his head.

"Who was the last bitch you brought here?" Xena gathered the loose material from the pillow case and tied it off at his neck. Then she lay her palms flat against his strong shoulders while she rubbed herself along his ass checks

Ares thought about his last fuck. He was too embarrassed to tell her it had been a Xena cosplayer that he had picked up at convention. He swallowed as he tried to think up a better lie.

But Xena ferreted out the deception before he even spoke. She stopped grinding against him and moved off of the bed. "Is this a joke to you, Ares? I asked you a question. Don't you even think about lying to me.

Ares hadn't been expecting the bite of leather as he felt his own belt crack hard across his ass. His cheeks tensed at the sting. "Now, I'll ask you again? Who was she? The last piece of pussy you brought in here and fucked?"

"A Xena, a trilogy Xena."

"A trilogy, Xena? What does that mean?" Xena asked as Ares felt her take his hand and bring it up to one of the handcuffs attached to the headboard.

"You know one of those fans who dresses up like you. But the outfit was from the Hercules series."

"Why her?" Xena continued her interrogation as she fastened the other restraints.

"She's not important." Ares didn't want to talk about the fact that he often got his cheap thrills by punish fucking Xena replicas.

"I'll decide what's important. Do you understand?"

Ares felt more exposed than he had expected. And even though he wasn't worried about physical pain, he was a little concerned with where her line of questioning might lead. So he requested a safe word.

"Safe word? Safe word! The mighty God of War requesting a safe word. The irony is almost laughable. What is it you're hiding from me, Ares? You think about that question for a minute. I'll be right back."

Ares heard her feet pad across the bedroom floor, then heard the door close quietly. He struggled not to use his powers to heighten his hearing after she moved out of earshot. After a few minutes, he began to get worried that she had left. It would be like her to get him all riled up and just walk away. Memories of them together in his temple in Amphipolis came fresh to his mind. He was recalling the feel of her mouth on his nipple when he heard the bedroom door open. The unmistakable sound of metal excited Ares beyond belief. What was she up to? He didn't have any metal toys. They were all latex, cyberskin, leather, plastic, or feathered. Before he had time to process what she was up to, Xena had wrapped the chain twice around his neck! The realization dawned on him as he felt the last vestiges of godly power drain from his immortal form.

Leaning over him, Xena whispered in his ear,"Now, you are mine, completely!"

And Ares knew the utter truth of her words.

"I figured, if those swords on the wall were crafted from Hephaestian metal then the chain that linked them was too," Xena taunted.

Ares wanted to say something but decided against it. There was a victory in her voice that told him she was relishing the control and he actually feared what she might do if he undermined that control.

"Look at you! All trussed up for a good fucking aren't you? Ares God of War brought low by a mere mortal woman. We won't be needing these now will we?" She removed the wrist bindings and pillow case and stood above him on the bed. "Turn over!" She ordered. Ares did Xena's bidding. She had him where she wanted him. He could refuse her nothing, he was bound by the power of his brother's metal. "You are pathetic! How many Xena's have you brought here to your little fuck cave?"

Ares remained silent.

"I asked you a question, god of war, or should I say god of whores? How many Xenas? How many wannabes have you thrown into your little fuck trap here and given a good pounding to?"

"I don't know, Xena, but you have to believe me, they were all just cheap thrills, just cheap imitations of you. They meant nothing to me!"

"Oh, I know that!" Xena laughed a deep throated laugh, "They were nothing but you trying to dominate what you never could. But, what about Mavican, Ares, or Varia, or Callisto, or my daughter, Eve!"

Ares was really getting scared of where this was going. He knew that Xena knew that none of those women had been in this bed but he had a really good feeling he was in for some severe pain. But gods be damned he couldn't help himself, the savage look on her face was making him even harder. He laughed at himself.

"Funny, do you find something funny, Ares? Because believe me when I am finished with you, you won't be laughing."

Calmly, almost too calmly, Xena walked over to the display of sex toys he had mounted on the wall. She grabbed a cat o'nine tails. It looked sinister, but Ares knew it was really harmless. Returning to the bed, Xena ran it along his upper thighs and smacked his cock with it. His godhood betrayed him by jerking involuntarily toward the whip tendrils. It was enjoying Xena's stimulation.

"Oh, having fun, are we?" Xena chastised as put the butt end of the whip in his mouth. "Here hold this. You look like a good little clit sucker. You've got quite the arsenal of useless toys there, Ares," she said as she pointed to what he thought of as a treasure trove. "Now this, this is a toy," she said and fingered the metal that bound him. She ran her hands through the crop of wavy hair above his forehead. She got a good grip and pulled him up by the hair. "Get on your knees," she ordered. Ares scrambled to obey.

With his hair firmly in her grasp, she jerked his head back roughly and said, "what is my line here? Oh yeah… I remember now. . . . come back to me or die!"

Okay, she meant business. Ares was beginning to think he was really fucked and not in the way that he had wanted. Xena stood above him and raised one leg, resting a foot on his shoulder which exposed her wet flesh to his face. She tore the whip from his mouth and flung it across the room. The smell of her was driving him insane. She thrust his head into her center and asked, "Do you think you deserve this?"

Ares didn't know what the right answer was. So he opted for the truth. "No, but I want to."

The answer roused something in Xena. Something she wasn't prepared to feel. So instead she smashed his face into her center and ordered, "Prove it."

Ares went to work on her like a banshee. He kissed her clit with his full open mouth. The feel of his goatee tickling against her mound as his tongue lapped through her folds and across her nub caused Xena's knees to nearly buckle. She gripped the back of his head firmly with one hand as she rested the other against the headboard. Ares brought two fingers into the mix and before two long, Xena felt control slipping back into his hands. She pulled his head back to stop her climax. Ares had been so aroused by his machinations on Xena that he had dripped onto the foot she'd planted into the mattress. "Look at you, worse than a teenage boy! And here I thought you were a god!"

Ares looked down at his precum that glistened just above her toes. "Clean it up," Xena demanded. Ares cut his eyes up to her, unable to hide his excitement. He bent over and eagerly licked his own arousal from her feet. "Now you know how we both taste, Ares." Xena pushed him back onto the bed, her clit was so swollen, she knew she wouldn't last much longer and she wanted to feel him inside her. In one swift move she straddled him and impaled herself on him. Ares almost exploded. He bit his own lip to restrain himself, he drew blood.

Seeing his red life essence bubble up on his lip, Xena couldn't resist, she dipped down and sucked the blood from his lip. He knew he should stop her but he couldn't, he didn't want to, they could worry about those consequences later. The copper taste of Ares's blood and the powerful surge that it ignited in her drove Xena mad. She ground hard on his stiffness, she could feel how close he was but she had one more torment in store for Ares. She took his hands and put them on her hips and ordered, "Fuck me, Ares, fuck me." He grabbed her hips so hard he knew there would be bruises tomorrow but tomorrow be damned. He began thrusting with everything he had and soon he brought her to the precipice. Before she screamed out his name, Xena applied fierce pressure to neck. She rode out her orgasm as he struggled against her infamous pinch. All of his muscles contracted, his face contorted from the sheer pain and she took her pleasure. Xena collapsed on top of Ares, but had just enough energy to release the pinch. He gasped for air, "What the fuck, Xena?"

"Did I say you could talk?" she asked but had a smile on her face. She unwound the chain from his neck, kissed him deeply. "I love you,' she assured him, "now it's your turn."

Xena thought she was surely in for it as she could literally see the godly power returning to his form as she let the Hephaestion chain fall to the floor. Instead of retribution, he laid her down and made gentle love to her. Afterwards as they lay spooning, Ares whispered. "I'm yours only. That's my one abiding truth. The others mean nothing to me other than a salve for not having you."

"I know. But out of curiosity. What did you do with her? Trilogy Xena?"

"I punish fucked her for leaving me."

"Hmmmm," Xena mused.

"Are we okay?" Ares asked.

"We are more than okay," she replied then drifted off to sleep in his arms.