Transgressions XXIII: Ripe

The smell of hay tickled Xena's nose as she entered the stables. Argo neighed, delighted to see her mistress. Xena rubbed the bridge of the mare's nose and nickered softly to the horse. Argo bent her neck and pressed her muzzle against Xena's swollen abdomen.

"Sense it do you?" Xena asked. The horse snorted and bobbed her head.

Xena's arm hairs rose and she noticed Argo's mane bristle, as well. The horse had as good a knack at picking up on Ares' presence as she did.

"I'm surprised you came," Ares called as he emerged from the aether.

"I wasn't aware that it was negotiable." Xena cocked her head toward him.

"You're the sub, it's always negotiable. You know your safe word."

"I do."

"Then come with me," Ares mouthed seductively as he held his hand out.

Despite what Ares thought to be true, Xena was powerless to stop herself. If she could quit him, she would have done it by now. How many things from her old life had she left behind for good? It was all ancient history. So distant now that all of her old comrades, the conquests, the defeats almost felt like stories she'd heard Gabrielle tell than events that she'd actually lived. Yet, she'd walked away from it all. All of it but him. She gave herself over to him and waited to be whisked away. In a flash of light, they disappeared. Xena felt the familiar rush of the world around them. It was enthralling. No chariot ride had ever been so exhilarating.

When they finally slowed and settled, Xena was surprised to find that the ground felt wobbly, No, not exactly wobbly. She knew this feeling, Water. She opened her eyes and they were somewhere in the middle of a vast sea. They stood hand in hand on a small sailboat. The hull couldn't have measured over six meters in length and only half that in width. The deep violet sails were trimmed in silver greek-key design. A pallet of blankets and large pillows lay in the center of the boat. A bowl of fruit and cheese sat next to a wine skin.

Xena looked at the horizons, the four corners of the earth, they were in the middle of nowhere.

"Aegean?" Xena asked skeptically.

"Mediterranean. Near Gibraltar," Ares answered. "Look at that moon, Xena. Swelling, like you." He reached down and caressed her growing bump.

"Gonna be kinda hard to get our freak on in the boat, don't ya think?" Xena shrugged out of his embrace and moved toward the make-shift bed.

"Not at all. We'll just have to take it at a slower pace," Ares answered and held her hand as she settled onto the blankets. "You aren't cold, are you?"

"No, the breeze is nice."

"Good, you hungry?"

"Not particularly."

"Well, you should try one of those oranges, anyway. They're juicy."

Xena picked up a piece of the fruit, tested its weight. It was fat and heavy but she guessed it was mostly rind. She turned it over in her hand and then bit into the top of it, tearing into the skin. She spit the bitter rind into the water and then started to peel with her fingers. She was surprised to find that the rind was actually quite thin and the fruit was full. When she took the first taste, her eyes popped open in sheer delight.

"Told you."

"S'good. Where'd you get these?"

"Offering from a warlord. He's been quite successful pillaging along the Silk Road."

"I'm surprised you even tried the fruit. You usually won't deign to sample mortal delicacies."

"I'm trying, okay."

"Why now?"

"I've been thinking."

"Now that's scary. When you start 'thinking' villages usually start burning."

"Maybe. Maybe, I've been going about this god thing the wrong way."

"You don't say?"

"So I've been a bit overzealous since the Twilight. You know it's not easy going from thousands of temples and hundreds of thousands of worshippers to a handful of rundown shrines and a few loyal warlords."

"Cry me a fucking river."

"I knew you wouldn't understand. And, now. Now, I've been banished from Olympus."

"You still had the Romans, until you decided to double cross them. And how dare you sit there and tell me that I don't understand. I understand all too well, Ares."

"Xena, no offense but you are a mortal, how can you even begin to empathize?"

"Because, I wasn't always mortal, at least not in my mind. When I walked away, Ares, away from you, away from my dark impulses, away from what I had perceived as my destiny, I gave up all the things you are sitting here lamenting right now. Didn't I have followers? Didn't I have men who groveled at my feet, who brought me fineries and delicacies from all corners of the world? Didn't I have them chanting my name? Wasn't I a goddess?" Ares swallowed. He'd never really considered how much she'd sacrificed in order to walk the path of light.

"Ares, everyday, I make the choice. The choice not to live that life. It fills you with instant gratification but it will ultimately leave you empty because it is devoid of the most important thing in the world, love. Only in learning to love, have I ever felt truly full. There is a reason you chase after me, there is a reason that everything else in life leaves you aching for more. It's because I am the only thing you've ever loved. I am the only thing that fills you, really fills you. Everything else is ephemeral. This, this is real." Xena reached up and kissed him softly on the lips.

"Wow! And I thought you were mad at me," Ares chuckled and moved to deepen the kiss.

"I was mad at you, am mad at you," Xena pushed him off gently. "But I love you. That's the way love works Ares. I am upset about how you acted when Kam . . . when Kam was killed. But, that doesn't mean that I stopped loving you or wanting to kiss you. I was hurting. I was blaming myself, still do."

"How was any of it your fault?" Ares had to hear this.

"I was training him that morning. Not ten minutes before those bandits attacked Greba. If I hadn't given him false confidence, he might not have acted so rashly."

"Xena, he was being a gentleman. He's spent his whole life looking out for his sister. It wasn't your fault. He was protecting someone he loved, it was natural for him to do what he did."

"And natural for you to react the way you did?" Xena asked, disappointment lacing her words.

"I suppose. I was in the middle of that mess with the Romans and the Seleucids. I knew it was all about to come crashing down on my head. I knew the family was going to be pissed. I sure didn't know how pissed but I knew I'd be called before the council. At the time, it seemed as if all of that mattered more than a mere mortal's life."

"A mere mortal?"

"Xena, I don't mean this to sound cold but mortals die, it's a fact of mortal life. A depressing fact but it's there, nonetheless."

"This child is a mere mortal." Xena stroked her belly.

"I doubt that, My god seed with your super-human genes."

"Ares, I am not super-human. I assure you, I am as mortal as the next human. I've already buried one child, Ares. My genes are as mortal as I am, I'm afraid."

"Yes, but you've never had my child."

"Still, Eve is the child of the god of Love and I am certain that she is still mortal."

Ares held his head down. "We'll see."

"Did you bring me here to talk until the sun rises?" Xena changed the subject.

"Not at all," Ares looked back up at her. She was stunning. Her teasing, taunting eyes altered his mood and quickened his desire. "Lay down, Xena," Ares situated a large pillow toward the bow of the boat and indicated that she should lay her head on it. When he was certain that she'd found a comfortable spot, he lifted her skirt. Her sex was uncovered and already puckered and slick. "Do you trust me?" He asked.

"Yes," Xena whispered as she looked into his dark eyes, alive with lust.

Ares pulled some rope from under the pile of blankets. He took the rope and produced a dagger from thin air, cut it into two pieces of equal length. He tested their strength for effect. He knew if she ever wanted to get free of any of his restraints she could do so easily, this was Xena, after all. Ares wrapped the grassy rope around each wrist, securing them with fancy knots. He then took the alternate end of each piece and ran them through rings that were attached to the gunwale.

"I want you to hold very, very still. I am going to pleasure you, now. I smell you, Xena. So ready. Let me help you out of those clothes." With a snap of his fingers, she was completely nude. She looked around the little boat as best as she could but she didn't see her garments anywhere. With another snap, he was equally nude. "Nothing but you, me, and the universe, baby."

The kisses were maddening. He placed the first one on her instep. His soft, thick lips against the delicate skin of her foot was electrifying. He worked his kisses slowly, agonizingly slowly up her long legs. After spending a generous amount of time on her inner thighs, he skipped over her pussy and loved at her belly. She'd never wanted him to kiss her pussy so badly. If her hands had been free, she would have pushed his head down where she wanted it. Instead, she was forced to beg, "Please, please Ares."

"Please what, my love?"

"You know what, kiss me.:

Ares chuckled, "but I am kissing you."

Xena's hands pulled against the ropes and swiveled her abdomen trying to nudge him toward her cunt. Instead of obliging her, Ares dipped his tongue into her navel while he trailed his hand along her inner thigh ever so close to where she wanted to be touched. When he didn't bring his hand to her throbbing center, she panted, "Kiss my pussy, please."

"I'm not finished devouring the rest of you, love."

"Areeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeess," Xena groaned.

"Xeeeeeeeeeeeeeeena," he responded before closing his mouth over her pebbled nipple.

Xena started rocking her hips to ease some of the frustration. As she did so, the boat began to sway more vigorously in the water. "Hold still, or you'll slosh water in the boat," Ares warned.

"Then eat me, please."

"No, you will hold still," Ares placed a firm hand on her hip bone while he continued his ministrations on her nipples.

His control over her, her inability to relieve the tension because of his hand holding her still and his lapping and pulling at her nipple sent her over the edge. Spasms rippled through her vagina. She felt like an inexperienced village girl climaxing at the slightest touch. She flushed red in embarrassment.

"So beautiful, baby. Did you like that? There's so much more to come," Ares slid his fingers down to her center and dipped one into her slickness.

"More," Xena called.

Ares happily added another finger and worked deeper into her quim. With his thumb he tapped rhythmically against her clit as he moved in and out of her.

"Good gods, what are you doing to me?" She breathed. She was ready to come again. Two more thrusts and she did, wetting his hand with a fresh wave of her oily cream.

Ares had done his best to put off his own needs but his arousal was mounting. He was afraid if he didn't enter her soon, he was going to lose his seed on the wooden hull, he was already dripping and pulsing. Pulling his wet fingers from her sex, he squeezed his prick trying to muster some control over it. "Spread your legs, Xena."

Xena let her knees fall to either side. "My hands, please, I want to touch you, feel you."

Ares freed her hands with a wave of his left hand as he guided himself into her with his right. He entered her slowly, letting himself savor the sensation but his pace quickly grew frantic as Xena wrapped her long legs around him and started running her hands down his strong back, grabbing at him as she climaxed again and again.

After Ares had emptied the essence of his love inside of her, he lay beside her and pulled her into his arms. They watched as the twinkling stars of the pre-dawn sky gave way to an endless vault of blue. "I should get you home."

"Yes, you should," Xena agreed and kissed his chest, nuzzling in his curly nest. Before she finished inhaling his musk, they were back at the farm, fully clothed.

Gabrielle screaming brought an abrupt Xena's to her evening of bliss.

"Xena, Xena, by the gods, Xena. . . . "