Chapter 16: Opening Up

Xena found Ares sprawled on the couch, dressed casually in a muscle tee that had a scorpion on the front and a basic pair of jeans. His eyes were closed while he relaxed, waiting for her. He opened his eyes once he heard her enter the room. She wore a mini skirt and a simple tank, yet she still captured his undivided attention. He rose from the couch and headed towards her. He wrapped his strong arm around her and kissed her softly, entangling his fingers in her hair with his free hand. She moaned softly in his mouth and broke the kiss.

"This morning was amazing, my sweet," he said lowly, very seductively.

"I second that," she moaned in his ear. She untangled herself from his grasp. If they kept up, they would both end up naked again. Xena walked to a barstool in the kitchen and took a seat. Ares brought her a bottled water.

"We have this room until tomorrow morning, so you can leave your things here."

"Are we going somewhere?" Xena asked looking at him. He placed a kiss on her forehead and replied,

"You haven't seen anything yet. But I think these will be a better fit for where we are headed." He snapped his fingers and changed her skirt into a pair of skinny jeans. She looked down at herself.

"Why pants? Trying to cover me up, are you?" she teased him with a smile. He pulled her up from her seat and replied,

"That's a move for an insecure peasant. However, where we're going to go, you'll thank me later." To Xena's surprise Ares took her hand and led her out of the hotel. She fully expected him to zap them to their next destination. But no, he was leading her to the parking garage, and they were walking. Ares heldb her hand firmly gripped inside his. She looked at him and smiled when he spoke,

"The more things we do the mortal way, the more time I have to drown in your presence." He led her to his convertible and opened the door for her. She got in and smirked. Ares a gentleman? Who would have known. He cranked the car and pushed the button to let down the roof. It was a beautiful day outside. The temperature on the info panel said 85 degrees. It was partially cloudy, which stopped most of the sun from beaming down too harshly. Ares put the gear in reverse as Xena buckled up.

"Hold tight," he warned, while pulling down his shades. He accelerated with the speed of light, tires burning rubber and screeching as he swiftly exited the garage, leaving behind distinct tire marks. The ride excited Xena. She's never rode anywhere with him before. His car was more exciting than her Lincoln. The engine roared down the freeway as her hair freely danced in the wind. Ares hair did the same. She laced her fingers with his free hand. She looked at their hands locked within each other. Hers fit perfectly within his, like her hand was made for his. Her eyes slowly drifted to his face. He was confident and she was nervous. This was her Ares. It all still seemed unreal. Her palm was becoming sweaty within his hand. Ares felt the wetness and brought her hand up to his lips and gave it a light kiss. Relaxing, she let her seat back, closed her eyes, and enjoyed the rest of her ride with her love.

~XA~

Ares pulled up to a giant lake. She looked around, but she still couldn't quite pinpoint what they were about to do. Fishing? She loved to fish, but Ares didn't seem much like a fisher. Plus, there wasn't a rod in sight. Maybe they were going to swim. Ares watched as the gears turned in her head. He smiled to himself because she had no idea what he had in store for her.

"Wait here," he advised and got out the car, leaving her with her thoughts. About 10 minutes later he returned and immediately pulled open her door so she could get out. He took her by the hand and led her down the walking path, without saying a word. She pondered if she should just follow without asking questions, since he clearly was trying to surprise her. The air smelled of raw fish, a smell she was very much used to. Her mind drifted back to her ancient days when she lived in Greece.

He stopped a few paces later, bringing her back to reality. They were on the other side of the lake. She gave him a questioning look. He just stood there with a poker face. Then, a man out of nowhere came up to them. He looked fairly friendly, but she didn't have time to fully assess the situation because before she knew it, Ares was blindfolding her. Her back stiffened at this gesture and panic slowly settled in. He felt her uneasiness. He kissed her forehead, trying to reassure her everything was okay.

Why was she getting blindfolded with a stranger so close that she knew nothing about. She took a deep breath trying to calm herself, trusting Ares had her best interest at heart. Of course he did, he wouldn't let anyone hurt her, at least that much she knew. But what she didn't know was if he was trying to test her or not. She heard them whispering but the voices were so low and muffled, she couldn't make out a word. She put her guard up, ready to react to the slightest clue. She heard footsteps coming up to her, but she immediately calmed down, feeling it was Ares. He put his arm around her waist and whispered in her ear:

"Are you ready?" His voice sent electricity down her spine.

"As ready as I'm going to ever be," she replied, not sure what the task at hand was, but not wanting to sound unconfident. Ares took her hand and pulled her slowly with him, taking baby steps to ensure she wouldn't trip. The ground underneath her changed, that she could tell. It felt unstable or maybe wobbly. Ares untied the blindfold. She kept her eyes closed and took a deep breath. She slowly opened them and held her breath. Looking down, they were now standing on a dock. That was the unstable feeling she was sensing. Slowly looking up, she took in all her surroundings. They were no other people in sight. Only this giant lake for miles and miles. The sleepy willow trees hung low, as if wanting to wrap him and her together in their embrace. Then, she saw it!

She couldn't believe what she was looking at. Before them was a black boat in the form of a swan with just enough room for them. She looked at Ares and smiled, remembering to breathe again. Ares smiled back and helped her inside. Once she was secure in her seat, he climbed in on the other side.

"Now Xena, we're going to need to paddle at the same time in order for the boat to move."

"Gotcha." They both began paddling slowly and the swan boat began to move down the lake. Once they reached the center of the lake, they both stopped paddling and wanted to just enjoy the view and each other. Xena placed her arm around Ares' back and laid her head on his chest. She inhaled his godly scent. Power was radiating off his aura and she was feeding off it. She closed her eyes and pressed more into him.

"Ares, I've been wondering.." Ares heart sped up as he looked down at her. It was usually never good when she's been overthinking.

"...how many girlfriends or wives have you had before me?" Ares let out a light chuckle. He considered lying to her just to get a kick out of her reaction. But something stopped him. Remembering their conversation on the bed, she wanted him to be honest with her. He knew that she could tell when he was lying before the words even came out of his mouth. Her question was so sincere, he decided to just answer it honestly.

"None, I haven't found anyone worth my time. None of them were able to hold my attention. I've had plenty of women, but none had a title. Since I am who I am, they were always asking me for something. They were merely for entertainment." She remembered he told her a long time ago anyone who asked him for his help didn't deserve it.

"Did you ever tell them you loved them?" Ares ran his fingers through her hair.

"None." Xena's heart swelled at this discovery. She often wondered if he went about his entire existence convincing women that he loved them along the way. Xena teasingly looked at him at asked,

"And who am I?" Without giving her question a second thought, he replied,

"My heart." Xena's heart skipped multiple beats. Her eyes met with his. He was telling the truth. She tightened her hold on him and linked her other hand with his. Yes, she knew she had made the right decision. This Ares was definitely for her. He continued to speak,

"When I do introduce you to a few people I want you to meet, you'll be introduced as my girlfriend, since you want to take things at a snail's pace." She rolled her eyes at his response. He looked down and winked at her. The sun's rays playfully danced across his face softly highlighting his beautiful eyes. The gentle waves of the lake rocked the boat lovingly, as if they were in a lullaby. Xena's eyes became heavy. Sleep was creeping in. She wanted to fight it but to no avail. Darkness. That's all she saw next before being swayed into dream realm. Ares situated her body onto him, making sure she was comfortable. Once he was content on her position, he slowly began paddling back to land.

~XA~

Xena stretched her arm out in front of her and felt she was laying on something hard. The last she remembered; she was wrapped in Ares' arms. She slowly opened her eyes to discover that she was laying on a blanket on the ground. She wasn't sure how she got there but she guessed it didn't matter at this point.

"Hello, sleeping beauty," came Ares' strong voice. She turned toward the source of his voice, but before she could utter a word, her thoughts slipped away. Laid out on the blanket before her was a lavish lunch: finger sandwiches, a variety of fruits in a bowl, and cans of wine, as glass was restricted in that area.

"Ares, when did you do all of this?" she asked, not really waiting for an answer. She grabbed her plate and began to pile it up with delectable finger sandwiches, an assortment of juicy fruits, and a refreshing can of wine, eager to savor the delightful feast before her. Ares secretly materialized a cup of nectar; in case they had nosey eyes roaming their picnic. He pulled out his phone and turned on a playlist of soft instrumentals.

"Xena, I've also been thinking." Her blue eyes looked at him with bewilderment as she continued to eat.

"I'm all ears," she replied popping a strawberry in her mouth. Ares really hadn't been thinking about this. He just wanted to hear her reply.

"Did you really love your previous suitors?" She gulped loudly. Borias came to her memory first. Back then, she was too focused on power. As she thought about it later on, she knew Borias loved her. She liked him but love? That was debatable. She knew she loved their child and deep down, she guessed she did love him. But it was a different kind of love. Not like the love that she shared with Ares. She thought about Marcus, he was a like for the stage of life she was in, but not love. Next, Hercules. That name, she wouldn't even bring up. Their day was going way too well and just bringing up that name would lead to a fight. She could feel it. So not even thinking about him anymore, next on the list was Antony. Everything happened so fast with him. Even though she was posing as another woman, she made a deep connection with him. She knew that if she did keep him around, she would have definitely fell for him hard. Ares watched her as she carefully thought about her answer before she spoke.

"Borias, as you know, was the father of my child. We shared made alot of memories together. I was too foolish back then to even consider if I was in love but as time moved on without him, I guess I did love him back then." She nervously looked at his face, hardening and then softening as she spoke. His jaw tensed but he forced a smile. He wasn't tense because of how she talked about Borias. Borias wasn't even a subject. Now Hercules, the thought of him made his blood boil. It didn't matter if she mentioned him or not. The thought of knowing that she shared herself with him, his brother, filled him with rage. But this was not the time nor place to think about that.

She let out a deep breath. She assumed that was enough information today about the previous men in her life. He took a big swig of his nectar. The wind blew her hair wildly. The mood was changing, and it wasn't for the better. She wanted to crawl into his lap and express to him that she's never loved another like she loves him. But she couldn't. That would be too much too early on. She trusted him, she really did. But, she wasn't ready to let her guard down to that level with him just yet. He stared into the water in front of them.

She finished her drink and crawled over to him, like a tiger hunting her prey. Without waiting for any kind of reaction, she straddled his hips. Voices gasped around them at her action. Ares frowned in their direction. Xena placed her hand on his face, turning him back towards her. She ran her fingers through his long curls and captured his lips. Ares laid back onto the blanket pulling her down on top of him. He rested his hands on her hips as she slowly rocked against him. He was getting too turned on and she was too. Not wanting to tempt fate, he broke their kiss. She was breathing heavily against him. He spoke first,

"Let's get this packed up and we can go back to our room." Xena rolled off of him and sighed. What had she gotten herself into? If Ares hadn't stopped her, she would have screwed him right then and there. He was too addictive and slowly, she was starting to lose her self control around him. Standing, she walked to the nearest bench and took a seat until he advised he was done. She was the one needing the cold shower this time.