Chapter 20: Elysian Fields

Wednesday. Xena awoke first, cradled by the heaviness of her lover on top of her. It felt comforting. She let out a deep breath, the thoughts of last night's events replaying in her mind. Ares made her feel a way she'd never felt before. Softly, she traced the outline of his facial features. His strong jaw bones, masculine chin, and those lips. Those kissable lips that she loved to kiss so much. She couldn't resist them, so she lifted Ares chin to get a better angle of his mouth. Ares kissed her back, tenderly. She playfully slapped his arm.

"I thought you were still asleep?"

"Your touch sends volts of electricity through my body, no one can sleep through that." He rose up to get out of the bed, but Xena pulled him back down.

"Where are you going?" Her expression was serious. Ares smiled at her possessiveness. He took her hand in his.

"Sweet, you're hungry. I'm going to grab you something to eat." Xena was just about to protest when her stomach growled loudly. She dropped her head, casting her stomach a face of disapproval.

"Fine, but I want to stop at a cafe instead, on our way to work. What time is your first appointment?" He pulled out his laptop to review his schedule for the day.

"My first appointment isn't until 1pm." She looked over at the clock, 9am.

"Great, we have plenty of time then!" she happily said, getting out the bed, heading towards the shower. She turned on the warm water to let the shower heat up and came back into the bedroom to lay out her things. When she pulled open the drawer, she noticed Ares had multiple work uniforms neatly folded, ready for her use. Various athletics leggings and shorts with matching tops at her disposal.

She concluded that going around town in her work clothes would suffice. Ares stretched on the bed, still naked, watching her as she maneuvered around the room. His powerful body, a testament to his role as the God of War, glimmered as the sun's rays caressed him, his raw strength pulling her towards him. Trying to stay on task, she refused to make eye contact with the embodiment of war laying there in all his might.

Satisfied with her choice of clothing, she headed back towards the bathroom. As she let the water run on her body, her mind drifted back to Ares. It felt as if he was etched on her heart. She couldn't take her mind off him. She tried to focus but her mind kept wandering back to him. She took her washcloth and began to clean herself. When she reached her breast, she drifted back to Ares, sucking the honey off one of them. She just stood there, eyes closed, lost in thought.

"Room for one more?" Ares whispered in her ear, as he nibbled on it. She hurriedly pulled him in and claimed his mouth. Both of their hands vigorously roamed up and down their bodies, needing each other. Ares hoisted her up and she wrapped both her legs around his hips. He placed her back against the wall and inserted himself into her, sending them both to the Elysian Fields.

~XA~

Ares drove Xena to the cafe of her choice. She ordered her breakfast, and they sat in the corner at a small table, basking in each other's company. As she quietly drank her latte, she would notice Ares smiling at her; she smiled back underneath her cup, their silent love connection. The butterflies in her stomach made her feel like a schoolgirl again.

She reached for his hand and held it securely, as she ate her sandwich with the other. The waitress watched them from behind the counter. She could tell they were in love, but it was more than that. They had a bond, and it seemed unbreakable. She also felt their magnetism towards each other. She couldn't tell whose was the strongest, but she felt sorry for any person that tried to come between either of them.

"Ares, I have an idea." Her eyes lit up as she spoke. They still had 2 hours left before they needed to be at work.

"I'm all ears my love." It excited him seeing how enthusiastic she was.

"We should get matching tattoos, right here." She pointed to her bicep. She chewed pensively on her bottom lip awaiting his answer. Ares leaned in to kiss her.

"I think it's a great idea. We still have two hours to spare, you want to walk there? I know a great place about a block up."

"Let's do it."

The lovers cleared their table and left the café. Ares wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer into his embrace. She laid her head on his shoulder as they walked towards their next destination.

~XA~

The couple arrived early at work with 20 minutes to spare. Emma saw them get out of Ares' car and she was utterly disgusted. How! Oh, how were they still together after what happened yesterday? Did she not get the picture? She pulled out her phone to text Lana.

"Hey, did you send that picture yesterday, of me and Ares, to Xena's phone?"

"Yea, I sent it as soon as you told me to"

"Great thanks, ttyl"

She slipped her phone back into her pocket, shaking her head. She couldn't comprehend how they were still together. She watched them walk to the door and noticed something was different. Drastically different from yesterday. They looked...jubilant! Xena smiled so tenderly at Ares as he pulled the door open. They both greeted her as they walked in. She could feel an aura around them, and it felt strong. She didn't feel this yesterday when they were together. Something happened between them, and their connection strengthened, the exact opposite of what she was trying to accomplish.

As they walked past her, Emma's jaw dropped. Tattoos! They have matching tattoos! The tattoos they sported were Xena's chakram with the God of War symbol on the inside. Emma didn't know what the symbols meant but she'd seen both before. They both walked to his office to prepare for the day. Out of frustration, she left the front desk and went to clear her mind in the lounge.

~XA~

Emma was in the break room alone when Xena entered and locked the door. Without a word, Xena put the pinch on Emma and she fell to her knees gasping. Xena met her face to face and spoke through clenched teeth.

"I've just cut off the flow of blood to your brain. You'll be dead in 30 seconds if I don't take it off. One warning: Ares is off-limits. He is mine and I do not share. Dooon't make me mad." She growled her last line and kicked Emma in her chest. Nearing death, Xena took her pinch off and left the break room without another word, leaving a frightened Emma gasping for air, coughing up blood.

~XA~

Xena walked through the front door of her cottage. Her feet were moving but she felt as if she was floating. Gabrielle greeted Xena but Xena kept walking towards her room without any acknowledgement. Gabrielle noted the faraway look in her eyes, like she was in a trance. Xena changed out her work clothes and lazily sat in her recliner. She wanted to call Ares over, but she decided to act against it. What was this overwhelming need she was suddenly feeling? Now that she was out of his presence, she was starting to feel...empty? When had she developed these types of feelings towards him? Desperately wanting to put her mind elsewhere, she left her room.

"Hey Gabrielle, when did you get here?" she asked as she went to the fridge to grab a snack.

"Xena, I've been here. You didn't hear me speak to you when you walked in?" Xena bit the juicy apple and replied, "Nope," walking to the couch to have a seat. Gabrielle sighed and followed Xena, taking a seat on the couch with her.

"I missed you yesterday." Gabrielle rubbed on Xena's thigh, trying to initiate conversation.

"Nancy called me just to ask if you were okay. I figured since you were with him, you were okay, so I didn't want to call. You wanna talk about it?" Gabrielle asked understandably, giving her a sweet smile. Xena sighed and looked off. She didn't want to relive those events but decided Gabrielle deserved to know what kind of snake worked at her job.

"Emma,"

"The paparazzi!?"

"Yea, she tried to throw it in my face that she and Ares went on a date."

"They did WHAT!" she exclaimed. She knew Ares was flirtatious but never assumed he would have messed around with someone so close.

"It's not like that at all. She lied to you and had you interrupt me and Ares when he was trying to convince me that he loved me. Ares only took her out with the intention of killing her.

"Now that sounds like the Ares we know. I knew something drastic had happened in that room, no matter HOW you tried to play it off as nothing." Xena shrugged and continued her story.

"Well, Emma had someone text me a picture that they took outside of a restaurant. As a matter of fact, I need to look deeper into that. The culprit could very well be another co- worker."

"I wonder what made her do that?" Gabrielle sat back deep into the couch, trying to come up with ideas.

"Jealousy, Gabrielle, jealousy. She wants Ares for herself. I guess she's furious that we're together. Above that, now that I'm working there, she can't steal little moments with him, like she probably used to do."

"Is everything okay with you and him?" Xena's face flushed. Just the thought of Ares and her together made her heart leap. She smiled and answered,

"Never better." Gabrielle smiled back at her.

"You look happy Xena."

"Oh yea?" Xena took another bite of her apple.

"Yea, it shows all over. I'm happy for you. Although, Ares isn't one of my favorites." They both laughed.

~XA~

Monday. Xena sat in Ares' office working on her schedule. Her training requests really took off once Ares made her officially available to start training on her own. She arrived at work before he did. Ares opened the door to his office, ready to sit down and start working. He stopped when he saw Xena sitting at his desk, working and having moved his items onto the couch. He smiled, pleased to see she had no trouble gaining clients.

"Good morning beautiful," he greeted as he pulled her into his arms for a light kiss. He remembered he promised Xena he would remain professional and not smother her, but a kiss never hurt anybody. He squeezed her ass, as he let her go.

"Hmmm, good morning, my love," she greeted him after their kiss.

"How's it going?" he pointed towards her laptop.

"Better than expected. I have a full schedule all week. You're so brilliant. This website is setup perfectly, making it easy for me to put together each person's workout plan." She stood, wrapping her arm around his waist and running her fingers through his curls. A hard knock on the door interrupted them. Ares turned to see it was Emma. Xena turned her lip up behind Ares' back and sat down to continue working.

"Mr. Ares, your first client is here." Emma turned to leave without making eye contact with Xena. Since their little 'heart to heart' she tried to steer clear of Xena and only spoke to Ares when it was work related.

"Thank you, Emma. He's early. Take him by the refreshment stand to see if he could use a drink and lead him to the lounges. Let him know I'll get him from there."

"Oh, and Emma, never knock like that on my door again."

"Yes, sir." Emma hurriedly left his office. The tension between them was so thick, it made the air heavy to breathe. Xena chuckled, observing Emma's hasty exit. Turning her gaze back to Ares, she couldn't help but tease.

"You really know how to stir things up," she remarked, leaning casually against his desk.

Ares grinned. "Well, a bit of excitement keeps things lively, doesn't it?" Xena smiled, reassured by his words. "Alright then, let's give her something to talk about."

As Ares prepared to leave for his client's training, Xena returned to her schedule, her mind buzzing with the thought of the exciting week ahead.

~XA~

The gym had finally quieted down for the evening, as nighttime was soon approaching. Nancy was packing her belongings, as she prepared to leave. Emma was finalizing her work for the day on the computer. Xena was chatting with the worker at the refreshments stand, enjoying her drink. She could feel someone watching her as she engaged in conversation. Slowly looking around, her eyes made contact with Emma's. Neither one of the women smiled at each other. Once Xena was done with her drink, she made her way back to Ares office.

Ares was typing at the desk when Xena pulled the door open. He smiled at her and stood up, placing a peck on her lips. Xena then had an idea. It was risky, but she was willing to give it a try. She'd hope Emma hadn't left for the day. She quickly pulled Ares close to her body, inhaling his scent. Sensually she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to hers. She licked his lips teasingly and captured them into a deep passionate kiss. Ares let her body go, trying to pull away from her.

"Xe, you said you wanted things to remain professional." She gave him an innocent look.

"Well, I figured we could break this place in first." She bit her lower lip at him and grabbed his hand. Opening the door, she led him down the long hall, passing the front desk. Emma looked up at them and wondered what was going on. Xena looked at Emma out the corner of her eye and her smile widened. Her plan was going to work perfectly. She led him to the lounges and pulled him back into a deep kiss, running her hands along his body. Ares didn't know why Xena had a change of heart, but he liked it.

She ran her hands along his member, feeling its hardness. She quickly pulled his pants to his hips, just enough to release his member and pushed him down roughly into the lounge chair. She straddled his lap and they both heard the door softly squeak open and then close. Ares tried to turn around to see who it was, but Xena snatched his head back to her and kissed him passionately again. Emma quietly looked around the lounge to confirm if they were in there. Spotting them, she kneeled and quietly made her way closer to investigate. She sat on the floor and watched Xena ravish Ares mouth. Now that Emma was right where she wanted her, she decided to give her a show.

Xena slowly slid onto Ares' member and they both moaned loudly. Ares wrapped his arms around her body and laid his head into her chest and she began riding him. Emma felt her stomach churn. She thought she was going to be sick. Her blood boiled as she watched them in the act. She wanted to leave but she couldn't tear her eyes from Ares. His low growls were turning her on. Oh, what she wouldn't give to have him growl like this for her. But Xena's moans made her want to cut her ears off. It was torture, the whole scene was like a nightmare. She felt her stomach churn as Ares said Xena's name.

She watched as Xena wrapped her arms around Ares' neck, holding on tight, as her eyes rolled to the back of her head. She could see Ares' body bouncing as he also thrusted inside her, still holding onto Xena tightly. Suddenly, Xena let her head fall over and looked at her while she dug her nails into Ares. She smiled a sinister smile at her, still breathing hard, and moaning his name. Emma felt her eyes stinging. She had seen enough. She felt the need to end Xena once and for all for stealing her man and then having sex with him in front of her. Emma quietly crawled back towards the door and left. The couple continued their love making until they were done.

"That's how you stir things up," he said as he slapped her ass before they left the lounge.