No evidence of disappointment showed on Megara's face, but Hercules had to believe she wouldn't be happy with the downgrade in her newlywed husband from god to man.

While he continued to agonize, Megara offered him a handful of grapes and cherries to pick from. "Watch the cherries. There are pits in the middle, and you could choke on them, so don't swallow. There are seeds in the grapes, too, but they're not as bad. You can eat them."

"There are so many things to remember, aren't there?" Hercules asked. "How do you survive like this with so many rules to learn?"

"Yeah, now that you're down on my level, I'll catch you up. You're a smart guy. You'll have it figured out in no time."

Her smile was so genuine, his heart clenched then relaxed. "You sure about that?"

"Come on, give me some credit. You know I wouldn't put up with an idiotic version of you."

"Maybe if I was a handsome, shiny idiot."

"There will be no disparaging my husband in my presence, even from you." Her casual use of that term made his heart jump. Her eyes softened, and she stroked the back of his hand. "You were nothing but gracious to me when you were a god, and I was a lowly mortal. What kind of a wife would abandon you after that?"

"Dunno…" He made himself laugh despite his burning heart.

"Don't worry. We're in this together. I bet you'll be back to your shiny self within the year," she assured him with a wink.

"So soon?"

Megara shrugged. "Trust me. You've got this. You've always been amazing, but now they've given you the opportunity to prove yourself and show them how amazing you are."

Her faith in him was so intoxicating it made his blood run hot. Hercules lightly traced soft patterns into her thigh with his fingertips, finding her skin through the slit in her skirt. "I love you so much," he whispered.

"I can tell." Megara lounged back against his shoulder. Somehow, how she ate that pork skewer made him feel strange… Did she know what she was doing to him? "Where do you want to go after this?" she asked in a low, sultry voice. He was starting to think she altered her voice on purpose…

"After…?" Hercules gulped, still clasping her thigh. "Uh… after dinner, you mean?"

"There are other entertainments to enjoy." That purr in her voice was all the elaboration required.

Heat spread through his body, and it made him blush. "I thought we agreed…"

"That was when you were a god, and the odds of getting me pregnant were one hundred percent. Now, you're either a demigod or a mortal. That reduces the odds to a rate I'm willing to bet on."

"Are you messing with me?"

"Always." She crossed her legs, making her skirt slide off her leg, and showed him her entire soft white thigh from knee to hip.

His mouth dropped open. "You're a tease… a minx…"

"I object to being called a tease… I'll give you everything you want. But a minx, yes… I'm a bold flirt and rather audacious when I know what I want. I'm also much more cunning than you are. So I'm afraid all that is your problem now."

"My problem…" Hercules's head spun. He anchored himself to reality with his hand around her thigh. "Meg…"

She smirked up at him. "Forget your arrangement with your father. I'm going to make you feel like a god again."

His breath caught in his throat, his mind spinning even further out of control. "Are you sure about that? It's an important decision, and I don't want you to make it spur of the moment."

A catlike gleam of mischief flickered in her eyes as Megara nudged him onto his back. "While you were gone, all I could think about was how much I wished I could be close to you again." She stroked his cheek.

He caught her hand before she could drive him mad. "Are you trying to drive me insane?" he asked her.

"No, I'm succeeding." She winked at him. "You want me, right?"

An unbidden growl escaped Hercules, and he paused, stunned by the sound as if someone else had made it.

"That's what I thought."

Hercules narrowed his eyes up at her. "Do you have some kind of plan?"

"Mostly, the plan is to provoke you until you do something interesting."

"Oh, you want interesting?" Hercules brushed her skirt out of the way so he could stroke both her thighs and guide them around his waist. First, his thumbs and then his whole hands moved from caressing the outsides of her thighs to the insides.

Megara closed her eyes and sighed. "That's nice…"

"But is it interesting?" There was a distinct difference between the softness on the outsides and then the insides. He kept tracing her thighs to find the line where the texture changed.

Wearing a smug little smirk and little else, Megara spoke with utter nonchalance, saying, "Oh, I'm not sure. It's sweet. It's making me ticklish, it's–"

Hercules flipped them over, pushing her back into the pillows where she could only squeak. He lifted one of her legs, tracing a line from her knee down her thigh. "What? No teasing little comment?"

She blushed. "Knocked the sass right outta me, big guy."

"I'm mortal, not weak. Big difference." His fingers reached the juncture between her thighs. He met her eyes as a challenge, waiting to see if she objected.

Instead, Megara lifted her hips toward him, her eyes alight with playful challenge.

Hercules kept a hand on the small of her back so she wouldn't drop her hips back to the bed. It took all the boldness he could muster, but he swelled two fingers around her entrance. "I hope I didn't really knock the sass outta you, Meg. I love it."

"Mm…" was all Megara could say. Her lashes fluttered over, and her eyes rolled back in ecstasy.

Entranced, he pressed those two exploring fingers into her before he had time to think about it.

Megara's trembling had gripped his wrist.

Hercules leaned down to kiss her cheek as sweetly as ever.

A dainty giggle bubbled out of his wife. When she opened her eyes again, she unveiled pure adoration.

The voice of reason in his head warned him not to overwhelm her. He pulled his fingers out, even though she whimpered in protest. "Not too much at once," he told her calmly, looking her in the eye as he sucked his fingers clean.

"Herc…" she groaned, staring at him while her eyes went foggy. "What are you doing?"

"Getting to know my wife," he said as casually as he might comment on whether the sun was out. "I will be amazing at it."

The delight in her laughter spurred him on.

"It starts like this," Hercules whispered, his fingers trailing back to her entrance to stretch her open with the same two fingers that had explored her before. "You won't regret this," he whispered.

"This was my choice. You'll start your mortal life feeling the greatest pleasure available to mortals. With me. Always with me."

A shudder went through him. "Thought I was supposed to be the possessive one…" He trailed a line of kisses from her cheek down to the neckline of her dress.

She threaded her fingers through his hair and unpinned her dress with her free hand, so it drooped away from her body. "Consider this our rehearsal for when we're divine lovers. We will bring honor to our patroness."

Hercules chuckled, not too interested in his aunt. "Yeah."

"You wanna run the show, or do you need me to? I can always play cheerleader; my whole team would say so."

Hercules chuckled. "I won't say no to some encouragement! Any time you tell me I'm doing something right, it will be exactly what I needed to hear." He gazed down at her, memorizing how she looked before their consummation. He'd want to remember the effect he had on her. "Before we do anything we can't undo…" Like stretching her with his Olympic-sized fingers? "Is this how you want it? Or would you prefer to take the lead?"

Megara shook her head. "I like that my man is in charge."

Her man. Hercules chuckled as a rush of confidence threatened to inflate his ego. "I'm trying to behave right now… But I admit I want to taste you everywhere… I'm not even sure where that thought came from, but it's drowning out my rational mind…"

"Shh," Megara pressed a finger to his lips." You're going to be okay. You're already an excellent lover. Have fun with it."

"Fun?" he repeated, chuckling as he thought of just how innocent her suggestion compared to the thoughts in his head.

"Whatever you're thinking right now, follow your instincts. They're given to us by the goddess who kept us together and gave us a path to immortality. We must honor her."

A shudder ran through Hercules's newly mortal body. As a god, he'd had more self-control, but as a mortal, he felt as if his body had all the power. It directed him to trail kisses all over her body. Everywhere he pressed his lips, he felt heat gather as if he were lighting a series of little fires. "You can spend this time thinking about the goddess, Meg. I'm currently more concerned with my favorite future goddess." His kisses trailed from her neck down between her breasts, then toward her stomach. "My goddess, my princess, my wife…" he chanted softly as he moved back up to her chest. This time, when he reached it, he nipped at the underside of her breast.

"Wow, I'm all those– eep!" His nip on her breast shocked her, but then she giggled. "Mm… say more sweet things. I'm already hooked… You called me a goddess… that might just make me the first mortal worshiped by an Olympian."

"You're a pre-goddess. I was just the first person to notice." He reached past her to the red scroll left on the bedside table. "I'm going to pick something random out of this, and then I'll give it to you."

"We haven't even opened that thing. Neither of us has any idea what's in there!" She protested.

Hercules casually unrolled the scroll and smirked at a page. "Hold onto this, Princess," he said.

Megara had a split second to look at the image on the scroll before he lifted her leg and hooked it over his shoulder.

"What are we–?" Megara started, but the answer was right in front of her. He watched as the realization solidified in her mind.

Hercules copied the diagram precisely. This new position gave him more access to her center.

"Oh…" Megara had recognized how little effort it would take to finally enter her.

But he had to do this right. He didn't know if the time was ripe yet. It had to be for both their sakes. "Before we start this, can you promise to stay vocal for me?"

"Vocal? Are you saying that's finally a good thing for me to be?"

"You have been so far, but it's so important that you communicate with me. Not just so I don't do something wrong, but so you can encourage me while I do something right." He pressed kisses into her neck. "Every little sound you make when I touch you means something to me, and I need to hear it. I have to know I'm doing this right…"

"Shh, it's going to be great. Let me start with just a little, please. I want to feel you, too."

"Are you sure about that?" Hercules smirked at her. "Meg, I've still got my armor on. You haven't had a chance to feel what you're after. It's not going to be like my fingers, you know…"

"And your fingers felt great, Herc. But more is better. I want it… and I've never been so ready for anything…" Her fingers traced the outlines of his armor and worked him free of it.

He held still, astonished by how those gentle touches could bring him to life. The moment he was free, his need began to overwhelm him. "Goddess…" he gasped, staring down at her as he gravitated toward her until their bodies were pressed together. "After this, it can't be undone… you have to be ready because this will change both of us forever. I can't let this hurt you. I need this to be good for you. You have to tell me if I'm hurting you so I can make it stop."

"You mentioned before how vocal I am, have some faith in me. I'm too vocal to hide when it hurts. Even so… the idea of stretching for you is undeniably erotic…"

The image her words conjured, especially as they rested against silken sheets in Aphrodite's temple, made Hercules groan. "You always know the perfect words to say…" he murmured.

Her eyes gleamed dangerously just before she put on a pout he knew was meant to play him. "Please, Hercules? We're already married. Why should we put this off? I already swore. Don't make me wait any longer when I'm so in need of you…"

The knowledge that she was toying with him wasn't enough to help him keep his senses. "You sure know how to get a man going, princess…" He pressed himself against her, stunned by the sensations that followed.

"A little further. I'm not afraid to stretch for you." She pressed her hips forward to take him in without his having to move.

"Oh!" Hercules gasped, staring down at her in amazement.

Immortality couldn't compete with this feeling. He had to tell her so and express the exquisite delight of the accommodating way she accepted him. "Ah… gods, Meg! Oh… so good… very good…" It's not his best description, but it's close enough.

"I know," she said as if she understood that. "You're safe with me, be free. I'll let you. I trust you. I love you."

He still wasn't sure he should be doing this, but there was no way to resist her encouragement. He gave himself over to instinct.

The sensation of her tightening around him drove him to the edge of madness. He wasn't aware of the moment it happened, but when he was sane again, he knew he'd fallen over the edge. That was the only way to explain how smug Megara looked.

She contracted around him with victorious little cries, drinking him in as if she were dying of thirst. "Best thing ever."