Acheron

He swallowed and she saw the fear in those silver eyes. "I don't want anything to change between us. I like being your friend, Artie."

"But you already touch me in places no one else has. Why wouldn't you want to be inside me?"

"You're a virgin."

"Only by a small technicality. Please, Acheron. I want to share myself with you."

Acheron looked away as his emotions burned through him. What she offered him was unimaginable. Yet he'd had numerous princesses and noblewomen come to him so that he could break their bodies in gently for intercourse with other men.

Parthenopaeus… Of the pierced maidenhead-that was how Estes and Catera had billed his services to his female clients. Acheron's reputation for gentleness had been legendary. The fact that he was extremely well-endowed and was still careful with them hadn't hurt him either.

Now a goddess offered herself to him. Any other man would leap at the chance. For that matter, any other man would already be naked.

But unlike the rest, he fully understood the intricacies of physical intimacy. Even though they asked and paid for it, some women cried at the loss of their i

The problem was he didn't know which one Artemis would be.

"I don't want to hurt you."

She walked herself into his arms. "Please Acheron… I want to feel you in me when I feed on you."

"I really don't think we should."

Her eyes snapped fury at him. "Fine. Go then. Get out of my sight."

"Artie…"

It was too late. He was back in his room. Alone. "I'm sorry," he whispered, hoping she could hear him.

If she heard, she gave him no clue.

You should have slept with her. Would it really have mattered? He'd slept with everyone else. But the others had just been bodies for him to please. Artemis was different.

He loved her.

No, it wasn't as simple as that. What he felt for her… it defied love. He needed her in a way he wouldn't have thought possible and now he'd angered her.

His heart heavy, he only hoped that he could find some way to win her back and make her forgive him.

January 26, 9528 BC

It had been two weeks since Acheron had last seen Artemis and with the passing of each day, he grew more despondent. She refused to answer his calls.

He didn't even bother going to plays. Nothing could alleviate the pain inside him that wanted to be with her. All he wanted was to see her again.

Tilting his head back, he guzzled the last of the wine in the bottle he'd been drinking from. Angry and hurt, he threw it over the banister to let it smash on the rocks below. He reached for a new bottle and tried to pull the cork from it. He was too drunk to manage it.

"Acheron?"

He froze at the sound of the one voice he'd been begging to hear. "Artie?" He attempted to push himself to his feet, but instead he fell back to the ground. Looking up, he saw her in the shadows of his room.

She stepped forward, her face pale and drawn. Her left eye was swollen and there was the faint outline of a bruise in the shape of someone's handprint.

Rage darkened his sight. "Who hit you!"

Artemis stepped back, afraid of the man before her. She'd never seen Acheron drunk, but whenever Apollo drank, he turned violent. "I'll come back-"

"No," he breathed, his voice a hoarse whisper. "Please don't leave." He reached his hand out to her.

Her first instinct to run, she swallowed and reminded herself that she was a goddess. He was human and therefore couldn't harm her. Her legs trembling in reservation, she reached out slowly and took his hand in hers.

Acheron held it to his cheek and closed his eyes as if he were content to die now, as if touching her was the greatest pleasure he could imagine. He buried his face against her skin and inhaled deeply. "I've missed you so…"

She'd missed him too. Every day she'd sworn she wasn't going to see him, but today…

After Apollo's attack, she needed to be held by someone she knew wouldn't hurt her. "You look terrible," she said, frowning at the thick, prickly beard that had grown over his face. "And you smell bad."

He laughed at her criticism. "It's your fault I look like this."

"How so?"

"I thought I'd lost you."

Those anguished words touched her so deeply that it brought tears to her eyes. Falling to her knees, she shook her head at him.

Before she could speak, he whispered in her ear. "I love you, Artie."

Her breath caught in her throat. "What did you say?"

"I love you." He leaned against her and wrapped his arm around her neck before he collapsed and passed out.

Artemis sat there, holding him as his words echoed all the way to her soul. Acheron loved her…

She looked down at his face that was still incredibly handsome even in its unkempt state. He loved her. That succeeded in making her cry in a way she hadn't cried since she was a child. And she hated the fact that he could make her do this. She hated the fact that those words meant so much to her when they should mean nothing at all.

But the truth was the truth and she couldn't deny it.

"I love you too," she whispered, knowing that she could never tell him that if he were awake. It would give him, a mortal, too much power over her.

But here in this moment, she could tell him a truth that she wanted to deny with every part of herself. How could a goddess be in love with a man? Especially her? She was supposed to be immune to it. But somehow this mortal had crept into her soul.

If only he were a god…

He wasn't and it wasn't meant to be. He was human and not just any human. He was a slave. A whore who'd been brutally used by everyone around him. They mocked him and they would mock her for being with him. She winced at the truth. She had enough trouble with her credibility where the other gods were concerned. Should they ever learn about this, they'd strip her powers from her and banish her to the human realm.

She couldn't allow that.

Not even for Acheron. It was more than she could give. More than she could bear. She'd seen how cruel mankind was to each other. The last thing she wanted was to be naked in this world and at the mercy of people who had no heart. Look what they'd done to Acheron. He couldn't even walk in public without someone hurting him.

Imagine what they'd do to her should they learn she'd been a goddess…

They'd tear her apart.

Sobbing, she held him close and took him away from this stupid, mean world.

In her own bed, she brushed her hand over him and cleaned him up so that he looked like the Acheron she loved. His hair was fresh and clean, his cheeks smooth and soft while he lay naked on her feathered mattress. Every muscle of his body was sharply sculpted. The lines of his abdomen…

How could any woman not love a face and body so perfect?

Wanting to be as close to him as possible, she removed her clothes, then crawled into bed to lie beside him. She manifested a fur to cover them as she snuggled close and listened to his breathing.

While he slept, she ran her hand over the muscles that covered his chest. His body was flawless. Lean and well muscled, he looked powerful even while he was unconscious. Heat poured through her as she fondled his nipple. It puckered in response to her touch, making her smile.

And she wondered what it would taste like… Acheron was always tasting her, but she'd never done that to him. She was bashful about his body. But with him like this, she was emboldened.

Dipping her head down, she ran her tongue over the taut peak. Hmmm, he did taste good. His skin was salty and smelled of all Acheron. Her body aching, she moved slowly over his chest, sampling every inch of it.