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On a different plane of existence, where gods and goddesses dwell

Delos gazed at the smirking bevy of women before him and crossed his arms over his chest. "Kato, is this what my father calls a choice?"

"Highness, these are among the most beautiful of all the young goddesses in your father's real. All are eligible for marriage, just as you requested."

"I'm quite sure they are," he softly muttered. "Every one of them has been openly eligible to every man who'd crawl between their creamy, high-born thighs." Del stalked away, eager to get to the stables where a measure of peace could be found.

Kato turned back to the women and waved them off. "Thank you, ladies. That will be all for now." Then, he quickly ran after his master.

Del wasn't deaf to the rude comments coming from the women. The 'who does he think he is' and 'pretentious bastard' remarks had long since begun to bounce off his now rhinoceros-thick skin. Perhaps he deserved it. After all, he was the one who'd put himself on the market for marriage. He was the official groom of the season, and he was a son of Zeus. He'd tolerated his father's help in sending the women only because he'd given up looking for himself.

Zeus was anxious to see him finally wed. But Del had no stomach for the lovely but promiscuous legions of beauties that had been paraded before him like so many bushels of ripe peaches. When asked, every single one of them had outright refused to make the one promise he found necessary in a mate. It was a simple matter to him. For the women, however, the vow seemed offensive.

Fidelity.

For his entire life, Del had seen the sad results of the licentious wallowing of the gods. His own existence was a result of his father, Zeus, having lain with the minor goddess and Nymph, Acantha. His mother, never willing to stay with one man, was currently sleeping with several gods from the mountain regions. Hera, the only woman to actually sit at Zeus' right-hand side, hated all the misbegotten offspring of his father's lusts. That included him. He was a living reminder of all the times Zeus went a-roaming, seeking some night's pleasure with a woman who wouldn't nag him the way Hera did. And like all of his step-brothers and step-sisters, Hera made it her life's mission to inflict her vengeance upon Zeus' mistakes. Since there were so many of his father's bastards running around, her wrath seldom settled on any one of his siblings for very long. Ironically, Hera was certainly no pillar of chastity. She was known to sleep with the Olympian guards, taking on several at a time, then tossing them aside when they could no longer pleasure her. He'd been kept from sleep many nights listening to her disgusting howls of climaxing glory. Finally, he'd taken to sleeping outdoors, anyplace where he could get some rest. Even bedding down in the stables was better than lying in his palace room, listening to all the rutting women and men moaning in the night; each of them with a different partner every hour.

Kato made an attempt to placate his beloved charge. "Highness, perhaps you could relent a bit in your wedding demands. Maybe you could allow one or two days of the year where your mate could...shall we say...wander."

Del stopped and rounded on his long-time mentor and aide. "I refuse to marry anyone who'll be with another man as soon as my back is turned. What's so wrong with wanting a lover who can remain faithful? Whatever happened to trust?" he angrily questioned. "Even humans, as promiscuous as they often are, sometimes manage to stay in a relationship without cheating. On occasion, I've opened the portal between their reality and ours and have seen this. If they can, keep their tits and cocks to themselves, why can't a god?"

"I-It's the way things have always been done," Kato replied. "Since our reality has been separated from that of mankind and even before, gods and goddesses have always found great sport in bedding one another. It's part of the intrigue your father so loves. Why, where would all our Grecian tragedies have originated if it weren't for the degenerate behaviour of those on Olympus?"

"Where indeed?" Del sarcastically responded. "Still, Hera makes sure that every woman my father screws, pays for it."

Kato lifted a hand in supplicating gesture. "You know she isn't really jealous of your father's bed partners. Her real fear is that her own children will have to fight over ruling Olympus once Zeus steps off the throne. She wants power over all the gods and goddesses to remain within her direct bloodline."

Del sighed. "You know, that's the really sad part. I could forgive her outbursts of temper if she really loved my father, and was hurt by his promiscuity. As you say, however, it's really all about keeping my old man from creating so many heirs that the powers of Olympus will be split among them one day. That's all that matters. Sex and power."

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Devin didn't even want to put up a fight. She opened her mouth, let him put his tongue halfway down her throat, and vowed to enjoy every minute she could. They were adults and knew what they were doing. Neither had anyone to whom they owed an explanation, so let the chips fall where they would. He was far too attractive to ignore. Especially since she'd seen far more of his body than she rightly should have, given their lack of time together. Some cosmic force had put them right where they were, so why fight it?

Trey finished the kiss, but kept his forehead against hers. "Sorry for unloading all that personal crap. But it's been a long time since I could talk to anybody. And you did ask me to tell you something about myself."

"I'm not sorry. In fact, I'll be living in the area. That sort of makes us neighbors. And it's like you said. Somebody would have gossiped about it sooner or later, once they got to know me. And once they found out that I know you." She looped her arms around his shoulders and leaned toward him.

Trey closed his eyes as she planted small kisses on his throat and move up to take his earlobe in her mouth. "I hope you don't think I brought you here to seduce you? That wasn't my intention."

Devin leaned back and gazed into his eyes for a moment. "I was hoping you would, actually. I haven't been with a man in a long time."

"Dammit, Devin! Don't tell me something like that when I'm sitting here with no clothes on. You might get your wish. You're a beautiful woman who happens to be stuck in a cabin out in the middle of nowhere with me."

She slipped her hand inside the blankets and slid it over his chest. "I'll only offer once. Going, going..."

What the hero and heroine get up to later in the book...the hero's rock collection provides some spicy entertainment...

...Devin left the black and red obsidian sitting over his heart. She next chose a nice specimen, particularly pretty piece and one of her favorites. "My, you've picked ametrine. I'm shocked, Trey."

He lifted his head. "What does that mineral stand for?"

"A mixture of amethyst and citrine. Very pretty in color and, like the obsidian, its qualities are said to enhance virility."

Trey lay still when she put the small, smooth stone beneath his left nipple. "Go on, Dr. Wallace. Tell me more."

"It stimulates." She tongued his nipple and ran the stone around the outside of the areola. "It penetrates and drives emotional needs. And it can eventually lead to tranquility."