Chapter One

Eros pounded his fist against the stark, white marble banister within the Hall of Jupiter, wisps of clouds swirling around his arm. His whole body thrummed with anger as he watched the Window of Earth displayed along the floors of the hall. Looking down on the panorama unfolding below his feet, Eros felt engulfed in his rage as he noted all his efforts becoming a horrid tangle.

The magic he used to balance love and lust was failing, and it was driving him mad. Every single couple he had ensorcelled in recent weeks had somehow broken the chains of lust he had wrapped them in, drifting apart as if the Fates had not intertwined them. Just like the two he was watching now.

In the last few weeks, lovemaking had been disproportionately down. There was no way he was going to make his quota. He hadn’t seen it this bad since the Victorian Era and their fine-upstanding-morality bullshit. Hell, it was worse.

Throwing his famed bow and quiver of arrows across the room, Eros’s rage seeped through every pore, and he felt his hands shake with every breath as he attempted to tamp down his feelings. He knew his magic was not waning, as he had tested it on Heracles moments earlier in the Muses’ Gallery. In true Heracles fashion, the god had glimpsed his own image in the large mirror across the room and fallen in love with himself instead of the Muses. Had he not been immortal, Heracles would have probably put blisters on his own cock from all his self-love.

Eros shook his head from having to have witnessed part of that, as Heracles had not felt compelled to wait until he was alone before stroking himself. The Muses had all screamed, fleeing the room while chastising Eros for the arrow in the first place, and he learned a valuable lesson. A Muse with a temper throws a mean punch. Rubbing his bicep, he could still feel the effects of Melpomene’s fist. No wonder she was the Muse of tragedy as she could inflict enough herself.

Eros turned back to the Window of Earth. He found the pair once more, knowing the moment had passed, that the two were dragged apart forevermore. His shoulders slumped as he felt his energy seeping from him. Of course the pair had not run back into one another’s arms, and they continued to walk away from each other down the city street.

Pounding his hand on the half wall in anger, Eros’s unanswered questions hung around him like a thick fog, and the frustration had no outlet but through his fist. Psyche walked in, a tremulous smile working across her lips. “Rough day, sweetheart?”

Eros turned toward his love, the one woman who knew his every thought, every desire, every need, and stalked toward her, grabbing her before she could float down the final two steps into the Hall. Resting his head between her soft breasts, he hugged her warm body close to his and closed his eyes. Eros sniffed her familiar scent, a mixture of clean, fresh woman and the hint of the early morning coupling they had shared, he got lost in her smell, trying to forget the problems he was facing.

Psyche wrapped her arms around his back as she lowered her head to place a tender kiss on the top of his head. Nuzzling her nose through his hair, he sighed at the warmth she always offered him. She was home to him, and as long as he held her in his arms, he felt as if nothing was impossible. As he stood there a moment longer, his thoughts strayed from the loving woman in his arms and back to matters at hand. He was facing the impossible.

“Husband, whatever is wrong? You came to me so sweetly, but now your frame becomes harsh with anger.”

“Someone is working against me. Humans do not mate. Hell, even the animals are not mating. And if this continues, the world will turn cold with no new life to bring the spring.”

Psyche’s hand slid down his back, comforting him. “Perhaps you are overworked. The human population has grown exponentially these past centuries, and your magic suffers for it. You may need more demigods to help further your cause. And then you could rest.”

The thought of wasting away his days with her in his arms was so tempting, but if he did not act, there could be hell to pay. “I don’t need a rest, and I know my magic is strong. I tested it just this morning. I fear I need to go to Earth and investigate the issue.”

A tremor slid through Psyche, her smile slipping from her face before she plastered it back in place. “Dear Eros, the last time we parted I nearly lost you. Forever. I think I do not like this idea, not at all.”

“If the Earth turns cold, it will eventually die, and we will have no dominion to reign over, my love. And I can be back in a moment’s time. It’s not like I am leaving you forever, my love.”

“You have not left Olympus in a nearly a millennium. I am not used to you being so far from me. And last time...” Tears swirled within her haunted eyes, and her whispered words followed. “I cannot lose you, Eros. I would die.”

Eros grasped her in his arms and pulled her tiny form into his embrace, tucking the top of her head under his chin. Fear gripped his chest in a pain so tight Eros could barely breathe. Before Psyche, he did not know fear. The thought of not spending infinity with her was enough to bring him to his knees. Taking in a lungful of air, he pushed the thoughts aside. Eros tried to wear confidence on his face, even if he wasn’t completely sure himself or where this would lead.

“My beautiful wife, I never want to leave your side, even if it is only for a brief moment. You are my life. But for us to have a future, I must go. If the Earth dies, Olympus goes with it.”

Eros rubbed his palms along her spine, feeling it stiffen in what could only be resolve. She looked up into his eyes, and without words, he saw all the love he felt reflected back to him in her glistening gaze.

“I know you speak the truth, and I know you must go. But love me before you leave me, my darling Eros.” She slid her arms around him, and he felt her pull. Lifting her, he paused as she wrapped her slim legs around his waist. The two moved into their private chamber where the mists of Olympus swirled through gauzy curtains at open arches, allowing the sweet mountain air and sunshine to filter into the space.

Eros moved until he felt their bed at his knees, and he pressed his loving wife down into the softness of their bed, his hands sliding over her fevered body as he moved. Tasting the tempting flesh of her throat, he grasped her breast in one hand as he used the other to clasp her buttocks to him and pressed his hardening cock against her pussy. Settling her down, he lay within the cradle of her thighs, tasting her lips, her cheek, her throat, wherever he could touch her, taste her, devour her.

Small murmurs of pleasure issued from her as he released his lips from hers, and his hands stroked all over her body. He needed to have as much contact as possible, knowing he would miss this for days. The thought of being away from her nearly killed him, so he would lose himself in her now to give him the strength he would need to fight this battle.

Pulling her soft ties from her toga, he threw the strings into a pile beside the bed. Eros untwisted some of the silky fabrics and slowly peeled back layers until a dusky nipple emerged.

“There is an easier way to unclothe me, husband. Why you always take such time to disrobe me in this way I will never know.” Her frustrated sigh followed the comment.

“You rush too much. I like opening you slowly as I would a gift.” He continued to slowly peel back the layers of her clothing, kissing the flesh he revealed, laving the next nipple that appeared. “You are my gift.”

His green gaze caught her blue one, and he saw the soft shimmer of tears return, and her soft smile gripped his heart. “I am sure there is little surprise left in opening this present, not after so many millennia have passed.”

Eros paused to kiss her navel, his tongue flicking out to ring the circle of skin, and he sighed at how much her taste delighted him. “I will never stop being surprised at how amazing you are.”

He looked again into her eyes before lowering himself between her thighs, branding a path to her cunt with his mouth. Eros licked the tender skin where her thigh met her core and passed her pussy to the other thigh. He wanted to tease her, avoiding the spot she needed attention the most to heighten her need. As she squirmed below him, he felt her fingers thread through his hair, trying to guide him to where she needed him to be.

Allowing her to steer him, he placed an open-mouthed kiss to her pussy before pulling her clit between his lips, suckling the flesh into the heat of his mouth. Her back arched off the bed, allowing him to place his hands on her ass, and he pulled her pussy closer to his mouth, licking her sweet juices.

Pressing one long finger into her channel, he continued to lick and suck her clit and pussy, feeling her muscles tighten the longer he embraced her. He felt her fever rise, and as he glanced up from his vantage point, he felt his cock swell even thicker watching her grasp her own dusky nipples and twist the tender flesh between her elegant fingers. Her eyes closed in rapture, and he watched her face contort with each tug at her breast.

Following her cues, he pressed another thick finger in her entrance and then quickened his pace as he heard the sigh of pleasure escape her lungs. Her squirming body, along with the quivering, tight muscles capturing his fingers, let him know that she was nearing her peak, and he sucked her clit hard between his teeth, abrading the tender flesh before letting go and repeating the action again.

Her moans caught in her throat and sounded strangled to his ears as she gulped air into her lungs. Psyche’s back arched high off the bed as he pressed his thumb against the puckered flesh of her rear, and in a final quiver, she screamed her release into the pillow beside her.

Easing his fingers from her, he licked her juices from each as she watched, a contented smile crossing her lips. Eros sat up on his knees, still encompassed within her thighs, and passed his still-wet fingers along the thick length of his cock. A thin stream eased from the head as he pulled the flesh down to the base, using his own passions to coat the engorged organ.

Pressing close to her, he leaned in to kiss her and navigated his hardened cock to her welcome heat. Pushing past the tight entrance, he moved slowly, inch by inch, until he was fully seated inside her. Capturing her eyes with his own, he paused, luxuriating in the moment of complete satisfaction. There was not much in Heaven or on Earth that could compare to the feel of his length deep within her, the completion of uniting two halves of a whole.

After a few minutes, Eros started to move, thrusting his cock inside her, slowly stirring back and forth. Psyche’s legs wrapped around him, and she held him tightly. Eros felt his release building at the base of his spine, and he increased the tempo of their lovemaking. Creating the staccato beat, his hips pumped into her as he kissed her into submission, his wild appetites stirring inside.

He felt the wild beast growling, and the instinct to fuck her senseless and leave them both reeling from the aftermath was strong. Eros held it at bay, wanting this moment to be gentle, caring, caressing, but even with his control held tightly, his rhythm continued to increase. He held her close to him as his release finally exploded within her, his roar of completion echoing against the clean, white marble of the room, her cries of satisfaction mixing with the sound.

Exhausted, he lay atop her, looking down into the face of the woman he loved more than life itself. “I will not lose this, wife. I will not lose you.”