Sweet Cry of Pleasure Read online

  “You think so?”

  “She practically told me so last night.”

  Eris composed herself. “Did she? That doesn’t sound like her. How did such a subject come up?”

  “We were talking about Aphrodite. It just came up, okay? I got a bit, well, aroused during her massage, and she thought I was thinking about Aphrodite. I told her I was thinking about her.”

  “Have you ever done that before?”

  “What?”

  “While she was massaging you? Ever had dirty thoughts?”

  “About other women, not about her.”

  “Why not?”

  Ares felt he wasn’t going to make any progress. “I already told you. I’ve never thought of her that way. Something about it feels wrong.”

  “Wrong, or just different? You can’t tell me you’ve never looked at her and become aroused.”

  “Can I just get to the point? I can’t stop thinking about her now. I spent all night thinking about having sex with her. I couldn’t stop it. The solution is usually a quick bang or two. I can’t do that with her.”

  “Then why not have a relationship with her? Crazy concept, I know, but why not?”

  “It would ruin everything. It would never work out, and I’d lose her.”

  Eris touched his arm. “And if you lost her?”

  He looked down into the pond. “My life would suck.”

  “How eloquent.”

  He groaned. “Fine. I would be bereft. I would be lost without her. She told me what the Fates said. It’s true. She calms me. She keeps me from being an angry, blood-thirsty monster.”

  Eris giggled. “You’d never be a monster.”

  “She’s tended every wound I’ve ever had. She nursed me when the Furies put a spell on me. No offense to you, but when it comes down to it, she’s my best friend.”

  “Is she?”

  He didn’t even have to think about it. “Yes.”

  “Are you hers?”

  His heart thudded offbeat for a moment. “What?”

  Eris turned his chin to make him look at her. “Who else is she friends with besides me? Do you know? Is she a virgin? Do you know how many men she’s been with? Has she been with a god or a mortal or perhaps both?”

  He didn’t know any of those things. Was she a virgin? The idea of being her first made his blood run hot. He thought about being the first to penetrate her, the first to taste her and give her pleasure. The possibility of another touching her made his blood warm too, but in a different way. He knew in an instant he wouldn’t like seeing her in another’s arms. It had never occurred to him because he’d never seen her with another man that way. She was over five thousand years old. She couldn’t be a virgin. She’d obviously had lovers, but not told him about them. The fact she had never confided anything like that to him hurt, but he wasn’t sure why.

  “Do you know those things?” he asked quietly. “I’ve told her everything, but she has never told me anything. Not anything like that, at least.”

  “Have you asked?”

  He hadn’t, but he didn’t want to talk about that. “I’m wasting my time. She doesn’t want me. Do you know what I asked her? I asked her what she’d do if I kissed her. She said she’d let me. That’s it. She’d let me.”

  Eris looked at him blankly when he didn’t say anything else. “What did you want her to say?”

  “I don’t know, but not that.” He knew what he’d wanted her to say. He’d wanted to hear her say she’d like it.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I’m obviously not the one to light her fire. She touches me all the time, but I’ve never felt anything from her.”

  “Maybe she’s shy.”

  He laughed. “No one is that shy.”

  “Maybe she’s been hurt.”

  He fixed Eris with an intense gaze until she lifted her eyes. “Has she?”

  Eris seemed uncomfortable, as if she hadn’t wanted to say anything. “She had a relationship that didn’t work out. She was disappointed.”

  His mind raced, wondering who it might have been. How could anyone hurt someone so kind and submissive? Not loving her would be one thing, but actually hurting her would be another thing completely.

  “Tell me who.”

  “She didn’t tell me.”

  “You talked about it?”

  Eris sighed and rolled over onto her back. “I asked her why she’s been alone so long. She told me she tried to love someone once, but they weren’t right for each other.”

  That calmed him a bit. Eris was only guessing Alala had been hurt. She didn’t know for sure. However, he still felt a wave of jealousy wash over him. Who was it? A mortal? If she’d hoped to fall in love, wouldn’t it have been a god?

  He pushed himself up and off the ground. “I want to continue this later.”

  “Don’t go, please. You said you two wouldn’t work out. Why do you think that? You have no reason to.”

  He ignored the question. “Not a word about this,” he called back over his shoulder. “I want to think.”

  “You’re infuriating!”

  He smiled, both wishing Alala would be so vocal and straightforward and suddenly appreciating anew how quiet and demure she was.

  * * * *

  Ares moaned as her tongue moved over the head of his cock. Her lips worked his shaft vigorously. Her hand ran over his balls, her fingers circling his anus before her hand moved down his thigh. He was so close to coming as she took him to the back of her throat and sucked harder.

  He jolted awake. After a few moments, he realized he was alone, even though the warm cum on his thighs was real. He jumped out of bed and yanked the sheets off, tossing them down the laundry chute before going into the bathroom for a quick, cold shower.

  He hadn’t seen her, but he knew he’d been dreaming of Alala. His body still tingled from his release, and he could still feel her soft lips and warm tongue on his cock. But it had only been a dream. He searched the house mentally. Alala was in her bedroom, playing with one of her cats. He didn’t know its name, and that bothered him. She leaned over to pick up one of its toys, and she was only wearing a t-shirt, so he caught a fleeting glimpse of her ass. He pulled away mentally, feeling guilty, but also feeling aroused again. She’d been wearing pink panties with black bows on them.

  He shook his head, trying to get rid of the image of her bending over for him. He imagined himself pulling the crotch of her panties to the side so he could taste her. He wanted to reach into them and finger her. He wanted to hear her sigh as he touched her.

  He turned the water on full blast and got under the spray. He shivered under the icy water, but he needed it. His thoughts made him angry. He punched the wall several times, cursing loudly.

  After several minutes, he got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He walked out into his bedroom.

  Alala was putting clean sheets on his bed. Black, silk sheets. She was bending over the bed, straightening and smoothing them.

  At least she’d put a pair of jeans on.

  “How did you know I needed clean sheets?”

  She turned to him, looking concerned. “I heard you pounding on the wall as I went down to get some water for Shadow. I thought something might be wrong. But then I saw you were in the shower, so I figured you were okay. I got Shadow some water, and then went to get fresh sheets.” She shrugged. “No big deal.”

  He nodded, looking down. “Yeah. Sorry. I’m fine. Just a little frustrated.” He felt even more frustrated because she wasn’t wearing a bra under her light blue shirt. He could see her dark, erect nipples, and that only made it even harder for him to forget he knew the color of the panties she was wearing.

  She moved closer. “You look like you’re in pain.”

  He tried to smile as he focused on her face. “I’ve got a lot on my mind. I’m fine.”

  She shook her head. “You are never ‘fine.’ You hate that word.”

  How did she know that? How could
she know him this well when he knew nothing about her? “I need some sleep.”

  “Is there anything I can do? I could rub your shoulders. You look even more tense than you did last night.”

  Had it really only been twenty-four hours since she’d started driving him wild with desire? Had he really been able to ignore such a desirable woman until only the night before?

  “Please leave me, Alala. I want to be alone.”

  She walked a little closer, her eyes searching his face. “If that’s what you want.” She turned without another word and left.

  He felt a coldness wash over him as she walked away from him. Had he hurt her feelings? Was she upset about the night before? Did she think he was upset about it? Going after her was not an option because he had no idea what he wanted or needed to say. And he knew if he touched her he’d try to seduce her. Then she would be hurt, and so would he.

  He sighed and threw the towel down. He sat on the bed, and something touched his ankle. He looked down to see a black paw reaching from under the bed. A black cat came out when he moved his foot.

  “You must be Shadow.” He picked the cat up. “Why don’t you go find your mommy?” He walked over to the door and opened it to put the cat out.

  Alala was standing there.

  She smiled. “Sorry. I didn’t think he followed me.” She took the cat and walked away, but not before she gave him a quick once over and another smile.

  He slammed the door, remembering he was naked. At least he hadn’t had an erection. She’d obviously been amused, but why? Did she think he wasn’t alone? Was she so used to his promiscuous behavior she expected it? She’d smiled, so maybe her feelings weren’t hurt. Was he so paranoid he’d imagined she was upset? What? What did she think of him?

  He wanted to know that almost as much as he wanted to know what she would sound like when she came.

  * * * *

  Alala found Persephone at the bar and sat down beside her. Persephone smiled and tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

  “He sent me another text!” she said with a squeal.

  Alala nodded and smiled. Persephone was always excited about a new guy, though she had yet to get very far with any of them. She liked mortal guys almost exclusively, which was why they had met in a bar in Los Angeles.

  “And what did lover boy say?”

  “Well, Hellraiser said he saw me tonight and wanted nothing more than to take me back to his lair and ravish me.”

  Alala wasn’t too surprised. Persephone definitely attracted the horny ones with her generous curves and flowing blonde hair. Ravish? At least he had a good vocabulary. “Hellraiser, huh? And what did you text back?”

  “I haven’t sent anything yet. I’m not sure what to say.”

  “Just be careful. You don’t want to lose your virginity to some random mortal who isn’t good enough for you.”

  “He’s been very persistent. We were messaging each other last night for hours.”

  “What did you talk about?”

  “He mainly asked me questions, favorite foods and movies. Things like that.”

  “Don’t tell him too much.” Persephone could obviously take care of herself, but Alala didn’t think Hellraiser could be trusted. “What’s his real name?”

  Persephone smiled. “Don’t know, don’t care. I can’t wait to meet him.”

  “You haven’t met him? He could be anyone!”

  Persephone rolled her eyes. “I met him online, yes, but he’s for real.”

  “Picture?”

  She shook her head. “No picture.”

  “Then be careful. He could be lying about nothing or everything. Use your instincts.”

  Persephone sighed. “My instincts tell me he’s the one.”

  “The one? He’s mortal.”

  “I mean the one to…you know.”

  “If you can’t even say it, you probably aren’t ready to do it.”

  “I’m older than you!”

  “That doesn’t mean anything. It’s a personal choice and different for every person.”

  “You sound like my mother. Imagine. A fertility goddess who wants her daughter to remain a virgin. I ought to be a symbol of fertility and fecundity and fruitfulness as well.”

  Alala laughed. She knew Demeter was demanding and harsh, but she suspected Demeter might have ambitions for her daughter’s marriage. She kept Persephone away from the gods to keep politics out of the match. If allowed complete sexual freedom, it wouldn’t be long before Dionysus or perhaps Proteus deflowered her.

  Or Ares.

  Alala pushed that thought away. Ares thought Persephone was a ditz. He did have some standards. Persephone wasn’t stupid, but she had been so sheltered she had few social skills and was very spoiled. She whined a lot because her mother still treated her like a child. She’d been trained, if unconsciously, to complain to get her way instead of taking action for herself. She was easily bored and easily annoyed, so she had few friends. Alala couldn’t help sometimes blaming Demeter’s overprotective nature for that.

  “I agree, but I’m sure you’ll take on that role in time.”

  “Yeah, I guess, but she’s had Arion following me around.”

  Arion was her brother. He hung around in the mortal world a lot too. He’d been in several bands, but he’d had to leave a few when they began to be widely known. He then had to change his name and sometimes his appearance. Zeus, though he had once dropped in on heads of state regularly, had in recent decades imposed certain restrictions on the movement and activities of immortals in the mortal world.

  “Maybe she’s not to blame. He might be doing it on his own.”

  Persephone shrugged. “Who cares?” She began texting on her phone. “Let’s see what he says back.”

  “What did you type?”

  “I do hope you will be gentle with me.”

  Alala rolled her eyes. “That’s not very original, and he’s going to think you’re saying yes to being ravished.”

  Her phone beeped. She read the message and smiled, then held it up for Alala to read.

  It read, “I’m going to chain you to the wall and make you scream my name.”

  Alala looked at her friend seriously. “He sounds like fun, but maybe he shouldn’t be your first. He sounds a little too intense for you.”

  Persephone groaned. “That’s what I want. I just want to have sex!”

  “Which is the reason I’m here.”

  They both turned to see Arion standing next to them. He was dressed all in black and wearing heavy black eyeliner. His black hair fell in his face as he smiled at Alala. Despite a boyish face, he had intense, expressive eyes, and his slightly crooked smile could sent flutters over any woman.

  “Hey,” he said.

  She smiled back. “Hi.”

  “You can’t tell me what to do!” Persephone protested.

  “I can’t, that’s true, but I’m not going to let anyone hurt you or take advantage of you. You’ve never been vain, which is good, but because of that you don’t realize how attractive you are to men.”

  Her phone buzzed again. She read the message and smiled. “Just leave me alone.” She walked away, and they both saw her disappear as she reached the crowded dance floor.

  Arion smiled at Alala again. “Sorry to ruin your evening.”

  She shrugged. “That’s okay. I was just bored. Ares is in a weird mood, so I thought I’d get out of the house.”

  “Isn’t he always in some kind of mood?”

  She laughed. “Yeah, when you get right down to it, but it’s the stuff with Aphrodite.”

  “I heard about all that. Is he pissed?”

  “I think he’s okay. Deep down, I believe he knew it was true. I think it will give them some closure.”

  Arion shook his head. “Not sure how he put up with her. She’s unbelievable, but still. Too much baggage there.”

  Alala studied Arion for a few moments.

  “What?” Her scrutiny seemed to make him
nervous.

  “You wouldn’t fuck her?”

  He considered for a moment, and then shook his head. “I guess it’s how I was raised. I’d feel like it didn’t mean anything.” He seemed embarrassed.

  “I know what you mean. Don’t be embarrassed with me.”

  He smiled, though she saw he was blushing a little. “I guess I feel out of place at times. I can’t be so casual about sex.”

  “Nothing wrong with that.” Two couples jostled by them. “Do you want to get out of here? Go home and walk through the gardens or something?”

  His handsome face lit up. “I’d love to.”

  Alala took his hand and led him out of the bar, not sure what she was doing, but feeling bolder than she had in a long time.

  * * * *

  Arion’s soft lips brushed against hers. His hands stayed at her waist, holding her gently. She had to give Demeter one thing. She’d raised a true gentleman like no mortal could. She tilted her head so he would move his lips over her neck. His touch was so sweet it made her want more.

  She unbuttoned her shirt and moved his hands to cup her breasts, opening the clasp at the front of her bra so he could touch them. He pulled back and looked down at her chest, running his fingers over her nipples as his breathing quickened.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he said as he bent to kiss her breasts.

  His mouth was tentative, as if he didn’t know what would arouse her the most. How had he kept those groupies away? Maybe he’d ducked out and avoided them altogether. His touch was nice, but he didn’t seem to know what he was doing.

  “Arion?”

  He looked up at her, his hands moving over her breasts.

  “Are you…?”

  He colored again. “A virgin? Yes.”

  “We don’t have to do this.”

  He blushed an even deeper red and pulled his hands away as if he’d done something wrong. “I wouldn’t have pushed you.”

  She shook her head. “I’m not talking about me. I was the one who made the first move. I meant we didn’t have to if you aren’t comfortable. Your first time should mean something. I don’t care what any god says. It should.” She thought of Apollo and how he had tricked her. It made her want to lose herself in this sweet man’s arms, but she wasn’t going to use him like that.