The Love of War

DISCLAIMER: I don't profit from my writing of this fan fiction. The characters belong to Renaissance Pictures. If I owned the characters, Iolas wouldn't have died so many times. I mean, think about it, he died and came back to life more times than Jesus did, and he was a *sidekick*. He must have had the Underworld equivalent of Charon's Bus Pass.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I use the term ‘blowjob’ in this chapter which, as a piece of modern slang, wouldn’t have been used in that time. But, as I’ve heard surfer and biker talk on the shows, I’m not too worried about it.

The Love of War chapter 9

This wasn't how he'd planned to be spending this evening. Right now, Jessie should be recovering from their third go around, probably a little hoarse from all the screaming. She should be a limp puddle of useless flesh right now. Instead, she was still on Earth, sleeping next to a campfire and he still had the Never-ending Erection. He shifted uncomfortably on the Throne of War. Maybe he should flash to a temple? No, Cupid was pretty sure that nothing less than that spirited mortal would do now, and she wasn't cooperating. Damnit! She should be cooperating!

Strategy. This definitely called for strategy. He was good at battle planning and this was just another battle to be won. Jessie would end up in his bed, it was just a matter of coming up with a viable maneuver, or set of maneuvers, to have her on her knees giving him a worthy tribute with her mouth.

Cupid growled and shifted again. His leathers were chafing. He banished them and conjured a loose black tunic. Really loose. If Bliss woke up again, he didn't want to have a tent over his crotch because a certain irritating mortal. Bliss already got into enough trouble without him getting his sexual education too early. Cupid loved his son, but the little one was the Godling of Mischief. Cupid didn't want his son to start practicing Seduction Mishaps before he lost his baby teeth.

Cupid felt the tentative mental touch of his father asking entrance into the House of War. Cupid closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. At least Dad knocked. He had ever since Cupid had set up a House of his own. Mother never did. He sent his mental assent and Ares popped in.

Ares hid a grin. His eldest wasn't happy. There was no sign of Jessie anywhere. He could actually feel the sexual tension rising off the God of War. Cupid not wearing his leathers was another dead give away. Cupid always wore leathers. There could only be one reason he wasn't; the poor kid had another hardon.

"Dad, do you *have* to get rose petals everywhere?" Cupid asked sourly without opening his eyes. He could smell the inevitable floral refuse of his father's entrance littering his polished black marble.

"Sorry." Ares waved a negligent hand and the blood red petals disappeared. "Is something wrong, Son?" He asked with a perfectly straight face.

"Why do you ask?" Cupid opened his eyes to slits.

"Because conflict is going on all through Greece and you are sitting alone, in your throne room, in a tunic and not your leathers, with no map in sight." Ares pointed out. "It just isn't like you not to be gloating when you're getting such a power buzz."

"Just planning another strategy." Cupid didn't want to let on to his father about the mortal he was interested in, Ares might feel the need to meddle.

"Who is she?" Ares affected an interested expression and nodded to the image of Jessie sleeping in Cupid's scrying mirror.

"A warrior on the road to Delphi." Damn! He hadn't thought to blank out his mirror and there was Jessie, curled up in her bedroll right in front of his father's face. Cupid didn't like the look in his dad's eye. Ares was known for his dalliances and Jessie was very attractive.

"She's cute." Ares called up the memories of what he'd thought the first time that he saw Jessie, before he'd seen her aura and allowed them to show on his face. He wanted to get Cupid possessive and territorial about this mortal. It shouldn't take much effort, Cupid was *born* possessive and territorial.

"Yes, she is." There was a hint of growl in his son's voice. A bit of the MINE-MINE-MINE tone creeping in.

"Is that your symbol on her breastplate?" Ares tilted his head to where they could see the bit of armor resting next to the log.

"Yes, it is." The growl was now more evident. "She just gave me a Blood Offering the other night," letting his father know any seducing of this particular woman would be considered poaching.

"Ah." Ares pretended to pout and back down. Good, his son already thought of Jessie as his. Now, we'll tug on those instincts just a little more. Ares extended his senses through the mirror to the sleeping woman and pretended to frown.

"She doesn't feel like one of yours, Cupid." He said in a considering tone.

"She is, Dad." Cupid's voice was a threatening rumble. Why hadn't he blanked the damn mirror?! Now his father was interest in the first woman that he wanted since that bitch, Psyche.

"But-"

"She gave me her blood. She's mine." His tone was final.

"Oh, all right." Ares pretended to sigh. Cupid was coming along wonderfully. "Still-"

"Dad! Was there some *reason* that you came over?" Time to distract the God of Love. No way was he giving over that tempting bit of flesh to his father.

"Oh, right." Ares put on his most fluff brained expression. "I need you to talk to Bliss about getting into your aunt's workshop. He keeps getting in and she's getting annoyed and she doesn't want to have to lock everyone but her out."

"I've talked to him." Cupid said quickly, hoping to get his father out of the room before he took anymore interest in Jessie.

"Thanks, Cupie." He grinned and flashed out before his son could toss a fireball at him for using the hated nickname.

Cupid slowly pried his fingers from where they had tightened around the arms of his chair. He'd better stake his claim on Jessie before anyone else on Olympus saw her.

Charm. That was it. He could be charming. He'd be suave and seduce her into a situation where he could begin her conquest.

He licked his lips and looked one last time into the mirror before he blanked it. Her surrender would be so sweet.

Jessie knew better than to reach for Alexi this morning. The ground was too hard for even her subconscious mind to think that she was home. Another morning without her dog. She hadn't even taken a vacation without her big, black shadow since she got him from the shelter. His absence was a heavy shadow on her heart.

She sat up tossed aside the covers. She stretched her legs and grimaced at the lingering stiffness there. And then the chill morning air hit her skin and she got goose pimples. She shivered but rolled out of her makeshift bed. She looked around at her camp and saw a bush off to the left that had the same leaves that had been left in the privy at the temple. Oh, good. Nature was calling in a big way.

After attending to her full bladder, she washed her hands and started warming up her muscles. Kyria watched with disinterest as Jessie turned her stretches into yoga poses. Then she gave her opinion of her rider's antics with a snort and attending to Nature's call herself.

"Critic." Jessie muttered as she came out of Reverse Warrior.

Jessie got dressed and munched on a slightly stale biscuit for breakfast. It didn't compare with Toula's baking. She dug out another bandage and the salve to rewrap her wrist. Then, she got dressed, put on her breastplate and broke camp. Kyria tried blow out her barrel so that the saddle would be loose, but Jessie was wise to that trick and with a sharp knee to the bloated belly she got her horse to exhale and tightened the cinch. Kyria figured out that her new rider wasn't going to fall for any tricks, so she didn't try anything when Jessie put the bit and bridle on her.

Jessie refilled her water skin and doused what was left of her campfire. She laced on the rest of her armor and slicked on some lip balm. After dropping the tube into her belt pouch, she strapped on her weapons and climbed into the saddle. She clucked to Kyria and they were off.

Kyria's hoof beats lulled Jessie into a half-trance after an hour or so. Her thoughts turned to the night before. The God of War was interested in her. The generosity of the temple was now explained, as well as their considering looks. She would also bet that Demetrius had warned Nikos from making any attempt at seducing Jessie. She had seen the interest in his eyes, but she hadn't thought anything of it when he hadn't pursued her. Now, his lack of action was explained. His god had marked her for some reason. Jessie was pretty sure that the reason had something to do with her blood on His altar.

That offering might have gotten her into trouble, but what else could she have done? She didn't pray to War, and she didn't have anything else that she could have given him. She still stuck by her conviction that he wouldn't have wanted her Danish.

Now, he'd made it perfectly plain what he wanted. Oh, and it had been a long time since she and her ex had split. And, towards the end the sex hadn't been all that great. Her personal appliances took the edge off, but didn't take the place of real sex with a real person. Add to the fact that a gorgeous alpha male, who wore black leather for real not just to set the scene, who could go all night, and was trying to get into her breeches, her sexual frustration was rising to epic levels. If he hadn't taken her compliance as a given, she'd have gone for it.

That still nicked her pride, the fact that he'd expected her to just roll over. That she'd wanted to do just that, didn't soothe her. Generations of spirited women were yelling at her in her mind, Women's Liberation screamed at her to bear up, but the primitive side of her was howling at her to drop her pants and spread her legs.

Jessie glanced up at the sky and realized that her ruminations had taken up the rest of the morning. She looked for a place to stop and stretch again. She didn't want for her legs to feel like lead tonight. She saw a large tree up ahead with a grassy space around the roots. Perfect.

She turned Kyria over to it and dismounted. She tethered Kyria to a branch and grabbed the water skin. She dug another dense biscuit and an apple out of the pack and sat down on a large root to eat her lunch. Kyria started munching on grass while Jessie cut the apple in half with her knife and the two enjoyed a quiet meal. Not much of a meal, but a meal. Jessie washed the biscuit down with a swig of water from her skin and fed an apple half to Kyria, then she got up and started another round of stretches. She was just finishing when she realized that the horse wasn't the only one by the tree.

Cupid was lounging on his stomach on a branch that was just a little higher than Kyria's head. His wings were slightly fanned out and he was munching on an apple. Jessie raised her eyebrows in inquiry.

"Don't you have things to do?" She asked.

He smiled, folded his wings and swung down on one arm. He dangled there for a moment, taking another bite from his apple before dropping to the ground. He held her eyes as he licked the juice off his lips. Bless it! She wanted to be the one licking the juice off his mouth.

"Nothing that won't keep." He leaned against the trunk of the tree. He looked as delicious as the apple; defined muscles, that damned black leather, the smoldering look in his green eyes. He hooked one thumb on his belt and took another bite. His throat worked as he swallowed. He let his eyes travel down her body and she knew that the hunger on his face wasn't for the fruit in his hand. He ran his tongue along his lower lip, causing her stomach to clench with desire.

He smirked and held out what was left of the apple. Knowledge was glowing in his gaze and Jessie knew that he realized what he was doing to her. He knew that she wanted him. She felt her spine start to stiffen, but then she decided to get a little of her own back.

She stepped closer, but didn't take the apple from him. Instead, she leaned forward and began eating the fruit from his hand. She kept her eyes on his as she let her lips brush his fingers. She bit, chewed and swallowed all while keeping her lips around his hand. The smirk faded from his face to be replaced with stark heat. When the apple had been reduced to a slender core, she stepped back with a smirk of her own.

"Thanks. I was hungry." She drew her middle finger over her bottom lip, collecting juice, before sucking it into her mouth.

"So am I." His voice was dark.

"Have another apple." She suggested.

"Not what I'm hungry for."

"Sounds like a personal problem to me."

"I could satisfy both our hungers very well."

"I just ate." She smiled.

"I bet I could stir your appetite." She certainly couldn't stir his anymore than she already had. Cupid couldn't remember the last time that he'd been this hard without bloodshed.

"Tempting, but- no. I was thinking," she remarked. "Usually, when I'm having a really good orgasm, I shout 'Oh god, oh god, oh god'. But what would I shout if we were going at it? 'Oh you, oh you, oh you' doesn't trip off the tongue quite the same way. It sounds so undignified."

"I could arrange some divine inspiration." He stepped closer.

She smiled, stepped back and swung up into the saddle. She cocked her head and gave him a cheeky grin.

"Sorry. But until I know what to shout, I don't think so. Thanks for dessert." She turned her horse back to the road and nudged her into a canter.

He stared after her a moment, amazed that she had just blown him off. He got blowjobs, not blown off! She'd gotten him as stiff as a pike and then rode off. The little tease!

Another strategy was called for. Charm could eventually get him there, but after that little show, he wasn't patient enough to use it. Time to get devious. He flashed back to Olympus.

Jessie took a deep breath and fought the impulse to turn around. She had a feeling that she had just escaped by a hair. She also had the sinking feeling that she was going to pay for that little demonstration later.



The two parents watched the woman cantering away in their mirror. The two of them were laughing so hard that they could barely get the breath that they really didn't need. Finally, they got themselves under control. Aphrodite kept smiling proudly. The little mortal was doing well. Ares was grinning and shaking his head. The two gods exchanged a look before turning back to the mirror.

"Oh, sweetheart. You don't know what you just did." Ares chuckled breathlessly. "He's going to eat you alive."


***Thanks for the reviews, guys! It really warms an author's heart to read how people are enjoying a story.