Santorini Paradiso Ch. 09

Adonis hesitated for a brief moment before hugging Elena tightly. He released her, pressing his lips to her forehead.

"Yes, you should rest, sweet girl." As Elena looked back into his eyes she noted that though he smiled, he seemed to be attempting to mask concerns. He looked at Petros and rose from the bed. Petros pulled Elena into a long embrace, before running his lips along her cheek.

"Kali nikta, agape-mou. Try to get some sleep." His eyes showed he was preoccupied as he rose reluctantly from the bed. Petros exchanged a silent look with Adonis as they tucked her under the covers.

Pausing at the door, they murmured a few more endearments that Elena returned, before they disappeared into the hall.

She lay still in the dark for a moment, wondering if she was losing her mind.

'No, you aren't. Relax.' The voice said. 'Go to sleep now and we'll talk more in the morning.'

Elena laughed to herself, the sound echoing around the now painfully empty room. And just how, she wondered, am I supposed to sleep after all of this?

'Because I said so.' The voice answered wryly.

Elena felt very heavy, sinking deep into the soft mattress. Her limbs relaxed and her heartbeat slowed to a more regular pace. A yawn pushed itself out of her mouth – stretching her jaws open wide. She barely had the energy to raise her hand to cover her mouth. As her eyelids blinked down for longer and longer moments, Elena realized that sleep was precisely what she needed.

Her last thought before surrendering to this sudden fatigue was: 'You'd better have a good explanation for all of this tomorrow.'

The voice, barely a whisper now, said: 'Just shut up and close your eyes already.'

Elena sank into a deep, dreamless and strangely satisfying slumber.

***

She woke with a start. The room was the deep gray of predawn. She knew immediately what disturbed her – she was cold and alone in that big bed, and hated it. Elena missed the touch and warmth of Adonis and Petros. She needed them. Though it had been good to get some proper sleep, she was sorry that she'd compelled them to leave her last night.

Flinging back the covers, she crossed to her wardrobe and pulled on the heavy silk kimono, reveling for a moment in the embrace of the cooling, almost liquid fabric on her bare skin. Tying it tight around her waist, she glanced quickly in the dim mirror and tried to smooth her hair into a greater semblance of order – finally giving up with a shrug, leaving the wild locks still tousled. She looked pale and her eyes looked enormous. But there was no smudged mascara on her face. She looked somewhat presentable, she supposed.

Slipping through the door, she padded barefoot down the hall. The door to the room closest to hers was slightly ajar. She looked in and saw the sleeping form of Adonis, alone in his bed. He was naked and tossing about restlessly. The sheets were in a tangle below his waist. His face looked younger and more vulnerable in this state. Her heart leapt in her chest and she quietly moved inside, tip-toeing toward him. Shrugging off the robe, she climbed into bed and slid close, allowing their bodies to come into contact. Her hand gently rested on the steady rise and fall of his chest.

Abruptly, his feverish movements ceased. His head turned in her direction as his eyes flew open. Elena barely had time to gasp before she was crushed against him, his mouth coming down hard on hers. She clung to him as he rolled on top of her, a deep growl emanating from his throat. Her blood sang through her veins as he ran desperate hands across her cool skin. Adonis spoke her name over and over into her neck. His large, strong hands were pulling her thighs apart. She could feel his full erection desperately spearing her – seeking its purchase. The raw need coming from him made her heart break and she helped to guide him into her.

Adonis groaned in pleasure as his large cock began to push into her now very wet folds. There was no technique in his movements; this was pure animalistic passion. She cried out with each thrust, her need to feel him as great as his need to be inside her. Finally, he was in to the hilt, his velvety scrotum pressed to her sensitive labia. He stopped for a moment to savor the feeling, lifting his head to look down at her. Elena unconsciously held her breath as she took in his male beauty. She thought again that he was like some fierce, dark angel.

His eyes blazed into hers for a moment, and as she stared, the moment suddenly froze. The edges of her sight grew wavy. She felt as if they had slipped sideways outside the very boundaries of time. She felt like she was falling from a great height, even though she was quite still. The bed and the entire room spun around her. Elena, without ever intending to, looked into his heart and his memories.

She had the sensation of flying through history, seeing through his eyes, feeling what he felt and knowing what he knew. Images filled her mind like photos in a slide show flashing rapidly before her eyes. First she saw the story of their parentage and birth.

Before even the formation of Rome, on these islands set between the Aegean, Ionian and Mediterranean seas, the story began. It was a time of emerging civilizations filled with warlike and superstitious people who yearned for enlightenment. Mount Olympus was the seat of power, where a dozen siblings determined the fate of the men around them.

The twelve were a strange, exceedingly dysfunctional clan, guilty of every vice and vanity of the people they ruled, and more so. They wielded great and mysterious power. Each of the siblings had dominion over some aspect of existence – some facet of the world or the human experience. They were also frequently petty and competitive with one another. The troubles of the clan regularly spilled over into the lives of those who lived beneath the mountain.

In retribution for so often toying with their affections and causing them to fall in and out of love with humans, Zeus compelled Aphrodite to share their fate. He caused her to fall in love and couple with lowly humans. This amused him until it became a habit.

Two of Aprodite's favorite human lovers were Ankhises and Boutes. Ankhises was a shepherd prince of Dardania, who had eyes like emeralds and the beauty of an angel – reminding the goddess of a dark version of her lost Adonis. Boutes was one of Jason's Argonauts, a sleek and strong warrior. He'd nearly drowned at the hands of the sirens – the Seirenes – when she rescued him and carried him off to be her lover. She'd had sons with each of these humans before. With Ankhises she'd born Aeneas and Lyros. With Boutes she'd had a son named Eryx. These other children had gone on to some acclaim.

But Aphrodite returned to these lovers in secret, again and again, often sharing a bed with both at the same time. It was during one of these times that she'd conceived the twins.

Fearful of the wrath of her siblings – especially Zeus, Aphrodite endeavored to keep these babies a secret. She cast a spell over the newborns with the intention of protecting them from all harm – human and divine.

Generally speaking, each half-breed child of the gods had a different manifestation of divine power: some had strength, some beauty, and some remarkable skills. But these children often met with difficult ends. They were frequently caught up in the battles of the gods themselves. They were used as pawns, emotional weapons or simply fell victim to collateral damage. The goddess wanted her sons to live happily as brothers without such fears.

Hiding them away, she bestowed upon them the gift of immortality – granting them the power to influence men when united together. She did not understand the consequences of her actions, however well intended.

She stayed with them for a time, disguised as a widowed shepherdess. Raising them like any pair of human sons, she withheld the truth of their lineage for as long as she could. It was only as they reached the age of manhood that she told them the truth: that eventually their aging would stop, and they would continue to live on, impervious to injury and illness, forever.

Aphrodite was unprepared for their reaction. Rather than being grateful to her, as she fully expected, and revel in their divinity, the boys were shocked and disconsolate. Not only had their mother lied to them, they learned that they would, from that moment on, be separated from those around them. Half human, half deity, they were trapped in the isolation of immortality, forced to linger on and on, as everything they knew and loved would die around them.

The goddess was enraged at what she felt was ingratitude. The words between them were fierce and bitter. It was the first time in their lives that she'd vanished from them in a dramatic flourish. But it would not be the last. The brothers' relationship with their beautiful, terrifying mother would continue to be tempestuous and inconsistent, punctuated by long periods of estrangement.

Elena could feel all of Adonis's history from the earliest years, onward: his centuries of longing, the lifetimes he'd passed and all the people he'd known and lost.

There were lovers who burned brightly for brief periods, only to irrevocably age before him and stare back resentfully at his never-changing visage. There were epic wars when he fought savagely, carrying a death wish that could not be fulfilled. He and Petros wandered the earth – sometimes apart and sometimes together – changing their names, changing their histories for those around them; never able to rest for more than a decade or so in one place lest people realize that they never aged.

The world turned around them, civilizations evolved and yet humanity seemed to remain largely the same. There were wonderful, exciting times, moments of beauty and times of great sadness and horror. He'd enjoyed great lustful passions but nothing could, for him, truly endure. He and Petros felt cold and alone -- locked out of time itself.

Then she saw their recent return to Greece, their new lives as global businessmen, and the relentless search for the key that would break the chain...

That is when she found his memory of the prophecy.

Elena drew in her breath sharply. She emerged from this strange kind of journey and time seemed to start again. After all her confusion and doubt, she finally understood.

'Now,' she thought, 'I just need to understand my role in all of this.'

A worried frown was on Adonis's brow – he knew what she'd just seen. He was shocked; he hadn't meant to show her his memories. He seemed awed that she'd been able to plumb his mind – and she saw that he was afraid of the effect it had on her. He softly whispered her name – it was like a question. The fact that his first concern was for her well being made her emotions spill over.

Tears filled her eyes at his selfless devotion. She agonized, aching inside herself for the brothers' endless and often lonely existence. She cupped Adonis's face with her hands, showing him her perfect empathy, compassion and her deep, consuming love.

"Agape-mou..." She whispered, raising her lips to his, speaking softly against his mouth. "So much history... so much pain... How I wish to lift it from you. I'm here now, my love. I'm here."

She hadn't thought about what she was saying. It emerged from her quite naturally and without effort. All Elena wanted was to heal his tired soul – to let her love flow into and over him: to tell him that he and his brother need not feel so alone. Warm, nurturing energy rose up inside her. In her mind's eye, she saw it as a white light that grew. Elena pushed this loving energy into Adonis.

Adonis stiffened, hesitating for a fraction of a second, and then released a long, shuddering sigh. "How are you doing all of this?" He asked, his voice very low and reverent.

"Kiss me." Was all she replied.

He pressed his lips to hers, his arms winding tightly around her. She felt a hot tear fall on her face and she sobbed because she knew he could not. Their bodies sought each other out. His hips began to thrust into her, his hard cock slowly sliding almost all the way out of her, then slamming roughly back into her depths. Her body completely sheathed him and she felt every inch of his hard flesh. Their kisses became wild – Elena had a rusty metallic taste in her mouth and knew that it was blood. She didn't know whose and didn't care.

They were swept up into a frenzied dance of lovemaking. Each time Adonis bottomed out inside her, they both shouted. Elena's tears ran freely down her cheeks as Adonis ran his lips over her face. Their bodies burned, sweat pouring from their taut skin. She ran her nails down his back as he growled with pleasure. He sank his teeth into her neck causing her to nearly scream with excitement.

Adonis pulled out of her, rising to his knees. He flipped her over onto her stomach, pulling up her hips so he could push his shaft into her from behind. Elena cried out "Oh god!" as he plunged hard into her. The head of his penis dragged across her G-spot and she knew that it would be mere minutes before she climaxed. She contracted her muscles, squeezing him as he stroked out of her, making him moan. One of his hands crushed a very tender breast – eliciting a gasp from her. The other hand cupped the front of her pussy, his fingers slipping into the top of her cleft to viciously rub her engorged clit. She was drenched with her own juices.

Elena silently screamed as she exploded into an intense orgasm – the electrical charges rippling in spasms from her core and outward. She felt the flood of her ejaculate spraying out as her muscles contracted around Adonis's swelling cock. No longer able to support herself on her knees and elbows, she collapsed on the bed, drawing Adonis down with her.

He let her rest for a moment as the ripples continued to spin out of her pussy. Moaning softly, Adonis left a trail of kisses across her shoulder. He rose up slightly and pushed her mass of wild curls away from her overheated face.

Gently, he withdrew from her and turned her back around. Her arms fell weakly above her head. Elena felt as if her bones had melted away. He leaned down and kissed her more tenderly than he had all morning. She returned his kisses as if she needed his mouth to breathe. All the energy she'd poured into him had left her depleted, but deeply satisfied. Adonis seemed to radiate happiness.

He pressed his lips to her forehead. "I worship you, my darling girl. S'agapo, Elena-mou."

"S'agapo, Adoni." Her voice was breathy and deep. He leaned down and kissed her bee-stung lips. She allowed her eyes to flutter closed for a moment.

"Elena..." he began, "Do you think for a second that we are finished? Because I assure you that we are not." Elena laughed huskily as he moved down to nuzzle her neck. She brought her arm down and wrapped her hand around his still-hard cock. He made an "mmmm" sound as she moved her hand over his erection.

"I can never have enough of you, my love..." She ground this out between her teeth as she squeezed him. He groaned, moving against her body. Adonis lifted her thigh, tilting her partially on her side. He moved his hips down and put his legs between hers. He slid into her, one hand under her ass and the other gripping her thigh, controlling her movements. Elena was able to twist back toward him so they could kiss as he fucked her. Despite the fact that she was sopping wet, this position created remarkable friction.

He was moaning as he started to piston in and out of her, his pace increasing. Elena pushed back against him as he thrust up into her. Adonis sank his teeth lightly into her shoulder as his passion intensified. She began to talk to him in a low voice, begging him to fuck her, to take her completely, to fill her with his seed. Elena could feel his penis swelling and his arms tighten around her and knew he was about to erupt. She felt the heat from his body flowing into hers, infusing her muscles and limbs with renewed energy.

Adonis roared as he climaxed, thrusting forcefully each time he jetted into her depths. After a time, his body slowed and then stilled. He fell back onto the bed, slipping out of her.

He pulled her body around and collected her next to him, her face coming to rest on his hard muscular chest. Elena could hear the pounding of his heart beneath her ear. She sighed with contentment, wrapping an arm around him. She felt him press his lips to the top of her head, and inhale the scent of her hair.

Like this, they began to drift toward sleep, comforted in each other's arms. As Elena's eyes grew heavy, she realized that she sorely missed the presence – the warmth -- of Petros. She found herself wishing he were there with them.

She wasn't even surprised when she heard the door creak open, and a moment later felt Petros climb into bed behind her, his body cool and smooth against her back. He reached down and pulled the covers up over the three of them, snuggling close to her before depositing a soft, slow kiss on her exposed shoulder. She made a happy "mmmm" sound as their breathing became synchronized and even.

Now it all felt right. Sleep overtook her, a smile hovering on her lips.

***