A Total-e-bound Publication
www.total-e-bound.com
Beauty on Fire ISBN #978-1-906590-74-1 ©Copyright Tuesday Morrigan 2008 Cover Art by Lyn Taylor ©Copyright June 2008 Edited by Christine Riley Total-e-bound books This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Total-e-bound eBooks. Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-e-bound eBooks. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution. The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork. Published in 2008 by Total-e-bound eBooks 1 The Corner, Faldingworth Road, Spridlington, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, LN8 2DE, UK.
Warning: This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has been rated Total-e-burning.
BEAUTY ON FIRE Tuesday Morrigan
Dedication This is dedicated to my mom, Helen, for always standing beside my desire to be a writer, even if she did rant and rave about the endless papers and notes that littered her otherwise perfectly clean home, And to my sister, Pamela, Baby girl, thank you for being my biggest champion and telling me that I can do this. Especially for repeating it every time I told you I couldn’t.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
5
Chapter One The Voice Within
Sweat ran down Tamia’s skin in rivulets as the hot Australian summer beat down her back. She groaned as her chest ached with the need to take in air. Tamia had pushed herself too hard, run for too long. It was just another weekday morning. Another start to an already endless day. Still, she ran with all her might, trying to outrun the visions that plagued her as she slept, but the act was useless. The litany of visions thundered through her mind with every step she took. She couldn’t outrun the dreams…the visions that shook her to her core every night. She couldn’t outrun him. Tamia had been visiting him every night for years now. In two weeks she would turn twenty-nine. It would mark the eleventh year that she’d been dreaming of him, going to him as she slept. The dreams were never the same. Yet, they were all similar. One thing connected every image…the golden man with bright greens eyes who promised to love her for eternity. She jerked to a stop at the sight of the Now Open sign on the jewellery store’s brightly painted banner. She’d been running down the same city street for more than six months, and she’d never once noticed that there was a store being renovated. “Damn, I’m getting worse,” Tamia muttered to herself as she wiped one arm across her forehead. Lately she had become more and more oblivious to the world around her. She spent way too much time daydreaming, waiting for the moment when she would fall asleep and return to her lover’s arms. Someone moved beside her, drawing her attention. Tamia squinted at the blinding summer sun as she tried to move out the man’s way. Waves of heat swam across her vision splintered by the bright rays of the morning sun. She turned away, trying to avoid the bright lighting. It was then that she noticed the opals in the store’s front window. She loved opals, had fallen in love with the gemstone at first sight when she was little more than six. But she had yet to find that perfect jewel that called out to her. Maybe today is
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
6
the day, she thought as she glanced back at the display where several eye-catching stones sat. She sniffed herself once to make sure she was decent and grabbed the door handle. Tamia made great money selling her paintings of a man so beautiful he made the senses cry out, but she knew the moment she walked in, the shop was out of her price range. The décor was tasteful. The merchandise was purposely placed, but there wasn’t nearly enough to justify the size of the boutique. Still, she strode a little deeper into the store, telling herself the air conditioning was reason enough not to turn and march out. Even though it was barely nine in the morning, the temperature was sharply rising, reminding her all too well of the muggy Miami summers she’d trekked across the globe to avoid. The truth was she felt the need to stay and look around. Tamia was searching for something she had yet to find. Too bad it’s not jewellery. Even though her family, friends and therapist had told Tamia her dream lover didn’t exist, she knew he was real. And she knew she had to find him. She sighed and strode over to the rings. She wasn’t about to find what she was looking for in a jewellery store, but window shopping beat walking back to her studio loft and staring at another blank sheet of canvas. She hadn’t painted anything in six months. At least not anything that wasn’t a golden haired man with lust filled eyes surrounded by darkness. Determined to ignore the ache her dreams created, Tamia paused at the ring display and glanced at the items. They were all gorgeous and beautifully made, but only one ring caught her eye. It seemed to call to her, scream her name in a voice only she heard. Tamia, my love. As the words skittered across her psyche, Tamia felt fingers that burned with the fire and brightness of the sun caress her nape. A slight shudder of pleasure ran down her spine at the single touch. Tamia? She blinked hard and shook her head as she heard his voice call out to her. Another waking dream. She had been having them more often lately. He was drawing her deeper into his dark world. The truly terrifying part was the fact that there was no place she would rather be.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
7
Tamia was so far into the daydream she didn’t notice someone stood beside her until the woman coughed. She glanced up in surprise. Bright blue eyes stared at her in slight disgust. Tamia glared back at her. “I’d like to see that ring,” the woman said, holding Tamia’s gaze. Her fingers tapped the glass but Tamia didn’t break her stare. As far as she was concerned she had as much right to be in the store as she did. Even if she did look like something the cat had dragged in. She heard the soft tread of feet as the saleswoman appeared. “That is our most popular ring. Almost every woman who’s walked in has looked at it.” Tamia felt her heart lurch as the clerk said those words. She knew without looking that the woman spoke of her ring. The ring she knew instinctively belonged to her. “It’s gorgeous,” the woman murmured when the saleswoman handed it to her. Tamia stood to the side feeling her mouth go dry as the blonde put on her ring. Or at least tried to put it on. A ridiculous sense of pleasure swept through her when the blonde realised the ring was too big. It was juvenile, but satisfying. “It’s a gorgeous piece of jewellery. It will look lovely in my collection,” the blonde chuckled. Tamia gritted her teeth and strode across the room to look into another glass case. She didn’t think she could stand to watch the blonde purchase her ring. “And what is the price?” When the saleswoman responded, Tamia was so surprised by the size of the number she stumbled. There were way too many zeros in that price tag to justify the ring. Even if it was the largest real opal she’d ever seen. The blonde stammered something about ridiculous prices, and Tamia found herself silently agreeing with her. Several seconds later the shop door closed. “Would you like to try it on?” Tamia turned at the soft, melodic sound of the saleswoman’s voice. The woman was beautiful. Her skin was just as dark as Tamia’s warm mahogany skin, but hers seemed to
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
8
glow with an inner light. And her features… full lips, large, bright ebony eyes, and high cheekbones. The aboriginal woman was the epitome of dark beauty. Tamia glanced down at the woman’s nametag. Marie, it read. She gave her a soft smile. “I don’t think so, Marie.” “I’m not asking you to purchase it. Just try it on.” The soft way she uttered the words called out to something deep and bright inside of Tamia. A blinding flash of a memory not yet experienced shot through her. He was with her, asking, no demanding that she give him the chance to make her every erotic fantasy come true. She blinked and found herself standing in front of the display. Marie held out the ring for her to try on. She reached for it instinctively and slipped it on the third finger of her right hand. It fit perfectly. The moment the ring slipped into its resting place, a sense of calmness overcame her. Warmth brushed over her, cleansing her body with its whispery touch. She had found a little part of what she had been searching for. Her eyes closed. The vision came to her immediately. He was on a black beach. A dawning sky with pale pink and gold hues stood behind him. The air was heavy with wet moisture. The temperature was hot, the summer air thickening with the rise of the sun. The dark colour of the sand was all the more surprising with the white waves washing up against the shore. The water lapped at his naked feet. Slowly, Tamia lifted her gaze, taking in every inch of his golden body. His skin was lightly tanned, a soft luminescent tone. His body was strong, with tightly developed muscles. He wore dark brown leather pants that were moulded to the thick column of his thighs. She followed the dusting of almost white, blonde hair over his torso. Her gaze continued upwards, over the strong column of his throat, the chiselled planes of his handsome face until she reached his all knowing eyes. The knowledge in his bright green gaze stole her breath. He was dying. There was so much pain in his eyes her heart lurched as her soul cried out in protest of his misery.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
9
“Don’t let go. Don’t leave me.” She silently cried out the words as she stepped towards him. He was her everything. The one thing that completed her. The man she’d been searching for. He could not leave her to suffer the cold, miserable world alone. “I have no choice, my love. My fate, our fate, no longer lies in my hands. I have waited eons. Almost too long. Time steals what is left of my strength. Time steals me from you…” Tamia reached out and brushed her fingertips across his cheek. No moisture lay there, but she knew he was crying. Silently. Inside. For their loss. “I refuse to let you go. You’ve come to mean everything to me. Where can I find you? How can I make you mine? How can I stop...?” Your death, she wanted to say, but knew they were not the words either of them needed to hear. She thought back to the words he’d spoken. “How can I stop time from taking you away?” “You must follow me into the fire while wearing the shield of love. Only then can I leave my cage and join us together for eternity.” “What…?” He shook his head before Tamia could say anymore. “I want to love you before you wake. I want you remember what I feel for you,” he whispered as he lowered his head.
**** Aristophanes’ brothers would say that he was foolish for putting his trust in a human, but he could not help his attraction to Tamia. He knew she belonged to him. He knew she was the other half of his being. He also knew she was the only one that could break the curse his brothers had placed on him. A little part of him wondered if he was placing so much on her, because his time was coming to an end. Aristo was dying little by little. With each day he spent in darkness, his strength weakened. Soon he would be nothing more than a shell of a man. Very soon he would not be able to call out to Tamia and coax her into their shared dreams. He roared as pain laced his soul. Aristo had been watching Tamia for years, witnessed her growth and development into the bright, beautiful woman she was now. She was an incredible woman, his woman. “Give me your lips,” he whispered in a voice that sounded dark and rough to even his own ears. Aristo was at the end of his patience.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
10
It was always like this. From the moment his skin touched hers, his need burned hotter and faster than the sun itself. They had been together before. They had been together every night since Tamia had come off age, but only in her dreams. In his dreams. In their dreams. He lowered his head and brushed his lips against hers. It was the lightest of touches, but an electric jolt of desire shot down his spine to settle in his balls. For over a decade, Aristo had been feeling the same lightning desire every time they came together. Her tongue flickered across the seam of his lips. He instinctively opened his mouth and groaned when Tamia’s tongue stroked deep inside. She slid her tongue over his as she lifted her hands and cupped his face. Unlike other nights, tonight there was a little bit of desperation in her touch. Tonight, Tamia was the aggressor. She thrust her fingers through his hair and clutched his head. Aristo growled low when the slight burn of her nails scraping along his scalp shot through his groin. Tamia broke off their kiss to whisper, “Love me,” softly against his lips. “I’ve always loved you. Since the beginning of time,” he responded automatically. It was the truth. Aristophanes had loved Tamia since the first moment he’d spotted her from his cell in the clouds of Olympus. Destined to spend an eternity in an eight by ten box, Aristophanes had not believed his sentence could be any more damning. And then he’d accidentally slipped into Tamia’s dreams, one night. He’d been awed by her beauty, both physical and spiritual. Only when he realised he’d never be able to be with Tamia outside of his dreams had Aristophanes truly understood what he was losing by being confined. It was worse than he’d first feared. Worse than a sun god being locked away in box that allowed neither sun nor heat to touch his golden flesh. Worse than an eternity damned to darkness. He was losing the better part of his heart and soul. “I’ll always love you,” he repeated earnestly. His hands slid down her back, teasing the curve of her spine until they reached her bottom. Aristo cupped her ass and pulled her hard against his hips. She was the perfect size for him. Her thighs met his and his cock was nestled between the cradle of her hips.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
11
“I think I loved you the moment I saw you.” Tamia breathed the words against his mouth as she stood on her toes. The act pressed her hips harder against his and his balls tightened with need as he lowered his head to meet her lips. He found her lips parted. His tongue took advantage of the fact and stroked deep into her mouth, touching, tasting, and devouring the distinct, sweet taste of Tamia’s succulent lips. Her fingers ran down his back, torturing his naked skin with the lightest of touches. He growled harshly when her fingertips teased the breadth of his shoulders, skimming over the taut muscles of his back. A tiny spark of anger filled Aristo when he thought of what she was not touching, the birthright that had been stolen from him. Just as she had been stolen from him. Tamia broke off the kiss and searched his gaze. “What’s wrong?” Her fingers traced the twin lines too fine to be seen by human eyes. The lines she should not have been able to recognise. “Is this where…?” she whispered softly. He growled out an ancient curse and took a step back. The small amount of space between them hurt his heart. He wanted to be inside of her, but Aristo knew the anger he felt was dangerous. It always was whenever he thought of his loss. She took a step forward. “I don’t think any less of you.” He lifted his head swiftly and glared at her. “That is because you don’t know what I’ve lost.” She took another step forward and gave him a small, tremulous smile. “You forget, Aristophanes, that I know everything there is to know about you. Aristo, you’re my other half.” His anger dissipated like smoke on the wind. He reached for her and captured her lips in a starving kiss. “Gods, how I love you,” he groaned as he lifted her into his arms. Tamia wrapped her legs around his waist and rocked her hips against the swelling bulge between his thighs. He cursed and collapsed onto his bed, thanking Olympus that it took up the back wall of his cell. He didn’t have to worry about missing the mattress as he backed up, lips fused to Tamia’s.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
12
He slipped his hands under the hem of Tamia’s shirt and slid them up her torso. His palms cupped the heavy mounds of her luscious breasts, weighing them for a moment. They felt perfect in his hands. As though they belonged there. “Don’t tease me,” Tamia groaned as her small hands pressed at his shoulders. His back was forced against the cool back wall, but he barely noticed. He was too focused on Tamia. She stood on his bed, feet on each side of his hips. His sitting position placed his head right near her pelvis. He lifted his gaze after a moment and caught her watching him. “I thought you’d never look up,” she sighed before dropping her hands to the waistband of her running shorts. Chest heaving, Aristo watched her slowly peel the tight cotton down her moulded thighs. She lifted one leg and then the other before kicking them off. They fell in a small heap on the floor. “Hades,” he growled as he reached for her. She shook her head the tiniest bit. He didn’t like giving up control, but Aristo knew that Tamia needed it. He would let her control the pace of their lovemaking…for now. His fingers tightened into fists as he watched her slowly raise her tee shirt to reveal her softly rounded stomach and full breasts. Even wearing her sports bra and thong, Tamia was his idea of sex personified. “Now, come here!” he said, voice thick with desire. She shook her head again even as she took tiny, teasing steps towards him. She stopped right in front of his face. This close he could smell her distinctive scent. A decadent perfume of lust, summer flowers, and vanilla. Aristo lifted his head and caught the self-satisfied look in her eyes. He grinned at Tamia before wrapping his hand around one of her thighs. For a moment he marvelled at the difference in their skin tones. Hers was a dark chocolate tone that made him think wicked, erotic thoughts and his was a cool, French vanilla that complemented hers perfectly. “Well?” she said saucily. His smile widened. Gods, he’d missed her. Even though they came together every night, each day felt like an eternity. He tightened his grip and lifted her thigh. He placed it on his shoulder. She squeaked his name when she fell forward just the tiniest bit.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
13
“Well?” he rumbled as he reached for her thong with his free hand. He pulled it to the side to reveal the slick lips of her cunt. With one hand braced against the wall and the other on his shoulder, Tamia spread her legs a little farther apart. Aristo found himself staring at the bud of her exposed clitoris. She rocked her hips forward. He acknowledged her silent request and lifted his gaze. He looked into her eyes as he leaned forward and pressed a tender kiss to her flesh. “Damn!” she breathed out the curse word through shaky lips. Watching her face, he thrust out his tongue and licked a wet path down the lips of her sheath. “Oh god, yes.” Aristo lifted his hands and cupped her ass. Tightening his hold he pressed her pussy against his face as he swiped his tongue across her clit. “Shit! That’s it. That’s it,” Tamia cried out. Her tight, hoarse scream was like fire to his kindling. He dove in, licking, nipping, and suckling her flesh until she was begging for mercy and then begging him to tongue her. He couldn’t get enough of her unique, slightly sweet, slightly salty taste. He wanted to devour her. “Please, Aristo. I need you. Inside me,” she sobbed the words as she leaned above him. They seemed to do what her other pleas had not been able to accomplish. They broke through. He lowered her thigh so she stood before him. She grabbed one edge of her thong. He took the other. Together they pulled the thin fabric down her thighs. It landed in a pool of black lace beside his left hip. “I want you to keep it…for during the day.” Aristo flashed her a smile he knew didn’t quite reach his eyes. She was right. Lately things had gotten harder. The days longer. He would need something more than the coming night to get him through the day. He grabbed her panties, folded them and placed them underneath his mattress. When he turned he found her kneeling beside him. She’d removed her sports bra.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
14
He stared at the heavy orbs of her breasts. A slightly lighter tone than her thighs, her breasts were a warm mahogany colour tipped with the darkest brown nipples. The buds were swollen with need. His mouth watered with the need to taste them. After taking a deep breath, Aristo found the strength to stand. The cot was only big enough for one. Without being told what to do, Tamia lay down and spread her legs. Over the years they had developed a routine. He smiled at her as he stripped off his bottoms. He grasped the firm root of his cock and palmed it all the way to the tip. A wracking shudder ran through his body at the simple touch. Muscles tightened and need flamed. He was already at that point where the tiniest act brought immense pleasure. He lowered himself between Tamia’s splayed thighs. For a moment he simply stared into her face, memorising the sharp angles and soft curves. She returned his gaze. He knew instinctively she was doing the same thing. Because when morning came, like most dreams, most of what they shared would be forgotten. Although he tried his hardest to remember every gasp, every cry, every orgasm, Aristo could barely remember her face. Only that she’d come to him and brought fire to his cold world. “Remember that I love you. Don’t ever forget that.” “Never,” he whispered back harshly as he bathed his cock in her cream. It was the one thing he never forgot. It was the one memory that never departed. From the first night he’d known how she felt about him. “And don’t you forget that I love you.” Her fingers skimmed his face, touching his cheekbones, his lips and teasing the indent in his jaw. “I never forget. I never forget anything about you. I only discover more.” She lifted her head and brushed her lips across his. Aristo grasped one of her thighs, lifted it until it sat at his hip, and pressed his length to her entrance. Looking into her lovely eyes, Aristo slid into her sheath the first few inches. He took a moment then to relish the feel of her wet, heat surrounding him. Then he lowered his head and captured Tamia’s lips. He thrust his tongue past her parted lips as he thrust his cock into her sheath. Her cry of pleasure was swallowed by their kiss. He withdrew only to thrust harder past the rhythmically clenching muscles of her pussy.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
15
“Oh Lord, yes. Hard. Give it to me just like that!” Aristo broke off their kiss, caught her gaze and held it as he plundered her cunt, sliding deep into Tamia’s sheath to tease the walls of her sex and touch her special spot. Her g-spot. “Christ!” she screamed. Her eyes slammed shut and her nails scraped down his back as she screamed his name. He grunted and focused on holding his own release at bay as her tight pussy convulsed around him. “That’s it, baby. Come for me, my love.” He lifted her legs and placed them on his shoulders. The act allowed him to touch her more deeply. Her eyes widened and her breathing became raspier. “Oh god, yes!” she cried out with a wicked smile. “Give it to me. Give. It. To. Me.” Aristo peppered her words with plunging strokes until he could feel her sex tightening rhythmically around him. Tamia was going to come again. “Not. Yet,” he rumbled. He knew as far-gone as he was he would orgasm with her and he wasn’t quite ready for the good loving to come to an end. He thrust into her hard and fast, making sure to hit her sweet spot with every stroke. Her nails dug into his hips, breaking through the skin, before she lifted her hands and grabbing his lone pillow. She clutched it like a lifeline. “Oh god. Oh fuck. Yes. Yes. Oh god, yes!” she cried out as he fucked her. Sweat slid down his back, muscles tightened, and the pleasure he felt as he plunged into became fiery and relentless. “Fuck!” “Now, Aristo!” she called out as her cunt tightened around him with her release. Aristophanes found himself unable to hold his orgasm at bay. He came inside her with a shuddering release that left him breathless. His fingers dug into her hips as he held Tamia to him. The closeness he felt as he wrapped his arms around Tamia compared to nothing he’d experienced before. Not even the best of Olympus compared to her. “Don’t tell me you’re falling asleep.” Tamia chuckled and rolled her hips. Both acts got his attention. His cock hardened, already swelling with renewed desire. Aristo opened his eyes and flipped them over. Tamia laughed as she fell atop him. “How do you do that?”
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
16
“Practice,” he murmured softly as he lifted her until her breasts swung in front of his face. He had been doing the swift move for months now, and every time Tamia giggled. Aristo had a feeling that even if he had a bigger bed, he’d continue to do it just to hear her laugh. “Aristo?” “Still think I’m falling asleep?” he murmured before wrapping his lips around her nipple. He reached between them and grasped his cock. She lifted her hips slightly and sheathed him inside her. “Something tells me neither of us are going to fall asleep anytime soon,” Tamia said with another giggle.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
17
Chapter Two Come To Me
Tamia’s legs couldn’t seem to carry her fast enough. It was early in the morning, and the streets of Sydney were filled with people trying to make their way to work. The Tuesday morning bustle was jarring to her senses. She found it almost impossible to keep her wits about her. Bodies jostled her, some people yelled in outrage at her pushiness, but Tamia ignored them all to focus on her goal. All she wanted to do was go back to the jewellery store and return the damned ring she’d purchased the day before. At least she was assuming she’d purchased it. The last thing she remembered was having a waking dream. That didn’t bode well… Tamia glanced down at the ring. It was cursed. She was as sure of it as she was her first name. All night long she’d dreamed of the golden haired man. Nothing new there, except that the seemingly endless dream had felt real. The intensity of the dreams scared her witless. She had felt as though every touch, every kiss was truly happening. She couldn’t stop feeling his lips, fingers teasing the flesh around the opal ring. Nothing so simple should have been that erotic, but with Aristo it was. And no matter how much she tried to remind herself that what she was experiencing was no more than a dream, her body felt his presence too strongly. It ignored her. As if that wasn’t frightening enough Tamia had woken in her own bed, totally naked. She had convinced herself that the dream was no more erotic than those she’d had before, but she knew she was lying. Last night had been different. A thousand times more intense than any other night. Frightened by what she knew she could not deny, Tamia had tried to take off the ring, but it wouldn’t budge. No amount of butter, oil, or soap dislodged it. She had started freaking out then. The ring she couldn’t remember buying and the passionate dream that felt all too real was too much to ignore. It was as though the ring was attached to her and had no intention of letting go.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
18
Just as her dream lover had promised to never let her go… She jerked to a stop in front of the store. Unfortunately, the store staring back at her was not the store she’d been inside the day before. She blinked and reread the name. This time out loud. “Luscious deserts.” It didn’t make sense. Just yesterday there had been a jewellery store there. And now… She darted glances at the establishments on either side of the bakery. They were the same. She turned in a circle and stared at the stores up and down both streets. Everything was as she remembered it, except for the jewellery store. “You look for the other half of your soul!” Tamia froze, surprised by not only the softly whispered words, but by the degree of emotion in the speaker’s tone. She turned and found bright, ebony eyes staring at her. Tamia peered at an elderly aboriginal woman curiously, unsure of what to say in response. “Excuse me,” she muttered eventually. The woman smiled, flashing her a mouth full of surprisingly white teeth. There was something about that smile that put Tamia on edge. She couldn’t help feeling as though she’d been at the receiving end of that smile before. “Have we met?” The woman’s smile widened. “Yes, my dear. Just yesterday.” Tamia blinked twice, surprised by the matter of fact way that the woman had answered. The elderly woman was so sure they had met; yet Tamia didn’t actually remember meeting her. “Yesterday?” “I was younger then,” she said before darting a glance at Tamia’s hand. “Fuck!” Tamia screamed in surprise when she saw the ring she had been trying futilely to remove had somehow switched hands. She now wore it on her ring finger. “How…? How is that even possible?” The woman laughed. “Everything is possible when you believe.” Tamia lifted her head and started at the woman in horrified surprise. She had just uttered a fairytale line in the middle of what was quickly becoming Tamia’s waking nightmare.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
19
As she looked at the woman something occurred to her. She reminded Tamia of the woman she’d purchased the cursed opal from. “Marie?” She grinned and shook her head. Right before her eyes, the woman became twenty years younger until the same Marie she’d purchased the opal from stood in front of her. “Holy Shit! Holy shit…holy…shit!” Tamia started hyperventilating. The woman had just shaved two decades off her face. “Yes. Now that we’re over the formalities, let’s get down to business.” She grabbed Tamia’s arm. Tamia snatched her arm from Marie’s grip when they reached the entranceway to the bakery. “I’m not going anywhere with you. I don’t even know who…or what you are!” “I bet you’re dying to find out though, huh? Come, we’ll drink coffee and eat cake and talk. I know everything there is to know about the man you love…including where to find him.” Her heart stopped only to pick up pace until it beat like she was running a marathon. Tamia told herself it was because her body had sustained too many shocks in so little time. That it had nothing to do with the promise of meeting her dream lover. “So come, let’s talk,” Marie said, interrupting Tamia’s thoughts. As much as she wanted to be with him, Tamia didn’t trust Marie. “Talk?” She gawked at the woman. Marie had to be off her rocker if she thought for one second Tamia was going to shit with her. Marie took several steps to the bakery’s glass door and pulled it open. “Don’t you want know how to win the man of your dreams…the golden, green eyed man of your dreams?” Tamia’s jaw dropped and her palms itched with the need to grab Marie and shake the information out of her. Holding on desperately to her control, Tamia slid Marie a cautious glance. The look in Marie’s eyes told Tamia she was serious. Marie knew how to find Aristo. God damn it! Tamia gritted her teeth and stepped into the small bakery. She felt like she was wadding into some very muddy waters, but she needed to take the chance that her conversation with Marie would make her murky dreams clearer. Tamia took the first table available. Unfortunately, she didn’t find one until she reached the back corner of the bakery. The moment Marie sat across from her, Tamia leaned across the table and whispered, “What do you know about Aristo?” “Eat, drink, then we talk.”
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
20
“Marie!” She hissed in anger. “Fine, then. We eat, drink, and talk.” At that moment a waitress appeared beside Marie. “We’ll have two orders of the dessert special and Grande mochas.” “No, we won’t. I’ll have water.” Marie shrugged. “Okay, one water it is,” the waitress said before disappearing. “You’ve dreamed of him since you were eighteen, haven’t you?” “How did you...?” Tamia shook her head, remembering that Marie had told her she knew everything to know about Aristo. “Where is he?” “You don’t doubt the fact that he is real?” Tamia stilled. “I never considered that he wasn’t.” Every time Aristo touched her, she felt his love. It was stronger than anything she could have dreamed up. Aristo was real all right! Marie grinned. “I knew you were the one, knew it the moment you walked into the store. You’ve not only got passion, you’ve got fire. And that boy needs fire.” A flash of sadness filled Marie’s beautiful face. “It’s been so long since he’s felt anything remotely warm.” Tamia swallowed thickly and took a deep breath as her chest was filled with pain. She’d been to the dark place, Aristo called home. She knew how cold and desolate his world was. “But you’re his heat, his sunshine.” Tamia blinked back the tears that threatened at Marie’s words. She hated the fact that she was the only thing Aristo had to look forward to in life. Especially when she considered that she could only give him a few hours of pleasure a night. “Where can I find him?” “Don’t you want to hear the story, first? Don’t you want to know why he’s in that cage?” Tamia didn’t want to hear anything but where she could find Aristo and how she could set him free. She’d been searching for ten years for him. No, the truth was she had been searching her whole life for him. Even when she was a little girl, long before she had dreamed of him, Tamia had known something was missing. She had always been too much
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
21
of a loner and too different from everyone else to fit in. Aristo was the one person who understood her inside and out. The one person who completed her. “Yes, I want to hear the story,” she gritted out. Marie smiled. “Trust me, the story is worth the wait.” “Thousands of years ago, when man was little more than an animal, Aristophanes ruled over the sun and fire. He was born with wings of fire. His reign was his birthright as he was one of Zeus’s very own children. His powers made him a god among gods. And nobody hated that more than his family.” Tamia froze at Marie’s words. She’d been raised in a Christian household and thus believed in a higher power, but Greek gods? “His family?” Marie shook her head. “Let me correct that. His half-brothers and stepmother hated it. See, Aristophanes is only half god, at least technically. He was not Hera’s child. Not only had Zeus betrayed her, he betrayed her with a human, and the child had been gifted with more powers than most of her own children.” Tamia leaned back as the waitress appeared beside them. She had their drinks and Marie’s dessert on her tray. Marie waited until the young woman departed before resuming her story. Marie cut a small slice of her cake and offered it to Tamia. Knowing that Marie was drawing out the moment for added dramatic effect, Tamia simply shook her head instead of yelling at Marie to continue. After two bites Marie put the dessert away. “Hera was enraged, but she never had cause to do anything, at least not explicitly, to the child. That is until she discovered that the child had given a human family fire from Olympus. The flame Aristophanes gave them was meant to burn for hundreds of years. To provide warmth and security to disgusting, vile humans.” Seeing as Tamia was a human she didn’t particularly like the description. Her irritation must have shown on her face. Marie smiled and patted her hand. “It’s just part of the story, dear. Seeing as I was once human…oh where was I? Yes,” she exclaimed. “And the fire did burn for hundreds of years until Hera discovered it and extinguished it. But someone had to be punished for the theft. That someone was Aristo. Zeus made sure the punishment was not death. That was all he could do to save his own child without appearing to favour one child over the other.”
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
22
“That is why Aristo’s wings were clipped. That is why he is caged, because he gave man fire during humanity’s darkest, coldest time.” “He gave us fire?” she choked out as tears streamed down her face. Aristo, the man she had come to know, was more than strong enough to brave the wrath of his stepmother to give humanity such a gift. That strength was part of why she loved him. “Yes, and that ring, that opal was created when the fire first touched the ground.” Tamia gasped as her heart skipped a beat. There was an aboriginal legend about where opals came from. They claimed the gemstone had been created when an aboriginal god gave man fire. Marie smirked at her. “Ah, you’ve heard the legend too. Well, that’s your man. Your mate. Your husband.” Tamia reached out and grasped the water glass in front of her with shaky fingers. She took several sips. “I’m not married.” “Oh but you are. That ring only fits one woman, Aristophanes’ bride. It was created for you.” Tamia didn’t have the heart in her to argue with Marie. The truth was she did feel like Aristophanes’ bride, felt as though she had been married to him, mind, body, and soul since the first night he entered her dreams. “Aristo…how can I set him free? Where can I find him?” Marie smiled and leaned across the table. “Why on Olympus, my dear.” Tamia lifted a heavy hand to her head as her vision blurred. It seemed to take forever for her fingers to reach her eyes and even longer for her to finish rubbing them. “Olympus?” she murmured as her eyes slowly closed, too heavy to stay open. How in the hell was she, a human, going to get to Olympus?
**** “What the hell is she doing here on Olympus? Why would you bring her here? Don’t you know what they will do to her if they find her?” Aristo thundered as he stared at Tamia. Running his hands through his hair, he turned back to his mother.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
23
Marie flashed him a smile that seemed to brighten up the dark room. “Because that, my dear, is what family does.” “Mother!” Aristo cried out exasperated. His mother had always been a handful. He thought he’d lived through her worst when Zeus slipped her some ambrosia and made her a goddess. “You ain’t seen nothing yet!” She was reading his thoughts again! He placed both hands on top of his ears even though he knew it was useless. “Stay out of my head. I hate it when you do that.” She shooed him away to pace the cell. “I’m going to get you out of this cage, if it’s the last thing I do.” “If Hera finds out what you’re doing, it will be the last thing you do.” She turned and glared at him. “Stop threatening your mother. It’s not very nice of you.” He shook his head. “I’m not threatening. I’m warning. You know better than to taunt the beast.” She swung around swiftly. “She’s the one who taunted the beast by caging my beautiful boy. All because you gave me, your mother, fire, all because you loved me, the woman who birthed you more than her, the goddess who scorned you.” Aristo sighed. They’d had the same conversation time and time again and no matter how many times he heard it, he couldn’t ignore his mother’s pain. She was hurting, had been hurting for thousands of years because he was imprisoned for helping her. “The only reason she’s still alive is because she used her sons against you. The bitch coward couldn’t even clip you herself. No, she had to get her sons to curse you. And that’s because she knew Zeus couldn’t hurt his own children. Half brothers, my ass!” She spit on the floor in disgust. “Mother! “Oh stop worrying about me. I’ve got help this time and I found the key.” “The key?” Aristo darted a cautious glance at Tamia’s sleeping from. Something occurred to him as he watched her. “Why is she still sleeping?” Marie gave him a broad smile. “I added a little something to her water. She won’t wake until she’s meant to.” Aristo glared at his mother. He didn’t like the game she was playing. And with Tamia’s life! “Take her back. I can’t take the chance that she’ll be captured. Take her now.”
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
24
“Well, then maybe you should stop yelling, huh?” His lips clamped shut. “And she’s not the key…not exactly. She’s kind of part of the key.” He didn’t like the thought of his woman as a key. To him, she was more than a way out of his confinement. Marie shrugged. “But that’s neither here nor there. She’s here for you. She asked to come to you, to Olympus. So I brought her here. Consider it a night off from your penance.” “You’ve got to be kidding me!” he growled. He could not believe his mother had brought Tamia to Olympus, knowing that if she was caught she would be killed, just so he could have an actual night with her. “Oh don’t you dare give me that. I’ll have you know it wasn’t my idea.” “Don’t tell me you’re going to blame her?” She grinned at him. “Actually it was his idea.” She tilted her head to the side and eyed the area behind her. He glanced at the spot automatically and groaned when his father appeared. As the humans would say, his life had officially gone down the shitter. “I’m not even sure I want to know what you’re doing here.” “He’s my help. We both believe that she is the one who can set you free. Plus, I’m tired of waiting for grandkids.” He growled and ran his hands over his face. She was tired of waiting for grandkids… “What makes you think Tamia wants kids?” Both his mother and father laughed before disappearing. “Ah!” Aristo growled before kicking the air. He really, really hated it when they did that.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
25
Chapter Three We Only Say Goodbye With Words
Aristo stared at her, drinking in the sight of her beauty. He tried to memorise her face, knowing he would probably never see her again. At least outside of his dreams. And maybe not even then if Hera discovered he’d been meeting Tamia in his dreams. She stirred slightly and turned over to look at him. She gazed at him for several moments. After what felt like an eternity she looked away. Aristo suddenly found the ability to take in a deep breath. Tamia sat up and pulled the blanket he had draped over her to the side. His stomach muscles clenched and his cock swelled with need the moment her figure was revealed. Aristo was more than a little surprised by his reaction. By the depth of it. Tamia was, after all, still fully dressed. But with her slim fitted shirt and jeans, he could see the hills and sweet curves that made up her body. And he longed to be with her. “I’m no longer dreaming, am I?” she whispered the words after making her way around the small cage he called home. Aristo drank in the decadent sight of her profile, her small, slim neck, strong jaw line, sharp cheekbones, and long lashed eyes, before answering her. “No, Tamia. We’re no longer drifting between the planes of our worlds. You are here in Olympus.” She turned swiftly. “Like Greek mythology Olympus?” “Similar, but not quite the same as the world you learned about in your classes.” She swallowed thickly and turned away. “Christ, I secretly thought Marie was on crack.” Aristo laughed. He knew that feeling. Sometimes his mother was a lot to take in. “So you really are a god?” He tried to think of a way of explaining what he was, but could come up with nothing better than, “Yes.” His wings had been clipped, but he was still immortal.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
26
“I see,” she said and nodded stiffly. Aristo smiled softly. She had no idea what it meant, but she was too brave to let him see just how much his god status freaked her out. He took three steps to her and placed his fingertips against her cheek. A tingling sense of awareness danced from the callused pads of his fingers to flow through his body. Only then did Aristophanes realise he’d never really touched Tamia, only dream-touched her. He wanted to run his hands over every inch of her exposed skin and spend endless moments touching the skin that was hidden. He couldn’t help himself; he leaned forward and took a deep breath filled with her distinct scent. He closed his eyes and revelled in the simple pleasure of having her warm, body so close to his. “I’m still the man you dreamed of,” he whispered gruffly against the shell of her ear. She turned and caught his gaze. “But you’re not a man, are you?” “Yes and no. Nothing is quite that simple here.” She blinked and a single silver tear leaked from her right eye. “I’m sorry…I just…” Hades! He’d forgotten about their emotional connection. He had not considered that she would feel what he felt outside of their shared dreams. Their bond was stronger than he’d ever hoped it was. “Don’t apologise. You never need to apologise to me.” She didn’t say anything, but Aristophanes noticed that some of the tension riding her frame left her shoulders. She turned and glanced around his cell. “It’s exactly as I remember it.” Tiny. Cramped. Cold. Dark. “Yes.” “In our dreams…we came here.” “Yes,” he sighed. He heard the implicit question in her tone. Why would he choose to bring her to his cell when he dreamed? “Even in my dreams I’m chained. I cannot leave this cell in any way, shape, or form.” She spun around and held his gaze. “I will happily join you wherever you are.” Gods be damned! Aristo didn’t deserve her, but he wasn’t about to give her up. Or allow her to join him in his hell. He strode across the room and grabbed her arm. “You cannot stay here. You must leave. I will beg Zeus to take you back.”
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
27
She shook her head slowly and pressed her luscious frame against his body. “I’m here to stay, Aristo. I’ve finally found what I’ve been looking for. Don’t think I’m going to run away now.” “We’ll both be damned.” She gave him a soft, tender smile. “As long as we are together.” Aristo closed his eyes and took a deep breath meant to calm his raging desire. His need had come out of nowhere, taken him by surprise and left him shaking. He curled his fingers into a fist as he fought back the need. The simple act was meant to quiet the loud humming in his veins. It didn’t work. He opened his eyes and lowered his head. “Damn, I’ve missed you, too!” Tamia groaned the words before pressing her lips to his. He kissed her hard, savagely, using all the passion he’d kept at bay for the last eleven years. Although they’d come together every night for more than a decade, the emotion he’d shown her had only been the surface of his need. But he couldn’t hold himself back anymore, not with her standing beside him, speaking the words he’d longed to hear her say, touching more than his psyche. “I need you. I need to be inside you.” “And I need you inside of me.” Aristo’s hot, wet tongue plunged deep into Tamia’s mouth as his hands held her face immobile for the hard, urgent thrust of that moist, velvet muscle stroking inside of her. Every plunge, every flick, every sweet glide of his tongue into her mouth touched something deep and sensual inside of her. God, how she loved Aristo. Her sheath clenched with need, fluttered with desire and moistened with passion with every sweep of Aristo’s talented tongue. If Tamia wasn’t careful she was going to come from his kiss alone. She broke of the kiss and walked backwards. Aristo glanced behind her before following her lead. It felt like it took them forever to reach the small cot. Then again, it might have felt that way because she had been waiting ten years to be with him. Aristo followed her down onto the bed and pressed his lips against hers the moment her head hit the pillow. Tamia’s nails dug into the hard curve of his sculpted biceps, as she
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
28
held onto him for dear life as he kissed her hard. When she was gasping for breath, Aristo broke off the kiss. She reached out for him, reluctant to let him go. She was afraid she would wake up and discover it was all a dream. He kissed her palm, tickling the flesh with his mouth before lowering her hand. His hands slid down her torso, mapping the planes of her body with his hot touch, until they settled on her waistline. She lifted her hips. He quickly undressed her until she only wore her panties. She leaned up and removed both her shirt and bra. She winked at him. He smiled back at her as he slid her panties down her legs. Aristo wrapped his hands around her thighs and spread her legs. He tentatively squeezed the resilient flesh before moving his fingers deeper into the area between her thighs. She groaned his name when his hands brushed across her sex. Aristo spread the puffy lips of her sheath and touched her intimately. Tamia never wanted to stop feeling his hands on her skin. She wanted to be consumed and to consume. She craved every touch, every caress. She needed to indulge in the man that had filled her nights. Her days. Her life. She closed her eyes, smiled and bit her lip as he plunged two fingers into her cunt. He initiated a steady thrust and retreat rhythm for several strokes until she was soaking wet. Heat shot through every one of her limbs. Sweat beaded her forehead and upper lip. Her skin suddenly felt too tight for her body. Tamia felt hot and needy. And only Aristo could appease the ache that drove her to the breaking point. She dug her heels into the mattress and lifted her hips. “I need you. Now!” Aristo growled something undecipherable and widened her legs. His fingers gripped her thighs punishingly as he pressed his cock to her sheath. She opened her eyes and stared up at his face. He glanced down and looked at her. “I love you, Tamia. I’ll love you for the rest of my life.” He whispered the tender words before thrusting the full length of his cock into Tamia with one stroke. “Oh God,” she cried out as pleasure sliced through her. Unrepentant fiery flames of passion filled her cunt. “I love you too,” she screamed as her sheath quivered around his cock in orgasmic bliss.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
29
Her body was shaking so hard, her pleasure so relentless, Tamia couldn’t catch her breath. “Yes. Yes, Aristo,” she moaned against the corded flesh of his neck as he slammed into her repeatedly, pushing her higher and higher until she felt as though every nerve ending in her pussy was on fire from her release. “So good,” Aristo growled as he plunged into her pussy. Tamia felt the stroke deep in her sex, as he moved through the tight, rhythmically clenching muscles of her sheath. She was going to come again. It felt like the heat of the sun itself was coalescing in her womb with every stroke of his cock. She lifted her hips, hungry for his more intimate touch as she brushed her mouth across his. Aristo murmured her name in answer to her demanding actions before claiming her mouth in a hungry kiss that left them both breathless. He pressed his cock against the shallow indentation on the inside of her cunt at the same time that he pressed his tongue against the roof of her mouth. His tongue skimmed over her teeth, licking her, as his cock slid from her sheath only to thrust in fast, deep, and full of force. Lights danced before Tamia’s eyes as a painfully acute lightning bolt of pleasure shot through her pussy. “Dear God.” “Come. For. Me.” He grunted each word as his cock plundered her cunt. His gaze caught hers for a fleeting moment, but it was all that was required to sear her heart with the heat in his smouldering green eyes. Tamia screamed Aristo’s name as her climax shattered through her. Belatedly, she realised the roar she heard signified that he was joining her in her release. She’d never felt more complete before.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
30
Chapter Four At Your Best You Are Love
Tamia woke as the bed beneath her moved. It took her a moment to realise her bed was actually a sun god named Aristo. It took her even longer to open her eyes. When she did, she found him looking up at her with sadness in his gaze. “What’s wrong?” she whispered. She could feel the difference in the air. Everything had changed and none of it for the better. “We will give you thirty seconds to get dressed. Nothing more.” She whipped around and stared at the open door of Aristo’s cell. Two tall, blond males stood in the doorway. She blinked at the similarity between them and Aristo. She leaned up and turned back to Aristo. “Your brothers are your wardens?” For one moment and one moment only, she glimpsed the inner pain he felt that his very own flesh and blood caged him. She cried a silent tear for the terrible misery he’d kept locked inside for centuries. “You must get dressed. They will drag you out of here regardless of what you are or are not wearing. Trust me, I know.” Aristo lifted her off of him and placed her on her feet. He quickly gathered her clothing and handed them to her. She dumped them on the bed. “Aristo?” He turned and looked at her imploringly. “Please, I need you to get dressed. I don’t want them to see you…see what belongs to me.” There was so much agony in his gaze, the sight quieted whatever she was going to say. He cherished her too much to have her degraded in front of his siblings. He was right. She had to get dressed. And quickly. Tamia had just barely finished lowering her shirt when the iron gates behind her were thrown open. Aristo’s jailers had returned. And they looked none too happy. She took a deep breath and held back the misery she could feel rising to the surface. Tamia knew she would be punished for entering his cage. Aristo had told her as much.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
31
Punishment she could handle. What frightened her was the possibility that his brothers and Hera would make sure that she never saw him again. Not even in her dreams. Tamia turned and strode towards the door; all the while silently praying that Aristo wasn’t forbidden to her. “Let’s get this over with,” she muttered as she reached his jailers. One of the guards reached for her arm. She shrugged it out of his reach. “God or no god, you touch me and you’ll pull back a nub.” One pale eyebrow lifted and a tiny smirk appeared on his sensual mouth. He dropped his hand and motioned her forward. She breathed a tiny sigh of relief that he hadn’t pressed it and touched her. Tamia didn’t think she could handle having his hands on her. She probably would have broken out in hives. “You must come too, Aristophanes. Mother calls for you.” “Your mother, you mean,” Aristo growled from behind her. Tamia started to turn around and look at Aristo when his other brother strode past her. “Oh, no. You’re coming with me.” The brother beside her spoke as he reached for her arm. He grabbed her, preventing her fully turning around, but she was able to see the other brother walk behind Aristo and place his hands on her lover’s shoulders. Almost the moment his hands touched Aristo’s skin, dark red wings unfurled from the guard’s back. She gasped in surprise at the intensity of the colour and the utmost beauty of his wings. Pain sluiced through her when she lifted her gaze and looked into Aristo’s eyes. She had thought she understood a little bit of his pain. She realised then that she knew nothing. “I love you,” she cried out as the jailer dragged her from the cell. “I love you, too.” Tamia didn’t hear the words, but she felt them as his mouth slowly moved to make them. His brother flapped his wings three times slowly. Aristo held her gaze and gave her a soft smile. She immediately knew something was wrong. She opened her mouth to ask him if he was okay, but she never got the words out. Her eyes widened in horror as Aristo and his brother faded to nothing. “Now, it’s our turn to fly.”
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
32
She turned just as the brother beside her flapped his wings. She closed her eyes and tightened her muscles instinctively, preparing herself for the flight, but they never took to the air. She opened her eyes and peeked around her. She fully opened them when she found herself in a brightly coloured room that seemed to be literally painted with the sun’s golden rays. She was so surprised by the colour she found herself staring at every inch of the room. And then her gaze collided with Aristo’s mesmerising green eyes. It was then that she noticed that Aristo stood beside one of two thrones. Both thrones were occupied. “This is the human you thought to bring to the home of the gods.” Cold brown eyes glared at her. With the regal way the woman held herself, Tamia knew Hera was staring her down. She slid her gaze to the throne beside Hera’s. The occupant looked so much like Aristophanes Tamia gawked at him in utter surprise. It was apparent that Aristo was Zeus’s spitting image. The only difference between the two men was the silvery strands of hair at the Zeus’s temples. She looked back at Aristo, taking a deep breath and tried to suppress the pain she felt as she looked at his hands. He was chained to Hera’s throne. The metal bindings were just long enough to let him stand fully erect, but nothing more. She wanted to tell him how sorry she was for coming to Olympus…for bringing them to this place, but knew it was best to keep the words inside. She didn’t want him to think she regretted visiting him. Only bringing him more pain. “I am Zeus and this is Hera.” At the words, her attention was drawn back to the man who reminded her too much of her lover. He glanced at Aristo. “I believe you might have heard of us.” “I think we’ve had enough of an introduction,” Hera said cutting off anything further Zeus might have said. He simply leaned back and smiled at her as Hera continued. “Humans are forbidden from Olympus, but you brought her here.” She glared at Aristo. “Once again you have broken one of our most precious rules.” Defiant and proud, Aristo straightened his shoulders and glared back at Hera. “Those rules are not our most
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
33
precious rules, but your most precious rules. You are the only one who upholds those archaic beliefs.” Hera lunged from her throne and pointed one accusatory finger at Aristo. Flames seemed to shoot from her dark eyes with the power of her fiery rage. “Hera!” Zeus yelled. She stilled and slid Zeus an accusatory glance before taking her seat. “Aristo, you went through a great deal to bring her here,” Zeus murmured. Hera turned and glared at Zeus. “Which brings up the point of how did she get here to begin with?” Zeus gave Hera a cold smile. “I believe I’m in charge of this inquisition.” Hera bristled. Aristo looked at his father. Tamia got the distinct impression they were having a silent conversation. After a moment, he spoke. “Yes. Our shared dreams were no longer enough.” “You love her!” Hera screamed, outraged. “Yes, I do.” “You are half a god.” “A clipped one,” Zeus murmured softly. “Clipped or winged, he demeans us all by loving a human, and I demand that he is punished for his crime.” “He demeans no one with his love.” “Aphrodite!” Hera exclaimed. Tamia whipped around at the sound of the throaty voice coming from behind her. She felt a little more secure when she saw Marie was waiting in the back of the room. Standing next to Marie, was a tall, statuesque blonde woman dressed in pale pink. She looked too much like the embodiment of a woman in love to be anyone other than Aphrodite. “He’s poisoned you all! But I will not let his infection continue. He has brought a human to Olympus. That is a crime that demands that the human and god are punished. And he has invaded her dreams. Another crime that requires punishment,” Hera seethed. Tamia glared at the spiteful woman from where she stood. The threat of death and damaging Aristo’s chances of getting in less trouble kept her from walking across the room and socking Hera. Aristo’s actions hadn’t demeaned anyone as far as she was concerned.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
34
“Dream trekking is not a crime, Mother,” Aphrodite purred softly. Her voice seemed to caress every inch of Tamia’s exposed skin before delving deeper and touching her most sensitive erogenous zones. Shocked at her response to another woman’s voice, Tamia crossed her hands over her chest, hoping to hide the evidence of her spontaneous arousal. Hera leaned forward in her throne. “It is a crime when the god in question is already imprisoned.” She turned to Aristo. “Your punishment was imprisonment until ten thousand millennia had passed. When you entered her dreams, you escaped. Nightly. Do you deny it?” “No,” Aristo said. Tamia felt her heart drop. Every night for almost eleven years equalled a lot of crimes. Something occurred to Tamia at Hera’s words. “He never left his cell. I entered his dreams. I went to him.” “The hell you did!” Hera screamed. “He had to go to you first. You do not have the powers to trek through another’s dreams.” “Even if we assume he entered her dreams, that is only one little crime. And I’ve done much worse than that, Mother.” Tamia turned to the right, to the area where the masculine voice had come from. A tall, dark haired male leaned against the wall. He winked at her. “Ares,” he murmured softly. Another brother. From what Tamia knew of Greek mythology, Ares and Aphrodite were siblings, children of Zeus. “What are you doing here…both of you?” Hera asked. Ares moved from the wall and shrugged. “What? Don’t tell me this was supposed to be a private execution? Besides you know me, Mother. I can never stay away from unsightly things,” he said as he strode to stand just to the left of Tamia. “And I can never stay away from anything having to do with love,” Aphrodite murmured as she walked over to Tamia. Tamia flinched when the blonde reached down and grasped her hand. Aphrodite squeezed it slightly. Hera’s dark gaze darted from Ares to Aphrodite before settling on Tamia. “We all know the punishment for bringing a human to Olympus is death…for the human.”
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
35
Aphrodite’s grip tightened in reassurance. “You will be beheaded at dawn.” Zeus sat up. “You forget that he also invaded her dreams. The punishment should be more fitting.” All eyes turned to Zeus in surprise. “And?” Hera purred softly. At that moment a wiry man wearing a crisp, white robe appeared. His floor length beard was whiter than his clothes. Tamia felt a shiver of unease snake down her spine as he pulled a scroll from the folds of his robe. He read from it in a language that sounded like ancient Greek. When he reached the end Aires growled and Aphrodite gasped. Zeus was totally stoic as Hera’s chilling laughter filled the air. But the reaction that surprised hers was Aristo’s. He smiled at Tamia and mouthed, ‘it will be okay.’ “The one thing Aristo loves almost as much as he loves the human is fire,” Zeus said softly. Hera grinned. “Ah, yes, I knew there was a reason why I married you.” She turned to Tamia “For the crime of entering her dreams, you, Aristo, will be imprisoned until the sun you love so very much itself, ceases to shine. And you, human, will walk the path of a thousand suns.” “And if she survives?” Aphrodite asked softly. Hera laughed until tears streamed out of her eyes. “If she survives they are both free, but that, my dear, is a very big if.” Aphrodite turned to Tamia and grabbed her shoulder. “Come now.” Hera stood and walked down the platform that elevated her throne. “Where do you think you are taking my prisoner?” The doors at the end of the great hall opened at that moment. “Is it not customary for the prisoner to prepare for her task?” Marie stood between the flung doors. Tamia had never been so happy to hear someone in her life. She had begun to worry Marie wasn’t going to do anything and leave her to her fate. She couldn’t explain the overwhelming experience that filled her as she looked in Marie’s dark eyes. Marie shook her head slowly. Don’t cry, she mouthed.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
36
Tamia held back her tears as Marie led the trio out of the room. The moment the door closed behind her, Tamia burst into tears. She’d come to Olympus to be with Aristo and now, not only was she about to be burnt alive, her presence had condemned Aristo to an eternity in darkness. “Don’t worry, my child. This is what has to come to pass before the sun can shine for my son.” Tamia stopped crying on a hiccup. “Your son?” Marie smiled. “Yes, Aristophanes is my first born.” “I’m so sorry,” Tamia choked out as new tears started to stream down her face. “There is nothing to be sorry about. You’re going to survive the walk of a thousand suns and set my brother free,” Ares growled. She lifted her head and found Ares staring at her. “How?” Marie stepped forward then. She grabbed Tamia’s left hand and fingered the ring she wore. “Trust in love. Trust in what you hold in your heart. Despite what Hera thinks, love is much more powerful than the fire of a thousand suns…than the fires of a million suns. And what you feel for my son is strong, honest, and beautiful.” Tamia nodded her head in agreement as she blinked back her tears. She couldn’t think of a single thing to convey what she felt inside. Yes, she was overwhelmed, but it was the kind of strong emotion that made her want to cry tears of joy. Marie understood how she felt about Aristo. Tamia loved him with her entire being. The doors behind them swung open. “Your time is up. Come now.” Tamia wiped away her tears and gave Marie a tremulous smile. “Let’s go free your son.” Marie gave her a wide grin in response. “I knew there was a reason why I liked you.” “Good. Let us get this over with.” The same burly guard who had flown Tamia’ from Aristo’s cage barked out the words and grabbed Tamia’s right arm. His strong fingers bit painfully into Tamia’s arm as he turned her around. The moment she faced him, he started walking. He moved so quickly Tamia was forced to pick up her pace or be dragged behind. Before she could fully adjust to the guard’s pace, they stood before a small gathering of gods. Zeus, Hera and Aristo stood in the middle of the group.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
37
Aristo was still in chains. A thousand things flashed through her mind as she stood before them all. She was about to walk through fire for the man she loved. There were so many things she had never done, but most of all, Tamia regretted the fact that she was about to lose Aristo just when she had found him. Zeus flashed her a smile before lifting his hands. He clapped three times in succession. As the last clap cut through the air, flames burst up from the small chasm that separated her from the group. Tamia instinctively leapt backwards. She found her escape impeded by the guard. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her forward. “Walk. Now,” he grunted out. Tamia took a step forward, turned around, and punched him square in the jaw. She figured she had nothing to lose. Plus, she hated the way he and his brother looked at her and Aristo. “Human bitch.” His growled words came to Tamia right before she took her first step onto the path. The anger they ignited blinded her for one moment to the perils of the fire. All she could think about was showing up him and his mother. And then the flames around her danced higher and higher, until they seemed to be engulfing Tamia. She could hear people yelling around her. Out of the chaos came Aristo’s voice. He was screaming her name at the top of his lungs. Her heart ached for him, for the misery she could hear in his voice. He thought she was dying. At that moment it occurred to Tamia that she was not dying. The flames were not burning her. They moved, flowed, and licked at her skin, but they were not burning her alive. She smiled widely and ran down the rest of the path. Tamia had a god to set free.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
38
Chapter Five Let’s Get Lifted
Hera’s outraged screams seemed to burst inside Tamia’s mind as she stepped off the path of a thousand suns. But the sound of Hera’s rage barely fazed her. Tamia was too happy to be alive. Too overjoyed with the fact that she and Aristo were free. After all these years they could finally be together. The flames behind Tamia were banked the moment her foot touched the dirt ground. She opened her eyes and found Aristo’s smiling gaze looking down at her. “She survived!” someone in the crowd gasped. As the softly murmured words sliced through the air, Aristo lifted his bound hands. A spotlight of the sun’s rays shined down on him, bathing him in golden glory. The air surrounding Tamia stilled as she watched the sunlight dance around him. And just when she thought the sight couldn’t be any more beautiful, his chains shattered into a thousand pieces. He took a deep breath, opened his eyes and looked at her. “I love you, Tamia.” As the words left his mouth, giant, burnt orange wings burst forth from his back. “Oh my god!” Tamia cried out as she ran towards Aristo. “It is not possible. Gods have died on that walk, let alone humans,” Hera yelled as she stomped her way over to the path. Tamia tried to evade the goddess, but Hera was too quick for her. She grabbed Tamia and held onto her with a punishing grip. “Why are you not dead? Why?” Hera seethed into Tamia’s ear. “Because love is more powerful than your hatred,” Tamia shouted back, unable to keep the anger out of her voice. “Hera!” Zeus’s cold voice boomed through the heavens. “Let the human go, now. She has completed the task given to her and survived. She and the boy are free. You, yourself, agreed to the terms.” Hera released Tamia as if it physically hurt her to hold her. She took a step away and looked over her shoulder. Her gaze landed on Aristo.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
39
Tamia watched as Aristo’s long legs ate up the space that separated them. He only took two steps before she moved around Hera to meet him halfway. He met her with open arms. “To Hades with you both!” Hera growled. The air around them stirred with malicious force. She eased out of Aristo’s arms to look at Hera, but the goddess was gone. A small cyclone of black smoke stood in her wake. Tamia looked around her and found that only Marie and Zeus remained. The rest of the crowd had disappeared. “May you both be blessed with eternal love, life, and happiness,” Marie said. Aristo smiled up at his parents. “This would not have been possible without your help.” Zeus grinned. “It’s about time I started working hard to help my children instead of always trying to please my wife.” Aristo sighed. “I have no hard feelings, father. I know in the beginning you thought you were doing both.” Aristo grasped Tamia’s hand and lifted it to reveal her opal ring. He fingered the centre stone. “And you were here for me when I needed you the most.” “Ah, I see you recognise your wife’s ring,” Marie said with a giggle. “Yes.” He turned to Tamia. “The stone was made long before you were born, but the first night I came to you and every night since then, I’ve dreamed of giving you this jewel. This opal comes from the first flame of fire on Earth. It is the only one of its kind.” “That’s only part of the reason why I love it,” Tamia whispered. Aristo smiled at Tamia as he traced the ring’s simple metal band and the intricate network of gems circling the centre stone. “But this is not my creation.” “Uh, I had to get help on that,” Zeus said. “Hephaestus,” Tamia gasped, naming the Greek god who was a master craftsman. “My ring was made by the greatest metal designer in the world!” Zeus grinned boldly at her. “I see they still teach you guys about us. Only the best for my daughter in law.” He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “I made sure that he added a protection spell just in case you should ever need it.” He straightened and winked at her before glancing at Aristo. “We’ll leave you two now. Something tells me you guys might want to spend some time enjoying the summer day. I’ll see you in about two weeks,” he finished with a chuckle.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
40
“Two weeks?” Tamia murmured surprised by the definite time. “Well, even gods have honeymoons.” Marie’s laughter seemed to float around them as she and Zeus slowly faded. Once they had disappeared, Aristo turned to Tamia. “You don’t have to stay with me,” he whispered softly, so softly she thought she had misheard him. Tamia did the first thing that came to mind. She hit him hard on the shoulder. “You’ve got to kidding me. I walk through fire and you’re not sure I’m in this for the long run?” “I had to ask,” he said sheepishly even as joy shined in his bright green gaze. Tamia started to melt at the look in his eyes. “And that’s why I love you.” “I love you too.” He pulled her to him and flapped his wings once. She stared in utter amazement at the different shades of gold and red that seemed to flow across his feathers with the movement. The colours of a dawning summer sun. “You’re absolutely breathtaking,” she murmured as she reached out and glided her hand over one wing. He was silky, soft, and unlike anything she’d ever touched before. The simple contact made her desire him. As though Aristo knew what she was thinking, he flashed her a wicked smile as he stepped back. He held onto her hands as he walked backwards. It was then that Tamia realised they were back in the golden building where she and Aristo had been sentenced. But it was not truly the same building. Before it had been outfitted to look like a cross between a king’s coronation chamber and a courtroom. Now it was the epitome of a sensual home. “This was…and is my home. Father made sure it was as I left it.” That bitch Hera, wait until I get my hands… Aristo shook his head. “None of that. I don’t want you to be bitter about what I’ve suffered. I’m not.” He looked into her eyes. “If I had not been caged, I might not have sought out the other half of my heart…invaded your dreams.” He smiled. Tonight and every night from now on will be one filled with pleasure. No anger. No pain.” He reached the raised platform in the room. Tamia lifted her gaze and caught sight of the largest most sensual bed she’d ever seen in her life. She glanced back at Aristo as a wide smile spread across her lips.
BEAUTY ON FIRE
Tuesday Morrigan
41
“I will admit that is different. I asked father for a favour just before he left.” He turned and walked up the three steps that led up the raised section. “I want to make sure that from now on our love play is not restricted by where we sleep.” “Got a few positions you’re interested in?” Tamia asked as she kicked off her shoes. Aristo laughed. “I’ve got millions.”
About the Author Tuesday Morrigan began her love affair with romance at an early age. As a child she was always infatuated with the novels she snuck from her mother. Later, in high school, the public library became her sanctuary with an endless array of romance novels. Tuesday is still an avid reader of books. Thanks to shows like Buffy, Angel, and her latest infatuation, Supernatural, Tuesday prefers her stories to have a little more grit. Her favourite genres have always been fantasy, mystery, romance and erotica, so as a writer, she tries to blend the genres to create her own personal niche. Email:
[email protected]
Tuesday Morrigan loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.total-e-bound.com .
Total-E-Bound Publishing
www.total-e-bound.com Take a look at our exciting range of literagasmic™ erotic romance titles and discover pure quality at Total-E-Bound.
