The Wager- BBW Erotic Curvy Paranormal Romance (TOUCH OF THE GODS) (19 page)

             
Our lips were still locked and the desperation I felt in his question was so intense, that the only way to reply was through deepening my kiss. It was thrilling, how his body trembled, and as I began relaxing into his clutch, our gentle exploration turned into a dominant assault. He was no longer gentle and I loved it, while knowing that even if we didn't work out, I'd never forget the way he made me feel.

With ease, he lifted me higher, his large hands gripping my thighs as they wrapped around his waist. Clinging to his neck, I submitted to him, opening my mouth wider and moaned as his sinfully sweet tongue, delved into the innermost caverns of my mouth. The frenzy in which he kissed me, consumed me and greedily, he feasted upon our passion, filling himself on my very being.

My head started to spin as I became deprived of oxygen, but before I could pull back for air, I felt a warm tingle seconds before a rush of air was forced into my lungs. It shocked me to say the least, but as the wind moved back and forth in and out of my lungs, I realized Hephaestus had begun breathing for me.

             
Lost in his dominant power, it wasn't until the tip of his tongue ran against the upper bridge of my mouth that I felt my orgasm building, desire vibrating along my spine. Repeatedly flicking along the bumpy ridges, I felt his cock grow larger, harder through his pants, my senses reeling, and our mouths remained locked as my moans grew in volume.

I tried grinding against him to speed up my release, but Hephaestus held me as still as the cold statue behind me. He pressed in more, alternating from licking along every nook and cranny in my mouth, to sucking on my lips until they stung. Before long, my heart rate picked up, my body was covered in perspiration and it seemed
that as he intensified his kiss, my entire body
was set ablaze. He sighed into my mouth his breath tickling erogenous zones that I didn't know existed until now, increasing the juice flowing from my pussy, which burned hotter than lava.

Dear heaven! When I read that he was the God of Volcanoes, they really weren't kidding. The fire of release bubbled just beneath the surface, so intense that I dug my nails into the soft skin of his neck. He growled, the resonance sending shock waves from his body into mine. Just as he asked me before in the dreams we shared, I gave him my offering.

              Crying out into his mouth I was thankful he held me, because if he hadn't, I would have collapsed into a pile of jelly and skin. It didn't stop my body from quivering like crazy in his embrace, but he didn't let up, he just continued to kiss, lick, and suck every drop of my orgasm out of me. I felt the heat of my release spread across my entire body, and knew that my skin was probably flushed a nice deep shade of pink.

Never in my life, had I been kissed until I came. I don't think anyone would even believe me if I told them and yet, here I was trying to regain my composure after being given a mind altering kiss-gasm!

Finally, Hephaestus drained the last tremor from my body, and seemed to reluctantly pull back from my lips.

It took me several more moments of him placing me back to the ground, holding me steady and giving me one last nibble, before my eyes fluttered open. There was a sure guarantee that the drugged smile I was currently giving him would be a permanent fixture on my face. It took several tries before my brain and tongue finally worked together, enabling me to speak and I was grateful Hephaestus covered his mouth to hide his grin.

              “No man has ever kissed me like that before! I'm not sure I have words for it yet.”

             
“Vanessa, I'm not man. But I would gladly do it again.”

             
“Now?”

             
He chuckled, shaking his head.

My heart did a little skipping dance when I looked at his dimpled smile.

              “Now is probably not ideal. It's getting late, so I should probably clear up and head home. You should do the same. But....” Hephaestus paused by his work gear, and looked at me over his shoulder, his eyes a dim, smoldering glow.

The look in his eyes reminded me of home and comfort. Around him, I didn't feel like an adrenaline junkie, looking for her next fix or fuck. There was a serenity about being in his presence, a subtle, but joyful peace. So why the hell did it scare the shit of out me? “But what, Heph?”

              “This weekend, I would like to take you out. Maybe a picnic?”

             
“Are you asking me out on a date?”

             
“I am merely asking you to grace me with your beauty, for a lunch in a park.”

             
Well, when he put it that way. “Alright. I'm free Saturday afternoon. Though, I think we should leave out any climatic kisses. You know, I've done the public exhibition thing already.”

             
While I thought my lame attempt at making light of a horrible incident would give me another smile, I watched his face darken with fury. 

He strode toward me and stopped close, but our bodies didn't meet and yet, I could feel the burning anger radiating off of him. “I would never do such a thing to you, Vanessa. Please know that I think of many ways to destroy my brother for the pain he caused you.”

              There was so much he didn't say, but I read it loud and clear in his eyes. The logic in my mind, to keep my distance, decided my heart had the right of it. Traitor! It probably didn't help my case when I was still feeling the after affects of the orgasmic kiss we shared only a few minutes earlier. Mentally shaking my head, I smiled up at the large immortal before me, then placed my hand on his arm, since the last time I touched his face, I got the kiss of well - a God.  “I know you'd never intentionally harm me, Hephaestus. Let's just move forward now and see what happens. Okay?”

             
His features relaxed and he nodded, giving me that handsome smile I cherished so much.

I waited while Hephaestus cleaned up and together, we walked past the many statues that were still needing repair. I stopped at a painting titled
The Fall of Hephaestus.
In the Romanesque style colors, a woman standing in the clouds above was looking down as a wailing baby fell to the earth. In the scene next to that, was a man with a lame leg, begging to be given reentry into Olympus, while the gods laughed at him. And finally, it showed him huddled in a dark forge, hammering away at a lightning bolt while the other gods celebrated in their golden temple. The entire depiction of what a miserable existence looked like touched me deep within my soul.

Turning back, I tried to read Hephaestus's face, but he remained stoic as he too stared at the picture. Returning to gaze upon the artwork, I scrunched up my nose at the artist's idea of what the Blacksmith God looked like, crossing my arms before huffing, and turning away completely. “Obviously, the man who painted that knew nothing of your good looks!”

              “You are the first and probably only one who believes that to be so, Vanessa.”

             
“And you obviously haven't seen the way the horny housewives in the neighborhood have been looking at you. Especially, when you're working on that truck of yours while wearing clothes that look to be painted on you.”

             
His eyes grew so round, I couldn't help but laugh out loud at his astonished expression. The saddest part was that I knew he didn't see how gorgeous he was, and that made me wonder if what was in the painting was true. If so, how did he manage to still work for the ones who abused him, without so much as going postal? This startling revelation made the love I was trying to ignore increase tenfold.

Turning away, before he could read the turbulent emotions on my face which threatened to give me away, I walked at a brisk pace, knowing without looking that he followed close on my heels. I stopped as he locked up the museum and allowed him to walk me back over to where my car was parked in the school lot.

Magically, he popped my lock and opened the door with his mind.

             
“That's kind of freaky, you know?”

             
“Sorry, I just wanted to open the door for you.”

             
I couldn't argue with that sweet logic. Sighing, I leaned up, giving him a small and non-orgasmic kiss on the cheek. I got in and let him close the door behind me. I waved at him before driving off, wondering if he still watched me, or if he was already heading on his way home. Of course, I got to my destination before him, and almost waited to see when he'd come back, which left an unsettling thought in my mind. Did kissing him put me back under his curse?

His voice whispered in my mind, causing me to practically jump out of my skin.
You will not feel the curse again, Vanessa. I've mastered control over it. I told you, I will never hurt you again. Go to bed and I will see you Saturday.

             
Yawning, the sudden exhaustion overcame my eagerness to await his arrival. I loped into my house and went straight up to bed.  My eyes were already drooping by the time I got into my pajamas and brushed my teeth. Snuggling into bed, I decided that at the picnic I'd take a chance to let him work his magic. What could possibly happen that would be worse than what I went through with Ares?

Chapter XVII

Vanessa

              The day of the picnic was exceptionally wonderful, even for my town's standards. There were clouds in the sky so fluffy, they almost looked to be made of cotton candy and the blueness didn't seem real. Even the weather man on the television was shocked at how perfect the weather was for the weekend. He urged everyone to get out if they could, and on this Saturday that's what I was going to be doing.

The very thought of spending such a beautiful afternoon with my hunky, immortal neighbor had my stomach fluttering with both fear and excitement. Unfortunately, I had nothing ‘normal’ to wear, since Nemesis revamped my wardrobe. So, I opted for the lesser of evils and wore a leather black catsuit, then draped a sheer, purple tunic over it. It was the only article of clothing I kept, because it was a gift from Willa. Even though at the time, I was angry with her, I couldn't give it up. There wasn't much more I could do with what I wore.

I waited downstairs. The clock chimed two o'clock, the knock on my door came and my heart hammered as I slowly made my way over to open it. Hand on the doorknob I took a deep, calming breath. I told myself that this would be nothing more than a friendly outing with a gigantically, hot, hunk of man-god. With a quick yank, I flung open the door and froze at the sight of Hephaestus, in all his glory, standing before me.

He smiled down at me, looking shy and adorable while maintaining his handsome, ruggedness that made my heart skip several beats.  He was dressed in a pair of worn jeans which rode low on his hips, and my mouth watered at the thought of slowly peeling them off to devour every inch of skin exposed to my greedy eyes. The orange coloring of his shirt was more like the burning flames of a bonfire, the hue accentuating his fiery eyes, and I was glad to see he still didn’t conceal his real eyes from me.

In one hand, he held a brown wicker basket with a blue gingham cloth peeking out the top.

I had to hold back my laughter at how miniscule it looked in his grasp. Yet, there was something sweet about how a man of his size who had no problems being seen, carrying an object that most guys would object to. It was then I noticed that he hid his other hand behind his back. I immediately figured he had the cliché bouquet of flowers. Allergic to most species, I was going to feel bad about starting our lunch with a rejection to a gift.

His gorgeous eyes sparkled at me with mischief as though he had read my thoughts. He revealed that instead of flowers, he possessed a wooden box, with a blue ribbon on top. “This is for you, Vanessa. Eros suggested flowers, but I hate harming any living thing. Even plants.”

             
“That's good, actually. I sneeze around the things, so it’s best to keep them in their place.” I moved back, and Hephaestus walked in, shutting the door behind him. I honestly think I could never get used to how small he made me or my home appear. Even as he limped with his stance slightly askew, he filled a space with his presence both physically and metaphysically. Like Willa, if I hadn't known what he was, I too would have believed him not completely human.

Placing the basket on the island in my kitchen, he leaned on his elbow and watched, as I gingerly untied the ribbon, then opened the gift. My first reaction was to gasp in shock and my second was to mentally damn the tears that gathered, spilling from my eyes.

Immediately, he stood straight and moved to grab the box.

  I stopped his hand, looking at him while seeing his confusion. Had he never gotten a response like this when he created things for his family? “Why are you trying to take it away?”

              “You started crying. I figured you didn't like it.”

             
“Hephaestus, I'm not crying because I'm upset. I'm crying because it's the most beautiful gift anyone has ever given me!” Pushing his hand away, I gently picked up the necklace from the velvet bed it rested upon and held it up for further inspection.