Lesson in Love (Olympians, 2) (3 page)

“
I do believe I am
supposed to be the destructive one.”

Eros looked up and saw Ares walking
into the garden. As usual, he wore black leather pants and black
tunic, a sword strapped to his back. Eros thought he looked stupid,
despite knowing most women melted at Ares’ feet. He’d almost have
preferred seeing his mother.

“
I hate women,” Eros
grumbled.

“
Trouble, oh mighty
Cupid?”

He threw the flower down. “Don’t call
me that!” Ares and Poseidon loved calling him by the stupid Roman
name, and unfortunately it was contagious. Even his mother called
him Cupid half the time, especially when she was angry. “My mother
made me feel like shit because I supposedly broke a mortal’s heart.
She told me I could redeem myself and avoid punishment by doing my
thing and finding true love for her.”

“
And there’s a
problem?”

“
She doesn’t need me. I
get here to check things out, and I’m a bit surprised there’s a guy
here. I think, ‘Okay, I get rid of this one or make him fall in
love with her.’ Easy enough. But he already loves her, really and
truly loves her. He lives here most of the time, and he has a ring
hidden in a drawer in the guest bedroom.”

“
You’ve been nosy tonight.
So why are you angry?”

Eros stood up and walked away, then
walked back and kicked the bench he’d been sitting on. “My mother
knew all this. She probably set it all up.”

“
Still cleaning up after
your mistakes, I see.”

Eros glared at Ares. “I am very good
at my job.”

“
You need some help with
your own relationships. You have to admit it.”

“
I’ve had a few problems
now and then.”

Ares narrowed his eyes. “Really? You
didn’t even check to see if your last fling was a virgin. Artemis
could have had your balls on her wall for that.”

“
Someone’s been
eavesdropping.” He plucked another rose and crushed it in his
palm.

“
War is my business.
Eavesdropping is compulsory no matter where I am.” He glared at the
crushed flower. “Stop that before Demeter decides to join the
hating Eros party.”

“
Okay, so I’ve been
punished for that already. I came here and found out that I’m
easily forgotten.” Eros felt his anger building. “You know, it kind
of exonerates me. Now I know she never loved me. I didn’t break her
heart.”

The look on Ares’ face said he didn’t
believe that any more than Eros did. “Don’t try to get out of this.
You dumped her because you thought she loved you. You wanted to get
rid of her because she was too clingy. She was sure she loved you
as well. You did plenty of damage.”

“
Thanks. I appreciate you
pointing that out. That doesn’t mean I’m a relationship
disaster.”

“
You have a weakness for
mortal women. You can’t deny it.”

“
I don’t want to talk
about my ex-wife.”

“
Oh, why not? Psyche is
looking very good these days.”

Eros shot the war god a warning look.
Psyche had been mortal, and when Eros fell in love with her by
accidentally shooting himself with the arrow his mother had
prepared for the mortal Psyche was meant to marry, Zeus had
eventually granted Psyche immortality. Unfortunately, the centuries
had not been kind to the two lovers. Both of them were unfaithful,
and as punishment, they had been separated for a hundred years.
When they were allowed to see each other again, they didn’t love
each other at all. Aphrodite had persuaded Zeus to dissolve their
marriage, though the dissolution of a marriage granted by an
Olympian blessing was unheard of. Zeus was fond of reminding Eros
that he had granted Psyche immortality so they could be together.
The king of the gods had taken their failed marriage as
ingratitude.

“
I don’t want to talk
about her. Ever.”

“
But your mother did bail
you out there.”

Eros wanted to wipe the smirk right
off the other god’s face. “She pointed out to Zeus that he and his
wife have never, ever been faithful, yet they are never punished.
Hera is the goddess of marriage, but that hasn’t influenced her
fidelity. Mother reminded him that being lenient and giving us what
we wanted might help everyone to continue ignoring that little
inconsistency.”

Ares rubbed his chin. “Look, I’m
trying to help you out. Aphrodite has her reasons, I’m sure. Have
you learned an amazingly valuable lesson here?”

“
No. I’ve had my pride
kicked around. I’m not only forgettable but useless, it
seems.”

“
Hmmm. You’d better watch
out then.”

“
Why?”

“
I don’t see this as the
end of Aphrodite’s plan.”

Eros groaned. “I know.”

Ares chuckled. “Don’t worry about it.
What could she do to you that would really be worse than anything
you’ve been thrown before?”

Eros stared up at the night sky. “I
don’t want to know.” The wind chime outside Abigail’s window caught
his eye. The chimes were suspended under a rainbow. Iris had been
the cause of all this, or at least the one to stir things up.
Remembering her made him feel better. Picturing the fire in her
eyes and the curve of her ass made the memory even
better.

“
That grin is too genuine.
What are you planning?”

Eros hadn’t even realized he was
grinning. “Just thought of something good. No plans yet. I think
I’ll lie low for a while.”

Ares nodded. “Not a bad idea. Your
mother can be quite a force when she’s cross.” He smiled. “Think
she’s free tonight?”

Eros groaned. “I am not hearing this.
Go find her yourself. I’m tired of hearing about your sex life with
my mother.”

“
Fine. I’ll go see if
she’s tied up. If she’s not, I’ll see what I can do.”

Eros turned to tell Ares to shut up,
but the god had already left. He sighed. He might find a visit to
Iris equally frustrating, but he thought seeing her again just
might be worth it.

* * * *

Iris waited for Layla to quit
giggling. Until falling in love with and marrying Poseidon, Layla
had been mortal, so Iris was patient with her. A few centuries and
Layla would also grow tired of the games of the
Olympians.

“
They’re handing you what
you’ve wanted for so long. Why are you upset? You have Hera’s
blessing to pursue Eros.”

“
I could have had it any
time I wanted it. You don’t get it. I want him to love me on his
own.”

“
But they aren’t asking
you to trick him. You aren’t going to use one of his own methods on
him. He will love you on his own.”

Iris couldn’t believe that. “I’m being
pushed on him.”

“
He doesn’t know that
you’re being pushed
together
.
You’ve never given him a chance.”

Iris felt her hair flame bright red.
She regained control and returned it to purple. “He has never given
me a chance.”

“
You almost never leave
the mortal world. He never had the chance to notice you. You needed
to grab his attention. Now you have it. Even if he’s angry, I’ll
bet he’s intrigued. When has a woman ever stood up to him or told
him no?”

Iris took a deep breath. “I’m not
going to cooperate. He can do as he likes.”

“
Hmmm. We’ll
see.”

The door opened, and the man they’d
been discussing stood there staring at them.

“
Hey there, Cupid.
Enjoying Valentine’s Day?” Layla teased.

To Iris’ surprise, the impatient god
managed a slight smile. “It’s almost over, so I’m doing well.” He
pointed to the clock. “Four minutes to go.”

“
I’d better get back
then.” Layla hopped up and waved at Iris. “Later, hot stuff.” She
vanished, leaving Iris alone with Eros.

“
She seemed to be in a
good mood. Can I assume maybe you are, too?” he asked.

Iris sat back in her chair. She wasn’t
sure what had happened since she’d seen him. It had only been a
couple of hours, but the average Olympian could do a lot in that
period of time. “Why do you care? Don’t you have other
concerns?”

He shrugged. “My dear, sweet mother
came to see me, but other than that things are back to
normal.”

Iris narrowed her eyes. “I somehow
doubt that.”

“
Why? Because she hasn’t
inflicted some horrible punishment on me? You never know with my
mother.”

He wasn’t going to tell her what he’d
been ordered to do or what had happened since then. It was just as
well. She had no desire to get involved, and she felt it was much
better to send him on his way as soon as possible.

“
Then why are you here? To
gloat that you got away with it?”

His face hardened a bit, but the
expression in his eyes showed more pain than anger. She thought
she’d hit a nerve, but after a moment he recovered. “Who says I got
away with anything?”

“
You don’t seem to be
suffering much.”

“
What would you know about
suffering? You’re one of Hera’s pets!”

She opened her mouth to tell him
exactly what Hera had planned for him, but instead she glared at
him and then made him vanish.

“
I hope you can swim,” she
muttered.

* * * *

Eros trudged out of the waves and
flopped down on the sand. For the second time in one day, he’d been
dropped somewhere unpleasant by another deity. At least the water
had been softer than the cow pasture. He told himself he should
probably be thankful Iris hadn’t thrown him to her sisters. He had
avoided the Harpies for a few decades and planned to keep it
up.

He was not only angry because he’d
been so easily dismissed, but also because he was very turned on.
Iris was not like any other goddess he’d ever met. The fact that
she thought about something besides sex amazed him in and of
itself. She owned a business in the mortal world and seemed
completely committed to it. He liked being among mortals too, but
for very different reasons.

If everyone thought he was a
relationship disaster, including Iris, that was fine. They could
think whatever they wanted. He’d show them soon enough. What he
needed was a woman who wouldn’t fall into his arms with one wink.
Iris definitely qualified, and he knew he’d enjoy persuading her
into his embrace. Maybe he couldn’t make her fall in love, and that
certainly wasn’t his plan, but he had no doubt she would eventually
fall under his spell. The chase itself would prove intriguing and
might be just what he needed to turn his outlook around.

He pictured her again and couldn’t
help becoming aroused. She possessed a lot of fire and spirit, so
she’d probably be amazing in bed. He wondered who else she might
have been with. He couldn’t really guess, but he was sure her list
wouldn’t be anywhere near as long as Hera’s or his mother’s. He
decided not to think about it. The last thing he needed was to get
jealous. It might spur him on a bit at first, but he wanted to stay
in control. His plan wasn’t perfect yet, but showing Iris why
mortal women fell for him would do a lot for his reputation. No
matter what was said to his face, he knew everyone felt the way
Ares and his mother did. They all enjoyed pointing out the irony of
his inability to live happily ever after. He’d always thought of it
as the positive kind of irony, if there was such a thing, and
written it off as the will of the Fates. The lonely god destined to
give love but never grasp it himself. He knew there were worse
prospects in the cosmic scheme of things.

He thought of Iris again. He wondered
what color her hair would be the next time he saw her. Her eyes
reflected different colors like a prism, and they had been very
dark as they’d talked, so they probably changed with her moods. She
certainly seemed more intriguing the more he thought about her. He
knew he must have seen her before, so why couldn’t he remember? If
she was Hera’s messenger, perhaps her comings and goings were meant
to be secret. He hadn’t talked to Hermes in a long time, but surely
Hermes would know all about the other messenger.

Eros reached out with his mind. Hermes
was in Hera’s palace, but he was alone. With a thought, Eros was
walking beside him.

“
Do you have a minute?” he
asked.

Hermes looked at Eros and nodded.
Their relationship had always been strained because Aphrodite had
never revealed to anyone but Hera and Zeus who Eros’ real father
was. Hermes, Ares, and Hephaestus were the suspects. Goddesses gave
birth so quickly none of them had been given nine months to demand
who the father was. Most thought Ares was his father, and something
about that seemed to bother Hermes. Hephaestus kept to himself so
much Eros never gave that possibility much thought. All three men
had dark hair and eyes, but Eros was blond haired and blue eyed
like his mother. Regardless of the truth, Hermes avoided both Eros
and Aphrodite as often as he could.

Eros didn’t say anything immediately.
He suddenly wondered if this was a good idea.