Forbidden Love

Chapter 12

"So, where have you been going every day for the past month, Peitho?" Questioned Artemis as soon as she appeared in front of her in Peitho's temple.

"I don't know what you mean, Missy," answered Peitho innocently.

"Riiiiggghhht," said Artemis Sarcastically. Peitho huffed at her response.

"Okay, okay, I've been spending a lot of time in the human realm. I like it there. Mitéra has all but given up on any of us spying on Venus right now. She's sulking because Vulcan won the competition, and Venus seems happy with their match instead of miserable like she'd hoped. Mitèra is trying to blame me; she says that instead of persuading Vulcan to lose, I used my powers on Hephaestus. I told her that even if I had betrayed her that way, it wouldn't have helped Hephaestus because he cared nothing for the competition. He wants Mitèra to love him the way Venus claims to love Vulcan."

Artemis snorted when Peitho finished. "is Aphrodite really dumb enough to believe that Venus wants to marry Vulcan? She can tolerate the sight of him now, that's all. If it weren't for that flower nymph, Venus would be right where Aphrodite is."

"Flower nymph? What flower nymph?" Asked Peitho, unable to keep the concern out of her voice.

Artemis, who had no problem making herself at home anywhere, was now lying on Peitho's bed, propping her head up with one of her hands. She raised an eyebrow at Peitho.

"Why are you so interested?"

" It's nothing.. I'm not," Peitho lied.

"Now look at me and say it with a straight face," snapped Artemis.

"I can't, Missy. We can't talk about this."

Artemis made a pouty face that always managed to get her whatever she wanted in return.

"uh uh, I am NOT falling for that one. Mis good try, though.”

"Fine, but I'm here for you. You can trust me, I swear." Instead of responding, Peitho gave her a simple nod. Deciding she was irritated, Artemis went just as quickly as she'd appeared.

Peitho sighed. She felt terrible. She wanted to share what was going on with Vulcan so badly. After all, Vulcan had Cupid, who seemingly knew everything, but did Peitho trust anyone like Vulcan did Cupid? She wasn't sure. What she was sure of was that her mother could never find out. Peitho worried that someone who shouldn't know would find out every day she'd seen him. Time passes differently for them. A day in the mortal realm is only mere hours in the heavens. Therefore, even if they stay together until the sun is low, their time together always feels short.

After Artemis left, Peitho pulled the picnic basket from under her bed and began to fill it as she always did before seeing him. They'd been sneaking off together for an entire month in heaven's time, which is about one hundred years for mortals. Going to Pompeii each day was fun to see things change and evolve. Vesuvius seemed to be getting bigger by the minute. But Peitho couldn't help wondering if something was wrong between her and Vulcan. A month their time, and he still hadn't done more than kiss her. Didn't he want her? Peitho knew she wanted him. Her body responded every time he touched her. Peitho knew she wasn't supposed to have feelings like these, and she shouldn't explore them, but she couldn't help it. If Peitho had her way, she would let Vulcan have her.

"Who is it, P," Peitho heard from behind her. She knew that voice well. It was one she trusted even more than Artemis, and that was saying something.

"Who's who Thee?" Peitho asked as she turned to face Athena, The Goddess of War. Athena rolled her eyes at Peitho's feigned innocence.

"The being you're in love with," Athena answered. Peitho's face paled at the answer Athena had given her.

"How did you…?" Peitho trailed off, unable to finish her question.

"I know you, Peitho. I've always been able to sense when someone has caught your eye. Someone has to Aphrodite never pays enough attention to you to notice. Thank the Gods for that." Peitho stared blankly at her friend. The only other being Peitho had ever thought she had feelings for was Apollo, and he paid her no mind at all. He spent all of his time with mortal mistresses he picked up in Greece. He had so many Demigod children now she didn't think anyone, including himself, could keep count.

" It's no one you know Thee, and trust me you don't want to. My loving him is a complete betrayal to our entire Pantheon, and I love you too much to allow you to get involved in this," answered Peitho, even though she desperately wanted to tell her so she could confide in someone about the whole thing.

Athena chewed on her bottom lip as she stood there. Her dark brown eyes glared at Peitho. While at the same time twirling a strand of her dark brown hair around her index finger absentmindedly. Then suddenly, something clicked in her mind, and her eyes lit up. Peitho let out a little gasp as she watched what she thought may have been realization spread across Athena's face.

"A betrayal to the entire Pantheon means whoever it is isn't a member of our Pantheon and potentially not even of Greek descent," Athena said slowly. Peitho nodded reluctantly in response to Athena's words.

"Are they mortal?…no, that can't be right. Zeus couldn't care less where anyone on Olympus found mortal Paramore's," said Athena, answering her own question. As terrified as she was for Athena to guess her secret, Peitho couldn't help but be amused as she watched Athena try to work it out in her head. Athena began tapping her foot while she thought, beginning to get annoyed with both herself and Peitho. Athena thought hard about who she might have seen Peitho with recently. And then, all of a sudden, it came to her.

"Oh my Gods, P, it can't be…please tell me it isn't…." Peitho looked to Athena expectantly, waiting for her to finish her thought. Even though she knew Athena had likely guessed it.

"it's Vulcan. And you've been sneaking off to Pompeii practically every day, haven't you?" Asked Athena, as she glanced down to see the picnic basket on Peitho's bed half filled with all kinds of things to eat and drink. Peitho nodded in silence as tears began to fill her eyes.

"Tell me everything," said Athena, as she stepped forward and enveloped Peitho in a loving hug.

******

Jupiter sat on his throne, reading. He was bored. Juno was off talking to that flower nymph Vulcan spent so much time with after she'd tossed him away. No doubt about flowers for the wedding they were throwing in three months. He hated Juno for making him set this in motion. Jupiter didn't want Venus to marry Vulcan anymore than Venus did. Or any more than Venus used to anyway. Jupiter's temper flared as he pictured Vulcan in his mind. He couldn't believe Vulcan had gone to all that trouble to change his appearance to piss Jupiter off. And damn Layla for helping him do it. Venus didn't seem to have an issue with marrying Vulcan now, and he had stupidly decreed that neither Vulcan nor Venus would be allowed to take other lovers without receiving punishment for it. Then again, Venus was nothing to him other than a good lay, and Jupiter could have anyone he wanted in his bed. However, he hadn't tried since this whole mess had transpired. Luckily for him, Juno was both beautiful and amazing in bed. Jupiter smiled to himself and began to harden at the thought of his wife. He hoped she'd be back soon so he might have his way with her.

"Jupiter," said a soft sultry voice from below his throne. He looked up, hoping to see Juno there waiting for him, but instead, it was Venus curtseying before him. Sighing, he rolled his eyes at the sight of her. Jupiter finally put her out of his mind, and now here she was kneeling before him. He waved his hand, gesturing for her to stand from her curtsey.

"What can I do for you, Venus?" He asked in an annoyed tone.

"what you always do for me, My Lord," she answered, stepping forward and straddling his lap. She leaned in to kiss him, but he turned his head, giving her his cheek.

"Don't Venus," he said in an angry tone, lifting her so that she was no longer on his lap but standing in front of him instead. Surprised by his actions, Venus stood there, seemingly stunned at first. Then she put on her best pouty face as she gazed down at him. No one turned Venus down, not ever. Venus wouldn't let it start now. She knelt in front of the King of the Gods and peered up at him through her lashes.

"Haven't you missed me at all, Jupiter? I've been missing you terribly," she implored him. He looked away, not wanting to answer her question. Venus moved forward on her knees to be as close to him as possible. Then she reached up, taking him into her hand. He was already hard, but he hardened even more at her touch. She smiled as she slowly began stroking him, moving her hand lightly on him up and down just the way he liked it. Jupiter hissed in pleasure despite himself. The last thing he wanted to do was prove her right, but she felt so good. It was then Venus pushed up his toga and watched as his length stood at attention for her. Venus rose on her knees slightly and took him into her mouth. Locking eyes with him as she suckled him, he began to moan. Jupiter clutched a fistful of Venus's golden blonde hair and watched as Venus went down on him. Venus stopped as quickly as she'd begun and rose to stand before him. Undoing her toga, she let it fall to her feet. Again Venus stepped forward and straddled his lap.

"I knew you missed me," said Venus when she leaned forward to whisper in Jupiter's ear.

"Mmmm," he responded. Jupiter then took his shaft in his hand and began rubbing the tip of it against Venus's clit and listened as she began to moan with pleasure.

"That's my girl," he said as he drove himself inside of her. Venus gasped at the size of him. She'd almost forgotten how full he always made her feel while he was inside of her. Venus began to rock back and forth on him, slowly at first and then faster, as she felt Jupiter's hands on her hips guiding her. Venus's breasts began to bounce in his face as she rode him harder and faster. She moaned louder and louder as she felt her release begin to build. As Jupiter watched that twinkle start to show in Venus's eyes, he lifted his hips, matching her stroke for stroke, until finally, she called out his name as she reached her climax. Jupiter pulled her forward and kissed her fiercely as he used his hands to grasp her hips, making her grind down on him even harder until he found his release. Not wanting anyone to hear him cry out, he continued to kiss Venus and moaned into her mouth as he finished.

******

Vulcan woke to find himself alone in his bed, which he thought was strange because he'd told Venus he'd be sleeping in today, and they'd spent quite a bit of time in bed together since the contest last month. He thought for sure she would have woken him and told him to make love to her as was customary whether Vulcan slept in or not lately. "Oh well," Vulcan thought to himself as he sat up to stretch. He had cleared sleeping in with Jupiter and Juno and had been sure to let Peitho know about his late start. Gods, he missed her. Vulcan wondered if he would see her today, since his day was starting in the afternoon. After taking his bath in the pool, he had in his temple. He decided to look for Venus. Maybe she went down to the mortal realm with Cupid. He decided to start there and headed off in the direction of Cupid's temple.

Like Olympus, temples on Capitoline were set up to house each God and Goddess with coinciding powers in the same area. Vulcan stopped at Venus's temple rather than go straight to Cupid's. It was empty. It looked as though she hadn't been here in quite a long while. Venus had moved quite a lot of things of hers into his temple since they would be married soon. After a quick look around, Vulcan turned and headed for Cupid's temple.

"Fratello!" Called Vulcan. Just then, Cupid came around the corner to stand in front of him.

"Good morning, sleepyhead. What can I do for you?" Asked Cupid in a joking tone. Vulcan smiled in return.

"Not that I much care about my fiance's whereabouts, but have you seen her? The precious little thing doesn't like me to head off to work without saying goodbye first," said Vulcan in a sarcastic tone. Cupid laughed at that.

"I've not seen her, but.."

"But?" Vulcan questioned.

"Juno is out discussing flower arrangements for your wedding with Layla. Juno knows how much Layla means to you and wanted to have her involved in the festivities somehow."

"Okay, and that affects Venus how?" Asked Vulcan. Cupid put a hand to his face and sighed in exasperation.

"All of Capitoline knows this except for you because you were asleep. So it stands to reason that this would be the perfect time for Venus to get Jupiter alone, and I wouldn't put it past her to have visited him." Vulcan rolled his eyes at his own stupidity.

"Of course, she did," Vulcan answered as he turned and walked off toward Jupiter's temple. He could teleport there, but Vulcan was in no hurry to see what he would find when he got there, so he walked instead.

Sure enough, Vulcan arrived at Jupiter's temple to find Venus riding him right there on his throne. He stood there in silence. Neither one of them seemed to know he was there. Apparently, Vulcan had arrived just in time for the grand finale. Unable to stop himself, Vulcan began to laugh loudly, and just to add insult to injury, he began to applaud. He heard Venus gasp as she reached for her toga in an attempt to cover herself. As she did, she turned her head to see that it was Vulcan standing there watching them. Her cheeks flared, but soon after, her face screwed up in distaste.

"I was wrong, Jupiter," said Vulcan in a sarcastic tone. “As I suspected, it didn't take long for you to wind up together again, but it was on your throne and not in your bed." He said with a laugh. Once she dressed and righted herself, Venus spoke.

"Vulcan I" Vulcan lifted a hand to stop her from speaking.

"Save it, Venus, we both know you don't love me, and that's fine. I've no more love for you than you have for me. But our King here is the one who deemed neither of us is allowed to take a lover now that we're engaged, and now here he is; having his way with my fiancé who he so graciously bestowed upon me." Jupiter cleared his throat when Vulcan finished speaking.

" For the record, Figlio, she approached me not the other way around," said Jupiter with a smirk. All the color drained from Venus's face as she turned to gape at Jupiter.

"Regardless of that fact, you still took part in it, Padre. I wonder what Madre would say if she found out," said Vulcan quizzically as he began turning to leave. Vulcan wanted to make them believe he would find Juno and tell her what he'd witnessed.

"Vulcan, stop!" Jupiter shouted with an urgency in his voice that Vulcan had never heard before. Venus looked on, confused. She had never seen Jupiter react to the idea of Juno finding out either.

"What do you want?" Jupiter asked Vulcan. Vulcan thought for a moment before answering.

"hmm, I want you to lift your stupid ruling. We both know this will not be the last time this happens. If it's not her," said Vulcan, practically spitting the word as he gestured towards Venus. "It will be someone else. So if you want me to keep your secret, lift it. Let her run around as she pleases, and you do the same. While I'm not likely to take another lover, at least I won't have to pretend feeling hurt should I catch my dear fiancé with someone else." Jupiter gave a curt nod.

"Anything else?" Asked Jupiter.

"Yes, Madre deserves better than you. Stop treating her as though she doesn't. Her beauty rivals Venus's, and you know it. There are plenty of Gods here who covet her, and yet she stays faithful to you," said Vulcan, emphasizing the word. You're just too stupid to notice." And then he disappeared in front of them.

Until now, Jupiter hadn't realized that Venus had remained on his lap during that entire exchange. He stood lifting her as he did so. She, in turn, wrapped her legs around his waist, assuming they were going to go for another round. He let her stay that way while he walked down the few steps from his throne to the floor of his throne room. Jupiter hated to admit it, but Vulcan was right. Juno was nothing if not a good wife to him, and here he was treating her as if she were nothing. The only solace he had at this moment was that he had been thinking of Juno before what had happened with Venus. His thoughts of her were what started his hardening in the first place. He smiled to himself just before he spoke to Venus.

"Venus,"

"Hmmm?" She purred in his ear as she waited for him to make a move on her.

"You want to know what I was thinking about while you rode me, love?" Asked Jupiter

"What's that, Tesoro?" She responded.

"My Wife," he growled just before dropping her on the floor and walking away, leaving her there with a stunned expression on her face.