Lesson in Love (Olympians, 2) (9 page)

“
Okay. What is it?” Surely
she wouldn’t tell him she loved him then ask him to leave her
alone. They’d just gotten together. They couldn’t be breaking up
already. He tried but somehow he couldn’t fight the fear that
gripped him.

“
I’ve loved you for years.
That’s why they picked me. It’s like they decided to give you to me
as a present.”

“
You were already in love
with me?” His heart beat faster, and he found it very hard to
breathe. “You’ve loved me this whole time?”

She nodded.

“
But that’s wonderful.
Iris, please listen to me now. I am not under a spell. No one has
said anything to me to make me love you. I can guarantee you no one
could give me to anyone as a present, no matter how powerful they
were. And most importantly, I am not saying I love you because of
the sex. That’s just an amazing bonus. It simply took those
intimate moments to force me to face my emotions.”

Tears still rolled down her cheeks,
but she seemed calmer. “Give me time to think.”

“
How much time?” He didn’t
want to leave her side at all, let alone spend several days without
her.

“
Until I call
you.”

He reached up to touch her face, but
instead he took her hand and kissed it. “I promise I’ll leave you
alone, but I won’t be able to stop thinking about you.”

She looked relieved. “Thank you. It
means a lot that you’ll do this.”

He stood up and nodded. “I’m gonna go
then.” He turned and fled without looking back. He couldn’t make
himself turn around and say good-bye. If he looked at her he
wouldn’t be able to leave at all.

* * * *

Iris sat on the couch in Hera’s study
with her face buried in her hands. She had finally stopped crying.
She felt Hera’s hand on her head. She wanted to push it away, but
she hardly had the energy.

“
Sweetie,” Aphrodite said.
“I think you’ve overreacted. Based on what you said, Eros doesn’t
care. He’s not mad at any of us. I don’t see what the problem
is.”

She wiped away the last of her tears
and looked up at them. “You tricked him into paying attention to
me, and then I seduced him. He doesn’t love me.”

“
How do you know that?”
Hera asked.

“
He hardly knows
me.”

Aphrodite sat down. “You hardly knew
him. You were so critical of him that before he thought you hated
him. Why don’t we ask the Fates? They’ll have to answer if Hera
makes the request.”

“
I don’t want
to.”

Hera sat back. “Are you afraid they’ll
say this was never meant to happen, or that he doesn’t really love
you?”

“
Yes.”

Both goddesses fell silent, and Iris
knew they were having a conversation in their minds. Aphrodite
spoke up. “Let’s take a walk, Iris. Just you and me.”

Iris nodded. “Okay. Fine.” She knew
better than to disobey. Aphrodite didn’t have a bad temper like
Zeus or Hera, but she tended to become mischievous when she didn’t
get her way. Iris didn’t need more complications. She stood up and
they were no longer in Hera’s study. They stood in Aphrodite’s
garden at the entrance to the lovers’ maze.

Aphrodite took her hand and started
walking. “I’m not sure I understand. Are you saying you still don’t
trust my son? I’ll admit I wouldn’t blame you.”

“
He’s tricked himself into
thinking he loves me.”

“
How has he tricked
himself? By convincing himself that you’re pretty or clever? By
making you into something you’re not?”

“
No.”

“
I think he knows you very
well. You keep to yourself. No one could have coached him on how to
understand you or given him some magical secret. He’s fallen in
love all on his own.”

“
He saw me as a challenge.
Now I’m a prize, a prize that’s good in bed.”

“
This is because you had
sex? You’re having doubts because of that?”

She could hardly keep her own thoughts
straight, let alone explain them. She couldn’t explain the doubt
and fear she felt. She also couldn’t deny the guilt filling her
heart. “It’s not any one thing. It’s the whole situation. It was
unfair. I should have been cold to him.”

“
He wouldn’t have gone
away. It would only have hurt him and delayed the happiness you’re
on the verge of finding. I’m sure it would have caused you pain as
well to turn him away. You’ve wanted him for so long.”

“
That’s just it. I don’t
deserve a present for being a good servant. I don’t deserve a prize
for being a long-suffering lover of an unattainable
man.”

“
That is not what this is.
Can’t you simply believe happiness would come your way without
someone making it happen?”

She shook her head. “That’s what I’m
unsure about.”

“
You’ve wanted this so
long and so much you’re afraid it’s going to turn out to be nothing
more than a dream?”

Iris stopped and walked toward the
pond at the center of the maze. “Something like that.”

“
There’s nothing I can say
then. It’s up to you to accept my son’s love.” Aphrodite turned to
go, but she stopped. She didn’t turn around and face Iris, but she
added, “Make sure you stay on Hera’s good side. You break my son’s
heart, and you’ll need her protection.”

Iris watched Aphrodite leave. She felt
as if an icy hand had gripped her heart. She had never displeased
any of the Olympians. None of them had ever even frowned at her,
let alone threatened her. She fought back the urge to cry out for
Hera. She sat on a stone bench by the water and gathered her
thoughts. After a few moments, the panic subsided.

One thing kept running through her
mind. Aphrodite would not have made the threat if she didn’t truly
believe Iris might break Eros’ heart. If his heart could be broken,
he had to really love her, didn’t he?

* * * *

Eros stared at the wine in front of
him when his waitress left. He didn’t feel like looking at his
uninvited companion.

“
You are no fun today,”
Ares said.

“
No, I’m not.”

“
I’m sure I know
why.”

Eros glared at the wall. “I’m sure you
do. Everyone is making my life their business lately.”

“
So what else is new
around here? Just tell me what happened.”

“
Why do you care?” He
couldn’t help being suspicious, given Ares’ tendency to do anything
to please Aphrodite. He refused to be pumped for
information.

“
I’d like to
help.”

“
You sure my mother didn’t
ask you to help?”

Ares narrowed his eyes. “Why would she
do that?”

“
Seems she has a vested
interest in my love life.”

“
She wants to see you
happy, yes.”

“
Maybe.” He took a sip of
wine and looked down into the glass, swirling the liquid in it
slowly. “It’s what she keeps telling me.”

“
You think it isn’t true?
What’s she done to you?”

“
She didn’t do anything to
me. It’s Iris.”

“
Your mother is all for
you and Iris. Everyone loves Iris.”

He slid the glass across the table and
finally looked at Ares. “That’s not the problem. Iris doesn’t trust
me because my mother wanted this.”

“
That’s ridiculous. Your
mother has never tried to make a match for you before. She would
have broken the spell that made you love Psyche if Zeus hadn’t
forbidden it.” He leaned forward. “Just get Iris and your mother
together. They can talk it out.”

“
That’s not going to help.
Hera and my mother set all this up, so now Iris refuses to believe
how I feel about her.”

Ares stopped with his glass halfway to
his lips. “How do you feel about her?”

Eros groaned. “This isn’t helping. I
need to get out of here.”

Ares put his glass down and held Eros’
arm. “Just hold on. You think you’re in love with her?”

Eros suddenly wished he’d gone home.
“I know I am. Can’t blame it on a backfiring spell this
time.”

“
Well, this is big. Only
thing bigger would be your mother falling in love.”

He rolled his eyes at Ares. “Whatever.
I think everyone knows where my mother’s heart is.”

Eros regretted saying it as soon as
Ares’ eyes flashed at him.

“
No, you’re wrong. No one
knows that, not even Hera or Zeus. I spend the most time in her
bed. That’s all. She keeps her secrets locked up quite
well.”

“
Sorry. You brought it
up.”

Ares answered very quickly. “Yeah,
well, I wasn’t thinking.”

“
Okay. That’s fine.” Eros
was beginning to wonder if something was going on with his mother.
Ares certainly seemed testier lately, and she had been keeping to
herself a lot, except for one or two drop-ins to tease him. Nothing
surprised him when it came to her. He focused on Ares again. “Yes,
I’m in love with her. She thinks I’m just fooling myself,
though.”

“
How does she feel about
you?”

Ares asked the question so casually
Eros wondered if he already knew the answer. “That’s the other
thing. I thought she hated me. I thought I was spending all this
time trying to win her over. According to her, she’s been in love
with me for a long time.”

Ares didn’t look surprised. “How long
is a long time?”

“
Years, she
said.”

“
So she finds it hard to
buy that you’re in love with her after a month? I don’t think
anyone would blame her.”

“
I guess. I don’t know.
She thinks I was forced to notice her. She thinks she seduced me.
She did, but not in the way she means. She started seducing me the
day she introduced herself to me in her restaurant. I was crazy
about her when I thought she couldn’t stand me. I just wasn’t going
to admit it then.”

“
I can understand the
first part. It is pretty hard to believe you never noticed her.
She’s gorgeous. Those flashing eyes and all those
curves.”

Eros glared at Ares. “Anything you
want to tell me?”

Ares smiled. “I kissed her once.
That’s it.”

Eros knew that had to be all that had
happened because Ares was enough of a bastard he wouldn’t hesitate
to tell all if they had ever been together. “Okay.”

“
I can appreciate a
beautiful woman if I want to. I’m a free man.”

Eros couldn’t help wondering if Ares,
macho as he was, wanted to talk about Aphrodite. He certainly kept
leading them toward the subject, but he got testy when Eros asked
something directly. Well, if he did want to talk, he’d have to
wait. Eros had his own issues to deal with. “Yeah, I know. Can’t
help it.”

“
Jealousy will do that.
You’re lucky. More than one god would have tried to win Iris if she
didn’t keep her defenses up so much.”

All Eros could think about was the way
she’d let down every defense with him the night before. She’d
invited him into her home and her bed, only to then tell him she’d
already let him into her heart a long time ago.

“
I think I’m paying the
price for not noticing her before.”

“
She wouldn’t do
that.”

“
No, I meant in the bigger
scheme of things. You know how the Fates work.”

“
I’m not really that sure
sometimes.”

Eros wasn’t sure how to explain. “I
mean I could have made her happy years ago, but I never even looked
twice at her. The only time I ever noticed her was at a party, and
I only approached her because Poseidon was talking to her. I
thought she was the latest mortal he was into.”

Ares laughed loudly. “That sure wins a
girl over, making her think you only want her because she’s someone
else’s and disposable to boot.”

“
Thanks. I feel great
now.”

Ares finally stopped laughing. “Look,
go talk to your mother if you’re that worried. If Iris has really
loved you for so long, she’s not going to stop after all this has
happened. Does that make any sense?”

“
I know you’re right. I
can’t stand being away from her right now. It’s making me
nuts.”

Ares got up. “Welcome to being in
love. Time’s going to go very slow for a while. It’s worth it, even
though it doesn’t always feel like it.”

If he hadn’t missed Iris so much, he
would have asked Ares if he’d ever been in love. He felt he’d
already pushed his luck enough, though; plus, he didn’t need
another can of worms in the mix.

After Ares left, he finished his wine
and threw some money on the table before leaving. The air was
brisk, but not too cold. Not only did he miss Iris but he was also
worried about her. She’d seemed so upset. He couldn’t figure out
what he’d done. How long had she had feelings for him and had to
sit back and watch him acting like a jerk, seducing other women?
What did she see in him? He couldn’t understand it. Ares was right.
He could think of lots of gods who would have tried to win Iris if
they’d thought they had a chance. That didn’t make him feel better.
He only felt more inadequate. Didn’t she deserve someone who
wouldn’t cause her pain? Someone who hadn’t already caused her so
much?