Aphrodite was up to something. My cousin had been sneaking around the Greek encampment instead of Troy where she should have been. The last weekly meeting at Olympus, Athena had mentioned she'd seen her around Achilles' tent. Maybe Hephaestus had asked her to sprinkle a little of that damn 'happy' dust, she'd gotten Asclepius to make up for her, over his protégé.

I materialized in the outer section of his tent and was surprised not to find him there brooding over a goblet of wine. But the moans coming from the back made me smile. He was feeling better and that was good. Moving over to the flap, I waved my hand and made it transparent for me. The little honey he'd shared with Patroclus must be back, I thought for about a moment.

Whoa! Who knew Paris stripped so well? Golden skin, sparkling brown eyes, curly dark hair cascading over his shoulders, no wonder Achilles was all over him. They made an interesting contrast, lying on the pale sheets. Paris was on his back wearing Achilles like a blanket - blond hair flowing into dark, blue eyes staring into brown, mouths trying to seal themselves to the other. It was hotter than hot and I was suddenly jealous of my best warrior.

It had been decades since I'd gotten laid and I decided to take 'Dite up on her offer. She'd had that slightly hormonal look in her eyes at the meeting. Our son Eros was in his teens now, maybe it was time to procreate again. Watching them caress each other, I had the feeling this was more than a fling for Paris and perhaps for Achilles as well. Eavesdropping on the soft murmurs, I indulged my voyeur side.

"Do that again, Achilles." Paris arched beneath him while his lover nibbled on that long neck of his.

"Do what again, little one?" Achilles teased him and switched to licking his shoulder. "This?" He gently nudged his hips into the groin beneath him. "Or maybe this?" Strong fingers tweaked a nipple and made Paris shudder all the way down to his toes. "I think that's a good spot." He moved down a bit so he could gently bite the nub rising from the broad chest.

"Oh yes, there please." Paris was incredibly polite and I realized just how young he really was. Doing the math quickly, I realized he was only 18 but he seemed curiously innocent for his age. I hadn't paid much attention to him since the judgment except to feel an 'ouch' when I heard what the cousins had done to him. No man, be he mortal or immortal, deserved that kind of pressure. No matter who he chose, he was dead meat to the other two.

Choosing Aphrodite was an inspiration since I could see now Paris was more of a lover than a warrior. My eyes were drawn back to the action before me when a gasp came to my ears. Achilles was a master at more than combat, he'd swallowed the cock arcing up from the flat stomach. A remarkably pretty cock, all peaches and cream, I thought approvingly.

Maybe I should see if Apollo or Hades was feeling up to a little slap and tickle? Women are wonderful creatures and my cousins beautiful beyond compare but when you need cock, well . . . there's just no substitute. I adjusted myself in my leather pants and wondered where they were right now.

"Achilles!" Paris was truly beautiful in his release, his torso twisting under the pair of knowledgeable hands tweaking his nipples and his face sweaty but glowing.

My warrior sucked hard and if the look on his face was any indication, Paris tasted as good as he looked. I really needed a little relief . . . and soon. My news could wait. It would take Achilles a while to start thinking with his head instead of his cock. The gleam in his eye told me that little Paris had more lessons to learn this night. Making sure I was still invisible, I summoned a chair and mentally asked one of the pharins to deliver a little snack.

Some roasted lamb, greek olives, some of those spinach savories, a little wine from the Elysian Fields, a tart or two and I'd be all set to watch the show. Putting out a force field to make sure we all stayed private took just a minute and I borrowed the energy from the two lovers before me. Aphrodite would never let me live it down if she knew I agreed with her about the kind of energy lovers gave out. Prime stuff if not as potent as the dark power I absorbed from a battlefield.

And these two gave off a very heady glow of power and . . . love. Sipping my wine, I settled in to watch what happened next.

********* Achilles *********

Paris tasted of briny olives and the sea. Sucking gently now, I slowly let him fall from my lips. He was panting and quivering under my hands and I made sure I gentled all my touches. This man was made for pleasure, not pain and I felt protective of his innocence. That said, I still needed to bury myself inside of him.

Shockingly, I was actually contemplating guarding him from me and my desires. How in Tartarus had it come to this? My heart twinged while watching dazed brown eyes clear and gaze into mine. Beauty comes in many forms and his was the pinnacle. But the world is not kind to true beauty and I feared for both Paris and Helen. How could this war bring any happy endings to either of them?

"I did not know a mouth could give such pleasure." Paris' hands cradled my face and I turned my head just far enough to kiss his palm. "Is this how men make love?"

I slid up and over his warm body, his limbs curling around me instinctively. "It is but one way, there are many others. Did you like it?"

Brown eyes gleamed and a wide smile stretched across his face. "Oh yes, my lord, I liked it very much. May I try to give you something in return?"

Chuckling, I kissed him and shared his taste with him. He had a puzzled look in his eyes when we parted. "That is what you taste like. All men taste a little different."

He chortled and wiggled beneath me, giving my poor rigid cock a serious tweak. "Then I wish to taste you and see how different we are."

I rolled until he was on top of me, his warm weight like the finest of wool spun blankets. "Taste away, little one."

He kissed me again and while I was still savoring the flavor, he began to kiss down my throat to my chest. "You're so sculpted here." Paris nuzzled one of my nipples and it peaked hard for him. "I didn't know men were so sensitive." He licked it before suckling gently.

My hands carded through his soft curls. "Men are different here as well. Bite gently, I like the sensation."

He shot me a hesitant glance then bit down just enough to make me arch up into the feeling. I have to admit to loving a little pain now and then. He smiled and moved to bite the other one while my cock leaked a little more for him. Feeling the moisture, Paris slid down to kneel between my legs and hesitantly took my rigid shaft in hand. The look of studious intent made me smile and when he looked up to see it, he smiled back.

"You are beautiful here, Achilles." Both hands wrapped around me and slid up and down. "So long and straight and thick," leaning down, he tentatively licked away a bead of liquid from the long slit. I shuddered all the way down to my toes and he checked at once to make sure he hadn't hurt me.

"I'm glad you like it. I'm pretty fond of it myself." I grinned down at the dark head now cat-licking his way around my crown. "And you're a quick learner, little Paris."

Breathing a hot breath onto my crown, he grinned back at me. "Some lessons are desired and some teachers superb in their instruction."

And with no more ado, he stretched wide to engulf my crown. A quick little rake of his teeth made me hiss but then like I said, I enjoy a little pain with my loving. Backing away an inch, he apologized. "Sorry, my lord, how do you avoid that when you're so big?"

Ah, he was good for a man's ego, this young lover. "Stretching your lips over your teeth works pretty well. I enjoyed it though. It's the kind of quickly-over-pain that leaves you wanting more."

He thought about that for a long moment while he practiced driving me insane with the too light suction. He was still trying to get more of me inside his hot, wet mouth when my patience broke and I tickled his cheek to get his attention. Crooking my finger, I brought him up to my lips for another passionate kiss. Rolling back to our original position, I took the pressure off my rigid cock and felt his start to harden again.

Youth is a wonderful thing. Reaching a long arm for the jar of oil I kept by my pallet, I dipped two fingers in already anticipating what his hot, tight depths would feel like. "Paris, I'm going to need you to relax for me now. This is going to feel very odd and there will be some pain as well. But if I do this right, the pain will be fleeting and the pleasure more than good."

His smile lit the whole room and those long-fingered hands came up to stroke my shoulders. "Teach me how to please you, my lord. I will gladly endure a moment's pain for the joy you bring me."

This little one was a gift from Aphrodite and I was going to have to sacrifice something to her in thanks. Ares would never miss it.

//Don't be too sure of that, Achilles. But I agree for once, Aphrodite will be insufferably smug. Still, she is right about this little prince, he's a lover not a warrior.//

The voice in my head was Ares and made me pause for a moment but the chuckle decided me. If Ares knew what I was doing, he obviously approved or he'd be ordering me to quit and get back to the business of war. So with my god's laughter ringing in my ears, I settled in to make love to my prince.

Slick fingers fondled his small neat ball sack and I watched a shiver ripple through his body. He panted his feelings aloud. "I never knew they were so sensitive except for the pain when they're pinched or hit."

Sliding behind his balls to the sensitive area that guarded his entrance, I made sure I pressed hard enough to not tickle. "They're our most vulnerable spot, we men. All a woman needs to do is kick us in the balls and we'll fold up like a tunic in the wash."

He moved restlessly at the unfamiliar caress. "Oh, that feels good, my lord." Then when I dipped a finger through the tight ring of muscle, his eyes widened and his voice rose to that endearing squeak. "That's where . . . where you'll . . . enter me, Achilles?" I slid it in all the way to the knuckle and he gripped my shoulders. "Am I . . . big enough?"

I leaned in to kiss him, wiggling my finger in the snug sheath and searching for the small bump that would hopefully take his mind off the pain. His lips parted for me immediately and I delighted in his eager surrender. When we had to breathe, I answered him.

"Once I've stretched you some more, I'll fit very well inside of you." I came out and watched his shoulders relax while his cheeks flushed. "You'll need to take three fingers before I can even think of sliding in."

He eyed my cock, now dribbling a little in anticipation of where he was going next. "I trust you, my lord." I teased the tiny hole and he wiggled all over. Oh yes, he would prove to be a most generous sheath to my sword. Easing in two fingers, I waited out his instinctual tightening. "I see . . . what you mean . . . about pain and pleasure."

I tried a tiny finger wiggle and he clamped down on me like a carver's vise. Dear Fields, he was tight. So I distracted him with a quick stroke of his slightly wilting cock. That gave him a start and he voluntarily loosened with a little upstroke of his hips. I rewarded him with a tighter grip and a quick slide in of both fingers. He was tighter than Midas' treasury lock but his pleasure gland was ready to be pleased so I made sure I stroked it often.

Paris moaned a little and licked those kissable lips as if he was parched for thirst. That was irresistible and I leaned in to lick his glowing face. He giggled a little and joined in to return the caress. While we were trading tongues, he was loosening up nicely. I came back out and dipped three fingers in the oil before coming back to his groin. I quickly slicked up his cock and he moaned at the feel of oil trickling down to his balls.

"Oh more, my lord, please more." His eyes looked fevered. "I feel so empty without you inside of me."

I kissed him hard for that plea and gripped him tightly before thrusting all three fingers through the virgin muscle. He groaned and gripped my shoulders hard enough to leave bruises. Panting, he moved his head back and forth against the sheets, his eyes screwed tight against the pain. And there was pain - that was inevitable.

"Too much, little Paris?" I spoke gently and watched his eyes flutter open. The determined look was another shot to my inflated ego.

"Never too much, Achilles, it's not so bad now." He spoke fiercely. "You promised to bury yourself so deep inside of me, you'd never leave. I want that, too."

I didn't deserve this love but I wasn't going to turn it down. "Then take deep breaths for me and push out when I tell you to." I slid out of him and dipped more oil before slicking my rigid cock. He pulsed in my hand like a live thing and when I looked up to see Paris eyeing him with a hungry gaze, I almost lost control right there and then. But I learned self-denial at an early age and so I avoided spending myself prematurely.

"We need to slightly change positions, little one, for this first time." I stroked both hands over his flat stomach to his hips before sliding one down his bent leg to bring it over to rest with his other. Stilling his disappointed protest with my lips, I whispered for him to face away from me. "It will be easier on both of us and I can stroke your pretty cock while I'm deep inside of you."

He shivered all over but did as I asked. Sliding one of my legs between his, I spread his lower cheeks while my cock eagerly nudged that small hole glistening with oil. He caught his breath and I decided on a fast entrance so the pain was over and done with. "Breathe out for me, little love, and push back against me. I'll try to be quick."

Nodding, he reached back a hand to hold onto my arm. And the moment was now, I thrust hard and deep. Snug, tight, hotter than Tartarus, I panted into his shoulder while he moaned. Cradling him in my arms, I petted his stomach with both hands. "That is the worst moment, truly, little love."

"It's not . . . so bad." He husked out through teeth clenched against the pain.

"Liar," I kissed his shoulder and slid up to tweak a pert nipple. "It hurts a great deal but I promise it will get better."

With a little catch in his breath, he turned his head to see me and I obligingly rose up on one elbow so he didn't get a crick in his neck. Two tear tracks streaked his cheeks and I licked one away while he smiled shakily up at me. "I will hold you to that promise, Achilles. Does it feel good to you?"

"I have never felt so good, little one. Thank you for this precious gift, Paris." I kissed his lips and felt his tongue immediately reach for mine. I was addicted to his sweet taste and knew in that moment there would be no other for me however long I lived.

But the urge to move was growing imperative so I broke away from those glistening lips and tentatively moved my hips an inch forward then back. Paris gasped my name and I began the gentle rocking, which would heat both of us to boiling. Soft murmurs passed between us while I quickened my thrusts, deepening my strokes until I was hitting his pleasure spot with every pass.

He moaned my name over and over while his cock hardened to iron in my hand. I kissed every bit of skin I could reach until I felt him tighten on me like that vise I'd compared him to earlier. He erupted in my hand and made me release, drawing my climax into his burning depths.

We were both panting when at last we subsided. I held him tight against me and wondered how I'd ever be able to sleep without him again. From being a far off prince behind the golden walls of Troy, he'd moved into my heart and soul with his solid presence. What in Tartarus was I going to do now? I wanted him by my side just like he was now.

But I couldn't just leave this war nor could I run away with him to some deserted isle. We both had our duties to perform and the gods to appease. Perhaps Aphrodite would intercede for us with the others? I stroked the golden skin beneath my hands and licked the bite I'd inflicted on his shapely shoulder when I came.

"I do not wish to leave you, Achilles." Paris had obviously been paralleling my thoughts. "What can we do now? I must return my brother's body to the king and try to console both his wife and his lover."

"I know, little one." Gently I eased from his depths although he clenched around me as if begging me to stay. Turning him onto his back, I brushed back the sweaty curls from his sweet face. "I will petition Ares and Aphrodite to aid us. Perhaps they will take pity on a pair of love-sick soldiers."

His smile gleamed white and his hands stroked through my tangled hair, combing through it like the very best kind of brush. "I will ask them on bended knee if needed, sacrifice a fatted calf and offer them my eternal devotion. But what if we meet on the field of battle?"

"We will not, my Paris." I held him close and kissed him hard, declaring silently to any god within earshot that I would not fight this man. Ever.

//It shall not come to that, my friend. Dite and I will work on a solution to this problem, I promise. Dawn is only a short few moments away.//

Ares' voice tingled through my head and I clutched my prince to me. "It's time for us to part, little love. Dawn is not far away and you must take your brother's body back to Troy before anyone knows you're here."

He nodded silently, tears in the deep brown eyes. Slowly we parted to find our clothes tangled together on the floor beside my sleeping pallet. We could not forbear helping each other to dress so it took a little longer than it should have but all too soon I was clasping shut the emerald brooch on his cloak and drawing up the hood to hide his face from my compatriots.

One last kiss and he was gone. Standing in the doorway of my tent, I watched the small donkey cart with the body of my greatest enemy and the man who now held my heart rumble out of the camp. Somehow, someway, I would find him again and when I did, we would not ever part. My word as a warrior on it.

********* Apollo *********

I cradled my son's body and wept for what might have been his future if this war had never begun. Sweet Tenes was the result of a short tryst from twenty years before and he'd gotten my talent for the lyre instead of my skill with a sword. His music had been put aside when war was declared and he should have never been on the battlefield in the first place.

I know death is inevitable even for the half-children of a god but not so soon. Not when his promise would die unfilled. Achilles would pay, I promised my son with a soft kiss to each eyelid. Laying him back down on his funeral bier, I brought down a ray of sun to light the dry branches of cedar before stepping back to watch dry-eyed while he burned.

Achilles would most assuredly pay.

*****************************
The end of part two