Strange Love

Every part of Jos's body was alive with d.e.s.i.r.e as Arei led her away from the window and toward the bed. The monitor beeped in rhythm with her wildly beating heart. She couldn't stop thinking about what it would be like if he really did bend her over the window seat, what would it be like to watch his reflection as he drove hard into her... What would his handsome face look like with all that well place control shoved to the side for just one night? Her eyes widened as he guided her hands to the buttons of his shirt. His eyes twinkled down at her with a fire she'd not seen in them since that first encounter in Florida.

Arei stroked the backs of her hands lightly as her trembling fingers worked the buttons. "You have absolutely nothing to be nervous about, kitten." He whispered huskily.

Jos gave an awkward nod as her eyes darted from his back down to the tattooed flesh that she was uncovering. She'd seen him topless countless times but for some reason, this time seemed different. When she got to the last of the buttons of his tucked shirt, she stepped back, the bed coming into contact with the back of her b.a.r.e t.h.i.g.hs. "Do... do you want me to..." Her eyes trailed down to the belt of his tight pants.

Arei smiled down at her. "Only if you want to." He brushed his fingers down her arms and over the backs of her hands teasingly as she bit into her lip while considering her options.

She shook her head as she lowered to the bed not taking her eyes off the belt. "I'm not good at working complicated men's accessories and clothing... I don't have a lot of experience with them... accessories that is..."

The corner of one side of his lip lifted higher. "It's not too much different than the complicated things you women wear." His eyes stayed trained on her as he worked the latches of the belt and pulled it free of the pant rings slowly causing a slight pop as it freed. He then began unbuttoning and unzipping his pants, biting his lip seductively as her eyes moved in nervous fascination back up to his face. He finished undoing the final buttons of the dress shirt and tugged it off his arms and tossed it to the bed beside her. He then lowered to the floor in a crouch as he slowly glided his pants down. Once they were free of his feet, he positioned his hands on either side of Jos's t.h.i.g.hs and pushed up letting his body brush against her legs as he went until he could reach her lips with his. He gave her a teasing kiss as he retrieved his shorts and lowered back to a crouch to step into them. His manhood stood proudly on display as he stood, tugging the trunks up as he did so.

The monitor began beeping loudly and rapidly. Jos's cheeks flared fire engine red as she forced her wide eyes away from his formidable shaft. "My gods, Arei! You've made your point!" She hid the monitor behind her back and held her other hand up shielding her eyes... or rather make sure she didn't give him the satisfaction of seeing exactly how unnerved he was making her.

Arei chuckled as he tied the drawstrings and took one of her extended hands. "My only point is if you were truly ready to take things to a more physical level, you wouldn't have turned away."

Jos's eyes widened indignantly as she flung her free hand into the air. "What difference would it have made if I hadn't?! You would still be you, and I'd still be left getting myself off in the bathtub later tonight!"

It was Arei's turn to stare at her in shock. He flickered his eyes open and closed a few times as he shook his head and a mischievous smile spread across his lips. "Well if that doesn't paint a beautiful picture... maybe I should tease you more often if that's the outcome."

She pulled her hand away from him and crossed her arms under her c.h.e.s.t. "You think you're soooo charming..." She narrowed her eyes, a slight pout curving her lips. "You are, you know that! And it's annoying as f.u.c.k!"

He busted out into laughter as he bent to retrieve the discarded dress shirt. He held it out for her to slip on as he answered. "It must be to have you using such language. I swear I can count on one hand the times I've heard you say f.u.c.k... even recently..."

She narrowed her eyes as she slid her arms into his enormous and somehow still warm shirt. "What can I say you frustrate me like no one I've ever met before and thank the gods because I don't think I could handle it from anyone else."

His eyes twinkled as he smiled playfully down at her. "And you can handle it from me?" He released his hold on the shirt and brought his hands up to her face, tilting it back slightly so that he could kiss her from over her shoulder. "I'll take that as a challenge." He whispered against her lips. He smacked her a.s.s pulling a yelp from her as he moved away. "Adventure awaits!" He called out from the door as she was still rubbing her b.u.t.t and glaring at him in irritation.

"Challenge accepted indeed, you jerk..." She mumbled as she stomped past him, knowing good and well he'd left at least a faint handprint on her right cheek.

***

Jos's eyes lit up with excitement and wonder as they moved around the older architecture of the room Arei had brought her to. It was hard to determine what was the natural stone of the pre-existing landscape and what had been carved by the creator of this particular room. There was lighting scattered throughout the room in various forms, some came from older flickering gas lamps while others were added LEDs, while the water's own natural light sent a shimmer across each ripple. "This is amazing..." She said as she quickly tossed his button-up to the side and made her way over to the beautifully carved railing lining the staircase leading into the water's depths. When the waters were hitting her against her upper ribs, she released the rails and fell backward taking in the many details carved into the ceiling and molding of the room. "I would have never guessed something like this was here."

Arei lowered himself into the water from the edge instead of taking the stairs and made short work of swimming over to her. "If you think this is amazing wait until we go below the surface and into the lower levels of the palace. Some of the lower levels were here before Father took over rule of the sea... several portions were brought here from various 'lost cities' and sunken lands." He nodded to an open area that seemed darker than the rest of the surrounding waters. "Are you ready?"

Jos nodded in wide-eyed fascination. She followed his lead as he dove into the waters and made his way into the cavernous cutout in the bottom of the beautifully tiled floor. To her surprise, it wasn't as dark as it had seemed from above the waters. Tiny blue lights seemed to be built into the passage before opening up into an otherwise normal-looking corridor. Brightly colored corals of various shapes and sizes lined the walls of the corridors, running up the numerous pillars running its length. Several species of fish schooled around the coral in large groups. She'd nearly missed it when Arei nodded toward another opening. She watched in amazement as he nodded and waved to a beautiful merman as he swam by. Surprised bubbles escaped from her mouth as a curious octopus swam up to her and running a tentacle across her before fl.i.c.k.i.n.g on away. Her eyes shot over to see Arei smiling happily back at her.

It didn't take long before they were resurfacing in an area that, unlike the upper-level pool rooms, were completely open water areas. Her eyes trailed along all the partially submerged furniture. There were books and other various things lining the walls just above the water's surface. There was even a bed that was partially submerged. "Wow... what is this place exactly?"

Arei followed her eyes around the room. "This is one of the bedrooms. Chary and Scylla share something remarkably similar when they stay here. Come on." He said as he guided her back out of the room.

Her eyes darted around the wide-open area as they swam closer. It was some type of common area filled with various residents and guests of the palace. Some seemed to be perfectly content staying in the submerged portion, reclining and relaxing in seating areas... some alone some in smaller groups... while others filled the partially submerged furniture overhead. Arei led her toward a passage that seemed to be well-traveled and immensely popular. There wasn't any signs of coral or barnacles in the area. All the walls and surfaces were as smooth as could be with updated lighting and beautiful artwork lining the walls. {How is that even possible?!} Her surprise only grew as they entered a circular room completely surrounded by books.

Arei took her hand and made his way to the surface of the room. "Welcome to the Alexandria library. This was a great treasure of my father's when it was first discovered and brought here. It is the sunk library of Alexander the Great. Some of the books found here have no other circulating copies in the world, same with most of the art you'll find here."

Her mouth formed an O as she studied the various sections leading upward. "Can this room be accessed from the main areas of the palace?"

Arei nodded and pointed overhead at a staircase leading down in a spiral along the many above-ground layers. "You can access it from the library. That's why Scylla and Chari are usually found in the library. Many parts of it are linked with the passages down here. This particular portion is somewhat hidden and can only be accessed from up there which leads into the section of the library based around the history of the time period leading up to the sinking of the library and crash of Alexander's empire. Father thought it would be more fitting and theatrical that way."

She laughed, "Sounds like him..."

Arei chuckled. "It's actually a lot easier to come the way we did and prettier... Would you like to look around or read through anything while we're here?"

Jos tented her brows as she spun in a slow circle, taking in all the room had to offer both above and below the water. "I mean I'd love to... but there's also so much more I'd like to see and do."

He smiled as he pulled her into his arms. "And what else would that be?"

Her starry eyes met his. "Can I meet some of the residents?"

He nodded. "I don't see why not." He couldn't help the smile that reflected even in his eyes as he asked. "Anything else?"

She nodded in excitement. "You mentioned art! And what of those statues down there? And could... could you introduce me to some of the more exotic creatures that live here?"

"Of course." He said as he idly stroked her back. "Anything you'd like, just keep in mind it is getting late." She nodded as her eyes went back to the room around them. He chuckled, "This was always one of my favorite things about our first years together. There will never be anything more fascinating to me than to see your reactions to new things, nothing more beautiful than the wonder reflected in your eyes as something you've never seen catches them." He sent her a warm smile as her eyes moved back to him, her cheeks tented a faint pink. He leaned in and gave her a light kiss. "Don't hold back, ask about anything you'd like, explore anything you want."

She didn't waste any time following his suggestion, and he spent the better part of three hours giving her the history behind various paintings, statues, pottery, and more; giving details of when they were painted, when they had become lost to the sea as well as how, and how his father had come into possession of most of the pieces. Some of the other visitors would come over and listen from time to time and would introduce themselves and carry on small talk until they became bored of the history lessons and moved on. The most amazing part was getting to interact with some of the sea creatures she'd never known about before, her favorite being the sea dragon.

Jos couldn't help the awe and wonder from spewing out as she stroked the gigantic head resting in her l.a.p enjoying her careful strokes of its wide ears. Her eyes were wide with child-like astonishment as she said. "I've seen 'sea dragons' before the little one that resembles your run-of-the-mill seahorse... and I recall seeing these guys when we first visited... but this is amazing... I wouldn't take such a magnificent beast to be so gentle."

Arei chuckled as the beast in question let out a content purr that rumbled the area around them like a small earthquake. "I'm sure if you weren't petting him like a childhood pet, he may be less agreeable... though you do seem to have a way of taming wild beasts." He chuckled again as the creature rolled its massive body over for a tummy rub. "I can't wait to tell dad you turned one of his guardian beasts into your own personal l.a.p dog..." He shrugged, "I guess it can't be any worse than Ceberus..."

Jos's eyes widened at the mention of the hellhound. "Could we visit him before we leave? Would that be possible? Is that entrance still connected to this palace?"

Arei nodded, "Yes but I'm afraid Ceb has been retired. Uncle has replaced him with high-tech security cameras and devices. Ceb has become nothing more than a giant house pet."

"Oh..." She frowned. "So, we couldn't go see him?"

Arei chuckled, "Well, not without paying a visit to my aunt and uncle... I wouldn't hesitate if not for the fact that dad suspects Zeus to be up to more shady shit..."

Her brows furrowed, "Do you think your uncle Hades would help Zeus out in whatever he was planning?"

Arei shook his head as he reached out to pet the dragon as well. "No, not intentionally, but unfortunately most of the passages to the underworld are open domain and free for any of the gods to travel through. It's a vast well-populated area, entire cities in places... Besides, I doubt the council would approve that trip."

Jos frowned. "Alright, sorry I asked..."

Arei let his hand fall away from the beast and move to her cheek, turning her face to meet his. "There's no reason to be sorry. We can still go one of these days, and I'm sure they would love to see you again. But we need to make sure it's safe and that it won't get you into more trouble by going. The council's powers don't extend to the underworld so they would protest."

Jos nodded, "I get it..." She let out a huff as her eyes moved to the opening of the ceiling in the cave they were in. "It's getting late, we should probably head back..." She watched as he nodded and lowered back into the water. She bent and placed a kiss on the tip of the brilliant cerulean blue dragon's nose before carefully pushing his heavy head out of her l.a.p. "At least I can come back to visit you..." She said as she smiled up at the beast as it straightened to its full height. She waved up to it as she waded deeper into the waters. "Until next time!"

Arei chuckled as he dove under the water. {This woman... I can't help but love her...}