Santorini Paradiso Ch. 10

At long last, another chapter. It's been quite a while, and for that I apologize. For anyone who remembers this little series - thank you for your patience. There is still a little ways to go for Elena, Adonis and Petros.

Thank you all for reading. I hope you like it.

Avec l'amour...

**

Elena felt the soft press of lips to her brow. She stirred contentedly in the early stages of wakefulness. One eye squinted open, a sleepy smile spreading across her face. Adonis was leaning over her, dressed in his running clothes. He smoothed her wild curls away from her forehead and said in barely more than a whisper that he'd be back soon.

"Mmm-hmmm." She murmured, as she felt Petros shift in his sleep beside her, his arms reflexively tightening around her soft curves. Adonis brushed his lips across hers in the promise of a kiss, and then slipped away without making a sound. Elena stifled a little yawn and turned her body toward Petros, snuggling into his embrace and tucking her face into his shoulder. One of his hands slid up the back of her neck and his fingers threaded through her hair, cradling her against him. Their breathing synchronized and she drifted back to sleep.

So it was with a little confusion that Elena found herself standing in the sculpture garden. A heavy mist blanketed the ground and the sky above was a pale golden color. Dawn was beginning to break. Elena looked at her bare feet, standing in the cool, dewy grass. She was wearing a simple white shift that reached her ankles - which was funny, because she didn't remember putting this on - in fact, she didn't remember coming outside. The sound of fluttering wings and the soft coo of a dove captured her attention, and she looked up to see where it was. The bird perched in the branches of her apparently customary olive tree, and was looking at Elena, her head tilted slightly.

"Do you want to have that talk now?"

Elena gasped, startled, suddenly seeing the beautiful woman standing about ten feet away. Her voice was melodious and strangely resonant - as if it vibrated in Elena's very bones.

She was so intent on looking at this lovely creature that she momentarily forgot to answer. How did she know her? She wondered. The delicate perfection of the woman's face was enlivened by sharp intelligence and an absolutely fierce look in her eyes. One eyebrow shot upward, a slight smirk on her full lips. Elena realized she was waiting for an answer. She shook her head a little, as if trying to wake herself up.

"Sorry - what talk?" Elena asked softly. She felt a tiny frisson of apprehension as the lovely lady walked closer - her movements slow and so graceful that she almost appeared to glide.

"You were eager for explanations last night - or so you said." She drawled. "Don't you remember?" A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth - she seemed to be enjoying herself.

Elena's eyes widened as the realization began to take hold. "Wait..." Her hand unconsciously reached out in a halting gesture. Her brow crinkled in thought. "That voice in my head - that was you? That was real? This is real?" Elena was feeling lightheaded, as if the world was tipping on its axis around her.

The lady scoffed. "Real. What is that, anyway? We only know what our minds can perceive, our bodies can feel and our hearts can touch. There is nothing else." Her voice was soft and musical - almost hypnotic.

"Who... who are you?" Elena stammered. But she knew the answer even before the beautiful lady replied. She'd drawn those cheekbones, the finely shaped lips, the winged brows.

"Ah, but you already know. I am who you think I am. I am the daughter of the god of thunder. I am the lady of Cyprus and Cythera. I am she who emerged from the foaming sea. I am mother to your beloveds - the goddess of Love. And I am here to teach you what you must do."

Elena scarcely had breath to whisper "Aphrodite."

"Just so." Nodding regally, the goddess bestowed on her a most dazzling smile.

A warmth spread through Elena, her nerves and muscles felt electrically charged. Her heart beat rapidly and she felt a sort of euphoria.

"You saw Adonis's memories - you know the truth of who they are." This was more statement than question. But Elena nodded in assent anyway.

"There is no reason to continue to fight these facts. It is time to accept what you have learned." She tilted her head to one side as she thoughtfully regarded Elena's anxious expression.

She chewed on her lower lip as she considered these words. "It's just that - all of this - is so hard to grasp. I mean - it's the twenty-first century..." Elena spoke as if talking to herself.

"Nonsense - it's the twenty-first century in the Gregorian calendar. 'Anno Domini' - as they say. They being those who subscribe to the 'one'." She laughed a little at this. "But actually, my dear, it's much later than that by my reckoning." She examined the nails of one perfect, slim hand as she said this.

"I hadn't thought about that - you will have seen several millennia I suppose..." Elena tried to remember when the Greek god were supposed to have appeared. Her mind was spinning. And her Classics classes in Prep School were so far in the past.

"Time is a function of how you measure it, little one..." She paused, looking meaningfully at Elena before continuing: "And how well you live it."

Elena smiled sadly, thinking suddenly of her Aunt Sibyl. "I'm sure that is true." Sibyl seemed to virtually "eat" life. Even though Elena's time with her was cut cruelly short, Elena always felt that Sibyl saw and experienced so much - it was if she'd lived several lifetimes.

Realizing she'd been momentarily lost in her own thoughts, she looked back up at the goddess who was regarding her with great curiosity.

"You are a very intriguing girl, Elena. I wonder if you know how intuitive you actually are? You should listen more to this inner sense."

Elena's face registered surprise. Was this a compliment from a goddess? If so, what did it mean? She wasn't sure how to reply, but was spared the need.

Waving her hand, the goddess continued: "What you don't know, is that your own history is entwined with that of our people. The memories have been temporarily lost to you, but they will return. You must seek them out, Elena, in order to understand your destiny."

"My destiny?" Elena didn't like the idea of fate - it went sharply against the fabric of what she believed - that people can choose their own path in life. Though Elena was afraid of the goddess's wrath, she felt compelled to speak the truth.

"I am sorry, my lady, but I don't believe in destiny. We can choose what we do and what we do not do."

Aphrodite laughed, she seemed genuinely delighted and amused. "You are a brave girl, Elena. I do like you, my dear. It is easy to understand why my boys are so in love with you." She shook her head indulgently and continued. "Destiny and free will can coexist, sweet girl. After all, isn't it possible to be in the grip of a current and still swim? Your mistake is to assume that destiny takes a single path. But it is far more complex than that."

Elena had no response. Her mind buzzed. Could it even be possible that a person's choices and their destiny were intertwined in equal measure? But that would mean...

"Yes, Elena-mou, it would mean that destiny is not fixed. It changes and moves as we make choices. If something had happened to prevent your coming on this vacation to Greece, your path would certainly have crossed with my sons' in some other way. Destiny would have reshaped itself to a new course."

"But does that mean our choices don't make any difference?"

"Not at all!" Aphrodite seemed to be energized by this conversation. "It means that destiny and our choices are like dancers. Cause and effect, twisting and turning, with each partner playing an important role that effects how the other moves."

"Doesn't that mean, though, that the ending is still the same? The dance will end."

"All things that begin must end, eventually. The point, my dear, is what happens in between."

Elena let this sink in, while the goddess looked on. The rising sun painted the sky with streaks of pink. The dove let out another vibrato coo and resettled itself on the branch. 'The point is what happens in between...' Elena ventured another look at the lady.

"So I now have a role to play for Adonis and Petros?"

"Just so." She was regarding Elena with an enigmatic expression.

"What must I do?" Elena's voice was stronger and more confident now.

The goddess moved closer, closing the distance between them. Aphrodite was much taller, so she crooked a finger below Elena's chin causing her to look up into her mesmerizing eyes.

"Do you love them?" She softly demanded.

Without hesitation, Elena replied. "Yes, I do. I swear it with all my heart." The goddess smiled again, her hand brushed along Elena's cheek.

"Unconditionally?" She challenged. Elena straightened up, meeting her gaze.

"Yes." She knew as soon as she said it that it was true.

One simple word conveyed so much. All of the angst she'd felt the night before - all of her confusion - was utterly gone. The daylight around them seemed to glow brighter.

Elena continued, her eyes searching those of the goddess: "I want to make them happy. They've had so much pain and loss. They have been trapped outside of time for so long. They have been alone..." Elena's eyes filled with tears, her chest feeling tight with empathy for their loneliness.

"What is to become of them? And of me? I don't want to be yet another painful, lost love..." Her voice was thick with emotion, and an errant tear ran down her cheek. Aphrodite caught the tear with her index finger, and brought it to her lips. She seemed pensive.

"What are you prepared to do for my beautiful sons?" She asked, her voice had more edge this time.

Elena was clearly confused. "What do you mean?"

Her other hand came up and cupped the other side of Elena's face. She inhaled and then slowly repeated: "I mean: what would you do for my sons?"

Elena shrugged softly, a smile lighting up her lovely flushed face. "Anything, my lady. Anything and everything they need. Whatever it takes to make them happy."

This was the answer the goddess wanted, because she enfolded Elena into an embrace, her voice once again deeply resonant when she responded: "Just so."

Elena's eyes were closed, and she rested her cheek against the lady's shoulder.

"But what about the prophecy?" She asked softly.

"Prophecy, my darling?!" Elena jumped violently and pulled her head back. She was in bed, and it was Petros who answered. The sculpture garden, the goddess, her shift dress had all disappeared and she was laying in the circle of Petros's arms.

He was wide awake, lying very still, and looking down at her with a guarded expression in his eyes.

"What?" Elena was confused. How was she back in bed - had she been merely dreaming of the goddess? The lady's voice in her head said "Ah, but you already know."

"You said: 'But what about the prophecy?' What did you mean, agape-mou?" Petros seemed to be holding his breath.

A jumble of thoughts crowded Elena's mind, each wrangling for attention. She began to feel the enormity of the recent developments in her life. It was almost overwhelming. The veil between dreams, fantasies and realities seemed to be virtually non-existent. Gods, myths, immortality, prophecies, and destiny were no longer just abstract concepts. And neither was love.

But the warm flesh beneath her palms, the skin against her skin, and the dark eyes that regarded her with such concern were very real indeed. Pulsing with life.

"Elena, please talk to me." Petros gently tightened his grip in her hair, his beautiful eyes conveying a silent plea.

Elena quieted her mind and focused on the handsome man in front of her. She smiled at him, willing him to feel her love - to let it show in her eyes. 'I said I'd do anything they need...' she thought to herself. What Petros needed now was to know she was here with him. That all was okay.

The lady's voice in her head again whispered: "Just so."

"I have been thinking about what you both told me last night. I've seen Adonis's memories. I have seen what life has been like for you. My heart breaks for the pain you have endured. While it was hard, at first, for me to believe it all, I have come to accept it." She said simply, tracing one of his amazing cheekbones with her fingers.

"It doesn't frighten you?" There was a tremor in his voice that made her throw her arms around his neck in a desire to comfort him. After only the slightest hesitation, he hugged her back tightly. He exhaled slowly and carefully. His relief was evident.

"I won't deny that I wanted to reject it all, initially. Part of me wanted to run from what you were telling me. As you can imagine, it was hard to process everything. I still don't understand it all, or my role in this. But then I realized that there is something far, far more important." She leaned back and looked at him. His eyes were searching her face.

"What, my love?" He asked softly. His eyes were so dark she could barely discern the pupils. A pulse thrummed in his jaw.

"I love you. Both of you. Completely. Unconditionally. Nothing else matters -"

Anything else Elena might have said was cut off as Petros crushed her lips with his. He rolled her onto her back and pressed her into the mattress, his arms sliding around her to press their bodies together. His tongue invaded her mouth, making her moan. His passion flared so suddenly and violently she felt a thrill run through her, causing a shiver. When he felt it, he raised his head and looked down at her, his eyes heavy-lidded.

"Are you cold, my darling?" He asked breathlessly.

"Not remotely." She laughed huskily as she lifted her lips again to his.

He groaned into her mouth and pressed his hips against hers, grinding his hardening length into her yielding flesh.

"Do you want me, little one?" He murmured against her, pushing one hand between them to slip two fingers inside her moist heat as she gasped excitedly. He growled at how wet she was and ground out between his teeth: "I will take that as a yes."

Elena was essentially purring as she opened her legs to give him better access, arching up into his hard, insistent body. Petros had two fingers inside her, while his thumb drew tantalizingly slow circles around her clit. He caught her lower lip between his teeth and watched her face as she writhed beneath him.

"Please, agape-mou!" She breathed - barely knowing what she pleaded for. He added another finger, curving his hand up to rub across the bundle of nerves inside her throbbing pussy. His thumb began to press down hard on the tight little nub. Elena began to grind against his hand, unaware of the fact that she kept saying "Oh, oh, oh."

Petros leaned down, roughly capturing one taut nipple in his teeth. This was her undoing. Elena screamed out as she shuddered against him. He felt her muscles contracting around his fingers as the powerful orgasm rocked her body. Groaning, he recaptured her mouth, careful to pause so she could breathe. He watched her lovely face as the pleasure crested and broke. He softly, slowly removed his fingers - which were drenched in her juices.

Petros used this slickness on his almost painfully hard cock, sliding his hand along the length and placing the head at her swollen entrance. Elena's eyes flew open wide as she gazed up at him.

"Yessss..." she cried, as he moved inside of her. She was hypersensitive now and felt every inch of him as he filled her. She could tell he was holding himself tightly in check for fear of losing control and hurting her. Perversely, she almost wanted the pain. He pushed into her little by little, never taking his eyes off her.

Once he'd bottomed out, he stilled, enjoying the moment of feeling himself sheathed inside her. Cupping her face with his hands, he kissed her with great tenderness and sensuality. Her love for him rose up, swamping her, and she wound her arms around his neck, sliding her fingers through his luxuriant hair.

"I adore you, Petros. S'agapo." Her words were softly spoken, but to him it was like a shout into the universe. He rested his forehead against hers, his eyes closed.

"You are the one, Elena." He raised his head and looked down at her with eyes filled with wonder and awe. "You are the one." She didn't quite fully understand what he meant, but she liked the sound of it.

"I'll be anything you want me to be." She whispered, as she reached up to press her lips to his.

As if a dam broke, Petros roared, unleashing his ferocious passion and kissing her back with something just shy of violence. He pulled back his hips until only the tip of his large cock remained inside her, and then slammed back into her - pounding against her cervix. She screamed in response - reveling in his loss of control.

Petros grabbed her wrists and slammed them back into the bedding, pistoning in and out of her madly. Each time he pushed in her, he grunted deep in his throat. Elena lifted her hips up to meet his hard thrusts, keening as she felt yet another climax building inside her. Their bodies were coated in sweat, the sounds they made were raw and animalistic. The world around them disappeared and they were unaware of how long this communion stretched on. They were driven by pure need.

At last, Elena shouted his name over and over into the vast ceiling of the bedroom as she shattered beneath him. He'd been holding out for this, and came almost immediately, moaning in a loud, low voice as he shot again and again, deep into her trembling womb.

For several minutes, they stayed as they lay - utterly spent. Raggedly panting, their bodies slick, they shared this post coital moment in silent harmony. Aware that his body was too heavy to rest upon Elena in this way, Petros reluctantly slid off to the side, his penis slipping out of her to be followed by a tiny rivulet of his seed. Elena occasionally shook with the tiny aftershocks of her climax.

"Mmmm." She moaned as she turned toward him, pressing her face to his gleaming chest. "That was... energetic. Delicious." She murmured happily.

Petros gathered her against him and pressed his lips to her hair. He breathed in her scent.

After a moment, he looked around them and said wryly. "We really fucked up Adonis's bed."

They both erupted into tearful laughter.

"Seriously, he's going to be pissed off." Petros added. Elena elbowed him gently and continued to laugh in little bursts.

"We should probably get cleaned up..." She said finally. After thinking for a moment, she added: "And besides, I'm STARVING!" She marveled that she truly was ravenous. Must be all this sex, she thought.

"Pahme." She rolled over to the side of the bed and tugged on Petros to join her. "Let's go shower and then have breakfast!"

He let out a fake groan of protest, saying: "Whatever happened to afterglow, hmm? Don't you want to spoon for a while?"

Elena was already scooping up her kimono and heading through the door when she said over her shoulder "No! C'mon lazy bones - let's get going, handsome."

He rolled over and hugged the pillow that still held her fragrance, and he smiled. He heard the shower turn on in her room and rolled out of the big four-poster. Staring down at the tangled and semen-soaked sheets, Petros began to laugh again, and reached down to strip the bed linens before his brother came home.

**

Elena emerged from her bathroom in a terry robe, her hair wrapped in a towel. She was headed toward the wardrobe when her eyes landed on the suitcases. She'd never had a chance to unpack since checking out of the hotel. She hefted the larger case onto her bed first, unzipping it and flipping it open. Then she retrieved the smaller carry-on bag and dropped it next to the suitcase, tugging it open.