Page 28 of Arrogance
“I’m at a loss for words, Apollo. I honestly don’t know what to say,” I replied.
But my state of confusion was put on hold, for Apollo reached to grab the back of my head. “Then don’t say a thing,” he intimately uttered.
And with that, he pulled my head into him so that my lips met his. My eyes softly closed, allowing myself to completely get lost in his touch, his passion. This kiss was something I had imagined for over a year now. I could not believe it was coming true. Apollo was magnificent. Our kisses were unlike anything I had experienced before in my entire life. Persephone, Aphrodite, Hermes, or any other man, woman, god, or goddess never made my heart flutter this wildly.
Apollo was glorious. He was perfect, without a single flaw I could point out.
The god’s hands moved down to feel my chest and traced along my torso, south to my abdomen. Before he could move further to grab my erection, I separated my lips from his, pushing myself back and away from him. “We’re moving too fast,” I found myself saying.
“What do you mean?” he questioned me.
I could not tell whether Apollo was frazzled because I managed to resist and refuse him or if this was his first time ever having been rejected by a mortal. But I had a hunch it was a combination of both.
“I want to savor this. I don’t want us to rush into making love. You have strong feelings for me and I have the same for you. Evidently, the Fates also alluded to us being together, based on your prophecy. So, I cannot allow myself to make love to you here and now. I do not want this to be a solitary experience. I fear that if we were to feel and appreciate each other’s bodies in this very moment, your thirst would be fully quenched with me and you will move on and find another person to please you.”
I had revealed a lot to him in my speech. It was even difficult for me to believe that I had just admitted all of these thoughts to him. It was beyond unbecoming of me. How could I allow myself to be so vulnerable with him? Where did the seductive and tempting Adonis go? Where was he now? This Adonis who questioned the meaning of a sexual encounter was a new character, one I had never played in my entire life. Yet here I was, allowing Apollo to bring this side out in me.
But Apollo simply smirked. Instead of ignoring me and pulling me in for his own selfish, sexual desires, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pressed me into him, so that my head rested against his chest, in a romantic embrace. “Very well. I respect your thoughts and wishes,” he stated. “But I refuse to allow myself to wait awhile to meet you again. Now that I had a taste of you, I cannot be away from you for very long.”
I rubbed the smoothness of his round chest with my palms in a soothing fashion. “I don’t want you to be away from me for long, either. But there is another looming issue at stake here,” I began to explain.
“Aphrodite…” Apollo interrupted and answered with.
“Precisely. She will certainly be displeased to learn that our feelings for one another are beyond that of a sexual affair and physical attraction for one another,” I elaborated to him. I didn’t want to even imagine what Aphrodite would do if she discovered I was falling in love with Apollo. Surely, she would feel betrayed and find a way to cause harm to the two of us. It was a thought I never wanted to have. Who knows what she would do? Based on her previous actions in seeking revenge on others, I could only imagine the sort of havoc she would wreak upon us.
“Then, I will make sure my encounters with you are when she is not in the picture,” Apollo explained. “I cannot risk her finding out about us only to demand that we no longer see each other.”
I could not agree with Apollo more. This was a dangerous game we were playing, that required great risk. I could not believe I was going back on my promise to Aphrodite. She had warned me to never fall in love with another person beyond her. The goddess only accepted that I would have physical attractions to others. Nothing more. However, it was impossible for me to obey this demand of hers. After all, the heart wants what it wants. Even the Goddess of love should be aware of that.
Chapter 13
Aphrodite
I returned to Amathus, a city in Cyprus that heavily worshipped me. I stood in a private chamber within one of the temples. This room was a shrine devoted to me. The walls and columns were intricately designed with the finest silver. Many of the statues and ornate sculptures that depicted me were made of the most majestic pearls and lapis lazuli. I graced my delicate palm across one of the life-size statue’s cheeks, as if caressing my own form. It was an impressively accurate portrayal of me. The figure was beautiful and had the most exquisite body of any female in the world. My hands moved to cup the breasts of the sculpture, thoroughly pleased with the size and shape of them. How could anyone resist their voluptuousness?
My mind then drifted to Adonis and our most recent conversation. I was bitter in knowing that he found other people attractive besides me. I secretly wanted him all to myself. But I knew that was an impossibility. For if I commanded that he make love to no one else but me, he would surely grow resentful. It would only further push him away from me. And I knew that Adonis was a commodity. Any god or goddess would take advantage of such a vulnerability and try to drive a wedge between the two of us to steal him away from me, just as I did to Persephone with him. Adonis was a glorious mortal. He was truly a prize that any god would cherish. And based on Adonis’ actions and his attraction to other gods and goddesses, I began to worry that Adonis was unraveling this revelation. I found him often copying my skills in the art of seduction. He used his beauty to tempt others to get them in bed. But I could not fault him. It was I who was his only role model. And so, he picked up a few habits of mine over time.
I had to relinquish the tether I held on Adonis. I could not keep restricting him with my leash on him. My support in allowing him to make love to other people beyond me was my gift to him. To show him my appreciation and to act as though I valued his inner feelings and desires. Yes, I was jealous when Adonis had sex with others, but I could not inform him of that. However, what I could never bear was him actually falling in love with another. This would be unacceptable, and if anyone tried to seduce my Adonis in such a way to take him away from me, I would make them pay. They would be heavily punished for trying to defy me and I would make sure they never crossed me ever again.
A slam of the door from behind me left me startled. I spun around to see what the sudden commotion was. A middle-aged woman with bright crimson hair dashed towards me, panic-stricken. “Oh Goddess! I have terrible news. You must help me!”
The woman was Thrassa, a daughter of my former lover, Ares. She was a devoted follower and worshipper of mine. “What has happened?” I inquired.
“It’s my daughter, Polyphonte,” she began to explain. “She has refused to take any of her suitors’ hands in marriage, claiming that she vows to remain a virgin for the rest of her life. Possessed I tell you!”
Rage stirred within me. How dare any woman in Cyprus take it upon themselves to remain a virgin for the rest of her life? What a desecration to me and the sanctity of womanhood! This was repugnant. Polyphonte would not get away with this. I could not allow her to remain a virgin in this land. What sort of message would that send to other female mortals in Cyprus? They all needed to be tamed and know their duties as a woman and, to me, Goddess of love, beauty, and procreation. The consequences I would inflict upon Polyphonte for betraying me would send a clear message to the rest of Cyprus, for what could potentially happen if they flouted my values and what I stood for.
“Where is she now?” I asked Thrassa.
“She fled into the mountains! I reprimanded her and told her that if she kept up with this charade that I would disown her. I am so sorry my Goddess. Please forgive me!” she wept.
“No need for apologies, Thrassa. You have been beyond loyal to me. There was nothing you could do to prevent this. I have a feeling another goddess has her hands in this. I will handle it.”
Thrassa had a quizzical expression on her face as I mentioned that this could be the works of another goddess. But before I could enlighten her with what I meant, I was already off and departing the temple, heading towards the surrounding mountains in search of the unruly girl. My intuition was telling me that Artemis had an influence on Polyphonte’s chastity. And just as I taught many women over the years, they should always follow their intuition.
As I was exploring the heights of Cyprus, a high-pitched shriek caught my attention. Immediately, I headed in the direction of the commotion and approached a bear that was confronting a young woman. I held my hand out to the aggressive bear and it instantly became passive, dispelling all of the belligerence it possessed. The brown grizzly shunned the girl and left her be, heading off into the further depths of the nearby forest.
I crossed my arms over my chest, seeing Polyphonte fallen on the ground, her back pressed against a boulder, where the bear had cornered her into. “Oh Polyphonte. You have caused quite a mess for me.”
