Chapter Two Eros
When I first met the little goddess of technology, I knew she was going to shake up Olympus.
I looked over her Cupi Drone proposal, knowing that even though our magic was fractious, I wanted to move forward with this idea.
Love was becoming harder to facilitate. Even on Olympus, more gods and goddesses remained single than not. I could attest to that.
Gods assumed that as the god of carnal love, I went around fucking everything that moved. I admit, the first few thousand years were like that, but I grew more selective with age. Now, I see the patterns that love takes, all kinds of love, and it becomes predictable. Mind-numbingly so.
Then, this chaotic ball of anxiety-filled genius joined our staff.
I found myself checking in on R&D frequently, which my dad didn’t like because mom’s ex-husband heads the department.
That was a bonus—see the pretty blue-haired goddess and make the god of war pissy.
Almost every time I sauntered into her domain, something went haywire.
I relished the glare. I chuckled at the animosity.
I started assigning her specific tasks outside of the team and realized recently that I was half in love with her.
It didn’t occur to me that suppressing the urge to haul her into my arms after every disagreement and kissing her senseless could be a problem for HR.
Hephaestus, of all people, noticed my singular focus.
This was why I had suggested we clear out R&D’s test lab for the day, and I maneuvered my mother into taking a day off. I was selfish. I wanted to have Techne’s glares and frustrated sighs all to myself.
“Techne,” I said, noting her slow progress across the room. Watching her eyes slowly take me in as she walked was an ego boost.
“Sir,” she replied, bringing the box to the table nearest me.
I flexed my jaw, trying to keep my emotions in check. There was something about the way she said “sir” that made me think of silk ties around her wrists and my face buried in her cunt.
“I’ve been looking over the proposal.” I pulled myself out of my carnal thoughts.
“It sounds good, almost too good to be true. Smaller, faster, no need to stop to eat or take breaks, these drones sound like ideal companions.” I flipped through her proposal to the AI page.
I was concerned about a computer with the ability to think.
“Y-yes.” She cleared her throat. “I’m glad you agree that they should be companions, especially in this early stage.” I watched as she delicately pulled out the red and white drones for today’s demonstration from the cardboard box.
I placed the packet on the table. Unable to resist ruffling her feathers, I crossed my arms in a disapproving way and said, “Do you not trust your work?”
Delightfully, she snorted, and I worked hard not to give in to the smile tugging at my lips.
”It’s not that I don’t ‘trust my work,’ I’m a realist. I am combining my magic with yours, and it seems oddly... resistant.” She brushed a strand of electric blue hair back from her face.
I wanted to lean in and trace a finger along her jaw, following the path that strand had brushed.
Her hair was long enough to lose my fingers among the waves.
I fantasized about grasping her locks firmly in each hand while her berry-colored lips surrounded my cock.
I shifted to the side, trying to hide my growing erection.
Needing to focus, I reached across her to pick up a drone.
“It has been. There’s been talk that you are a new Muse.
” I wanted to understand how she felt about that.
I flipped over the drone to inspect where the Cupi Darts would go before continuing.
“It could be that your powers are meant to enlighten others to create.”
“I’ve heard. The humans certainly are inspired every time I visit their realm. I would be honored to be considered a Muse, of course, but I’m more concerned about spreading love as efficiently as possible,” she agreed, not meeting my gaze and instead looking at her tablet.
A sense of possessiveness filled me at the thought of her leaving to live ninety percent of the time on Earth. Of her possibly creating relationships with these mortals, taking one to her bed.
She couldn’t be a Muse.
I put the drone down. I collected the black box of darts that Frigg had handed me this morning for this demonstration.
These darts were colored like my arrow fletchings, each color matching the arrow’s purpose: red for love, orange for lust, and indigo for true love.
Like in my quiver, there weren’t many indigo darts in the box.
True love was one type of love I didn’t usually need to interfere with. It happened magically, the universe or some god beyond me orchestrating those matches. I could tell who those people were, even when they were stubborn, which was the only time I interfered with these rare arrows.
A firm click drew my attention back to Techne, her tablet now resting on the table beside her.
Her face was flushed. What was the little minx thinking about? “Why is it important to you to improve our efficiency?”
I passed her the box of darts, our fingers briefly touching. A zing of pleasure zipped along my arm. I wanted to grab her hand and pull her in close. To feel her body pressed along mine.
Her face flushed deeper, the color spreading down her neck.
She loaded darts into the drone closest to me. Her eyes were slightly out of focus, and her breaths were short. She didn’t seem to notice the change in her bearing.
Concern rippled through me. “Are you all right, Techne?” I gave in to the earlier urge to brush aside her hair. This time, my motives were different. Gods could get sick. Maybe I pushed her too hard with this project.
Techne jumped at my touch, the box of darts flying through the air like confetti and clattering down across the table. She reached out as if she could catch some of the falling projectiles. She lost her balance, hitting the table as she fell to the floor, landing with a thump.
The need to scoop her up and check her over for hurts warred with the more appropriate HR-approved response.
“Oh, for the love of bandwidth,” she cursed.
“This is all my fault,” I said, stooping down to her level.
“It is,” she groused, her face becoming cherry red. “Who goes and touches someone’s face?”
“You hadn’t answered my question, and your face is flushed. I apologize, but I was concerned for your health,” extended my hand, offering to help her up.
Gracefully, she pushed herself up and rose to her feet. I noticed she put more of her weight on the hand that hadn’t hit the table. Asclepius, the famed healer turned god, owed me a favor. Maybe I could call him in to heal Techne—“I’m sorry, I feel fi—” Techne began.
A buzzing noise cut off her reply. Techne’s big golden eyes widened in shock. Something shot past my face, beaning her on the neck. I felt the wave of true love shimmer through her body.
An indigo dart rolled down her chest, the magic spent. The Cupi Drone. Someone in R&D fucked up colossally. A welt on her neck displayed how hard the impact was. I reached for her, wanting to soothe the spot.
Techne gasped. The drone was not done with us yet.
“No!” she yelled as she threw herself at me.
The dart hit my ear seconds before she fell against me. Its impact bonded with my growing feelings for Techne. Deep love snapped into place like I had never experienced before. Before I could do more than wrap my arms around my goddess as we collided, another dart hit her right between her eyes.
Orange for lust. Based on the wave of lust I felt come off her from the Cupi Dart, I knew they had overfilled it with the oil I enchant and coat my arrowheads in. It didn’t take much, and my employees knew that.
How could a mistake this colossal have happened?
“Shit!” I cursed, keeping us upright.
I needed to explain what was happening before she was too far gone.
“Hmm?” Techne replied, her gaze cloudy with confusion.
“The door was cracked, and your Cupi Drone is free,” I said.
Her golden eyes tried to focus on my own. “Oh, that is a problem,” she agreed, the sexiest moan slipping from her lips.
My cock, more than eager to respond to the pliant woman in my arms, hardened almost painfully in need.
Techne’s body went limp, no doubt due to the overwhelming need to burn through the lust. I lifted her to my chest, one hand supporting her ass as the other guided an arm around my neck.
She appeared to understand what I was trying to do and shifted her body closer, wrapping both arms around my neck.
“What is going—?” Her legs tightened around my hips, her core lining up with my straining anatomy.
I flexed my hand on her ass in lieu of grinding her against my dick. “I’ve got you, baby girl. I need a minute.”
After I extracted my phone from my pocket, I fumbled to unlock it and found Hephaestus’s number.
“I need the building on lockdown. One of the Cupi Drones has gone rogue, and it’s equipped with real love, lust, and true love darts.
The only being immune is Aphrodite, and she’s out of the office this morning. ”
“Were either of you hit?” The concern in his voice was palpable.
“Yes, I’m locking us in until we can ride it out,” I replied.
“Understood,” he replied. The lights in the room dimmed, and a shrill beeping signaling a lockdown filled the air. “I’ll make sure th—”
Something on the other end crashed, and the line went quiet.
“Hephaestus?” There was no reply. The lockdown had been signaled and I had to believe my employees would take care of the rest.
I tossed my phone, closing the distance to the doors and shutting them. My control was hanging on by a thread.
“Why are you locking us in?” She asked, her breasts pressed against my chest, her lips trailing up my neck, only stopping their ascent to question me.
“Because if anyone else comes in here and tries to touch you, I will kill them.” I hissed when she lightly bit me below my ear. Her tongue swirled over where she had marked and made my head swim. Unable to stop myself, I flexed my hands, now firmly supporting her ass.
“I do love a possessive god,” she purred, kissing my jaw.
“You say that now.” I shuddered as she kissed the corner of my mouth. “I need you to understand, baby, that the lust is making you this way. If I don’t take care of you—”
She pulled back, her finger pressing against my lips.
“If you don’t give me many, many orgasms, I will go insane.
I’ve read the studies, I’m aware.” She tightened her other hand around the back of my neck, her gold eyes locked with mine.
“I understand, boss. The dosage in the darts was too high, and neither of us is immune.” She moaned, her finger slipping from my lips.
I spun us, pressing her body against the nearest wall, my hands flat against the surface on either side of her head.
“I want to help you, Techne, but—” I groaned.
Her softness felt too good pressed along my body.
I wasn’t hit with lust true, but that did not mean the effects of the overly filled true love dart weren’t pushing me to make her mine.
“Indigo, Eros, we were hit with indigo darts. I’m horny as fuck, and I need you.” She sassed, “If my true love isn't willing to get me off—”
I gave in, grinding my erection against her core. “I’ll get you off, little goddess. I need your consent.”
Her head fell back against the wall, her fingers loosening from my neck. “We have too many clothes on.” She whimpered.
“I need a ‘yes,’ Techne,” I growled, brushing her lips with my own. “A yes, baby girl, please.”