((Immediately follows Wise Counsel.))

Perhaps she should have considered what it was she was asking him, that she had asked to be taken away for more than a few hours, and should have stopped to collect her bag, but in the gloom of the night, shaken and wanting to run away, little details like that did not occur to Ayden at all. And though she was becoming used to Ares' method of transportation, he hadn't thought to warn her that it was daylight in the place where they ended up. Half-blinded by brilliantly warm sunshine, she cried out quietly, shielding her eyes with one hand thrown up to cover her face as she winced, wondering where on Earth he had brought her.

The villa in the Peloponnese was especially lovely in the morning with the sunlight shining off the bay, a warm breeze gently stirring the trees that surrounded the villa and the surrounding hillside. It was a perfect day, even for autumn, warm but lacking the heat and humidity of summer. He had not been there for quite some time, but had plenty of servants to take care of the place in his absence. As far as they knew, he was a wealthy businessman who had been named for the Greek God of War and who they only saw on very rare occasions.

As her eyes adjusted to the brightness, Ayden took in the details of stone walls, clean modern lines, comfortable but obviously high-end furniture ....and the view. Her mouth fell open in awe at the view which presented itself at the wide doors close by, a sweeping vista of tree-covered foothills and rolling fields, dotted with distant villages. She'd seen places like this in pictures, her eyes widening as she glanced up at the Olympian who held her. "Did ....is this Greece?"

"Yes," he replied, as if he was a little surprised at the question. Of course it was Greece. There was no other place like it in the entire world. "I thought you might find it more comfortable here than the Amazon." Though here, they would not be quite so secluded as in the rainforest, he thought she might find a villa with a proper bed and bath and dining room more to her tastes, and he was hoping to please her. "Do you like it' Would you rather go somewhere else?"

He was right about her preferring somewhere with facilities. Despite how shaken she was by a dream she had woken from only minutes before, Ayden couldn't help smiling, delighted to find herself halfway across the world, in such a beautiful place, entirely at his whim. "Oh, no, it's beautiful here," she rushed to assure him, her curiosity taking her over the cool tiles laid on the floor toward the doors that opened out onto that amazing view. The whole place felt different, special somehow; even the quality of the sunshine was different, more golden, more illuminating, warmer through her pajamas. "I never thought I'd ever come to Europe. And here I am. You just made a dream come true without even knowing about it."

"I can take you wherever you wish to go, Ayden," he reminded her again, wondering if she had realized yet the implications of that simple statement. He had to admit that over the centuries he'd grown bored of that fact. He'd been everywhere he could possibly go. There were few places that had escaped his attention, and yet, visiting places with her that he'd too long taken for granted was like seeing them anew through her eyes. "It is lovely, I will grant you that." She brought a renewed interest for this place, and he wondered how many of the places he'd once loved had changed over time and whether she'd like to explore them again with her. Someday, when war wasn't hanging over their heads.

"You're kidding, right' This is more than lovely, it's ..." She twisted to look at him, green eyes bright with interest, heedless of the tear tracks still staining her face. "Where are we?" she asked him, a hint of excitement in her tone as she spoke. "Are we near Athens, or is this in Sparta" We're not on Crete, that mountain range is too hilly, I know that much. I've seen pictures and documentaries and I've read books, and none of it compares to actually seeing it."

"We are in the Peloponnese. This place is called Porto Heli. It is....not near Athens," he replied, though it wasn't all that far from Sparta. He wasn't overly fond of Athens himself, but had always been made to feel welcome here, or at the very least, not unwelcome as he'd been in some other places. But all that was eons ago. No one knew him here anymore. The old Gods were nothing more than legend, tales to tell their children. "I....procured the land long ago, but I only had the villa built in recent years. I thought I might want to stay here now and then, but..." He shrugged.

"So ..." She half-turned once again, pointing toward the foothills that rose into a mountain range so very close to them. "So somewhere in there is Mount Taygetus" We're that close to Sparta?" The curiosity had grown into outright pleasure as she realised she was with someone who could not only tell her about the ruins she might see, but who had built them, what their purpose had been, how they were used. Her dream and its terrors forgotten, she threw her arms around Ares' neck, kissing his cheek as she giggled like a child. "Thank you for bringing me here! It's wonderful!"

He was about to answer her question, when he found her unexpectedly throwing her arms about his neck and thanking him with a kiss to the cheek. He couldn't help but laugh a little at the childlike wonder and pleasure that this simple thing had given her. "I am glad you like it. Very glad." He was, in fact, so glad his whole face lit up with a rare smile that made his hazel-green eyes sparkle like the sun against the water.

"Will you take me to see some of the places around here?" she asked him hopefully, dropping her arms from his neck to loop about his waist instead, extending the innocent intimacy even as she looked around once again. "It doesn't have to be anywhere famous or anything like that. Just places that mean something to you. Teach me about them."

"If you wish," he replied, circling her in his embrace. "I should probably tell someone we're here," he admitted, though he really didn't want to spoil the intimacy of this moment just yet. The caretaker and servants would realize he was there soon enough, and when they saw he had a guest, there would be no end to their fussing over the two of them. Though it was morning here, it had been the middle of the night when he'd heard her call him, and he wasn't sure if she was still sleepy. "What would you like to do?" he asked, putting himself at her service, at her beck and call.

Though it was the very first hour of the morning back at home, Ayden had managed to get almost four hours of sleep before needing to be woken from her dreamscape, the sense of weariness faded easily in the face of so much to do, so much to see and learn. She would, no doubt, have an early night, or perhaps nap later on in the Greek day, but for now, she felt as awake as she ever had. As his arms encircled her, she laid her head against his shoulder, her smile soft as she looked out over the sweeping panorama that surrounded his villa. "I should have stopped to get my bag," she realised belatedly. "You can't be seen with me in just my jammies."

As one might expect, the staff who were in charge of taking care of the villa, as well as his needs whenever he deigned to show up, were shocked to say the least to find the master of the house had arrived suddenly and unexpectedly and without prior warning, as he was wont to do. After a few minutes of nervous and excited chatter from the staff, he managed to explain that he'd brought a guest with him - a young lady who should be treated with the utmost respect and kindness. He went on to instruct them further, and to their credit, they listened intently and promised to do his bidding. And why shouldn't they' He was paying them well for their obedience and their silence, though behind his back, there would be whispered gossip a-plenty.

Of course, Ayden knew nothing of any of this, or that she was going to be the subject of some intense conversation over the next few days. She simply slipped into the deep bath, finding a comfortable ledge on which to rest her head as she floated in the warm water, feeling her tension begin to ebb. And as her mind emptied of the dream, thoughts began to emerge that she was not quite prepared for. Such as ....why would a nightmare in which a god she'd only met a few days ago was killed upset her quite so much' Why would his then appearance be such a comfort to her" And why, when her first duty and responsibility was to her family, had she jumped so eagerly at the chance to be alone with him' There had been no sense of lust, no surge of desire, no physical sense of need to urge her to that conclusion. Just a longing to be with him, near him, to be certain of his health and well being as much as she could be.

That wasn't to say that she didn't feel the lust or the desire, not at all. It just hadn't been as important as reassuring herself that he was well and safe. The softness of that feeling was powerful, too, no hesitation in putting his wishes above her own, and for a little while, she let herself believe that she really was his. It was a sweet, pleasant daydream, to imagine that he loved her as she was beginning to suspect she might be coming to love him, wiling away the long minutes until he came back to her side with a smile playing about her lips as she lolled in the luxurious bathtub.

It had been a very long time since he'd had any thought of a woman, since he'd made any effort to please one. Perhaps his mother was right. Perhaps none of them had ever really known him, after all. Not even Aphrodite, who had only seemed to love him in part because it was a way to hurt the man she'd been forced to marry, because it had been a way to rebel. Ayden seemed different in the way he felt when he was with her and the way she seemed to care for him, the way no one had before. It wasn't long before he found his way back to the set of rooms he was sharing with her, his instructions handed out and being taken care of. Soon enough, they'd have breakfast brought to the room, and later that day, someone would arrive from the town to take Ayden's measurements and supply her with a few outfits for her stay.

Lost in thought, Ayden didn't hear him return, closing her eyes as she relaxed in the bath, those thoughts turning with alarming clarity to the way he smiled, the way she'd felt when he'd held her, how pleased he had seemed with her delight at finding herself in Greece. He was so beautiful, so strong, so vulnerable, so fierce, so gentle ....he was a world of contradictions that she found herself wanting to unravel and understand with a passion she'd not thought herself capable of. "Helps he's got an *ss you can crack rocks on, too," she murmured to herself, and giggled her girlish laugh, filling the bathroom with the sound of her amusement.

Fortunately, he hadn't heard her remark and wasn't capable of reading her thoughts, though he did arrive back in time to hear her giggle, wondering what exactly it was she was giggling about. Whether the villa's staff had found it odd that their master had returned looking wounded, half-dressed, and more than a little bedraggled, apparently with a lady friend in tow, they had not questioned his instructions but had gotten straight to work in a flurry of excitement. As for Ares, he was feeling a little weary and he couldn't deny that the wound, as minor as he claimed, was still paining him. He hesitated outside the door, wondering if he should leave her be or let her know he'd returned, giving in to the latter at last, since he'd promised he wouldn't be gone long. "Ayden?" he queried from the other side of the door, sounding a little uncertain.

"Mmm?" There was no surprise at the sound of his voice, her smile warming as she opened her eyes to look over at the door. He was treated to the sound of the water splashing gently as she shifted, moving to the edge of the bath to repeat the words he'd spoken to her in the Amazon a couple of days before. "You can join me, you know," she called to him, mischief sparkling in her tone. "I don't bite."

Her invitation was met with silence a moment as he seemed to consider it. "Yes, but..." He trailed off, unsure if he could properly explain his hesitation. A bathtub was much more intimate than a river, though he was not shy about his body, and he could think of nothing more enticing than being close to her again.

Her eyes narrowed as he failed to even open the door and look in, a fair amount of stubborn determination making itself known on her face as she countered his but. "Either you come in here and let me clean that cut properly, or I'm going to get out and strip you myself. Ever heard of a tongue bath?"

"Yes," he replied without a moment's hesitation, though she had confused him yet again. "But I thought it was something for dogs and cats," he said, hesitantly pushing the door open a crack, a mixture of relief and disappointment to find her mostly hidden beneath a pile of foamy bubbles. Even so, he felt desire stirring inside him, achingly familiar.

"Well, apparently when men and women do it to each other, it's a lot of fun," Ayden informed him with a somewhat cheeky smile, the expression as much an invitation as her words. She was pretty modest beneath the layer of bubbles, not much visible below the line of her shoulders as she looked up at him. "I'm not the only one who needs looking after, you know," she told him gently, her own desire ruthlessly held at bay by her concern over his injury. "Get in here."

He wasn't sure why he was suddenly feeling so reluctant, shy even, when only a short time ago, the shoe had been on the other foot, so to speak. It had been her who'd been the shy one in the rainforest; now it seemed it was him, but like her, he finally gave in, pushing the door open to step further inside. "I am having some breakfast brought to the room," he explained, as if to change the subject.

"But it was only a dream, Ayden," Ares reminded her, pressing her hand against his cheek again, just because he liked the feel of it there. It seemed they were doing a lot of apologizing for things that weren't their fault, and he thought he was far more to blame for things than she could ever be. He had not yet told her of his plans to hunt down Clotho, knowing she wouldn't like it, especially after the nightmare. "I'm fine, Ayden. It is your safety that worries me."

She couldn't help releasing a soft laugh at his insistence, her other hand slipping to gently brush the aching, healing cut at his torso. "Why won't you let me worry about you?" she asked him, stroking her thumb over his cheek as he pressed her hand into the gentle curl that linked them there. "You can't spend all your time being the strong one, Ares. Even a god has to let someone look after him sometimes, right?"

"No one has worried about me in a very long time, Ayden," he replied with a frown that spoke once again of his loneliness. He did not wish to wallow in self-pity or tell her the stories of his life. His father had thought him a hateful creature, and his mother had long ignored him, until only recently. Even in his time of need, he'd been ignored and forgotten, until he could be ignored no more. Had he really been that hateful a being that no one had loved or cared for him' "Does it make me weak to want someone to care for me, Ayden?" The question was not a rhetorical one, but an honest one. He really didn't know.

"I don't think it does," she told him softly, forgetting her shyness to slip closer in the water, just as she had done in the blissful isolation of the Amazon. "I think it shows how strong you are, that you're prepared to lay yourself bare to all the possibilities, good and bad. It's something a lot of people can't do."

"My father thinks me weak," he mused aloud with a frown, though it seemed his mother did not agree with that assessment. Of course, this was coming from a father who was a philanderer, master manipulator, and liar. Ares had often wondered how his mother put up with him. Despite all of Zeus' many faults, Ares still loved his father, but wasn't sure if the feeling was mutual.

"Then your father doesn't know you," Ayden murmured to him, drawing her fingertips down over the line of his jaw to rest at his shoulder. "You need to know yourself, before you can let yourself worry over what other people think. Take it from someone who knows."

"I have had two thousand years to think, Ayden," he told her solemnly. Two thousand years to reflect on the past, to get to know himself, and to sort out what he wanted. Not what Zeus or Hera wanted, but what he wanted. "They think I'm a warmonger. They think all I care about is creating strife, but they're wrong. Some things are worth fighting for, that is all." He did not name what those things were, but freedom, justice, fairness, and equality were among the chief reasons.

"If they can't see past that part of you, then it's on them," she told him firmly. "You're so much more than a man with a sword, and if they're wise about it, they'll see it. Zeus is probably just jealous because you know who and what you are, and you don't hide it."

"Perhaps. I have never been one of his favorites." Even though there was no question that Ares was Zeus' eldest son, he had never been particularly close to his father and had often wondered what he'd done to earn his father's vehemence. Perhaps it was the fact that Ares had always favored his mother, though he wasn't sure. Even when he'd been captured by giants and held against his will, his father had done nothing to look for him or save him, and Ares had never understood why.

Ayden sighed softly, twisting to reach for a cloth before turning back to him, daring her own courage, her own shyness, to begin gently cleaning his skin. That was the purpose of a bath, right' Nothing at all to do with having the leisure to touch without seeming to. "I can't answer those questions," she told him regretfully. "The only person who can is your father. All I can do is listen, if you need to talk about it."

"I was born to be Champion of Olympus. That is my birthright, as was promised to me. It is who I am. I will prove my worth, not only to my father, but to all the Olympians. I will not allow Hades to win this war. But I must finish what I started, Ayden. I cannot allow the Spinner to go free. She is the most dangerous of all. I have no choice. I have to finish it," he explained, needing her to understand that it wasn't because he was bloodthirsty, but because he had to finish what they'd started, not only for her sake and safety but for the good of all the world.

She stilled, the passage of the cloth over his shoulder arrested in shock as she raised her eyes to his abruptly, fear flaring in her gaze. Only an hour ago, she had dreamed of his death at the hands of a Fate already deceased, and now he was telling her that he intended to do ....what? To hunt the last of those beings" "The other two almost killed us," she pointed out, her voice shaking at the thought of him willingly walking into danger again. "You can't. You mustn't!"

"That is why I must do it alone," he told her as gently as he could. This wasn't how he wanted to tell her, but he wouldn't be like his father and lie to her or omit the truth. It wasn't about his pride or regaining his honor; it was simply a job that needed to be done. "She is the Spinner, Ayden. If she is allowed to go free, she will only continue to manipulate the lives of gods and men. I will be free to choose my own destiny, not have it be chosen for me."

"Alone?" Ayden was truly horrified by the thought of that. It had taken four of them only two days ago to end the Measurer and her sister, and none of them had come out of it unscathed. "Ares, no. Please, you can't. She'll kill you!" Why did the thought of that upset her so much' She didn't have an answer to that question, though reason offered the suspicion that somehow this Olympian had become very important to her over the days since she had first met him. More important, perhaps, than she should have allowed. "At least take someone with you, someone else who can fight."

She had no idea what to say, how to respond to such an earth-shattering confession as he had made to her. On the one hand, she wanted to answer him in kind, to tell him she loved him in return; but on the other hand, she knew it was too soon for her to be certain of that feeling. She didn't want to lie to him, or hurt him with the truth, caught in a conflict that would not easily be resolved. He was presenting her with a future very different from any that she had ever envisioned for herself, a future in which she became something more than she was, and it was just a little too big for her mind to grasp. But here and now, he needed her to answer him somehow, and she knew she couldn't lie, not even to spare him the pain of loving her alone for a while longer.

"I don't want to lie to you," she heard herself say softly, gazing into his eyes as she spoke, showing him every nuance of feeling that swept through her, from the conflict to the surprise, the fear and desire, and the softer affection that would grow, slowly, into love. "I need a little time. But that doesn't mean that what I'm feeling right now isn't going to grow into something deeper. I'm not saying no, I'm ....I'm saying not yet. Does that make any sense?"

Hera had already warned him of this, told him that it might be too soon for her to share his feelings, but it didn't matter. He knew how he felt, and he knew what he wanted. He already knew she was his future - that much had been foretold to them via Hope and Sam. She would come to love him in time; she had to or he would never be the same. Time was one thing he had plenty of, but the same could not be said for her. She was mortal, and he knew only too well how soon a mortal life could end, and yet, he would wait for her forever, if he must

"I can be patient. I will wait." But apparently breakfast could not, as a knock was heard at the door and movement was heard in the next room. He smiled again, hope shining brightly in his hazel-green eyes as he heard breakfast being delivered and knew they were no longer alone. He leaned close, his fingers touching her cheek again, hesitating for a moment as he gazed into her eyes before brushing a soft kiss against her lips, brief but warm and tender and full of promise.

His answer was a deep relief to her, glad to find that he didn't take offense at her inability to share his feelings right at that moment, her lips curving in a smile that matched his as the world outside intruded with the sound of someone in the room beyond. And the kiss he gave her was rewarded with the kind of reassurance she could never have put into words - her own softness, her own affection, poured into that touch of lip to lip as her arms tightened about him, sharing the promise of something more, if he only had the patience to wait for it.

Give her time, his mother had said. Though he was willing to wait for her forever, if that kiss was anything to gauge her feelings by, it wouldn't be long before she was his. He drew his fingers over her hair, kissing her again, softer this time, gentler, before pulling slowly away and offering her a hand to pull her to her feet. There was something in that kiss that seemed to dispel all his fears, no longer awkward or bashful before her, but becoming the true Olympian he was.

Shy though she was of her nudity - or rather, of him seeing her nudity - Ayden didn't hesitate to take Ares' hand as he reached down to help her up from the depths of the bathtub, fidgeting innocently as water and soap bubbles cascaded down to reveal the slender form no one else had seen so exposed. She swallowed, biting her lip hard as she looked up at him. "I don't have any clothes," she whispered, worried suddenly that whoever had disturbed the quiet of the room beyond might be waiting for them.

"You are lovely without them," he whispered back, smiling down at her as he swept the escaping strands of her hair over a bare shoulder, admiring and devouring her with his eyes. Watery soap bubbles slid down over the contours of his body, hard and muscled and perfect. He made no attempt to hide his desire from her, letting her see the effect she was having on him, his Olympian pride getting the best of him. He did not compare her beauty to Aphrodite or even Hera aloud, yet in his mind, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on.

Her eyes flickered down from his face, shyly admiring a view she'd not been this close to before. She'd seen naked men before, of course - medical textbooks were full of them - but there really was nothing to compare to the gorgeous specimen teasing her with his own beauty and trying to tell her that she held a candle to him. Her fingertips brushed his abdomen for a moment before she caught herself, her cheeks lighting up in a deep blush as she giggled quietly, looking away. "You're teasing me."

"I'm not. I am being honest," he countered, though a teasing smirk appeared on his face. "Are you accusing me of lying?" he asked, his fingers tracing her cheek, no malice in his eyes, only amusement. A knock came at the door and the sound of a woman's voice was heard on the other side, though it was unclear what she was saying unless one understood Greek. He replied in kind, though his gaze never wavered.

"I think you're looking at me through rose-tinted glasses," she accused him through her own smile, though she didn't have much time to enjoy the smirk on his face or the touch of his fingers at her cheek. The knock on the door startled her, the voice beyond her ability to understand ....and then Ares answered in the same language. Ayden's skin warmed as a spike of desire startled her under his gaze. Who would have thought a foreign language could sound that good"

"I don't wear glasses," he pointed out, slow to realize that she was teasing him in return. He reluctantly pulled away from her long enough to reach for a towel and wrap it around her shoulders. "Breakfast is ready. We should eat before it gets cold," he told her, though he was currently aching with another kind of hunger.

"Mmm?" She blinked, tearing her eyes from the lips that had produced a proficiency in Greek which had, in turn, had quite the effect on her at quite a basic level. "Oh ....food." There was a moment as she wrestled her brain into paying attention, gripping the edges of the towel as he wrapped it about her. "Food's good. You are gonna put clothes on, right?"

"Was there really a Xena, Warrior Princess?" Ayden asked him then, deliberately being cheeky, but almost instantly falling silent as she noticed the pair waiting for them. A new blush lit her cheeks as she smiled shyly, half-stepping behind Ares as he spoke to his staff in Greek. There was nothing she could do to stop stories from circulating among them, after all, and she knew what she would have thought in their place. She just had to hope that none of them knew English, or her stay here was going to be awkward, to say the least.

"I did not know Helen in the Biblical sense," he quickly added. No, Aphrodite was the only one of his sisters he had ever slept with and she had only been a half-sister. The list of his conquests had been greatly inflated over the years, he thought. "Xena?" he asked, searching his memory for such a person, not realizing she was teasing him. "No, I don't think so." He'd never heard of such a person, Amazon or otherwise.

She giggled softly, gently brushing her lips against his bare arm. "You know, you're going to be ridiculously easy to tease," she warned playfully, offering him a glimpse of green eyes twinkling with mischief. "You'll have to learn when I'm not being entirely serious."

"And how should I know that?" he asked, turning to face her as she touched her lips to his arm, realizing his answer even as he asked the question. There was a twinkle in her eyes that wasn't there before, a hint of amusement. "Who is this Warrior Princess" I have never read of her in your legends."

That cheeky smile rose to the fore once again, given the appearance of innocence before Ayden started to giggle quietly. "Oh, you have to let me be there when you watch some Xena," she told him. "I wanna see the look on your face. It's a show on T.V. about a warrior princess trying to change her ways and be a good girl."

"Oh, I see," he replied, though he didn't really. He'd heard of T.V., but he had never found it very interesting, and for the most part, he had not really kept up with modern technology, preferring a simpler way of life. Now, books were another matter, and if she was lucky, he might show her his rather extensive library during her stay there. "I am not sure what you mean. How does being a warrior make her bad?" he asked, as he led her toward a table on the veranda that was laden with various foodstuffs all traditional for the region.

"Oh, she's spent ages being corrupted by power and being selfish, apparently." Ayden was not going to mention that in the series she was referring to, her companion was made out to be the bad guy. "So she's turning over a new leaf. It's just a bit of fun, they never intended for it to be taken seriously."

"It is a comedy then?" he asked as he pulled out a chair for her at the table. The sun was high in the sky, and a warm breeze was stirring the trees. From the looks of it, it was going to remain a glorious day. There was coffee, though it was probably different from the coffee she was accustomed to back home, far richer stuff, with froth on top and a little milk.

"Mostly, I think so," she nodded, dropping down into the chair he held out for her, shading her eyes briefly to let them adjust to the brilliant sunshine. Her attention was caught by the view once again, admiration for the beautiful setting distracting her for a long moment before she returned her gaze to him, making the effort to roll the sleeves of the robe up to her elbows. "What do you do for fun, Ares?"

He was still clad only in a towel that was wrapped snugly around his torso, but it didn't seem to bother him. The sun and the warm breeze felt good against his bare shoulders. "For fun?" he asked as he took a seat across from her and reached for the cup of frothy coffee, a small smirk curling his lips. It was his turn to tease her now, apparently. "I seduce beautiful young woman into sharing my bed." He took a sip of the coffee to hide the growing smirk behind the cup.

As if on cue, Ayden blushed her deep, virginal blush, startled by the sudden switch to him teasing her, ducking her head to giggle over the offerings laid out for breakfast. It must have been a traditional spread, very simple but smelling delicious - fresh bread, butter, honey, some kind of pastry she'd never seen before that smelt of egg and cheese. And the coffee, of course; infinitely richer and more full-bodied than she'd ever tasted before, but delicious, too. Offered this as a distraction from the smirking god suggesting she was here to be seduced - not that he hadn't already managed to seduce her - she reached for a fresh roll, tearing it open to make the most of butter and honey, even as her eyes flickered up to offer him a shy, promising smile.

Ares smiled at the blush, finding it charming. In all his years, he'd never met anyone so worthy of Olympus than her, so pure and bereft of selfishness, arrogance, and evil. Her heart was as pure and good as a child's. It wasn't fair that she'd been dragged into all this through no fault of her own, and he renewed his determination to protect her at all costs at the thought of it. He leaned forward suddenly, reaching across the table for her hand, fingers lacing between hers and meeting her gaze with a very solemn gaze of his own.

"This could be your life, Ayden. Every day. We could make this our own, live here, raise our children here. I can teach you the language. The people here would come to love you as I love you. We could make a life here, Ayden, you and I." He wasn't trying to seduce her so much as show her what her life could be like if she accepted his offer, if she became his wife. He didn't want to live in Sioux Falls or on Mount Olympus, and as much as he loved the Amazon, it was no place to raise a family. No, this was home, had always been home, and it would be home again.

His sudden speech made her jump, her gaze returning to his as he made his impassioned pitch to her, describing a future that was deeply tempting. But even she, with her inexperience and innocence, knew that he wasn't trying to force the decision onto her. He just wanted her to know everything that he was offering her. She set the roll down, covering his hand with her own, a soft smile playing at her lips. "Maybe we will," she agreed gently, careful not to make any promises one way or the other. His hopes for her future still seemed enormous, too big and too nebulous to grasp just yet. "It is beautiful here. But I think it's you that makes it beautiful."

"No," he disagreed gently, his fingers linking with hers. "It is you. I swore I would never love again, but I fear I have lost my heart to you, Ayden." Though he was a God, immortal and impervious to mortal death and disease, it seemed he had a heart that was as open and yearning for love as any mortal man, craving it, needing it, alone for too long in his self-imposed solitude. "I am sorry I was not there in the church that day. I am sorry I could not help you," he told her with a solemn frown, his heart heavy with the knowledge that she could have been lost as Bill had, and there would have been nothing he could have done about it. He had seen her scar, the constant reminder of his failure to protect her.