Beauty's War (Gods Reborn Book 1) Read online

  “The courts may have found you innocent, but I know what you did. I saw the evidence. You killed humans and goddesses. Do you know that they’re reincarnated but have memories of what happened in their previous lives? They’ll always remember what you did to them. They may not see your face, but they’ll remember the pain, the suffering they felt, and how they longed for death to escape your clutches. I think it’s about time you learn exactly what they felt.” I point my spear at him, and the skin on the left side of his face peels from the temple down to his chin. It hangs there, swinging. He screams. I rejoice. The muscle underneath vibrates with movement, and his crimson life force starts to drip to the marble floor like tears.

  “You feel it, yet?” I rasp, the war in my head is getting louder and louder. I point the spear again. This time the flesh on his arm starts to blister as though it is burning. The acrid smell of incinerated flesh floods my nostrils.

  “Mars,” Orcus calls behind me, and I spin around and send a flash of energy from my spear toward him. It misses, hitting the wall behind him, when he disappears and then reappears next to the man who I’ve been torturing. “We’ll be back for her,” he retorts, and they both leave. The corridor goes silent except for the conflicts that rage on in my head. My emotions have never been so closely linked to the world as they are now.”

  A feminine moan has me looking down to my feet. Vicky’s eyes flutter, and she opens them slowly. They shut involuntarily again before springing open.

  “Mars,” she breathlessly utters and grabs my leg. It’s my turn to lose my breath–it hitches, and I gulp for air. Her compassion, love, and beauty floods through me from the skin to skin contact. My mind quietens–hushed weeping is all I hear. No sounds of battle rage, fires are extinguished, guns empty, and the war inside me is defeated, for now. “What’s happening? Where’s Susan?” She looks around the hallway. “How did I get here?” She looks back up at me. Her eyes are wide open, and she’s terrified. They flick to my right and the massive spear that I still hold in my hand. “And what the fuck is that?”

  Chapter Six

  VICKY

  Memories wash over me. Drugged. There had been something in the champagne.

  Mars stares down at me, a fearsome sight, a spear clutched mercilessly in one hand. He looks practically heathen. Savage. Dark eyes burn with a wealth of emotion. He’s a terrifying form. Again, the power he wields overwhelms me. It smothers me.

  I’ve never felt so vulnerable. So exposed.

  Sobs rise in my throat, I scoot backward on my ass trying to escape.

  “Vicky, it’s ok.”

  I don’t believe him. How can I trust him now? He’s probably the one who knocked us out. Some pervert trying to kidnap us for god knows what.

  “What have you done with Susan?” The tremor in my voice betrays my emotions.

  “I’m not the one who…” Glancing at the weapon he’s holding, he grimaces. In a flash, it’s gone as if it had never even existed.

  “No. No. No.” Twisting onto my hands and knees, I crawl away faster, the coarse carpet rough against my palms. “This isn’t happening.”

  Footsteps follow. “Vicky, calm down.”

  “Get the fuck away from me.”

  “Bella, just let me explain.”

  He’s fucking nuts. I need to contact the police. Whatever he’s done with my friend, I won’t let him get away with it. Moving faster, I manage to stumble up from my knees onto my feet. Even before I make it to the stairwell, a strong arm snags me around the waist.

  My scream echoes down the corridor.

  One second we’re in the hotel, the next I find myself in a spacious, modern living room.

  Screaming again, I start to struggle. This has to be an hallucination, an effect from whatever was in our drinks. Maybe I’m dreaming?

  Mars keeps my back pinned to his hard-muscled front.

  Fingernails digging into the tanned flesh of his forearm, I claw deeply, trying to budge the prison.

  Mars hisses. “So, we do this the hard way.”

  The fingers of his free hand tangle in my hair, and my head is forced painfully back.

  Tears spring to my eyes as I yelp.

  Compelling me to move forward until the solid surface of a table meets the tops of my thighs, and then bending me over, he pins me with ease.

  Reaching back, I slap at anything I can connect with. It’s a mistake. I’m desperate. Fear blinds me to anything but the urge to escape.

  Taking my wrists in a bruising grip, he keeps them clasped behind my back.

  “Get the fuck off me.” Bucking, kicking, I soon realize it’s useless. He has me exactly where he wants me. At his mercy and unable to move.

  Mars’ length dominates my smaller frame. As sanity returns, I become aware of the blatant press of his rigid cock, which remains in his trousers, against my lower spine.

  “Now, are you going to calm down?” His voice is a deep murmur by my ear.

  “What are you? An Alien trying to kidnap us for experimentation?”

  His chuckle sends heat over my skin. “You really have a vivid imagination, don’t you?”

  “After what I just saw, what the hell am I supposed to believe?”

  The hand still wrapped in my hair flexes, and his fingertips start to massage my scalp.

  A moan trickles from my lips at the tingling sensation. Shoulders slumping, the fight drains from my body.

  The more we remain in this position, the harder it is to ignore the stirring of arousal awakening inside me.

  Lips brush the back of my neck. A whispering butterfly press of his mouth. My head drops forward, it’s instinctual, allowing him more access. An animal impulse I can’t ignore.

  “Your so beautiful, Vicky. I’ve wanted you from the first moment I saw you,” Mars confesses, his exploration moving to my shoulder.

  A sharp nip of teeth makes me shudder with need.

  There’s no denying I want him too. The more he touches me, the wetter I become. I don’t understand it. His effect. This feeling he evokes. Yet, no matter how I try, I can’t deny it. He’s a liar. A kidnapper. Probably some kind of pervert. I shouldn’t be so horny.

  Gyrating his hips, he grinds his cock into my ass. “Tell me you want me too.”

  Thought evaporates. Every wrong or right. Fear. Susan. They vanish as lust roars up so fiercely my head spins.

  “Yes.” It’s a breathy whisper. I can’t deny it. It’s uttered with a longing I can’t hide.

  The grip on my wrists eases. Hauling me around, he sandwiches me between his hard-packed body and the table.

  Lips find mine. They plunder and ravage. His tongue tracing the seam of my mouth, asking for entry.

  Without a care, I allow him access.

  Mars groans in his throat as he deepens the kiss. Hand cradling the back of my skull, he takes charge. It’s brutal, raw, yet, I crave it. Sweeping me away, I’m lost in only the taste and smell of this dominant masculine male.

  “I need you,” his words are muttered when he breaks apart. I can hear the desperation.

  I want him too. Need him to fuck me. Everything inside me screams for something I know I shouldn’t want. I’m so turned on common sense is no longer a factor.

  Clasping my hips, he lifts me easily, and sits me on the table. I don’t protest. With eager hands, I help him gather my skirt, dragging it higher up to my waist.

  Hands shaking, he unbuckles his pants. His cock springs free, bobbing in my direction. It’s beautiful, long, and thick. For a second, I feel panic I might not be able to take him all.

  “Relax.” Cupping my chin, he kisses me breathless. “We’ll fit perfectly, I promise.”

  “Please...please fuck me,” I keen. All I want is what he can give me. No more words just him filling me.

  Pushing my panties aside, he slides the crown of his cock across my wet folds, coating it in my juices.

  Its heat makes me moan. Arching forward, he drives me insane with the teasing friction.
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br />   Parting my legs farther, I bear myself for his possession. I’ll beg if he makes me. It’s insane, but I have no control.

  Mars’ face lights with triumph. Flashing me a sexy smile, he pushes home in one long, single thrust.

  A groan bursts from my lips. His thickness claiming me in such a way I feel it all the way to my soul.

  “Sweetheart, your pussy is so tight.” His hands find my hips for better purchase.

  Legs wrapping around his lean waist, all I can do is cling to him as he begins to take me. Hard, wild, in a way I’ve never experienced before. It buzzes through my nerve endings, sending pleasure swirling through my blood.

  “Mars,” I say his name in awe.

  Grunting in response, he thrusts into me harder, faster as if, somehow, he’s attempting to merge us as one. Joining his rhythm, I lose myself in our mutual need. A desire to reach the pinnacle we’re both racing toward, and then to topple over together.

  I find mine first. Limbs stiffening, head thrown back, an orgasm rolls through me so fiercely I see stars. Mars follows closely behind. My inner walls squeeze his cock in the aftermath, and I feel it pulse as hot ribbons of cum fill me.

  Panting, shaking, forehead resting in the crook of his neck, pleasure wraps me in a daze of bliss.

  Chapter Seven

  MARS

  I think I might have just had an out-of-body experience. Sex has always been great for me. I mean what could possibly be wrong with sticking your dick into a warm and willing hole? Some experiences are better than others. I mean the hole has to be just the right level of wetness and can’t be so loose that my dick falls out every time I get it to the tip. No, I definitely need a tight hole. I’m not fussy whether it’s mouth, asshole, or pussy, either. I’ll stick my dick anywhere, but Vicky–holy shit–I think my head may have exploded. I know my dick certainly did. It’s still pulsating and leaking cum even though I’ve had her tucked into the crook of my arm for about half and hour now. Actually, scrap that, it’s getting hard again and ready for round two.

  “Susan.” Vicky sits bolt upright, and my dick shrinks inside itself knowing that round two is unlikely to happen. She turns to me with a look of worry on her face that has my normally dead heart beating rapidly. “Where is she?” She scrambles from the table. “I have to find her, and then I’m coming back here, so you can explain to me what the fuck is going on? I mean, we just appeared in what I assume is your house. That doesn’t usually happen. Not unless I’m so drunk I’ve no idea how I got home from a club when I wake the next morning, puking my guts up.” She pulls her t-shirt over her breasts, and I lament the loss of those perky nipples. Her skirt covers up her curvy ass, and I almost want to cry. What the hell is happening to me? I’m not a sap like this. I fucked her. She can leave, right? We’ve done the horizontal mambo. Love them and leave them. Except, fuck, Orcus has her best mate and, at this very moment, will probably be trying to torment the goddess out of her. They’ll soon discover they have the wrong girl, though.

  “Vicky, I can’t let you leave here.” Common-sense overrules my dick – the latter sulks.

  “You can’t let me leave?” She places her hands on her hips and stares me down. “So, I was right. You are some kind of freak who gets his kicks from kidnapping people. Oh, my god. I slept with you. I must have gone insane.” She freezes and then jiggles as if she’s feeling something unpleasant running down her leg. “We didn’t use a condom! You better not have any diseases. I’m such an idiot. I’m leaving.” She stomps to the door. I shut my eyes, dematerialize, leaving the sex tangled sheets behind and reappear naked in her path.

  She screams. I slap my hand over her mouth and hold a finger up, compelling her to listen to me. Her bright blue eyes go wide open with terror.

  “No, we did it the hard way already. You have far too much energy for someone I’ve just fucked. Sit on the sofa.” Her head shakes, and then her teeth bite down into my hand.

  Mother fucking………

  “Enough!” I shout. “I’ve got people already out looking for Susan. There’s nothing you can do. You’re safe here. Out there, they’ll come for you. Now, I’m going to remove my hand. No more screaming. I don’t have close neighbors, but I don’t think now is the time to alert the people I do have in the house to your being here. Not when you’re covered in my cum, and I’m butt naked as the day I was born.”

  I pause, allowing her a minute to digest everything I’ve said. She eventually nods at me, indicating she won’t scream, so I remove my hand.

  “What are you?” Her voice trembles as she speaks.

  “Sit down.” She staggers back to the sofa on wobbly legs. I go to my bedroom knowing I can be back in an instant if she tries to leave. I grab a pair of track pants and pull them on. My dick flopping about while having this conversation isn’t going to work well. I rub at my temples–the sounds of battle that were silenced are slowly starting to return. I go back to the lounge and find Vicky sitting silently on the sofa, staring out at the view of Rome.

  “Where is my friend?” she stutters.

  I take a seat opposite her on a Queen Anne chair, which takes pride of place in my room. The decoration reflects my more masculine tastes with marble floors and black rugs. A massive sofa and matching television dominate the room. The rest of the furniture is sparse, a set of drawers, which are mainly empty, and a table on one of the rugs. It consists of all highly fashionable brands of décor, but to me, it’s a place I try to rest. However, with Vicky in the center of my sofa, it’s transformed into something entirely different. She adds the feminine touch. Bringing my right leg up, I settle it on my left knee.

  “Your friend has been taken by a man called Orcus and his henchman–a man I was trying to get imprisoned, recently. Unfortunately, he was cleared of all charges.”

  “What were the charges?” She knits her hands together in her lap, the top one stroking the bottom in comfort.

  “Rape, murder, flaying.”

  She gasps and brings her hands to her mouth as if to stem the feeling of sickness I know she must be feeling. Reading the court files during the case, I felt it myself.

  “We have to call the police.”

  I shake my head.

  “Why not?” she pleads.

  “There’s nothing they can do to help. This is beyond their remit.”

  “Because of the fact that you are so obviously not human.”

  “Yes,” I reply and fiddle with a loose strand on my pants.

  “This Orcus and the other guy, they’re like you?”

  “Orcus is. The man with the poor career choices is human.”

  A tear drops from her eyes and tumbles down her cheek.

  “I don’t understand. Why us? Are they trying to get back at you or something? Did they target us because we walked back to the hotel with you?”

  “No.” I look her directly in the eye. “It’s because you’re the same as me.”

  She bursts out laughing. It wasn’t really the reaction I was expecting

  “I don’t think so? I’m Vicky Valentine, a twenty-five-year-old from Devon. I’m a nobody. I’m nothing like you.”

  I lean forward and rub my hand against my head. I can see why my father advised that it would be better to get to know this woman first before telling her who she was. I’m not cut out for this. I’d be better off searching for Susan. I’m the God of War, not the God of ‘Talking about it’. Maybe I could summon Bellona and ask her to do it. No, the room smells of sex. The Goddess of War would castrate me for dropping my trousers at the first opportunity. I’ve the strangest feeling that Vicky wouldn’t be impressed either.

  “You aren’t, Vicky. You aren't twenty-five, and you're not from Devon.”

  “I think I must still be under the influence of whatever drug they gave me. No, no…..I got really bad sunburn sitting out all day, and I’m hallucinating. That’s it. I’ll wake up in a minute, and I’ll be curled up in my bed.”

  “Not going to happen,” I retort.


  “Oh, shut up, you’re a bad dream.” She waves her hand in my direction to dismiss me.

  “Feel between your thighs, Vicky. My cum’s dripping down them. My cock has been so deep inside your pussy that it will still be throbbing. This is real.” I watch as she shifts in her seat, testing my theory.

  “Who am I?”

  “For certain, I don’t know. I suspect, but I won’t know until you face the trials to reveal your true nature.”

  “Trials?”

  “Something we all have to go through.”

  “My head hurts.”

  I want to go to her and comfort her, but it’s the wrong thing to do. Every time I touch her, I lose myself in her true nature. My god senses it even if she can’t, yet.

  “It’s a lot to take in. You're not the first and won’t be the last. There are so many of us missing.”

  “So, what happened? Did we crash from space or something?”

  She still thinks we’re aliens. I snort a little laugh, and she glares at me.

  “This may be funny to you, but it isn’t to me. I’m terrified.”

  “I know. Look, we aren’t aliens. In fact, we were here long before the humans.”

  “Long before the humans! Just how old are you?”

  “About four-billion-years-old. I’m not exactly sure of my birthdate. My parents didn’t really keep records.”

  “Four billion!” Her mouth fell open, and she gawped at me. “How old am I?”

  “Roughly the same,” I reply with trepidation.

  “Damn, I’ve aged well.”

  “I thought you said this wasn’t a laughing matter?” I question only to be greeted with an evil glare.

  “I can make jokes. You can’t.”

  “Noted.”

  “So, we’re four billion years old. What does that make us? The first people on Earth.”

  “Gods.” My reply is blunter than I mean it to be.