Morpheus (11 page)

“At least we know that there wasn’t a leak,”
Hades said.

El turned toward him quickly, a look of
concern on her face. “Did you suspect there might be?” The
underlying fear in her tone was clear.

“We have had problems when dealing with
others before. We caught some of the military personnel, left to
help us, working with Origin so they could retake us. Trust has
never come easy for us, but after that, you can understand why we
question everything,” Hades explained.

“If anyone can understand, I can,” El said
and Morpheus knew she meant her ex-husband. Hades and some of the
others looked puzzled at her remark but they didn’t ask for
details. They valued privacy and she would tell them when she was
ready. Morpheus knew that the other gods thought he and El would
return to Olympus with them, but he wasn’t so sure they would.

Doc managed to get rooms for all of them and
they slowly left to go to their own rooms leaving Morpheus and his
little family on their own for the night. He and El made sure the
young ones took their showers, put on their PJs, said their
prayers, and were tucked in, each in their own bed. Now he would be
alone with his mate and he would be able to ask her if anything
happened that she needed to tell him. He had worried about what
might have happened to her and since she had been freed he hadn’t
been able to find out because he couldn’t, wouldn’t ask her that in
front of anyone else.

They made their way to their bedroom and as
soon as the door closed he began to strip his clothes off tossing
them carelessly in a pile. Nothing mattered but that he immerse
himself in his mate joining them so they were one. She seemed to
feel the same need as she, too, stripped her clothing off and
tossed it on the floor. He wasn’t prepared to move to the bed or do
anything that would delay their joining for another moment. He
picked her up pushing her against the wall. One leg went around his
waist but he caught the other leg before it went there too. He
pulled up her knee against his chest opening her up to even deeper
penetration then he merged with her in one sharp thrust.

She was slick making him slide in easily but
her sheath squeezed his cock in a tight grip. Nothing felt like
being inside of his El. Her muscles massaged his hard length making
him want to spill his seed deep inside her. He calmed himself so he
could enjoy the pleasures of her body as long as possible. He
pumped into her, hard and fast. Their need couldn’t be held back
any longer, they both had to have this joining now. He was like a
crazed animal holding nothing back. Faster, harder, deeper and his
hand moved between them to encourage her release before he could no
longer hold off his own.

He felt the tingle that signaled his orgasm
was on its way but he also felt her shudder as her own neared. It
was anyone’s guess whose would arrive first. She cried out as he
groaned with pleasure. They both seized with bliss as the first
wave of their orgasms hit simultaneously. Her muscles clutched as
he jerked and waves of joy rolled over them both. Ecstasy held them
both in its grip as his seed pulsed deep into his mate’s channel
which grabbed at his staff coaxing every drop of his essence
out.

With the edge taken off their runaway desire,
he now moved her to the bed. He positioned them both and he slowly
eased into her, making love to his female in leisurely smooth
strokes that went into the deepest parts of her. She moaned
deliciously, making his stomach clench with need but he refused to
move any faster. Her legs wrapped around him encouraging him to hit
the deepest depths but he took his time seeing to her simmering
desire as he stroked all the places that she loved. Even though he
built the pressure slowly, when it finally exploded, it was like a
volcano erupting. He saw stars and even afterward he felt the Earth
move as he tried to calm himself. He could tell she was equally
struck by the devastating results of their release.

He rolled to his side with her in his arms.
He wrapped his body around her for comfort and protection. He would
never let this woman go even though he suspected he would have to
learn to live in the human world with her if he was to have any
hope of convincing her to join with him at all. He had hoped to
speak to her tonight, but as he listened to the even sounds of her
breathing and saw her closed eyes, he knew she had already gone to
sleep. His breathing slowed too as his eyes began closing and soon,
he slept as well.

He jerked awake unsure as to why. He heard a
sound outside the door and he suspected the kids were awake. He
eased out of bed so as not to disturb his mate, dressed, and
hurried out to take care of the kids. They had been up a while and
had already tried to make breakfast with devastating results. He
got out cereal and made them each a bowl.

“But Morpheus, if we wanted cereal, we would
have got it. We want some home cooked food,” Cassie the usual
spokesperson of the two whined just a little bit.

“You two are going to have to clean up this
mess you made and hope your mother doesn’t see it.”

“But Morpheus…,” Donnie began.

“Don’t Morpheus me, you guys know you
shouldn’t have tried to cook in this kitchen.”

They both looked down at the floor as if they
wanted to cry and he was surprised by how bad they made him feel.
“Listen kids. We’ll learn how to cook some things together after we
get home.” Home, he was surprised how easily the word came to him
when he thought of El and the kids. He didn’t see the triumphant
expression both kids wore. It wouldn’t be long before he realized
how sneaky these two kids could be. Meanwhile they intended to
enjoy everything they could get out of him. He was going to be
their dad and he needed to be trained properly.

There was a knock on the door. Morpheus
opened it to find Hades, Doc, Hercules, Lu, and Eres standing
there. The humans weren’t with them and he didn’t know why. Hades
started to speak in response to the questioning look on Morpheus’s
face.

“We came to talk to you about Olympus and
bringing your family there,” Hades explained.

“I’m not sure we will be living at Olympus.
El and the children like where they live. They are surrounded with
family and community that they would miss.”

Hades and the other gods looked at him in
shock except for Doc who understood the human ways and Lu who
chuckled. “Way to go, Morpheus. Keep them thrown off balance. There
are others who live among the humans, they just don’t have mates
yet.”

Hades nodded and said, reluctantly after
glaring at Lu, “It’s true. We have investigators who are looking
for more gods under circumstances similar to yours. They live
mainly in a bunker that Hermes’s mate has near her business.” Under
it to be exact, but no one ever spoke about its exact location.
With the leaks and spying that was being done, only a conversation
in a secure location would have any details.

El came out and joined them. She had missed
the whole conversation, but the kids hadn’t. “Mom, Morpheus is
coming home with us,” Cassie said jumping up and down with
excitement as she spoke. El’s eyes flew to Morpheus’s face to see
if it were really true. He nodded and everyone could see the relief
on her face.

“Why don’t we find someplace to eat breakfast
and we can discuss this later?” Hades asked. A stubborn look on
Morpheus’s face told him that as far as he was concerned, it was
decided.

Morpheus was thinking about the risks, he was
just willing to take them. He would see that El and the kids were
safe, any chances taken would be his. As far as Olympus went, he
wanted to see it. They could visit, it didn’t mean they had to
stay. If El liked it and wanted to stay, he was all for that too.
He’d never felt at home anywhere until he’d been in her arms. As
long as she and the kids were with him, he could live anywhere and
deal with anything.

Breakfast turned out to be a relatively quiet
meal. They found a nearby restaurant that served breakfast and
lunch all day long. They had picked up the human team as they left
the hotel making them a large group. They requested a large table
and the staff put two together in a back room that was empty when
they arrived but started to fill before their food arrived. It was
the start of the lunch crowd arriving. The little bit of
conversation going on seemed to be between small teams within their
group. The humans spoke more than the gods, maybe because they had
things they could discuss that didn’t effect their safety.

Eres stared at the human team leader often
enough that all the gods noticed. What was his interest in her? She
was pretty, no doubt, but she worked for them which would make
things uncomfortable if he just planned to play around. His eyes
were even now on her, devouring her. She looked up, aware and not
happy that he stared at her. Her glare wasn’t enough to make him
look away so she did. Eres one, Zan zero. Eres smiled a self
satisfied smile having won that war of wills.

Morpheus sat with his mate beside him and the
kids next to her. He felt satisfied, complete; he couldn’t really
explain but for the first time in his life he felt good. Nothing
was missing and his soul sang. Maybe he was becoming a little soft
but if it felt this good, he could understand why it happened to
warriors. The promise of a life like this could make a male fight
hard against any that threatened to take it away. He had read a lot
as a young boy, history especially when a war was involved, were
his favorite books. He would read about peasants, those untrained
in the way of fighting, going to war against all odds. He wondered
why they would fight with little hope of winning but now he knew.
He looked at his small family and he realized those men had fought
for those they had left behind. It made perfect sense to him
now.

He moved his arm around his mate and as she
moved forward to pick up her cup of coffee, he slid his hand down
her back and rubbed circles there. He felt her shiver from his
touch and could hardly wait until they were alone again. He felt
eyes on him and noticed most of those at the table were watching
him and his mate. It was not surprising since she had just been
freed from their enemies and most of them wondered what torture she
had visited upon her but were too worried to ask. Nothing they
could say would make it go away and truly in many ways they didn’t
want to know. These were all war hardened individuals with enough
horrors to carry without adding more. Luckily, she hadn’t been
sexually tortured. She said she wasn’t and he thought he would know
if she tried to shelter him. He just would!

They finished eating and returned to the
hotel where everyone packed, loaded up, and checked out. Morpheus
felt excited because his new life was about to begin. They all
headed back to El’s home where they would meet her brother Slay to
discuss the outcome of her abduction. Hades said Slay was fit to be
tied throughout this whole thing. He had only stayed home because
Hades had suggested that he could hunt down those Origin goons that
might remain nearby that had helped abduct his sister. Hades also
suggested Slay’s presence with the team who went to find El and
Morpheus might cause the abductors to hide. Was what Hades had told
Slay true? Who could be sure when dealing with illogical rogue
Origin agents? The important thing was that they had taken out all
those committed to capturing Morpheus or his family. That was what
would make things safe for them.

They were tired and ready to get out of the
SUV by the time they made it to El’s house. It had the look of a
family home from the front. It was big enough for an average size
family and everything was well kept up. The front porch covered the
whole front of the house and a swing was on one side with what
looked like an old formica topped table, the kind people used in
their kitchens years ago, on the other. He wondered if they used
the table to eat on, so he asked her.

“Yes, Morpheus, and I also used it when I
harvest food from the garden. When I was a kid, we used to can most
of the food from the garden ourselves to eat all year long, but now
I freeze most of it and give away anything extra. The local food
pantry gives it to those who don’t have enough to eat. I dry
spices, like dill and parsley, and I still can the pickles and
stuff like that.”

“It’s fun to help,” Cassie added. It sounded
like a lot of work to Morpheus but the kids were still young and
probably felt proud that they were trusted to help.

Slay’s truck was parked by the house alerting
them that he was here. Morpheus knew because El pointed it out. He
tensed, he was prepared to fight for his right to be here and to
claim El as his mate. Not even her family would stand between them.
She and the kids were his and his alone. He remembered that they
had a father, but he had proven to be unworthy so Morpheus had no
qualms with taking them and claiming them all. He would never let
them down or fail to do whatever was needed to keep them safe and
provide for them. El called him the dumb bastard and Morpheus
agreed. His loss would be Morpheus’s gain.

They went in the door which Slay had left
opened for them. He was sitting in the kitchen with a pot of coffee
already on. It wouldn’t be enough if everyone wanted a cup. Slay
had anticipated that and he set a decanter already full of coffee
on the table with cream, sugar, and other sweeteners. Maybe being
prepared came along with being a politician. Slay went to the
fridge and pulled out plates of subs cut into four inch sections
and put a box of donuts on the table.

Morpheus watched as Slay set everything up to
be hospitable and El seemed to approve as she sent Slay a nearly
imperceptible nod. Everyone got something to eat and drink before
the serious discussion started.

“What are your intentions with my sister?”
Slay asked directing it at Morpheus.