If only she could.
"No," she said quietly. She looked up at him. His gaze was searing. "I want you to do to me what you did earlier. Make me feel that again."
He took her hand and led her toward a bed where they could be alone. Undisturbed.
She shouldn't be doing this. She was a virgin goddess. Untouched by man or god.
At least until today.
No one had ever kissed her before. No one had ever breached her. She'd been known to kill men just because they had seen her naked and yet for this one, she was willing to let him seduce her.
She didn't know why any more than she understood the compulsion inside her to be with him.
He just made her feel oddly happy. Warm. Decadent. Desirable.
Acheron laid her back against the mattress. She was nervous—it was something he was used to with women who lacked experience. Even so, she was beautiful. Her auburn hair fanned out over his pillows, making him even harder for her. It wasn't something he was used to feeling.
The scent of roses clung to her skin. He kissed her lightly on the lips while he grazed his hand up her leg, lifting the hem of her gown. She stiffened a bit, but quickly relaxed. She was shy.
Not wanting to embarrass her, he left her lips to crawl down her body.
Artemis was uncertain as she watched him vanish beneath the folds of her white gown. Even so, she could feel him moving. Feel his whiskers scraping against her thigh as he trailed a hot line of kisses up the inside of her thigh until he reached the part of her that ached for him.
She moaned the instant his lips and tongue found that spot. Biting the heel of her hand, she surrendered herself to the pleasure he gave her. It was blinding and exhilarating. No wonder the other gods and humans risked so much for this.
And this time, when she came, she fully understood what was happening to her body. At least she did until he made her do it again and again.
Acheron growled at the taste of Artemis. At the sound of her cries filling his ears. He loved the way she purred. The sensation of her hand in his hair, stroking him.
She slapped her other hand against the mattress beside her. "You have to stop. Please. I can't take any more."
He gave one last, long lick before he pulled away. "Are you sure?"
She nodded.
Reluctantly, he did as she asked and moved to stretch out beside her even though his own body was far from sated.
Artemis draped herself across his chest, listening to his ragged breathing. He was still hard and stiff.
"Does it hurt you to stay like this?" she asked, brushing her hand over his cock.
He drew a sharp breath as if her caress pained him. "Yes."
"Can you not pleasure yourself?"
"I can." He studied her face. "Would you like to watch?"
Before she could answer, his hand enclosed around hers, holding her palm against him.
Acheron closed his eyes at the heat of her hand against his cock. Sex meant nothing to him. It never had. It was just something that was expected of him.
He'd masturbated before crowds and with lovers more times than he could even recall. For some reason, it seemed to give other people pleasure to see him come. He barely felt the momentary release of hormones anymore. It was a piercing pleasure, quickly gone.
He'd long ago learned to want something more than this.
But it wasn't meant to be and he didn't know what it was he craved anyway. Artemis was here because, like many others before her, she was curious about his body. She might come back to visit him. She might not.
There was a time when he would have been beaten had a lover not returned for him.
Back in Atlantis, everything had hinged on his ability to make people crave him. How much sleep he was allowed. How much food.
How much dignity.
If his lovers didn't feel well sated after leaving him, he was beaten for it.
Now his father would beat him if he ever learned of this. The king demanded celibacy from a man who had never known it. But in truth, he liked being with Artemis. Her touch was gentle. Her skin creamy and soft.
Sucking his breath in, he imagined what it would feel like to slide himself inside her body. No, better yet, he imagined what it would be like to have her hold him cradled against her as if he mattered. The very thought of someone caring about him, really caring about him was almost enough to make him smile. But he knew better.
What he had was a stupid dream that had been fed by Ryssa and Maia at a time when he'd been gullible. Those illusions were long shattered.
Artemis was a goddess. He was lucky she would even deign to be in the same room with him. He would please her because that was what they'd trained him to do.
There could never be any kind of relationship between them. No doubt she'd vanish as soon as this was over. He'd be alone again.
Nothing in his life ever really changed.