Lame, with harsh features, brooding eyes, a wiry beard crackling with flame, and ropy muscles, the god mortals call Hephaestus is nobody's idea of perfection. Indeed, far from it. A lingering odor of burnt solder clings to him, adding to his manly stench of sweat and musk. His bed is narrow and lonely, his sheets filled with soot and regret.<br><br>Blacksmith to Olympus, he hides from his kin on an island in the Mediterranean, commissioned to forge a hero's sword from unbreakable metal. But a brief tryst with a minor water god distracts him. Aean is everything Hephaestus is not -- young, beautiful, sexy. He stirs in Hephaestus a savage lust the smith has never felt before.<br><br>Now Hephaestus wants Aean for his own, and he won't rest until the water god is his.

To Love a God

As if to remind him of its presence, the ring


pricks Hephaestus and he fists his hand tight to keep from dropping


the precious metal. Kisses like this were the reason he made the


ring in the first place, so he could drink his fill and never


Without pulling away Aean swims toward the


last of the sunlight, Hephaestus nearly weightless in his arms.


Only when they break the surface together does Aean break their


kiss. He laughs and shakes the water from his curls as he pushes


away from Hephaestus. His eel-like legs slap the water between


them, splashing Hephaestus playfully. “Finally you come to me,”


Aean says, drifting a little as he reclines on the water. His bare


chest glistens with beads of water like dew. “I like you like this,


Hephaestus growls as he swims for Aean, who


deftly twists out of reach. “Don’t bring her into this. Stop


Aean ducks beneath the water with a grin.


Chapter 10