"What do you mean?"
"Well, Dionysus has spared us," Sabiniano said. "I've never known that to happen; he isn't a merciful creature. There's no place on earth he can't follow us if he chooses, but maybe he won't if he doesn't have to look at us.
I think we should leave the island."
"I've never been off Naxos," she said, her voice suddenly growing faint.
He burst out laughing. "You've been to the underworld," he replied lightly.
"I can't imagine that doesn't count as 'off Naxos'."
She gave him a dirty look, then started giggling.
"You're right," she said. "We don't have anything to lose. Of course, he might still get us…"
Sabiniano let himself fall back into the grass, folding his hands behind his head.
"Maybe he won't," he said after a long pause. "If we really wanted us, why didn't he take us last night? You're right; he might still hunt us down. But maybe he's decided to let us go for some reason. If so, we should get off the island before he gets angry again. He's not known for being constant in his emotions…"
"All right," she said suddenly. "We'll do it, we'll try to escape. But you have to promise me something. If he comes after us, you'll give me to him. And you'll ask him to forgive you. I won't allow you to sacrifice yourself for me."
"No," he said. "I won't do that."
"Then I'll just go up to the temple and wait for him," she replied lightly.
"I'll be damned if I'll let you do this to yourself."
He ignored her, and she fell silent. The sun had risen high enough that a dim glow had come over the meadow. There was a rustling noise, and a deer bounded across the grass.
Finally, she spoke.
"I'm going to the temple now," she said. She stood, then suddenly shouted out to the sky. "Did you hear me, you nasty stupid god? Come and get me! I've had enough of your shit for both lifetimes! Come down here—"
Sabiniano abruptly leapt to his feet, tackling her and rolling her beneath him. One hand covered her mouth; he could feel cold sweat on the back of his neck.
"Are you insane?" he hissed. "What the hell are you doing? Don't you realize how foolish it is to challenge a god? Especially Dionysus?"
She bit his fingers, and he jerked them away from her mouth.
"Of course I know how foolish it is," she replied tightly. "It's almost as foolish as sacrificing yourself for a lost cause. Promise me you'll let me go if he comes after us."
He stayed silent, and she drew in a deep breath, then shouted, "Di—"
He cut her off, then closed his eyes, defeated.
"I promise," he said, lifting his hand from her mouth for the second time.
"If he comes after us, I won't stand against him."
"You'll hand me over, and then you'll tell him you're sorry," she said firmly. "If things go wrong, I want to know you are aren't suffering. I won't be, you know. I'll be with my family."
"Yes, I will."
"Then let's see if we can leave," she said quietly. "I don't think there are any ships in the village large enough to take us to another island, though,"
she added. "Can we just fly, or something? How do you go up to Olympus? Can we go like that?"
A harsh bark of laugher escaped him.
"Not likely," he said. "When I go to Olympus, I call down my father's chariot to take me. Something tells me that isn't a very good idea right now."
She giggled.
"I suppose not. So what now? The village?"
"I guess so," he said. They stood slowly, and she turned away from him, stretching like a cat. The absurdity of their situation struck him. For the first time in his centuries of life, he had no idea what he was going to do with himself. From birth, he had been fated to serve his father. Suddenly that fate had changed, and it was all due to her, his little human…
He pulled her into his arms, kissing her deeply on the mouth. She gave a startled gasp, then wrapped both arms tightly around his neck. Their bodies twisted against each other, and he felt the familiar fire of arousal in his loins.
She pulled her mouth away from his, then whispered, "I realize we should probably get going, but do you think it would really hurt anything if we took a little time for ourselves? I love you so much, and I want to be close to you…"
"I don't think it would hurt anything at all," he replied softly. He slid his hands down her body, cupping her butt lightly. She shivered, then jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist. He cradled her, pulling her tightly against his pelvis. Already he was growing hard, and as foolish as it seemed to stay in the meadow, he couldn't have let her go if he wanted.
Instead, they kissed each other more deeply, and he slowly lowered them to the ground. Then he was sitting on his knees and she was straddling him. The sensation was almost too much to bear.
"How was I lucky enough to find you?" he asked softly.
She smiled, and replied, "I don't know. It's amazing that we could live so close to each other for so many years, and never meet. If it hadn't been for a chance remark overheard by a nymph, we never would have. I find that unbearably sad, in a way."
She pressed her lips against his again, cutting off any response he might have made. After a few moments of intense kissing, she pulled away, and raised herself up.
With his help, she pulled up her gown, and he pulled up his long tunic. Then she was sinking down on his erection, taking his hard cock into her a body with an ease that amazed him. Where once she had been so tight, it was now as if she shaped herself to his size exactly. He thrust up at her, but she placed a finger against his mouth, as if telling him to slow down…
"We do this so fast, usually," she said. "It's always so urgent, as if we've known somewhere in our hearts that our time together would be short. I don't want to live like that any more. Maybe our time will be short, but that doesn't mean we have to rush through every moment. Let's just savor what we have right now…"
So they sat there, connected in the most intimate way possible, simply holding each other. Eventually, she shifted, and started squeezing him with her internal muscles. It was a slow, steady massage, and he let himself simply enjoy the arousal building in his body. Eventually, what had started as a comforting massage became an agonizing torture. The urge to throw her down, to thrust into her and take her, was strong.
His desire to savor the moment was stronger, however. Finally, he spoke.
"Every day from now on is a gift, something I never thought we'd have."
"Yes," she replied, stilling. She rested her head against his chest, and he felt a trickle of moisture. She was crying.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm just thinking about how happy I am."
Why does being happy make you cry?" he asked, confused. She laughed, and reached up to cradle his face in her hands.
"I doubt you'll ever understand," she said. "Just believe me, I'm happy."
She kissed him again, squeezing his cock within her body, making him shiver.
"I don't think I can keep this up to much longer," he said. "I want to take you now."
She nodded, kissing him again. "I think I'd like that. It can be our way of saying goodbye to the island."
Leaning forward, he pressed her down into the grass, and starting moving in and out of her with strong, smooth strokes. She was hot and slippery beneath him, and every time she engulfed his hard length it felt like coming home.
Nothing could be more right than this moment.
Eventually, their movements grew more frantic, and she whimpered against his shoulder. He increased his pace. She was close, and if he worked her just the right way she would come right before he did. Her body would clench and massage his, kneading him until he exploded with his own pleasure.