It is What It Is {Darius, open}

[Zoe Harris]

{Continued from Love Aint What It Used To Be with Zoe and Darius}

Cuz I’m a little bit of love, a little bit of hate
A little bit of me that you can’t break
You know that I will be forever rebel
Cuz I’m a little bit of soul, a little bit of lust
A little piece of me that you can trust
Baby, I will be forever rebel

Oh no, he definitely wasn't anyones bitch boy.. No matter what the others on Olympus said. The Gods and Goddesses liked to screw with them all and it wasn't like he was the first example of that fact. Zoe couldn't actually remember what his whole story was but she vaguely recalled that he'd sold his soul for his dead wife. Evidently, it had turned out badly but the whole thing.... Well, deep down where she absolutely refused to let others see... She found it kind of romantic. Not that she'd ever tell HIM that but... What would it be like to be loved in such a way? So completely that someone freely gave their life for you?

Sure, she knew that love was a twisted thing but what was that saying? You could lie to others but you couldn't lie to yourself? Yeah, well, unfortunately, she still had some pesky side effects of being Eros's kid, wanted or not, and the idea of that sort of love..... Some little part of her wanted to know that feeling.

However, after centuries of watching her father screw up peoples lives and the gods and goddesses switching beds like musical chairs... Well, she'd come to view the whole things as one big sales pitch leading into the next big sin. Why not just be up front about it and get your jollies in a straight forward way without all the hassle. It was a lot less messy and everyone got what they wanted anyways, right?

Shaking her head, Zoe turned her attention back to the good looking devil before her only to have him eye her hand dismissively and disappear. Rolling her own, she phased out and then appeared not five feet from where he stood. Unfortunately, his words caused her to stiffen up and eye him coolly.


"Yeah, I'm Zoe but all Cupid did was donate the sperm. I don't know how he could have raved on anything when he was to busy marching to Granny dearest's tune and ignoring the fact that Mother and I existed." she practically snarled before turning on a boot covered heal. "Now, you going to stand around jawing all night or join me for a drink? I feel the need to cut loose a bit and the liquor here is the good stuff.... They serve stuff fitting for the gods...no pun intended."

Entering through the back entrance of the place, Zoe didn't bother to glance back to see if her companion was following as she made her way to the back bar. As she went, she slipped out of the black leather jacket she wore to reveal the leather boaster underneath and a stripe of bare skin lurking just over the diamond ring playing peek a boo with her belly button. The snug pants she wore rode low on her hips and the sway of her walk was pure seduction even though completely unintentional.

Reaching the bar, she tossed her jacket on the counter and ordered a dozen shots of nectar and then tossed two of them back in short order. The buzz it gave her was pleasant even as Nickleback blared out something about "Shakin Hands" and she finally glanced around.

The crowd was hopping but that didn't concern her any more than the men casting lustful glances in her direction. They were simply window dressing and she'd long ago quit paying attention to something that happened just because they couldn't resist the pull of her goddess allure. Truth be told, she'd quit even taking anything but immortals into her bed because at least then she knew it was genuine attraction and not just the power of her lineage.

Feeling Darius slid up next to her, she didn't even glance his way as she turned and leaned her back on the bar and slid a few shots in his direction. Taking up two more of her own, she tossed them back and then closed her eyes as the blissful feeling flowed through her.

"So.... When your not snatching souls for Uncle Hades... What do you do for fun?" She asked, finally glancing sideways at him and then smirking. "Do you dance? Or are you one of those guys that things its a waste of energy? I hope not cause I'm seriously in the need of burning off some and its always funner with two...."

Sliding off her stood, the brunette beauty eyed him and then finished her two last shots before starting to sway to the music. Turning on her heel, she gave a coy glance over her shoulder and then headed unto the dance floor that wasn't far away.


"Come on, cowboy... Lets see if you can keep up.. That is, if your up for the challenge!"

[Darius 'Aronus' Tiberian]

Alright, so he’d definitely found a nerve with the ‘Cupid’ thing. Which was strange, given his memories of the winged, annoyingly happy man whom she so disliked calling ‘daddy.’

Watching her for a moment as the stalked into the building before them, Darius couldn’t help but curious tilt of his head. Cupid was one of the few Gods that didn’t spit on his shoes when he came too close- frikken slobs were always high and mighty with ‘slaves’- and he didn’t find the guy half bad…when he wasn’t harping on and on about his kid. It was so strange to see Zoe curse her father’s name, when he seemed to only want to sing her praises.

She was very strange. And…almost like a puzzle that he wanted to solve. What would it be like; to see the true woman behind all that sarcasm and adrenaline junkie attitude? Would she be soft? Loving? Would she betray him as so many others had in the past?

With a growl, he shoved the thoughts away. Hades’ ballsack, he needed musings like that like he needed another spiked-rod enema. He was just there for a drink with one of the few non-Olympus people in existence who knew about his sentence. Nothing more, nothing less.

…Which made it real hard not to glare at the men ogling her ass as they moved into the room. Gods, he was an idiot.

With a grateful mutter, he took the offered shot and downed it in a single swallow, reveling in the burn that followed. Because his ‘boss’ didn’t like him to have any kind of reprieve- the filmy bastard- he couldn’t get drunk on anything but some of Bacchus’ hard ass liquor. But he’d take what he could get and the burn of some good whiskey was definitely not something he was going to pass up. With a lift of his finger, he motioned for the bartender to fill another and turned around to look at the gathered crowd.

The humans were giving them a wide berth, instinctively sensing something dark and deathly looming around the bar. But he didn’t mind; he was used to the isolation.
…Not that he was exactly isolated anymore, was it? Definitely up in the air if he was going to grow appreciate that or not.

“What do I do for fun?” He said on a snort of bitter amusement. “I think up colorful ways to kill Hades. Oh, that and fight against world hunger.”

He just couldn’t help the sarcastic words from bursting from him, and inwardly winced at their sharpness. But, it seemed that none of it was noticed as the demi-God proceeded to rise from her chair and motion toward the dance floor. Darius scoffed, disbelief and stubbornness clearly written on his face.

Dancing? Him? HELL NO, man. Especially not today’s kind of dancing, with all that hip grinding and gyrating. Call him an old fogey, but when one’s servitude gets in the way of getting laid, he’d rather have his head chopped off- again- than feel that kind of pain unnecessarily. Zoe annoyed the crap out of him- and intrigued him, but he wasn’t up for being truthful at the moment- but she was a woman, he’d been a monk for a century and he really didn’t feel like doing the Crotch Fire Dance at the moment.

…Not that ANY of that stopped him from sliding off his seat at her ‘cowboy’ comment and following her right onto the dance floor. Godsdammit, he was a moron. A stupid, masochistic, deserves-to-die-ten-times-over moron.

The woman seemed to read him so easily, probably knowing that taunts and dares were his weakness. Catching her arm as they made it into the middle of the floor, he pulled her into him and raised a brow. Oh, his body hurt already…this was definitely going to be a long night.

“Just so you know,” He said, tilting his head down so that she could hear him. The dancers around them gave them a circle, still sensing his death-aura. “The last time I danced, bards came to your door looking for scraps. I can keep up with you, honey…but you’re gonna have to show me what to do.”

A sideways glance at the dancers had his lips twitching in a smile. “Then again, it is pretty hard to forget how to hump something. If that’s all I gotta do, I guess it’s time to get the party started.”

[Zoe Harris]

My Girlfriend's a dick magnet My Girlfriend's gotta have it
She's hot, can't stop, up on stage, doing shots, Tip the man he'll
Ring the bell, get her drunk she'll scream like hell.
Dirty girl, gettin' down, dance with guys from outta town.
Grab her ass, actin' tough. Mess with her, she'll fuck you up.
No one really knows if she's drunk or if she's stoned, but she's
Comin' back to my place tonite!
She likes to shake her ass she grinds it to the beat
She likes to pull my hair when I make her grind her teeth
I like to strip her down she's naughty to the end
You know what she is, no doubt about it
She's a bad, bad girlfriend!

"Well, color me surprised!" Zoe thought to herself when Darius actually took her up on her taunt and followed her ass out on the dance floor. She had been sure that he'd find some way to weasel out of it but for some reason she was pleasantly intrigued by his guts at flinging it back in her face. Maybe he was just one of those sorts that couldn't resist a challenge. Whatever it was though... It was making things interesting at least.

Smirking hard at his words, she squeaked a bit as he pulled her hard against him and then arched a brow. Oh, so he wanted to play it this way did he? Well, two could definitely play that game. She wasn't cupid's daughter for nothing and just cause she didn't believe in "true love"... Well, didn't mean that she didn't believe in plain old fashioned lust. And cursed god or not, this man had plenty of the male factor to send her own radar off the charts. Time to fight fire with fire.

"Oh, now you disappoint me cowboy! And here I had you pegged as a guy who knew more about sex than just humping. Seemed to me you'd be more the hot and sweaty type that enjoyed more than just a few moments to get himself off." she drawled bluntly. "My bad ..."

Just as she finished speaking, the notes of her favorite song started to play and she grinned evily. With her eyes brimming in mischief, she ran a hand up Darius's chest and then gave him a look that was so wicked it should have singed the clothes right off him.

"Ok, Mr. Sexy Pants... Lets just see how good you are at that... humping... First one to break the others control has to buy the next round...."

Twisting so that her back was to his front, she began to sway as Tyler Connolly belted out a song designed to make a person think about all kinds of wicked temptations It was a song that had gotten more than one couple in trouble and she suspected had lead to a lot of baby bumps. There was nothing sexier than a bit of wicked enjoyment and Zoe wasn't above it herself. As was currently being shown. It occurred to her that she was having more fun tonight than she'd had in a few dozen centuries but she tried not to let that bother her.

As the couples around them fade out and a buffer seemed to form around them, Zoe tossed a grin over her shoulder and made a move that brought parts of their anatomy together in a way that left no doubt of her effect on him. With twinkling eyes the demigod laughed and then arched a brow. Damn, he really was a sexy thing. To bad Uncle Hades had kept him locked away for so long. Zoe suspected the whole female gender wouldn't be thanking him for it. The dude could make millions if he could figure out how to bottle all that dark, deadly sex appeal.

Damn, she really needed to get laid. Maybe Cherry was right and she really was sexually frustrated. She hadn't reacted this much to a guy in.... Well.... Forever. Definitely time for intervention.

Sliding away suddenly, she put some space between their bodies and tried to ignore the sparks that seemed to fly between them. Suddenly, she felt she was treading dangerous ground and flirting with danger.

"Um... you know what? I'm suddenly feeling thirsty... I think I'll just buy you the next round.." she said huskily before turning as if the head for the bar. Damn, she was in so much trouble...

[Darius 'Aronus' Tiberian]

Long night! DEFINITELY going to be a long night! As he moved to the beat, feeling her body sway with him, his own tightened to the point of pain. Good Gods, this was a fucking, ever loving bad idea, if he’d ever had one. And, given the fact that the whole ‘servitude’ thing fell on that list, this one was definitely playing with the big boys.

Oh, thank the Gods, she was talking. She was probably spitting out some jibe or another, which was great. If he got irritated, he wouldn’t think about how long it had been since he’d lain with a woman, felt that telltale softness against him. He wouldn’t think about how good she smelled, or how nice it felt to hold her so close to his body. Or the fact that she was the first person in a very, very long time that he’d let touch him. Nope, he’d just be pleasantly grumpy, and able to ignore every single twitch and twinge that alerted him of the alluring female so close to him.

…Yeah, as if ANY of his plans ever freaking worked out. Of course she’d be throwing his ‘humping’ comment right back in his face. And then challenging him to some kind of sexual-innuendo duel. Man, she knew about his slavery; wouldn’t she guess that all of this would be inhumane torture?

And then she fucking moved her hips against him in a swivel that made his throat close up. Oh freaking TARTARUS, forget torture, that felt so damn good. Painful, given the fact that he couldn’t do anything about the layers of clothing that separated them, but the pressure, the contact, the promise…

Gods, she was like a drug and he was getting high off of her. He wanted the moment to last, like the selfish bastard that he was. The grind, retreat, return and swivel…it was enough to make his eyes close and jaw clench against the urge to take her right there on the dance floor. His reactions were so damn strong that he couldn’t help but wonder if her real mother had been Aphrodite.

But then, she moved away from him, and the pleasure stopped. He didn’t like that it stopped. His hand snapped out, closing around her wrist in an almost punishing grip. She wanted to leave him and get a drink? After a dance like THAT? After throwing meat in front of a starving animal? He couldn’t help himself; he reacted like a child, like a godsdamn animal and roughly pulled her back to where she’d been before. He moaned at the contact.

“No drinks,” He growled into her ear, one arm a tight band around her waist, keeping her where she was. As the tempo of the music sped up, he couldn’t help but move them to the violent beat, rubbing against her with another sigh. He was too far gone to care about pride, embarrassment or being polite. “You can’t throw out a dare and then leave, Goddess. You said you’d try to break me. Backing out so soon?”

[Mercedes Rowe]

The music was thumping while people were bumping and grinding against one another. Mercedes frowned as she strolled through the club, unsure why she had stepped into such a wild environment. She had become timid with places such as this. Not that she feared anything. The feral beast in her loved the excitement, which played an expansive role in all of this. She had become good at controlling the wolf in her, but in certain situations she found it harder to control. But, she believed the more she threw herself into these environments the more she could train that wild beast and cage it away for later.

She pushed and nudged through the dance floor, trying to make her way to the bar. It was a couple on the dance floor that caught her attention. The dancers around them had given them a wide birth. She raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at the two as they danced provocatively. The woman stepped away from the man, making a move to get away. It seemed the show was over. She shook her head, about to head to the bar when the man reached out and grabbed the girl by the wrist, pulling her back against him. As he did so Mercedes caught the look on his face. He didn’t seem very happy.

Being the peacemaker that she was, she came up to Zoe and smiled brightly. “Oh my, it isn’t?!” She went with the attitude that she knew this girl already, but she didn’t. She’d never seen this girl before. “I haven’t seen you in so long! You’re looking as good as ever.” She leaned around the girl and put a hand on Darius’ shoulder. “You don’t mind if I pull her away for a drink for just a minute, do you?” She gave him a pat on the chest. “I didn’t think so,” she said, never giving him the time to answer that question. She was afraid he’d protest.

Looping an arm through Zoe’s she lead her towards the bar. The people on the dance floor were bumping and grinding against her. She was so sick of all the bodies touching her. She let a low growl and shoved through them, until they made a path to the bar. Once she reached the bar she ordered a drink and looked back at Darius, expecting him to follow them, but she hoped he wouldn’t give her a hard time for stealing Zoe. She was merely trying to lend a helping hand.

She leaned towards Zoe and whispered, “I’m Mercedes.” When she pulled away she laughed like they’d just shared something hilarious.

The doctor and peacemaker in her were always coming to the aid of others. She kind of guessed the two had chemistry. She could see it between them, but Zoe looked ready to bail that scene, hence the reason she decided to step in. Though, after she thought about it, maybe Zoe wanted that man to pull her back against him. She looked at the other woman apologetically. She hoped she hadn’t just messed something up..

[Zoe Harris]

Boy Howdy. Was that a roll of quarters in his pocket or was he just happy to see her? Er... Scratch that... Hades little slave boy was all man in any way that truly mattered. She had a feeling that he might just show HER a thing or two when it came to burning up the sheets. Just the thought made her wanna groan as he pulled her back against him and she bit her lip as meet his heated gaze.

Oh yeah, he was definitely as worked up as she was and it made her want a taste of him BAD. At the moment, she wouldn't have cared if the God's themselves dropped in to watch if it meant she could get them both vertical in the least amount of time known to mankind.

Course, that would probably get them both arrested for indecent exposure but... It would probably be worth the effort. Ok, so yeah, it would probably get them both religated back to their godly prisons too but then.. When had she ever been accused of playing it safe?

Which was why she should probably thank the Gods for timely interventions.

Suddenly, a pretty brunette popped up between them and Zoe had only time to cast her a puzzled look before the girl was looping her arm through hers and pulling her towards the bar. The goddess couldn't help but grin as she caught the drift of events and gave Darius a little smirk back over her shoulder. He was looking like a storm cloud ready to combust but Zoe figured that they both needed a bit of time to cool off or Screamers was going to get a viewing that they'd never had before.

Hmmm.. Scratch that... Knowing some of the peeps that frequented the bar.. There was probably lots of stuff going on that would shock the hell out of most mortals. Most of it took place in the bathrooms though. At least, she thought it did.

Bellying up to the bar next to her old "Friend" Zoe caught the whispered name and laughed. Lowering her own voice so that not even Darius could over hear her, she whispered. "Zoe Harris. Its a pleasure to meet you. I own Cupids Revenge down on the French Quarter. You outta come by and I'll give you a real nice discount."

Then, sliding back, she ordered a drink and gave Mercedes a wink.

"Watch out... I don't think Darius is real pleased with you at the moment but..... This drinks on me..." she finished with a laugh.

[Darius 'Aronus' Tiberian]

Oh GODS, this was too much for his puny brain to handle. He expected her to pull away; to haul ass and slap him until his jaw did a cartoon-pop out. But, just like all of the other demi’s and Gods he’d met over the centuries, she managed to stick her tongue out at his expectations.

And blow his ever loving mind. Now, if only she could do the same to other parts of him…as crude as it sounded.

She moved against him, pressing closer, and Darius couldn’t help the small groan from escaping him. His arms tightened around her and, so slowly, he moved to the pulsing beat. He wanted to ghost them out of the room in favor of somewhere quiet, secluded. She didn’t seem to mind his attentions…so why did he hesitate? The way she moved, sounded, smelled, it was so obvious that she wanted him, too. Just do it! Go! Before she changed her mind!

But he didn’t. Moving against her just as the other dancers were moving against their partners, he remained where he was, basking in her scent and the heat of her body wafting into his. Coward, he thought with an inner snarl. He needed contact; why not take what might be willingly given?

It always came back to the damn past, didn’t it? Fuck, even in limbo, he wouldn’t be allowed to move on.

So, call things a mixture of relief and frustration when a stranger insinuated herself between them, throwing a saucy grin his way. Half of him was in the mood to crack a good one across that unfamiliar face, but he held himself in check. Had he looked so raw that others might think he meant the Goddess harm? Gah, talk about not being able to control his animal side!

He rubbed a shaking hand over his jaw as he watched the two women push through the crowd, head tilting in wry amusement. The little minx, smirking at him so smugly like that! Talk about finding the worst frikking tease in all of Louisiana, on the one day that he actually got a hard on.

…Which immediately disappeared, as a happy human proceeded to cuddle up to his side with a drunken purr.

Damn, he really did hate liquor sometimes. It did all kinds of nice, fuzzy things to the brain, but it also kicked the crap out of the common sense part…just like the one that was supposed to be telling the little sex kitten that she was cuddling up to Death.

“Uh…no thank you,” He muttered, doing his best to free the arm she was currently smooshing against her boobs. Her grip was frikken strong, he thought in a panic. He didn’t want to shake her off and risk hurting her, but neither did he want her to start rubbing her ass against him…which she was.

Godsdammit, there was a reason why he didn’t go to bars and clubs. A REAL good reason why.

[Mercedes Rowe]

The look that the man was shooting Mercedes didn’t look good. He was none to pleased that she had scooped up the girl he was grinding against. By the look he had shot her, just before whisking her off, it looked very lethal. The doctor in her didn’t care for violence, but the wolf was stirring deep within her begging for release.

The more she thought about it these two people she’d just thrown herself into the middle of didn’t smell human to her, but she didn’t know what they did smell like. It was an unfamiliar smell to her.

The girl next to her spoke, thankfully. It gave her a little more control. She pushed the beast down and smiled. “It’s nice to meet you as well. I can’t say I’ve heard of your store. What do you sell?” She asked the girl.

She ordered a drink as well and glanced behind her yet again. “I can tell he is not,” she said slightly flabbergasted then decided to order a drink as well. Not that she was really a drinker, but it would calm the nerves, right?

“I don’t normally do this, but now that I look at the eye contact between you two I feel I might have disturbed you both. I am really sorry. I thought he was going to attack you by the look on his face.” Which was the truth. The animalistic look worried her when she caught it.

After her drink arrived she turned around to gaze at Darius. She leaned against the bar with an amused look as she saw the girl that was practically attacking him. She wondered if he needed saving as much as her newest friend here did. “You might not want to look behind you,” she forewarned Zoe.

The girl pushing against Darius was very promiscuous. She even blushed at how capricious the girl was acting. One perfectly arched brow raised and she tilted her head with a questioning stare. “Better yet, I think we better save your man from hurting someone,” she dropped her drink onto the bar with a clatter, expecting to follow Zoe over to this woman. Whether it was to pull this girl off of Darius or to try and stop a fight, she wasn’t sure, but she was prepared for either.

As for the wolf in her, it was pacing back and forth in her, begging to be released. She hoped she could keep it shoved inside of its cage. She wasn’t one to harm someone. She was a doctor. She fixed those that were wounded. Plus, she could lose her license to practice if she did do something harmful to another person. If that happened to her she would be lost without it. She didn’t get this far for that to happen.

[Zoe Harris]

You got everything that I want
You got him in the palm of your hand
But I know you've slept with everyone in his band
Again again again
You try to pretend we get along
But pretty little girl, you got it all wrong
I've got my eyes on you and I know what's going on
And on the fight's begun
I'm not blind you see
And you're not fooling me
You've stepped into my territory
Let me introduce myself
Your enemy

Fate was a funny thing. One moment it could be moving right along at a free and easy pace with no real upsets on the horizon and then BAM. She sends you a real dozy that leave you reeling from the impact of the crash. Since Zoe was never one who got real worked up about the going ons of mortals around her, you can imagine her surprise when she later looked back on the events of that fateful night at Screamers. Events that would really make her wanna stick her fathers little bow and arrow somewhere the sun didn't shine.

Ah, yes, Fate certainly had a sense of humor. It just wasn't always something the brunt of it could appreciate.

So there she was, relaxing at the bar having a drink with her new friend. The next thing she knew, she was listening to Mercedes words and turning to see some woman rubbing up against the man her subconsciousness had already claimed.

Claimed? OH HELL. There went the neighborhood. Literally if the unlucky mortal didn't back the hell off.

As she watched, the stupid woman grabbed a part of Darius's anatomy that had Zoe seeing red. OH NO SHE HADN'T! The bitch was going DOWN. No one got to do that to him but HER. The anger she felt was totally unreasonable but it was there. Why, she didn't exactly understand but after the heated exchange they'd just had on the dancefloor with the "Hi How Are You's" she wasn't about to let another woman feel something that wasn't hers to be feeling.

Before she even realized it, her feet were moving with a speed that belied her human form. The woman yelped in surprise when her wrist was suddenly gripped hard and she was flung a few steps back to land on her butt. Zoe's eyes fairly sparked as she came to a stop and gazed down at the chick on the ground with mock suprise.


"Oh... I'm SOOOOOOOOOO Sorry... Didn't see you there... I was anxious to get back to my partner before he missed me to much... " she drawled, knowing that none of the mortals had actually glimpsed her shoving the witch on her ass. "He got me so hot that I needed a drink to cool down... You know how it is... all that raw maleness... Hard to resist, aint it? Lucky, Lucky Me!"

Vaguely, she was aware of Mercedes near by but her attention was trained soully on the woman getting to her feet. Her body tensed for a confrontation and it wasn't long in coming. The chick sneered at her and then made a comment about Hoes and their bitch ways. A slow, evil smile spread over the demigods face as she heard them.


"Well, I guess you would know.. since you seem to be an expert in the department.. I mean, at least some of us don't have to rape a dude to get laid and the man actually enjoys the experience. Its obvious though that you are just as skanky as you look cause you had to go trying to hop someone else's party train.... For all the good it did you of course.... I think everyone in the club saw what kind or reaction THAT got."

As she waited for the response, Zoe felt the bouncers approaching from every side and put on her best innocent face. She wasn't going to get kicked out for this she knew but she wasn't going to be completely honest either. A girl had her dignity right?

[Darius 'Aronus' Tiberian]

For Gods sake…he knew that his reputation for being a bastard was still intact, given the way that his fellow immortals treated him, but C’MON NOW. Don’t tell him that his bad ass mother trucker one had crumbled at some point! It had to be intoxication that was making the human so…friendly. That was it; it was the freaking alcohol, drugs and whatever the hell else was running through his system. He was DEFINITELY not exuding pansy-vibes.

…Sexually frustrated ones, maybe, but definitely not pansy-vibes. Fuck, just trust him to find the one and only inebriated-out-of-her-mind club addict to stumble into. How did a guy get out of situations like these? He tried doing the ‘oh, I’m flattered, but no thanks’ route and got himself clung to. Then he tried to physically pry her off of him without hurting her, but that only seemed to make her more determined to become a growth on his lower half.

And speaking of his lower half; the damn thing was definitely not having a very good night. After being all hot and bothered by Cupid’s daughter, it had ached like a mother. Despite the fact that the drunk human was annoying the ever living shit out of him, the whole butt rubbing and ‘ooh, take me on the dance floor’ crap was really starting to make him want to poof on over to Antarctica and freeze to death.

“Look, lady, I’ve tried to be nice, but seriously. GET THE FUCK OFF ME.” With a snarl, he did his best to extricate his crotch from her hand. Zeus’ fucking butt crack, man, please say that Zoe wasn’t looking his way. Please say that she wasn’t witnessing an angry slave to Hades and once protector of the Gods themselves, not being able to get away from a drunk human.

…Of course not. Hello, Embarrassment, aka Zoe to the Rescue. Ah, life. How he hated it. Hades was probably getting a kick out of his show.

Blinking a bit in surprise, he gave the Goddess a mock glare before wrapping an arm around her waist. He’d never been so freaking happy about being saved by a woman, he thought with an inner sigh. Happy, turned on, about to freaking sizzle himself into a coma AND die of embarrassment, all at the same time! What a night!

Feeling himself going rigid as the bouncers came closer, he tugged Zoe until she was flush up against his side. Strange, how much more…calm he felt, with her so close. The only tenseness that he was feeling was, holy crap, the protective jive he was getting from somewhere deep inside.

Okay, this was just downright scary. Time to get the fuck out of there, and fast.

As the stupid human opened her mouth to talk, he pinned her with a severe stare, smirking as she blinked and took a step back. “Don’t worry yourself about her, darlin’,” He drawled, voice carrying over the small lapse in music. “We don’t have time for trash. Now, please tell me that you saved me some of that drink. I think I’m gonna need a shower soon. Hope you can join me.”

Before the situation could get any more awesome, Darius turned to drag the woman away, eyeing the bouncers that flanked them. Once they reached the bar, and the human’s squawks were drowned out by music, he muscled a little path over and shoved her toward the counter. Then, with a glare in Mercy’s direction, he proceeded to trap Zoe between his hands, braced solidly on the counter to either side of her.

“Remind me again why I agreed to come here with you?”

[Mercedes Rowe]

HOMAN, Mercedes was getting a good show. Well, not that she would have liked it if she was in that situation because sure as hell, if it had been Lucien gettin’ grabbed she probably wouldn’t have even flung the girl. She would have tried ripping her face off. She had to be honest with herself though. Zoe was real good with the words. The comeback she threw back at the woman was enough to make her snicker.

But, the smell and swiftness coming off of Zoe had Mercedes wondering just what that woman was made of. She sure in the hell was not a mere human and neither was her boy toy. Then the way she had easily tossed the woman like she was a pebble. Ah, she wasn’t going to be too worried about it right now. The show was just gettin’ good.

Her hazel eyes shifted towards the bouncers that came over, flanking the couple. She blinked and pointed at the girl that had been touching Zoe’s man. “She started it!” Oh, the undignified look that stole the woman’s face as she glared at Mercedes. She gave the woman a little shrug before following after the “happy” couple.

On her way back to where they were headed she picked her drink up off of the bar. She was going to need this, and she managed to down it fairly quickly as she moved over to the two.

As she came up next to them, she tossed an odd look at Darius. “Hey, what’s the glare for? I’m the neutral party here. You don’t have to worry about me grabbing your crotch. I’ve got me a nice man to do that to.” She threw Zoe a smile before leaning against the counter and waving the bartender down. “I still can’t believe she grabbed you. I would have snapped that girl’s neck if it had been Lucien that she was touching in that…manner.”

As the bartender approached she raised her glass, ordering another drink then tossed a thumb towards Zoe and Darius. “And whatever they want.” Because they really need a drink to cool those jets off, that was for certain.

Oh man, what had she gotten herself into coming in here?

[Zoe Harris]

I see trouble coming man,
Well Im coming back to a fork,
Sliding down a road,
Gonna lick em on down,
Were gonna run right out,
Im a fighting fool,
And Im hungry for you,
Well Im living on a line,
Im protecting my life,
Rock with me, come on come on

Ok, there was just something wrong with ones sanity when you almost hoped that the other person would take a swing. Zoe didnt' know why she felt the need to egg the other woman on but she let a cat like smile spread over her face as she watched her. She almost prayed that the female would be froggy enough to make a leap for it and it was with a deep sense of disappointment that she watched the bouncers insert themselves between them.

However, before she could voice such dissatisfaction, a strong arm looped around her waist and she was pulled back against a rock hard body. The deep, gravely voice in her ear turned her in a head snapping 180* from "Fuck with me and Imma going to fuck up your pretty little barbie doll face " to Miss "Everything is cool like summertime in dixie with a glass of iced tea." It was such a turn around that the bouncers didn't even think to question Mercy's comment about the other woman starting it and hauled her off in the direction of the front doors without a backwards look.

It wasn't until Zoe found herself penned against the bar with two strong arms trapping her there that reality set back it. The emotion rolling off the male above her had the goddess biting her lower lip and feeling fires light in places fires had no business lighting in a public place like this!

Without a thought, she reached up and loped an arm around his neck and laid a hard kiss on his mouth. Good gods, he tasted as good as he looked. Someone really outta put a surgeons general warning on this man or figure out what made him so damned sexy and bottle the stuff.

And then her new friends words registers. THANK GOD FOR SMALL FAVORS!

Unable to suppress the laughter Mercy's words brought, Zoe pulled away and glanced over at the brunette. Leaning back nonchalantly with her back against the bar and Darius still hovering over her, she arched a brow in mock consideration.

"Yeah well.... The impulse was there let me tell you....The bitch had it coming for touching something that didn't belong to her... She's lucky she got out with her pretty little face in tact. " she drawled back, pretending to be unaffected by his nearness. "Give me the strongest thing you've got behind the bar, Jarod!"

Then, lifting a brow in arrogant challenge to their male companion, Zoe let her blue gray gaze gleam with otherworldly power.

"How about you, cowboy? You gonna man up and stick it out or you gonna tuck tail and run? I promise to make it worth your while!"

Casting Mercy a wink, she turned to face the bar and let her body slide against his in a purely feminine manner.

"A toast, shall we? To new friends... May we never become enemies!"

[Darius 'Aronus' Tiberian]

With a grumble and another glare, Darius just shrugged when the bartender turned to him, muttering something about having whatever Zoe was having. As Mercy spoke, a snort escaped him and he raised a brow in her direction.

“And if not for you interfering, woman, that child would’ve never had the chance to grope on my ass.” He said with a squint in her direction. True to his belligerent nature, he added in a bit of a ‘watch yourself’ hand motion and scowled at the bartender, who dropped off their drinks and scuttled back. Only then did he begin to feel a bit better.

Dog drawn was definitely not a happy place to be, he thought sullenly. He was happy as all hell that Zoe had come in to save his scrawny ass, but that didn’t mean that he had to show it.

At the challenge that followed, the ex-God just shook his head with a martyred sigh. If he had a brain in that empty shell up on his shoulders, he’d do the smart thing and leave. These two women were trouble incarnate, and if he stuck around, he’d either be getting his ass kicked, or certain parts of his anatomy wishing he’d get his ass kicked, if only for some kind of distraction. That dark haired girl over there with the non-human vibes had a Good Samaritan nature that he was really tempted to smack around, Zoe was temptation incarnate…yeah, he should definitely leave. Who the hell cared if she’d think him a coward because of it? He’d go back to his dingy little apartment, watch Spike until he was about to go insane and wait for a call from Hades.

…Oh yeah, didn’t that itinerary get his feet inching toward the door. Jesus, he was so far down the river, he was practically driftwood.

Not to mention that a particularly nice hip swivel had his lower parts bitch smacking his brain. He was going WHERE? Without WHO? Hell no and a bottle of Jack!

“Oh, I’m staying,” He said with a grin, looking down at his fellow immortal with a brow raised in amusement. “If only to make sure that you two don’t kill some drunk woman.” He paused, glancing at Mercy for a minute, then turned back to his drink with another sarcastic smile.

“Then again, I might just watch Zoe’s back, lady. I’m still not happy about you dragging my…dancing partner away from me.” And speaking of dancing partner, Darius did his best to move along with the little Cupid’s sly grind, wrapping an arm around her waist to keep her secured against him.

[Mercedes Rowe]

Mercedes gave Darius a shocked stare at his words. “What? Me?!” She pointed incredulously to herself. “I did nothing wrong. How was I supposed to know some woman was waiting for us to leave to grope you?” She huffed indignantly at this man.

But, Zoe’s words brought her out of that dark mood and made her laugh. To be honest, Mercedes would have thought about pummeling the girl, but she would have been frightened that she would hurt her. So, yeah, she probably would have acted the same way Zoe had in that situation.

Darius seemed to be good at making Mercedes angry, as well as feeling uncomfortable. She shook her head and sighed at him. “I would not have killed that drunken woman. I might beat her up a bit, but that’s about all. I don’t have enough malice in my body to do that to some poor human.” Her lips pursed at his next words. “What is that supposed to mean? That I’m going to stab Zoe in the back or grab her ass? You need to clarify this for me.”

Then the two of them starting exchanging words, these words between one another were enough to make the doctor blush. Good lord, they were definitely not shy. The wink from Zoe sent in her direction did not go unnoticed, nor did the way she moved against the man either and his reaction. Goodness, she felt like a dirty woman watching these two. She had to clear her throat and look away.

Maybe her friends were right though. She needed to loosen up a bit or something. There was nothing wrong with showing some affection in public, was there? But, just how much affection was too much? That was what she always worried about. However, maybe she needed to worry less and act more.

“Yeah, yeah, a toast to new friends, and I really do hope we never become enemies,” she said, but tossed a look at Darius because something told her that one was going to be belligerent the whole night. She might need to make an early exit. He reminded her of a friend’s husband. She couldn’t visit her too often because there was only so much she could handle around that man.

[Zoe Harris]

Coming out your mouth with your blah, blah, blah
Zip your lips like a padlock and meet me at the back
With the jack and the jukebox
I don't really care where you live at
Just turn around, boy, let me hit that
Don't be a little bitch with your chit chat
Just show me where your dick's at



Ok, Zoe was quickly coming to the conclusion that there was to much talking going on. The nectar of the gods was coursing through her veins and she getting a nice little buzz going.

"All righty, boys and girls! Zoe is in the house and I'm making a personal decree! There shalt be no more fighting amongst us this evening. We shall get drunk and terrify the patrons of this fine establishment silly with our antics but otherwise.... Otherwise we shall play nice... Feel you me?"

Wiggling her body provocatively against her companions and lacking any sort of shame, Zoe leaned over the counter and grabbed a dusty bottle of ambrosia and a bottle of whiskey from the other side. Pouring two more shots for the two of them from the first, she then poured Mercy another whiskey from the second bottle.

"Now then........" she said with a bit of a hiccup. "Mercy.. this is Darius.. Darius... This is Mercy.... As you both know... I'm Zoe and I own and run Cupid Revenge."

Not waiting for a response, she tossed back her nectar and smirked impishly.

"Now that we are all acquainted........ Mercy... I feel the need to warn you.... I'm not known for my shy demeanor so you seriously might want to avert your gaze from what I'm about to do...."

Turning her body around, the goddess smirked up at Darius a mere second before laying a lip lock on him that would have rivaled even Eros's best attempt. Heat fairly blazed off the pair and Zoe wore a shit eating grin when she finally drew away and leaned back against the bar nonchalantly.

"Damn... I've been wanting to do that all night, cowboy. I must say though... You've surpassed even my expectations.... To bad you were in such a huff earlier....We could really have had some fun."

Grabbing up the second shot, she disguised her own reaction to the kiss behind the motions of downing the drink. Looking at Mercy she gave her a "CAN YOU BLAME ME?" look and then laughed at the other womans reaction.

"OK OK... I"LL BE GOOD NOW!! SCOUTS HONOR??"