Maria nodded at Lugh, then glanced back to check on her child to find Ethelyn and Mark had disappeared. She half-turned, to look further out for them. "Where..."

"He took her for a walk so we could reconnect." Lugh gently turned Maria's face back to him then intertwined his hand with hers.

"That quickly?"

Lugh lead her back to the throne to sit on his lap. Just like it was yesterday, she found her hands roaming his chest, gently squeezing muscles until she drove him mad with lust. Those muscled pecs of his gently heaved and jerked in response. "Lass, we do need to talk."

"About what?" She nipped from his shoulder down to his ribs. "About that future where she's worried about me? I'm the mortal out of all of us. I'm aware I won't be with her forever."

Lugh sighed. "Lass, you will be with her long enough. I promise by the power I hold."

"Good." Maria reached under his cloth and ran her fingers over what wasn't really hidden.

Lugh hissed with sensitivity. "Maria, Lass, it's been over 100 years-well over-since I saw you last. I'm going to be about as useful as our first time."

It was a wicked thought, wondering how fast she could make a God cum. "Care to get rid of my clothes?"

"Alright, alright, just don't expect too much of me!" He chuckled as their clothing disappeared. "How do you want to do this?"

"You're the throne and I ride you like a Queen?"

The God laughed, but he shifted her immediately, letting her grip on his armrests to control how fast she settled onto his erection. She could tell by how strained Lugh's voice was that he found self-control a lost art. "Lass, you're the Throne. I'm the Fey. I think we put the cart before the-ah, forefathers!-horse."

She used both her arms and her legs to pull herself across the length of this God. Once she caught the hang of it, she quickened her pace and slammed down as hard as she could manage on him, causing a faint sting of pain that would hurt far more on Earth. Here? Pain just fed deeper ecstasy. Her arms and legs should be shaking from exertion. Lugh groaned and slumped forward to rest his forehead against her flexing back.

He reached around and cupped her breasts, massaging them and letting her work tug them out of his grasp.

The build-up wasn't slow and tormenting as Mark was prone to. Maria was already on edge, tugging a God's hips around by his cock.

"Bear down for me, I've got this last bit." It wasn't a command, but it suited the nature of the Fey to encourage feats of valor that humans couldn't attain on their own. In this moment, it meant that every muscle Maria had tried to grip the man who took her hips and proved he was far stronger, hitting it so hard that her teeth clicked with each impact until she let out a strangled cry that echoed through the Pavilion. "Lugh!"

Three strokes later-each a slapping crack of thunder because powers did strange things to simple tasks-and he followed her over the edge, and the overpowered man hunched over her, pushing her deeper down on his shaft than is practical while sitting, twitching against her womb hard enough to jerk her around. They sat there as he repeatedly nudged her for over a minute before finally losing enough of into quit testing her for another round.

"That was different." Maria panted while squished.

"I wasn't masking it. You'll never forget this moment." Lugh kissed her cheek before lifting her up in his arms and carrying her to the bed where he laid her down head first, but leaned over a hair to face her until he was up again.

"Already?"

"Yes, Lass." Lugh's face held a serious expression. "I've a lost century to make up for."

Any objection she might have died with him turning on the Fey charm-not that she had any. Regular lovemaking-either man-was like reigniting a smoldering fire. This moment was more like kerosene and a lit match. Every nerve shivered at his touch when he parted her. She felt every thrust causing her nerves to sing-except it was her voice screaming, "Harder!" Every fiber of her couldn't get enough of him, craved him.

Vines began to twine around Maria and the bed, keeping her from moving and reminding her how she fell for him. Finally, when locked into place without the ability to take a deep breath was when this God showed he had been gentle with her the whole time.

This wasn't sex, this was a reforging. Her awareness peeled back as she felt the rings of eyes pull through the surface of her muscles.

Just as she thought she might attain another form she crashed into the wall of her climax, scattering the gathered formation. She passed out on the bed, having spent all the energy her frail spirit could hold.

Lugh had to wait for the swelling to go down a hair before he could safely pull away from her. He winced at all the bruises-not from himself, but those caused by pulling what she was out of her core sense of self. He smoothed them out, hoping she'd not remember the pain. From this point on, her body would try to pull the Throne forward any time she loved a man-him or any other. She would also need it in the battles that would come inevitably. It was something he wished he'd done for her during her first visit over a century ago. Perhaps then she wouldn't have needed Mark so much-but they wouldn't have as strong a relationship without that reliance.

And here Lugh was, messing up his own goals because he not only loved her, but loved everything about the mother of his future.

It was the greatest gift he could give the one woman he'd come to love in all the long lonely years.

It was also his greatest curse on her.

He covered Maria, then went to go find his daughter and the stepfather he created for her, to hold a council.