Lot was ready for her and held out an arm, inviting her back into the envelope of darkness.
Before she knew what was what, a drum beat had started up and Penelope was reemerging. There was a pleased murmur and another round of applause as she emerged. She smiled a little as she wondered if they thought it had been her the whole time. That would certainly be ideal, she considered.
Calliope sighed in relief now that her part was over, and vowed that this was most definitely the last of it.
She reached up to adjust the veil over her face and realized she was trembling a little. She started as an arm came down around her and pulled her back against Lot’s chest. The other arm remained raised in order to obscure her hidden frame.
She began to pull away but he tutted at her as if she were some skittish lamb. She was going to tell him to keep his condescension to himself, but his voice was surprisingly gentle. “It’s ok.” He whispered. “I felt you shaking. You can lean against me so your legs don’t give out.”
She considered declining, but realized he might be right, and the last thing she needed to was to ruin everything at the last minute out of sheer stubbornness. Besides he was behaving himself. So with a shrug she relaxed into the loose embrace.
Eventually the music came to a crescendo and abruptly ended. She imagined Penelope striking some dramatic pose and panting from exertion and glowing triumphantly. At least she hoped she was. The loud applause which followed most definitely indicated that this was the case. She sighed again, content that her having been thrown off kilter hadn’t affected Penelope’s reception.
Lot scooped her up again without much warning, but she was well past the point of complaint at that point. When he put her down and let her out they seemed to be in a storage room of some sort.
Penelope was right behind them. She took the cloak from Lot and handed it to Calliope. “Here, you go do what you need to and we’ll catch up later.” She caught Calliope in a quick hug then motioned for her to wrap herself up in the cloak. It was massive, but it did the trick.
To her shock when she looked up from adjusting the oversize cloak, Lot had loosened his pants and was drawing out a semi-hard cock. While Calliope gaped, Penelope merely knelt obligingly and quickly stroked it to its full length, popping the head into her mouth without ado.
Calliope looked up and caught him grinning sideways at her. “See anything you like?”
She glanced down again… it was… alright. Considering how tall he was, she thought it should be larger… not that it wasn’t fine. “It’s smaller than I imagined.” She muttered absently. Penelope made a choking sound and pulled her mouth away, she was sputtering and trying not to laugh.
“Oh! I mean… since your so large… not that… and… you know…” the look on his face said he did not know. Not at all. “It’s very nice.” She ended lamely.
“Go, get out of here,” Penelope laughed, “you’re making my job harder.”
Calliope glanced at his member again as she passed by them to get to the door. “Or softer.” She noted with a smirk of her own.
“Damn it, woman!” He growled half annoyed and half despondent.
“Go!” Penelope ordered, still laughing. “And take a left, that’ll bring you out the way we came.”
She nodded and took one last curious peek as his length disappeared between Penelope’s lips. She grinned mawkishly to herself as she closed the door softly behind her.
************
She slipped into their rooms quietly. She knew there wasn’t likely to be anyone around, but there was always a chance, and she wanted to make absolutely sure that she was the first to tell him.
She had it all worked out. Step one was going to be getting naked… maybe on the couch… or the bed… she hadn’t decided yet. Step two was to seduce him then try to wear him out without doing herself in as well… which would be tricky. Not the seducing part, her own arousal was already ratcheted up to unprecedented levels, so much so she was more worried about jumping him prematurely rather than getting shy about it. No, staying conscious long enough to tell him everything… that would be the problem.
She felt a shudder of anticipation as she closed the door to the sitting room, pausing long enough to catch her breath before carrying on. She would tell him about the dance first, and explain to him why she did it. That might get sticky as she couldn’t say how he would respond.
She was hoping that he would only be irritated and that a half-joking offer to apologize ‘on her knees’ might smooth any ruffled feathers. Once he seemed relaxed enough and willing to hear her reasoning, she’d explain that he was meant to suspect it was her, and that it was her way of preparing him for what she needed to tell him.
In truth she expected him to be angry, at least a little. But the symbolism of the dance might strike a cord… at least offering an ‘in’ into the news about the baby. She was still afraid, but she had to admit that Thelios was a relatively understanding man, and that he wouldn’t be too irritated.
Certainly she planned to explain that the inconvenience to him would be minimal, and that she could take measures to prevent any future pregnancy. She wasn’t going to mention the other option. In fact, it wasn’t an option. It just wasn’t. Not even if he was livid. As much as she wanted him to be happy with her… she wanted to protect her child more. Infinitely more.
She paused once more at the second door, running a protective hand over the slightly curved plane of her stomach. It seemed hardly possible that a child, right then, was growing inside of her. What a strange thought that was.
Finally shaking off the revery, she reminded herself that there wasn’t much time to prepare before he’d return. She was still electric from the nerves and the excitement so she would have to recover herself quickly.
She opened the door to the inner chamber only to find that there was, in fact, no time at all.
Thelios was sitting on a couch and he raised his head as she entered. Her breath caught in her throat and lodged itself there along with a panicked squeak which never quite made it past her lips. The sensation might have passed if his own lips weren’t set so tightly and thinly… or his eyes narrowed so very sharply.
He had something in his hand, and he tossed it toward her. She reached for it instinctively and caught it against her stomach with an awkward fumble. She tore her eyes from his long enough to look down and see the pomegranate cradled in her fingers.
“Care to explain?” He ground out in a growl she felt all the way to the bottoms of her feet.
He didn’t bother waiting for her to speak, but rose and strode toward her, his expression dark. In that second all her well laid plans went up in smoke, burnt up in his fiery gaze, until they were nothing more than dry ash on her tongue. She could practically taste it.
He loomed over her, filling her vision.
“What the hell did you think you were doing?”
“I…” she hesitated, unsure now of what to say, and more than a little frightened by his tone.
“Well?”
“I was going to tell you…” She finally managed in a low, hoarse whisper.
“Really? Going to. When?”
“Tonight.”
“Tonight… conveniently after the fact, don’t you think?”