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The Charm of Aphrodite

By: Sannion



Derick stood in front of his altar, carefully inscribing the last of the designs on the piece of copper foil. He checked his work against the illustration in the book, and smiled when he saw that it was perfect. He took the vial of rose-oil and anointed the charm, reciting the accompanying text, which ended, "Most holy and revered Goddess, Laughter-loving Aphrodite, I beseech you, grant me the object of my affection. By your most holy name PASIPHAESSA KYTHEREIA I ask this." He brought the charm up to his lips, kissed it, and then began to string it with a white silk chord. He tied it around his neck, and then tucked the little amulet underneath his shirt. The amulet was warm as it touched his skin, and immediately he began to feel a pleasant stirring in his stomach and some dizziness. 

He was almost giddy with excitement as he extinguished the candles on his altar, and gathered up his things. He threw on his old coat, and paused to lock his door, then he rushed down the stairs and burst out onto the street. Lost in his own world, he raced towards Orion's Belt, crossing streets and cutting down alleys to get there sooner. He had been to the little Occult shop so many times that he knew the way without even having to think about it. Which was good, because his mind was racing. It was going to happen. It was really going to happen! He almost couldn't believe it, and then he felt the charm against his chest, and thought of Autumn, and his heart began to race and visions filled his head, and there was no longer any room for his doubts and insecurities.

Derick had been going to Orion's Belt for years now, to get incense and Occult supplies, rare books and copies of the local Pagan papers. But ever since Autumn had started working there, his visits had grown more frequent. She was incredibly beautiful, but that wasn't it. It was her personality that really drew him in. She was very knowledgeable, especially concerning Ceremonial Magic and the Golden Dawn, but unlike most students of the Occult, she wasn't a complete stick in the mud, and had a wonderfully twisted sense of humor. He loved to watch her as she handled the little Goth kids who came in to oooh and awe over the latest Silver RavenWolf books. She would often try to get them to read more advanced stuff, like Crowley or Regardie or even the Farrars, and if that failed, she'd berate them mercilessly.

Of course they often didn't catch her barbs, but Derick did, and it was always an effort to restrain himself from laughing aloud. They had talked several times, and were even on a first name basis, but Derick had never been able to express his growing feelings for Autumn. Every time he approached her to ask her out for coffee or something, his words got caught in his throat, and he'd start to blush. He would just grab a pack of incense from the counter and hurriedly pay for it so that he could escape the store and learn to breathe again. He now had more incense then he knew what to do with, yet every week - and sometimes twice a week - he would come back to Orion's Belt.

Derick might have continued on indefinitely in this hopeless manner had he not stumbled across the Charm of Aphrodite in one of his books on Greek magic. Something about the spell called out to him. Most love spells and rituals were pretty hokey - yet there was something about this one that felt different some how. As soon as he read the text, he knew that he had to create the amulet. And so he collected all of the materials, went through the rigorous disciplines that the spell suggested, and today he was going to test it out, on the woman he loved.

Derick stopped outside Orion's Belt to gather himself. He looked at his reflection in the storefront window, running his hands through his thick hair, trying to comb down the unruly tufts that never seemed to lay straight. Derick didn't have the kind of face that gets noticed in a crowd, but he was handsome, with large, sensitive eyes and a mouth that naturally fell into a smile. He was of average height and build, with a slight belly from too much time spent in front of the computer or reading books. He was dressed in black jeans and a pentagram T-shirt, underneath his long grey coat. Derick took a deep breath and opened the door, letting a young woman in a flowing gypsy skirt pass.

"Derick!" A voice called out to him as he stepped inside the shop. "How are you doing, man?"

It was Autumn, and his heart caught in his throat. He swallowed hard and waved to her, managing to mumble something coherent after a couple tries. 

"Good to hear," she replied with a smile, and went back to helping a guy with a hexagram tattooed on his bald head sift through a box of quartz crystals.

Derick went back to the new book section, and absently scanned the titles. He didn't see anything he needed, but then he hadn't come here for new books. Surreptitiously, he watched Autumn as she waited on various customers.

Autumn looked positively elfin. She was a small woman, coming no higher than Derick's shoulders, but every inch of her was compressed energy, bursting at the seam. She had a round, cherubic face, with large sea-green almond eyes, a pixie nose, and full red lips she was constantly moistening. There was no controlling the mane of wild dishwater blond curls that fell down her back, so that she was often pushing ringlets off her face, which she would do with a slight smile when she caught Derick watching her. Her eyebrow and lip were pierced, and she had almost a dozen tiny loops in her ears. She had a tangle of necklaces and charms around her neck, and wore a tight black t-shirt that read Fuck Your God in bright red letters and came short to reveal her tanned midriff and pierced belly button. Her black jeans hung low on her rounded hips, ending in rainbow laced combat boots that had a series of tiny white pentagrams painted on them. Her every line, her every movement, her every breath, and word, and laugh, and thought stirred something deep within Derick. The whole store, hell, the whole world receded into the background as he watched her.

When Autumn had finished selling some ditzy teen her first tarot deck - Robin Wood, of course - she sidled up to Derick, and asked, her voice caressing him like silk, "Find anything interesting?"

"Uhm, yeah, this," Derick said, fumbling to grab the nearest book. 

Autumn arched a brow, and smiled at him. "Oh really?"

Derick looked down at the glossy, high quality trade paperback he held in his hands, and groaned. It was Silver RavenWolf's New Aeon Scottish Rite Masonry. 

"I wouldn't have pegged you as a Silver kind of guy." She chuckled. 

He shuddered and put the book back, wiping his hands on his jeans. "What the hell will they think of next? 'The Complete Guide to Tantra for Teens?'"

"Oh, that came in last week. We have it back behind the counter." Autumn slid her fingers in her belt loops, and began rocking in place.

"Seriously?"

"Hell no, Llewellyn does have some business ethics."

Derick narrowed his brow.

"Okay, the idiots probably haven't thought of it yet. I'll go halfies on it with you. We can split the proceeds," she stopped rocking and her grin broadened, "and the research."

Derick felt his face turn bright red, and he mumbled, "I'd like that."

Autumn leaned in closer. She smelled of the store's thick incense, ivory soap, and rose oil. "Would you?" She asked, her breath warm in his ear.

He almost died then. She was so close, and his heart was beating so fast, and he felt so good - he could have easily passed beyond in that very instant, and he wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between this moment and Elysium. Instead, he swallowed hard, and found his voice. "Yeah, I would."

"Why's that?" Autumn asked, pulling back a bit. Her slender hand went up, and she absently played with one of the many charms she wore around her neck.

Derick wanted to make some excuse, or better yet, to push past her and run out of the store, and never come back. But good Occult stores are hard to come by, and he wanted her so badly his whole body ached. He clasped the amulet around his own neck, and prayed silently to Aphrodite. Then he muttered, "Well, I kind of like you." 

A look of surprise briefly flashed across her face, and then she bit her lower lip, and regained control. "I like you too," she smiled.

Derick gripped the charm harder between his fingers, and hoped with his whole being that it would give him the strength, and the boldness - or stupidity - to say what he needed to, what he had longed to say for so long. "I don't think you understand. I really, really like you. You're the main reason I've been coming in here lately. I come just to talk to you."

"I was beginning to wonder why you needed that much incense." She grinned, dropping her hands to her hips, where she tugged on her belt loops again.

"Well, yeah. I didn't want you to think I was some freaky guy stalking you. So I'd always buy something - and well, on a student's budget, I couldn't exactly afford a new book every time. Even the incense was getting a tad expensive - so I had to say something, if only for my finances."

Autumn blushed, and reached out, grabbing his hands in hers. Her skin was soft, her hands warm. They sent an electric thrill through him, and he had to remind himself to breathe. "I'm so glad you finally said something. Every time you come in, I get all gooey inside. You turn me into a blushing, laughing little girl. I hate that. My boss teases me constantly about how I am around you, and she said that if I didn't make a move, she was going to have to do something drastic to get us together." 

Autumn leaned up and kissed him. He had imagined this moment a thousand times before. None of them came close to what it was actually like. As her lips touched his, he felt a warmth spread out from his mouth and his belly at the same time. His skin tingled, and time stopped. Finally, breathless, they broke the kiss and Derick stared down into the green pools of her eyes. He lost himself in their depths, and was happy to be lost.

"Wow," she whispered, "you're a good kisser."

Derick turned red again, and stammered, "So are you." 

"Uhm .... would you like to go somewhere? Like, now?"

Derick blinked, and looked around. "Don't you have ... uh .... work?"

"I can get Maddie to cover for me. Especially when she sees I'm leaving with you. That is ... uh .... if you want to." She looked up at him, chewing on her lower lip, toying with her necklaces.

"I've never wanted anything so much in my life." 

Autumn grinned, and let out a "Yay!" She grabbed his hand, and pulled him along after her as she made her way to the counter. Maddie, a big red-haired woman who wore colorful African print dresses and gaudy bauble jewelry, was sitting behind the counter, sorting beads. 

"Maddie dear," Autumn smiled up at her boss, batting her lashes. "Can I have the afternoon off?"

Maddie looked from Autumn to the young man with the dopey grin standing behind her, and she spread out her hands. "I don't know. What am I supposed to do if it gets busy?"

"Aww, come on. It's a Monday afternoon. This place is dead in the evenings. We both know it. Don't be a bitch. I've got me a man to ravish."

Maddie laughed uproariously at that. She couldn't help it. The young man had just turned a purplish red color, and looked like he was trying to shrink in upon himself. "Fine, fine, you wanton harlot. Leave me here all alone. See if I care."

Autumn leaned across the counter and kissed the woman. "You're the best," she said, as Maddie handed her her coat and purse from behind the counter, and then she was dragging Derick out of the store. 

Derick couldn't believe how well the Charm of Aphrodite was working! Not only had it given him the boldness necessary to express his feelings for Autumn, but in a few short moments, they had gone from talking, to her dragging him out of the store to ravish him. Even in his wildest dreams he hadn't imagined the Charm working that well.

They stood for a moment outside, smiling at each other. The wind teased Autumn's hair, but she didn't raise a hand to stop it. Cars drove by. People shuffled past them on the busy sidewalk, but they were completely oblivious. A dove flew overhead, cooing and Derick shook his head, as if awakening from a dream.

"Where would you like to go?" He dug through his pockets and pulled out a crumpled $5 bill. He held it out between them, shrugging apologetically.

"How about my place?" Autumn tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Or your place."

"Uhm ... uh .... that would be .... fine." 

"I'm sorry. Am I being too forward? I'm not usually like this, really. I don't normally invite strange guys back to my place five minutes after I meet them. But you ... you're kind of different. I mean, we already know each other, sort of - and anyway, it feels so right. I'm feeling this major connection with you. And I .... " her eyes lowered, innocently ".... I can't believe how badly I want you."

Derick felt momentary pangs of guilt, thinking how he had manipulated her with the Charm, but then he remembered the brush of her lips against his, and how much he had longed for this moment, and they subsided. He took her hands, and kissed them, saying, "I feel the same way. Let's go to your place. My apartment is a dump."

She giggled, "So's mine." And then they started down the street.

***

Autumn's apartment wasn't a dump, but it was small. It was on the second of five floors, with a stunning view of the backside of another low-rent apartment building. The walls were paper thin, there were bars on all the windows, and the kitchen, dining room, and living room were all one room, with a bathroom and bedroom down a narrow hall. Basically, it was an exact replica of Derick's cheap apartment. She took his coat, and hung it next to hers on the coat rack, then kicked off her boots, and told him to take a seat and make himself comfortable, she'd make them some tea. 

Derick sat on the couch, and slumped down towards the middle. Ah, just like his couch! He glanced over to the cinder block and 2 x 4 book shelves, and smiled at all of the familiar titles. Crowley, Regardie, Fortune, Grant, Knight, Shah, the Farrars, Jung, Wilson, Hutton, a bunch of Medieval Grimoire reprints, the Legematon, the Zohar, the cheesy Avon copy of the Necronomicon, as well as books on philosophy and history and mythology and poetry. He came to a shelf that contained material on the Greeks, and he practically beamed. There was Kerenyi, Cumont, Burkert, Graf, Harrison, Smith, and no Graves or Frazer in sight! All of the classics were there too - Hesiod, Homer, Ovid, Plutarch, Seneca, Plato, Herodotos, Plotinus, the Orphic hymns, and bunches more, all in the black and purple of Penguin or the bright green of Loeb Classics. On her coffee table was the Greek Magical Papyri. Derick leaned back into the old couch and smiled. He was in heaven. 

Derick's eyes fluttered open when Rufus Wainright came on a couple moments later, his voice like silk and clove cigarettes as it filled the tiny apartment.

"I hope you don't mind, I just love Rufus. I can change it if you like." Autumn said, carrying out two Orion's Belt mugs full of steaming tea.

Derick took his mug, and sipped it, then smiled. "Please don't. That is the sexiest man alive. His cover of Complainte de la Butte in Moulin Rouge was just ... oh ....." He closed his eyes in mock ecstasy.

"No way!" She giggled, sliding in next to him on the couch. "I never would have pegged you as a Rufus man."

"Look who's talking. With the piercings, and Goth clothes, I would have figured you listen to Marilyn Manson."

"Oh, I do. Just not when I'm trying to seduce a beautiful man." 

"Is that what you're doing now? I hadn't noticed."

"Well then, I had better try harder." 

She pressed her body against his, and kissed him, her mouth tasting strongly of green tea and peppermint. Derick unsteadily put his mug back on the table, and then returned the kiss, his hands exploring her body. His fingers traced up the small of her back, as she ground her body into his, and sucked on his tongue. He pushed her shirt up in the back, fumbling with her bra, unable to get it to unfasten. She pulled away for a moment, took off her shirt, and threw it across the room. Then she smiled down at him, and said, "The fasten is in the front, babe."

His hands closed on her hips, and slid up her torso until he reached the lacy black bra. After a couple moments, he unhooked it, releasing her breasts. They were small, and round, with dark blush colored nipples. Derick kissed between her breasts, and then moved to either gentle swell, kissing and licking and giving them soft nibbles with his teeth. He closed his lips around her nipples, sucking them into his mouth, as he flicked it with his tongue. Her hands went to his head, running through his hair, and gripping a handful when he sucked on her nipple. He leaned her back against the couch, and then kissed his way down her stomach, stopping at her belly to flick the tiny ring with his tongue. He tugged on it gently, then kissed her belly button, and continued down to her hips. He unfastened her tight jeans, then went back up to kiss her mouth, causing her to moan softly. Her jeans were molded to her delicious curves, and they didn't come off easily. But Derick was persistent, and managed to tug them down, and then off her legs. She just lay there, smiling at him, and giggling as he grunted and strained. When he had them off, he saw that she was wearing thin black panties to match the bra, and that she had a small tattoo right above her mons veneris. It was a twelve-point star, with an ivy-leaf in the center. 

Derick smiled. "Is that ..... "

Autumn nodded, biting her lip. "The star to represent the Twelve Olympians, the ivy to represent Dionysos, my Patron."

Derick leaned down, and kissed the tattoo, saying, "He is my Patron as well." He licked around the top of the band, then growled low in his throat as he took them in his teeth, and slowly peeled the panties off, stopping periodically to blow across her thighs. When he had them off, he knelt between her legs, the panties still in his teeth, and growled "Io Bacchus!" He gave a toss of his head, flinging them across the room, and then kissed up her legs and thighs until he reached her sex. She was lovely there, with a soft down - neatly trimmed - and full labia that begged to be sucked on, like plump orange wedges. Derick drew in the wonderful scent of her, and then lowered his head, his tongue flicking along the edges of her lips, getting his first taste of her. She had a sweetness to her sex, very feint, but definitely there. His tongue traced her slit a couple times, drawing shivers from her, and then he slid inside her. A gasp escaped her mouth as his long, flat tongue worked within her, teasing the walls of her sex, filling her. He was very adept at it, though he had mostly read about it, having embarrassingly little real-world experience with cunnilingus. He knew to alternate plunges and flicks, to swirl his tongue around. To pay attention to how her body reacted. If she wiggled, or her breath caught when he teased a certain area, he spent more time there. He found her clit without much difficulty, pushing back the hood, and rubbing the head with his tongue. He flicked and teased it, and then closed his lips around it. Autumn bucked her hips when he did that, grinding her pelvis into his mouth. Her hands, which had been rubbing his back and shoulders, began to claw his back, and she felt her orgasm build up in her stomach. So did Derick, and he worked harder, lapping at the swollen clit with renewed vigor. She came, her thighs closing around his head to keep him there, as her juices poured out around his mouth. Her body shook, and she let out little yelps and mewls, and finally full-throated cries. When she was done, she released his head, and panted for a moment, then smiled up at him and said, "Thank you," He licked her juices from his lips, and said, "No, thank you." And then she rose up to show her appreciation of him.


The Charm of Aphrodite



She grabbed the bottom of his shirt, and lifted it up over his head, trapping his arms. Then she began kissing his chest, following the trail of dark curls down his belly. She undid his belt, and then began sliding his jeans down, with greater ease than when he had undressed her. She laughed when his Pikachu boxers came into sight.

"What, he's cute. You have a problem with Pikachu?" He asked, mock-pouting.

"Wow. Not at all. It just takes a real man to wear Pokemon on his cock."

He laughed, but stopped when she leaned down, and kissed his hairy thighs under the hem of the boxers. She moved up, giving soft kisses to all of the little smiling yellow rats on his shorts, until she came to the large one in the center. Him she kissed longer, licking him, and sucking the fabric into her mouth. Derick immediately grew hard as her mouth closed around his shaft through the fabric. Autumn slipped her hands through the waist band, and pulled them down, releasing his swollen member. It wasn't large, measuring only about five inches or so, but it was rather thick, probably a good two or three inches round. The shaft had a long, thick vein running along the side, and there was a thick mushroom cap. It was a very beautiful penis, Autumn thought, as she leaned forward, and licked along the throbbing vein, up to the glans. Derick shivered as her lips wrapped around the head, and she started taking him into her mouth. Because of it's size, she was easily able to go all the way down on it, which she did several times, closing her mouth tightly on it as she drew the penis out. She completely released it several times, going down to the base of the shaft, licking, kissing, and nibbling her way back up to the head. When she was down at the base, she would lick his balls, even taking them into her mouth a couple times, then going back to kissing the shaft. Needless to say, she had him very hard, and dripping in no time. Just when he started to shutter, and felt his balls tingle in anticipation of orgasm, she let his cock slide out of her mouth, and gripped the base of it tightly with her fingers, waiting for the feeling to subside. 

"Not so fast, hon. I have lots of plans for you yet." She whispered in his ear, then kissed him deeply. She got up, still holding him by his cock, and led him back to her room. The walls were black, with masks of Dionysos and Satyrs hanging on the wall. A large bed with red silk sheets took up most of the room, though there was a bureau, an altar, a clothes hamper, and other things Derick didn't notice at the time. All he could think about was his hard cock, gripped by her small, soft hand, and then the cool silk sheets, as she pushed him back on the bed. 

She crawled up on the bed with him, her body pressed against his as she reached into the bed-side dresser. She fished out a small plastic packet and then knelt on the bed beside him, pushing apart his hairy legs. She tore the packet open with her teeth, and gripped his shaft in her hand, stroking him absently as she fit the condom on the tip of his penis. Then she closed her lips around the purple ridge, and went down on him, applying the condom with her mouth. When she reached the base, she released him, smiling up at Derick as she made sure there was room at the tip. Then she licked along the shaft one last time, and then crawled up on him, straddling his hips. She lifted herself up, and then impaled herself on his shaft, lowering herself slowly, soft moans escaping as his thickness stretched her walls. After a couple moments, he was all the way inside her. She paused, accommodating his girth, and then she raised herself up, and began to ride his cock. 

Through half-lidded eyes, Derick watched her. She looked lovely, sucking on her lower lip, toying with the ring there. Her cheeks took on color as she rode his cock, hey eyes fluttering whenever his shaft grazed her clitoris. He watched as her chest rose and fell, the nubs of her nipples hardening as her breasts swayed. He watched the muscles of her taut stomach shift with the effort of raising and lowering herself on his member. His hands rose up and gripped the swell of her hips, rubbing and caressing her body, moving up to tug on the ring in her belly. He loved the sight of her pussy swallowing his cock, and then releasing it, the purple length standing out against her tan, and his pale flesh. 

Autumn rode him like that for a good ten or fifteen minutes, until the muscles in her thighs and belly began to tire. Then she shifted positions, rolling over so that she was on her back, and his body covered her. He slipt out of her when she did this, but with the next thrust, he was back inside her. Autumn's fingers trailed up and down his back, rubbing and clawing him, drawing blood when he unexpectedly thrust into her deeper than she had expected. She brought her hands down, and cupped his ass, squeezing his cheeks hard as she tried to drive him into her further. Derick began kissing her neck and shoulder, whispering sweet words in her ear, as his cock claimed her body. 

"Oh baby .... I'm ... I'm cumming," he finally growled, licking her ear. She wrapped her legs around his waist, arching up to meet his thrusts, accepting the last of his passionate lunges, feeling his cock twitch as he came within her, bringing on her own wild climax. He stayed within her for several moments, panting, breathless, their mixed sweat dripping from his body. And then he got up, and went into the bathroom to dispose of the condom. 

Crawling back into bed with her, he held her close to his body, wrapping her in his strong arms. She made contended noises, and snuggled back against him. Derick leaned down to kiss her upturned shoulder, and found one of her necklaces separated from the others. It was a piece of worked copper, smelling of rose-oil, and he immediately recognized the inscriptions. A broad smile spread across his lips. She had cast the same spell on him!

Autumn turned over to look up at him, and noticed his amulet. She reached up and brought it to her lips, and kissed it, and both of them recited the closing lines of the spell: "Thank you, O gracious Aphrodite, most beautiful and blessed Goddess, for you have accomplished all things, and brought much happiness to my heart."