Greetings, my readers! I know many of you were wondering what happened to this story or when it would be updated, and I am pleased to announce that it is now in book form! Worthy of Love has finally been finished as a novel, with editing along with some new scenes to be bigger and better than it was before!

It is now available in paperback, Kindle, and Nook format. Since Fanfiction/FictionPress does not allow the posting of URLs in stories, I can not post the direct links, but they are easy to find.

My author name is M.M. Kin, and the book retains the same title, Worthy of Love, and is easily found at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Included in this chapter is part of a scene that will be in the book and had not been part of the original manuscript, so it will be a treat even for people who read this story in its first incarnation. Enjoy!

o0o

Hephaistos looked down at his creation, remembering Aphrodite's words for him as she bade him to perform this favor for her. It was not the first time he'd created a gift for his wife, and it was at the times when he came to her with such offerings that she was generally at her kindest when it came to interactions with her husband.

It was one small comfort in their marriage, for both of them. Some of the Cyclopes were proficient at creating baubles and clever ornaments, but Hephaistos had a streak of creativity that enabled him to create truly remarkable pieces.

He ran his fingers along the fine gold and silver work. Since doves were Aphrodite's favorite animals, he had wrought a pair out of silver and pearls, with blue topaz for their eyes. The pair joined at the front with latches cleverly hidden under the wings to hold the girdle around the waist of its wearer.

In these times, a girdle was typically little more than a sash or a thong wrapped around the waist to help hold a woman's clothing in place. Hephaistos had gone beyond that, making a work of art out of an item of clothing people generally gave little thought to. The band that would go around Aphrodite's waist was the width of his three of his fingers, the dimensions made to accentuate the slimness of her middle and the graceful downward flare of her hips.

His first thought, when pondering ideas for the girdle's design, was to do an ocean-themed design for the band, but given that doves made for the centerpiece, he'd instead gone with a design that was more reminiscent to the clouds of the sky than the waves of water. With a careful amalgamation of gold, silver, and copper, it recalled to mind the way clouds looked on a fine early morning, the amber and rosy colors of dawn suffusing the pale heavenly bodies.

He'd spent so long laboring over this, from conception, to the final polish. He ran his fingers along one of the doves, recalling Aphrodite's words.

Create something for me that is fit for a Queen, husband of mine, No mere bauble do I need, but something that will draw eyes to me and my beauty. Let other women pale before me. A wave of her hand, and she'd dismissed him after these words, hinting satisfaction should he accomplish this deed.

Well, Aphrodite was about to get what she had asked for. She wanted attention? Her remarkable girdle, hugging her lithe middle, would draw both admiration and jealousy. Even the Cyclopes, his closest companions, did not know the full scope of his project as he'd insisted on privacy whenever he turned his attention to this special project.

Regarding his creation with one last glance that had more than a touch of pride in it, he closed the carved and polished wooden box he'd created to house the item. His skill with wood was considerable as well, and the top of the container was inlaid with mother-of-pearl in the design of a dove with its wings gracefully spread outward in flight.