She leaned closer; her breath caressed his lips. The tension between their bodies was electric.
“Indulge in me,” she whispered. “I can handle you.”
He crushed her to him, thrusting his tongue into her mouth, kissing her until she couldn’t breathe, until her eyes watered and her chest hurt and just when she thought she couldn’t handle it anymore, he broke from her.
As she drew in ragged breaths, his hands skimmed under her night shirt, guiding the fabric over her head. When she was naked, his hands pressed into every part of her—her back and breasts and ass and he kissed her mouth and sucked her neck and nipples. The sweet sensation and biting pleasure had her dragging her nails down his back, and then he entered her—slipping one finger inside then the other—working her so fast and so hard she didn’t recognize the sounds coming out of her mouth.
“Please,” she chanted. “Please, please, please.”
“Please what?” he asked.
Her answer was guttural cry of release. She wasn’t recovered when he deposited her on the bed and her legs were so numb, they hung open, ready for him. Hades sat back on his heels before her, stroking himself.
“Can you handle me?” He asked.
“Yes,” she breathed. In the next second he grasped her ass, tilted her hips, and slammed into her, moving at a pace that spoke of his desperation to come. Once again, his hands were everywhere—gripping her thighs, kneading her breasts—now and then he bent to taste her tongue or lick the sweat from her skin and when they came, Persephone was sure everyone in the Underworld heard their cries of ecstasy.
Hades collapsed upon her, ragged and wet and heavy.
Persephone wrapped her legs around him and her hands moved to his hair, smoothing it from his face. When she caught her breath, she spoke, her throat ached from the cries Hades had torn from her throat.
“You’re mine. Of course, I can handle you.”
It was what she’d wanted to say earlier, when he’d asked, but she hadn’t had enough air to do so. Hades pulled away to look at her, his gaze penetrated her, straight to the soul.
This, she thought, was the most vulnerable they’d ever been with one another.
“I never thought I’d thank the Fates for anything they gave me, but you—you were worth all of it.”
“All of what?”
“The suffering.”
CHAPTER VIII – A CONCESSION
Persephone woke in a panic.
It wasn’t spurred by a dream, but by the feeling that she had overslept. She shot up from bed, her gaze falling to Hades who stood before the fireplace. After the intensity with which he’d made love to her last night, she had expected him to be asleep beside her. Finding him awake and fully dressed made her chest feel a little hallow.
Still, he was beautiful and there was something different in his expression, a vulnerability that came with the words he’d spoken last night.
He was afraid.
And he had every right to be because someone out there had incapacitated a god.
She knew that fear was not for himself, though—it was for her and all she could think was that perhaps if she were stronger—if she could call upon her power like Hades, he wouldn’t have to worry.
“Did you sleep at all?” she asked.
“No.”
She frowned. She had not heard him stir. Had he risen shortly after she had fallen asleep?
“Nightmare?” he asked.
“No. I…thought I overslept.”
“Hmm.”
He threw back his drink, and set it aside, approaching her. She craned her neck, holding his gaze, as he brushed her cheek with his fingers.
“Why didn’t you sleep?” she asked.
“I didn’t feel like sleeping,” he said.
She arched a brow. “I thought you would be exhausted.”
He chuckled and spoke gently. “I didn’t say I wasn’t tired.”
His thumb lingered on her mouth, and Persephone drew it between her lips, sucking hard. Hades’ inhaled, nostrils flaring, and his other hand tangled into her hair at the base of her neck.
It was a sign—a hint—that he had not fully released the darkness he tried to keep at bay last night, or perhaps he had refilled his well as she slept. Either way, she saw the same hint of violence, the same need for unabashed passion as last night.
His eyes were on her lips, and the tension between them dampened the space between her legs.
“Why are you holding back?” she whispered.
“Oh, darling, if you only knew.”
“I’d like to.” She let the sheet drop from around her breasts. There was a beat of silence, a moment where Hades was still as stone, but he did not bite—instead he swallowed hard and said, “I will keep that in mind. For now, I’d like you to get dressed. I have a surprise for you.”
“What could be more of a surprise than what’s going on in that head of yours?”
He offered a breathy laugh and kissed her nose. “Dress. I will wait for you.”
Persephone tracked him as he headed for the doors, calling out to him as he reached them.
“You don’t have to wait outside.”
“Yes, I do.”
She didn’t question him—just let him slip out as she left the bed and dressed for the day. On a typical July day, she’d wear a summer dress to work, something bright and patterned but her mother’s storm raging above called for warmer clothes. She picked a long sleeve black shirt, grey skirt, and tights. She paired it with heels and her warmest woolen jacket. When she stepped into the hallway, Hades was waiting, frowning.
“What?” she asked, looking down at her outfit.
“I’m trying to assess how long it will take me to undress you.”
“Isn’t that why you stepped out of the room?” she asked.
The corner of his mouth lifted. “I’m merely planning ahead.”
She warmed—was he making a promise to deliver on his earlier thoughts? He held out his hand for her to take and then pulled her flush against him before his magic surrounded them.
They manifested in what appeared to be a waiting room. There was an emerald couch over which two modern art prints hung and a gold and glass coffee table. The floor was white marble, and a wall of glass overlooked a familiar street—she recognized it was Konstantine Street—the same one she’d walked down with Lexa when she’d first visited Alexandra Tower.
A rush of emotion burned her eyes at the thought of her best friend. She cleared her throat and asked, “Why are we at Alexandria Tower?”
The tower was another building owned by Hades out of which The Cypress Foundation, Hades philanthropic business, operated. Persephone had learned from Lexa that Hades had multiple charities—ones that supported animals and women and those who had lost. She remembered feeling embarrassed that she had not known of his multiple endeavors, and when she’d confronted him, he’d explained that he had been so used to existing alone, he never thought to speak about how he was involved in the Upperworld.
Later, she would discover his world extended beyond the Underworld and his philanthropy, but also to the underbelly of New Greece. She was well-aware she did not even understand the gravity of what Hades controlled, and that thought made her shiver.