Page 186 of A Touch of Chaos

When he entered the room, he found Persephone lying on her side, her back to the door. He thought she might be asleep, but as he approached the bed, she rolled to face him.

He could not help staring. She was beautiful. Her skin was rosy and her hair mussed. She looked almost dreamy, as though she had just been roused from sleep.

“Did I wake you?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I cannot remember sleeping.”

Probably because she was so exhausted.

He sat on the edge of the bed and let his hand rest on her hip. She was warm beneath his hand, and he had to resist the urge to lie down beside her, because if he did, he would not get up again until morning.

“Where did you go?” she asked.

“Nowhere yet,” he said. “I was speaking with Ilias. I have asked him to summon a few contacts. We need toget a sense of what is happening in the world, and the best way is through Iniquity.”

Persephone sat up, letting her blankets fall away. She did not seem to care that she was completely naked, and while he appreciated the view, she made it very hard to concentrate on anything other than his growing erection.

“Can I come?” she asked.

Hades smirked. “I am usually inside you when you ask me that.”

She shifted onto her knees. The position made her taller, and her breasts were level with his face.

“If you say no, then you may never come inside me again.”

The humorous light in Hades’s eyes died, and he lifted a brow, challenging her threat. “As if you could go a day without my pleasure.”

“Do not underestimate me, my lord.”

“As it is, neither of us will have to find out,” he said, pulling her into his lap. He sucked one of her nipples into his mouth. She cried out, her hands gripping his face. He chuckled darkly as he released her. “I wasn’t going to say no. Though I would prefer if you slept.”

“You know I will not sleep,” she said.

This time, her teeth and tongue grazed his ear. He shuddered, his hands tightening on her waist.

“No,” he said and pulled away to meet her gaze. “And if I were to leave you, I would return to find all my whiskey gone.”

“Someone has to drink it,” she said, giving him a knowing tap on his nose.

He didn’t think she had noticed, but of course, she was right. He had not had a drink since returning fromthe labyrinth, and he didn’t know why. It was not as if he hadn’t tried, but he hesitated each time he brought the glass to his lips.

He felt ridiculous.

It was not as if alcohol affected him, so why did he feel so haunted every time he picked up the glass?

Persephone slipped closer and kissed him.

“I am not laughing at you,” she whispered.

“I know,” he said, his fingers fanning out across her waist. “And I know I should celebrate my abstinence, but I fear what’s coming next.”

“What is coming?” she asked. Her voice was breathy but confused.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Something worse. Anger maybe.”

It was always that way—when one thing ended, another took its place.

“Hades,” she whispered. “Where is this coming from?”

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