Page 92 of A Touch of Chaos

It was the moment he had waited for, yet he did not close the distance between them. All he could do was stare at his wife, his goddess, his queen. She was so beautiful, his heart ached when he looked at her. He had spent most of his time in the labyrinth thinking only of her, conjuring her likeness from memory, and still he had not done her justice. He could never capture her truth—the unbearable beauty of her soul, the thing that called to him loudest, the thing that said they were made for each other.

Her eyes never wavered from his but seemed to burn brighter, fueled by the heat rising between them.

“We should bathe,” she said. Her voice was low and shivered up his back like silk.

He wasn’t going to argue. They were covered in mud and blood. Besides, he wanted to see her strip down to nothing.

“As you wish, darling,” he said.

He considered carrying her through the castle to the baths as both a way to announce his return and alsocommunicate that they were not to be disturbed, but he decided that would take too long and teleported instead.

When they arrived, he was immediately overwhelmed by the smell of eucalyptus and lavender. The humid heat stuck to his skin and warmed his sore muscles. He hadn’t really paid much attention to how he was feeling other than the ache between his thighs.

They were still divided by that same distance, but it felt far more tangible than before, thick and heavy with desire.

Persephone held his gaze as she pulled off her tank top and shimmied out of her pants. She straightened and stood naked before him. He had seen her this way so many times, and he would never get enough of it.

“What are you waiting for?” she asked before she turned and entered the pool.

He watched her as she dove beneath the surface and pulled off what remained of his tattered clothes, wading into the water just as she emerged, her long hair plastered to her head.

He did the same and swam toward her. When he rose to the surface, he was inches from her.

Still, he did not take her into his arms, did not seal the space between them, save for his cock, which was so full and heavy, it pressed into her stomach.

“Everyone missed you,” Persephone said.

He did not expect to feel such a strong wave of emotion at her words, but he thought maybe it had something to do with the way she was looking at him. Like something inside her had been broken in the time he had been gone and she was trying to hide it. Then he saw it. Her mouth quivered, and her eyes welled withtears, and she shook her head as if she were telling them to go away but they came anyway.

“It was horrible without you,” she said.

He dragged her into his arms and held her tight, hoping that at some point, she wouldn’t tremble anymore.

“I am so sorry,” he said.

“I should be sorry,” she said, pulling away, brushing at the tears on her face. “I should have never left—”

He reached for her, his fingers closing around her wrists. “No, Persephone,” he said, shaking his head. “You knew exactly what I would do. I would have never let you leave with Theseus, never fulfilled that fucking bargain. I should have never made it in the first place.”

She placed her hands on either side of his face, fingers combing through his wet beard, and after a moment, she giggled.

He liked the sound. He wanted more.

“Hecate is right. You do need to shave.”

“You don’t like it?” he asked. “I was thinking about keeping it.”

“Hades.” She was not amused.

“Do you think it makes me look older?”

She pressed her palms against his cheeks and spoke very close to his face. “I think it makes you ticklish.”

“Does it?” he asked, nuzzling her neck. “Is this ticklish?”

She shivered. “Hades.”

This time, she breathed his name, and he wasn’t sure if it was a warning or a desperate invitation, but she didn’t push him away. She locked her fingers in his hair as he kissed up her neck and along her jaw.

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