Page 40 of Tempted By Hades

She wanted to lose her virginity to Hades.

His hesitation and consideration only solidified her decision. It was time anyway—how long was she planning to remain a virgin?

Perhaps her time in the Underworld could be well spent on this project.

Chapter 8

Hades

Hades entered his office, and to his displeasure, Apollo was already there, a mischievous grin plastered on his face.

“What brings you here?” Hades asked, his voice tightening with irritation.

Apollo had a way of just strolling into the Underworld whenever he liked. How he did it, Hades hadn’t the faintest idea, but no matter what security measures he had put in place, the god of the sun still found ways to sneak in. He suspected Apollo had either found a secret route that had been created even before Hades took over or had been bribing the guards. Anyway, it didn’t matter as he stopped trying to figure it out about eight thousand years ago.

Apollo, undeterred by Hades’s unfriendly demeanor, practically bounced on his feet. “What’s this I hear? There’s a new goddess in the Underworld? Goddess of Spring, they say, the daughter of Demeter. Knowing that stick in the mud, she’s probably trying to get away from her mother’s overbearing influence.”

News traveled fast, apparently. Or that damned god just had his ear to the ground when it came to gossip.“Persephone is not here to escape anyone,” Hades sighed, rolling his eyes at Apollo’s enthusiasm. “She’s here of her own accord.”

Apollo’s excitement faltered, replaced by a puzzled expression. “Persephone? Eh? Is that her name?”

“You didn’t know that?” Hades raised an eyebrow, suppressing a sigh. “Clearly, you need to catch up on your divine gossip, Apollo.”

Apollo leaned in, intrigued. “Tell me more. What’s the story with this chick?”

“She is not a chick,” he corrected. “And you will treat her with respect.”

“Oh, so that means I get to meet her, right?” He waggled his eyebrows at him.

“No.”

“Spoilsport.” He put on a false pout. “So, tell me more.”

Hades wondered how much power he would have to expend to fling the god out of his realm and decided it simply wasn’t worth it. But then again, Apollo was like a dog with a bone, and he would pester Hades until he got what he wanted. With a resigned sigh, he gave Apollo a quick rundown of everything that happened—sans the real reason he needed Persephone, of course.

“Oh, so she was the chi—er, girl”—he corrected when Hades glared at him— “you were moping about a couple days back. Glad to see you got back in her good graces, but things sure are progressing a little quick, eh, seeing as you already have her moved in.”

“It’s not like that. I told you, she had a row with her mother, and I provided a sanctuary for her.” And in the process, brought him closer to his goal of getting revenge and claiming what was rightfully his.

Though he should be celebrating this fact, the thought of it, however, carved out a hollow pit in his stomach. Despite knowing each other only a few days, Persephone had trusted him enough to spend three months in his realm. And now he schemed to marry her. The very thought of deceiving her even further made that pit grow cavernous.

But he couldn’t stop now. Not when he was so close, and the ceremony was weeks away.

“Hello?” Apollo waved a hand at his face. “Are you in there? Lost in your thoughts, bro?”

He snorted. “Underworld business,” he supplied. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”

“Not really.” Apollo planted his elbows on the table and then plopped his chin on his palms. “So? What are your plans for her? Are you gonna pull out all the stops and bring out that wonderful charming side of yours to try and seduce her? I mean, how long has it been since you’ve been laid?—”

“Out!” Hades shot to his feet, hands tightly fisted at his sides. “Get out, now!”

“Whoa! This is a bit much, bro!” Apollo raised his hands in defense. “So sensitive.” He sniffed the air indignantly. “I know when I’m not wanted.”

“Really?”

“Really!” He huffed. “Fine, I’ll see you when you’re in a better mood.” And with that, the god of the sun finally left his office.

Hades sank back down into his chair. He had lost his temper with Apollo many times in the past, but not quite like this. His comment had hit much too close to the mark. Despite his own desire for Persephone, it was the one line he would not cross in this whole affair. He would marry her, make her his queen, but he would not sleep with her, at least not until she knew the entire truth.

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