Page 13 of Hades

He unfurled his arms, gripped her by her upper arms and eased her back. His blue gaze held hers, glittering with need—not a physical desire but an emotional one. There was that look she had been aching to see on his face, one that eclipsed the way Thanatos had gazed at Calindria.

It warmed Persephone right down to her marrow, until not a trace of the cold that had plagued her the last few days remained.

Whenever he looked at her like this, as if she was the centre of his universe, as if she was as vital as the breath in his lungs or the beat in his chest, she fell in love with him all over again.

Her beautiful, dark god.

She reached her hands up and framed his face with her palms, needing to keep those eyes on hers. She couldn’t remember the last time they had been alone like this, or he had let her see beyond the veil to his true feelings. His blue irises took on a troubled edge, red sparks igniting in them, and she could sense he wanted to look away from her. She held firm, not letting him.

“Talk to me about it, Hades,” she whispered, filling her voice with how deeply she desired that so he would hear it as well as see it in her eyes. When she was sure he wouldn’t look away, she dropped her hands to his shoulders and skimmed them down his bare arms. His skin was cool beneath her touch and the feel of it and the contours of his firm muscles sent a shiver through her, a ripple of pleasure she tried to ignore as she focused on making him understand something. “I am part of this. I want to share this burden with you. You have been so very distant… and I don’t want you to shut me out.”

His expression grew fierce and she tensed as his hands were suddenly on her face, cupping her cheeks. He bent his head towards her and pressed their foreheads together, and husked, “Never. I would never shut you out. I cannot. As you well know. You are my heart, Persephone. My soul.”

She framed his face again and leaned towards him as she closed her eyes, feeling the truth of his words. “As you are mine, Hades.”

He pushed her back and stared at her, emotions swirling in his eyes, flickers of warmth and light, and love that stole her breath.

On a low growl, he swept her back into his arms and claimed her mouth.

Chapter 4

The moment his lips touched hers, Hades was lost. Her warmth enveloped him, the sweetness of her taste tearing down his strength, and he angled his head and deepened the kiss, needing more of her.

All of her.

His left hand dropped to the small of her back and his right one gripped her nape as he tugged her closer, bringing the full length of their bodies into contact. Rather than being scared by the ferocity of his touch as he pinned her to him, crushing her against his body, Persephone came alive. She moaned and threaded her fingers into his black hair, tangling them so deep it felt as if she wanted to meld with him and become a part of him.

The gods only knew he wanted to become a part of her. He wanted to sink into her body and soul and leave this world for a while, taking and giving her pleasure. This was more than just a distraction they both needed. It was more than a mere rekindling of their passion. It was reinforcing the deep connection they had always shared, awakening their souls and soothing their hearts.

It was vital.

Persephone’s right hand drifted lower, her fingertips grazing his neck in a way that sent a shiver rolling down his spine, and then she was gripping his shoulder, kneading his muscles. All the tension that had been building inside him over the last few months seemed to unravel as she kept up the pressure, working her way down his arm as her other hand came into play to work the muscles of his right arm in the same way. He groaned as she stroked her hands back up his arms to his shoulders and began rubbing them.

If she wanted to help him relieve some of the pressure, there were better ways of doing it. As much as he loved her touch, he craved something else more. He seized her upper arms, lifted her off the ground and twisted with her.

A sultry moan burst from her lips, bathing his as her spine met one of the square oak posts of the stable.

Her attempts to massage the tension from his body were forgotten as he deepened the kiss, stroking her tongue with his. She plunged her fingers back into his hair and dragged him to her again, her tongue coming to play with his, to madden him with her sweetness.

Her taste was more addictive than ambrosia.

Made him thirst for her in a way that had him teetering on the brink, in danger of losing control. He fiercely gripped the reins of his lust, refusing to let it run wild. Not this time. He needed more than mindless pleasure from Persephone this time. He needed to feel the depth of her love, needed to drown in her and forget the darkness looming on the horizon.

He pinned her to the post and gentled the kiss, refusing to let her sway him with the sinful flicks of her tongue over his lips or how her nails scored his scalp. With every tender sweep of his mouth over hers, she slowly calmed, until she was brushing her lips against his, their breaths mingling and becoming one.

He savoured the calm. The warmth.

The love he could feel in this moment.

A moment where it was only them.

Cerberus whined, reminding Hades that he wasn’t as alone with his wife as he thought, or wanted. He opened his eyes and slid a look at his pet without breaking away from Persephone’s lips, and the great three-headed beast turned away and trotted to the far side of his paddock.

Satisfied that he was now as alone with Persephone as he could get, Hades feathered his fingers down her bare arm, savouring the softness of her creamy skin. She sighed at the touch, a breathy little sound that spoke to him of contentment. She would sigh like that again when he was done with her. It had been far too long since they had been alone, and far too long since he had been able to put things to the back of his mind enough that he could lose himself in her.

He had been a terrible husband.

He could see that now.

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