Page 106 of Queen of the Underworld

He tried to take it from her. She pushed to her feet and was six feet from him before he could grab it. She smiled teasingly at him as he growled and lifted the crown above her and placed it on her head.

His growl tapered off.

A dark, bewitching look filled his eyes.

“Does it suit me?” She pulled a thoughtful face.

Hades teleported to her, appearing in a swirl of black smoke, and his arms were around her before she could move. Rather than stealing his crown back, he gazed down at her, his expression fierce, but holding a hint of tenderness.

“If you want a crown, my love, you only need to ask,” he husked, the pleased growl in his lush baritone sending a shiver down her spine as he drew her closer still. He feathered his fingers down her cheek, and brushed his thumb over her lower lip, teasing her mouth open as his gaze lowered to it, growing hooded. “You only need to accept me as your husband.”

Her husband.

She shivered a little, finding she liked the idea of that.

Hades as her husband.

Not a male who sought to rule or own her, but an equal who would stand by her side, who looked as if his very future hinged upon her accepting him. She would make him happy if she did. It was right there in his eyes as they filled with love and a dash of hope.

He brought his mouth close to hers and whispered the most tempting words she had ever heard against her lips.

“Say the word, Persephone, and you will be my queen.”

Chapter 30

The darkness was a creeping rot inside Hades, slowly poisoning his mind.

He kept pace beside Persephone, remaining close to her, within the sphere of her beautiful light as they strolled around his temple. Ten days had passed since their chariot ride, and Hades had never felt happier.

He was also sure he had never felt so possessive, or protective of someone.

Persephone’s emerald eyes were bright as she admired the exterior of his temple, her gaze running over the towering onyx columns and the golden braziers of azure fire. There was a bounce in her step that would have told him of her happiness, and excitement, if her wide smile hadn’t shouted it at him. That smile—that excitement—was the sole reason he had agreed to take her to his temple today.

He had avoided bringing her here, despite her frequent requests to see it, for good reason. That reason was building inside him now, slowly devouring pieces of the light she had restored inside him these past few weeks. With each masculine voice that reached his ears, the rot spread faster—devoured faster.

Her gaze landed on him.

And lingered.

“Hades?” Her voice was as soft as the kiss of summer sun as she studied his face, a hint of concern in it and the look she gave him.

“I am fine,” he muttered.

The same response he had given her several times already.

He was not fine.

Since their moment on the chariot, unease had been building inside him, and he grew dark whenever a male so much as walked near Persephone, even when she was tucked safely within his chambers and the male in question was beyond the walls. He couldn’t bear another man being near her. He wanted her all to himself.

The darkness wanted her all to himself.

Both sides of him were in agreement on something at last.

No male would look upon his queen and live.

Persephone stepped in front of him, a crinkle forming between her fine scarlet eyebrows as she formed a beautiful blockade that forced him to stop too. She gently shook her head, lifted her hand and brushed her fingers across his cheek in a maddening caress.

“We could walk the orchard instead.” While her tone was light and sincere, he could see in her eyes she didn’t want to walk the orchard.

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