Page 48 of Seduced

Almost as if…

As if her brother was there, ordering her to obey.

And she did obey. In her fear and shock, it was all she could do. It was her default reaction.

Fear and obedience. They went hand in hand.

In Dante’s room, in the hot bath he had ordered for her aching legs, and afterwards, talking to his beautiful dancer friend, Rania, she had almost felt like herself. She had made jokes, watching Dante’s eyes sparkle with intelligence and laughter, she had spoken out her opinions to Rania and she had not been afraid or restrained.

But now…It was all gone.

Shewas gone.

She did not know where she had disappeared to; all she knew was that her own self appeared to have vanished. And in its place, was an obedient pet.

She glanced at Hades—Alexei. He was all frustration and cheekbones.

Dammit.

Don’t swear.

“Right,” Hades said, barely sparing her a glance as he headed towards the enormous, marble mantelpiece. An orange-red fire was roaring under it, and Hades made a point of bending his tall frame to stir it theatrically.

He spoke without turning to face her. And this was what he said:

“Seduce me, if you please.”

Poppy couldn’t breathe; her chest constricted inwards, the wrong way. Speaking was out of the question, but it now seemed as if existing was equally in question.

“Well?” Hades’ voice was cold, relentless. He crossed his arms, a sneer on his mouth. “Get on with it.”

Poppy opened her mouth to reply, but nothing happened.

She tried to take a step backwards and her knees nearly buckled.

Right. She could not escape, it seemed.

She tried to smooth down her dress, Rania’s dress actually, to salvage what she could of her dignity, but her hands were shaking so badly they wouldn’t obey her. It was useless.

“Stop. Wait.”

A hand was on hers, staying the frantic movement of her fingers.

His hand.

His hand on hers. His skin felt smooth and cool against hers, and his fingers were so long they engulfed her hand completely. Her shaking still wouldn’t stop.

“Wait, no,” he said again. “Don’t be so afraid.”

“You said you didn’t like to be touched,” her voice said.

Oh, look at that. She could speak again; who knew?

“Trust me,” Hades replied, his hand still on hers, his skin suddenly burning hot, “I’m suffering enough just looking at you. I have no wish to expire.”

His touch momentarily forgotten, she looked up at him. His eyes were on hers, but they were no longer dark, bottomless pools. Now they were sparkling, full of light, theirblue shining like water. She got momentarily dizzy, thinking that he was a different man.

“I won’t kill you,” she breathed.

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