Page 34 of Winning Back Persephone

"A god can hope."

"Clearly successfully." I got down from my stool and went around behind him, smoothing my hands down his chest and kissing his cheek.

He moved to meet my lips, kissing me gently. "I'm not going to apologise for that," he murmured.

"I wouldn't want you to."

He spun his stool around, breaking contact for a moment. "I will do everything I can to help you succeed, Persephone. But don't expect me to keep up with you."

"I won't. And I'm sorry I did. I just wish I'd realised sooner what it actually meant for us to be a team."

"If you know now, then there's nothing we have to worry about," he responded. "In another thousand years, we won't even think about this two years apart. It'll just be that time we learned more about each other."

"And how much I missed you," I said, running my hand over his face. "I don't want to miss you like that again."

"I hope you don't have to."

"Me too." I leaned in and kissed him deeply.

His hand landed on my waist, and I could feel the heat of it through the thin robe I was wearing.

"Hades," I murmured against his lips.

"Yes?"

"Do you have any work to do today?"

"Nothing that can't wait." He drew a hand down my back. "Do you?"

"No. I mean, yes. But it can wait too."

"Wow, I didn't expect to hear that from you," he teased. "So what do you want to do instead of working?" he asked.

"You."

He chuckled. "Very well. You'll hear no complaints here," he responded, getting to his feet and scooping me up into his arms.

I laughed, feeling lighter than I had in a while and eager to feel like this more.

Because now I was home. And it wasn't about the house, or the dog, or even the man. It was the fact that this was where I could be myself. Ambition, weaknesses, and all.

Epilogue

PERSEPHONE

The car pulled up outside Hades' new club, and he opened the door. He got out of the car and offered me his hand. The moment our hands touched, a thrill went through me, and I got another reminder of how well we fit together and of how much I wanted to be with him.

I stepped out of the car and straightened up my dress, laughing as soon as I saw the name of the club. "The Pomegranate?"

"Calling itPersephoneseemed to be a little on the nose," he responded. "Especially considering we were on a break at the time. People might have thought I was pining after you."

"I hate to break it to you, but I've heard from multiple sources that people thought we were both pining for each other."

"Considering it was true, I don't think we can really blame them for that," he pointed out. "So, do you want a tour?"

"Is it pretty much like the club in the god realm?"

"Absolutely. You don't fix what isn't broken," he said. "But you'll like it."

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