Page 41 of The Queen & the King

My lips twitch. “Of course you did.” I blink, the response coming before I’d even thought about it. It was as if the words had come from another part of me.

Hades pulls me in closer, my body flush with his. “Of course I did?” he asks, a hint of humor in his voice.

I move my hands to his shoulders and finally allow myself to look up at him. His pupils have almost completely swallowed the sapphire blue. “I thought you wanted to swim,” I say, my breaths shallow, nerves and desire battling it out, waging an inner war.

His answering smirk makes the throbbing between my legs intensify. “I just wanted you naked.”

Fuck, I’m in trouble.

I try to swallow my nerves, determined to be brave with this man. “I’m still wearing underwear,” I reply, my gaze locked on his.

Hades’ smirk deepens, and he lifts his hand, the moonlight reflecting off his claws. I feel my panties slide down my leg.

“There’s some dangerous fish around here.” His smile is menacing, devious, and fucking perfect.

My stomach flutters as I think about being bare against him. Hades lowers his hand and grabs my thighs, lifting me to wrapmy legs around him. My pussy is pressed against him, and it takes everything in me to not rub against him, aching for some relief.

“Still… wearing my bra…” I manage to stammer out, wanting to be completely naked and pressed against him.

Hades’ claws flash again, and I feel my bra release before he yanks it off, discarding it into the ocean. “Are you?” he asks playfully, but his need is so transparent. I feel his hardness against my ass, his shaft grazing my pussy very softly.

The ache. Gods. The ache. I need relief.

“Hades…”

Twenty-Six

Hades

THEPHOSPHORESCENCETHATGLOWSas we wade deeper into the water is only a poor imitation of the limitless sky in the Underworld. It is the one Persephone continues to see every time she dreams. The one I stare at when I’m alone in the palace, gazing out the window. I pull her tighter to me, our bodies fitting together as if made for each other.

Her eyes are glowing, the blue making the phosphorescence pale in comparison. I drop my glamour again, letting my wings stretch out, feeling them slice through the water. The beauty of not having feathers is that my wings are just as suited for the water as they are for the air. However, my wings are far from my mind at the moment. Right now, my thoughts are consumed with how my body fits against my wife. Dreams are always a pale comparison to reality. With Persephone, there is no fucking comparison.

“Can I?” she asks, staring at my wings. The tremble in her voice reveals her emotions as much as the reaction of her body.

“You don’t have to ask,” I answer, moving my wings closer to her. “No part of me is off limits to you.”

My eyes wander over her as I tense in anticipation of her touch. Her body is hidden beneath the dark water. Or it would be if darkness was not my calling. My eyes cut through the darkness as easily as I can summon shadows to my hand. Not that I will mention that to her. This version of Persephone would blush and hide with virginal modesty. The Persephone I knew… well, she’d grab my cock and demand I fuck her as repayment.

I shiver as she reaches out and drags her fingers down the leathery surface of my wing. My eyelids flutter close as she continues to touch my wings. I remember when they first started to grow, how much I hated them. The Underworld was trying to turn me into a monstrous version of myself, a beast with wings, horns, fangs, and a tail. I didn’t understand that the Underworld was finally accepting me as king, marking me as its ruler, and giving me weapons even when I’m unarmed. It was protecting me by making my form shift, preparing me for the war to come.

Persephone rakes her nails down my wing, and I groan, my eyes flashing open and connecting with hers. Her pupils have expanded and completely dwarfed any color left.

I should kiss her.

She slams her lips to mine before I can move. Oh gods, her taste. She tastes like pomegranates.How had I gone so long without it? The unfiltered, undiluted taste of my wife, my queen? Dreams were a pale imitation, but I’d forgotten how pale. I deepen the kiss, allowing her tongue to dance with mine. I sink my teeth into her lower lip, growling into her mouth. She moans and tunnels her fingers into my hair, gripping me tight and clinging to me like one of her vines.

I pull back and pant, trying to regain the breath she stole. “You keep kissing me like that, and I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

This isn’tmyPersephone. I need to remember that. I can’t scare her off by going too fast or being too forward. She’sshy. It’s odd even to think of the word in relation to her.

“We’re naked in the sea, demon,” she whispers huskily. “You think you’re currently responsible for your actions?”

Demon?

My muscles lock, and I scan her dark eyes. “What did you just call me?”

For a moment, there’s a flicker of confidence in her eyes, a glimpse of my queen, but a breath later, it’s gone. I can’t let her answer. I can’t hear her confusion about why she would call me demon. It hurts too much. So I slam my lips back to hers, losing myself in her mouth. Shifting, I rub my cock against her pussy, the heat of her a welcoming beacon. Fuck, I miss being inside her. I crave the clarity I feel when our bodies are joined as one.

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