Page 106 of The Queen & the King

“You, me, and the dog,” I cup her cheek softly. “Till the end.”

She searches my eyes, looking for something, those eyes clear of any lingering marks of Gaia’s power. “You don’t want kids?”

I mull over the idea in my head. That boy I saw soaring above the battlefield was so clear. Was it one of the other timelinesflashing through as my father tried to bring them to us? Or was it a vision of the future I wanted and the son we’d have one day?

“Do you want them?”

She shrugs. “I might. In the future.”

I stroke her cheek with my thumb, watching her eyes and trying to read her thoughts. I know she’s considering the idea of children… children with me. Can she see him as clearly as I did? A boy with feathered wings, the arches black but fading to white at the primaries.

She shifts to look into my eyes, the serious nature of the conversation settling over us. Our future is hanging in the balance.

“So… you’re not saying for sure you don’t?” she asks, her voice hesitant.

I press my forehead to hers. “I haven’t in the past,” I admit. “But… I could in the future.”

She presses her lips to mine. “Why not in the past?”

Where to start?

“I don’t think I’ll be a good father,” I whisper, nuzzling her nose, saying the deep fear out loud. How could I be a good father? What example do I have?

“I think you’re wrong,” she says, her brow furrowing stubbornly, her voice full of the confidence and surety I lack. “You’re an incredible husband and an incredible father to Berry.” She makes it sound so simple.

“My brothers aren’t good fathers.” I stroke her cheek. If it were just Zeus, I could dismiss it as Zeus being who he is, but Poseidon is, at best, an absent parent. It’s in my genes.

“They’re not good husbands either,” she scoffs, kissing me hard as if proving a point.

“I could be a bad husband. We haven’t exactly had an easy time.”

She laughs. “You couldn’t be a bad husband, ever.”

I tilt my head, raising a brow at her. “How do you know?”

She tunnels her fingers into my hair, forcing my eyes to hers. “Because I know you, Hades Plutus. Our very souls are joined.”

My chest aches at the way she leaves no room for doubt. Her faith and confidence in me is humbling.

“For now, it’s just you, me, and the dog,” I whisper, pressing my lips to hers. “I love you.”

She presses her body against me more insistently. “I missed you.”

I groan, my cock already stirring. “And I missed you too.”

Sixty-Two

Persephone

IMISSED HIM SO MUCH, BUT IT'S ALMOST LIKE I COULDN'Tcomprehend how much until this moment. If he weren’t lying right beside me, I swear I would die from longing for him. My body is so aware of him, every single place it meets his. This has always been the case, but the ache has never been so keen as it feels now. I look at him, his sapphire eyes gazing back at me. I can’t stop myself from touching him, kissing him. Gods. I’m obsessed.

I press my lips to his, my hand wandering down his body and wrapping around his already hard cock. I squeeze and nuzzle against his neck.

He groans and arches into my touch. “You need me again, my spring?”

“Well, it’s just that we were apart for so long.” I squeeze his cock again. “And now we’re back in our bed, and I?—”

Hades rolls on top of me, his hands grabbing my thighs and pulling them up. I bend my knees at his hips, opening myself for him. He shifts, positioning his cock so the underside is pressed against me, the tip rubbing against my clit with every slow thrust.

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