Page 43 of The Queen & the King

MY BODY FEELS COMPLETELY BONELESS AS HE CARRIES ME FARTHER UP THE BEACH,holding me as if I weigh nothing, his steps light and graceful. His legs are obviously not feeling like jelly. Mine wouldn’t hold me if I tried to stand on them.

I briefly feel offended that he clearly is not as affected by what just happened as I am. But one look at his expression corrects my assumption. His eyes are still dark, the barest glimmer of the deep blue rimming the obsidian black of his pupils, and his gaze is filled with such desire, affection, need, longing, and perhaps… No. It can’t be.

I search his handsome face for what feels like the millionth time since he emerged from the shadows. Every time I take a moment to appreciate his features, I find something completely new to fawn over. This time, it’s the perfect line of his jaw. I can’t help but imagine running my tongue along his skin, tasting him.

My core aches again, not only from his size and the ferocity with which he fucked me but also with a deep craving for more. I feel my cheeks heat with the realization of what we have just done. I have had sex before. Once. It was with a servant, andwhile I don’t regret it, there was none of the passion I had just experienced with Hades. What if he thinks less of me because of what happened?

Shit.

“I’m…” I pause. “I’m not usually a sex -on -the -first-date kinda girl.” My voice shakes, and I silently curse. I’m not sure why because I’m not feeling any shame. I feel empowered and sated, with an overwhelming desire to do it again.

Hades smirks. “Is it really our first date?”

My lips twitch, and I quirk a brow at him. “You consider the dreams dates?”

Hades drops to his knees and lays me down on the sand, his already hardening cock brushing against my swollen pussy. My body weeps, eager for him to stretch me again.

“Yes,” he growls, hovering over me, his fingers drawing maddening circles on the underside of my thigh, leaving a trail of goosebumps in his wake.

My heart flutters when I look up at him, my whole body tingling for him. “I’ve never felt like this before,” I blurt out. It feels as if something within me is trying to break through a barrier, eager to be free and return to me something lost and precious.

“Like what, my spring?” Hades asks. His smile makes my breath catch in my throat. He is so fucking beautiful. He leans down, brushing his lips over mine, my mind fogging with my desire for him.

“I’m…” I pause and pull back slightly, needing the distance to obtain the clarity to say something of this magnitude without being blindsided by lust. This isn’t me. It isn’t in my nature to make big declarations, but a voice deep within me screams to admit this to him. It feels like if I don’t vocalize this right now, my heart will implode, an internal Armageddon.

I cup his cheek, locking my gaze with his. “I’m falling for you.” My voice is surprisingly steady, even as I make my admission. There is something so freeing about speaking my truth when my life consists of so many lies. This is a truth I can hold on to because it is not only mine. It belongs to him as well.

Hades’ eyes sparkle with emotion, and he closes them after a moment, turning his head to kiss my palm. Even that small affectionate action sends a jolt of need through me.

“And I for you,” he replies. His voice shakes ever so slightly, but I catch it.

It’s not that I don’t believe him. Even though his voice trembles on the words, it is not in a way that makes me think there is any hint of deception. After years of living with my mother, deception is something I have become an expert in deciphering. No, his voice shook with… sorrow and maybe desperation.

“You are?” I ask.

Hades opens his eyes and meets my gaze once more. He nods. “Does that surprise you?”

“We hardly know each other.” Those words feel like a lie when they leave my mouth. It is true that we hardly know each other, but at the same time, it feels like no one has ever known me as well as Hades does. No one has ever understood me like he does. “But I’m drawn to you. Does that sound crazy?” I continue. “It feels like I’ve known you forever.”

Hades kisses my palm again. “It doesn’t sound crazy. Ask me something. Get to know me.”

I think for a moment. “Okay. Well, you’re obviously a god. What of?” I ask.

Hades smiles. “The God of the Dead, amongst other things. I’m also king of my realm.”

I lift my eyebrows in surprise, but they furrow a moment later as Eros’s voice echoes in my head, a memory of our conversation.

“God of the Dead,” I repeat, looking away as I think back to the meeting with Eros. “What is the opposite of life if not death?”I whisper, repeating his words.

He can’t have meant Hades. But…

“Two halves of existence,” Hades replies, his eyes searching mine. “Life is special because it ends.”

My gaze snaps back to his. “Okay. Don’t freak out.”

Hades raises a brow, shifting to support himself on his elbows. “No promises.”

“Remember how I told you that Eros visited?”

---