Page 68 of Queen of Shadows and Roses
Was he daft? ‘I’m in the bathtub, in case you’re blind.’
‘Oh, I’m not blind.’ His voice turned husky as his eyes grazed my body before returning to my face. I glanced down; the bubbles were all but gone. I caught his eyes again, and the expression he wore—a muscle ticked in his jaw, and his eyes swirled with gold. Annoyingly, my body went straight back into take-me-now-land.
Damn him.
‘Fine,’ I gritted out in annoyance at myself and stood. He went completely rigid.
I fought not to cover myself and let him look his fill. The intensity of his perusal ignited my flesh, making my skin flame and warmth pool between my legs.
Double damn him.
‘Towel,’ I said, holding out my hand. He continued to stare at me, and I smirked to myself.Here’s what you could have had, jackass. ‘Hades!’ He jumped, his eyes finally meeting mine. ‘Towel.’ Shaking his head, he grabbed a towel and placed it in my outstretched hand. Electricity buzzed over my skin as his fingers brushed against mine. I glanced down and raised my brows at the long, hard length pressing against his leather trousers.
‘I’ll wait outside.’ He swung around and closed the bathroom door. I dried off and slipped into my robe, basking in the satisfaction of his reaction to me again. Then I hesitated. No one had ever seen me completely naked, not even poor Matt, but I enjoyed it. I relished Hades perusing my body as if it were a feast to be savoured.
Gods, perhaps I was turning into a harlot?
When I came out of the bathroom, Hades had gone. I took the time to dress. I popped on a pair of shorts, a crop top, and my Nike trainers. I applied a little makeup, mainly to conceal the dark circles under my eyes, and I was finishing braiding my hair when Hades reappeared from his suite, his hair damp as if he’d just showered.
He gave me a tentative smile as I lifted my eyes to his in the mirror, but I glowered at him. ‘You’re angry with me,’ he said.
‘No, of course I’m not!’ I deadpanned.
‘You’re not?’
Was this man for real? My hands flew out in exasperation. ‘Yes, I’m fucking furious with you, you arrogant, idiotic prick,’ I snapped as I secured the final pin in my braid and turned to face him. His jaw tightened, and his nostrils flared. ‘You know, your mood swings are giving me whiplash.’ Those eyes met mineagain, and he cocked his head. ‘One minute you’re being nice’—and kissing me. Damn it, I wanted him to kiss me—‘and the next, you’re the arrogant Mr Silent and Grumpy.’
He released a sad sigh. ‘The last thing I want to be around you is grumpy.’
‘Your emotions are so hard to discern. I need a codebreaker.’He stared at me blankly.Ugh, men. He turned to look out of the window at the meadow. ‘Like, one minute we’re… you know.’ I flushed like a fever spreading across my skin. ‘Then you’re rejecting me.’
His head snapped around. ‘I’ll never reject you.’
‘But you did.’ My voice wavered as tears clogged my throat, and I wanted to smack myself in the face for showing such weakness.
‘Persephone,’ he said softly as he turned. ‘If I fuck you’—His eyes locked onto mine, and the breath froze in my lungs—‘Your choice of leaving me will be relegated to when Tartarus freezes over. I shall never let you go.’ He swallowed hard. ‘I can’t do that to you… I can't do what Demeter did by taking away your choice.’
‘Oh,’ I muttered in a dazed stupor. I shook my head to try to clear my confusion. ‘Then why… why did you kidnap me?’
He froze for a heartbeat, scrubbing the palm of his hand along his jaw; then he continued with his stone-strong confidence. ‘I was hoping if I kept you for three months’—he swallowed—‘you would fall back in love with me.’
I blinked. Blinked again. Then blinked some more. The burn and sting of emotions became a knot I could barely swallow. I felt as if I’d been sucked into a vacuum, aware but confused and disoriented. Long seconds passed before I spoke again, his beautiful eyes swirling with ether, never leaving my face. ‘You want me to love you?’ I croaked. He nodded.Could I ever love a heartless god?
‘Do you want me to leave?’
‘No,’ I blurted, feeling somewhat elated as a happy little seedling took root in my chest. I shook my head. I was sure it was the accursed bond messing with me.
I hesitated; this man was an anomaly. Everything I wanted to despise: first and foremost, he was an arrogant freaking god. Yet I’d seen behind the armour, glimpsed something more. Coming from such a fucked-up family—Zeus being top tosser of them all—must have taken its toll.
No family is perfect, I know, but his was as screwed up as they come. I saw his flaws, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities, and still, that fuzzy knot in my chest swelled when I glanced back up at his face.
I loosed a breath and spoke. ‘Your interpersonal skills are worse than mine, great god of the dead.’ Again, he lowered his brows. ‘Honestly you’re doing a dreadful job of trying to make me love you. You need to chill out… ditch the arrogant asshole routine. You know… Less brooding. More personality.’
He grimaced, jaw clenching, and gods help me… even though he acted like a complete dick most of the time, something warm welled in my chest. Was it the bond blindsiding me? Or… was it love? I shoved the thought aside.
‘Take me to my garden.’ His lips curved, and that damned dimple made my heart skip. I edged closer, slipped my small fingers into his, and he tensed. ‘Lead the way,’ I said as I squeezed his hand. He stared down at me, confusion clouding his features—then turned, guiding me forward.
After walking down countless wide hallways, we reached another immense arched black door. Hades pushed it open, revealing a vast terrace with broad stone steps descending into my garden. My very dead garden.
