Page 64 of Queen of Shadows and Roses
‘Can I see it?’
He nodded again. ‘We can practice your shadow magic there.’ I grinned up at him, and my breath caught in my lungs. His eyes… they looked close to combusting. ‘I would give the godsdamned world to taste you again, Persephone.’ His voice was thick with desire.
‘My blood?’ I squeaked. He shook his head, gaze locked on mine as he slipped off his jacket. ‘Oh.’ I squeaked again, because apparently,squeaking was my new normal.
Right. Taste me. Gods above, every coherent thought just… evaporated. I swallowed hard. I’d tried it once—with Matt—and it had been awkward as hell. Not exactly my thing. I’d been too self-conscious, too mortified to even pretend to enjoy it.
‘May I… taste you?’ Shadows gathered in his voice. The air left my lungs in an unsteady rush, and a pulse of desire lit up my veins. Good gods, what was wrong with me? But I knew the answer. Fervent attraction. A haze of throbbing hormones wrapped around me like a fine mist, obliterating all rational thought.
I gave a slight nod, and as his eyes travelled from my face to the tips of my toes, I inhaled sharply. His stare scorched me. My nipples tingled and hardened, and a sensual thrill sent goosebumps across my flesh. He eyed me like he wanted to feast on me as he backed me up against the wall, using one of his knees to spread my legs. Liquid heat spread through my veins, licking at me, and lust pulsed wildly. The still-functioning part of my brain fired off warnings. This was insanity.
‘I’m not sure if—’ At my words, he stilled, but as my gaze met his, my heart stopped. The feel of his rock-hard chest pressing against my breasts caused my brain to short-circuit. The clothesbetween us were no match for the heat that rolled off him or the heat clawing within me. The breath I inhaled rattled through me, full of his earthy scent. A tight coil throbbed low in my belly, causing my breasts to ache, and I drew in a deep breath as my lips parted on a breathy gasp.
A small smile twitched on his lips. ‘Should I stop?’ His dark, brooding voice caressed my ear, and I shook my head. He grasped my wrists, securing them with one hand above my head. Gently brushing my hair from my face, he lifted my chin with a finger, our eyes locking. His look was one of desire—like he wanted to consume me—and a torrent of heat coursed between my thighs, making my legs feel like butter. I was so, so wet. He tenderly cupped my face with his free hand and brushed his mouth against mine, his tongue parting my lips. He kissed me like a man starved. The kiss deepened until we were drowning in each other, and as his tongue licked against mine, my insides liquified.
He picked me up in one swift motion, making me yelp, and carried me to the bed. Hades leaned over me on his elbows. His eyes swirled more gold than blue. His lips and teeth grazed over my neck, making me groan softly, then further down to my breasts. He sucked at my taut nipples through the fabric of the dress, and my back arched as I jolted. Gods, I was overcome with need… desire. My brain tripped and I moaned.
He worked his way over my stomach and slipped the hem of my dress up to my waist, hesitating as he traced the small tattoo on my hip. ‘Beautiful,’ he murmured at the entwined red and purple roses.
When he slid his fingertips under my lace panties, dragging them down my legs, my heart rate spiked. Once they were off, he placed them into his pocket. Taking my thighs in his large hands, he pushed them apart. I wanted to feel awkward and self-conscious, but I couldn’t. As his eyes swirled almost pure gold,I felt want—yearning. Pulses of sublime heat settled in my core, and I arched my hips and whimpered, causing him to growl low in his throat. At the sound, a dipping motion churned in my belly as desire, hot and dark, swelled through me.Neverin my life had I been so viscerally affected by anything.
He stared between my spread thighs. ‘Exquisite,’ he uttered darkly as his fangs elongated. His lips brushed the inside of my upper thigh, rasping his stubble across my sensitive flesh, causing me to gasp in response.He kissed, nipped, and scraped my flesh with his lips and fangs, making his way upwards. My breath came in quick pants. When his tongue touched my centre and then danced over my clit, I gasped. ‘Gods, you’re so delectably wet,’ he hummed against my sex. ‘You taste like spring flowers,’ he purred as his hot, broad tongue danced against me again, flicking, lapping, and sucking, and as he pushed a finger into my tight, wet entrance, curling it and hitting a sensitive spot, I whimpered. He froze as his eyes met mine. ‘Am I hurting you?’
‘No—no. Please don’t stop,’ I gasped.
A wicked smile carved into his lips, and as he dropped his head again, that indecent tongue made mesquirmwith pleasure, my fingers curling into the bed covers. When his finger thrust and twisted, I bucked my hips. He held me down with a big hand on my abdomen, letting out a throaty laugh. Feeling myself tighten in little flutters around him, he groaned, ‘Fuck,Persephone, you’re so tight.’ His hot breath caressed my core, and then his tongue was back in long, broad strokes, licking up my slick centre; when he sucked that sensitive nub, I jerked and whimpered again, trying to buck.
‘You’re so delicious, Persephone,’ he uttered as his fangs grazed the throbbing bundle of nerves.
‘I—oh,’ I panted as he sucked again.
I started to lose focus and closed my eyes. The pressure in me built, and when ripples of pleasure began to cascade through me, I moaned, ‘Oh. Oh,gods,yes.’ I pressed myself deeper into him. Intense rapture enveloped me like ceaseless waves, wracking my body as I felt myself tighten so hard it was almost painful, and I released a guttural moan.Still, he continued that erotic dance with his tongue until I saw stars and broke into a thousand quivering pieces. Hades gave one longer lick, making me twitch, and withdrew his finger.
‘You don’t know how much I’ve longed to do that.’ His eyes were half-mast, smouldering with lust.
He worked his way back to me and smiled, his eyes never leaving mine. When he put his finger in his mouth and sucked, dark desire ripped through me, and when our lips met again, I tasted myself on his tongue, making me groan low in my throat. The kiss was deep, our tongues gliding over each other. His mouth moved to my lower lip, sucking before his tongue delved deeper into my mouth. I felt the hard length of his erection against my thigh and the feeling of his cock, along with the intensity of coming like a freaking rocket—that kiss tipped me over the edge, igniting a longing within me, a need for something more profound, more palpable. I wanted him—all of him. I needed him to fuck me.
‘I—I want you,’ I breathed as my hips lifted to him, and he stiffened. The next second, he stood a few feet from the bed.
He chuckled darkly as he picked up his jacket, but frustration marked his features. ‘I’m going to fuck you so hard, you won’t remember your name. But not today.’ Then he vanished into the aether, leaving me alone.
A messy swell of emotions threatened to drown me. Why had he left me? One minute, he was everything I’d ever dreamed of; the next, he was back to being the arrogant king of shadows anddarkness. What complicated corner of the universe did he come from?
A scalding tide of tears choked my throat; then anger spread through me like an out-of-control wildfire. I clung to the anger like an old blanket; I was not going to cry over fucking Hades. I jumped up, rearranging my dress as I hiss-growled and stamped my feet. I was going to find Hades, and when I did, gods help him.
Breathless and pantless, I stormed out of the room, ready to eviscerate the bastard.
I stomped down the steps, and luckily, people were too focused on their conversations or conquests to even notice me—well, apart from Charon and Thanatos, who stood together with Hermes and Dionysus, all staring in my direction.Great gods, where’s a hole in the ground when you need one?Thanatos winked and smiled, but at my returning glare, the smile melted from his face.
‘Persephone!’ Simmy trotted over to me, studying my expression. ‘What’s wrong? You look like you want to punch someone in the nuts.’ I bared my teeth in response. ‘Did you have sex with Hades? You did have sex with him. Has he got a big?—’
‘Stop. You’re gross.’
‘Well? Tell me why you’re so cranky.’
I stopped, placing my hands on my hips and narrowing my eyes. ‘I wanted to, but…’ I gritted my teeth. ‘I practically begged him to fuck me, but he… Gods, I’m such an idiot.’
‘He said no?’
