Page 20 of Hades

“So why did you bother going to her this time?”

Alastor’s question has me balling my fists to try and curb my rage. The question is simple and not something I haven’t been asking myself since I stepped through the blasted gate. But I don’t have an answer. Something in me couldn’t resist seeing her.

“The dog,” I lie. “I wondered how she obtained a Hellhound.” Furrowing his brow, Alastor contemplates my answer. I have no doubt he knows it’s complete bullshit, but I’m not about to sit here and go over the whys with him. “Wasn’t there a promise of alcohol? Some concoction you’ve cooked up down here,” I remind him, because the sooner we have this drink, the sooner I can get back to my own life, such as it is.

“Prepare to be amazed,” Alastor announces as he pulls a decanter and two goblets from the shelf. He pours us a generous amount and hands me one of the glasses.

The first thing I do is smell the liquid. It has a cherry gasoline smell. Raising my glass, I make the only appropriate toast I can. “To Aradia getting her memories back… permanently,” I add before tapping Alastor’s raised glass.

I chug the liquid down, then I swallow back the bile that creeps up my throat. “What the fuck! Did you make this on a dare?” I hold out my goblet for him to refill and the moment he does, I toss it back in one gulp. “That’s vile,” I add as I flop down on one of the leather chairs, exhausted. Closing my eyes, I lean back and let the alcohol entice me to sleep.

“She’ll get her memories back,” Alastor says with his voice full of hope. I don’t have the heart to tell him that I’ve been there hundreds of times when her memories have returned. I’ve seen her eyes full of joy and the next moment, watch as she’s gripped in fear as each memory is ripped from her. “Maybe we can hide her here,” he mumbles, the skull wine also taking effect on him.

His idea might be partially alcohol-induced, or the ramblings of someone like me, who is mentally exhausted. But I’ve never tried hiding her in the Underworld. Themis’ curse reach may have limits. I let out a long sigh because hope will do nothing but break my heart like it’s done so many times.

With nothing but the growing pit of emptiness inside me, I let the sweet darkness of sleep drag me under. Dreams have always been a welcome escape. At least within a dream, Aradia and I can be together.

“Aradia, come back to bed,” I demand when I roll over and she is nowhere to be found. The spot where she usually sleeps is still warm, so she couldn’t have gone far.

Swinging my legs over the side of the mattress, I walk through the house. It’s my house in Malibu, which I wanted to be ours. The house has an open concept, and the walls facing the Pacific are glass. The moment I walk into the grand living space, I spot her on the deck, waiting for the sun to rise. She’s wrapped in a blanket that she holds tightly to her chest.

It wouldn’t matter if she were naked, there are no neighbors for miles. I know this is a dream, one of the many lives I tried to hold onto her. By the looks of the decor, I’d have to guess sometime in the nineteen forties.

Despite knowing the outcome, I move forward through the living area and onto the deck. Standing behind her, I wrap her in my arms. “Care to share that blanket?” I whisper in her ear.

She doesn’t even hesitate to let me in. As I suspected, she’s naked beneath. As quickly as possible, I encompass her in my arms, covering us both with the blanket. She snuggles her back against my chest. I know it’s too warm, her chilled body against mine, but I don’t care.

My cock is rock-hard, resting against her lower back. Naked like she is, with no shoes on, our height difference is almost comical. I’m doing my best to be in the moment, but my mind has relived this many times, and it never ends well. Despite knowing it’s a dream, I continue on.

“I love you,” I whisper into her ear as I kiss down the side of her neck. I shut my eyes tightly, knowing what was about to come. As many times as I’ve been here, I still tell her the exact three words.

“I love you too.” Her response fills me with love and agony. The clock on her memories has started, and I don’t have long.

Spinning her around to face me, I look down into her bright emerald eyes. “No matter what happens, I need you to know I will always love you.”

Lifting her, I set her on the railing. She clutches to me as she looks at the rocks below. “Wrap your legs around me,” I instruct, and she does as she’s told. I can feel the wetness of her arousal as she presses against me. She is warm and wet, and I want her more than my next breath of air.

Positioning myself, I rock my hips and slide deep inside her. We both let out a pleasure-filled moan. For me, it has been decades, but for her, a matter of hours since we were last together.

“Do you trust me?” I ask as she looks over the edge at the crashing waves below.

“With everything that I am.”

Tightening my grip on her hips, I slowly rock, burying myself inside her, pulling out and thrusting back. It only takes a moment for us to get our rhythm. Her grip on my shoulders tightens as I speed up. The feeling of her tight, wet pussy wrapped around me is almost too much for me to bear. I can feel every pulse her body gives as her pleasure rises.

“I love you, Hades.” Her words sting my heart. I want to beg her not to say them, but it wouldn’t matter. It’s not the words. Those could be empty. It’s the feeling behind them that dooms us.

“Promise me, Aradia. Promise me you won’t forget about us,” I beg as I slam into her with such force that her cries echo through the night.

“Oh, God, Hades, I promise. Please,” she pleads, and I can feel her walls around my cock tighten as she reaches her peak. It only takes me a moment to join her in pure bliss as I spill myself into her.

We’re both breathing heavily and our bodies are covered in a sheen of sweat. The blanket that had been our shelter has fallen to my feet, but my body is generating enough heat for the both of us.

Slowly, I kiss her shoulder, then her neck, and finally her soft lips. “I will love you for all eternity,” I whisper in her ear.

Pulling back so I can look into her emerald eyes, I can see it the moment all her memories flood her mind. “Stay with me,” I beg. “Look at me, Aradia, stay here with me.” My voice cracks with unshed tears.

We are both helpless to the inevitable. Pulling her close, I wrap my arms around her tightly, not willing to let her go. Our bodies are still joined, and I can still feel the sweet tremble of her satisfaction.

---