Page 26 of Raising Hell
That rational part of my reasoning slowly drowned in my want—no, need—to turn my head so his lips could grace mine. One touch and he could take me back to that blissful place where nothing else mattered but his mouth.
He doesn’t want you,that little voice inside of me whispered.He wants her.Persephone.
That little reminder stopped me from melting against him.
“Not here,” I said. “In the throne room. Please.”
I needed to get away from the bed.
He immediately released me, and I took an unsteady step to put some space between us. A shiver raced through me at the lingering heat from his chest on my back. How could being in his arms feel so good?
“Even now, in the midst of your game, you cannot hide how you shake with revulsion at my touch.” Bitterness dripped from every word, but I didn’t dare correct his accusation. If he knew why I shook and how much I looked forward to him holding me again, he wouldn’t let go next time.
Yet, I also knew I couldn’t let him believe I hated him. I wasn’t Persephone. I wasn’t cruel, and he needed to see that so he would hopefully release me one day. Convincing him wouldn’t be easy, though, when he didn’t believe anything I did or said. All I could do was continue to show him I wasn’ther.
So, after a few calming breaths, I glanced back at him and held out my hand.
“Are you ready?”
He glared at me even as he took what I offered. His fingers curled around mine, stroking over my skin as he sought as much contact as possible.
It seemed that, no matter how savagely Persephone treated him, his obsessive need for her remained unchanged. I wondered again what would happen when he realized she was gone forever.
Ifshe was gone forever.
Another shiver almost stole through me at the thought of Persephone waking as Hades had. She would either throw me at Hades to spare herself his company or do horrible things to me in retribution for the contract I already asked him to break.
Hades and I entered the throne room in silence.
Near the lamp-lit tree sculpture, Zotera spoke in low tones with another creature. This one was almost as beautiful as Zotera, with long black hair trailing down her back. Her smooth caramel skin and oval face vanished between one blink and the next. In the place of a woman, a creature with a cracked beak and scaled head turned to look at us before scurrying away on four legs toward the wall near Hades’ throne. Instead of running into the stone, it disappeared into them.
“Who was that?” I asked Hades.
“It matters not if you still wish for me to speak to the fury.” His brusque tone and angry expression kept me silent. I needed Megan’s appearance to work.
Zotera waved at me as we passed the tree, and I gave her a small smile. Hades led me right to his throne and turned so he was facing me. I knew what he desired from me. He needed to see for himself how much I would willingly surrender after that shiver in our room.
“Do you remember everything I told you?” I asked.
“I do.”
“Okay.” I shifted my hold on his hand, wrapping it around my torso as I turned in his arms and stepped back against his chest.
He groaned and brought his other arm around me. Safely captured in his embrace, I leaned into his hold and struggled to focus on the entrance to the throne room rather than the way his fingers teased my ribs.
“She comes,” he said softly near my ear. His lips brushed against the outer edge, and I barely suppressed a shiver at the sensation.
“Focus on the conversation ahead. That’s the point of this.” I wasn’t sure if I was telling him or myself that.
He chuckled low in response and nuzzled my ear again. “No, the point was to feel you soft and compliant in my arms. To breathe in your sweet scent and imagine this embrace wasn’t part of a bargain but something freely given for no reason other than for the affection we feel for one another.”
“Hades, I’m not—”
Megan strode through the entrance. Her steps devoured the distance that separated us until I could see her clearly, and the angry light in her eyes reminded me so much of Hades.
When she’d almost reached the tree, she spoke.
“You summoned, Father?”
