Page 42 of Raising Hell
His expression closed off, and the ground stopped shaking.
“You belong to me,” he repeated before stepping back and offering me his hand. “Do not force me to remind you.”
Not understanding his sudden mood shift or liking the sound of his threat, I slipped my hand into his and followed him to the next crowded room. Rather than upset Hades again, I kept my gaze down.
Small blue mosaic tiles lined the floor with a larger border tile that looked like a roaring lion. It was easier to study them as we passed through a group of men until a penis appeared directly in my line of sight. After that, I admired the tiles on the beautiful ceiling and noted all the steam swirling in the space. The heat was absolutely the reason for my red face.
Hades stopped again near the pool and repeated his thing from the prior room.
“My children, you have atoned for your wrongs. Let old grievances be forgotten and start anew.”
Silence rang, and I knew he was waiting for me to say something. Carefully, I lowered my gaze to meet his.
“The tile is very pretty in here?”
He gave me an annoyed look.
“Do you wish to say something to our children, Ashlyn?” he asked pointedly.
It was my turn to frown at him.
“I don’t have—”
“Take care what you say,” he warned.
“—any patience left for you today,” I said with a scowl. He was being stubbornly impossible. “I’m tired and would like to go to bed.”
There was a snigger behind me that was quickly hushed. Like an idiot, I looked, filling my eyeballs with heaps of nudity again. But I did spot another familiar face. The woman from the room with a bathtub.
“I’d like to offer you a kind word or smile after all that you suffered, but apparently, that’s reserved for Hades,” I said, too irritated to curb my words.
The woman smiled. “He would not be the same without his jealous nature.”
“Yeah, a reasonable god would be asking for too much.”
Hades’ fingers tightened fractionally on mine.
“Enjoy yourselves,” he said. “We will gather tomorrow.”
Hades wrapped his arms around me, and the room shifted. My recent meal churned in my stomach as our bedroom steadied in my peripheral.
“I understand why Persephone hated you doing that,” I said, tearing my hand from his. “It makes me feel like I’m going to throw up.”
I turned away from him to go to the bed, but he caught me from behind, wrapping his arms around me.
“Forgive me, Goddess.”
“Ashlyn.”
“Ashlyn,” he said, sounding less contrite.
It fueled my annoyance.
“You make my head spin and hurt. I freed them like you wanted. Went with you because I knew you wanted me to. Then, when you put me on the spot to say something, you get jealous the second I’m nice, even though you’ve mumbled repeatedly about how you wish my nice moments were real. Do you see why you’re giving me a headache? Just make up your mind. What do you want from me?”
“I want you naked and open on that bed!” he yelled with enough force that the room trembled.
I crossed my arms and glared back at him.
