Page 68 of Raising Hell
“I can see you plotting,” he said softly.
“What you see is fear. I’m afraid you’ll use how I feel to manipulate me.”
“As you do to me.”
“As Persephone did to you.”
He gestured to his neck again and repeated, “As you do to me.”
“I wasn’t trying to manipulate you in the clearing. If you heard what I said to Megan and believed it, then believe all of it. I’ve lived a very lonely life, and being with you is one of the best things that has happened to me. Think about that. How miserable was I before coming here that being chased by monsters, scared out of my mind again and again, propositioned, and almost stabbed is all better than what I had before?”
He took a deep breath, slowly let it out, and closed his eyes.
“I no longer know what to believe.”
I leaned into his heat and tucked his arm around me again. The silken feel of his skin under my cheek soothed me, and I closed my eyes too.
“I should have told Megan to come back with some kind of chocolate dessert. We both could use some pity food right now.”
His other arm came around me, and his hand brushed over my back.
“Should I summon her?”
“No. She’s going to try to get some help. Hopefully, whoever is trying to kill me will ease up while she tries to figure out who it is.” I lifted my head to look at him. “It’s not me. I would never kill myself.”
Hades didn’t say anything. He simply leaned in and gave my lips the lightest kiss. It didn’t matter that it was there and gone in an instant. It still lit a fire in me. A need for more.
My pulse raced as I forced myself to stay exactly where I was and not chase his retreat.
“The desire in your eyes looks so real when you gaze at me like that,” he said softly. “Why can’t this be real?”
“Because you’re a god, and I’m a human. I don’t belong here, and loving me will only hurt you more when you realize what I am and send me home.”
An ache started in my chest, and I understood then that it was already too late for me. Returning home was no longer the desperate save I’d once thought it would be. I hadn’t lied in what I’d said to Megan or Hades. I’d hated that life in Uttira. But my life with Hades, while terrifying in some regards, wasn’t all horrible.
I’d miss him when I left. A lot.
The epiphany that I was falling for Hades blindsided me, and I quickly ducked my head against his chest to hide my panic. I couldn’t be falling for the King of Hell. Impossible. Yet, my fingers were already stroking over his skin as I pressed closer to him.
It had to be his god pull. Weren’t mortals always sleeping with gods in the stories? And how many times had my uncle warned me not to look? I’d thought I was safe enough since Hades thought I was Persephone. But stealing a human’s will wasn’t a creature’s only power. They also had their beauty, a natural lure to pull in prey. How could I have been so stupid?
This isn’t real,I told myself, sounding too much like Hades.
Deciding distance was needed, I straightened away from him.
“We can’t stay here all day when you just went through all the work of removing the sun from the lake. Show me more of Hell. Is there a top to this castle? Somewhere where we have a view of everything?”
“There is.”
I eased out of his hold and stood, keeping my gaze averted as I accepted his hand. Maybe Persephone had been onto something when she made the contract about not seeing his beauty.
“Remove the contract, Ashlyn.”
His use of my name almost had me looking up at him.
“What?” I asked, panicking at the idea that he could hear my thoughts or read my mind.
“Until we know who is responsible for the poison and blade, I want to avoid the halls. Allow me to relocate us at will.”
