Page 55 of Hell On Earth
“Better?” I asked after a minute.
“Yes.”
I glanced at the clock. “We’ll probably be home alone for another hour. Want to do something fun?”
He pulled back to give me a slow smile.
That smile was turned upside down five minutes later as I explained the purpose behind a television.
“Mindless entertainment derived by watching the joys and suffering of others. Do the humans believe they are now the gods?” he asked with disdain.
“Okay, no Friends reruns for you. How about some rugby?” I asked, spotting it in the cable list.
Hades watched the screen and slowly started to smile. I knew I’d found something entertaining when he leaned back into the couch and draped an arm over my shoulders.
“Many of the gods and goddesses resented Zeus when he ended the games. Olympus shook with their rage. Some even threatened to join Odin and fight his foes in the other realms.”
“Bet Zeus wasn’t happy about that.”
“He laughed and told them to leave. That they should experience the hardships they so loved watching the humans suffer.”
“What did they do?” I asked.
Hades frowned and shook his head. “I found it best not to embroil myself in Zeus’ petty fights with the other gods and goddesses.”
“Sounds like a smart choice. It must be really annoying to embroil yourself with the petty problems of man now.”
He slowly turned to look at me. “Are you mocking my speech?”
I grinned. “And how you view other people’s petty problems.”
The corners of his mouth tilted. “Teasing temptress.”
His hand curled around the back of my neck. “Deny me your lips.”
“Nope.”
“Deny me your touch.”
“Nah,” I said, running my fingers over his skin.
“Will you give me your trust, Ashlyn?” he asked with a hint of vulnerability in his gaze.
“You already have it,” I said.
His eyes glowed brightly for a moment, and under my fingers, I felt a surge of power. The room shifted around us, bending inward and filling with steam as it reformed.
Standing in Hades’ arms, I looked around the space, recognizing the marble tiles. They were the same that Zotera had used in my bathroom. But the wall in this place was inlaid with marble mosaics. Lions. Griffins. Water nymphs.
I turned my head in the other direction and saw a huge, steaming pool of water, a lot like the bathing pools in Hell.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“We’ve moved to the new space I created off your shower room. Do you need these?” he asked, tugging on the hem of my shirt.
“You want to take a bath? Now? In the middle of the day?”
“I want to bathe with you. Always.”
