Page 76 of Hell On Earth
He reappeared beside me and tackle hugged me into the cushions.
Laughing at his open display of affection, I hugged him back.
The sexy smile that tugged his lips just before he kissed me erased thoughts of our spectators. I kissed Hades as passionately as he kissed me, and when he moved my legs so I was lying underneath him, I didn’t fight it. Hell, no. I wrapped my legs around his waist and ground against his heat.
“I think we need to understand the rules for this type of situation,” Megan said. “Do you want us to clear our throats? Give you five minutes? Leave quietly?”
I tore my mouth from Hades’, not sure who to be more annoyed with. Myself for forgetting there were other people present, Hades because I’d warned him this happens and he wasn’t supposed to start anything, or Megan for interrupting.
Hades kissed my forehead and grinned down at me.
“Ashlyn would prefer an interruption when we forget ourselves in the presence of her friends,” he said as I untangled myself.
I pushed my hair out of my flaming face and glanced at my friends. Fenris, Eliana, and Jason were gone. Nicolette was staring at us with wide-panicked eyes, and Megan, Zotera, and Oanen looked nervous.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I—”
“No, I’m sorry,” Nicolette said. She looked at Hades. “Forgive me.”
Confused yet again, I glanced at Hades.
He gave me a lopsided smile. “Your friend’s mother was hungry. My sudden reappearance proved too tempting, and she fed…from me.”
I was torn over how to feel about it. It was accidental, obviously. But I’d fought so long for Hades to see me as Ashlyn and not Persephone. All that sexual energy Nicolette had fed on belonged to me.
Hades watched me closely.
“What are you feeling right now?” he asked. “Answer me honestly. This is one of my questions.”
I sighed and looked at Nicolette. “I’m not angry, and I doubt Hades is either. He loves any form of affection but craves PDA like a goblin craves brownie wings. More, actually.” I turned to look at Hades. “I earned every bit of your affection for myself. You’ve yelled at me. You’ve scared me. You’ve tempted me beyond control—obviously. Me, not Persephone. So even though I know it was an accident and there was no harm to it, I’m crazy jealous that any of it was shared with someone else. It’s mine.”
His smile was radiant in its beauty. He plucked me off the couch and sat me on his lap. He kissed his way down my neck then caught my chin to turn my head and steal another kiss. His other hand rested just beneath my breast. Gods, I wanted him to move it so badly.
“You’re doing it again,” Megan said.
I pulled back and made a face at Hades.
“I’m not going to call your name for at least a minute the next time you disappear if you keep this up.”
He chuckled, kissed the tip of my nose, then released his hold on my chin.
“I will not allow her to feed from me again. I vow it.”
“It’s fine,” I said quickly, not wanting anything to happen because of an accident. “I didn’t tell you the truth so you’d overreact.”
“Then, what do you wish for me to do?”
“If it’s Eliana or her mom and I’m present, I’m fine with long-distance feeding. If it’s anyone else, no. You belong to me.”
His expression ignited with hunger.
“There is a bedroom free,” Nicolette said before Hades could pounce on me again.
I stood quickly and put out my hand toward Hades in a universal stop signal.
“You stay right where you are. I’m going to tell the others it’s fine to come out, and Zotera’s going to make us a checkerboard so you have something else to focus on.”
CHAPTERTWELVE
