Page 84 of Hell On Earth
Was he with me, or was he with Persephone? I just couldn’t tell.
“Maybe it’s time for us to put some clothes back on,” I said.
His expression went from earnest pleading to anger.
“Why?”
“Because I’m back to doubting you. Even though you said my name, I think you’re thinking of her. Do you know how that makes me feel? How angry would you be if you suspected I was thinking of another man right now?”
The room gave a deep rumble.
“Exactly, I said. “I’m jealous of a dead woman. I’ve tried everything I can think of to get you to see me, Hades, but your mind keeps going back to her, and I’m tired of fighting that. If you want her, then go be with her.”
I pushed at his chest, and he pulled me closer.
“No,” I said. “You don’t get to have what you don’t actually want.”
He growled and claimed my lips. I tried turning my head, but he grabbed my chin and kissed me until my resistance started to fade. Then his mouth left mine to trail down my neck.
Why did I give in so easily? I wanted to believe it was because he was a god and I was a simple mortal, but Hades never seemed to use his godly powers with me. Both times he had, it had been to make me speak, never to make me feel or do what I didn’t want to.
His mouth closed over one peak, and I dug my fingers into his hair.
“Loving you hurts,” I whispered.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
He jerked awayfrom me like I’d slapped him.
“How? How did I hurt you?” he demanded. His gaze swept over my face, neck, and breasts. “Tell me, and I vow never to repeat it.”
“Not physically. Emotionally, Hades. You’re confusing me. You’re hot and then cold. Sane and then crazy. I wish I could have known you first. Before Persephone messed with your head.”
He studied me for a long moment, and I watched the panic fade from his gaze before he leaned in and kissed the tip of my nose.
“I wish for the same,” he said softly. “Forgive me for confusing you.”
He shifted us so we lay side by side on the lounge.
“Do you wish to talk some more?” he asked.
“Yes. I’d like that a lot.”
“What would you like to know?”
“Anything that will help me understand what happened just now.”
He exhaled heavily.
“The most painful time in my existence wasn’t when my father devoured me, or when Zeus betrayed me, or any of the punishments Persephone dealt me. It was the moment I realized how deeply I’d hurt her. The moment I’d earned her hate at the expense of my pleasure.
“But that moment wasn’t the moment of my greatest mistake. No, that moment came after when, in my arrogance, I thought I could make things right. That I could bring her the same pleasure she brought me.
“She trusted me and allowed me another chance. And another. And another. She begged me to stop trying. I insisted.” He closed his eyes against the pain I saw in them. “I wanted her. Goddess help me, I could think of little else. When she outright denied me, I persuaded her to make a contract with me. She would allow me another try before I released her to her mother. And with each vain, coerced attempt, her hatred grew.”
He opened his eyes to meet my gaze.
I gently stroked my fingers over his cheek. “Thank you for telling me.”
