Page 44 of Queen of Shadows and Roses
‘Hello,’ I whispered as I gazed up at him.
‘Lady Persephone, it’s a pleasure to meet you; my name is Erebus.’
Erebus, I mused, staring into his eyes and losing myself in those dark pools twinkling with moondust—the god of darkness, and utterly delicious. I flashed him a toothy smile and extended my hand. His touch was cold, and as his lips grazed my skin, shivers danced down my spine, and my shadow magic thrummed.
‘I’m so pleased to meet you, Erebus. You are beautiful.’ Erebus grinned like the cat who got the cream, and the three Titans erupted into fits of laughter.
‘Well, I suppose it will do,’ Hedone huffed in annoyance. ‘I’ll return before the party to help Tee with your outfit.’ Then she vanished in a golden flash.
‘Come on, you need to eat. It’s lunchtime,’ Tee said. ‘But I have a judging; shall I flash you to the kitchen?’
‘Don’t worry, Hecate. I’ll take Persephone to the kitchen; I could even make her lunch.’ Charon’s honey-brown eyes twinkled with mischief.
‘Let’s go.’ I grinned at him as he held out an arm. I placed my hand on his muscled forearm, and he led the way.
CHAPTER 16
HADES
Iwas trying to stay away from Persephone because she was driving me crazy with need—a need to fuck her until she couldn’t walk, and a temptation to bury her in Tartarus for that brazen mouth.
I knew she’d lied about the average kisser comment, but it still displeased me.
As I strolled to my office, I heard feminine laughter escaping from the kitchen. It was Persephone. Who the hell was making her laugh like that? I walked slowly to the door as I listened.
‘Oh, my gods, it’s really hard.’
‘I know, my queen,’ Charon’s silky voice replied with a husky chuckle. ‘We need to hurry before the boss catches me.’
My vision clouded with the red mist of fury, and my shadows exploded as I threw open the kitchen door, ready to eviscerate the Titan. Persephone yelped as a pan clattered to the floor.
‘Boss.’ Charon gulped, shifting uncomfortably. ‘You alright, boss?’ He could sense my fury and dropped his gaze as he picked up his coffee.
‘Charon’s been teaching me to flip pancakes.’ Persephone squinted at me as she picked up the pan and started cleaning up the mess. I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she moved around the kitchen, then perched on a chair, picking up her coffee. Her waves of blonde hair tumbled over one shoulder as she took a sip. Charon smiled brightly at Persephone, but the smile slipped when he caught my eye.
‘Erm, I best be off. Duty calls.’ Charon gave Persephone a slight bow.
She responded with a dazzling smile. ‘Oh, don’t forget this!’ Persephone held out a small coin to him.
He shook his head. ‘Keep it, my queen.’
My brows raised of their own accord. Charon had been with me from the beginning; he was part of the Underworld family, but he could be ruthless when the occasion deserved it, and as the original ferryman who once transported the dead across the river Acheron, he neverevergave away his collection of coins from bygone days. Persephone fluttered her long lashes at him and smiled. The Titan blushed. He fucking blushed.
‘See you later.’ He winked at Persephone as he edged towards the door, then turned to me with a slight bow. ‘Your Highness.’ I glared at him as he backed out of the door, fighting his smirk. Fucking Titans.
‘So…’ Persephone said, tilting her head.
Those green eyes caught mine, and I cleared my throat, aware that I hadn’t moved since entering the room.
‘Do you fancy making me another grilled cheese sandwich? Considering you ruined my pancake.’
‘As long as you don’t try to stab me again, maybe.’
She breathed a laugh, her eyes sparkling, and my cock throbbed.
‘And stay out of my way.’ I walked towards the fridge and picked up a handful of ingredients.
‘You’re very uptight about things.’
