Every time he says my name, it feels like he’s running rough hands all over my bare skin. I shouldn’t love it as much as I do. I certainly shouldn’t want him to do it again and again and again. He still hasn’t looked at me. I lift my chin. “Do you know, I’m just hedonistic enough to be orgasm-motivated. I suppose I can promise to be on my best behavior tomorrow if you make it worth my while tonight.”
He laughs. The sound is a little ragged, almost rusty, but as Hades laughs, he turns to lean against the door. At least he’s not leaving yet. He slides his hands into his pockets, a move that should be completely mundane but has me fighting not to clench my thighs together. Finally, he says, “You’re making promises you have no intention of following through on.”
I give him innocent eyes. “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You, little Persephone, are a brat.” He gives another rusty chuckle. “Do those assholes in the upper city know that?”
I want to slap back with a quip, but for some reason, the question gives me pause. “No.” I shock myself by answering honestly. “They see what they want to see.”
“They see what you want them to see.”
I shrug. “I suppose that’s a fair assessment.” I don’t know what it is about this man that tempts me to put down the sunny persona—or weaponize it—but Hades is under my skin. I might be impressed under different circumstances. He is so determined to see me, when I am equally determined not to be seen. Not in that way. Vulnerability is an invitation to be cut down and taken apart piece by piece. I learned that the hard way the first year my mother took over as Demeter. The only people I can truly trust are my sisters. Everyone else either wants something from me or wants to use me to further their own agenda. It’s exhausting and so much easier to give them nothing at all.
Apparently that isn’t an option with Hades.
He’s watching me closely, as if he can draw the thoughts directly from my head like warm taffy. “I don’t expect perfection.”
That makes me give a scratchy laugh of my own. “Could have fooled me. You want perfect obedience.”
“Not really.” Now it’s his turn to shrug. “The game can be played many ways. In a single scene, most things are negotiated beforehand. This situation is infinitely more complicated. So I’ll ask you again—what do you want? Perfection obviously chafes. Do you want me to force obedience? Allow you your freedom and punish you when you step out of line?” His dark eyes are an inferno just waiting to burn me up. “What will get you off the hardest, Persephone?”
My breath stalls in my chest. “I want to misbehave.” I don’t mean to say it. I truly don’t. But Hades offering me whatever I need? It’s more intoxicating than any alcohol I’ve tasted. He’s offering a strange sort of partnership, one I didn’t realize I desired. He might dominate. I might submit. But the power balance is startlingly equal.
I didn’t know it could be like this.
“There you are.” He says it like I’ve revealed something profound with those four little words. Hades stalks back to the bed, and if he was casually dominant before, now he feels overwhelming. I inch back onto the mattress, unable to take my eyes off him. He snaps his fingers. “The dress. Take it off.”
My hands move to the hem before my brain catches up. “What if I don’t want to?”
“Then I’ll leave.” He raises that blasted eyebrow again. “It’s your choice, of course, but we both know what you really want. Take off the dress. Then lie back and spread your legs.”
He has me cornered and I can’t even pretend he doesn’t. I glare, but it feels half-hearted at best with anticipation licking at my skin. I don’t waste time teasing him; I just yank the dress off and toss it to the side.
Hades follows the movement of the fabric, disapproval radiating from him. “Next time, you fold it, or I’m going to make you crawl across the floor in penance.”
Shock. Anger. Pure lust.
I lean back on my elbows and glare. “You can try.”
“Little Persephone.” He shakes his head slowly as I spread my legs. “You don’t even know what you crave, do you? It’s okay. I’ll show you.”
I should let it go. I really should. But for some reason, I can’t manage to keep myself locked down in Hades’s presence. “Please. I know what I like.”
“Prove it.”
I blink. “Excuse me?”
He waves a casual hand as if he’s not devouring my pussy with his gaze. “Show me. You want an orgasm so desperately? Give yourself one.”
Now my glare is hardly playing. “That’s not what I want.”