Leaning in, I brush my mouth over the shell of her ear, reveling in her trembles. “You are a seductive temptation, young Persephone,” I utter, allowing the words to whisper over her ear.
“As are you, Hades.” Her response is a raspy whisper.
Persephone is mine.
She will be my queen.
I’ll ensure it happens.
Chapter 17
Persephone
I’ve never met him before.
This moment in time, with his grip on my neck, my eyes flutter closed. I revel in the heated, scorching touch of the man who wants to make me his queen. Only moments ago, while I was out in the garden, I wondered about my life. Where would I be years from now? But as his lips brush over my cheek, I decide he’ll be the one to take me.
“You’re as beautiful in the dark as you are in the sunlight,” he utters, allowing the warmth of his breath to tickle my ear.
“What do you mean?” My question causes him to step back, releasing me from his hold.
“I saw you outside, in the gardens,” he says. Stalking by me, I watch his retreating back before following to catch up. “When I rose from the Underworld, you were in the fields, amongst the blossoms.” His words are wistful as if he remembers the moment with affection. Perhaps even desire.
His hair has a smattering of silver strands between the black. I know he’s far older than me, but I don’t care. When he turns to look at me once more, my heart patters wildly in its cage, wanting to leap into his hands.
It’s only when he steps over the threshold that I notice he’s walked into my bedroom. The space is vast, with cream and pink furnishings. I shut the door with a soft click, then meet his curious gaze.
“You should be afraid of being in here alone, blossom,” he says. The smirk he gifted me earlier returning once more.
“I told you, my fear is not of you, my king,” I retort, lifting my chin in indignation, which earns me a dark, rumbling chuckle.
He closes the distance, causing me to step backward, and a gasp falls from my lips when I find myself flush against the wooden door. His body towers over me, caging me in, and I realize there’s no escape. Not that I want to.
A hand trails over my cheek, down my neck, then trickles down my arm. Goosebumps rise in its wake. He finally reaches my hip, gripping it painfully.
“I could do things to you right here, and nobody will know,” he threatens darkly.
Meeting his feral gaze, I respond, “Then do it.”
Three words and his hands are bunching up the long skirts of my dress. With a gentle tug, the material of my panties is gone in an instant, ripped from my slim frame.
“Is this what you crave, blossom?” he growls in my ear when his fingers reach my core. A gentle whimper tumbles from my lips. His chest vibrates against me with a rumble low in his throat as one digit strokes my slick heat.
“Please,” I plead as my hips roll against the palm of his hand. The friction against my most intimate area seems to strike a match, lighting a fire in my center so fierce it heats my skin.
My head drops back; my eyes flutter closed. When he dips his finger into me, I can’t stifle the pleasurable moan. In and out, he pumps the single digit and then I feel another join. My hands fly up, holding onto his shoulders as a release tightens low in my stomach.
“So beautiful, sweet blossom,” he coos in my ear, sending gentle rivulets of desire over the bare flesh of my neck. “Unravel for me. Drench me in your juices.” His words add fuel to the flames dancing within me, and I can’t hold back any longer. My body shudders violently as I find release so euphoric I cry out as pleasure skitters through me, down my spine, and ultimately soaking his fingers.
He pulls his hand from between my thighs, lifting both digits to my lips. With a dirty smirk adorning his handsome face, he paints my arousal on my top lip, then the plump lower one.
“Exquisite.” He nods, crashing his mouth to mine. His tongue laps at the juices on my mouth, licking into me, tasting my very essence. One kiss and I know I’ll spend an eternity in the darkness with him. But before I can tell him, he vanishes as quickly as he appeared only moments ago.
Chapter 18
Hades
It’s only been seconds since I left her, but her scent still surrounds me. The taste of her, deeply intoxicating, sits on my tongue.
“Brother,” Zeus calls to me when I enter the dining hall. He’s sitting at a long table, decked with the finest crockery, chalices filled with wine, and thankfully, he’s alone. Demeter, his wife, is nowhere to be seen, and I know this will be my only chance to ask for Persephone’s hand.