“Are you okay?” Lexa asked, clearly not satisfied with Persephone’s lack of response.
Hades chuckled and released her skin and continued his exploration. All the while, Persephone clung to him, her fingers digging into his upper arms. He liked it, liked knowing that the more pressure he felt there, the more tension he was building inside her.
“Yes,” she hissed.
Lexa paused and then asked, “Did you even hear what I’m going to order?”
“Just get cheese, Lexa!” Persephone snapped.
“Okay, okay, I’m on it.”
Lexa left after that, clearly amused, though her interruption seemed to have succeeded in distracting Persephone enough because she pushed against his chest to create distance between them.
“You shouldn’t laugh.”
He was confused by her comment—did she feel insecure about her reaction to him? If it was any consolation, he rarely had the ability to think beyond her when they were together.
“Why not? I can hear your heart beating. Are you afraid to be caught with your boyfriend?”
Persephone rolled her eyes. “I think I preferred lover.”
He laughed, and he liked the way she looked at him when he did…like she wanted to make him laugh forever. “You are not easy to please.”
“I would give you the chance, but I’m afraid I don’t have time.”
“I don’t need long,” he said, gripping the fabric of her dress. “I could make you come in seconds. You won’t even have to get undressed.”
The way she looked at him made his cock harder. It was sensual, almost a dare, yet she denied him.
“I’m afraid seconds will not do. I’m owed pleasure—hours of it.”
He could not argue with that, but he could bargain. “Allow me to give you a preview, then.”
He pulled her tight against him, and the bulge of his cock settled against her stomach, but she pushed against him.
“Perhaps later,” she said, and he wasn’t that surprised. She had been adamant about spending time with Lexa, and he knew that was important to her.
He could be patient.
“I’ll take that as a promise,” he said and vanished before he decided against waiting.
Chapter VI
The Past is a Shadow
When Hades returned to his room in the Underworld, he was exhausted but wired, his whole body alive with a need to come. He poured himself a glass of whiskey only to down it immediately. It slid down his throat like fire, and he gritted his teeth against the sensation. It did nothing to relieve the ache.
He raked his fingers through his hair, pulling it free from its tie before pouring a second glass. When that did not work, he discarded his clothing, lay down in his bed, and took his cock into his hand.
“Fuck.” The word left his lips in a low growl. He was engorged and hot, and the first pumps of his own fist made his head feel light. There was nothing compared to being inside Persephone, but at least he would sleep after this.
He stroked himself, rubbing his thumb over the head of his cock. He smoothed the come that had already beaded there down his shaft, but it wasn’t enough, so he spit into his hand and gripped himself again, stroking roughly, closing his eyes so he could better imagine what it was like instead to have Persephone’s body beneath his, fully sheathed in her warmth. He groaned at the thought and thrust harder into his hand, hips driving forward as if he really were inside her. Pressure built in his balls, and it rose higher and higher, and just as he thought he might come, he stopped.
His breath came harshly and he was so erect, his cock practically pointed at the ceiling, but he liked this high—the rush to an end that never came because it meant he could build it again and again. It is what he would have done if Persephone were here—draw out pleasure until he could not stand the tightness in his arousal and the heaviness in his balls.
When his breathing had returned to normal, he took himself again and closed his eyes, imagining that Persephone was straddling him. He sought the friction that this position usually offered. He thrust upward into his hand and stroked himself almost violently while his other hand tugged at his balls, heavy with a release threatening to come.
Once more, he felt the familiar stirring of an orgasm rippling from the pit of his stomach, tightening in his thighs and ass. This time, he came as a guttural sound tore from his throat, and in the aftermath, he continued to pump his fist along his cock, expending every last drop of come.
He lay there for a moment, feeling weightless, before rising to clean up and pour another glass of whiskey. This one he sipped, and when he was finished, he lay down to sleep.
Hades had only slept deeply a handful of times in his entire life, and most of those had occurred over the past few months with Persephone by his side. Usually he wavered somewhere between wakefulness and sleep, too on edge to let himself fully rest, which was why, when he felt something touch his face, he reacted quickly, his hand clamping down on the intruder’s only to open his eyes and realize it was Persephone.
“Fuck!” He jackknifed into a sitting position and drew her to him, pressing kisses to the wrist he had snatched. “Did I hurt you?”
When she did not answer, he met her gaze and found she was staring at him, her eyes wide and her lips slightly parted. She looked flushed and sleepy, her wild curls falling haphazardly around her face.
“Persephone?” he said again, hoping to catch her attention.
She seemed to come to then, and she smiled, brushing a piece of hair from his face. “I’m fine, Hades. You only scared me.”
He felt a wave of relief at her words and kissed her palm, only to draw her against him and lie down. Her weight was a calming presence, and he reveled in the feel of her draped atop him.
“I did not think you would come to me tonight.”
“I can’t sleep without you.” She whispered the words against his skin, and his chest tightened at her admission.
He should say the same, but instead, he ran his hands down her back to her ass, grinding her middle into his growing erection and responded, “That is because I keep you up so late.”
Persephone lifted her head and rolled her eyes, sliding into a seated position, her thighs hugging his waist, her fingers threaded through his.
“Not everything is about sex, Hades.”
“No one said anything about sex, Persephone.”
She planted her hands against his chest and moved against his cock, and he could feel the heat of her through the thin sheet that separated them.
“I don’t need words to know you’re thinking about sex.”