“This is your realm,” she answered.
Hades frowned, but said nothing, and as she moved forward, he fell in step beside her. They didn’t hold hands or walk arm-in-arm, but now and then their fingers would brush, and the sensation was electric. Every inch of her skin felt like an exposed nerve. It was so strange, after everything they’d been through in the last few days, her body still responded to him as if none of that had happened.
She found herself wondering if Hades felt the same, then noticed his fists clench at his side.
She took that as confirmation.
They walked in silence until they came to the edge of the garden, where Persephone had found herself last night before venturing into the Forest of Despair. Finally, Hades turned toward her and spoke.
“Persephone. I...I don’t know what you saw but you must know—you must know—it wasn’t real.”
He sounded so broken, so desperate for her to understand.
“Shall I tell you what I saw?” She whispered the words, and while she didn’t feel angry, she, too, wanted him to understand. “I saw you and Leuce together. You held her, moved inside her like you starved for her.”
She shook as she spoke, and her nails dug into her palm.
“You took pleasure from her. Knowing she was your lover was one thing, seeing it was…devastating.”
She closed her eyes against the nightmare as tears streamed down her face.
“And I wanted to destroy everything you loved. I wanted you to watch me dismantle your world. I wanted to dismantle you.”
“Persephone,” Hades whispered her name, and then she felt his fingers beneath her chin. He tilted her head up and her eyes fluttered open. “You must know that wasn’t real.”
“It felt real.”
Hades fingertips slide across her skin, collecting her tears.
“I would take this from you if I could.”
“You can,” she said, drawing close. “Kiss me.”
Hades lips pressed to hers. His tongue teased her lips before thrusting into her mouth and coiling with her own. His mouth was brutal and bruising, and he tasted smokey and sweet, and as he explored, her hands sought, running down the planes of his hard stomach and gripping his cock through his robes.
An unnatural groan escaped his mouth and he pulled away; his gaze burned into hers.
“Help me forget what I saw in the forest,” she said, breathing hard. “Kiss me. Love me. Ruin me.”
They collided, tearing at each other’s clothes until they stood naked beneath the pallid Underworld sky. Their lips crashed, tongues tasting, breath mingling. Hades’ hand cupped the back of her head, the other moved down, over her belly and into the nest of curls between her thighs. She moaned as his fingers dipped into her hot flesh. For a moment, she was lost in the pleasure of him, in the ache at her core.
When Persephone could no longer stand, Hades knelt with her. She settled back, cradled by his robes while he sat on his heels, staring at her unclothed body, eyes like the fires of Tartarus.
“Beautiful,” he said. “If I could, I would keep us here in this moment forever, with you spread out before me.”
“Why not fast forward,” she said. “To when you are inside me?”
Hades grinned. “Eager, darling?”
“Always.”
He pressed a kiss to the inside of her knee, and then trailed them down her thighs until his mouth closed over her cleft, his tongue playful, before parting her slit and spearing her. She bucked against him, and Hades pushed her knees down, spreading her wider. She could feel herself clenching around him, her arousal so heightened, it was almost painful.
She came, gasping his name, threading her fingers through his hair so she could pull him up her body to kiss him. His lips crashed against hers, trailed her neck, and then her breasts, his tongue swirling around each tip, making them rock solid.
“There was no greater torture than feeling your anguish,” he said. “I knew I was somehow responsible, and I could do nothing about it.”
She pressed her fingers to his swollen lips. “You can do something about it.”
She reached between them, where Hades’ hard-as-steel cock pressed into her leg. She guided him to her center. They came together viciously. Hades’ hips dug into hers as his cock split into her and she reveled in the ache of him filling and stretching. Her head snapped back, pressing into the ground, and she arched against him, a guttural cry escaped her mouth. Hades bent to kiss her lips, capturing the sound. She couldn’t find a place for her hands. Her fingers clutched at his silk robes, at the grass, then his arms.
“Fuck!”
Maybe he’d cursed because she’d broken skin, she wasn’t sure—but either way, he pinned her wrists above her head. His eyes were wild and unfocused, and his tempo increased as he chased his orgasm, slamming into her harder than ever.
They came together and Hades collapsed atop Persephone, his head resting in the crook of her shoulder. They were slick with sweat, and their breaths came in harsh gasps. After a moment, Hades lifted himself onto his elbows, and brushed Persephone’s hair from her face.
“Are you well?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Did I…” he hesitated. “Did I hurt you?”
She smiled at the question because she had never felt better. “No.”
She touched his face, tracing his brows, his nose, his kiss-swollen lips, and whispered, “I love you.”
A faint smile touched Hades’ lips. “I wasn’t sure I would hear those words again.”
Hades’ admission hurt her heart.
Her eyes began to water. “I never stopped.”
“Shh, my darling,” Hades’ gaze was tender. “I never lost faith.”
But she had and the thought nearly destroyed her.
Hades gathered her into his arms and brought her to his bed. There, he kissed her, drawing her from her darkness. He nudged her legs apart with his knee, and just he prepared to consume her once again, there was a knock at the door.
Persephone froze, and to her surprise, Hades directed the person at the door to enter.
“Hades!”
The god rolled off her, and sat up in bed, his naked chest exposed. Persephone sat up beside him, holding his sheets to her chest as Hermes entered their bedroom.
“Hey, Sephy,” he said, giving her a sheepish smile.
“Hermes,” Hades called his attention.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “I found the nymph, Leuce.”
“Bring her,” Hades ordered.
Persephone gave Hades a questioning look as Leuce appeared in the center of the room. It had been a while since Persephone had seen the nymph, and she looked exhausted and scared. Her eyes were wide and her whole body shook. When her gaze fell upon Hades and Persephone, a horrible sob exploded from her throat.
“Please—”
“Silence,” Hades commanded, and it was like Leuce lost her ability to emit sound. “You will tell Persephone the truth. Did you send her to the Forest of Despair?”
Tears spilled down Leuce’s face as she nodded.
The wine, Persephone realized—Drink! The wine tastes like strawberries and sunshine. Persephone’s instinct was to feel betrayed, but something seemed…off.
“Why?” she asked.