Finally, she sighs. “You told me you didn’t want kids.”
“I don’t.”
“Hades, look at me.”
I turn to face her. Meg’s dressed in the same robe she wore for the trip from Hercules’s bedroom to mine. Another time, I would take that as a clear invitation. Not this morning.
She’s right. This subject deserves my full attention. She deserves my full attention. Instinct demands I turn this topic, avoid this old pain. I ignore it. “When I was young, I thought I was invincible. I married Amber in a whirlwind romance because it seemed the most natural thing in the world, and she was pregnant within a few months.” I lift my hands, but let them fall without touching her. “I was a different man before Zeus killed them. I wanted different things. When I crawled out of the pit their deaths put me in, I promised myself I wouldn’t repeat the same mistake. No innocents to depend on me. Especially no children.” I finally meet her gaze and she’s looking at me with her battered heart in her eyes. “I didn’t lie, Meg. I withheld the reasons I felt the way I did, but I didn’t lie.”
“You should have told me,” she whispers.
“I see that now.” I’m not used to making missteps. Not on this scale. “I’m sorry, love. It still hurts at times, and in my attempt to avoid that pain, I didn’t think about the harm it would cause you.”
She leans against my desk and crosses her arms over her chest. “Hades… your plan sucks. It will piss Zeus off knowing that you have his son, but from all you and Hercules have said, you’re out of your mind if you think he won’t retaliate.”
“I have it covered.”
“No.” She shakes her head. “No, we’re not doing that again. If you meant what you said last night, then you’re going to loop me and Hercules in on the plan, and we’re going to discuss it. We can play submissive at your feet when we actually play, but this is too serious for you to try to shield us. We made our choice. We’re in this with you, for better or worse.”
There’s no point in arguing. I cannot effectively protect them if they actively fight against the precautions I put into place. The only way to ensure they work with me is to include them in the conversation. No matter how much I’d like to shield them. I finally nod. “I’ll arrange a meeting with Allecto to go over things this afternoon before the club opens.”
“Thank you.”
We stare at each other for a long moment before I sigh. “I’ve made a mess of this.”
“We both have.” She pushes off the desk and steps into my arms. “We just need a little course correcting.” Meg gives a faint laugh. “A lot of course correcting.”
I think of the man we left in my bed and can’t help the wry smile that pulls at my lips. “Somehow, I think Hercules will single-handedly bully us back onto the path.”
“I think you’re right.” She smiles up at me. It’s far more tentative than it would have been even a year ago, and I mourn the lost time. I know better than anyone not to take things for granted, but I’ve done exactly that with this woman.
I brush her hair back from her face. “I don’t deserve you.”
“I think we can both agree that if any two people deserve each other, it’s us.” She turns her head and kisses my wrist. “Don’t shut me out again. I can’t bear it.”
“I won’t.” A promise I likely have no business making, but one wrong word could send this fragile balance between us shattering into a million pieces. I won’t willingly break it. The thought of losing her… “You are everything I never knew I needed, love. A partner in every way. An equal in every way. You don’t shy from my less savory traits. One could argue that you relish them.”
“I do. Sometimes it’s despite myself, but I do.” She leans into my touch. “What happens now?”
That was the question, wasn’t it? “We wait to see how Zeus reacts. Then we adjust from there.”
Meg smiles, though sadness still lingers in her eyes. “Hades, that’s a horrible plan.”
“He can’t penetrate the Underworld’s defenses. I’ve spent all my time here ensuring that this place is a fortress.”
“Yes. But even a fortress can’t provide for every need. We have to leave eventually. To stay trapped here is to let him win.”
She’s right. “I simply need the appropriate leverage.”
“You figure that out.” She takes my hand. “In the meantime, come back to bed.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Hercules
When I wake, it’s tangled up between Meg and Hades’s naked bodies. I lie there for a long time, soaking up their closeness. My body aches faintly from all the fucking, but not in an unpleasant way. It takes longer for the rest of what I’m feeling to sink in. I’m… happy. Content. The stress of the future still lingers, but it’s nowhere near as overwhelming as it has been for most of my life. I finally feel like I’m right where I’m supposed to be.
Meg stretches, her ass rubbing against the aching cock I’ve been trying to ignore. “Is that cockstand just for me?”
“Mmm.” I pull her closer and cup her breasts. I was planning on letting them sleep longer, on maybe slipping out and hitting the gym for a little bit before the day gets started. This is a way better way to spend my time. “Good morning.”
“Good morning indeed.”
I skate a hand down her stomach to palm her pussy. Every time I touch this woman, it feels so fucking right. Like coming home, if home was something to be craved, rather than something to be avoided. I touch her idly, teasing her until she’s pressing back against me, trying to get closer. I lift her leg up and over my hip, opening her completely, and notch my cock at her entrance. There’s no rush as I slide into her. It’s the kind of fucking that feels like we’ve shifted from one dream to another. Slow. Unhurried. Decadent. When she comes, it’s with a ragged breath and my whispered name on her tongue. I bury my face in her hair as I follow her over the edge, emptying myself into her in a way that feels downright fucking spiritual.
Hades’s hands on my hips guide me out of her and onto my back. He moves between my thighs and then his lubed up cock is pressing into my ass, just as slowly and steadily as I pushed into Meg. He looks relaxed and sleepy in a way I could get used to. He sinks the last few inches into me and looks at Meg. Through some unspoken agreement, she shifts closer to press against us and kisses him. I can’t stop myself from touching her again. I don’t even bother to try. She draws back with a little gasp and Hades gives me a look of approval. “Ride his hand, love. We both know you’re too greedy to be satisfied with a single orgasm.”
She’s wet and slippery against my fingers. The evidence of our dual orgasms makes it easy to push three fingers into her and press my palm against her clit. “You heard him.”
She kisses me as she starts to rock, fucking my hand just like Hades told her to. That’s when Hades begins to move. It takes me several breathless moments to realize he’s mimicking Meg’s strokes almost perfectly. Long slow glides. And then Meg moves back and Hades is there, his mouth on mine. He’s nowhere near as soft as she is and I relish the difference between them.