Chapter Nine
Hades
Roux whimpered beneath me, sensitive to every little touch. It was beautiful to watch her come undone under my hands. All those tiny little moans and breathy sighs that left her mouth had my cock hard and desperation clawing at my insides.
It had been so long since I’d felt this kind of connection with anyone. The last time was…
I swallowed. No, I wouldn’t go there. Persephone was a long time ago, and I needed to move on.
Needed to live in the light of someone else instead of the shadows of her death.
I’d never thought I’d find anyone again, but then in walked this little reaper who tore my world apart.
She made me look at her in a way I had never expected to look at another person ever again.
“You infuriate me,” I said as she squirmed beneath me. “You’re stubborn and headstrong. Foolish. So why do you have me so twisted that I don’t know which way is up?”
I wanted to mean nothing to her. For so long I stayed away from her, but look at me now. I was a reflection of all that longing and agony that burnt in her eyes as she stared up at me.
“Please,” she whimpered.
I loved it when she begged. I wanted to make it hurt. For all the worry that she caused. For all the times it felt like my heart was ready to jump out of my chest.
I squeezed her throat tighter. I knew it was pointless; she didn’t need to breathe, but her eyes still widened as I gripped her neck in my hand, and the spike of fear darkening her eyes had my blood pumping faster.
“Are you going to fight me?” I asked, secretly hoping that she would. I dug my thumb into the soft spot beneath her ear, and she let out a quiet, painful hiss.
“Do you want me to?” she asked, her voice breathless.
I huffed a soft laugh. “You fight me at every turn. Why would sex be any different?”
Her fingers clenched by her hips, and I could tell she was holding back her impulse to attack. Was my Little Reaper playing pliant for me?
Not wanting to waste the opportunity, I stepped back from her and pulled my tie off. “Give me your wrists.”
She smirked as she held her hands out, like my commands amused her. She wasn’t going to be smiling soon. Not when I’d finished punishing her ass.
I quickly tied her wrists together, loving the way she winced as I tied them just a little too tight. It pinched her delicate skin, twisting and pulling it beneath the black material. Painting little pink lines against that pale skin of hers.
After I was happy with the knot in the tie, I pushed her towards the sofa, that fucking smirk widening on her face as I manoeuvred her where I wanted her.
“Bend over,” I said as I pointed towards the arm of the sofa.
She did as I asked, pushing her ass into the air and giving me the most perfect view of it in her leather trousers that looked like they were painted on. There was no way I was getting those off without a fight, so I didn’t even attempt it.
I hooked my fingers into her waistband and ripped them from her in one swift motion.
“Hey!” she yelled, her eyes flashing at me over her shoulder.
I brought my hand down on her ass, the crack echoing around the room. “Serves you right for wearing those ridiculously tight pants.”
“What the hell am I supposed to wear now?” She cried out, trying to stand up from the sofa.
I slammed my hand on the small of her back, halting her movements. “You’ll wear nothing, baby girl. When I’m done with you, you’re going to walk out of here with your head held high, and everyone will see you bearing my marks on your ass. The whole world will know you belong to me.”
I didn’t know what had come over me, but I was claiming her for all to see. Roux was mine. Would always be mine. I just might need her to remind me of it every so often when I get lost in my own head.
“Mmm, Daddy.” She licked her lips as she stared at me over her shoulder. “You say the nicest things.”
I stroked my fingers over her lace-clad pussy and her body jerked beneath my touch. “You’re so wet for me.”
Her juices leaked through the black lace as I ran my fingers over her folds. I rubbed circles over her clit, and she mewled and arched her back, giving me more access.
But making her cum wasn’t part of the plan. I’d do that eventually, but not until she’d been punished for breaking into that damn vault.
When I heard she’d gone to see Prometheus, my anxiety spiked.
Anxiety and fear had held me in a grip that had shaken me to my core.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so terrified.
Not since I’d lost Persephone. I knew it made me a complete cliché, but it wasn’t until the threat of really losing Roux hit me that I realised just how important she was.
She hadn’t just blown through the walls around my heart; she’d snuck under them in the quiet of the night with that sass and back chat, with the way she wanted me to smile more like she actually cared about me and not just the King everyone else pandered to.
She stood up to me, challenged me and made me a better person.
I’d been lost until she brought me into the light of her soul.
I pulled my hand away from her, loving the way she whimpered at the loss of my touch. “Soon, baby girl. You just need to take your punishment, and then I’m going to fuck you until you can’t do anything but scream for me.”
“Fucking hell,” she moaned, a shudder visibly running up her spine.
I smacked my hand down on her ass, the sting smarting through my fingers. “No swearing, and when you talk to me, you call me Daddy. Got it?”
“Yes, Daddy. I’m sorry.”
I’d never been a Daddy before, and it was something that came completely out of left field for me, but with Roux, it just felt right.
She needed me to care for her and look out for her, because let’s face it, when it came to making decisions, she was impulsive and driven by emotion.
I liked to feel needed, and I could protect her.
I wanted to protect her because she’d somehow made herself a part of me, and I hadn’t even realised it until it was almost too late.
I don’t think I’d ever have forgiven myself if I’d lost her.
“You’ll get ten, and you will count them all, understand?”
She nodded, but that wasn’t good enough for me.
I wrapped my hand in her hair and yanked her head back. “When I ask a question, you use words to answer me. Now, I’ll ask again. You will get ten, and you will count them all. If you stop counting, I’ll start again. Do you understand?”
Her pupils were blown wide, making her eyes look completely black, and her cheeks were flushed with heat. “Yes, Daddy.”
Fucking hell, those two little words had me all twisted and desperate for this woman. Unable to wait any longer, I brought my hand down on her ass with a sharp smack. Gods, the sound of it echoed around the room.
“One,” she gasped, her back arching like a cat.
I smacked her again on her other cheek, loving the burn that blossomed across my hand.
“Two.” She rolled her hips back, pushing against my erection.
I couldn’t wait to sink into her wet heat and feel her squirm beneath me. Fuck, I wasn’t going to last.
Again, I brought my hand down on her ass, loving the way her skin turned pink. She continued to count as I served out her punishment until I reached the last one.
Smack.
“Ten,” she mewled, her voice shaky and her body trembling. I hadn’t held back, and those pink welts on her ass were going to take some time to fade.
“Good girl,” I purred as I leant down to swipe my tongue over the marks, soothing her heated skin.
She pressed her thighs together, squirming as I licked and kissed my way over her ass.
“Daddy,” she moaned, sounding so wonderfully needy. “Please.”
“I do love to hear you beg, Little Reaper.” I called my flames to the surface and turned her jacket and vest to ash, leaving her in just her underwear and all that pale skin on show.
I wanted to mark it all. Bruise it, slice it, bite it.
I wanted to break free, to let loose the monster that simmered beneath the veneer of control that the world saw.
Roux did that to me. She made me want to rut and fuck and tell the whole world to go fuck itself.
I wanted to lose myself in her until there was nothing left of me and there was only us.
And wasn’t that a dangerous thing to think?
“Hey!” she yelled. “Stop ruining my clothes.”
I sank my teeth into her ass, before gripping her hips and flipping her onto her back. “I’ll do what I want, baby, and you’ll fucking like it.”
A delicious little scowl appeared above her eyes, and a pout graced her plump mouth. Fuck, I wanted to bite it. I wanted to taste every inch of her over and over again until I was consumed by her.
“That was my favourite jacket,” she grumbled, and I found that a little bit adorable.
“I’ll buy you a new one,” I said as I trailed my hands over her hips and up her sides but froze when I clocked the marks on her sternum peeking beneath her black lace bra. I brushed my thumb over the dark runes that rippled and shimmered beneath her skin. “What’s this?”
A warm smile crossed her face as she looked down at them. “My mate mark with Atticus.”
My eyebrows shot up to my hairline. “The Metus demon sent to investigate Thane?”
She pursed her mouth. “Yes. Is that a problem?”
“No, of course not. It’s just… interesting.” It was interesting and incredibly rare. The mark heated beneath my touch as I continued to swipe my fingers over it, something tugging at my curiosity the longer that I stared at it.
Roux rolled her hips against mine, pulling my attention back to her. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”
Well, that could certainly be attended to. Her eyes never left me as I removed my clothes. They sparked with heat as they roved my body, and I could feel her touch everywhere. The tip of her tongue peeked through her lips as she watched me with hunger.
Her gaze dropped to my cock—my very hard and erect cock—and her eyes widened. “Fuck. I’d forgotten you had a monster in your pants. You’ll never fit.”
I grinned down at her as I stroked a fist down my shaft. I was blessed with length and girth, but I wasn’t that big. “You’ll be fine, but if we need to take things slow, we can.”
It would kill me, but for her, I’d hold back if I needed to.
She shook her head and bit her lip. “I don’t want slow, Daddy. I need you.”
“Hands above your head, and don’t move, baby.”
She groaned in frustration but did as I asked and placed her tied wrists above her head. The movement extended her spine and pushed her breasts higher. Fuck, they were gorgeous, just like every single aspect of her.
I slid my body over hers and wrapped my mouth around her nipple through the lace, tugging at it with my tongue until it hardened. I pulled back and blew air across it, watching as she shuddered with pleasure.
“I want to touch you,” she begged. “Please.”
“Not yet,” I replied with an evil grin. “I don’t think you’re pleading quite enough.”
“I hate you,” she grumbled, but there was no real heat behind the words.
I sank my teeth into her other nipple, and she yelped before releasing the most delicious moan. “You don’t hate me; you’re just worked up. But it’s okay, because Daddy’s going to take care of you, baby.”
I hooked my fingers into the band of her underwear and slipped them down her legs.
For a minute, I just stared at her splayed out before me, like she was being sacrificed on an altar.
Her chest heaved, her skin was covered in my marks, and her eyes were fixed on me with a desperation that called to my soul on a level I’d never felt before.
It humbled me and threatened to bring me to my fucking knees.
A shock of fear clutched at my heart as I realised that I, Hades, God of the Underworld, King of the Dead, would fall to my knees and worship this woman with every fibre of my being.
And I couldn’t find it in myself to care.