Chapter 25 #2
After walking down countless wide hallways, we reached another immense arched black door. Hades pushed it open, revealing a vast terrace with broad stone steps descending into my garden. My very dead garden.
I dropped his hand with a whimper, bolting down the steps.
My flora magic thrummed violently, and I plunged my hands into the black dirt, unleashing it with the force of a tropical cyclone.
The dormant life reacted with delight—the barren landscape gradually transformed into a riot of colour.
Jewelled tones ranging from emerald to amethyst, vermillion, and cerulean stretched as far as my eyes could see.
‘It was a garden of eternal spring because of you.’ Hades’ voice startled me.
I could feel his body heat behind me, and a grin split my face.
The fresh, woody fragrance of the cypress trees drifted on the breeze, along with an explosion of perfumes from the blooms. Jasmine and wisteria clung to the intricate latticework, and narcissi popped up everywhere.
I stopped by the sublime variety of roses and inhaled their heady scent, then strolled along the black marble walkway towards the grassy area and fountain. I trailed my fingers in the water, releasing a burst of magic—waterlilies exploded through the water, and a giggle burst from my lips.
‘Persephone.’
I turned slowly to gaze up at the god of shadows, but he let out a frustrated sigh as a swarm of butterflies headed our way.
I gasped and stepped back as the butterflies condensed and morphed into a human shape: a tall, thin man with bone-white skin, ebony hair, and what seemed to be two silver stars peering from his eye sockets. He wore a long black cloak and bowed deeply to us both. ‘Highnesses.’
‘Morpheus,’ Hades said curtly, in an almost bored way, and I shot him a dark look; puzzlement was his response.
Morpheus, the god of dreams, shaped dreamscapes and appeared to sleeping mortals in various forms, often as butterflies. He was a messenger of the gods.
‘Hello, Morpheus.’ I beamed at the god, causing the bone-white skin on his cheeks to tinge pink.
‘My lady.’ He inclined his head. ‘I merely wanted to say that everyone is delighted with the life you have restored to the Underworld.’ I smiled brightly, entranced by his eyes.
‘And we do hope you will return to us for good.’ My breath hitched, yet my smile remained.
‘Have a pleasant evening.’ This time, he transformed into a crow and soared into the sky.
‘You need to be more friendly,’ I said, lifting a brow at Hades.
‘Why?’
‘Making time for people is important, even for those who serve you. A kind word, or, gods forbid, a smile, will make them feel more cherished. More important. People never forget how you made them feel.’
He stared at me as though I’d just asked him to explain quantum theory. I exhaled in frustration. ‘Never mind. Just try to be a little less brusque. Anyway, what were you going to say?’ He took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and cursed as we heard Hecate’s squeal.
‘Sephy, this place looks unreal!’ She sprinted down the steps, with Thanatos and Charon close on her heels. ‘I think this calls for a picnic. What do you reckon?’ I bounced on the spot, clapping my hands. I caught Hades’ eyes; his lips twitched minimally, but it was a start.
We wandered to the lush, grassy area surrounding the pond, and Tee magicked a colossal blanket covered in plush cushions.
We settled on the soft fleece material, and my heart lurched as I watched Tee, Charon, and Thanatos chatting.
These people were my friends. They cared about me, and I cared deeply for them.
My gaze slipped to Hades. He sat quietly watching me with an unreadable expression. Yet, for once, I didn’t feel like an insect pinned beneath a glass. I offered him a smile, hoping—aching—to coax out that elusive dimple; alas, he averted his gaze and the moment dissolved into quiet longing.
‘Food?’ Tee caught my attention.
‘Hm, afternoon tea sounds perfect. With cake. Lots of cake.’
With a flick of her wrist, the centre of the blanket filled with an indulgent spread—dainty finger sandwiches, scones piled high with jam and clotted cream, and an endless parade of pastries and petit fours.
Two chilled bottles of champagne appeared beside five crystal flutes, and Charon, ever the gentleman, poured for us all.
We lingered there for hours, laughing, teasing, and trading stories until the air itself seemed lighter.
Even Hades, brooding king of shadows, allowed the edges of his severity to soften.
After I’d eaten enough to feed a football team, I finished my fourth glass of endless champagne and relaxed back, content to simply listen as their voices wove around me.
Their conversation turned to my teleportation to the Empousa's lair, causing my sense of relaxation to waver.
I sat up, and Charon passed me another glass, which I sipped while nestling against a large throw cushion.They discussed a traitor, minor gods, humans, and the resistance, a group known as Ixion.
I longed to ask so many questions, but my mind was in a swirl, partly from the champagne.
I resolved to ask Tee about it tomorrow; my eyelids felt heavy. Eventually, I succumbed to sleep.
‘Let’s get you back, Persephone.’ A husky voice roused me from my slumber.
‘Oh, yeah. Okay.’ A large hand helped me stand, and I moved forward, or at least attempted to. My occasional stumble made me wince, but then strong arms swept me into their embrace.
‘I’ve got you, agapi mou,’ a voice whispered. I liked those words; they felt familiar. I wonder what they mean.
I sighed, then closed my eyes again.
I awoke with a happy sigh. I’d slept like the dead, and felt incredibly comfortable.
This blanket was snug and warm—firm too—draped around my middle and secure between my legs.
I released a contented sigh, then knitted my brows together.
I peeled an eye open and peeked down—black satin sheets.
Shit, I was in Hades’ bed. Had we…? The breath stilled in my lungs as I tried to inhale.
No. I would remember if we’d… Wouldn’t I?
I gently lifted the sheet to find a muscled arm around my bare abdomen and a burly leg nestled between mine.
Crap. I tensed and breathed slowly, trying to reinflate my lungs.
But looking down again, I still wore my shorts and crop top, and that leg was clad in soft grey bottoms, like sleep pants.
Stop panicking, Sephy. Nothing has happened.
Hades’ soft breath whispered in my hair as his slow, steady breathing indicated he was still sleeping. Then I realised there was something long and hard—very long and hard—pressed into my ass. I stiffened with a slight jerk, causing Hades to wake.
‘Persephone,’ he murmured sleepily. Then he seemed to realise where we were, tensing as he untangled his arms and legs from mine, and slipped from the bed in one fluid motion, like a ballet dancer.
I sat up and clutched the sheet in front of me.
‘I’m sorry,’ he muttered, his back to me, broad and bare, filled with muscles, which extended down to a firm ass, and, my goodness, that derrière.
I closed my eyes, gulping silently. ‘I intended to take you to your room… I must have dozed off. It’s still absurdly early… You ought to get more rest.’
‘It’s… it’s alright,’ I whispered as I blinked my eyes.
And it was alright, I realised; having him next to me in bed felt…
good. He turned slowly, and I exhaled in a rush until there was no air left in my lungs, and my body temperature increased by a degree or ten.
Gods, was he sculpted from marble? The smooth, hard lines of his chest were covered with intricate tattoos on both sides of his upper body, from his upper arms and shoulders to his pecs, and I wondered if they were the binding tattoos Tee had mentioned.
Then my eyes dropped to those abs, and I swallowed.
He had abs you could do a nation’s worth of laundry on.
His pants hung indecently low on his lean hips, and what were those indents?
They were by his hips, leading down into the waistline of the pants.
I imagined tracing them with my tongue, and my whole body heated—which was when I saw his erection. It looked large—eye-wateringly large.
A ripple of tight shivers shot through me, causing my heart to race and my nipples to tingle and harden. I shifted, kneeling on the bed, and his eyes swirled with gold as his jaw clenched. His shadows swirled and danced around him, yet I wasn’t scared.
Holy damn, his body is obscenely delicious.
‘Persephone.’
‘Sorry, what?’
‘Perhaps if you stopped ogling me for a moment, you might actually hear me.’
‘I wasn’t ogling you.’ I was so ogling him.
‘You’re so quarrelsome.’
‘I wasn’t arguing.’ I tore my gaze from the indents and met his smirk. ‘And I’m not quarrelsome.’ My jaw tightened, fully aware that I was most definitely quarrelsome.
‘You have zero comprehension of the word “quarrel”.’
‘And you’re a know-it-all.’ At my words, a warmer smile flickered on his mouth, and my tongue darted out to wet my lips, causing his pupils to dilate and consume his irises. ‘I want to taste you,’ I whispered.
The skin between his brows creased, and a keen sense of nervousness invaded me as he stared at my face. ‘Sorry… I think I misheard you.’
‘I want to taste you,’ I said, louder. I was losing my mind at that point. He drew his lower lip between his teeth, showing a hint of fang, but curiosity marked his face.
‘You want me to fuck your mouth?’ His words were hoarse.
Gravelly. And I nodded. Those words—ugh—would usually be such a turn-off.
But when he uttered them, liquid heat swelled inside me like a tide.
I actually wanted to do this… an act I’d only ever attempted once before, then promptly quit because I’d hated it.
‘O—kay,’ he whispered. His dark, soft laugh was smoke and sin.
‘I’d very much like that.’ At his words, I sucked in a shuddering breath, but my want, my need, overcame my nervousness.
Damn, I wish I’d paid better attention to Hedone and her ice-pop lessons, I thought to myself as I crawled from the bed.
I tossed a few pillows on the floor and stood before him, tilting my head to meet his gaze. His hands were clenched into fists, his jaw was set like granite, and his eyes were closed. He was like a marble statue. He desired this, and I felt empowered. I was in control, and I also needed to do this.
I raised both hands, and my fingers reached up and traced his broad, hard chest, lingering on the tattoos, the contact causing him to jerk.
On tiptoes, I licked the ink from his shoulders to his pecs—they were runes, similar to Tee’s, but with more intricate designs interspersed with a language I didn’t understand.
My fingers wended their way down of their own volition to the grooves in his abs and the indents by his hips.
Gods, his bronze-coloured skin stretched taut over rigid muscle, like silk over steel; it felt firm, warm, and soft. Languid heat made its way down my chest and deep into the pit of my stomach.
I dropped to my knees on the cushions. I felt tiny in front of him, kneeling, but, to be fair, I always felt tiny with him, which was no surprise given that he was built like a Georgian mansion.
I pressed my lips against his hip and traced my tongue over one indent, eliciting a low moan from his throat.
Then I hesitated. ‘I—I’ve got no idea what I’m doing.
I might not be very good at this,’ I whispered.
‘Gods, Persephone. You’re doing okay so far. Take your time. Stroke me hard, but please don’t stop.’ He turned his face towards the ceiling, his breathing ragged… his shadows creeping closer to me.
Hard. Okay… Hard.
So, I carried on. My hands roamed downwards, avoiding his length, feeling his solid, muscular thighs; then they inched closer to his erection, and I felt him shudder.
I gently massaged his massive cock through his pants for a little while, his breathing becoming shallower.
Then I braved up and slowly pulled his pants down.
His hard length sprang free, and I almost gasped. It was freaking enormous—decadently so. I studied it for a long moment, wondering how the Fates it could fit anywhere, especially my mouth, before I kissed it. My breath on his skin made his cock twitch, and he grunted.
The length and breadth were worrying, so I wrapped my fist around the bottom, and when I softly licked the head, which was glistening with pre-cum, a strangled moan rattled through him.
I liked pleasing him in this way, and when I ran my tongue along his length, he groaned softly, and I smiled, my insecurities melting.
He tasted salty but sweet—like mango with a sprinkling of salt.
I closed my lips around him and felt his hands fist in my hair.
I flicked my tongue just beneath the head, and he let out a sound of overwhelming pleasure.
I began to suck, firmly working my hand up his shaft as I licked and suckled, taking him as far as I could, and at his deep moans, the ache in my belly bloomed into fire.
His shadows caressed my bare skin, making me groan.
‘Fuck,’ he snarled. ‘Persephone,’ he rumbled low in his throat as he fisted my hair in his hands even harder.
‘I’ve missed this. I—’ A ragged sound silenced the rest of his words.
My eyes glanced upward and met his. They were pure gold.
In a slow rhythm, he began to push his hips, and his cock sank deeper into my mouth, causing my eyes to water.
At his soft moans, I took him even deeper, still licking and sucking.
I lost myself in the fullness, the taste, and the soft guttural groans coming from him, and I hummed happily.
He jerked. ‘I—I’m coming.’ His voice was gruff as he went to pull away, but one of my hands grabbed his hard ass, and I pulled him closer, still sucking. He came with a roar, and I felt him release into my mouth… salty and sweet. His orgasm rocked me as I sucked him gently through it.
As his shadows enveloped us, he released my hair, pulling me to my feet, and kissed me like a man dying of thirst. I drowned in it—drowned in him.
‘What were you going to ask me yesterday?’ I muttered as he ran his fangs and lips along my collarbone.
His hot breath whispered against my ear. ‘If I could fuck your mouth.’
And I laughed.