by Bella Klaus
“Then you’ll sense the disturbance and inform me immediately,” he said in a voice as smooth as butter.
“Me?” I reared back. “All that time Persephone was draining power with that hideous plant, the wards didn’t so much as give me a poke.”
His brows rose. “That’s because you were too busy getting wasted on cocktails, spewing your guts in the toilet bowl, and sleeping it all off in an alcoholic stupor.”
Shifting on my seat, I unfolded the napkin and smoothed it on my lap. “Well, that’s the last time I drink anything stronger than ginger beer.”
Hades leaned across the table, his eyes alight with mirth. “There’s nothing wrong with indulging. Try not to mix your drinks until you build up a tolerance, and if a fiery red busybody offers you anything with chocolate, decline.”
The waiter appeared at Hades’ side and cleared his throat. “Monsieur, I have your first course. Moules d’Amour.”
He set down a silver platter containing oysters on a bed of coarse salt crystals. Some were plain, some drowning in a watery sauce, and others encrusted with colorful herbs.
I sat up in my seat, staring at the beautiful dish. The most I’d ever tasted of seafood at the mansion were the few occasions when Pirithous would steam fish. The oysters looked raw, and fit for those with a sophisticated palate. I bit down on my bottom lip, wondering which of the selections was the most suitable for a beginner.
Hades threw his head back and laughed. “Bloody hell. That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in ages.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Oysters,” Hades said through chuckles. “It looks like Samael was trying to satisfy his new bride.”
I wrinkled my nose. “They’re an aphrodisiac?”
“Not for a former angel who was castrated by his maker,” Hades replied with a chuckle. “Poor old Sam must have engaged in some serious dark magic to have fashioned himself something that could respond to oysters.”
The waiter stepped back from the table, and another one arrived with a bottle of white wine. “Chablis Grand Cru de Flamel?”
Hades inclined his head and gestured toward one of the four glasses in his place setting.
After pouring out a little for Hades, he paused to allow him to take a sip and approve the sample. Instead of filling Hades’ glass, the wine waiter walked around the table to fill mine.
I sat straight in my seat, watching the staff with wide eyes. This was the poshest thing I’d ever experienced—including the palace ball. Of all the times to go to a romantic restaurant for a fancy meal, why did it have to be after a battle?
When the waiters disappeared, I smoothed my hands down my napkin and sighed.
“What’s wrong?” Hades cocked his head to the side and frowned.
My shoulders sagged. “I wish I’d worn something nice for our first date.”
He reached across the table, took my hand, and placed a kiss on each of my knuckles. “We have eternity to enjoy the delights of the world. Besides, what you wear has no bearing on how I feel about you.”
Swallowing hard, I glanced down at my red leather breastplate, feeling a bit like that huge female warrior from Game of Thrones. “I still don’t understand how we can relax at a time like this.”
Hades gave my fingers a gentle squeeze. “Watching you demolish half the demons and a quartet of bitchy goddesses made me as stiff as a tower.”
My lips quirked into a tiny smile, and I lowered my lashes.
I had known those four my entire life, and not a single one of them had hinted that I was anything more than a puppet to keep in the corner. Now they were helping Mother return me to my shitty life. “Maybe the electric shock was exactly the lesson they needed to end their meddling.”
Hades snorted. “Those five will stop at nothing to keep you under control. There has to be more to their possessiveness than a simple case of psychosis.”
I met his eyes. “There’s something I haven’t told you.”
“Indeed?” He raised both brows.
“After Persephone attacked us in the bedroom, I returned to the mansion.” Hades tightened his grip on my hand, his mouth falling open with shock. Before he could say something admonishing, I added, “The butler said he had Dami, remember?”
He exhaled a long breath. “What happened when you rescued her?”
“I saw Zeus, but he’d been turned to stone.”
“How can you be sure it was him?” Hades leaned forward, his eyes alight.
“It looked just like the man in your tapestry, and the butler said the coven had used him as a source of power.”
“I knew it,” he said with a laugh.
“You did?”
“It was the first thing I thought of the moment you expressed your lightning.”
I inhaled a deep breath and nodded. Hades had said something like that. “They’re keeping him in a secure basement. What should we do?”
“Leave him,” Hades said.
“What?”
“Zeus is an asshole. Set him free, and he’ll go on a rampage. And who will be tasked to clear up his mess?”
“Us, I suppose?” I asked with a frown.
“And he’ll want his power back.” Hades squeezed my hand.
The rest of the story spilled from my lips, and I told him how Persephone’s soul had been shattered, gathered, and put together using Zeus’s magic. Hades never took his eyes off me during my entire confession, but his breath turned shallow, and his features slack.
“What do you think?” My voice shook.
“I’ve known this all along.” He raised my hand and brought my knuckles to his lips.
“Really?”
Hades paused, his eyes going distant. “I’ve only ever loved one woman from the depths of my soul. When I broke through Demeter’s wards and found you peering at me from the side of your house, it was like being hit through the heart with a thunderbolt.”
I leaned forward, my breath quickening. “It was like that for me, too.”
The corners of his lips curled into a tiny smile. “And I don’t just love you because you were once Persephone. There’s a quality you both shared that I find irresistible.”
“What is it?”
“Maybe someone who spends so much time bringing plants to life appeals to the god of death. Or maybe it’s the purity of your soul. It’s probably both.”
“You’re…” I gulped. “You’re not angry with me?”
He drew back, his gaze sharpening. “Whatever for?”
I lowered my lashes. “That I withheld this information, all the while chastising you for being a liar.”
He shook his head, his gaze lingering on my breasts.
“What are you looking at?” I asked.
“Sorry,” he said. “But I can’t stop imagining you in gold lingerie, throwing thunderbolts from the top of Mount Olympus.”
I sputtered. “That’s all you can say?”
“That, and we’ll leave Zeus as an inanimate statue for the rest of days. I’d throw it in the sea, but Poseidon might have too much fun with it.” He picked up an oyster and brought it to my lips. “These are delicious and exactly what you need to take your mind off Zeus.”
My gaze dropped down to the open shell and at the mollusc at the bottom of a pool of lemon juice and herbs. “Do they really work?”
“Humans say oysters contain enough zinc to make them spurt buckets, but these are a supernatural variety, bred for the purposes of heightening arousal. Try one.”
My tongue darted out to lick my lips. “Will it make me want to climb across the table and ravish you?”
He shook his head and brought the shell to my mouth. “It only enhances what’s already there. Just try one.”
With an eager nod, I parted my lips, letting him slide the contents of the oyster onto my tongue. It was colder than I’d expected, with a smooth texture and a mild flavor that wasn’t even fishy. It was mostly overpowered by the taste of lemon and salt and garlic.
/> “Now chew.”
I bit down on the oyster, enjoying its springy texture. Heat surged through my veins, coalescing at the juncture of my thighs. I exhaled a shuddering breath through my nostrils and raised my gaze to meet Hades’ eyes.
“How was it?” He waggled his brows.
“Surprisingly delicious,” I murmured.
“Would you like another?” He raised a second oyster to my lips.
“Aren’t you having any?”
His eyes smouldered. “You're beautiful, deadly, and utterly desirable,” he said in a deep voice that curled around every single erogenous zone, setting them each alight. “Taking anything to further enhance my attraction to you might make me go berserk.”
A flare of heat spread across my cheeks, down my neck, and to my breasts. It pooled low in my belly, making me shift on my seat.
“The oysters are starting to work,” I murmured.
“Imagine what would happen if you ate a second one.”
Without thinking too much about the consequences, I let Hades slip another between my lips. This one came with a burst of tabasco and a hint of horseradish. I barely chewed it this time, letting it slide down my throat.
Hades stared at me with eyes that blazed hotter than the candles, and he moved his thigh so close to mine that our bodies touched. He pressed a kiss on the column of my neck that set my skin aflame, making the armor feel too restricting.
“All my existence, I despised lightning, but now it’s the sexiest element in the universe.” He planted kisses along my jawline.
I squeezed my thighs together and swallowed my mouthful. “Is that because you hated Zeus?”
“Because I love you.”
My heart swelled. Hearing those words from Hades never got tiring. I turned to meet his eyes and pressed a kiss on his lips. “Less talk. More eating.”
“As my queen commands.” Hades brought me another oyster and then a glass of Chablis.
For the next few minutes, we exchanged kisses and drank wine, while I demolished the oysters. Each time one of the delicious morsels slid down my throat, he was ready with another. Sensual magic curled over my sensitive skin, making my skin hunger for his touch.
“Are you trying to get me drunk?” I asked after taking a tiny sip from my glass.
Hades groaned in my ear. “I can’t stop thinking about how you sat on me the night of the Devil’s Ball. The way you tensed and spasmed around my face and coated me with your juices. I want that for the rest of my life.”
My lips parted with a moan, and the pleasure from that evening pushed itself to the front of my mind. I could almost feel his hot breath on my sex, the press of his fingers on my thighs, that eager wet tongue laving me to orgasm.
“Would you do that for me every night?”
With a sexy growl, Hades snaked his arm around my middle and pulled me onto his lap. “I never did get any satisfaction at the ball. Fancy returning the favor? In exchange, I can supply you with a large quantity of spunk, which I guarantee will be delicious.”
I turned around to meet his hungry gaze. “You want me here?”
“This is one of the most romantic restaurants in Paris,” he drawled. “Fucking on the table after a well-prepared dish of Moules d’Amour is how guests show their appreciation to the chef.”
I threw my head back, a laugh bubbling from my chest. “You’re joking.”
“Deadly serious.” His large hands cupped my breasts, the pads of his thumbs running tight circles over my nipples.
“How can I possibly feel that through the armor?” I asked.
“Do you honestly think I would commission a garment that made its wearer unable to feel pleasure?” He nuzzled my neck.
I wiggled on his lap, settling myself against the thick bulge in his armor. “Knowing you, the answer would be no.”
Hades rolled my nipple with his thick fingers, sending sparks of pleasure racing between my legs. “Now you know how the magic works, or at least have a rough idea, you can lean back and enjoy the rest of your meal.”
He reached beneath my hamstrings and positioned my legs so they straddled his and I was leaning with my chest toward the table. He reached down between my thighs and he slipped his fingers over my clit.
Pleasure rippled up and down my hot slit, and the muscles of my core clenched with the need to be stretched.
“How are you finding the pleasure enhancement?” he asked.
Shivering at his touch, I swallowed hard. “It’s very effective.”
“Good,” he drawled. “Then we can make your pleasure last the entire evening. By the time you’ve finished eating, you’ll be so hot and wet and ready for my cock.”
I shifted on his lap and rubbed my asscheeks against his bulge. “Can I touch you?”
His chuckle was low and deep. “Keep wriggling like that, and I’ll come apart in my armor.”
“Like this?” I rested my elbows on the table and circled my hips, making sure to grind myself over his thick erection.
Hades moaned. “Just like that.”
The tray of oysters disappeared, replaced by a platter of tenderloin served with roasted onions, carrots, asparagus, and potatoes.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Chateaubriand.” Hades wiggled his fingers and reduced one of the slices into bite-sized morsels with his magic. “Allow me.”
Somehow, he managed to do this while teasing my clit over the armor. I tilted my head back, letting him lavish my neck with open-mouthed kisses. On a scale of one to ten for romantic meals, this was turning into an eleven.
Over the next several minutes, Hades fed me chunks of delicious steak while he swirled his magic through the thick leather of my armor. Once I’d eaten my fill, I turned around so we sat facing each other.
He stared into my eyes, his eyes blazing, his lips parted with rapid breaths. “Words can’t describe how much I want to fuck you.”
“Why don’t you show me with your actions?” I murmured.
“Here I was thinking you would want your first time in a pretty four-poster.”
I grinned. “We did that already.”
“Our first time as man and wife,” he said, his smile widening. “As King Hades and Queen Kora.”
I smoothed my hands over the leather of his breastplate, wishing I was touching his skin. “Maybe part of me already knew who you were the night of the masquerade ball.”
“Not surprising since I was dressed as Hades.” His eyes sparkled with mirth.
“But you told me you were a light mage.”
His eyes narrowed, and he cupped both breasts, rubbing his thumbs over the nipples. “You asked me if the collar was light magic, and I implied that it was.”
A moan slipped from my lips. “Well, excuse me for thinking people went to masquerade balls dressed as different people.”
“Why pretend to be something else when what you are is magnificent?” He pressed a kiss on my jaw.
“Are you calling yourself—”
“Magnificent?” He sucked on my neck. “Do you have reason to believe I’m not all that I claim?”
I wrapped my arms around his neck, shivering at his attentions. Hades was more than magnificent. He was the sexiest, most handsome, most infuriating creature in existence. “You think a lot of yourself.”
“Self-confidence comes with the job,” he drawled. “Without it, I’m just a pretty face, a perfect body, and a cock designed for pleasure.”
Drawing back, I stared into his twinkling eyes with a frown. “How is that a bad thing—”
Hades cut off my words with a kiss. A kiss that stole my breath, curled my toes, and made the pulse between my legs pound against my leather armor. I bucked forward, rubbing myself against the thick bulge in his breeches, but it wasn’t enough.
I needed more.
“Hades,” I murmured. “Please…”
“You want me to fuck you over the table?” His hot breath tickled my skin.
“Now,” I cried.
He moaned, the sound rippling over my skin like a thousand hot caresses. “Fuck, Kora, I could eat you all night, pound you until my cock falls off, and I’ll still hunger for your sweet pussy.”
From the other side of the table, someone cleared their throat.
I stiffened around him and hid my face in his neck.
“We’re skipping dessert,” Hades said, peppering the sensitive column of my neck with kisses.
“Your Majesty,” said a solemn voice that completely ruined the mood.
I turned around to find a man wearing a black suit, looking like a funeral director. He stood by the edge of our enclosure, flanked by a pair of large men in suits, each carrying tall staffs. If I had to guess, they were security wizards, but where had they been when Mother and Samael had attacked us with demons?
Hades growled. “Why would you interrupt my meal?”
The man coughed into his hand. “Forgive me, sire, but there’s the matter of the check.”
“I’m a long-standing customer,” Hades snapped. “Charge it to my card.”
He pulled at his collar and grimaced. “Not the food. It’s the cleanup.”
“What?” Hades snarled.
“Four women in need of immediate hospitalization, three dozen demon carcasses, scratches and ichor stains in a century-old marble floor, broken tables, chairs and ruined furnishings.” His shoulders rose to his ears. “Not to mention the weapons lodged in our celebrated leather booth.”
A knot of guilt formed in my stomach. That damage to the booth was from me.
“King Samael brought the demons,” Hades said. “Tell him to clean up his mess.”
“That’s the problem, Your Majesty. Neither King Samael nor Queen Demeter are accepting responsibility for the damage to the restaurant, and somebody must pay the costs.”
I swallowed hard. They had better not be expecting Hades to pay for the fight that they started.
Hades snarled, the sound making all the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. “If those bastards won’t take responsibility for their own messes forward the matter to Angel Azriel.”
The manager inclined his head. “Yes, Your Majesty. Very good.”
He stood at the other end of the table, his eyes wide, looking like he wanted to say something else.