“Or what?”
Hades glanced at her. As long as she stood at Coronus’ side, he could do nothing. He
wouldn’t risk her.
Persephone smiled and inclined her head. The doors behind Hades closed. Magic flared,
shades all over the throne room began to glow.
Persephone glanced up at Coronus. “Sorry. But this will be one battle you’ll have to fight alone. I don’t think I want to be here when he’s done with you.”
And then she disappeared, and every shade she’d touched in the room disappeared with her, leaving the enemy to face Hades and Eris alone.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
PERSEPHONE STOOD outside the palace, staring at the trampled garden. If she’d been a
contrite wife, as she’d been a daughter, she might’ve waited in her rooms for Hades to complete the task of crushing the remainder of this rebellion and try to explain her actions, but she wasn’t the same woman. She was the Iron Queen, Ruler of the Underworld and a six-hundred-year-old Phlegethon daemon-god.
So instead of hiding in her rooms, she came to her garden, not to think as she once may have, but to forget the past six days in a place planted in love, only to find ruin.
She sighed. The knee-high tree was the only thing left standing and even it looked in poor condition. It wasn’t right. He’d planted this garden, an outward show of the love in his heart, love that she knew to be true. It deserved better than this.
She touched one of the cold, golden buds nestled among the sparse leaves and the bud
bloomed into a golden flower. She laughed, for the idea that flowers should welcome their caregiver delighted her. Removing her shoes, she walked among the rows of flowers, letting the magic seep into the ground. Plants sprouted and budded and bloomed in seconds, revealing a sea of sparkling gems in white, purples, reds, blacks, yellows, and blues.
She walked the uneven rows Hades had planted, the energy around her warmed, and she let
the emotions of love and joy fill her heart. Hades loved her, and although she feared he might be angry by her deception, she knew he loved her still.
She closed her eyes. The feelings ebbed and flowed around her as a gentle caress. And that was when she heard the gentle humming. A sound so familiar and so foreign that she had to seek it out. She followed the sound to the far corner of the garden, and found the purple flower she’d dug up in the meadow the day Hades abducted her. She’d forgotten the singing flower but Hades must have found it and planted it here.
She knelt before the wilted flower and the tears of sorrow flowed down her cheeks and
cleansed her soul of the emptiness in her heart.
It was dying here in the sunless Underworld. Its vibrant petals faded. She reached out to touch it and remembered the day she’d created it. The day she’d first met Rhea. The day she first learned the truth about of Hades. The day she gave the singing flower to the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen because she asked for it.
She leaned down, breathing life into the flower. Its velvet petals changed to warm stone.
Amethyst to replace the purple, topaz replaced the tongues of yellow fire along the top, silver metal for the underside, and emerald for the stem and leaves. But she didn’t stop there.
She stood and blew magic across the field. The singing flowers emerged from the ground.
Her flower wouldn’t be alone again. Just as she wouldn’t be alone again. Just as Hades wouldn’t be alone. They would share their lives and rule the Underworld as it should have been.
Reaching out with her magic, she sensed him in the pits of Tartarus. The rebellion was
crushed. Coronus was bound in his prison. She shivered at the evil she felt in Adman. He needed to be restrained for the good of everyone.
“Hades,” she called to him. “Come to me.”
She closed the link she’d created before he could reply and turned her attention to her garden.
Now that she had the resources, she would create a place for her and Hades.
CASTING THE last of the enchantments upon the cells of the prisoners, Hades conferred
with the other gods, surprised to find Thanatos there. He made sure everything was secure and everyone was all right, when all he wanted was to return to Persephone. He knew she wasn’t in any danger, but there was something strange about her behavior, and she’d shut him out before he could learn what it was.
“Hades,” her voice whispered in his mind. “Come to me.”
The words sent shivers through him and he knew himself lost. He was furious with her, and yet the moment she unleashed her siren’s call, he could no more deny her than he could stop breathing. He could refuse her nothing.
Persephone. His dear Persephone.
“Go to your woman,” Thanatos finally said.
“How…? I need—”
“We can take of care it now, Hades. Go to my daughter.”
“So now you’ll admit she’s your daughter?”
“Well, someone has to look out for her well-being while she’s in your clutches,” Thanatos joked. “It might as well be me. Now go.”
Hades didn’t need to be told twice. He focused on Persephone and willed himself to her side.
He flashed to the place outside the palace where the garden had once grown. Now a wall of plastered stone stood in his path, looking for all the world as if it had always stood there. An ancient wall, cracked in places where the flowering vines found niches in which to climb. He entered the garden through the giant arch and stared in awe and wonder.
The path meandered through the short emerald and jade grass. Flowers and bushes grew
along the path and vines climbed up the inside of the walls. It was cozy and cool, mysterious and radiant. He walked the path, searching for his wife. He passed statues of animals, women and men in various stated of undress, even statues of children playing. He smelled the gentle fragrance of flowers and salty air of the sea. He passed fountains and ponds filled with fish. He watched as jeweled dragonflies dance through the air and the strange glowing insects. He passed flowers that sang and recognized them as the flower given to him by Rhea, only different now, and he passed the golden tree named for his wife in full bloom.
“Come to me, Hades.”
He stepped through an archway of climbing roses and into a dream. Persephone stood in a
small clearing, a basket of flowers at her feet and a smile on her face. She glided toward him.
HE’D COME for her as she knew he would, as he always did, and she waited for him to step
through the archway of ruby roses, still dressed in his battle armor and looking very sexy. She didn’t wait for him to speak. She walked up to him, wrapped her hands around his neck, rose on her tiptoes, and kissed him. Her fingers combed through his damp hair. Her body pressed against his hard armor.
She liked her effect upon him. A groan escaped his lips as he dropped his shield and helmet.
His hands stroked the small of her back. As much as she liked it, she longed for a more intimate contact. She wanted skin to skin.
“I love you, Hades,” she whispered against his lips.
She freed her power from its confines, letting it wash over him, embrace him, tell him
everything that was in her heart. She wanted him to know she wanted him. She wanted him to know the truth in her heart and soul.
He held her an arm’s length, searching her face. His eyes wide and an uncertain smile curled his lips. “You’re…?”
“Yes.”
He rained feathery kisses along her cheek until his lips caressed her ear. “I’m glad.” The warmth of his breath against the sensitive skin sent a shiver through her. He pulled away from her and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “I need a bath.”
She smiled and took his hand in hers, leading him to a deep pool. “I already thought of that.”
She helped him remove his armor. The breastplate, the greaves, and the shin guards were
tossed
aside as if he couldn’t wait to get rid of them. He removed his boots and stripped out of the tunic. She ran her hands over the broad expanse of his shoulders and down his chest.
“I remember the first time I saw you,” she whispered, her eyes drinking in his naked form.
He was magnificent with or without clothes. “I remember the liberties I took in the forest. You didn’t stop me.”
“You didn’t know the effect you were having on me. You were merely curious.”
She felt his amusement flow through the air. Her eyes drifted to his. “Do I cause the same reaction now?”
His eyes glazed as her hands descended further, tickling over his belly, stoking the place just above his man parts. The silky flesh hardened, pressing up against her hand. She ran her nails gently over the length of him.
“Persephone.”
Something in the way he spoke her name sent a thrill through her. She knelt before him,
curious as she wrapped her hands around his arousal.
His heavy lidded eyes closed and his head fell back. He moaned.
“Does it hurt?” she asked.
He shook his head, his cock hardened, pulsating, growing larger. She leaned forward and
swirled her tongue over the head, tasting the unique salty flavor of him, before taking him fully into her mouth, studying the details of him with her tongue.
Though he only touched her shoulders, she felt a pleasant ache form between her legs and a building urgency for her to feel him inside her.
“I won’t be able to hold out much longer if you continue.”
She stopped and looked up at him. “Really?”
His energy flickered with longing as he pulled her against him. “Maybe another day.”
His hands brushed the fabric resting over her breasts, and she inhaled sharply, excited by the brief contact. The pearl clasp clanked against his armor and the top of her dress fell around her waist. He stared at her breasts, cupping them in his hands, squeezing them gently. The pleasure intensified and she moaned, pressing closer. The sash followed the broach and the dress pooled around her feet. The slight chill in the air caused her nipples to tighten and her heated body to cool.
She shivered and thought to warm the temperature. “I’ll keep you warm,” he whispered.
She shivered again, not with cold, but liquid heat that pooled in her belly and weakened her knees. The suggestive comment and intensity in his eyes left little room to mistake his meaning.
She had no doubt he’d do as he promised.
He led her to the small lake and the still water enveloped her like a blanket. She produced a chunk of sandalwood soap and began soaping his thick, soft hair. She washed the grime and sweat from his hardened muscles, exploring the planes of his arms, chest, and back. He was strength and lean power, and she found all of him fascinating.
“My turn.”
He produced his own chunk of soap, and began the process of rubbing her down. She didn’t
have the heart to tell him she’d already scrubbed every inch of skin. Instead she enjoyed the care he took washing her. His hands glided over her arms, hips, back, stomach, and finally her breasts.
His hands kneaded the soft flesh, tweaking the nipples.
“Make love to me, Hades.”
“Who am I to argue with the queen of the Underworld?” he said, kissing her neck and turning her to face him.
He leaned down, laving her breasts with his tongue, fanning the flames. The ache became a throbbing need deep inside her. His fingers slid into slick folds, rubbing against the small nub until she bucked against him. His finger slipped inside.
She was wet and ready for him. He slid another finger inside and her knees weakened as his fingers produced sensation after sensation.
She grasped his shoulders for support as his callused thumb flicked across the nub and her body bucked. He didn’t need magic to steal her senses. The small circular motion increased and she threw her head back with a shout of ecstasy, barely aware of anything but the aching need.
He pulled back and her protests died as he swept her into his arms and out of the water. He laid her on the soft grass, his hands holding her hips as his dipped between her legs.
“Hades?” she squealed as his tongue flicked across her sensitive pearl.
His wicked tongue was gentle, demanding, and powerful, erasing every thought from her
mind as the passion swirled between them, and the pressure inside her built and built.
“Hades,” she begged.
His tongued flipped across her clit one last time and then he was leaning over her. She
sighed, her lips opening under the tiny pressure of his lips, another thrill of pleasure coursed through her as his tongue swept into her mouth.
The tip of his arousal tickled the entrance of her pussy, pressing inward too slowly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and lightly bit his shoulder. “I can’t wait,” she gasped.
He entered her, swift and hard. Her hips bucked, taking his full length. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she drew him deeper. She was tight and the sensation of being filled ignited the fire smoldering inside her. He paused, gazing deep into her eyes as he pulled back and drove forward. Waves of pleasure flowed through her, opening the floodgate of magic and power
inside. It burst over them, driving them to greater heights.
The torrent of thoughts, emotions, and magic swirling through her as he thrust with
purposeful intensity, driving her further and higher than she thought possible, but it wasn’t enough, she needed more. She needed every last drop of him. She grasped his buttocks, urging him to move faster, and he obeyed. The energy whirling between and around them increased as the joining of their bodies and their energies were merging together, until she felt his pleasure and he felt hers. They entered some place she hadn’t been to before but desperately needed. An all consuming need that obliterated all thought, until all she could do was ride the swell of power and sensation to its eventual end.
One final thrust and his power washed through her, sending them over the edge into oblivion.
The walls of her pussy clenched around him, milking every last drop of his seed as waves of pleasure crashed over them. She threw back her head and screamed his name. Everything she was, every ounce of love she held for him, spilled into the mix. They were complete, one heart, one soul, one person.
This was what it meant to be a Phlegethon. It was wonderful and frightening, and they would experience this forever. Total submergence into the other person, total acceptance, and yet not overpowering control by another. Together, they were as whole as they were apart.
For a Phlegethon, there was no other way then the complete melding of mind, body, soul, and magic. Until they knew each other so completely there could never be another person for them.
She held him tight against her bosom, never wanting to let him go.
He stayed inside until his penis shrunk and she squirmed. “It tickles!” she shrieked.
He laughed and lay beside her, pulling her tight against him. She smiled and snuggled closer.
His masculine smell enveloped her in a warm cocoon of love.
“I love you, Hades.”
Chapter 32
THE BALL bounced and Hades scooped up five of the diamonds with a grin and caught the
ball before it bounced again. “I win!”
Persephone lowered her lashes, a mischievous smile curling her lips. She leaned forward and lifted her chin. He brushed the dark strands of her hair from her face, liking the feel of the silky hair through his fingers. He lowered his head, kissing the soft skin beneath her collar bone, working his way up the side of her neck. His hand wrapped around the back of her neck as he laid her down slowly on the smooth, cobblestone patio of the large colonnaded courtyard.
She sighed and ran her fingers through his hair. “We’ll never finish the game if you insist on kissing me every time you win a round.”
Although he
r tone was scolding, her hand wandered the length of his chest to cup his balls.
They tightened in her hand. His hand drifted to the curve of her breast and she gasped, pressing her body closer, her heavy lidded gaze on his face.
“You’re much more interesting to play with, sweetling,” he breathed against her ear.
“I believe it’s my turn,” she said, slightly out of breath.
He kissed her again, taking his time to savor the taste of strawberries and cream. She
snuggled against him, her hip brushing against his erection, tempting him, her tongue tracing the edge of his mouth.
“I grow tired of this game. Let’s play another.”
She shook her head. “You’re afraid you’ll lose.”
The temptation to prove he could win the game and preserve his male pride was
overshadowed by thoughts of her body naked before him. “I’ll concede. You win.”
“No!” She pushed at him, not strong enough to make him move if he persisted. “I’m good at this game.”
“I know. So there’s no reason to humiliate me, is there?”
She pouted. “You’re humoring me just so I’ll go to bed with you.”
He threw back his head and laughed. No one in his four-thousand-years had dared to treat
him as she did. No one had dared to tease him in such a way. And he found himself loving her more for it.
“Very well. We’ll finish the game.”
He sat up and hesitated to help her up from the ground. She looked so damn sexy laying there with her dark hair pooling around her head and leg bared to the thigh. A tantalizing treat he wanted to unwrap and savor for eternity. She held out her hand and he reluctantly pulled her up to sit next to him.
“You won’t lose on purpose just to finish sooner, will you?”
Though he liked the idea, he knew she wouldn’t appreciate it. “No.” He lightly kissed her palm and handed her the ball. “Your turn.”
The air around them shifted as Penelope walked into the courtyard. “I hate to disturb your game, but Zeus is in the throne room and he demands to speak to Persephone.”
My Lord Hades Page 27