by Bella Klaus
“Is that a figure of speech?” I asked.
“Please finish.” He crossed his heart. “I promise to be a quiet patient.”
My eyes narrowed. The red welts at his waistband grew brighter, making my heart clench. Even if he was exaggerating them with his light magic, I had still burned him from the inside out, and he was still suffering.
I needed to focus on what really mattered: making up for electrocuting him.
“Cocos nucifera?” I asked. “Could I have some water?”
A soft thud later, a green coconut rolled to my side, and the banana leaves curled upward to raise Hades’ upper body so he could drink.
“You’re a natural with the plants,” he rasped.
I shook my head. “They’re just good listeners.”
After picking up the coconut, I rolled it around in my hands. There was a knack to opening them, but I didn’t want to leave Hades’ side, so I twisted around to give myself space.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“One second.” Lightning gathered on my fingertips, and with a swipe of my hand, I sliced off the husk and brought the coconut to his lips. “Drink.”
Hades took several long gulps, and steam rose from his nostrils and parted lips.
My chest tightened. “How are you still alive?”
“It takes a lot more than lightning to kill an immortal god,” he said with a dry chuckle.
“Will your eyes grow back?” I asked.
“Eventually.” He drained the coconut, exhaled a long sigh, and lounged back onto the banana leaves. “I believe you have a few more patches to heal? One in particular is looking forward to being revived under your touch.”
I gulped, my traitorous libido surging. “Shall I get you another drink?”
He placed the coconut husk on the ground, rested his head beneath his hands and grinned. “This is the perfect time to teach you the art of manus caritate.”
“What’s that?”
“Handjobs.” His pants vanished, revealing the reddened stretch of skin around his groin.
I sucked in a sharp breath through my teeth. The lightning had even gotten to his penis, which lay flaccid against his thigh. It was larger and thicker than any of the bananas but covered in those livid red marks.
“Alright.” I broke off another aloe vera leaf, scooped out the gel, and slathered it over my palms.
Hades turned around, exposing the burned skin of his ass cheeks. “We’ll save the best until last.”
“Whatever you say.”
I rubbed the cooling liquid over his tight glutes, my heart aching as he groaned his relief. The welts warmed beneath my fingers as the heat from the lightning escaped, but it took another application for them to fade and shrink.
“Why did you let me burn you?” I asked.
“It was the easiest way to connect our magic without slamming my cock into you over and over,” he said with a moan. “Once I’ve healed from this, I should be able to wield your power without side effects.”
I applied a third coat of aloe vera salve… just in case, and gave his glutes a thorough massage. “Can I use your power?”
“Some of it,” he muttered.
My hands stilled. “Because I’m untrained?”
“Because I spend the bulk of my magic on maintaining the integrity of the Fifth Faction.” He turned to expose his front, and he was still flaccid.
My teeth worried at my bottom lip. Earlier, when Hades had taught me the fine art of sensual massage, he had been so aroused that I’d needed to fold the towel into quarters to avoid the distraction. Before we had connected powers, he had practically floated that fig leaf off his lap.
The blood vessels supplying the penis were supposed to be delicate. As I continued to massage aloe vera into his heated skin, his thick erection never so much as twitched. Maybe I’d ruined his ability to ever have children.
My gaze wandered up his muscular body and to his closed eyelids. “What if you never recover?”
He hummed. “If you work hard in your lesson, I’ll reward you with my raging erection.”
“I was talking about your sight!”
“You and I both know which of my abilities you value the most,” he said with a broad grin.
A laugh huffed from my chest. Anyone else would be murderous at what my power had done to him, but Hades was still making jokes. I worked the aloe vera down his six-pack, over his hips. and into his pubic hair, making sure to add another layer when it sizzled.
He parted his thighs, giving me better access to his testicles. “Balls first.”
His deep voice made my nipples tingle and the pulse between my legs thud a staccato beat.
Warmth pooled low in my belly, and my heart pounded so hard that it made my fingers tremble. I broke off a piece of aloe vera and coated my hands, but its cool liquid did nothing to lower my body temperature.
“Explain to me why I need to learn to give you a handjob,” I said.
“The Devil’s Ball has a sexual element to it,” he drawled. “As Persephone, everyone—including the being who doles out the power—will expect you to consort with me.”
“That makes a strange kind of sense, I suppose.” My fingers trembled as they approached his impressive set of testicles. They were heavy and plump and enticing, even though they were covered in painful red marks.
The night of the masquerade ball, Hades had taken charge, and I hadn’t gotten the chance to explore his body. Now, I was getting an entire tutorial.
The gel on my fingers sizzled as they descended on the hot flesh of his scrotum, and it quickly evaporated as I rubbed it in. Hades lifted his head and moaned, the sound going straight to my clit.
“Are you in pain?” I asked.
“Cup them,” he said in that deep drawl.
Heat burned my cheeks as I wrapped my hands around his balls. They were firm under my fingers, like overripe kiwifruit ready for plucking.
As I massaged his heavy flesh, the sensitive ball of nerves between my legs ached and pulsed with need. I swallowed back a whimper and focused on my task. This was about him, not me.
I reapplied the gel onto both hands, making sure to heal the skin around his hips and the tops of his thighs, but as I caressed his balls, my finger accidentally brushed his penis, which stiffened.
Hades jerked up with a hiss. “Bloody hell.”
My heart jumped. “What have I done wrong?”
“Use the gel on my cock before it gets any bigger, and the skin splits open,” he said from between clenched teeth.
I snapped a generous piece of aloe vera off the plant and poured the gel over his burgeoning erection.
The plant sap hissed, followed by a cloud of steam that dampened my skin. Hades threw his head back and groaned his relief. “More.”
After coating my hands with more of the gel, I waved away the vapor and gaped at his penis.
It was half-hard, with a network of angry red marks. I grabbed the length with both hands, wincing as the aloe vera bubbled and evaporated. Poor Hades. That had to be painful.
Once the red welts had released their heat and receded into his skin, the texture of his erection became more like a layer of silk-velvet beneath a network of veins and bumps and ridges.
He lengthened and thickened under my touch, radiating a gentle heat that had nothing to do with my lightning. I continued stroking him, running my slick fingers over the shaft, enjoying how they glided over the thick ridge of his glans.
When he was completely swollen and pulsing beneath my touch, he groaned, “Good work.”
“What do you want me to do next?” I asked.
“Wrap one hand around the base of my shaft and pump me with the other.”
“Like this?” I held him with a firm grip that made him hum with approval.
A thousand butterflies took flight in my stomach, caressing my insides with wings of silk. They spread across my chest and up my throat, flapping to the beat of my rapid pulse.
Ha
des was beyond beautiful, beyond glorious, and I could hardly believe I was getting the chance to touch his exquisite body. I bit down on my bottom lip, trying to stay calm, but the effort was futile.
As I stroked and tugged his thick length, Hades shuddered with gasping, panting breaths. This was a hundred times more erotic than anything I’d seen on Netflix, but frustrating because both hands were occupied, and I couldn’t pleasure myself. I squeezed my thighs together and groaned.
Hades threw his head back, his chest heaving with panting breaths.
I wanted to see his eyes. Wanted to see those irises burn with molten fire, but he kept them shut, his face slack with pleasure. “Squeeze me at the tip.”
Still keeping one hand around the base of his shaft, I tightened the finger of the other as I reached the bulbous head of his erection. A bead of pearlescent fluid glistened from its slit, making my mouth water for a taste.
“Gather up the precum from my slit,” he growled. “Smear it over my cock head.”
A moan slipped from my lips. That sounded incredibly hot, and I was more than willing to follow his instructions.
He thrust his hips back and forth, increasing the friction, and reminding me of how he had slid into me the night of the ball.
Sweat beaded on my brow, and the pulse between my legs pounded. I leaned forward as I pumped him up and down.
Hades arched his back and climaxed with a roar that made the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Jet after jet of thick white fluid erupted from his slit, landing on his tight abs, his chest, his collarbones.
My eyes bulged, and I stared down at his glistening body.
“Did I do okay?” I whispered.
The ground beneath me shook, and the burned-out raffia leaf that had once been our bench exploded into a cloud of dust.
“For fuck’s sake,” Hades snarled.
I scrambled to my feet. “What’s happening?”
“Rebellion in the pit.” As he rose, red leather covered his nude form. Up close, it consisted of thick scales, with serpent heads for shoulder plates, and a curled snakeskin on its front. It was the same red armor he had worn in his fight with the Vampire King.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“Stay here with the plants while I deal with this mess.”
“Wait.” I grabbed his wrist.
Hades furrowed his brow. “You’ll be safe here,” he said in a much gentler voice. “Nobody may enter this garden without your permission.”
“Has your vision returned?” I asked.
“I’ll be fine,” he growled. “Let go of me unless you want to see the wickedest demons torture souls in a fiery pit.”
One of Mother’s awful stories rolled to the forefront of my mind—the one about the incubus who walked funny because of the fangs in his penis, and talked with a lisp because his tongue was made of snakes.
The lining of my stomach trembled, and my skin prickled into goosebumps. I clenched my teeth and forced down my terror. This was the woman who had also told me I was dying from corporality sickness.
I turned to Hades, glaring him full in the face. “Open your eyes if you’re fine.”
His lips tightened. “Persephone.”
“Wasn’t she your co-ruler?” I asked. “If you’re going to call me by her name, then give me the same level of respect.”
“That’s hardly the point.” He pulled himself out of my grip. “You’ve been confined for two thousand years, had your memories stripped, and your powers corrupted.”
“But you can’t see.” I gave him a tiny shake, but it had no effect. “At least let me serve as your eyes.”
A growl reverberated in his throat. “Stay here, and stay out of trouble.”
As he completed that sentence, I placed a hand on one of his serpent heads and hitched a ride.
We landed on a bridge of crumbling stone suspended over a lake of glowing lava that bubbled and fizzed and steamed. A cacophony of howls filled the air that made my ears ring. Ice water surged through my veins, even though our surroundings were more stifling than the greenhouse on the hottest day of the year.
“Guards,” Hades roared.
Flinching, I glanced around and took in more of this new location. Smoking animal and human limbs lay strewn about the bridge, some of them oozing blood as though freshly severed. I wasn’t sure if this was real or part of the ambiance. I could hardly ask Hades because a) he couldn’t see, and b) he was probably still too distracted to know I’d hitched a ride on his armor.
Stalagmites protruded from the lava, stretching hundreds of feet into the dark. Dotted about the rock formations were glowing crevices that contained shadows of flailing dark figures.
A breath caught in the back of my throat. It looked like those were the souls.
“Come out, you fucking cowards.” His yell echoed across what was beginning to look like a cavern.
A creature the size of a bat swooped up from beneath the bridge, flapping leathery wings. As it approached, I realized it was a female imp with a serpentine tail that ended in a sharp point.
“Your Majesty,” the creature squeaked. “A group of inmates have formed a soulkin and used their combined power to break out of their cells.”
“Why hasn’t anyone torn them apart?”
She waved her little arms up and down. “They murdered all the torturers and guards who tried to stop them. Now they’re climbing the abyss.”
The imp pointed at the nearest stalagmite, and I had to tilt my head as far as it could go and lean all the way back to see a white dot glowing within the eternal darkness.
“How did this happen?” Hades snapped.
She shrugged. “I found traces of scarlet string in one of their cells. They must have used it to stitch themselves together.”
“What’s scarlet string?” I whispered.
Hades snarled, and the little imp squeaked before disappearing with a pop.
He turned to me, his features twisted into a rictus of rage. “I told you to stay in your garden.”
“And I told you I could help you with your little problem.” I reached down and grabbed his hand. “Give me a suit of armor like yours, and we’ll fly up together and get those rogue souls.”
His lip curled. “If you think I’m going to let you—”
Something exploded above us, raining a spray of blood and gore.
I wrapped my arms around Hades and squealed.
“That’s it,” he snarled. “I’m taking you back.”
“Listen,” I hissed into his ear. “It’s raining body parts right now, and all your demons appear to be dead. Whatever’s up there is powerful, and you need my help.”
He bared his teeth in a growl but didn’t protest.
“If any of your demons see you in this compromised state, they won’t care that you’re holding the Fifth Faction together with half the magic every other Demon King gets.” I gave him a tight squeeze to emphasize my point. “How long before someone powerful decides to challenge your position or takes Samael up on one of his offers?”
“What do you want?” he asked.
“Give me a suit of armor like yours, and I’ll direct you to whatever’s murdering your guards.”
Chapter Sixteen
Hades turned to me, his features a mask of fury. The glowing lava illuminating the pit deepened the angles in his face and brought out the mahogany highlights in his hair and in the lashes of his closed eyes.
“I ought to punish you for your insolence.”
Something landed in the burning lake, sending up huge splashes of molten rock.
“You won’t.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling our bodies close. “Now, hurry and suit me up before something knocks us into the lake of lava.”
His snarl filled my ear. “When this is over, you will face my wrath.”
“That’s the spirit.” I gave him a pat on the shoulder. “With an attitude like that, you’ll tear apart that soul king and squash the rebellion.”
“Soulkin,” he snarled.
“Right.” I bit down on my lip and clung tighter to his neck. “What’s that again?”
“The idiots here seem to think that joining their souls together with thread will make them more powerful and help them escape.”
“Does it work?” I whispered.
“Everyone else’s soul gets consumed by the original sewer, who almost always gets caught.” Wings unfurling, Hades wrapped an arm around my back, and launched us both over the crumbling bridge.
My stomach lurched at the sudden movement, and I swallowed back a scream. This had to be the most terrifying moment of my entire existence—worse than discovering that I’d sort of had sex with the Demon King—but it was my fault Hades was trying to quell a rebellion without the use of his eyes. The least I could do for him was offer a few directions.
“What about my armor?” I tried to stop my voice from trembling.
“Interesting how someone who claims to have sight can’t tell when I’ve taken off her clothes,” he drawled.
I stretched out an arm, which was encased in black leather embroidered with gold bats. “Oh, thanks.”
“If I had known you were so easy to strip naked, I wouldn’t have bothered to leave the invitation where your hellcat could find it,” he muttered. “Nor would I have arranged for her to purchase plant food made of phoenix tears with the pittance she makes at the coffee shop.”
My jaw dropped, and I stared at his handsome profile through bulging eyes. “You’re so—”
“Diabolical?” he said with a smirk. “It’s an essential attribute for the job.”
“Actually, I was going to call you a schemer,” I said.
“Another element of being a Demon King,” he replied with a laugh.
His wings sliced through the air, propelling us toward an endless stalagmite that housed thousands of souls. Distorted white faces protruded from the holes, their features twisted with anguish.
“Is this the special prisoner you and Captain Caria were talking about?” I asked.
Hades stiffened. “Whatever do you mean?”
“That time in the inner sanctum, where you ordered her to train me,” I replied. “She was worried about this prisoner’s restraints.”