Flame's Embrace

by Pillar, Amanda

  Me, running through a field toward…him. Hades. A god.

  My mother was a goddess.

  I was something in between. Not mortal. Not a goddess. Breakable and easily hidden.

  “It was you who watched me,” I said when I found my voice.

  I stared at the sad-eyed man next to me. He turned in the truck, draping one arm over the steering wheel, and faced me. “I did. It took me so long to find you. Centuries would pass without me feeling any spark of recognition, no matter how hard I searched. I found you early this time. You were just a child. All I could do was wait.”

  This man—this god—he loved me. He gave me my memories back, but I’d also seen his memories. He’d searched for me desperately, caught glimpses of me only to have me disappear again.

  But—”Twenty-seven years, Hades!” I leaned forward and pushed his chest. He was rock hard and I ended up dragging my hands down his chest. I could feel every muscle. Focus, Korey! Focus! “You waited twenty-seven years! Why so long? Why not when I was sixteen? Or eighteen?”

  “I don’t know!” he replied. The truck shook and he took a deep breath. “I don’t know,” he said again, quieter. “I began to wonder if I should just leave you be. This is the longest life you’ve had, you know. Each time I found you, something happened, and you’d disappear. I’ve never gotten this close. Not since the first time.”

  He reached for me, but thought better of it. Fuck that noise. I wanted him.

  “Reason one million I like you,” I whispered. “You want the best for me.”

  I dove at him, splaying my knees on either side of his hips so I could kiss him. His lips bruised mine, but I was the one in charge. I remembered how he liked to be touched, and I did that now.

  I pushed my fingers through his hair, holding his head between my palms so I could angle his face the way I wanted. I touched my tongue to his and then curled it, dragging it over his.

  He still tasted like vanilla and pomegranate.

  I ripped my lips away. “Pomegranate.”

  His eyes were closed, and he smiled. “It was always your favorite. You tasted of it each time I kissed you.”

  And now he did.

  “We’ve come full circle.”

  He gripped my hips and lowered me so I rubbed against his jean-covered dick. I sucked in a breath and let my head fall back, lost in the sensation of his touch.

  Rolling my hips, I found that friction again and again until we were both panting.

  “I don’t want to fuck you in a truck, Korey.”

  I loved how he used my name. I was Persephone long ago. She was inside me, along with all of her love and her memories. But Korey was the person I was now.

  She was tough and followed her heart.

  And she loved this man who stared at her like she hung the moon. So, yeah. I really liked the way he said my name, like he couldn’t believe I was real.

  “We could fuck out there,” I gestured with my head toward the field covered in wildflowers. “For old time’s sake, or we could make new memories in here. Where I ride you until you make me come so hard I scream.”

  “That.” His eyes glittered and his cheeks pinked. “The second one first. Then the first one second.”

  I laughed and reached between us to undo the button and zipper on his jeans. He was no help, busy with my own pants and shirt.

  It occurred to me that he could have used his power to make our clothes disappear, but I loved that he wanted me so badly he resorted to this clumsy, human disrobing.

  Finally, finally, we were skin to skin. His length was nestled between my folds, long and hot and thick. I lifted up on my knees, positioning him at my entrance, and then slowly sank down on him.

  I was wet, but I was also a twenty-seven-year-old virgin. I lowered myself an inch, and then stopped, breathing as my body adjusted.

  “Korey.” He kissed me, reached between us to circle my clit with his thumb, and then pulled away. “You—”

  “Everyone else is gross,” I replied, answering his unspoken question, and he laughed. “You’re the only person I ever want to touch me.”

  His laughter died as he stared at me. Inside me, his cock twitched, but he made no move to deepen his penetration. “You really want this? Want me?”

  I lifted myself up, canting my hips toward him as a shiver ran through my body. His thumb was lighting me on fire. I let myself fall, taking him as deep as I could, and kissed him.

  There was only touch then. The glide of skin, the tightening of muscles, the taste of his lips and the way he sucked and sipped at my lips.

  Something was building up inside me, yearning for release. Heat spread, increasing with every thrust Hades made.

  “Come.”

  I opened my eyes to find him staring at me. His teeth were bared and his eyes black with passion. He was waiting for me, intent on me finding release before he did.

  And that was how I fell to pieces. I cried out, my body shaking, heart full to bursting, as I came.

  Hades buried his face against my neck, groaning low and deep as warmth jetted inside me.

  We held each other. I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissed his shoulder, his neck, his chin, while he chuckled and chased my lips.

  The gods called him the Lord of Darkness, but if any of them heard him now, they’d realize how wrong they were.

  He didn’t rule darkness. He didn’t cause hopelessness or fear.

  Today could have been the worst day of my life. For crying out loud, I faced death twice because my mother tried to kill me—

  But it wasn’t the worst day. This person I held in my arms made me feel only lightness.

  Happiness.

  Love.

  *

  We did end up making love in the field. And then again in the truck. We explored each other until we were breathless, and I was starving.

  Hades made a feast appear, and it was everything I loved. Pizza. Beer. Chicken wings.

  “I hope that who I am now doesn’t disappoint you.” I licked the sauce from my fingers.

  “Not at all.” He didn’t even hesitate—glorious man. “I love everything about you.” He learned forward and swiped at a spot next to my lips. “You had a little buffalo sauce.”

  I turned my head fast and kissed him before he got away. “I love you, too.”

  When he sat back, his cheeks were pink and his eyes that whiskey brown they lightened to sometimes.

  It reminded me of the fields around my farm, and something else. “My mother.” Appetite disappearing, I put down the chicken and grabbed a handful of napkins. “I don’t want to die again, Hades. Which reminds me…if I was dead, why didn’t I just meet up with you somewhere? Isn’t that the way it works?” People died, and they went to him to be judged. Just rule. I picked up his hand and kissed the words tattooed onto his fingers.

  At least, I thought that was the way it worked. Even when I’d spent half a year with him where he ruled the undead—not zombies, mind you, souls—I hadn’t known everything.

  “It’s supposed to work that way,” Hades replied. He caught my chin in his hand and dragged me forward for a kiss. Logic spilled out of my head, replaced with need.

  I wasn’t sure how I’d gone from a girl uninterested in sex to the horniest former virgin in the universe, but there it was.

  “I’m not doing what we did before.” My mother had complained to Zeus about my marriage to Hades, and I hadn’t been able to live with him as I’d wished. This time, I wasn’t letting anyone else dictate my life. “I’m going to stay with you. You’re my husband, and I’m your wife.”

  “I want that, too.”

  “How long were we apart?” I asked. From his memories, the only sense of time I had was long. A long time had passed. Millenia. Eons.

  I was owed an eternity with him. “I want you to bring me back to my farm. We’re going to give my mom the what’s what.”

  Sitting back, he studied
me. “Demeter is powerful, and she’s a goddess. They don’t like being told what to do.”

  Yeah. I could see that about my mom. But the other alternative was that she never saw me again.

  “I think we can make her an offer she can’t refuse.” I did a horrible Godfather impression and he laughed.

  He was literally the most perfect match for me. Thank you for him. I sent up the message to the universe, and whoever might be listening. I am so grateful.

  Hades stared at me and then moved closer. “I will protect you. Whatever that takes.”

  Poof. There went my underwear again. “I know you will.”

  Hades

  Korey stood with her head high and back straight, her hand outstretched for mine. Using my power, I sent us directly to her farm, and the kitchen where her mother and father sat at their table.

  When we appeared, Demeter shot a bolt of power at me, but I was ready.

  “Mom. Seriously?” Korey stomped her foot. “This is not how it’s going to be for the rest of our lives. Do you want to know your grandchildren?”

  Demeter paled, reaching for her husband. Jared moved to stand behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist. He kissed her temple and whispered. “Just let them talk.”

  I didn’t know what their story was, but I was a little curious. Who was this human who spoke to Demeter like she was his equal and not an all-powerful goddess?

  She glared at me, but her gaze softened when she peered at Korey. “I only did this because I love you so much. I want you to be happy.”

  Korey sat in a chair, waiting. I stood behind her, hands on her shoulders. She might think her mother wouldn’t try to kill her again, but I wasn’t certain. Every ounce of concentration and power I had went to protecting her.

  “I believe you,” Korey said.

  Shocked, Demeter stumbled into a chair. “You do?”

  Rolling her eyes, Korey nodded. “Of course. You’re my mom. I know you love me. But I also know you’re selfish, and you want me all to yourself. And that’s not fair.”

  “You’d be miserable in the Underworld. You’re light and sweet. And Hades is—”

  Korey held out her hand. “You don’t know him, and he makes me happy. He’s always made me happy. For fuck’s sake, Mom, I survived a grease fire, a tornado, and you doing a fucking superhero villain impression, and it was still the best day I can remember having in years!”

  “Don’t say ‘fuck,’ “ she muttered, dropping her gaze to the scarred kitchen table.

  “We want you to be happy, honey,” Jared said. “Your mom has always wanted that. She just got a little lost.”

  “I don’t want to take her from you,” I said. “I’m not trying to cut you out of her life.”

  “We can still see each other,” Korey added. “We have Friday night dinners. Holidays. I have work, you could come to the diner…”

  Demeter blinked and drew her eyebrows together in confusion. “I never thought about that.”

  “Well, think about it.” Korey reached up, resting her hand on mine. “Think about what every other twenty-seven-year old who gets married does. We’re not going to be any different. Unless…”

  Her mom leaned forward. “Unless what?”

  “Unless you keep killing me and stealing me away. We can either live a happy life together, or you can live looking over your shoulder. Because if I know one thing for sure, it’s that—”

  “I’ll always find her,” I interjected. “I love her, and I’ll never stop looking for her.”

  Jared smiled at me. “I think you make a very good point.”

  Demeter twisted around to stare at him, but he didn’t flinch. Instead, he smiled and nodded at her.

  “Fine.” She sighed. “But we keep Friday dinners. Starting this week.”

  “Not this week.” Korey shook her head. “We’re going on our honeymoon. But after that, you got it. Deal?”

  For the first time in my memory, I saw Demeter smile. “Deal.” Her gaze lifted to mine. “Deal?” She held out her hand, waiting.

  This was something I could live with, so I took her hand and shook it. “Deal.”

  Epilogue

  Korey

  We kept our promise, and so did my mother. And when we had our first baby, a little girl with hair as dark as my husband’s, and eyes that looked like the sky at night, my mother cried and kissed her grandbaby’s forehead. “To think, I almost lost this.”

  Over their heads, I met Hades’ gaze. To think. But Hades and I were always supposed to be together. Ours was a love story that only could have had one ending.

  And so I lived happily ever after. With Hades.

  About Ripley

  Ripley Proserpina spends her days huddled near a fire in the frozen northern wilds of Vermont. She lives with her family, three magnificent cats, and a dog she doesn’t deserve.

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  Fleeting Flowers

  A Circle of Secrets Short Story

  Vivienne Savage

  Warren Westbrook double-checked the small business card in his hand, verifying the address against the narrow storefront before him. Leave it to the Prescott branch of the family to operate a magic shop out in the open, under the guise of peddling crystals, herbs, and candles to hippies.

  Bells tinkled overhead as he stepped inside a dim space redolent with the aroma of incense spilling from a gilded censer above an altar dedicated to an unfamiliar deity.

  “Warren!”

  One hundred pounds of pixie-sized witch collided with him. The Prescott branch of the Westbrook family had mingled with “the other side”, merging magician and witch blood over the course of centuries since the time of the Salem Witch Trials.

  “Good to see you, Lana. Sorry it’s so late, but the meeting ran through dinner.”

  “That’s all right, we can do lunch tomorrow.” She released him and went back around the counter, where she started flipping through a small box. “I know a great Vietnamese place a few streets over, and I have a free appetizer coupon here somewhere.”

  “Er… My flight leaves at seven.”

  The little blonde pursed her lips and snapped the box shut. “What?”

  “I’m on the first flight out tomorrow.”

  “Only you would come to New York for something as boring as a seminar without planning to stay an extra day to take in the sights. What’s wrong with you? Why are you so boring, Warren?”

  “I’m not boring.”

  His cousin squinted at him across the counter. “I beg to differ, Clark Kent. Uninspired haircut, dull tie, tailored but painfully uninteresting gray suit.” A moment passed, of her staring at him, lips thoughtfully pursed, before she added. “This is why you’re single.”

  “I hate you.”

  “You love me. What you hate is that I’m right. Women see you and they probably think, ‘My God, what a fucking hottie...who probably only performs missionary under the sheets in the dark.’ Is that the image you want to project?”

  Warren barked out an involuntary laugh. Dating wasn’t exactly in the cards when Warren had the weight of the family on his shoulders and leading their prestigious clan in his father’s absence from the public eye. The board wanted the elder Westbrook to step down. The circle wanted Warren to step up and take his place.

  Both felt wrong. The illness hadn’t taken him out of the game just yet.

  “Anyway, I know you don’t have anything going for you. Reschedule your flight. I can hook you up with a sexy witch for brunch.”

  “No thanks.” Warren hesitated to reco
nsider the option. A fling with a kinky city witch would be the cherry on the sundae. He quickly banished the thought. “No.”

  The bell over the door chimed, the cool air whisking in the scent of spiced vanilla and red musk. Lana’s smile brightened as she looked past his shoulder, her voice taking on a chipper tone.

  “Welcome back.”

  Warren turned and took a long, appreciative look at the woman in the doorway. Tall, long-limbed, and a redhead.

  “Not a chance,” Lana whispered. “Totally out of your league.”

  The comment, teasing as it was, irritated him. Rather than give her the satisfaction of making a sarcastic comeback, he offered the redhead a smile.

  “Good evening.”

  She offered a small, brief smile, her amber-hued gaze lingering briefly on him before sliding past to Lana. “I came to see if you’d gotten a restock on that perfume oil.”

  “I did! Whipped up a fresh batch last night and I set a bottle aside for you.”

  Warren’s brows lifted. Lana never ceased to surprise him with her ingenious creations. She brought out a small bottle from behind the counter and passed it over.

  “Try it on. We’ll let Warren give his thoughts.”

  *

  Bridget couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen a man so handsome in a business suit. He probably modeled them for pricey designer labels. He certainly smelled like the expensive cologne counter at a high-end department store.

  How hard up can I be, that I’m discretely sniffing a stranger?

  Bridget caught him checking her out again. A tingle of pleasure zipped up her spine and filled her with warmth. Nothing boosted the ego like being admired by a hot guy. Even if only in passing.

  The hectic lifestyle of living on the run didn’t agree with relationships.

  For the past three years, Bridget had been a woman moving from one place to the next, never sticking around for longer than a few months. All to escape an immortal bastard eager to carve the heart out of her chest.

  A heart that skipped a beat at the thought of letting a handsome stranger comment on a perfume she was buying.