He peered down at her, a glint in his eyes. “You enjoy the change of seasons?”
“Of course I do. It’s like ... a form of magic, to watch the world transform itself.”
“Wouldn’t it be sad if the seasons ceased to be?” He stared out at the sluggish dark river in the distance. She winced at the sight of a grim reaper-ish figure steering a ferry through the bleak waters.
“It would certainly harm the environment.” Nature had been her first love.
“I must inform you that the seasons cannot change until someone takes Persephone’s place on the throne.” He gave her a sidelong glance.
“What are you saying?” A knot tied itself firmly in her midsection.
“Why do you think summer has lasted so long? She decided to live above, which means that autumn can’t come. Soon, global warming will reach epic proportions. The ice caps will melt, all the plants will die, and earth will suffer a catastrophe.” He reached down and plucked a gray flower from the ground and handed it to her. “It’s an asphodel,” he told her as she studied the fragile blossom. “It’s our flower, down here in the world below. Now it’s yours.”
She twirled the stem of the asphodel in her hand, lost in thought. Global warming? She couldn’t stand by and witness the destruction of the environment. She thought of the mountains back home in Pennsylvania, of the rivers and streams, the winter snows and autumn leaves. Didn’t she owe it to them to at least play along with Hades’s request, no matter how insane it seemed, until she could find a solution?
* * * * *
Hyacinth held her breath as the chariot pulled up to a massive gray castle. The entire thing looked as if it had been carved from solid rock. It rose to jagged spires that seemed ready to pierce the dark sky above. A waning moon hung over the cliffs behind it, and the grounds were clustered with the same black cypress trees she’d noted all along their journey.
It was majestic, in an Addams Family sort of way.
Jason stepped around to open the coach door on her side, but Hades waved him away. “I’ll assist the queen from here on out,” he informed Jason, and stepped out of the carriage.
He walked around the back of the vehicle, and opened her door with a bow. “My lady.” He offered her his hand.
She couldn’t think of any alternative but to accept. She didn’t want to get out of the chariot and face the next phase of this experience, but with the future of the environment riding on her shoulders, what choice did she have? She took his hand, melting when she felt the warm pressure of his skin on hers.
A squawking noise overhead caught her attention. She looked up to see yet another flock of strange creatures, these with the wings of hawks and the faces of women.
“Meet the furies.” Hades offered them a wave as they flew through the air above him, their fringed leather garments rustling in the wind. “They look fierce, but they’re harmless enough.”
“Loyal servants of the crown, I suppose?” She stepped out of the carriage and onto the gravel covered drive.
“But of course.” He took a gadget from the pocket of his black trousers. Hyacinth could’ve sworn that it was a beeper of some kind. He punched a few buttons on it and slipped it back into his pocket.
“As are they.” He pointed to the arching stone doors of the castle, which swung open, as if at his command. A swarm of thin, pale beauties filed out, all dressed in black floor length gowns. It looked like the goth convention she’d accidentally wandered into during a weekend in Philadelphia.
My God, Hyacinth thought, there’s a Hot Topic in the Underworld?
The herd of Morticia wannabes reached where she and the king stood and stopped. They all bowed to Hades in unison. Hyacinth rolled her eyes. What an ego this guy must have. She bet even the owls nesting in the cypress trees had to bow when he glanced their way.
One of the girls stepped forward. She looked identical to the others except for the silver diadem capping her smooth black hair. “Sire, welcome home.” She bowed so deeply that her forehead nearly touched the ground.
Hyacinth coughed, and the girl stood upright. She glanced from Hyacinth to Hades, her eyebrows raised questioningly.
“Yes, Anemone, this is the future queen.” Hades squeezed Hyacinth’s hand as he spoke.
Anemone curtsied to Hyacinth. “At your service, my lady.”
“Anemone was Persephone’s most honored lady-in-waiting,” Hades explained. “She and the other ladies will be thrilled to serve you.”
“Yes, your majesty.” Anemone bowed again, and turned to Hyacinth. “This way, if you please.”
The swarm of black-gowned babes surrounded her. “Wh-where are they taking me?” she called to Hades over her shoulder as the ladies-in-waiting swept her toward the castle doors.
“To prepare you.” He folded his arms over his chest, a smile of amusement spreading across his handsome face.
“For what?” Hyacinth called back to him as Anemone opened the stone doors and led her inside.
“Your royal audience.” A hush of awe filled Anemone’s voice. “You’ll spend tonight with the king.”
Chapter Four
“Your royal bath chamber, my lady.” Anemone swung open a pair of marble doors inlaid with lapis.
Hyacinth halted. There was no point in trying to appear blasé, as if she saw castle bathrooms on a regular basis. She’d never seen one before.
In fact, she’d never seen anything like this bathroom before.
Her mind vaguely registered the sound of Anemone’s voice as she pointed out the various amenities to her, but she couldn’t concentrate. Although she’d only seen the private hallway leading to her suite, she had a feeling the opulence of Hades’s humble abode could dazzle the most decadent earthly ruler.
The floor was made of solid marble. She traced the toe of her sandal over it. “This marble is blue.”
“Yes, my lady.” Anemone touched a switch on the wall beside the door, and the room burst into a warm golden glow of light.
“But ... blue marble doesn’t exist.” Hyacinth threw a glance at the ladies-in-waiting stationed by the bathroom door. “Blue is my favorite color. I’d know if it did.”
Anemone chuckled. “We have many things in our world which don’t exist in yours.” She took Hyacinth’s arm. “Including blue marble.” Steering her into the interior of the room, she indicated for the ladies to follow.
The room defied description. Easily twice the size of her entire house, appointed in blue marble and huge gold-framed mirrors, it was more like a spa than a personal bathroom.
The ladies led her behind a screen. A sunken tub made entirely of lapis, at least the size of a small swimming pool, had been filled with water. White rose petals floated on the surface, and countless white candles flanked the edges. A wall made entirely of rock stood behind the tub.
“Your bath, my lady.” Anemone gestured to the tub. “And if you wish for fresh water ...” She turned a silver lever beside the tub, and the rock wall behind it transformed into a waterfall.
“This is ...” Hyacinth sought the right word and failed. “... Overwhelming.” She shook her head. “I’m not sure what to do next.”
Anemone placed a hand on Hyacinth’s shoulder, leaning in to whisper in her ear. “Relax.” She stroked Hyacinth’s hair back from her face. “And enjoy it.”
Before she had time to object, the ladies-in-waiting were undressing her. They removed her sandals first then slid her pale blue t-shirt over her head.
Hyacinth covered her chest self-consciously. She’d never been naked in front of anyone but her doctor and her ex-husband. And here she was, in this fantasy bathroom, surrounded by a clan of black-haired beauties, wearing nothing but her bra and her jeans.
Make that her bra and panties, she thought, as one of the ladies unfastened her jeans and removed them.
Anemone’s soft hands found the clasp of her bra and unhooked it. With an inexplicably gentle touch, she slipped the shoulder straps down, and freed Hyacinth from
their constraints.
She closed her eyes, letting the bra fall away. She covered her breasts with her hands, feeling the nipples harden beneath them.
Two of the ladies tugged down the simple white cotton panties she wore and tossed them aside, leaving her completely nude. She knew her face bore the stains of an embarrassed blush, but she refused to act like the mouse Riley had always accused her of being. This was a once in a lifetime experience, and she planned to embrace it to the fullest, despite her embarrassment.
The ladies had all stripped down to nothing. Hyacinth snuck a glance, taking in the scene around her. It looked like a painting of a Roman bathhouse.
Flanked by her ladies on both sides, she stepped into the tub and under the waterfall. The ladies splashed water at each other, their giggles piercing the air. Hyacinth relaxed a millimeter as the hot spring water poured down her back. If the ladies-in-waiting weren’t ashamed, why should she be?
“May I?” Anemone’s voice broke into her reverie. Hyacinth looked up to see the handmaiden holding a silver pitcher.
“To wash your hair,” Anemone explained, indicating the pitcher.
“Of course.” Hyacinth tried for a sophisticated nod, trying not to stare at Anemone’s naked body. The girl had the figure of a centerfold model.
As the handmaiden tipped Hyacinth’s head back under the streaming water, some of the other ladies joined them. Hyacinth felt several pairs of hands lathering her hair, working a luxuriant shampoo through it with fingers that massaged her scalp and temples. She’d had her hair shampooed by her hairdresser, of course, but it couldn’t compare to such a complete sensual overload as this. Nothing could.
She gasped when she felt a pair of soapy hands smoothing over her breasts and shoulders. Unable to open her eyes with the water from the pitcher raining down on her head, she had to rely on her sense of touch to inform her. She felt soft hands washing her, making her breasts ache and her nipples tighten. Another pair of hands began to wash her back, stroking soap down its length as if they had all the time in the world.
When two sets of hands began to wash her belly and between her thighs, Hyacinth didn’t even try to stifle a moan.
Her hair washed and rinsed, she opened her eyes. All but four of the ladies had stepped back. The four who remained began to rinse her soap-covered body, their slick hands sliding over her breasts, swirling around her nipples, gliding down her hips and trailing between her thighs.
She could feel their wet, slippery breasts against her, their warm, hard nipples grazing her skin. They washed and rinsed her as if she were made from priceless porcelain, as if their very touch could shatter her into a thousand pieces.
Maybe not in the literal sense, she thought, but close enough. She found herself overcome by heat pooling at the juncture of her legs. Steam from the waterfall rose up from their bare skin. Hyacinth gasped, trying not to stare at all the exposed female flesh before her, all of it rosy from the warm water and the pleasure of a shared bath.
The desire to reach down and touch herself the way Hades had touched her in the dream tempted her. She needed to find completion, to end this torment of the senses. She pulled in a shuddering breath and met Anemone’s heated gaze.
Anemone clapped abruptly. “Ladies, let us give our future queen a moment of privacy to finish bathing.” The ladies all made a rush for the huge closet, taking out black robes and slipping them on within seconds.
“When you’re finished,” Anemone threw her a knowing smile, “just ring the bell for me.”
With that, they emptied the room, leaving Hyacinth alone with her overheated body.
She who’d been called frigid during her marriage, who’d never had a single orgasm until Hades had appeared in a dream to give her one, was so aroused it had become painful.
Finally alone, she turned to face the waterfall. Its powerful streams ran over her breasts, bringing her already sensitized nipples to torturous peaks. She rubbed them slowly then leaned back and opened herself to the gushing water.
The falls pounded her clitoris, stroking it like a lover’s tongue. She thrust her hips, varying the pressure, letting it trickle down her throbbing cleft. Clutching her breasts with both hands, she came in a violent eruption, crying out in a voice ragged with longing.
When the final aftershocks subsided, she collapsed against the side of the tub and let the hot water soothe her. What had just happened here? She’d ended up in a room full of naked women, felt their hands and breasts all over her body, then brought herself to a mind-bending climax with the aid of a waterfall?
Not bad for a florist from Harrisburg. She gave herself a congratulatory smile, and reached out a weak hand to ring for Anemone.
* * * * *
Hades shifted on his throne, his eyes fixed on the door. Never had he been so anxious about a royal audience before.
What if he failed to please his future queen? He rubbed his chin with his hand, hearing the rasp of stubble. If she demanded to return to the world above, he was bound to let her go. But before it came to that, he had to take every chance to prove to her that he could make her happy, that they shared a destiny far too rare to cast aside without due consideration.
How could he make her see that?
Just then, two footmen opened the doors to his throne room, and Anemone ushered Hyacinth inside.
His breath caught in his throat. Had he ever seen anything so beautiful before?
She approached him slowly, her eyes never leaving his. Feeling his pulse race, he tore his gaze from hers and took the opportunity to study her, from the top of her pale golden corn-silk hair to the toes of her jeweled sandals.
Her willowy body was encased in a perfectly draped chlamydon, which left most of her ivory arms and her swan-like neck exposed. The black fabric, embroidered with countless silver stars and crescent moons, made her fair hair even more striking. She wore it twisted back in an elaborate knot, the work of the ladies-in-waiting, he was sure. Nevertheless, the effect had nearly brought him to his knees.
She stood at the foot of his throne now, and he returned his gaze to her eyes, drinking in their color like a rare vintage. Had he ever seen such blue before? Not in his world.
He rose to greet her, taking her hand and brushing it with his lips. He felt her shiver.
“You are lovely beyond compare, my dear Hyacinth.” He continued to hold her hand, feeling her pulse jump. A masculine surge of pride shot through him. He was the cause of her unrest.
She touched her hair self-consciously with her free hand. “Anemone is an amazing hair-dresser.”
“That may be true, but in your case, she had amazing hair to dress.” He drew her closer to him. “I trust you’ve found your accommodations to be adequate so far?”
The corner of her mouth turned up. “You could say that, yes.”
“Good.” He reached behind him and took a silver box from the floor beside his throne. “This is for you.”
He held it out to her, willing her to take it. She hesitated, her smile fading before turning into a frown. Finally, she took the box from him and opened it as if she expected Pandora herself to pop out of it.
She stared at the contents of the container for a brief instant, looking as if she held her breath. He held his as well, feeling his entire world hanging by the gossamer thread of her response.
“These are ...” She paused.
“The crown jewels,” he supplied in a rush. Great Zeus, if she didn’t accept the crown ...
Before she could offer a protest, he removed the ruby and emerald encrusted platinum crown from the box. He made a move to place it on her head, but she stopped him.
“I can’t accept this.” She reached inside the box and retrieved a matching necklace. She studied it briefly and returned it to the box. “I can’t accept any of it.” She held the box out to him with a determined expression.
After recovering his powers of speech, he sputtered, “Why the hell not?”
Her calm violet eyes met his.
“Because I have no intention of staying here.”
He took the box from her and, with patience he was far from feeling, put it down on the seat of Persephone’s former throne.
“I thought you were willing to make the sacrifice to protect the environment.” He didn’t turn back to face her. He couldn’t, not when she threatened to crush his heart beneath her heel.
“I care very much about the environment, but I can’t give up my own life for a problem you should solve yourself.”
He whipped around, not bothering to mask his anger and disappointment. “How the blazes am I suppose to solve this?”
She shrugged. “Talk to Zeus, or whoever created this insane set of rules about the seasons.”
“You say that as if changing the mind of the supreme god of Olympus is as easy as ordering take-out.”
“I’m sorry you have such a burden to carry, but I want to go back home.” She dropped her gaze. “I have a life waiting for me in the world above.”
“Do you?” He inched closer to her. “Or do you have a failed marriage and countless empty nights to fill?”
Her eyes shot fire at him. “Don’t you dare bring my ex-husband into this.”
“And why not? Let’s see, you have no marriage to return to.” He ticked his reasons off on his fingers. “No family, one good friend, and a small business.” He let out a bitter laugh. “I’m forgetting the cramped dwelling you call a house.”
“You should know, since you managed to sneak into my dreams and seduce me in my own bedroom.” She shot him a look from beneath her lowered eyelashes.
“I didn’t hear you object at the time,” he muttered in a dry voice.
She looked as if she were about to say something, then changed her mind. “What happened between us in my bedroom isn’t important right now. You have to let me go home.”
He reached for her. “Tell me about your marriage, about what went wrong. I can’t imagine any man giving you up willingly.”
She let him take her hand. “Riley had his reasons.” She rolled her eyes. “One of them was named Denise.”
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