For the first time in her life, she felt no self-consciousness about being nude in front of a man. She felt free, wanton, and ready to be taken.
She reached for the buttons of his black shirt, wanting to touch his bare skin, but he stopped her.
“Let me enjoy you first.” He ran a finger from her jaw down to her throat, between her breasts and over her hip. “Tonight, your pleasure will be mine.”
His words whirled through her mind, evoking a plethora of sensual images. But when she felt his hands on her breasts, thought fled her mind, giving way to sensation.
He stroked them, as if familiarizing himself with their weight and shape. Her nipples tightened instantly when the heat of his hands explored her breasts, but he avoided the sensitive peaks, letting them hum with an unsatisfied ache.
She whimpered, begging for him to take the hardened beads. He framed her breasts with his hands, scraping his thumb over the tips of her nipples. She threw her head back and moaned with abandon.
“Close your eyes,” he commanded. “Use your senses instead of your sight.”
She obeyed, a spasm of pleasure uncoiling in her sex. His mouth followed his hands, taking her nipple between his lips. He circled it with his tongue, sucking it until she cried out. Just when the pleasure became too intense, he switched to the other breast, showering it with kisses. She placed her hands on the back of his head and guided him to her nipple. When he touched his tongue to it, her knees went weak.
He licked her nipple until it tightened to a painful point. Then he abandoned it, using his tongue to leave a wet trail from her breast to her belly button. From there, he knelt on the floor before her, parting her legs with his hands.
She shivered, knowing what was about to happen. She’d dreamed of having a man’s mouth on her sex, wondered how it would feel, but had never expected it to happen. A team of butterflies careened through her stomach and she held her breath, waiting.
He traced a finger over her damp slit and parted her folds with his thumbs. Then his tongue touched her clitoris, and pleasure tore through her like a riptide.
He explored her clit with the end of his tongue, flicking it rapidly, then massaging it with long, slow licks. Spreading her cleft further, he lavished both sides of the swollen bud, circling the tip with a precision that made her shake.
She fisted her hands in his hair, aching, swaying her hips forward for more.
He obliged, dipping his tongue into the well of her sex, gliding it between her inner lips before delving deeper into her core. He worked her clit with his thumb, caressing it in slow circular motions, then moved his hand, rubbing the hood of her clit until she felt ready to scream.
She’d never been touched this way before, with such intimacy. Her body gave up its secrets to his tongue, melting into a puddle of wetness beneath his mouth. With his fingers, he spread her juices over her clit, easing the way for his tortured friction to continue.
Her sex beat with a pulse of its own, taking her over wave after wave of pleasure. When he slid a finger inside her and found the sweet spot on her inner wall, her legs gave out and she came with his tongue still working her clitoris.
He took her through her orgasm, continuing to worship her with his mouth and fingers until the last tremors subsided. She stepped back from him and tipped his chin up to look at her.
“Take me to your bed.” She skimmed her hand down the side of his face. “It’s your turn to come.”
His bed stood in the center of the room, covered with a black satin spread and enclosed with sheer black curtains. She led him to it and slowly removed his shirt, taking her time to unwrap him like a gift. His boots and pants came off next, leaving him on full display for her enjoyment.
He was flawless. Looking at him, she understood why gorgeous men were compared to Greek gods. He reminded her of a fine sculpture -- all lean muscle and toned strength.
She guided him to lie back on the bed and she joined him, hovering over his naked form. With her fingers, she explored every inch of his skin. She felt bold, empowered when his erection swelled and a soft moan echoed from his lips throughout the chamber.
She positioned herself over him, letting her hair drag down his chest. When her mouth reached his cock, he groaned her name and fisted his hands in the satin coverlet.
Her tongue swept her lips once, and then darted out to capture the pearl of fluid seeping from the tip of his erection. He shuddered at the contact and reached for her, knotting her hair around his fingers. She opened her mouth and enveloped the head of his cock in its warm confines.
Instinct guided her, helped her to return the earth-shattering pleasure he’d so freely given her. She swirled her tongue around his cock, licking the tiny slit before sucking it deeper into her mouth. Encouraged by his fitful breathing, she lowered her head and took him deeper, until she could feel him pulsing against her throat.
She slid his shaft in and out of her mouth, working the base of it with her hand. He moaned, muttering her name in a rough whisper. She felt a feminine thrill, a surge of sexual power from controlling his pleasure, and increased the suction on his cock until she felt it jerk inside her mouth.
The orgasm rocked through his body, sending his warm seed shooting into her throat. She swallowed and stroked him until the aftershocks passed, leaving him glassy eyed and spent.
She fell back onto the bed beside him, caressing his damp skin. He turned his head and met her eyes.
“My Hyacinth has become a wildflower.” He reached over and stroked her breast.
“It’s all you.” She arched into his touch, feeling her nipple respond as if for the first time. “You brought out something in me I didn’t know I had.”
“Then let’s see what other secrets are hiding beneath this beautiful exterior.” With that, he rolled her onto her back, parted her legs, and knelt between them.
He grazed her cleft with his finger, stopping when he reached her clit.
“Put your hand over mine.” He looked at her, his gaze smoldering. “Show me how to bring you the most satisfaction.”
She slid her hand down her body until it met his. Placing her fingers over his, she let out a tense breath and began to move his hand.
She directed his fingers, circling them around her clitoris then brushing the hardened tip. The sensations intensified until it felt as if every nerve ending in her body were concentrated in that tiny pulsing bud. When she had him roll it between his thumb and forefinger, pleasure overtook her and she came in great trembling waves.
She’d barely passed through the height of her climax when he wrapped one of her hands around his hard shaft.
“Put me inside you.” He inched closer, his chest rising and falling like a racehorse.
She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out. Slipping her hand down his shaft, she spread the slick pre-ejaculate fluid from the tip all the way to the base, readying him to enter her. Then steadying herself, she arched her hips and placed the tip of him against her core.
He growled an oath to Zeus and held back, letting her take him in slowly. She shivered when he breached her, feeling her heart explode inside her chest in a combination of lust and an emotion she feared to name. With both hands, she grasped his backside and pushed him further inside her, until he reached the depths of her core.
She looked down at the place where their bodies joined, his slick black thatch of hair meeting her nest of pale gold. He held still, his cock quivering inside her tight sex. The moment felt sacred, almost holy. No one had ever made her feel this way before. When he entered her body, he entered her spirit.
Then he began to move, pulling his cock out of her, one inch at a time. It was slick with her fluids and slid back into her with ease. He withdrew and pushed back in several times, increasing the speed and pressure incrementally with each thrust. Whimpering from the feel of his hard length gliding in and out of her sex, she pumped her hips to meet his.
He braced himself with his hands, holding onto her thighs as he
pushed his hips forward. When she sought her clit with her fingers and began to rub it in time with his thrusts, he moaned an expletive and pumped harder.
Each powerful thrust brought her closer to mindlessness, poising her on the edge of a release so complete that it threatened to shatter her. They became a whirling mass of hands, caressing breasts, abrading nipples, rubbing clits, stroking cocks. She tossed her head back and forth on the pillow as her body shook, building up to the pinnacle of pleasure. When she tightened her inner walls around his pounding erection, she could feel him against the spot just inside her core that had brought her so much ecstasy earlier.
“Right there, Hades.” She squeezed around him, feeling his cock inside her with blinding detail. “Right ... there ...”
She felt as if she’d been spun out of time and space, the spasms of release so strong that they catapulted her into another dimension. Her sex convulsed around his cock, pulling his orgasm from him until he filled her with his essence. The tremors seemed to go on endlessly, ricocheting through her body like a rocket.
He fell on top of her, kissing her breasts then finding her lips. Their tongues tangled as he grew soft and slipped out of her. She sighed at the loss of connection and wrapped her arms around him.
“Is it always that good for you?” She wrapped a strand of his dark hair around her finger.
“Truthfully?” He rested his chin just above her breast and looked into her eyes. “I have never experienced such fulfillment.”
“Really?” She hooked a leg around him and smiled. “I never dreamed sex could be like that.” She hadn’t imagined it could make her feel so completely bonded to a man, either.
“It can, when you’re with your fated partner.” He kissed her again, passion building. “We were made to make love to each other.”
“I could make love again, right now.” She wrapped the other leg around him, nestling beneath him. “How long before you ...?”
He ground against her, displaying a definite erection. “You forget, my dearest. I’m not bound by mortal limitations.”
Their mouths merged, lips pressing against each other with bruising pressure. She opened for him, greedy to feel his tongue in her mouth again. He swept his tongue over hers, stroking it clockwise then sucking it into his mouth.
She nearly wept from desire. His chest scraped her nipples, and his cock rubbed against her, teasing her closer to coming with every touch. She wanted to take him where no man had ever been before with her, to allow him into her body in a way she’d never share with anyone else ever again. Breaking the kiss, she gazed up into his eyes and felt pure trust. She could put herself in his capable hands and feel completely safe, cherished, and protected without being smothered. He let her be a woman in charge of her own pleasure. Now she wanted to show him the depths of her belief in him.
“I’m going to get on my stomach.” She wiggled out from under him and rolled over, pulling herself up on all fours. Grabbing a pillow from the head of the bed, she tucked it between her legs and lowered her upper body onto the satin coverlet.
He positioned himself behind her, ready to enter her, his cock coated with the remnants of their lovemaking. She looked over her shoulder at him. “Don’t.”
His brow furrowed. “Do you not want me to enter you from behind?”
She shook her head. “I do, but not the usual way. I want you to put yourself inside me the ... other way.”
“Are you sure about this?” He held onto her hips, waiting for her answer.
“I trust you. I want to share something with you that I never have with anyone else.” She angled her rear end toward him. “Please, Hades. Make love to me again.”
“We may need something to ease the way.” He reached around her, stretching his long form until he could open the drawer of his bedside table. He removed a small tube and pushed the drawer shut again.
She hissed out a breath when the cool, slippery lubricant hit her sensitive skin. A glance over her shoulder told her that he’d coated his erection with the same substance.
When they were both sufficiently lubricated, he grasped his cock. Hyacinth squeezed her eyes shut, readying herself.
He pressed himself against the tight entrance, breaching the virgin territory with exquisite caution. She compelled her body to relax, silently inviting him in, craving this new invasion from the man she loved.
Her mind snapped on that word. Love? Did she love Hades?
But she couldn’t think clearly, not when he eased himself past her body’s resistance, delving into the hard grip the ring of muscle presented. He stopped, allowing time for her to adjust to the sensation. She swayed her hips encouragingly, urging him forward.
The intensity of it tore through her in a crush of primal heat. She’d never felt such raw desire. When he slowly withdrew his cock from her, an entirely unexpected reaction set in, making her shiver as if she’d fallen in a frozen lake. When he pushed himself back in, her clit brushed against the pillow between her legs and she cried out.
He continued his agonizing slide in and out of the tight hollow, pushing her clitoris against the pillow with every thrust. She pushed back against him, a body without a mind, the shuddering need to come overtaking her last grain of restraint.
She couldn’t fight back against the rising hum inside her, couldn’t resist the animalistic current he created with every trek into this untried place. She ground her clit against the pillow, bearing down on his cock and crying out as she finally came. She felt him join her, pumping into her with his own climax until they both collapsed, limp and sweaty on the coverlet.
“I love you,” he murmured into her ear, holding her close against his slick body. “My darling, I love you.”
The same words gathered in her throat, ready to pour forth. She loved him too. There could be no denying it. And after what had just passed between them, every minute spent in his arms would make it more impossible to walk away.
Her body went from relaxed to rigid. This wasn’t a fantasy -- it was a nightmare. She’d let herself fall in love with a man who wasn’t even a mortal human being like herself, a man who ruled a kingdom of the dead.
She rolled over and away from him, staring at the filmy black bed curtains in horror. After her divorce, she’d vowed to never open herself up to that kind of hurt again. Falling for the king of the Underworld wasn’t exactly the best way to avoid heartbreak.
“Hyacinth, what is it?” He rose up on an elbow to look at her. “Did we overdo it?”
She couldn’t stay. If she looked into those concerned dark eyes and felt his love for her, she’d stay with him. And staying was the worst thing she could do. This place could never be her home. She belonged in her own world, living the safe life she’d created for herself, boring but insulated from the kind of pain losing Hades could bring.
“No, I’m fine.” She threw back the blanket he’d just draped over her. “I need to be alone for a little while, ok?”
Ignoring the look of baffled hurt on his face, she climbed out of the bed.
“What are you running from now?” He sat up in bed, watching her frantically putting on her robe and sandals.
“I just need to process what happened between us.” She gathered the hair combs littering the floor in front of the fireplace.
“You mean you need to explain away what you’re feeling.” He rose from the bed and stalked to his wardrobe.
“Hades ...” She fought back tears. “You promised you’d never hold me anywhere by force.”
“And I won’t.” He extracted a black silk robe and shut the wardrobe doors. “But I wish you’d stay with me tonight.” He shrugged into his robe and tied the sash in front.
“I can’t.” She shook her head and stumbled toward the door, her heart banging away like a fist pounding on a locked door. She turned for one more look at him and felt herself weaken instantly. “I can’t,” she repeated and left, shutting the door behind her.
* * * * *
The hot bath d
idn’t help.
Hyacinth stirred in the hot water, trying to ease the anxiety her decision had wrought inside her. She’d dismissed Anemone and the other ladies, having no desire to deal with their knowing glances and innuendoes. She wanted to be alone with her thoughts until she found the words to tell Hades why she couldn’t stay.
She could hide here in the splendor of her bathroom forever and avoid the issue. Then she’d never have to face the choice of staying and getting hurt or leaving and losing him. But when it came down to it, what choice did she really have? She didn’t belong in his world any more than he belonged in hers.
He’d find another queen, she reasoned. Every woman in Olympus would probably jump at the chance to be with him. Her stomach churned at the idea of Hades with someone else, of another woman sharing his bed. But how long could the passion she’d shared with him keep burning? He’d tire of her and stray, just like Riley. And being a king -- not to mention a gorgeous man with sexual skills that could short out any woman’s wiring -- the temptations would be ten times stronger than they would be for any other man she might find herself with.
In short, she thought with a frown, she’d wandered into her own worst nightmare.
She stood up, shivering when her heated skin made contact with the cool night air drifting in from the open bathroom windows. This had to end now. Back to Lean Cuisine and lonely nights.
Back to being cloistered from heartbreak, even if it meant losing out at love.
* * * * *
The knock at his bedroom door didn’t surprise Hades at all. In fact, he’d been expecting it ever since Hyacinth made her exit, running from him as if she were a fire and he were a bucket of water.
“Come in.” He set his goblet of wine on the table beside the chair where he’d been sitting when she’d burst in earlier.
She cracked open the door and peered inside, her mortal vision struggling to adjust to the low lighting. The fire had almost died out and he had no desire to rekindle it.
“Let me guess.” He couldn’t keep a barb of sarcasm out of his voice. “We need to talk.”
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