Goddess of Spring (Goddess Summoning #2)(70)

"If you didn't want visitors, why did you build such a huge palace with al those empty rooms just waiting to be fil ed?"

He considered the question. How much should he admit to her? He certainly didn't want to tel her that he had never before been involved with a goddess, sexual or otherwise, that he had spent an eternity longing for something more than the frivolity that satisfied the rest of the immortals. He remembered the last time he had visited Mount Olympus. Aphrodite had teased him with an open sexual invitation, and he had not responded to her offer. Later he had heard her smirking with Athena as the two Goddesses discussed what part of his body must be dead - along with his realm. Thinking about their cutting words he felt a rush of anger. His body was not dead. It was simply attached to his soul, and his soul required more than the insincere attentions of a self-serving goddess.

What could he say that wouldn't make her bolt away from him? He glanced at her. She appeared to be waiting attentively for his answer. He had to be as honest with her as possible. He couldn't lie or dissemble. A lasting relationship could not be based on falsehoods. He released a long sigh.

"Sometimes I have wondered myself why I built it. Perhaps I was hoping that some day I would learn to overcome my" - he struggled, trying to find the right word - "my difference."

"Difference? What do you mean?"

"I have always found it difficult to interact with other immortals," Hades said slowly. "You must know that I am shunned because I am Lord of the Dead."

Lina began to deny it. Then she remembered the look on Demeter's face when she spoke of Hades, and the offhanded way she discarded him as unimportant... uninteresting. The memory made her suddenly very angry.

"They just don't know what you're real y like."

"And what is it that I'm real y like, Persephone?"

Lina smiled at him and said exactly what was on her mind. "You're interesting and funny, sexy and powerful."

Hades shook his head, staring at her. "You are a constant surprise."

"Is that a good or a bad thing?"

"It is a miraculously good thing."

She was a goner. She couldn't resist him, and she didn't want to. "I'm glad."

"You are not like any of the other immortals. You know how they are... so fil ed with their own importance, constantly striving to outdo one another, never satisfied with what they have." He shook his head and leaned forward so that he could brash her cheek with his fingertips. "You are honest and real - what a goddess truly should be."

Honest and real? A true goddess? Lina wanted to crawl under a rock. She wasn't even who she was.

"I... you... I..." Lina babbled, not sure what she should say.

Hades didn't give her a chance to col ect her thoughts. He slid forward and pul ed her into his arms. Her mouth was stil cold from the spring water. He wanted to drown in her. He plunged into the softness of her lips. If only he had known about her earlier. How could he have spent so much time without her? The Goddess wrapped her arms around him and pressed her br**sts against his chest. Hades moaned. His desire for her was a molten, throbbing need. Lina jerked and screamed. Hailing water everywhere she scrambled to pull her long, bare legs from the little pool. Leaping up Lina rushed around behind the God so that he was between her and the water's edge.

"Something rubbed against me." Her voice shook as Oklahoma experience flashed visions of water moccasins and snapping turtles through her mind.

Hades patted one of her hands that clutched his shoulder, trying to pull his thoughts together. He could stil feel the imprint of her br**sts against the supple leather that covered his chest and his body stil surged with hard longing.

"Persephone, nothing in Elysia would harm you."

"There!" Lina was ashamed that the word came out as a squeal. She pointed to a dark shape that flitted under the water. "There's something in the pool."

With a sigh Hades stood and walked the few feet to the bank. He crouched down and peered into the clear water.

Al of Lina's senses were on high alert. "Be careful," she said. "It might be a snake." Hades shot her a bemused look over his shoulder. "Why would you fear a snake?" Lina twisted a thick strand of hair around her finger. Snakes are closely al ied with Demeter. They are nothing to fear. Her internal voice chastised her.

"I know it's sil y, but I've never liked them," she said miserably. The God's wide brow wrinkled in confusion, but a splash from the pool cal ed his attention. Lina cringed back, not wanting to see the slithering reptilian body.

When Hades looked at her again a smal smile played around his lips. "You cannot possibly fear this creature."

"I don't real y like turtles, either," Lina said quickly, keeping her eyes averted from the dark shape that had just surfaced in the pool. "Especial y snapping turtles." Hades chuckled and motioned for her to join him. "Come. You like animals." Lina didn't bulge. "I do. I like mammals. I like birds. I don't even mind fish. I do not like reptiles. I know it sounds narrow-minded, but - "

An odd barking noise came from the water. Lina peered past Hades to see a little creature floating on its back.

She gasped. "You're not a snake!"

The otter barked at her again, kicking the water with his adorably webbed paws. Lina hurried to join Hades. She crouched next to him, leaning in against his side. "I think it's the cutest thing I've ever seen."