A Touch of Darkness (Hades x Persephone #1)(72)

“I thought words meant nothing.”

He gave her a bruising kiss, and his touch lifted heat from her skin, searing a path everywhere he went.

“Your words matter,” he said. “Only yours.”

She wrapped her legs around his waist, and drew him against her heat.

“Do you want me to fuck you?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Tell me,” he said. “You used words to tell me you didn’t want me, now use words to say you do.”

“I want you to fuck me,” she said.

He groaned and kissed her hard before teasing her by moving his cock up and down her damp entrance. She pulled him toward her, urging him inside and Hades laughed—she growled, frustrated.

“Patience, darling. I had to wait for you.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice quiet, sincere—and then he filled her completely.

She cried out, head falling back into her pillow. She covered her mouth to keep quiet, but Hades removed her hand, holding her wrists above her head.

“No, let me hear this,” he said savagely.

He speared her over and over again. There was nothing slow or gentle about his movements, and with each thrust, he spoke and she cried in ecstasy.

“You left me desperate,” he said, pulling out until he was barely inside of her. Then he thrust into her hard.

“I have thought about you every night since.”

Thrust.

“And each time you said you didn’t want me, I tasted your lies.”

Thrust.

“You are mine.”

Thrust.

“Mine.”

He moved deeper and faster, pumping into her. She lost herself in him, and pressure built in her stomach and exploded. Hades came soon after. She felt him pulse inside of her and then he withdrew, a gush of warmth spread over her thigh. He collapsed against her, sweat-soaked and breathless.

After a moment, he drew back, pressing kisses to her face—her eyes, her cheeks, her lips.

“You are a test, Goddess,” he said. “A trial offered to me by the Fates.”

She couldn’t think straight enough to respond. Her legs felt shaky, and she was gloriously exhausted.

When Hades moved, she reached for him, “No. Don’t leave.”

He chuckled, kissing her once more. “I will come back, my darling.”

He was gone a moment, and returned with a damp cloth. He cleaned her, and then moved her, fitting her back against his chest, and pulling her close. Wrapped in his warmth, she fell asleep.

Sometime later, Persephone woke to Hades grinding into her from behind, his arousal hard and thick against her bottom. As he gripped her hips, he trailed kisses up her neck. Her need for him overpowered her exhaustion, and she turned her head, meeting his soft lips, desperate to taste him again.

Hades guided her onto her back and climbed on top of her, kissing her until she was breathless. She tried reaching for him, wishing to twine her fingers into his soft hair, but he restrained her, pinning her wrists over her head. He used the position to his advantage, nibbling her earlobes, kissing down her neck, and grazing her nipples with his teeth. Each sensation drew a breathy moan from Persephone’s throat, and the sounds seemed to fuel Hades’ lust. He made his way to her thighs and wasted no time parting her legs and lapping at her wet heat. His fingers joined, thrusting into her hard and fast, working her until her moans came in quick succession, until she could hardly take in breath, and when she came, it was with his name on her lips—the only word she’d spoken since this began.

Hades said nothing, lost in a haze of want, and rose to cover her once more, positioning himself at her entrance. He sank deep, his thrusts were rough and wild.

At some point, he lifted her as if she weighed nothing, sitting back on his heels and gripping her hips, he moved her up and down his shaft. The feel of him inside her was perfection, and she grew hungry to feel him deeper and faster. She wrapped her arms around his neck and moved against him. Their mouths came together, teeth scraping, tongues searching. Together, they rode wave after wave of mindless sensation and came together, collapsing in a heap of limbs and sweat and hard breaths.

Before she fell asleep again, she had the fleeting thought that, if this was her fate, she would gladly claim it.





CHAPTER XIX – A TOUCH OF POWER



Persephone woke to find Hades asleep beside her. He lay on his back, black sheets covering the lower half of his body, leaving the contours of his stomach exposed. His hair spilled over his pillow, his jaw covered in stubble. She wanted to reach out and trace his perfect brows, nose, and lips, but she didn’t want to wake him, and the move seemed too intimate. She realized that sounded ridiculous considering what had taken place between them last night. Still, touching him without invitation or initiation seemed like something a lover might do, and Persephone did not feel like Hades’ lover.

She wasn’t even sure she wanted to be a lover. She’d always imagined falling in love as something heady, almost shy—but things with the Lord of the Dead had been anything but shy. Their attraction was carnal and greedy and burning. It stole her breath, crowded her mind, invaded her body.

Heat started to build in the pit of her stomach, igniting the desire she’d felt so strongly yesterday. Breathe, she told herself, willing the warmth to dissipate.

After a moment, she slipped out of bed. She found the black robe Hades had let her borrow when she’d first come to the Underworld and slipped it on. Wandering onto the balcony, she let herself take a deep breath, and, in the quiet of the day, the full weight of what she had done with Hades crash down upon her. She had never been so confused or afraid.