A Touch of Darkness (Hades x Persephone #1)(84)

Once out of the ballroom, he led her outside onto a balcony at the end of the hall. It was a large space—and Persephone became distracted by the view it offered but when she started to walk ahead of Hades, he pulled her back to him.

His eyes were dark, communicating his need.

“Why did you ask me to drop my glamour?” she asked.

Hades brushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

“I told you—you will not hide here. You needed to understand what it is to be a god.”

“I am not like you,” she said.

His hands trailed up her arms and he smiled. “No, we have only two things in common.”

She raised a brow. “And those are?”

“We are both Divine,” he said, inching closer. “And the space we share.”

He lifted her into his arms. Her back met the wall. Hades hands were almost desperate, drawing up her dress and parting robes, he sank deep inside her without warning and they both groaned. His forehead rested against hers, she inhaled a shaky breath. “Is this what it is like to be a god?” she asked.

Hades pulled back to meet her gaze. “This is what it is like to have my favor,” he answered, and moved, sliding in and out, invading her in the most delicious way. Their gazes held and their breaths became heavier, faster. Persephone’s head fell back, the stone bit into her scalp and back, but she didn’t care. Each thrust touched something deep inside her, building sensation after sensation.

“You are perfect,” he said, fingers twisting into her hair. He cupped the back of her head, his thrusts taunted as he slowed, moving at a pace that ensured she could feel every part of him.

“You are beautiful. I have never wanted like I want with you.”

His admission came with a kiss, and then Hades pumped in and out of her harder than ever and her body devoured him. They came together, their cries smothered by their clasped lips.

Hades withdrew carefully, holding her against him until her legs stopped shaking. Then sky ignited behind them, and Hades drew her to the edge of the balcony.

“Watch,” he said.

On the dark horizon, fire shot into the sky, disappearing into a trail of glimmering sparks.

“The souls are returning to the mortal world,” Hades said. “This is reincarnation.”

Persephone watched in awe as more and more souls rose into the sky, leaving trails of fire in their wake.

“It is beautiful,” she said.

It was magic.

Below, the residents of the Underworld had gathered in the stone courtyard, and when the final souls rose into the air, they broke into applause, music began again, and the merriment continued. Persephone found herself smiling, and when she looked at Hades, he was staring.

“What?” she asked.

“Let me worship you,” he said.

She remembered the words she had whispered to him in the back of the limo after La Rose. You will worship me and I won’t even have to order you. His request felt sinful and devious and she reveled in it.

She answered, “Yes.”





CHAPTER XXIII – A TOUCH OF NORMAL



Persephone was looking forward to a date with Hades. It had been a few weeks since the Ascension Ball, and she had spent a lot of time with Hades. He’d started seeking her out while she was in the Underworld and asking her to go for walks or play a game of her choosing. She’d begun making requests of him, too. As a result, he’d played with the children in the Underworld, added a new play area for them, and hosted a few dinners for the souls and his staff.

It was during these moments her connection to him grew, and she found she felt far more passion for him than she ever had before. It manifested when they came together late at night, making love as if they’d never see one another again. Everything felt so desperate, and Persephone realized it was because neither of them were using words to communicate how they felt.

And she felt like she was falling.

One evening after an incredibly intense game of strip poker, they lay in bed. Persephone’s head rested on Hades’ chest, and he brushed his fingers through her hair absently.

“Allow me to take you to dinner.”

“Dinner? Like...out in public?”

She was, of course, concerned about the media. Since Hades had announced The Halcyon Project, more articles about her were appearing in magazines across New Greece—the Corinth Chronicle, The Ithaca Inquirer. The ones that made her the most anxious were those that tried to do research on her background. Right now, they’d found enough to satisfy them, writing things like she’d been homeschooled until eighteen, at which point, she came to New Athens University from Olympia. Majoring in journalism, she found an internship with New Athens News and began her relationship with Hades after an interview.

It was just a matter of time before they wanted more. She should know, she was a journalist.

“Not in public exactly,” he said. “But I do want to take you to a public restaurant.”

She hesitated, and Hades gave her a meaningful look.

“I would keep you safe.”

She knew that was true, and this god had managed to avoid the media for a very long time, though she knew that had part to do with his power of invisibility and the fear he struck in mortals.

“Okay,” she agreed, smiling. She thought it was terribly romantic that Hades wanted to do something so...simple like take her to dinner.