Persephone stalked out to the terrace and gazed into the horizon, knowing that far beyond it lay the dark and unseen kingdom of the Underworld.
This plan would work, Persephone told herself. Whatever she did, it would always work because no matter what people thought – she, Persephone, daughter of the Olympian goddess Demeter, was the prophesied Queen.
Persephone was one of their kind.
The mortal was not.
The Underworld would choose her over the other.
It was always how things worked.
Chapter Seven
“There you are.”
Looking up at the sound of her voice, Hades found her hovering in the doorway, her long blonde hair tied in plaits and her curvy figure outlined in a pastel dress with yet another ridiculously low neckline.
“Have you been looking for me?”
She smiled brightly at the god of the Underworld. “In a way. I was actually just wondering what you’ve been doing.” She was determined not to let Hades know that she had worried herself sick wondering if he was avoiding her. It had been their first night together and she had woken up without him by her side.
At first, she had told herself to be patient and tried to wait for him to come to her. But when lunch and dinner were served and she was forced to enjoy them alone, she knew that she had to find him.
And now that she had—-
Are you avoiding me?
Are you bored with me already?
Are you wishing I’d leave now that you’ve had me?
Those were the questions she wanted to ask, but her lips parted and closed without any words coming out.
Feeling that an awkward silence was about to fall between them, Hades said with a smile, “You look beautiful in that dress.” He paused. “But don’t you think you’re showing a bit too much skin?” At her sheepish smile, he said dryly, “Let me guess. Hecate gave you that, and she made you think you had no choice but to wear it.”
“She can be really persuasive,” she said defensively. “And besides, it’s not that bad, right?”
“It’s not that bad as long as another man hasn’t seen it.” When she didn’t answer, Hades scowled. “Ever...”
“It’s not my fault,” she blurted out. Hades’ castle had four towers, and the first three that she had explored just had to be the wrong ones. “I had to ask a lot of people before someone finally pointed me to the right way.”
“Fine then.” He feigned a resigned sigh. “You are forgiven for this instance only, but the next time you show what is mine—-”
“I get it,” she said quickly, knowing by now that his threats were guaranteed to make her drown in embarrassment. And to prevent him from teasing her further, Ever changed the subject right after, asking, “Am I disturbing you?”
Hades touched his chest as if wounded, saying gravely, “That you should even ask pains me, milady. My prophesied queen can never disturb me.” And he meant it. She could never disturb him. In fact, the opposite was true. She entertained him too much that the moment he woke up, Hades had deliberately kept himself away from her, wanting to make sense of how he was feeling.
Before making love to Ever, he had thought that he would be able to always stay in control, had thought he would always be able to call the shots.
But the second he had a taste of her body—-
It had become clear to Hades that it was not going to be as easy as he thought.
With Ever still hovering on the doorway, he gestured for her to come forward, saying softly, “Come in, milady.”
“Okay.”
A smile tugged at Hades’ lips at her lack of hesitation, and as she turned around to close the door, Hades came to his feet.
Turning around, she took one step and bumped straight into Hades’ powerful chest. “Hades,” she gasped. She knew she should be used to him transporting himself whenever and wherever he liked, but she wasn’t.
“Sorry for surprising you,” he murmured while nibbling on her lips.
She curled her arms around his neck, her eyes closing as she savored his kisses. When his tongue probed between her lips, she opened her mouth and his tongue slid in, the kiss deepening in an instant.
Ever gasped when the god suddenly lifted her up in his arms, and then she gasped again when in the blink of an eye they were both naked.
“H-how—-”
When her dazed eyes met his, Hades said with a smirk, “I’m a god. Have you forgotten?”
Oh!
It was such an arrogant thing to say, Ever thought helplessly, but it was also such a sexy thing to say because they both knew he wasn’t saying anything untrue. When he started to walk, she instinctively clung to him, arms tightening around her neck while her legs locked around his waist.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked breathlessly.
“You’ll see.” The wicked gleam was mesmerizing, making her pay little attention to where he was heading until she felt him stop before lowering her—-