"The skies never change color," Hadrian was now telling me, "and it's never cold here either."
"More like room temp," I realized with surprise, now that he mentioned it.
"But only because you have the right to be here. Anyone else would've been burned to a crisp."
"Stop scaring me," I grumbled, "and just let me enjoy the view."
Hadrian only smiled, but this time he did leave me in peace as I finally let my gaze drift to the very center, where his majestic manor of a home sprawled complacently like a king overlooking its lands.
His home had Game of Thrones written all over it, with turrets towering behind the thickest curtain walls, impressively armed battlements, and even its own portcullis, from which a drawbridge arched over...hey.
As expected, we had the Underworld's great rivers flowing around the manor in an outer circle. Phlegethon was immediately recognizable, with its fiery orange waters bubbling hot, and then there were the crystal clear, memory-wiping waters of Lethe, purple-colored Cocytus, blue-colored Acheron and the vile, black waters of Styx.
All five rivers had its waters streaming inwards into a rainbow-colored pool that went around the manor like a moat and running all the way down to the rest of the Underworld. If you've ever seen someone melt multi-colored wax beads together, then that was how this rainbow pool exactly looked - oranges, purples, blues, blacks, and whites swirling against each other but never blending into a single shade.
I looked up at Hadrian, asking in a stunned voice, "Shouldn't the Underworld just have five rivers?"
Silver eyes gleamed down at me. "Congratulations, milady. You have just discovered one of our realm's best-kept secrets. What you see circling around our home is for our private use, but if you follow it straight down, you'll eventually reach the part that's open to the public."
Hadrian then took my hand and we resumed walking. It took a while to reach his manor from the back, but the long, somewhat tiring walk (was this another menopausal symptom or did I just need to work out more?) was worth it.
The rainbow-colored pool sparkled before me, and I couldn't help but sigh at just how exquisite it looked. I bent down and dipped my fingers into the water. I pulled my hand out, and a delighted giggle escaped me as I watched various colors run down my fingers.
Rising to my feet, I told Hadrian teasingly, "You should've told me to bring more bikinis."
"No need. Amazon delivers to the Underworld," Hadrian deadpanned.
"But since you didn't..." I reached for the hem of my dress.
Hadrian's gaze narrowed. "Saoirse..."
My dress was already on the sand, along with my bra.
"Dammit, Saoirse—-"
And now I was naked.
"Race you to the water!"
But of course it wasn't a race at all. I was only waist-deep when I heard a powerful splash behind me, and the next thing I knew a naked Hadrian was already spinning me around to face him.
I locked my legs around his waist underwater and laughed upon seeing the chagrined look on his gorgeous face.
"At least give me a warning first," Hadrian said gruffly, "so I can make sure no one else sees you naked."
"So possessive," I teased. "You're lucky I think it's rather hot—-" I didn't get to say anything else, with Hadrian already kissing me.
Oh God.
My eyelids drifted close as his tongue pushed inside of my mouth and my tongue stroked inside of his. His erection began to throb against my belly, and I could only whimper as he finally slid inside of me. I felt full and aching all at once, and I bit his shoulder as he began to move.
Aaaaah.
It was so, so good.
He always felt so good.
This always felt so good.
But it wasn't perfect like before, and I found myself fighting back tears of frustration—-
Please. Please. Please.
Hadrian's breath had become harsh.
"Saoirse..."
And then he was coming...all on his own.HADRIAN CARRIED ME out of the water and gently lowered me to my feet when we reached dry land. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly.
"Yup." So I couldn't make myself come. Big deal. This was only temporary, right?
I tried to convince myself of this, but the moment I turned away and started dressing myself, tears rushed down my cheeks—-
Hadrian wrapped his arms around me from behind, and I found myself crying harder.
"I'm s-sorry," I choked out. "I know I'm b-being silly."
Hadrian turned me around to face him. "You seemed to have forgotten that all of this is happening because you fell in love with me." His voice was wonderfully calm and practical, and I so needed to hear him speak just like that. But more than anything else, the words itself were magic—-
A hiccup escaped me, and Hadrian's lips twitched.
"I just hate being like this," I muttered.
"It is the same for me, milady. If there was a way for me to bear this for you—-"