Even if someone wanted to call her a child, they wouldn’t be able to. Not tonight.
A knock at the door rang through the room and her stomach twisted into a knot. That would be Hades. Who else could it be? She couldn’t wait to see what he would think of her in the clothing he’d commissioned.
Don’t blush, she told herself. Don’t ruin the image.
Kore wanted him to see her as sexy, a woman who took life by the horns and got whatever she wanted. Or perhaps she just wanted him to see her like the goddess she was.
She opened the door and filled her eyes with the handsome man who waited for her. Hades’ hair was slicked back from his face and he wore the armor she’d once been so frightened of. The open lion jaws on either side of his shoulders were no longer intimidating. Instead, they only heightened the width of his shoulders and the strength of the body beneath.
Before she even realized her reaction, she leaned against the door frame with a happy sigh. Kore must have looked like a lovesick puppy. She didn’t care, however, because he stood in front of her like the most handsome warrior coming to steal her away.
He grinned. “Hello, wife.”
“I’ll never get tired of hearing you say that.”
“Good,” he reached forward and caught her around the waist. Tugging her firmly against his chest, Hades leaned down and pressed his lips to the curve of her neck. “I don’t plan on ever calling you anything else.”
There they were again. The butterflies that lived in her stomach and burst into flight any time he was near her. She tilted her head to the side and gave him more access to her throat. “Are you sure we have to go to dinner?”
He pulled back at that, staring down at her with narrowed eyes. “Whatever do you mean?”
She glanced over her shoulder at the plush, comfortable bed, then looked back at him. “Well.”
The tips of her ears burned. Though they had definitely worked on making her more comfortable expressing her feelings, Kore still didn’t know how to broach this subject. Mortals did this all the time. She’d even come across a few of them who had snuck away for trysts in the wood.
Gods were even more hungry for experiences like what she was suggesting. She had heard them talk about bedding each other, mortals, even animals once or twice. And though Kore had always been the virgin goddess, she didn’t want to be that anymore. She was a married woman! Virginal traits had no place in a marriage like theirs, and besides.
Kore was curious.
Hades eyes widened as he processed what she was saying. And as she watched, a lovely blush burned across his cheeks. He cleared his throat, once, twice, three times, and then finally croaked, “Are you sure you’re ready for that?”
Yes, she was quite certain or she wouldn’t have asked him. Grinning coyly, she asked, “Are you ready for it?”
He spluttered, attempting to search for words and incapable of finding them at all.
Even though she should have been a little nervous, all Kore felt was a thrill of pleasure because she’d stunned the feared Hades into silence. He could only stare at her, wide eyed, mouth open, and then she worried if maybe she’d broken him.
Rolling her eyes, she threaded her arm through his and tugged him back into the hall. “Fine, we have dinner to attend. But perhaps afterward?”
He blinked a few times, allowing her to guide him down the hall like a complete dolt. “Afterward?”
“Good. I’m glad you agree.”
She hadn’t felt this powerful since she had first used her powers to make plants grow. Kore straightened her shoulders and did her best to channel the nymphs she’d always watched from afar. If she swayed her hips, maybe he would think she was even more beautiful. All she had to do was pretend to be like them.
Like she was confident and not falling apart inside because she didn’t know what happened next.
And she didn’t. Not really. The nymphs had always talked about their trysts with mortal men and how to keep their attention. They had laughed and teased about sizing and different parts of the male bodies. But none of it had made sense when she’d never even seen a man fully nude before.
As they strode through the halls, she realized she’d never been interested in seeing a man naked until him. And now she couldn’t get it out of her