reconcile the little girl he’d first met with this impressive goddess before him.
She was terrifying. Powerful. So confident in her words and assured that she could do whatever she wanted. Heracles didn’t stand a chance when he was judged by this goddess.
She blushed a lovely deep red at his words. “I wasn’t perfect,” she said. “If I was perfect, then I wouldn’t have given him Cerberus. He killed his wife and children, Hades.”
“Under the influence of Hera,” he replied. Leaning back in his throne, he looked at the door through which his beloved dog had left. “It won’t be the first time Cerberus has left the Underworld. Why do you think the mortals are so scared of him?”
He supposed this would be all right, no matter how strange it felt for him to have let the beast go. Cerberus wouldn’t harm anyone who didn’t need harming. And he could easily tear Heracles limb from limb if the demi-god wouldn’t let his pet return.
Now, he wanted to revisit the conversation they’d had before all this nonsense had occurred. He wanted to see the heat in her eyes and the curiosity that only he could satisfy.
Hades paused in his thoughts. He supposed someone else could satisfy that curiosity, but he’d kill them if they tried. No one would lay a single finger on his wife.
Kore lifted an eyebrow and asked, “What do you think about the mortals already speaking of me as though I’ve sent some kind of message to them from the Underworld?”
“I think it means your mother knows where you are,” he replied. “It was only a matter of time.”
And Demeter was likely to rain down punishment upon his head, if he was being realistic. The harvest goddess could do a lot of damage if she wanted to, and she would most certainly want to do whatever she could to harm him.
Hades only had a small amount of time with Kore by his side. The urgency rushed through him, shaking down to his very toes with the knowledge that he’d have to fight to keep her with him.
He stood from the throne and knelt before hers. The King of the Underworld on his knees before the Queen still seated in her throne. “We’ve had a lot of distractions today,” he said, hoping she understood the underlying words. “Are you ready to retire to your chambers?”
He expected her to be confused about his question. Perhaps she would ask what he meant or whether he wanted to return to the party.
Kore always surprised him, however.
She lifted a brow and asked, “Do you mean retire for sleep or did you have something else in mind?”
Her words sent fire straight between his legs. Immediately he was painfully hard. “You were the one who brought it up first, wife of mine.”
“I suppose I did.” She glanced down at the thorns between her fingers, and they sank back into her throne. “I am still curious, after all. And I don’t think anyone at supper will miss us.”
He doubted that. No matter how much he’d tried to keep her away from Minthe, he’d seen the nymph glaring daggers at the new queen. The last thing he’d wanted was for the two of them to argue. Or meet.
Keeping them as far away from each other as possible was the best case scenario. But also, he would get the honor of making Kore well and truly his wife. For the first time.
Maiden no longer.
“I don’t think they’ll notice our absence,” he replied.
Honestly, he didn’t care if they did. Let them ask questions. He’d be proud to tell them what happened with his wife behind closed doors was private.
Hades wasn’t about to waste any time. He leaned down and scooped her up off the throne, clasping her legs around his waist. Sighing dramatically, he stared at her lips with what he was certain was a burning gaze. “It’s been too long since you’ve kissed me, wife.”
“I suppose I can help with that,” she whispered.
Kore leaned down and kissed him with an abandon he had yet to experience. Or perhaps this was the excitement of what was to come.
She bit his bottom lip, tugging hard enough to make a spark of pain travel down his neck. Wincing, he bit her back, enjoying the little yelping sound that made her slap at his shoulders.
“Tempting,” he whispered.
“Yes,” she replied. “That’s what I do. Tempting Hades is my favorite pastime, after all.”
He snarled against her lips and strode out of the throne room. He