continued kissing her with every step. Devouring her lips and sinking into their plush softness.
He had no idea if they walked by anyone in the halls. It didn’t matter if they did, he wasn’t about to stop for even another god wandering into the Underworld. Let them war on the black soils.
Kore was more important than anything right now.
Kicking the door to her room open, he let it slam closed behind them. Hades laid her on the bed with infinite care, taking his time so he knew she was comfortable. At ease.
Now that he knelt over her, staring down at her prone body with her chestnut curls spread out all around her, Hades froze. She was a virgin. He’d never been with a virgin before. All the women who sought out his bed were well versed in acts of love, and they wanted to see what it would be like to be with a king.
Kore wasn’t like that. She was as virginal and innocent as the day she was born, and he knew pressing her too quickly would only make her frightened of this act.
Now, he wished he’d listened to Poseidon when he talked about bedding virgins. Zeus had done the same, and maybe he—
No. Hades corrected himself down both paths. Neither of his brothers had any idea what it was like to make sex enjoyable for women at all, let alone a virgin. They’d probably taken what they wanted and hadn’t cared at all about the poor woman who had been subjected to their whims.
He wanted, no, needed her to enjoy herself. If she did, then she’d want to do this again. She’d want him to... He needed to stop thinking and start doing.
Taking his time, he leaned over her and put his hand to the side of her neck. He lightly traced the swan-like column, watching as his fingers moved over her lovely tanned skin. He pressed his fingertip to each individual freckle there. “When I first saw you, I wanted to spend eternity counting each one of these,” he murmured.
“Why would you waste your time doing that?”
“So I know how many stars are on your body.” He wouldn’t mind knowing how many galaxies were on her celestial skin. If he could, he would have spent their entire evening counting them.
She melted underneath him, and Hades knew this wouldn’t be as difficult as he originally thought. This woman was an extension of him. A piece of his soul that had been ripped apart, just like he’d told her when they first met in the garden.
Maybe that myth held more merit than he’d given it credit for. It certainly felt as though they were the same person, and that he’d been waiting for her for a very long time.
Sweeping his hands down her sides, he kissed her again. Soothed his tongue against hers, easing her worries and fears. When his hand shifted up her ribs, over the delicate bones to the swell of her breast, she didn’t tense up. Instead, she arched into his touch with a soft sigh that echoed through his mind.
The weight of her in his palm made his heart race. The little sighs she let out as she kissed him made his hands shake. He was so unworthy of her attention. So unworthy of the right to take what wasn’t his to take.
Except maybe Kore knew that.
She leaned up, surging into his hands and gripping his shoulders tightly. “I want you to take it, Hades,” she whispered. “I want you to take me.”
She didn’t have to say anything else.
Hades poured all his attention into her. Priming her body with his lips, hands, and tongue. He guided her through the entire process, murmuring words of encouragement and praise as he learned every texture and taste of her body. Perhaps she wasn’t aware of most things he did, maybe she didn’t even know men did that to women, but he wanted to be sure she was absolutely ready for him.
Hades refused to cause her any amount of pain. No matter the cost to his own comfort.
And when he was certain she was well and truly prepared, Hades forced himself to go slow. Inch by divine inch, he sank into her body. Not once did he plunge as he wished, although he was sorely tempted.
Finally seated at the root, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. “Are you all right?”
Kore nodded. “Yes.”
“Do you want me to—” He couldn’t quite finish the sentence.
“Yes!” She nearly shouted the