“Isn’t someone supposed to ask for your advice before you offer it?” she asked as she turned and leaned against his desk.
“The same could be said for your opinion.”
She glared at him.
“Why did you bring me here?”
Hades came out from behind the bar and approached.
“Because I wanted you safe.” He took the glass from her and held her gaze as he downed the remainder before setting it aside.
“I don’t think I’m safe with you,” she whispered when he looked at her again.
Hades did not know what those words meant, but he felt compelled to say, “I would never hurt you.”
“You don’t know that.”
They stared at one another, before he lifted his hand. “Come.”
He led her toward the wall behind his desk, and he noted her hesitation in the way she pulled away from his touch.
“Why don’t we just teleport?”
“It makes you dizzy,” he said. “And I’d rather not contribute to that given your…state.”
Persephone’s eyes narrowed, and her lips pressed flat. “I’m not in a state.”
He sighed inwardly and tugged on her hand, and she followed him through the wall, which was really a portal, or gate, into the Underworld. Those who entered here would find themselves in a cavernous entrance called Cape Tenaron. There, they would be met by the River Styx, a body of water they would likely not survive.
Hades could use this entrance to go anywhere in the Underworld he wished, and when they stepped through, they found themselves in his chambers.
He indicated the bed. “Rest. When you wake, we will talk.”
He had questions, about Adonis and about her article in New Athens News.
“I don’t want to rest,” she said.
Hades just stared at her.
“Ask me what I want, Hades.”
He wanted to groan. This was torture, and worse, he indulged her.
“What do you want?”
“To finish what we started in the limo.”
It was significant to him that she had not responded with ‘you.’ And only solidified his wish to ensure they go no further than they had.
“No, Persephone.”
She scowled. “You want me.”
He said nothing; he could not deny it and would not admit it.
She pushed away from him and walked toward the bed, slipping the straps of her dress off her shoulders.
“Persephone—”
“What?”
She turned toward him, and her dress fell in a puddle at her feet. She stood bare before him, all golden skin and glorious curves.
“Tell me you don’t want me.”
He swallowed hard, clenching his hands at his sides. So many emotions swirled inside him, a carnal need to claim her and protect her. He could not do both. He reached for the robe she had worn the last time she was here; it hung in the same place, on the screen behind where she’d changed. He held it out so that she could slip her arms inside.
“Get dressed, Persephone.”
She glared at him and snatched the robe from his hands, but she did not put it on. Instead, she stared at him.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
He hadn’t because if he said he did not want her, that would be a lie, and admitting it would be inviting her to his bed.
She touched him, her hands sliding down his arms, pausing at his fists.
“Let go,” she coaxed, stepping into him and placing his hands on her hips, his fingers splayed, digging into her skin. Was this some sort of trial? Had this woman been sent to test his control? He studied her hard, expecting her to vanish into smoke, but she did not. She remained there, solid and warm and soft beneath him. Her hands twined behind his neck, her bare breasts pressed against his chest.
“Hades?” She whispered his name, breath caressing his lips. “Hold me.”
Her mouth closed over his, and his arms tightened around her waist. He drew her against him tight, one hand breaking free to glide up her back to the nape of her neck, where he held her head, lips pressing hard against hers, urging her mouth open wide, tasting and taking. Persephone’s hands moved from around his neck, down his chest, to his crotch. She grasped his cock through the fabric of his slacks, and he groaned, tearing free from her mouth.
“Persephone.”
“I want to touch you,” she said, and suddenly, Hades found himself being guided back toward his bed. She pushed him, guiding him to lie flat on the silken sheets, and as she climbed on top of him, straddling him, naked and rosy and beautiful, he thought he might come then. She leaned over him, her hot and soft center rocking against his