you married,' I whispered.
'Maybe not. But the bond between us is still there. And I can't fight it, no matter how hard I try. Especially not now you have your power back. You're like a damned beacon down here, impossible to ignore.' He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, looking for all the world like a normal, if impossibly sexy, guy.
'Bond?'
'Don't tell me you can't feel it,' he said, his eyes locking on mine. I wanted to tell him to stop being so arrogant, but I couldn't. He was right. There was definitely something between us, deep and real and damned inconvenient. Corpses. King of the Underworld. Fire and ash and death. You do not fancy Hades!
'Well, I don't think I've got it quite as bad as you,' I said as casually as I could. Fire flashed in his eyes, and I regretted my words immediately.
'Is that right?' he said, his tender, open expression vanishing and a predatory hunger replacing it. He seemed to grow in front of me, his shoulders filling out, his eyes flashing with desire. 'Let's put that to the test, shall we?'
Before I could begin to respond he had my face in his hands, and his lips met mine. Desire exploded through me, the hunger in his kiss even deeper than the last time. His other hand snaked down my back, his touch through the fabric of my shirt electrifying. I pressed myself into him, my back arching, my hands scrabbling at the buttons on his shirt.
But he stopped the kiss abruptly, stepping back and gripping both of my small hands in one of his. I started to protest but a wave of power rolled over me and all words abandoned me as I looked up into his face. Actual flames danced in his irises as his gaze raked over my body. The desire in his expression alone was enough to make my core heat, a low ache building inside me.
'I do believe, Beautiful, that we started on the wrong foot,' he said, his voice low and rich and sensuous. 'It appears that you have no idea what being fated to Hades, King of the Underworld, all powerful god, actually entails.' I stared up at him, panting slightly. All powerful god. My stupid, lust addled brain allowed my thoughts to slip between my lips before I could stop them.
'Does that mean magic sex?' I breathed. His mouth quirked into a smile.
'Magic sex,' he repeated, then a wave of pleasure began to trickle exquisitely across my body. It started at my neck, like the kiss of a feather, and as it moved lower across my chest I felt my nipples tighten and a gasp escaped my lips. Hades watched me, eyes dark and hooded, as the feeling rolled further south, the divine sensation dancing around my thighs but never quite reaching their apex. The ache was becoming unbearable, the need to be touched building into something that was making my legs shake.
Was this right? Was he making me feel this against my will? No. Hell, no. There was nothing I wanted more, and the longer I looked into his beautiful face, the more sure of that I became. Fated. The word he had used pulsed through my brain, interrupting the pleasure gripping my body.
'Stop,' I forced myself to say, and his expression flickered, before he let go of my hands, the waves of tingling pleasure, slowly lessening. He'd done as I asked. So he wasn't forcing his powers on me. 'Fated. You said I'm fated to you; what does that mean?'
He stared into my face, and I knew I must be flushed as I breathed hard. Desire was still gathering urgently between my legs, pounding and pulsing.
'The marriage of an Olympian god is not like a normal marriage. Hera, as goddess of marriage, has a special ceremony purely for us twelve.' I raised my eyebrows at him and he continued slowly. 'There's a test. And if both people pass, then they are granted the ceremony.'
'What test and what ceremony? Can you not answer anything properly?'
Hades clenched his jaw.
'I can't see the benefit of telling you.'
'How about because I fucking asked?' I said, the pent-up energy and tension inside me slipping quickly to anger. The corner of Hades’ mouth quirked up into a smile again and I bared my teeth. 'Do I amuse you?'
'You just... Nobody other than you has ever spoken to me like that.'
'I don't care, just tell me about this ceremony.'
'No. Not unless