desire to help him, heal him, take away all his pain, was overwhelming.
'Could... could you love a monster?' he asked me, hesitantly. I stared into his eyes, the question stirring emotions I had never, ever felt before. I pictured him as I'd just seen him, towering and blue and fearsome, the poisonous cruelty pouring into me through my vines.
But that wasn't him.
'No. I couldn't love a monster. But I could love you.' He gripped my hand harder, his angular face pinched and more fearful than I thought he could look.
'You have seen what is inside me,' he whispered.
'And I charge you to never let it win again. I will do whatever it takes to help you, Hades. You carry a burden heavier than most, but it does not define you.'
I was vaguely aware of the commitment I was making with my words, but they left my lips anyway, and the bond between us swelled and burned even hotter inside me. I knew with utter certainty that I had to be where Hades was. For as long as I lived, I needed to be by his side. He was my home. He was everything.
'I love you, Persephone,' he said, and his silver eyes were shining, all traces of melancholy gone.
I had never loved a man before, and I had nothing to compare what I was feeling with, but there was no doubt in my mind that this intense need for him to be happy, the need for him to be safe and with me always, was love.
'I love you,' I told him, and we moved together, our lips meeting.
Sparks of pleasure burst from the contact, his tongue seeking out mine with a sense of urgency that I relished. I needed him. I needed to show him how much I wanted him, needed there to be no gap between us, no distance for doubt or fear to fill.
His hands moved to my face, fingers caressing my cheek, then running through my tangled hair. I wrapped my own arms around his neck, deepening the kiss, heat and moisture pooling between my legs. Then he moved quickly, one arm around my back and the other under my legs, scooping me up into his arms. I gave a little squeak and he beamed at me, eyes gleaming with lust and promise.
'A bath, for my Queen,' he said huskily, and stood up. I kissed his jaw and neck as he carried me across the lavish room, and was rewarded with a strained grunt. I moved my kisses lower, across his collarbone. I could feel little sparks of pleasure through my whole body every time my lips met his skin. Was that the bond? If kisses felt this good... 'If you keep doing that I'll take you against that wall, and that's not how I want our first time to be,' he ground out, and I looked up at him.
'As long as you take me, I don't care,' I said, surprised at how husky my own voice sounded. I had wanted him for what seemed like forever, and I was ready. He gave a small growl, then kicked open a door in front of us. I gazed around at what looked like a freaking palace made of marble, slowly realizing it was a washroom. The bath was no ordinary bath though, it was a pool set into the stone floor, fed by a wall of quietly cascading water. A unit with two sinks and a long, ornate mirror lined the other wall.
Hades set me down on my feet, and stepped back from me, folding his arms across his bare chest.
'You can't bathe in your dress,' he said. Excitement quivered through me, making me ache.
'You'll need to undo it for me,' I answered, turning my back to him. Painfully slowly, he untied the lacing at the back, the bodice loosening around me.
'Done,' he grunted, and I turned back to him. The movement was enough to cause the loosened dress to drop to the floor around my feet, and his lips parted as he took in a breath.
'You are so beautiful,' he said. I knew he meant it, and confidence surged through me as I hooked my thumbs into the sides of my panties and slid them down. 'So, so beautiful,' he breathed, his eyes fixed between my thighs. Then they shot back up to mine, and he gave me a wicked grin as he snapped his fingers.
His jeans vanished.
I barely kept my footing as my gaze locked on