When Hades said he intends to take care of me, I didn’t believe him. Why would I? I’m a grown woman and more than capable of taking care of myself, no matter what he seems to think. If he wasn’t so incredibly pushy, I might even be able to admit how dangerous the night we met was for my health. I hadn’t meant to ignore the cold and the pain, but by the time I realized it was an issue, I didn’t have any other choice but pushing forward. I might even reassure him that though I sometimes forget to eat or other small things like that, I don’t make a habit of putting myself in the way of actual harm.
But Hades is being pushy, and as much as part of me enjoys it in a kind of baffled sort of way, the rest of me can’t help but push back.
He rises slowly to his feet, towering over me, and my body tenses in anticipation. Even with the irritating conversation, my earlier orgasm was…beyond words. He claimed my pleasure as his due, and it took him approximately thirty seconds to figure out how to wind me up and set me off. If he can do that with his fingers alone, what can he accomplish with the rest of his body?
More selfishly, I want to touch and taste him. I want to get beneath the fancy black suit and see everything this man has to offer. I haven’t craved someone so intensely since… I can’t remember when. Maybe Maria, the woman I met in a little hole-in-the-wall bar just outside the upper warehouse district a few years ago. She turned my world upside down in the best way possible and we still text sometimes, though our time together was never meant to be more than a fling.
Am I destined to have connections with people I’m only meant to be with for a short time?
The thought depresses me, so I put it away and reach for Hades. He catches my hands before I can touch him and shakes his head slowly. “You seem to be under the mistaken impression that you can simply reach out and take whatever you desire.”
“No reason not to take it when it’s what we both want.”
He drops my hands and takes a step back. “Get some sleep. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow.”
It’s only when he reaches the door that I realize this isn’t a bluff. “Hades, wait.”
He doesn’t turn, but he does pause. “Yes?”
If humiliation could kill, I’d be a puddle of goo on the floor. Pride demands that I let him walk out of this room and curse his name until I finally fall asleep. I can’t hold a grudge nearly as well as Psyche or Callisto, but I’m no slouch. I instinctively know exactly what he wants from me, and I hate it. Yes, I definitely hate it.
I lick my lips and try for an unaffected tone. “You promised me a second orgasm if I behaved.”
“Do you really think you’ve behaved, Persephone?”
Every time he says my name, it feels like he’s running rough hands all over my bare skin. I shouldn’t love it as much as I do. I certainly shouldn’t want him to do it again and again and again. He still hasn’t looked at me. I lift my chin. “Do you know, I’m just hedonistic enough to be orgasm-motivated. I suppose I can promise to be on my best behavior tomorrow if you make it worth my while tonight.”
He laughs. The sound is a little ragged, almost rusty, but as Hades laughs, he turns to lean against the door. At least he’s not leaving yet. He slides his hands into his pockets, a move that should be completely mundane but has me fighting not to clench my thighs together. Finally, he says, “You’re making promises you have no intention of following through on.”
I give him innocent eyes. “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You, little Persephone, are a brat.” He gives another rusty chuckle. “Do those assholes in the upper city know that?”
I want to slap back with a quip, but for some reason, the question gives me pause. “No.” I shock myself by answering honestly. “They see what they want to see.”
“They see what you want them to see.”
I shrug. “I suppose that’s a fair assessment.” I don’t know what it is about this man that tempts me to put down the sunny persona—or weaponize it—but Hades is under my skin. I might be impressed under different circumstances. He is so determined to see me, when I am equally determined not to be seen. Not in that way. Vulnerability is an invitation to be cut down and taken apart piece by piece. I learned that the hard way the first year my mother took over as Demeter. The only people I can truly trust are my sisters. Everyone else either wants something from me or wants to use me to further their own agenda. It’s exhausting and so much easier to give them nothing at all.
Apparently that isn’t an option with Hades.
He’s watching me closely, as if he can draw the thoughts directly from my head like warm taffy. “I don’t expect perfection.”
That makes me give a scratchy laugh of my own. “Could have fooled me. You want perfect obedience.”
“Not really.” Now it’s his turn to shrug. “The game can be played many ways. In a single scene, most things are negotiated beforehand. This situation is infinitely more complicated. So I’ll ask you again—what do you want? Perfection obviously chafes. Do you want me to force obedience? Allow you your freedom and punish you when you step out of line?” His dark eyes are an inferno just waiting to burn me up. “What will get you off the hardest, Persephone?”
My breath stalls in my chest. “I want to misbehave.” I don’t mean to say it. I truly don’t. But Hades offering me whatever I need? It’s more intoxicating than any alcohol I’ve tasted. He’s offering a strange sort of partnership, one I didn’t realize I desired. He might dominate. I might submit. But the power balance is startlingly equal.
I didn’t know it could be like this.
“There you are.” He says it like I’ve revealed something profound with those four little words. Hades stalks back to the bed, and if he was casually dominant before, now he feels overwhelming. I inch back onto the mattress, unable to take my eyes off him. He snaps his fingers. “The dress. Take it off.”
My hands move to the hem before my brain catches up. “What if I don’t want to?”
“Then I’ll leave.” He raises that blasted eyebrow again. “It’s your choice, of course, but we both know what you really want. Take off the dress. Then lie back and spread your legs.”
He has me cornered and I can’t even pretend he doesn’t. I glare, but it feels half-hearted at best with anticipation licking at my skin. I don’t waste time teasing him; I just yank the dress off and toss it to the side.
Hades follows the movement of the fabric, disapproval radiating from him. “Next time, you fold it, or I’m going to make you crawl across the floor in penance.”
Shock. Anger. Pure lust.
I lean back on my elbows and glare. “You can try.”
“Little Persephone.” He shakes his head slowly as I spread my legs. “You don’t even know what you crave, do you? It’s okay. I’ll show you.”
I should let it go. I really should. But for some reason, I can’t manage to keep myself locked down in Hades’s presence. “Please. I know what I like.”
“Prove it.”
I blink. “Excuse me?”
He waves a casual hand as if he’s not devouring my pussy with his gaze. “Show me. You want an orgasm so desperately? Give yourself one.”
Now my glare is hardly playing. “That’s not what I want.”
“Yes, it is.” He climbs onto the bed to kneel between my spread thighs. Hades doesn’t touch me, but it feels like he’s tattooed his possession on every part of my body. His obvious desire for me stokes my need higher.
I’m going to do this. I’m going to reach between my thighs and stroke my clit until I come apart in front of him. With how turned on I am right now, it won’t take much time at all. And I…I do want to do it, damn him. I can’t just give in, though. It’s not in my genetic makeup. I lick my lips. “I propose a bargain.”
There goes his eyebrow again, but he only says, “I’m listening.”
“I would very much like to…” I don’t know how to say this without dying of embarrassment, so I simply charge forward. “I want you to come when I come.” When he keeps watching me, waiting, I force myself to continue. “If I’m making myself orgasm…I would very, very much like for you to make yourself orgasm, too.”
He stares at me a long moment as if waiting for me to change my mind. I could tell him that there’s absolutely no danger of that, something he seems to realize a few seconds later.
Hades’s hands move as if he can’t help himself, resting on my thighs and giving me a light stroke. “You might have your way tonight, but don’t get in the habit of expecting it.”
I give him a sunny smile that makes a muscle in his cheek twitch. “If I had my way, you’d already be inside me.”
“Mmmm.” He shakes his head. “You’re incorrigible.”
“Fancy words.” I can’t resist any longer. I snake a hand down my stomach and part my pussy. I’m drawing this out because I enjoy the way his hands clench on my thighs, as if he’s fighting himself not to touch me more. This man has control wrapped around him like chains. I wonder what it would take for those restraints to snap. What will happen when they finally do?
I use my middle finger to draw my wetness up and around my clit, and Hades snorts. “Cheeky.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Even with me going intentionally slowly, intentionally lightly, pleasure coils through me. I have the borderline hysterical thought that I might be able to come simply from the force of his gaze on my body. I circle my clit again. “Hades, please.”
“I like the way you say my name.” He releases me, peeling his fingers away from my thighs so slowly that it’s obvious he doesn’t want to stop touching me. I don’t want him to stop, either, but the end result is worth the temporary detour. He reaches for the front of his slacks. I hold my breath as he draws out his cock. He’s… Wow. He’s perfect. Big and thick and my body clenches with the need to have him inside me. Hades gives himself a rough stroke. “Don’t stop.”
I realize I had slowed my movements to a standstill and pick up my pace again. I can’t take my eyes from his cock as he strokes himself. “You’re beautiful.”
He gives one of those ragged laughs I’m already learning to crave. “You’re drunk on lust.”
“Maybe. Doesn’t make it less true.” I bite my bottom lip. “Touch me? Please?” When he doesn’t immediately respond, I press on. “Please, Hades. Please, Sir.”
Hades curses and knocks my hand away from my clit. “You are shit for my self-control.”
“I’m sorry,” I murmur, trying to look apologetic.
“No, you’re not. Do not move, or this ends.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
I stare down my body as Hades wraps a fist around his cock and angles it down to drag the blunt head over my clit. It feels dirty and a little bit wrong, and I never want it to stop. Gods, how is this hotter than some of the sex I’ve had? Is it purely because it’s him? I don’t have an answer. Not now. Maybe not ever.
He waits a beat and then strokes me again, circling my clit just like I did with my fingers earlier. I hold my breath, willing him to do more. It’s as if Hades draws the thought right out of my head, because he drags his cock down, wetting himself with my desire. Wicked. This is so beyond wicked.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to beg him to fuck me now, but I bite the words back. No matter how delirious pleasure makes me, I’m still aware enough to know that I’ve pushed him to his limit tonight. If I try for more, there’s every chance he’ll push back. That he’ll stop the decadent motion of his cock through my folds. Down, and then up to circle my clit, and then back down.
He tenses as he presses to my entrance, but I don’t have a chance to throw caution to the wind before he speaks. “Hands above your head.”
I don’t hesitate. He’s not going to leave me hanging tonight. Despite what he seems to think, I am capable of obedience when properly motivated. The look he gives me says he’s noted how quickly I stop arguing now that I’m getting what I want. He shifts forward to press my body hard against the mattress, his solid weight pinning me in place. And then he shifts his hips and the whole length of his cock is suddenly rubbing against my clit with each slow thrust.
So careful. He’s so fucking careful with me, even now. Holding me down but ensuring his weight doesn’t drive the breath from my lungs. I could have told him it’s a lost cause—pleasure has already accomplished that. I’m gasping out each exhale, fighting to hold still, to obey, to not do anything that might cause him to stop.
His slow movements have his clothing sliding against my bare skin. In this moment, I’d give my right lung to have him as naked as I am.
I expect him to kiss me, but he kisses along my jaw to nip my earlobe. “See how good it feels to obey, little Persephone?” Another long drag of his length against my clit. “Do as I ask tomorrow, and I’ll let you have my cock.”
My thoughts scatter, shooting in a thousand different directions. “Promise?”
“I promise.” He picks up his pace the tiniest bit. My toes curl, and I can’t help arching into him. Hades hooks one arm under my thigh and spreads me up and further out. The smallest shift and he’ll be inside me. I want it so desperately, I’m in danger of begging.
My body doesn’t give me a chance to. I orgasm hard, every muscle clenching and my toes curling. Hades keeps moving, drawing it out, and then he jerks back and comes across my stomach. I stare dazedly down at the liquid marking my skin and have the absurd desire to run my fingers through it.
While I’m still recovering, Hades fixes his clothing and sits back on his heels. The way he watches me… We haven’t even had sex yet, and this man looks at me like he wants to keep me. It should be enough to send me running, but I can’t quite work up the energy to be concerned. We have our deal. I don’t know why I’m so sure, but I know Hades won’t break his word. At the end of this, he’ll ensure I get out of Olympus unscathed.
“Don’t move.” He climbs off the bed and walks to the bathroom. A few seconds later, he returns with a damp cloth. I reach to take it, but he shakes his head. “Hold still.”
I watch him clean me up. This should bother me…shouldn’t it? I’m not sure, not when I’m still riding high from my orgasm. Hades sets the cloth aside and arranges himself against my headboard. “Come here.”
Again, part of me protests that I should dig in my heels, but I’m already moving to him and allowing him to arrange me on his lap. Still, I can’t quite keep silent. “I’m not a big cuddler.”
“This isn’t about cuddling.” He smooths a hand down my back and guides my head to his shoulder.
I wait, but he doesn’t seem overly motivated to keep talking. A little laugh escapes. “By all means, don’t feel like you have to elaborate. I’ll just sit here in pleasant confusion for the duration.”
“For someone with your reputation, you’ve got quite the mouth on you.” He doesn’t sound annoyed by this fact. No, if I don’t miss my guess, he’s positively amused.
I sigh and relax against him. He’s obviously not going to let me go until he’s finished with whatever this not-cuddling thing is, and holding myself tense through the whole thing is too exhausting. Plus…it’s kind of nice to lie like this. Just for a little while. “I don’t know why you’re so surprised. You’ve already admitted you use your reputation as a weapon. Is it so strange to think I might do the same?”
“Why did you land on sunshine? None of your other sisters made the same choice.”
At that, I lean back a little so I can raise my brows at him. “Hades…you seem to know a lot about us. You must follow the gossip sites.”
He doesn’t look remotely sorry. “You’d be surprised at the information someone can glean from them if they read between the lines and have a little insider perspective.”
I can’t argue that. I feel the same way. With a small laugh, I relax against him again. “Eurydice isn’t playing a part, not entirely. She really is the innocent dreamer, which is how she ended up with that asshole of a boyfriend.”
Hades’s chuckle rumbles through his chest. “You don’t approve of Orpheus.”
“Would you if he were in a relationship with someone you care about? He embraces the starving artist trope to an absurd degree, especially considering he’s a trust-fund baby like the rest of us. He might think Eurydice is his muse right now, but what happens when he gets bored with her and starts looking outside their relationship for inspiration?” I know exactly what will happen. Eurydice will be crushed. It might actually break her. We’ve kept our youngest sister as sheltered as a person can be when they’re one spot removed from the Thirteen. The thought of Eurydice losing her innocence… It hurts. I don’t want that for her.
“And your other sisters?”
I shrug as much as I’m able to. “Psyche prefers to fly under the radar. She never lets them know what she’s thinking, and sometimes it seems like all of Olympus loves her for it. She’s something of a trendsetter, but she makes it look effortless, like she can’t be bothered to try.” Though sometimes I catch an empty look in her eyes when she thinks no one is looking. She never used to have that look before Mother became Demeter.
I clear my throat. “Callisto isn’t playing a role. She really is as fierce as she seems. She hates the Thirteen, hates Olympus, hates everyone except us.” I’ve wondered time and time again why she hasn’t left. She’s the only one of us who has access to her trust fund, and instead of using it to craft an escape hatch, she’s only seemed to settle deeper into her hate.
Hades slowly winds a strand of my hair around his finger. “And you?”
“Someone has to keep the peace.” It was my role in our little family unit even before we moved up the social and political ladder in Olympus, so it felt natural to extend it. I smooth things out, make plans, and get everyone on board. It wasn’t meant to be forever. Only until I could craft my ship out of here.
I never could have anticipated that wearing the mask of the sweet, biddable daughter might be the very thing that traps me here forever.
