Chapter 13

Chapter

Thirteen

P ersephone

I thought I'd toss and turn all night long my first night in Hades' home, but nope. I'd slept like the dead, waking only to the alarm I'd set for myself the night before. I dressed quickly before landing in the kitchen, prepared to make Hades breakfast, as per my job description, only to find a handwritten note on the counter. Hades explained that something pressing had come up, and he'd had to leave to take care of it.

He signed the note with: See you tonight, Hades.

I made myself a coffee and inspected his kitchen with the eye of a homicide detective. With the extra time I had in my morning since I wasn't cooking breakfast for Hades, I forewent the taxi and walked to the little house I shared with my team.

Now, after a long day spent under a brutally, but decadently hot sun, and a long walk to the Tower, I'm exhausted. I want nothing more than to wash away the day under a cool shower, and fall into that lovely bed. Still, even though I'm exhausted in a bone-deep way, I can't deny that I'm excited to cook for Hades.

I'm excited to see him.

Sometime during the day, I decided I'd make chicken and broccoli quesadillas. Hades had all the ingredients apart from the wraps, but I stopped in at a little grocer on the way to his home and bought a pack.

Now, as I ride the elevator to Hades' home, I feel even more nervous than I had the night before. After our borderline inappropriate conversation, thanks to yours truly, Hades insisted on ordering in for the night so that I could get comfortable. I'd tried to explain that cooking would make me more comfortable, but he wouldn't hear it. We shared takeout at the dining table, a second glass of champagne, which definitely went to my head, upon which I thought it smart to excuse myself for the night.

The elevator slides open and a quick jitter of nerves spike something that feels like fear in my heart. I swallow it down, and enter the space only to find myself facing off with three ferocious looking rottweilers.

It takes me a solid minute to realize that none of the dogs are growling, or even looking at me with menace. Instead, apart from the middle one that stands, they don't even look all that threatening. The side two flank the middle, both sitting regally. Although I can see that they are well behaved, I can't ignore the sense that these dogs could rip a foe into shreds in only a matter of seconds.

The thought has pebbles of fear rising over every inch of my skin, before Hades appears, his dark eyes taking in the scene and my fear before he commands, "Beds."

All three dogs turn and walk slowly, unwillingly, away.

Nerves spill from my lips in a telling laugh as I breathe, "You have dogs."

His eyes narrow. "You don't like dogs?"

"I like dogs. Love them, actually." I kick off my shoes, reveling in the feel of his cool floor on my hot feet. "But I walked into their home with no introduction. The fact I like dogs wouldn't stop them from seeing me as a threat to their space and master, and potentially ripping me apart."

"They will never harm you."

I frown at the man, because he should know better than that. They are animals, and I've not been properly introduced. They could have ended me before Hades even blinked just now.

I sigh heavily, because Hades struck me as more intelligent than that. "Hades, they don't know me. "

"I've introduced your scent to them. They know you are not to be harmed."

"My scent?" I feel my brows rise to my hairline. Sometimes, this man is bizarre.

"I let them into your room. They know you are to be protected, never harmed." His eyes bore into mine. "Persephone, they understand."

There it is again. His odd ability to climb into my mind and read my thoughts.

I just shake my head, at a loss. Lifting the bag of tortillas, I tell him, "I'm going to get dinner started."

His jaw hardens. My eyes widen. "I don't want you spending money on things for my home."

I brush him off. "It's nothing."

"Persephone." There is a warning in his tone that has me pausing. "I'm serious. If you want something that I don't have, write it down and I'll have my housekeeper pick it up."

I consider arguing, but when it boils down, I am his employee. I don't want to be fired on day two for insubordination. Reluctantly, I nod. Slipping around him, I move into the kitchen. I don't miss the three massive dog beds that line the wall in the living room, or the massive dogs that rest in each bed.

Still, Hades says they won't harm me, and I decide to trust him. I'll make friends with the pups soon enough.

"I hope everything was okay today." I pull chicken, cheese, and broccoli from the fridge. When Hades says nothing, I peek up at him to find he's looking at me with an adorably confused expression on his face. I almost laugh, but thankfully keep it contained as I explain, "You said you had something pressing come up in your note." I think maybe I shouldn't have asked, but the man basically said he was looking for a wife, without the bedroom bits. I figure a wife would press, so I do, too. "It was just a little early for something pressing to have happened." I shrug as I tear into the pack of chicken. "I worried about you today, is all."

"You worried about me?"

God, why is it that his voice affects me like this? Like it physically climbs inside my body and flips all my switches.

Hades cocks his head, eyes darkening as I wet my lips. "Of course, I did."

He tosses a big hand toward the dogs. "Them."

My brows inch together. "What?"

"The pressing thing I had to see to was them. My dogs."

"Oh." My eyes slide to the big pups, and I give them a soft smile. Living on a farm my whole life, we'd had dogs. Plenty of dogs. But I'd lost my most favorite less than six months ago to old age, and the pain of that loss still hurts. "Where were they?"

"At my other home."

My furrowed brows inch high. "You have another home?"

Hades nods. "I do."

"Wow." I slice the cut chicken from the cutting board into a pan. With a new board, I begin chopping the broccoli. "What does a man need two homes for?"

"My other home is my true home," he says. "This home is simply convenient."

I snort. "Feels more like paradise to me."

"Does it?"

I glance around at the opulence. "I mean, yeah."

"This is what you want, Persephone? What your soul craves?" He raises a single brow. "Is that what you're telling me?"

His mention of my soul stirs something inside of me. It's the same something that stirs when I hear that voice that calls my name, with all its rage and anguish. My tongue feels dry. "I'm not sure what you're asking, Hades."

"If you could, would you choose to live here for the rest of your life?"

There's something intense about his expression that I can't quite put my finger on. I feel, oddly, like this is a test. Still, I don't want to offend him when it comes to the place he's obviously chosen to live, even if he has another home elsewhere that he prefers more.

I begin cautiously. "I don't know that I would refuse it, if it was offered to me. But if I could choose anything at all—then, no, this wouldn't be it."

"If you could choose anything at all, what would it be? "

My lips part and close and part again. "I—I don't know."

I don't know why this question feels so intimate. It's a basic question that anyone could ask, and yet it feels—like a lot.

"Persephone," Hades calls, and I see that he's moved closer when I peek from the cut broccoli to him. "Please, tell me."

"I don't know that I would choose to be so close to the sky. It feels—I feel a little out of place. Itchy in my own skin, I think. Even though it's very beautiful here. The view." The words come out of nowhere. Until this very moment, I hadn't even realized I felt this way. But with the words between us, I can't deny the truth of them. "And it's very modern. I feel it's lacking, well, life."

When I dare to look at him, I find it odd that he looks almost pleased.

The man is peculiar.