Chapter 8

Chapter

Eight

P ersephone

I am having a hard time picturing this event as one for a hospital. Everything is done in glittering golds and endless black. The roofs are high and the lights are low. The live band plays songs I don’t recognize in melodies that are easy to move to, though I don’t understand the words. People swirl on the dance floor in gowns that are extravagant in a way that I’ve never seen before.

To say I’m overstimulated is an understatement.

I lean closer to Hades. “This is insane.”

He lowers until his gravelly voice whispers against my ear. “The wealthy often are. ”

Like every time Hades speaks with his lips so close to my skin, I shiver. I can’t help myself. I can’t get a handle on the way he affects me. I’d thought that letting myself be with him, letting myself experience the forbidden pleasure that is him, I would be less tempted.

It’s been the opposite. I’m even more tempted. More hungry for him.

Every time he kisses me, I feel him deeper inside me.

Every time he touches me, I’m left craving more.

I don’t understand how I’m going to walk away from him when this affair is over. I am going to be in ruins, like the temples I spend my days uncovering. Like them, I’ll be caught in an eternity of despair for what once was.

Hades leads me to a large round table where a gentleman in a black suit fills our glasses with champagne. People continue to dance, and Hades leans in close. “You look uncomfortable.”

I’ve never worn a dress like this. For one thing, Mom would lose it over this slit. Dad’s head would spin, because the dress fits like a second skin.

“I’m fine.” I glance down at the black satin that clings to my body. The slit is wide enough to show my leg all the way to my hip. Even though the material pools to the floor, I feel half undressed.

Hades’ eyes drag the length of my body. Heat flares in the deep of my belly, mirroring the blaze I see in his eyes. “Is it the dress?”

“I’ve never worn anything like it.”

“You are beautiful,” Hades murmurs, stealing my breath. His hand moves from the table to my lap. My heart skips at least an entire sequence of beats when his large hand curls around my thigh—the thigh left exposed by the slit. It’s such a possessive touch.

His fingertips dip between my legs, traveling higher. A shiver breaks out over the entirety of me, and my breath catches. My lungs burn as I gasp, “Hades.”

“Relax,” he purrs.

“I can’t,” I pant. “Not when you’re touching me like that.”

“Like what?”

God, my face is on fire. I’m going to burst into flames right here, right now. I hiss, “Like this .”

Hades leans in to wrap me in woodsmoke and sin. His voice is as deliciously dark as his words. “How do you want me to touch you?”

My eyes connect with his. Opalescent obsidian and emerald clash.

My breath doesn’t catch. It is simply gone.

“I want you to touch me in a way that the whole world falls away.”

I’m not sure, but I think a low growl climbs up from the depths of him to invade the beauty of this ballroom. His hand stops moving on my thigh, his grip tightening. In my lungs, the air is seized. For a moment, it’s just the two of us.

In a whisper, I call his name, “Hades.”

He blinks. There is a dangerous lilt to his words when he murmurs low, “You tempt me.”

“Good.” I rise to the challenge.

His eyes flare. I blush. I’m awfully bold tonight. I’m not sure what’s gotten into me. “You don’t want to tempt me, little goddess.”

I love when he calls me little goddess .

I wet my lips, watching the way his eyes chase the movement. My skin burns. “I do, though.”

His eyes search mine for long moments. I think I see flames dancing in the depths, there and gone too fast to really know. Still, my body responds. Heat prickles my skin and his hand flexes on my thigh again.

I think he’s going to say something when the sound of the chair sliding over the floor on my other side stops him. The chair moans as weight settles into it, but I can’t seem to take my eyes from Hades. Even when his flick beyond me to the new arrival.

His eyes shutter, turning hard. His grip on my thigh does the same.

“Herman.” Hades lifts his champagne with his free hand. “A surprise.”

“You know how I like to surprise.” Herman’s eyes, dark brown in color, like espresso, shift to me. Those eyes drag the length of me, settling for a long moment on Hades’ hand on my leg. They snap suddenly to mine. “But I must say I’m the one shocked tonight.” Herman leans closer, something dangerous in his probing eyes. “Tell me.” His eyes crackle with a curious light. “Who are you ?”

I start to tell him my name but stop when Hades introduces me roughly, “Annie.”

It’s the first time Hades has willingly called me Annie. I’d thought I would prefer it, but I don’t.

“Annie,” Herman tastes my name. “A lovely name for a lovely girl.”

“Herman,” Hades warns when I stiffen.

Herman laughs, but his eyes never leave mine. “Hades has always had a liking for lovely girls.”

“I’m not a girl,” I tell him. I feel defensive of us, and it sucks, because Herman is only calling out the fears I’ve already voiced. That the gap between our ages would harm Hades somehow. “I’m a woman. Young, perhaps, but a woman all the same.”

“My mistake.” Herman chuckles. His eyes dance with mischief as he leans back in his seat, fingertips tapping on his thighs thoughtfully. “You remind me of someone.”

“Oh.” I don’t care who I remind him of.

“She looks like her, doesn’t she, Hades?” Now, I can’t help but care. My eyes move from Hades to Herman and back.

“Hades?” I call. “Who is he talking about?”

“His late wife, of course.” Herman grins impishly. The man is delighted by the chaos he’s brewing. “You can’t tell me you don’t see the resemblance, Hades. It’s there, especially in the eyes.” Herman leans closer when I glare at him. His smile widens, a bright white toothy display. “Yes,” he purrs, his eyes pinning mine. “One might say the resemblance is so deep, it’s there in the soul.”

“What do you want, Herman?” Hades sounds tense and dangerous. Inside, my heart is a cacophony of messy beats—because I look like Hades’ late wife ?

I think I might be sick. Even as waves of nausea roll through me, I am unable to walk away. Unable to flee.

I need to hear more.

“Oh.” Herman waves his hand rather flippantly. “You know me.” His tone is light and edging on playful, but there is nothing playful about the determined set of his eyes as he looks beyond me to Hades. “I’m here with a message.”

“What is your message?”

“They want you to return home, Hades. Where you belong.”

“Tell our family that I have as much right to be here as the rest of them.”

Herman shakes his head. “They know what you’re looking for.”

Hades shrugs. “I’ve been looking for a long time.”

Herman’s gaze flicks to me. It’s quick. “They don’t know you’ve found it.”

Hades’ entire form turns rigid. A danger unlike any I’ve sensed before emanates from him to permeate the air around us. That need I felt to flee returns tenfold.

Power radiates from Hades. It’s a kind of power that feels so massive, it doesn’t feel human. “Do you intend to tell them?”

Why does his question somehow feel as though it’s been coated in a threat?

Herman shifts in the chair beside me. I feel as though I am between two very dangerous predators. One move, and I’ll be slayed.

I remain still and quiet.

Finally, Herman speaks, “My silence comes with a price.”

Hades grunts.

Herman continues, “I wish to return home, as well.”

“It was never your home.”

“You stole my purpose when you banished me.”

Hades’ fist connects with the table hard. Glasses rattle and I jump. His hand curls tighter on my thigh. “You brought her into my— house .”

“I didn’t know she was going to do what she did.”

Hades uncurls and curls his fist. The silence pulses between them for a long moment, making me dizzy with fear. I have no idea what is happening. Hades asks low, “How many times did you do it?”

Herman frowns. “What?”

“How many times did you bring her into my house without my knowledge? ”

“I—” Herman shakes his head. “Why are you asking?”

“How many times?” Hades grits between clenched teeth. I have never been more lost. More confused.

What is going on?

“Twice before that—before the last.”

“What did she do?”

“She saw—” Herman’s eyes flick to me and back to Hades. “She wanted to see her.”

“It wasn’t her time,” Hades growls low. “There was a deal for a reason.”

“I am sorry, Hades. I have been sorry for a very long time.” Herman casts his eyes downward. “I have paid my penance.”

“I don’t trust you,” Hades growls low. “If it weren’t for you, none of it would have happened.”

“You know that’s not true. She is resourceful. She would have found another way.”

“You want your job back?” Hades demands. Herman nods once. “Keep what you know to yourself. Prove to me you can be trusted again to move within the boundaries of my home.” Hades pulls me to stand at his side. “There is a war brewing, Herman. One she started a long time ago. You don’t want to find yourself on the wrong side.”

Herman bows his head quick, before casting his gaze back up at Hades. “You’re going to destroy everything for her.”

“ She set all that will come to pass in motion. ”

Herman shakes his head. “They will end you, Uncle.”

Hades shakes his head. “Not this time.”

Hades begins to pull me from the table when Herman calls, “You’re the guest of honor, Hades. You can’t leave.”

“Stand in my place, Herman,” Hades calls over his shoulder. “You once did it so well.”