Vowed to Hades (Romancing the Seas #4)

31. Persephone

PERSEPHONE

W hen their bed chamber door shut behind them, Persephone wasted no time in wrapping her arms around Hades's neck and kissed him.

His tongue tasted bitter, like red wine.

Her hair fanned around them, and in that moment, they were the only two beings in the world.

When she broke away to catch her breath, Hades reached down and grasped her thigh. The slit in her gown opened up, giving him an eyeful of flesh before he leaned in for another kiss.

Her weight pressed on him, and she shut her eyes, relishing in the overwhelming feeling of being home.

Hades handled her like she was made of porcelain. His big hands trailed over her curves, slightly gripping her, as though he was making sure she was not an illusion .

A shaky breath escaped her lips as she opened her eyes and met Hades's heady stare.

The pools of his eyes were so dark they spoke of anguish. Of a darkness that had almost consumed him.

She couldn’t believe it. All this time, he was telling the truth. He was her lover, her soul mate, trying to bring her back to the light. Bring her back to him.

And she fought him every step of the way.

She wanted to erase his suffering. To be the Persephone he knew. But even with her memories slowly coming back, she was still… inexperienced.

“Tell me what to do,” she whispered against his ear.

She fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, until he helped her by yanking it open. The buttons zipped across the room and fell to the floor with a clatter.

Persephone and Hades stopped to chuckle.

The melody of their laughter was music to Persephone’s ears.

She tentatively pushed the material from Hades's shoulders, and it fell to the floor.

“Kiss me here,” Hades said, tapping on his neck, under his earlobe.

Persephone pressed her lips on the spot, and he groaned. Sending a vibration from her lips through the rest of her body.

She bit against a smile .

If a simple kiss could do that, she wondered what else she could do to make him groan.

She kissed his jaw, his cheeks, then found his lips again.

He nibbled on her bottom lip while his hands roamed her body.

His body reacted to her like a moth to a flame.

When she explored his chest, he stiffened, and something firm pressed against her stomach.

Her exploration of him was curious, innocent. All of it was so new, yet equally familiar.

When her fingers slid down to his waist, all of the muscles in his torso grew taut. And he gave her a look she couldn’t read. It was a mixture of pain and relief.

But when she attempted to go further, Hades grabbed her by the wrists and swiveled them until her back hit the door with a thump.

Slowly, he pulled her wrists up and pinned them with one hand above her head. “Slow down, my love,” he growled in her ear, as he sucked on her lobe.

Persephone’s breath caught in her chest as flickers of memories flurried into her mind. Memories of the millions of times he had her pinned to a wall with her wrists above her head.

She shut her eyes and arched her back, reveling in the delightful way his stubble tickled her neck.

“I don’t want to slow down.”

She felt Hades grinning against her neck, before he nipped on her flesh .

She sucked in a shocked breath and melted against his body.

“You told me to teach you, my dear, so you shall do as I say.”

Persephone stilled, and her breaths came out in short bursts.

She did not expect him to be so patient, so controlled.

Not when her body was writhing, pleading him to consume her.

She chewed her lip. “I thought you would teach me to use my powers.”

“There are other things I need to teach you first,” Hades murmured as he worked his way up her neck to her mouth.

He found her lips again and kissed her softly. Lazily.

His thoughts entered her mind.

The wait has been sheer agony, nevertheless, it is only fitting I torture you a little too.

Persephone hissed at a sudden sharp pain on her thigh.

She blinked, and looked at the pink hand-shaped mark on the leg that was pinned to Hades's waist.

Then her cheeks burned as she let out a shocked breath.

“That feels…nice,” she admitted.

Hades's face broke into a knowing grin.

He interlocked his fingers with hers and guided her to the chaise lounge at the foot of the bed. “Sit. ”

The command flooded Persephone with a thrilling sense of anticipation.

She lowered to the seat, dragging her gaze over his gleaming upper body.

He was so beautiful.

“Good girl,” he purred.

He grinned at her, dragging his thumb across his bottom lip in a teasing way.

She licked her lips, as her mouth went dry.

“Now, take off your gown… but keep your eyes on me.” Hades backed away.

Persephone’s heartbeat roared in her ears as she slipped the gown over her shoulders, keeping her gaze locked on Hades. It pooled to her ankles, and she kicked it off.

She hovered her hands over the ties on her corset, but Hades shook his head. “Leave it on,” he said, then he lowered to his knees. “Now spread your legs and let me look at you.”

Persephone took in a deep breath and did as she was told.

Displaying herself to Hades, in so little clothing, gave her butterflies.

She was so vulnerable, yet never felt safer.

Hades was her husband. While everything was new to her, she had been worshiped by him for a millennium. She was vowed to him, as he was vowed to her.

Yet, even with this knowledge, when his hot breath heated her inner thigh, she mewled, coming undone right there and then .

“Hades,” she said with a shuddering breath.

All she got was a dark chuckle in response.

Hades caressed her leg, his calloused hands roaming her skin, and he rested her ankle on one shoulder.

She ran her tongue along her teeth as she waited for what he was going to do next.

He picked up her other leg and propped it on his other shoulder, then he shuffled closer, until her knees were resting either side of his neck.

Their breaths mingled as they breathed each other’s air for several heated moments.

Hades paused, staring so deeply into Persephone’s eyes it was as though he was caressing her very soul.

Persephone held his gaze. Trying to imprint every tiny detail of his eyes, so that she may never forget him again.

Inside the darkness, was a constellation of gold stars, swirling around his iris. The depth of his eyes pulled her in, drawing her in.

Kiss me, she thought.

Hades smirked, as though he heard it.

Then he levered her legs back as he moved in to kiss her.

Persephone folded in half, and when Hades deepened the kiss, she almost lost herself into an abyss both torturous and delicious.

She dug her nails into his shoulders, grounding herself in the moment, so not as to get swept away .

When he released her and promptly set her legs down, Persephone was panting.

Her body tingled, and her brain scattered of all thought.

All that mattered in that moment was Hades.

The Nether King had his sights on her. His body drenched in sweat, glistening and powerful, like a god.

And under the flickering candlelight, his tattoos moved like shadows across his pectorals.

She followed the trail of crows painted down his stomach, half of a crow was visible just above his waistband. She wondered how far the tattoos would go.

Again, Hades followed her thought. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

He lifted a suspecting brow.

Persephone kneeled up and ran her hands through his silken strands of black hair.

His eyes fluttered closed as she traced the contours of his face, gently grazing his cheekbones with the pads of her fingers.

Then she took one of his hands and pressed it over her cheek. She shut her eyes. “I want to see you. All of you.”

A resigned sigh filled the air.

Persephone opened her eyes in surprise as Hades withdrew his hand.

Hades jerked his head. “Get on the bed.”

The snap in his voice crackled in the air, and another flurry of excitement took over Persephone .

The way he commanded her body had her panting again.

She crawled onto the soft bed and knelt, watching Hades swagger to her. “You’re making it impossible to resist you, my love.”

Persephone grabbed the waist of his trousers and yanked him closer to the bed. “Then don’t,” she said. “Have we not suffered enough? So long as you tell me what to do so I don’t ruin the moment…”

Hades's eyes sparkled as he let out another chuckle. “You could never ruin anything, my Dark Queen.”

But then he tilted his head with a strange expression on his face. “Although, if we’re being honest here, it is usually you who enjoys telling me what to do.”

Persephone swallowed.

He was right. In all of her visions, she was commanding. Strong. Daring.

Everything she was not feeling now.

“Very well,” she said, mustering courage. “Show yourself to me.”

She edged to the side of the bed and planted her hands on his chest, then she reached up and purred into his ear. “I want you to show me every part of you. The good, the bad… even your very soul.”

Hades pulled back and blinked at her for a few moments as though he was thinking about it. Then he brushed her hair away from her brow and planted a chaste kiss on her forehead.

“As you wish, my Dark Queen. ”

He bowed for several long moments, and there was a ruffled of material falling. Then he straightened, and Persephone stifled a gasp.

He was even more beautiful than she could ever have imagined.

The tattoos of crows and snakes trailed down his full body.

His legs were defined, muscled. And a beautiful shade of caramel.

“You can touch, you know? I won’t bite… hard,” Hades said, when she hadn’t moved for a minute.

Persephone climbed off the bed and circled Hades, dragging her palms over his taut muscled frame.

He stood, silent and patient, and she took in every inch of him.

She hovered her hand a few inches from his erection and marveled at the heat radiating from his body.

It was too long. Too rigid and thick.

When her fingers coiled around it, it pulsed, seemingly having a mind of its own.

“Now what?” Persephone said, unnerved.

The appendage was far too large to put anywhere, surely.

Hades stayed still, frozen in Persephone’s grasp. But his lips curved upward. “I think you are grossly overdressed for what comes next.”

Before Persephone could retort, Hades gripped her bodice and tore it clean off her .

She let him go with a shocked cry and fell back on the bed.

He crawled over her, bathing her in delicious heat and when he leaned down to kiss her again, their clammy bodies collided.

A deep ache spread out somewhere in Persephone’s midriff. A yearning that burned like a fire that had been extinguished for a long time.

“Take me, Hades,” Persephone whimpered as the heat pooled to her core, and she throbbed. “Remind me where I belong.”

She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders as Hades kissed her neck.