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She groaned in his arms. “Hades.”

He looked up to see the human man feeding his cock slowly into the writhing female beneath him, and Hades thrust his finger gently into Persephone.

She shuddered against him, her hips rocking again.

“Does that feel good?” He whispered against her neck, sliding his finger out and then pushing in slowly again. His thumb brushed lightly against her clit as he stroked into her again with his finger.

The goddess was writhing against him. “He’s… pounding into her. So rough,” she panted.

“It’s incredible.”

“I’d go soft and slow the first time,” Hades told her in a low voice, sliding his finger to match his words. “Let your body get used to mine. And then I’d take you as rough as he’s taking her.

Pound into you so hard that you won’t be able to see straight. You won’t see anything but me, driving into you. Making you wild with need.”

His thumb pressed hard on her clit, even as his fingers pinched her nipple.

A small sob caught in her throat and she clung to him.

He stroked his finger into her again and pressed his thumb on her clit once more as the woman’s cries grew louder. “Is he making her come, Persephone?”

Her nod was jerky against him, her cheek pressed against his helmet as she quivered and rocked in his arms, her hips moving and bucking against his hand.

“I want you to come in my arms,” he told her softly and pressed hard on her clit again and then thrust deep with his finger.

She stiffened, suddenly leaning forward and pressing her hips against his hand. “Again,” she moaned. “Please, again.”

He did it, repeating the thrust of his finger deep inside her and then rubbing on her clit. She bucked against him so fiercely that he did it again, pressing hard against her clit and sliding a second finger into her with his next thrust.

She ground down on his hand, her whimper choked, and he felt her pussy spasm around his fingers, sucking him deep and milking him within. There was a rush of wetness against his already-slick hand. She was coming, and she was coming hard. He felt a surge of pride, his cock aching with need. He wanted to bury himself deep inside her. Throw her down on the grass and fuck her like the human was fucking his woman.

Persephone clung to him and fell back against him again, gasping for breath, shuddering with the aftermath of her pleasure. All around them, blades of grass uncurled and began to sprout in the meadow, an unexpected side effect of her goddess powers.

“Hades,” she moaned softly. “What are you doing to me?”

“Did you not enjoy yourself, Persephone?” he asked, glancing up at the two humans. They lay in each other’s arms, replete. They’d finished around the same time that his goddess had and were now relaxing, oblivious to the gods seated a short distance away.

She nodded against him and tried to nuzzle at his neck, then sighed. “I hate this helmet. I wish you could take it off. I want to kiss you again.”

“I want to kiss you, too,” he told her. “Kiss you and lay you down in the grass and kneel between your legs and make you mine.” He pressed her back against him, letting her feel the aching heat of his cock between them. “Will you let me?”

“Tonight,” she told him after a moment. “I will sleep with you tonight.”

And he felt a surge of triumph.

She knew how she was going to get that flower now. He’d given her a path straight into his lair and given her the perfect means to steal from him. She’d go to him in his bed. Stay the night.

Steal his helmet… and then walk out with it and his power.

Rose’s thoughts were in turmoil as she lay in her bath that afternoon. She wanted to stay with Hades. She wanted to tell him who she was. Who she
really
was.

But tonight she would go to his chamber, steal his helmet and the flower, and escape the underworld.

And if she did that, she could stay in this place. Near him.

Just not with him. She would be betraying his trust. Stealing his prized helm and making him look like a fool. He’d be furious with her.

So basically she could have Hades tonight. Tomorrow, she would be back to the sunny fields above and her life as Demeter’s unhappy assistant.

Some bargain. To get a second chance at life, she had to give up the man she wanted to remain here for. There was no happy answer. If she didn’t do the task, Muffin would pluck her from this body and send her back… to where? Muffin had said she was dead in the other plane.

She had no choice. None at all, really.

Frustrated, she sank lower in her bath. She would be forced to leave him… unless she took drastic measures. It was time to take a gamble, Rose realized. She had one card left to play, and she could play it tonight.

If things went right, she’d end up with the man and the happy ever after.

And if not?

Well, she was screwed anyway.

~*~

Hades paced outside his bedroom. Inside, Persephone waited for him. She’d said she would be his tonight… except tonight would never come.

Hermes, Zeus’s messenger, had been at his palace earlier today. He’d carried a furious message from Zeus about Persephone’s kidnapping. Demeter was withholding her powers until her daughter was returned to her. Zeus was furious at his brother for betraying him. Dionysus was furious that his bride had been stolen from him.

Hades did not care about any of them. All he wanted was Persephone. Every day she’d spent with him, she’d further convinced him that she was the bride for him. She would make an incredible queen, and an even more incredible wife. He loved her spirit, her beauty, her sexuality, her curiosity. Everything that was Persephone was pleasing to him.

Except, perhaps, her stubbornness. But he couldn’t fault her for that, either. It was just another thing that made her so unique to him.

And why he was keenly feeling her loss, even though she had not yet left his realm.

He knew he must tell her that she must return to the world above. Hermes had made Zeus’s orders quite clear. Even now, the messenger god was waiting to return Persephone to the world above and her mother’s protective custody.

He had nothing to tie her here. His love for her would not be enough. Persephone had made her own choice by not eating or drinking, and all the sensual delights that he’d promised to show her would have to wait.

“Make haste, Hades,” Hermes said impatiently, crossing his thin arms and tapping a winged sandal on the marble floors. “I’m under orders to bring her back this evening. Demeter is causing quite a fuss, as you can imagine.”

Oh, he could. Hades glared at the messenger one last time, then opened the doors to the bedroom.

An incredible picture was laid out before him.

On a white, silk-draped couch, Persephone reclined, completely nude. Her tanned skin

glowed with health, golden brown all over. Her long, curling hair had been artfully arranged with tumbled leaves, splashes of green in her sunset mane. Her small, high breasts thrust into the air, her nipples hard, as if anticipating the sight of him.

She was a goddess in every sense of the word. Beautiful, strong, and sure of herself.

In front of her lay a silver tray and a knife. A pomegranate had been split, dozens of juicy red seeds spilling out on the tray in front of her.

“Hermes,” Persephone said in an even, steady voice. “How nice to see you.”

And she popped a pomegranate seed into her mouth.

Joy rushed through him as her green eyes flicked to him and her mouth curved in a smile stained with pomegranate juice. With that small gesture, she’d proven her choice.

Not just to him, but to the gods themselves.

Hermes’s lip curled as Hades glanced back at the messenger. “Zeus is not going to be

pleased.”

“He cannot take my bride from me,” Hades said, a triumphant note in his voice. “You know the laws of the underworld.”

The messenger god gave a haughty sniff. “I’ll share this news with Lord Zeus.” And he zipped out of the room, faster than light.

It was only Hades and Persephone in the bedchamber, now. He approached his goddess, his heart swelling with love for her. Even as he approached, she lightly popped another seed into her mouth.

“You have chosen, my love?” he asked.

She leaned forward, running a hand along the curve of her breast in a sensual gesture. “I choose you. I want a lifetime of pleasure at your side. I want to rule the underworld with you. I won’t settle for being just your assistant. I want so much more.”

“You shall have everything,” he said in a husky voice, pushing aside the tray and sitting on the couch next to her lovely reclining body. “Everything.”

“I know,” she said, and a reddish-tinged smile curved her lips. “That is why I think we’ll be good together. You want me to be happy.”

His fingers brushed over her silky cheek. “You have made
me
very happy, my queen.”

She nuzzled against his touch, smiling.

There was another pop of the atmosphere. “Zeus is angry,” Hermes announced, returning with a whoosh of a breeze that startled Persephone. “And Demeter is furious. She says you are holding her daughter captive.”

“I’m not a captive,” Persephone said in a firm voice. “I’m the queen of the underworld.”

Hermes sighed and zipped away again.

“They will fight us on this,” Hades observed, warning her.

“Of course they will,” she said in a soft voice. “The goddess of spring doesn’t belong in such a dark place. I have chosen to be at your side. Now, kiss me and show me that I’ve made the right choice.”

He did, leaning down over the couch to brush his lips over hers. It was not a kiss of possession, but one of intense tenderness, and she smiled up at him.

“Will Hermes be back?” She asked.

He paused for a minute. “No,” he decided. “They will be expecting us to return to Olympus tomorrow, with our tails tucked between our legs. And I will not let them have you back.” “My thoughts exactly.” She seemed almost sad.

Hades stood up from the couch and picked her up in his arms. “Then, we move to the bed.”

He carried her slim figure across the room, pleased at how her arms twined around his neck. He laid her gently in the bed as if he carried the greatest of treasures.

She smiled up at him, looking quite pleased with herself.

He got up and quickly crossed the room, shutting the double doors and locking them. If Hermes did return, he’d get the hint to stay out of their bedroom. With that done, he returned to Persephone’s side, stripping out of his own clothing.

She rolled over onto her side, watching him undress with avid, fascinated eyes. Her gaze was appreciative as she regarded him, his broad, muscled chest and flat abdomen. He was a big man

—all the Olympians were—but he suspected she found his form pleasing, and this pleased him in return. Her gaze dropped to his cock, hard and thick and ready, and a feminine little gasp tore from her throat.

“I’d forgotten how big you are,” she admitted, her fingers clenching in the silken sheets, as if holding herself back from reaching out to touch him. “You’re much more well-endowed than the human man we saw earlier.”

“You flatter me, my lovely queen.” He positioned himself over her and then simply stared down at her, naked and lovely in his bed. “This is a sight I have dreamed of.”

“I never thought to have this,” she admitted, running a finger along one of his flat pectorals.

“This?” he prompted.

“Love. Affection. Sex.” She shook her head. “I thought it would be out of my grasp forever.”

He leaned in to kiss her again. This time, his kiss was not soft. It was possessive and deep, pleasure spiraling through him when her soft lips parted beneath his. He stroked his tongue against hers, coaxing and rubbing against it until she was moaning in his arms, lost in the pleasure of his kiss.

As he kissed her, he lifted a hand and cupped one of her lovely breasts. His tongue brushed against hers in a teasing circular motion, and he repeated it with his fingertips on her nipple. She mewled her pleasure, arching up against him.

“So sweet,” he whispered. “How I’ve ached to make you mine.”

Hades pressed another light kiss to her mouth, then dipped to her throat, sucking on the sensitive flesh of her neck. She moaned her delight at that, her hands going to twine in his dark hair. He continued to lavish attention on her neck and collarbone, kissing and sucking every inch of flesh as he made his way downward. When he was in the valley of her breasts, he lightly kissed between them and then moved his mouth to one erect nipple, flicking it with his tongue.

“Oh, Hades,” she gasped. “Your mouth feels so good.”

His sweet Persephone was watching him with wide eyes, that soft, erotic look on her face. He tongued her nipple again, swirling around the nipple and then sucking it deep into his mouth.

When she threw her head back, he released it and then lightly bit at the tip.

Her hips bucked underneath him, a sure sign that his goddess was more and more aroused by the minute.

But Persephone had beautiful little breasts, and he wanted to spend time with them. So he kissed and sucked and teased each nipple, toying with it and enjoying the variety of gasps and moans she made in response. He’d copy the sensation on her other breast, using his fingertips to tease the nipple when his mouth could not be there. And just when she was arching and moaning for him, he’d switch to the other breast and start the delicious torture all over again.

By the time he slid down to her belly and kissed her navel, her hips were writhing on the bed with abandon, need coursing through her. “Hades, please,” she moaned.

“What would you like for me to do, my lovely queen?”

Her hips undulated on the bed even as she tangled her fingers in his hair and pushed him downward. “Put your face there and lick me like the human man did to his lover.”

His demanding little queen. Hades grinned and slid lower, hovering over her thighs to prolong the torture.

She quivered underneath him in anticipation, waiting.

With his thumb, he casually slid apart the wet folds of her pussy and examined her. “Now this is quite the juicy fruit to feast upon.”