A Touch of Chaos (21 page)

The nurse screamed but she was silenced shortly after by Damian, who kept his hand over her mouth and wound his arm tightly around her neck until she slid to the floor.

In the quiet that followed, Perseus spoke.

“I will find her, my lord, and your son.”

But Theseus did not need help locating them. He knew exactly where they were.

“No,” he said. “You will bring me Dionysus.”

Hades had not expected to leave Bakkheia in such a foul mood. If Persephone had heard the way he'd spoken to Ariadne, she likely wouldn't speak to him all night, but Dionysus's decision to essentially kidnap Phaedra and her son would have horrible consequences. He only hoped he could stop Theseus before the demigod saw them through, but those worries were for tomorrow.

Tonight, all he wished to concern himself with was Persephone.

Except when he returned to the Underworld, she was not alone. Hecate had joined her in his office.

“When I said wait for me, I meant alone,” he grumbled, though to be fair, he was not unhappy to see the Goddess of Witchcraft.

“Shut up!” Hecate snapped as she embraced him, and though her actions surprised him, he hugged her back. “You're an idiot,” she said with her face buried in his chest.

He smiled softly. “I missed you too, Hecate.”

She pulled away and touched his face. He had never quite seen this look in her eyes before. It was almost like she was in
disbelief
—like maybe she had not been certain he would actually return.

That thought turned his stomach.

“You need to shave,” she said.

“Noted,” he replied.

“I will leave you,” she said, taking a step back. “But I had to see you—both of you.”

Hecate turned to Persephone and hugged her tight; then the goddess left, and they were alone.

It was the moment he had waited for, yet he did not close the distance between them. All he could do was stare at his wife, his goddess, his queen. She was so beautiful, his heart ached when he looked at her. He had spent most of his time in the labyrinth thinking only of her, conjuring her likeness from memory, and still he had not done her justice. He could never capture her truth—the unbearable beauty of her soul, the thing that called to him loudest, the thing that said they were made for each other.

Her eyes never wavered from his but seemed to burn brighter, fueled by the heat rising between them.

“We should bathe,” she said. Her voice was low and shivered up his back like silk.

He wasn't going to argue. They were covered in mud and blood. Besides, he wanted to see her strip down to nothing.

“As you wish, darling,” he said.

He considered carrying her through the castle to the baths as both a way to announce his return and also
communicate that they were not to be disturbed, but he decided that would take too long and teleported instead.

When they arrived, he was immediately overwhelmed by the smell of eucalyptus and lavender. The humid heat stuck to his skin and warmed his sore muscles. He hadn't really paid much attention to how he was feeling other than the ache between his thighs.

They were still divided by that same distance, but it felt far more tangible than before, thick and heavy with desire.

Persephone held his gaze as she pulled off her tank top and shimmied out of her pants. She straightened and stood naked before him. He had seen her this way so many times, and he would never get enough of it.

“What are you waiting for?” she asked before she turned and entered the pool.

He watched her as she dove beneath the surface and pulled off what remained of his tattered clothes, wading into the water just as she emerged, her long hair plastered to her head.

He did the same and swam toward her. When he rose to the surface, he was inches from her.

Still, he did not take her into his arms, did not seal the space between them, save for his cock, which was so full and heavy, it pressed into her stomach.

“Everyone missed you,” Persephone said.

He did not expect to feel such a strong wave of emotion at her words, but he thought maybe it had something to do with the way she was looking at him. Like something inside her had been broken in the time he had been gone and she was trying to hide it. Then he saw it. Her mouth quivered, and her eyes welled with
tears, and she shook her head as if she were telling them to go away but they came anyway.

“It was horrible without you,” she said.

He dragged her into his arms and held her tight, hoping that at some point, she wouldn't tremble anymore.

“I am so sorry,” he said.

“I should be sorry,” she said, pulling away, brushing at the tears on her face. “I should have never left—”

He reached for her, his fingers closing around her wrists. “No, Persephone,” he said, shaking his head. “You knew exactly what I would do. I would have never let you leave with Theseus, never fulfilled that fucking bargain. I should have never made it in the first place.”

She placed her hands on either side of his face, fingers combing through his wet beard, and after a moment, she giggled.

He liked the sound. He wanted more.

“Hecate is right. You do need to shave.”

“You don't like it?” he asked. “I was thinking about keeping it.”

“Hades.” She was not amused.

“Do you think it makes me look older?”

She pressed her palms against his cheeks and spoke very close to his face. “I think it makes you ticklish.”

“Does it?” he asked, nuzzling her neck. “Is this ticklish?”

She shivered. “
Hades
.”

This time, she breathed his name, and he wasn't sure if it was a warning or a desperate invitation, but she didn't push him away. She locked her fingers in his hair as he kissed up her neck and along her jaw.

“What about this?” he asked, teasing the lobe of her ear with his teeth.

That was when she jerked toward him and slammed her mouth against his.

Fucking finally
, he thought, and his mind went blank. He pulled her flush against him and devoured her mouth, consumed by the feel of her body and the rush of blood in his veins. It made his heart pound and his cock throb.

She opened her mouth against his, and their tongues collided. He groaned at the taste of her, at the way she let him take control. He felt massive as he bent over her, his hand tangled in her hair at the base of her neck, but she clung to him and moved with him, kissing him with just as much passion as he gave.

His hands skimmed down her back to her ass, and he lifted her from the water, her legs twining around his waist. His head swam, desire roaring in his ears as her heat pressed into his aching arousal. He kissed along her jaw and down her neck as he carried her to the edge of the pool, where he let her sit while he took her breasts into his hands and mouth, licking and sucking her soft and silken skin.

“Yes,” she hissed, her legs widening—inviting.

Fuck
, he loved this.

“Not so ticklish anymore?” he asked, sucking on one peaked nipple.

She drew in a sharp breath between her teeth. “You are impossible,” she said.

He smiled, bringing his mouth level with hers.

“But you love me,” he said, letting his nose graze hers, his lips hovering over hers.

“I hope that wasn't a question,” she said.

“You can answer it all the same,” he said.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him close.

“Yes,” she said. “Yes, I love you.”

This time, she claimed his mouth, and her fingers threaded through his hair. His wound ached as she held him tighter, her heels pressing hard into his back, but he swallowed the pain.

Nothing would ruin this moment—not Theseus or his father's fucking blade.

He was frustrated that he was thinking about them at all, especially with his cock nestled so snugly between Persephone's thighs. That was what he should be focusing on, how good she would feel once he was inside her.

He kissed her harder on the mouth before making his way down to the juncture of her thighs.

“Hades, you're…bleeding!”

Persephone's voice rang with alarm, and she reacted immediately, closing her legs and jumping into the pool beside him. The water, he now noticed, was tinged with red.

Fuck
.

This was exactly what he was hoping to avoid.

She reached for his hand, which he'd attempted to strategically place over the wound on his side. Her eyes widened when she saw it, and then her expression fell, and a haunted sort of look overcame her.

“You're not healing,” she said and then moved back, pressing a hand to her mouth as if she wished to contain her emotions.

“Persephone, I'm fine,” he said.

Her eyes flashed with anger, and she dropped her hand. “You're lying!”

“I do not want to deal with this tonight,” he said, straightening to his full height. “I just spent an immeasurable amount of time away from you. I want to make love to you, and I want to sleep.”

“I can't believe you didn't tell me!” she said and then paused to shake her head. “Though I shouldn't be surprised, given everything I was told while you were in the labyrinth.”

Hades's brows lowered, and while he wanted to know what exactly she was referring to, engaging with it right now would get him further from what he wanted.

“Tomorrow, Persephone,” he gritted out.

“No, not tomorrow,” she said. “
Fuck!
”

She waded through the water to the steps, leaving the pool.

Hades turned to follow. He would beg. He wasn't above it. “Persephone—”

She paused at the top of the steps, her body glistening in the low light of the bath.

“Harmonia isn't healing either,” Persephone said, her voice trembling. “
She's not waking up, Hades
.”

Suddenly he understood. She thought that would be his fate too.

He got out of the pool. “What do you mean Harmonia isn't waking up?”

Persephone reached for a towel and wrapped it around herself as she faced Hades. “Theseus stabbed her, and the wound isn't healing. She's had a fever for days.”

Hades frowned at the news. It sounded like Harmonia had fallen victim to Cronos's scythe too.

Persephone pushed past him, and he followed her down the hall toward their chamber.

“I did not hide this from you,” Hades said. “I forgot.”

She paused and turned to glare at him.

Like the idiot you are
, he heard Hecate's voice in his head.

“Are you serious?”

“I had other things on my mind, Persephone. That tends to numb pain.”

“So you're in pain?”

He gave a frustrated sigh. “Yes, for fuck's sake. I was
stabbed
.”

She whirled and continued to their room.

“I can't believe you kept this from me just so you could have sex!”

He didn't see the problem. It wasn't his dick that was injured.

“We,” he said. “So
we
could have sex. Don't make this one-sided. You were just as eager until you found out I was injured.”

“Because you're hurt!” she shouted back.

“I feel—”

She whirled on him. He felt her anger like a physical slap to the face.

“If you say you feel fine
one more time
,” she threatened through clenched teeth. She didn't need to finish that sentence. He felt like he could see his life flash before him because everything she wanted to do to him was reflected in her eyes, and unsurprisingly, none of it was sexual.

When they made it to their room, she flung the door open and called for Hecate.

Hades rolled his eyes.

Great
. Now he was about to be lectured by
both
of them.

He summoned a towel, not particularly eager for Hecate to see his raging erection or the amusement that would light her eyes when she found out why they were fighting.

“What is it, my dear?” Hecate asked, appearing just as he finished wrapping the towel around his waist. She was dressed in dark robes. He imagined if she had not already been out in the world above causing grief, she had been about to leave.

Persephone turned to him. “Tell her!” she commanded.

He did not like being ordered, but he disliked that he had upset Persephone more.

“Theseus stabbed me with Cronos's scythe. The wound won't heal. I was going to come to you
tomorrow
,” he said pointedly. “But Persephone insisted.”

Hecate pulled the hood from her head, her expression far more concerned than he expected. She crossed the room toward him and bent to study the wound, then straightened, meeting his gaze. She seemed just as irritated with him as Persephone.

“Lie down,” she said, another order, and while it made him bristle, he didn't protest.

He was very aware of Hecate and Persephone watching him and ground his teeth at the sharp stab of pain that shot up his side as he sat. He held his breath as he lay back, the pain turning to a dull throb.

He hadn't thought twice about how good this would feel as he relaxed into the mattress, but after hanging
from the ceiling for what felt like fucking days, this was like lying on a cloud.