“Forever,” I said. “No takebacks. I swear.”
His eyes flickered with red as he glared at me.
“You anger me. I wish I had the strength to push you from my lap when you act like this.”
I snorted a laugh. I couldn’t help it. His hand twitched on my side, but I didn’t back down from my smile. Instead, I shook my head at him.
“Agreeable makes you angry? I can’t win with you.”
“You always win,” he mumbled.
“No, Ashlyn the human rarely wins, and Persephone the goddess rarely lost.” A hint of something delicious smelling drifted in the air, and my stomach growled as I turned my head to find the source.
Hades placed his hand on my middle. The heat of it branded me and erased what I’d been about to say.
“Allow me to provide for you,” he said. The sultry tone promised more than I knew I could handle.
“Let’s change things up. Allow me to provide for you. What type of food do you prefer? Sweet or savory?” I asked, facing him again.
“You wish to provide for me?”
“Well, I was thinking more along the lines of you’d ask a fury to deliver something again since I don’t have the power to conjure food like you do. But yes. I’d choose something that I’ve tasted from my very human knowledge that I think you’d like.”
He leaned away from me slightly, studying me.
“So, what do you like?” I pressed. “Sweet or savory foods?”
“Both.” He said it like a dare.
I tilted my head and considered him. What would it take to wow Hades? I’d never seen him eat anything other than the ambrosia, but he’d served me plenty of options. A pig head, for example. While absolutely disgusting, I could imagine how he would consider it extravagant. So what type of food from today’s world would impress a god stuck in the past?
“This is hard,” I said.
“No. This task is easy. I will enjoy any meal you provide me.”
I snorted again. “Did you like the pizza?”
“It was unexpected.”
“That’s the polite answer.” I smirked, knowing full well it had been too different for him. “I’ll try to pick better this time. Are you ready to call a fury?”
His arms tightened around me, caging me in, and I cupped his face.
“This time, I get to do the talking.”
His current relaxed mood fled.
“No.”
“What exactly do you think I’m going to do?”
“Curse their eyes to bleed with a single word,” Zotera said unhelpfully. “Father hates when you do that.”
“I’ve done that before?” I asked.
Hades’ scowl deepened.
“Okay. I can see why Persephone speaking to a fury would be a problem. But since I’m Ashlyn, there shouldn’t be any. Right?”
