“It’s a distraction.”
“A very pleasant one.”
“What about Thanatos and Adira?”
“Neither can enter here. I’ve ensured it.”
“What if Zotera comes home?”
“She will wait for us to join her when we are finished.”
“But what about—”
“Ashlyn,” he said, pressing a finger to my lips. “If you do not wish to bathe with me, simply speak your disinterest. These concerns you voice are trivial in comparison to what you truly desire.”
I sighed as his fingers trailed over my bottom lip.
“No, I don’t need these clothes.”
“Then remove them,” he said. His gaze didn’t waver from me as he slowly retreated to a lounge that appeared behind him.
“You want me to undress for you?” I wasn’t sure if I should be worried or interested. The heat that filled his gaze as he nodded pushed me toward interest.
“Am I bathing by myself then?” I asked as I reached for my jeans.
He didn’t speak as I slid them down my legs and kicked them away. Transfixed, he watched me remove my shirt too. My pulse was racing by the time I reached behind me for my bra clasp. He leaned forward on the lounge, bracing his forearms on his legs, and made a pained sound as the bra fell away.
Hooking my thumbs in the band of my panties, I watched the way his throat worked with each hard swallow. He groaned and ran a hand through his hair as I eased the material over my hips.
“I love the way it feels when you watch me like this,” I admitted. “Like I’m the only person in the world.”
“The only one who matters,” Hades said absently, completely focused on what I was doing.
When my last bit of cover fell to the floor, I turned my back to him and used the steps to walk into the steaming water. It was deeper than the other pool, rising to just under my breasts. With my fingers skimming the surface of the water, I faced him.
“Now what?” I asked.
“Ask me to join you,” he said roughly. His hand gripped his pants like he was ready to rip them from his body.
“God of the Underworld and all that is good in my life, will you come bathe with me? Please?”
He closed his eyes and made a pained face. “My love. Call me my love,” he begged.
The sensual bubble burst around me, and I slid under the water rather than say what he wanted. The same words he’d wanted me to say when he thought I was Persephone. I understood that he didn’t think I was her and that he was simply starved for love. But I refused to use the words she’d once used. I already had her face as a constant reminder to him, I didn’t want to add my voice.
When I surfaced, he was in the water next to me, watching me closely.
“I’ve upset you,” he said.
“I don’t want to be her in any way,” I said. “She called you ‘my love.’ Don’t ask me to say the same. I don’t want to remind you of her. I just want to be me.”
He wrapped his arms around me, hugging me close. The delicious slide of skin against skin distracted me from any annoyance I felt.
Slipping my arms around his neck, I tipped my head back to kiss his chin. Then his jaw. He groaned as I worked my way toward his mouth and captured my lips for a searing kiss.
“Wrap your legs around me, Ashlyn,” he said. “Let me feel you.”
I didn’t need any more encouragement than that. We both groaned at the raw contact. He arched his hips, dragging his length against my center and sending bolts of pleasure dancing through me without entering me. There was so much of him. No matter how I moved, it never ended. Heat built inside of me with each textured drag.
