“You,” I said. “You’ve listened to stories about me, my hopes and dreams. But all I know about you is how everyone in your life mistreated you. What were your hopes and dreams before you saw Persephone and were locked in Hell?”
Hades swam toward the edge of the pool and rested his forearms on the ledge as he considered my question.
“Like most gods, I simply enjoyed my freedom after my father was locked away. Zeus’ interest in the mortals gradually drew the attention of the other gods.” Hades shook his head. “Not me. I hadn’t yet forgotten what it felt like to be controlled by another’s will and had no wish to act as my father had. Destroyer of worlds, gods, and men. I simply wanted to live in peace, away from all the manipulations.”
“What did you do while you were living in peace?” I asked.
He smiled slightly.
“I created.”
“What?”
“Everything I could. Plants. Animals. Children.” He sighed. “The other gods saw what I’d done and started creating children of their own. Where I created mine for companionship, they created theirs to torment men in the guise of helpfulness.
“Zeus was furious for a short span but realized his anger only spurred the gods to do more. He learned to ignore them, but I knew my brother well. He hated what they did to his favorite creation.”
“I don’t care about Zeus and his feelings. I care about you and yours. What makes you happy, Hades?”
“You do,” he said, melting my heart.
I stood and held out my arms. “Your turn to undress me.”
He surprised me by leaping gracefully out of the pool. Water cascaded down his body as he closed the distance between us and reached for my shirt.
“I thought you’d use your magic,” I said.
“I could, but I would prefer this.” He waited, watching for permission. When I nodded, he slid the shirt up my body, dragging his fingers over each newly exposed inch.
“I think I like this way better, too,” I said.
He smirked and eased the shirt off. As soon as my head cleared, he kissed me tenderly and reached for my pants. His gaze remained locked with mine as he nudged my pants down my hips. I braced my hands on his shoulders and leaned in to kiss his chin when he bent to help me step out of them.
“The thought of losing this drives me to madness,” he said. “Your gaze…the way you look at me…I can’t lose this, Ashlyn.”
I brushed my fingers along his jaw.
“You won’t.”
He made a tortured sound and buried his face in the crook of my neck. His hands didn’t stop their task. He unclasped my bra and pulled it out from between us. The skin-on-skin contact had us both groaning.
“I want everything you are. I want it more than I want my next breath. Yet, all I can have is a taste. Anything more and you would no longer be who you are.”
Understanding he was talking about what had happened to Persephone, I stood on my toes and lightly kissed his chin, jaw, and corner of his mouth.
“Let go of the past, Hades. Whether Persephone hated you because of sex or not doesn’t matter anymore. I’m not her, and everything we’ve done together has been amazing. Okay?”
He kissed me hungrily then pulled back to look at me like he couldn’t believe I was real.
“I’m fine taking our time getting to know one another before we go any further. Let’s wait until we’re both comfortable, all right?”
He nodded and took my hand to lead me to the pool. My last bit of cover disappeared on the way. I didn’t mind at all. Once he had me in the water, he held me close, lightly running his fingers over my back and dropping kisses on my shoulder.
“I liked today,” I said, understanding his need to feel close to me. “Spending time with you…doing normal couple things like shopping and going out to eat…it was really nice.”
He groaned and hugged me tighter. I wrapped my legs around his waist and gently fisted the wet hair on each side of his head. His eyes flickered red when I tipped his head back to meet my gaze.
“Is that a good flicker or a bad flicker?” I asked.
