“Oh!” I jump toward the counter to snatch a towel.
I’ve been just standing here, not even realizing that all threeclothedmen were talking to me while I wore nothing.
“A bit late for that, little dreamer,” Morpheus murmurs. “Your gorgeous silhouette is forever embeddedin my mind.” He flashes me a charming smile. “I shall enjoy thinking of you later.”
“Enough,” Hades interjects, his possessive fury a whiplash to my senses. “Leave, Morpheus, before I escort you out.”
“Hades—”
“You, too, Maliki,” Hades says, a low rumble in his tone. “I want a moment alone with Serapina.”
I tug the towel tighter around myself, wishing it were more of a shield than a piece of cloth.
Maliki and Morpheus don’t immediately move, causing the God of Death to growl, “That wasn’t a request.”
The God of Dreams pulls his hands out of his pockets and lifts them in surrender. “Fine. But I’m not leaving the cavern.” He steps backward into the bedroom. “If you need me, little dreamer, just say my name. I’ll be back in a mist.”
With that, he disappears.
But Maliki remains. “We didn’t tell her how the shower works.”
“Clearly,” Hades grinds out.
“So don’t punish her for something she knew nothing about,” Maliki adds. “She’s innocent, Hades. Remember that.”
He vanishes into smoke before Hades can respond, leaving me to face the God of Death alone.
I swallow. “I… I’m sorry?” I phrase it as a question because I’m not sure if that’s what he wants to hear, or if I even need to apologize.
His grunt tells me he either doesn’t accept my words or doesn’t want to hear them.
So I just… stop talking.
And freeze.
Because he just dropped his tie on the floor and now he’s working on the buttons of his shirt.
Inch by inch, he exposes a strip of golden skin. He’s pale, yet touched by a slight tan that seems to define the planes of his muscular torso, allowing me to see every dip and line of his too-perfect physique.
When his shirt falls to the floor with another wetplop, I shiver.
His chest and abdomen are on complete display now.
He has tattoos.
Not like Maliki’s, though.
No, Hades’s tattoos are more defined. Permanent. And they don’twrithelike smoke.
Instead, they’re darker, almost a solid black.
And depicting a crown on the right side of his chest.
A crown decorated with petals.
There are more flowers on his bicep, along with skulls, creating an alluring scene of life and death.
My fingers itch to trace the intricate designs.
