She surveyed the ruined city, our victorious army, and the defeated gods—every bit the regal, formidable Queen of the Underworld—before turning to me.
“Let’s go home, my king.”
The words I had waited an eon to hear.
“Let’s go home, my queen,” I agreed.
Chapter
Thirty-Six
Persephone
Beginning and End
“You’re my beginning and my end, beloved,” Hades’s whisper warmed my ear.
The moment we landed atop Pomegranate Tower, he tore away the pieces of armor at my hips. The metal gave way under his eager hands.
Hades bent me over the railing and drove into my wet heat in one brutal thrust. I screamed, pleasure, pain, and the joy of homecoming crashing through me all at once.
I’d been soaked for him since we’d left Olympus in ruins. No—earlier. Since I’d stood in that floating tower plotting its downfall, since I’d seen him across the golden bridge, coming for me. My thighs had been slick during the battle, my flesh aching for him.
Now we were here, alone. He could wait no longer. Neither could I. He pounded into me from behind with relentless speed. No gentleness. No buildup. Just raw, desperate need and unbridled lust.
His cock stretched me to the point of pain, and I loved that delicious burn. My body remembered how he filled my every inch. My mortal vessels had been smaller and weaker. This was my true form, my goddess body, and I could take everything the King of the Underworld threw at me.
Pomegranate Tower was the tallest building in the Underworld. Black volcanic glass formed its walls. On every ledge, dragons spread their wings, fiery eyes glinting with warding magic. The wind carried the scents of sulfur and the realm’s oldest magic. Each breath came harder here, making every sensation sharper, every pleasure more intense.
This tower belonged to us alone, where our love began, where our history was carved into every stone. When Hades stole me from my mother’s garden, this tower was my first sight of my new home. I’d stood at this railing, young and terrified, staring out at the vast, dark beauty of the eternal night.
I believed I had been taken by a monster.
Now I knew the truth. He was my monster.
No one would disturb us here. No one dared. Our subjects below knew better than to interrupt their king claiming his queen.
A moan tore from me with each thrust—noises of pleasure I couldn’t control. He fucked me hard and deliciously, filling me and stretching me, hitting that secret place until my vision sparkled.
“Let me hear you,” he growled. “Let the whole realm know who fucks their queen.”
His armor had vanished with a snap of his fingers. Mine he removed by hand, piece by piece.
I looked back over my shoulder, drinking in his nude glory.
Bronze skin strained over hard muscle, flexing with each thrust. Scars mapped his flesh like a history of war, some ancient, others fresh from recent battles. His dark hair fell wildly across his forehead. His eyes smoldered with possessiveness and raw hunger.
His body moved with predatory grace. Hips propelling forward, abs flexing, thighs bunching with every driving stroke. His hands gripped my waist hard enough to brand me.
His cock, thick and long, glistened with my cream as he withdrew and slammed back in. I watched it disappear inside me, again and again. The obscene sight made my pussy clench around him, and he groaned.
My thoughts scattered as he fucked me with abandon. Sensation charged me like electricity. I could barely believe this was real, after being torn from him lifetime after lifetime.
In those mortal shells, I’d always felt wrong and incomplete, as if my very soul was stripped off its core engine. So I tried to fill that void with pain.
I cut. I burned. I pushed my body past its limits, just to feel him, to reach the bond that had stretched across lifetimes.
He cupped the nape of my neck possessively and turned my face to his. His lips crashed against mine. The kiss was devouring. His tongue swept into my mouth, invading and claiming. I kissed him back with equal fervor. His taste flooded my senses, dark and rich and purely him.
