Death and beauty intertwined. Just like Hades and me.
The realm thrummed with renewed magic, more glorious than the city of the gods could ever be. The eternal night no longer felt oppressive, but protective.
“Long live Queen Persephone!”
The cry erupted from every corner of the realm, taken up by demons, creatures, and souls. All rejoiced at our return and the restoration of power to our dark realm.
“Could you order them to stop chanting, my king?” My voice was hoarse from screaming. “I am trying to enjoy you.”
Hades chuckled, the rich sound rumbling through his chest into mine. “The realm comes to life because of its returned queen. Let them express their joy.”
He withdrew slowly and purposefully. I whimpered at the loss, feeling hollow without him inside me.
Then he turned me to face him, his eyes raking over every mark he’d left: the handprints on my ass, the bites on my shoulders, the bruises on my neck, the redness on my breasts from his shadows.
“So fucking beautiful,” he breathed. “Marked and used and allmine.”
He lifted my leg, hooking it over his arm. The position opened me completely, but I was willing to be vulnerable to my king. He stared at my pink pussy, his eyes heavily hooded, then he thrust back into me in one brutal stroke.
I gasped at the sensation of being invaded and cherished at once. This angle was different. More intimate. Love, possessiveness, dark obsession, and ecstasy burned in his winter-frost eyes.
“I need to watch your face when I make you come again, love,” he said. “Need to watch you fall apart on my cock.”
Pleasure seared through me. My nerves, still oversensitive from my climax, trembled at the edge of pain.
“If we keep at this, my king,” I managed, breathless, “we’ll never leave.”
“Then let’s stay here forever, with me fucking and claiming my queen over and over.”
“I understand this place holds our first memories, but I want a bath. And then bed. I haven’t slept in our soft bed for millennia.”
“Whatever you want, my love,” he said. His hips rolled, hitting that perfect, devastating spot deep within me. “After I make my queen come undone one more time. After I sate my beast that wants you more than anything.”
He thrust deeper, faster. The brutal speed made my toes curl.
“And then I’ll carry you to Amaranth Palace. Draw your bath with all your favorite blossoms. And I’ll tend to every mark I left and worship every inch of you.”
His voice dropped, reverent. “Every morning, before the blood moon sets, I’ll show you how much I desire you. I’ll wake you with my tongue between your thighs. Make you come beforeyou awaken. Take you slow and sweet while you’re still soft with sleep.”
He thrust harder. “Every night, when the hellfire burns brightest, I’ll shower you with the passion you deserve. I’ll tie you to our bed, torture you with pleasure, and make you beg and scream and cry. I’ll make you so sore you can’t walk properly. Then you’ll know who owns you and your pleasure.”
His hand came to my throat again, squeezing. “Even after all the realms fall to ruin, my love for you stands. When everything ends and the eternal night grows cold, my love for you still burns.”
“That’s really nice to hear,” I breathed.
He pressed his forehead to mine. His gaze stole my breath more completely than his hand.
“For I am Death, and you are my queen. Death is eternal. And so is my love for you.”
We held each other’s gaze, our bond burning so brilliantly it lit the deep darkness around us. Crimson light radiated from where we were joined, where we became one.
My mate thrust into me with blinding speed and bruising strength. His hand found my clit, circling mercilessly, pushing me toward the cliff again.
His mouth found mine in a kiss that tasted of forever. Of a love that defied time, death, and fate.
I had finally come home to him.
Epilogue
