Page 32 of Hades’ Revenge

“I love it.” She stretched up on her toes and kissed my cheek. Without her heels she was considerably shorter than me. “Thank you.”

“My only regret is that I won’t be able to see you wear it.”

“I can send you pictures.” She rested her head on my shoulder. “But I wish you could be with me too.”

The look on Leo’s face might be worth the risk of me showing up in New York. I’m deranged enough to do it.

“What is this reception for?” I asked.

“All I know is that important associates will be there, and my father wants me to be there too.”

“Is that usual?” I stroked her hair. “Do you often accompany him when he entertains business associates?”

“Sometimes.” She touched my bicep. “I don’t really get involved with his business. Before you, I didn’t even know about assassins and the real dangers of what he does.”

I needed to find out who these people were and why it was important for her to be there. I vowed to protect her even if that meant keeping her away from the father who didn’t have the sense to do it himself.

“It’s probably better you don’t know,” I said.

I held the side of her face as I kissed her. Her willingness to surrender to me so quickly made it difficult to let her go. But aside from holding her hostage, I didn’t see how I could keep her with me. For now, I’d have to let her return to her family while I worked to bring her back.

“Let’s make the most of the time we have.” I led her into the bedroom. “I want the memory of tonight to sustain us both while we’re apart.”

“What did you have in mind?” She glanced at the bed, eyeing the bottle of massage oil I put there while she was in the shower. “What is that?”

“Something I thought you might like to try.” I picked up the bottle and flipped open the cap. “I hope you like mango.”

She sniffed when I brought the bottle to her nose. “It smells good.”

“It’s lick-able.”

“Why would I want to lick… Oh.” A blush filled her velvety cheeks.

“Oh.” I laughed at her naivety before pouring some of the liquid into my palm. “Your skin is so soft.” I smoothed the oil over her shoulder and across her chest. “I want your silky flesh to glide along mine when I fuck you.”

The hue of pink that covered her body when I yanked her towel away, stirred feral desires within me. The kind that could only be sated when I claimed her. But even then, that wouldn’t be enough.

She dropped her gaze, following my fingers as I circled them around her nipples, covering them in the sweet-scented lubricant. I lowered my lips and traced my tongue over them, coating my tongue with the mango flavor.

“Can I?” When she held out her hand, I squirted some of the oil in her palm. “You must work out for hours every day to look like this,” she said.

“I’m disciplined.” I followed the path of her hands as she smoothed them along my chest and down my abs. “Except when it comes to you.”

“What do you mean?” She closed her eyes and bit the corner of her lip when I ran my slick hands down her back and to her backside.

“Isn’t it obvious in the way I want you?”

“I don’t know what it’s like to have someone want me like this.” She glided her hands over my hips, releasing my towel to join hers on the floor. “This much.”

“I shouldn’t want you this much.” I stepped closer to her, pushing my erection between her inner thighs. “But I do, and I make no apologies for it.”

“Because you take what you want.”

“Only if it’s worth it.”

She tenderly touched the faded scar along my ribs, studying it for a few seconds.

“Curious?” I asked.