by Carly Spade
If only I could thank Hades. He was the only reason any of this was possible. I sighed, slipping my hands into the pockets of my dress.
“We just won a cold case. Why do you look like someone pissed in your Cheerios?” Sara asked.
“No reason. I mean now, what am I going to obsess over, right?” I grinned.
She draped an arm over my shoulders. “We’re celebrating at your place tonight. I’ll bring champagne. Got some more news too.”
“Oh?”
She nodded with a huge smile. “I’ll tell you tonight.”
Later that night, I curled up on the couch with Sammy, stroking his fur. When a knock sounded on the door, I was relieved to have a distraction from my thoughts.
Thoughts about you know who.
I whipped open the door. “Thank God, you’re here.” She held two giant bottles of champagne, and I snatched one.
“Wow. Miss me that much, huh?” She smirked and closed the door behind her with a bump of her hip.
“Always,” I said, resting two flute glasses on the countertop.
Sammy jumped up, curling himself around the champagne bottle. Sara hissed at him. He gave her a disapproving stare before walking off with a flick of his tail. She took out her cell phone, scanning her thumb over the screen. I held the bottle away from me, turned my head, held my breath, and pulled on the cork. Pop. Fizzy alcohol sprouted from the bottle, and I squealed, holding it over the sink.
“So, are you going to tell me what else we’re celebrating tonight?” I asked, pouring us two glasses.
She grabbed one and rested her phone on the counter. “I found our sneaky cop accomplice.”
“Seriously? Who was it?”
“Leonardo Michaels.” She shook her head.
I blinked. Leo, the creep-o. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
“Because he’s a sleazeball who’s going to get what he deserves. You should’ve seen his face when we arrested him. I thought he was going to bawl.”
“Wait. Why Leo? I know he’s a perv but doesn’t explain why he’d knowingly assist a criminal. Especially a murderer.”
Sara nodded. “Valid question. I looked into all connections to Fueller and cross-referenced them with past and current employees. It turns out, Fueller and Leo lived in the same neighborhood as kids. Fueller served a year in juvie for a grand theft auto conviction.”
“Was Leo involved too?”
“Yup. Charged, but Fueller confessed to doing it himself, and Leo tried to stop him, which is the only reason he was there.”
I narrowed my eyes. “But we both know he lied for Fueller.”
“Exactly. So, when Fueller approached him about the hammer, I think Leo felt he owed him. And when I asked why he didn’t quit and leave town, know what he said?”
I raised my brow.
“He thought it’d have looked too obvious.” Sara smirked. “I’ll tell you this much, if it weren’t for me being an officer of the law, I’d have kneed him straight in the balls.”
“Should’ve let me tag along, then.” I pointed to myself. “Civilian.”
Sara laughed and held up her glass for a toast.
“To the Fueller case,” I said.
“And here’s to hopeful promotions for both of us.” She tapped her phone and Push It played.
Without bothering to set our glasses down, we danced in my kitchen. As the night wore on, we drank both bottles, danced to our song a total of thirteen times, and I didn’t think about three-headed dogs, floating smoke, or the King of Ash and Bone. It wasn’t until I went to bed with a fuzzy head from copious amounts of alcohol my mind betrayed me. I had feelings for Hades, feelings I never had the chance to voice to him. The way he looked at me, he had to feel something for me too. Lust? Admiration? Mrs. Conroy wasn’t the only one who needed closure.
I wanted to see Hades in the Underworld. We deserved a proper goodbye. I refused to let things end the way they had. Hades said the only way to the Underworld was either by him or death. Thanatos himself was death. It was worth a shot. I found an empty area in Lincoln Park far enough from prying eyes.
After taking a deep breath, I clenched my fists at my side. “Thanatos?”
The wind rustled through the trees. Fall had come and gone, and the once vibrant leaves colored orange and yellow were turning brown and snapping away from the branches. I wasn’t sure how one communicated with a Greek god, not to mention one who only showed up when it was time to meet your demise.
“Thanatos! Please! I need your help,” I implored, turning circles, my feet brushing against the grass.
In a burst of smoky red fog, he appeared, his head held low. The hood of the cloak draped over his eyes. “I do not normally appear simply because someone calls out my name.”
My hands wrung together behind my back. “I should feel so lucky then.”
“What do you want, mortal?”
“I need you to take me to the Underworld.”
The hood of the cloak lifted. “That is an impossibility.”
“Why? I’ve been there before.”
“Why do you seek this?”
Tears welled in my eyes. “I want to say a proper goodbye to Hades. Our last meeting was—cut short.”
“Why do you not call on him to take you?”
“He has my best interests at heart.”
He cocked his faceless head to the side.
“Please,” I said, damn near to the point of begging on my knees.
The red fog swirled under his feet. “You realize no living mortal can remain there? Only immortals? Gods?”
Only immortals. Was it possible for a mortal to become immortal?
“Yes. And I know Hades won’t let me stay long enough for it to hurt me.”
“Very well.” He flung his robe around me in a foggy flourish, and we stood on the banks of the river Styx.
An empty boat waited. Thanatos held out his hand. After positioning my hair over my ears, I climbed in. He waved his hand, and the boat floated downstream.
“Are you not ferrying me?” I remembered the countless lost souls attempting to climb on board. The thought made my skin crawl.
“This is between you and Hades. I must return to my duties.” He disappeared in a puff of smoke.
I opened my mouth and snapped it shut before shuffling to the center of the boat. The water was dark, bleak, and not overrun with souls like before. Occasionally, one would appear on the surface like a gray mirage. It hadn’t taken Hades long to catch up with his job. I wrapped my arms around myself, going over the first words I intended to say to him.
It would depend on his reaction. If everything went the way it did in my deepest fantasy, he’d greet me with the one thing I never got to see on him—a genuine smile. Then he’d wrap his arms around me in a warm embrace, make us float using his ember wings, and we’d make love on his throne. I scrunched my nose. Maybe not the throne. The river flowed right past it. There’d be too many witnesses.
As the boat grew closer and closer to the throne room, my heart rate skyrocketed. What if it was a bad idea? He could chastise me for foolishly coming back and send me right back to the surface. I dragged a hand over my face with a groan. The boat turned the corner, the familiar pillars of Hades’ throne room blazing into view.
My breath hitched. There Hades was in his true form, slumped against his throne. One leg was draped over an armrest, his long white hair partially falling over his face. A crown of floating flames circled his head, and he had a scowl that could’ve made Cerberus whimper away. I wrung my hands together as the boat drifted to the bank. Hades’ head lifted, and the frown melted away, replaced by surprise.
He stood and squinted. “Stephanie?”
“The one and only.” I stepped out of the boat, the black sand shifting beneath my shoes. “Well, not the only Stephanie in existence but the only—” I cut myself short when I noticed the scowl was back on his face.
“What are you doing here?” He snarled, still standing in
front of his throne. His face softened, and his eyes bulged. “No. You’re not—” He stormed forward and grabbed one of my shoulders. He stared at me, shaking his head. “Your soul is still intact. How did you get down here?”
I looked up at him, taking a moment to stare at how ethereal he looked. His fiery crown flickered, his hair floating around him like a wispy frame. “Thanatos.”
“How?” He dropped his hand.
I shifted my eyes. “I…asked.”
“And he brought you here?” His brow furrowed. “Uncharacteristic of him.”
“You know, I didn’t expect you to run up to me and whisk me off my feet at the sight of me or anything, but I thought you’d at least be happy?”
“I’m elated to see you.” His tone took on a whole new form of gruffness.
“Really? Because normally frowns, growls, and standing there like a statue suggests quite the opposite.” I slid an inch forward.
His hands relaxed at his sides. “I’m still trying to make sense of a mortal woman purposely making her way into the Underworld.”
“It doesn’t take much thought, Hades.” I continued with cautious steps until we stood toe-to-toe.
He cocked a brow.
“You.” I raised to the balls of my feet, craning my neck back. “I came for you.” I planted my lips against his. My eyelashes fluttered, waiting for him to reciprocate.
His arms slid around my waist, and he kissed me. It started tender but soon turned ravenous. Deep. Like the weeks we spent apart compared to living without a part of your soul. The taste of fire and ash exploded in my mouth. I missed it. I missed him. He pulled away, staggering backward. I stood there, blinking and tracing a finger over my lonely lips.
“This isn’t fair to you.” His words were pain-stricken. He growled and cast a hand through the flames of his crown, making it disappear.
“Fair for me? Don’t I get to have a say?” My chest heaved.
“You can’t stay here. What kind of man would I be if I were to bed you, only to send you back to the surface straight after?” His rigid stance overtook him again.
I sighed. “I knew full well before I decided to see you that I couldn’t stay here. But I wanted that one final chance to be with you.” I interlaced our fingers. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone.”
He lifted our hands and ran his thumb over my knuckle. “Neither have I.”
He cocked his head to the side, running one of his hands through my hair. He pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me. I pressed my ear to his chest and closed my eyes. When I opened them, we stood in the middle of a vast room.
There were Victorian gothic-styled bookshelves, a round table with half-melted black candles, dressers, and lounge chairs in each corner. Darkened ionic columns bordered the bookshelves, leading into ornate designs carved in mahogany, traveling to the ceiling. A large, unlit fireplace framed by Corinthian columns settled against the back wall. The mantle had spires like medieval castles.
It was a room fit for a king.
He walked past me and threw his hand toward the fireplace. It roared to life in a blaze of blue, morphing into orange and white flickers. “Did you find the evidence you needed for your case?” He continued to stalk around me, like a wildcat on the hunt.
In the center was a bed that could fit my entire apartment with black sheets, black marble headboard with meander scrollwork, and an equally as dark frame. Cranberry-colored and black silk pillows rested at the head. A cranberry curtain draped on the wall above it.
A lump formed in my throat. “Yes.”
He wriggled his fingers at the table with lit candles. The lighted intensity dimmed until the room felt eerie yet inviting. “Was he found guilty?”
“Yes.” Every breath escaping my nostrils and pulling into my lungs made me acutely aware of what was about to happen.
He crossed the room, his glowing white eyes brightening from the darkness. “And, are you absolutely certain you wish to lay with me, knowing what I am and that I’m incapable of giving you what a mortal man could?” His long white hair floated around him, and he peered down at me, patiently waiting for my answer.
A relationship. The god of the Underworld being someone’s boyfriend? It sounded absurd. Was I crazy for doing this? Probably. But I didn’t care. My heart punched against my ribcage. “Yes.”
He morphed into the Sawyer look-a-like I met at the resort and dipped his mouth to mine.
I pushed a hand against his chest. “No.”
He leaned back, raising an eyebrow. His lips thinned.
“I want the real you.” My heart raced so fiercely it felt like a caged bird yearning to free itself.
A tiny smile tugged at his lips. “As long as I’ve been alive and yet I can still somehow be surprised.” He nodded and transformed into the god of the Underworld.
My eyes fell on the points of his ears sticking out from his hair. I traced a finger over one. He closed his eyes before sliding his lips over mine. He cradled the back of my head, kissing with such fervor it bent me backward. His other hand curled around my lower back, supporting me. I reached my hands into the folds of his robes, but only managed to get lost in the never-ending fabric. He took my hands into his and leaned back.
The robe began to disintegrate into embers, floating away like flying pieces of burning paper. He stood naked and motionless. His mortal guise looked like a Greek statue, but somehow his godly form was even more muscular, hard, and toned. The fire-lit room created the perfect shadows over his muscles. Each stood out as if carved from marble.
I clutched my shirt, bunching it at my neck. We’d been naked in front of each other at the spa, but this was different. So very different. I was about to give myself to him completely. It was the epitome of vulnerable.
“If only I had the power to read your mind.” He took a tentative step forward, the muscles in his legs flexing.
Suppressing a whimper, I turned my back to him.
His hand cupped my elbow, and the other shifted the hair from my neck. He lowered his nose to my nape, his breath prickling my skin. “Stephanie, we don’t have to do this.”
He’d seen the back of me already, and the newfound confidence within me returned with one touch from him. I slid my hands underneath my shirt and peeled it away. Once I stood in my bra and pants, I turned to face him. He clasped the back of my neck and kissed me so deeply I felt weightless. I had to open one eye to be sure we weren’t floating on smoke again. He pulled away only to trail his lips across my chin and peck his way to my neck. His tongue lapped against my skin as he kissed it, finishing with a light nip.
We locked gazes as I undid the clasp of my bra. His knuckles grazed my shoulders as he slipped one strap down, followed by the other. It fell to the floor, and my chest swelled, watching his lips curl into a grin.
He pulled me against him, dragging his knuckles down the side of my face. “You are, without a doubt, the most beautiful mortal I’ve ever seen.” He trailed his fingers across my pants, making them crumble into embers.
I nibbled my lip. “I’m going to need those.”
“Later,” he whispered.
He backed me to the bed until I felt my calves hit up against the coolness of the frame. It was so high off the ground I’d have to take a running leap to get on it. He curled a hand around each of my hips and hoisted me up. The soft comforter soothed against my skin once he laid me down. It was like new towels, freshly cleaned and warm from the dryer. I rested my head on one of the many cranberry throw pillows, and he stared down at me, letting my hair fall through his fingertips.
“Pomegranate. Definitely your color,” he said, his eyes ablaze.
His lips pressed against the valley between my breasts, and I gasped. The fog floated over my hair, traveling across my chest and hovering over my stomach. He took one breast into his mouth and circled his tongue around my nipple. The tingling sensation from the fog mixed with his mouth was damn near enough to drive me insane.
My back
arched as he pulled his mouth away, grazing my breast with his wolf-like teeth. His nose dragged over my ribs, making his way further down my body. As he traced the tip of his tongue over my abdomen, I forgot entirely about who and what he was. It wasn’t until his fingertips brushed the insides of my knees, coaxing them apart, I became lost in his glowing white eyes.
I’d been with other men before. Seen the carnal look in their eyes, knowing what they were about to receive. His gaze was different. Predatory, yet anticipatory. Like eyeing baked goods behind the glass, wishing you could devour each one. I opened myself to him, and he lowered his hips. The white hair floated as he peered down at me. I traced my hands over his shoulder blades, expecting to feel slits where his wings sprouted. It’d be surreal to see them in a moment like this.
A masculine purr vibrated from his throat. “You want to see my wings again, don’t you?”
“I thought you couldn’t read minds.” I played a wicked grin, one to rival his own.
“I don’t have to.” He lowered himself further. His hardness pressed against me, and it made every muscle in my lower half clench. “You’ve played with their sheath repeatedly.”
My hands ran absent circles over his shoulder blades in an unspoken plea to see them come out to play.
“I rather like you’ve such a fascination with them,” he said.
The wings peeled out from his back, their span nearly the entire width of the bed until he folded them back. Smoke tendrils wafted through the air. Sparkling orange embers fell, and ash trickled down my skin before disappearing.
“Will it burn me if I touch them?” I lingered my fingers over the glowing orange feathers.
“Only if I wanted it to.”
I smoothed my hand over the fiery arch on his left wing. He groaned, his length pushing harder against me. They felt like any other feather I’d touched. But these were composed mostly of fire and smoke. His lips crashed against mine, conquering me with a kiss. He pushed at my entrance, and I gasped when he thrust himself forward. He situated his forearms on each side of my head and began slow rhythmic motions. Smoke tendrils swirled around my arms, cascading over my breasts like silk. His nose brushed against my chin as he kissed my neck. The smoke intensified, playing through my hair and over my cheeks.
