Dark Desires (Dark Romance Boxed Set)

by Cerys du Lys

  She blinked at him, still not understanding. He can’t possibly mean—

  “I came here today to ask you to be my bride, Persephone.” He looked as if he were bestowing a great gift upon her, his chest puffed up, his chin proud.

  Oh by the gods, he can’t be serious! She stared, open-mouthed, and then—she couldn’t help it—she laughed. The bright sound carried far. She covered her mouth with her hand to keep it from escaping, but it was no use. The thought she should marry this old man! Nothing short of someone telling her the world was round could have proved more ludicrous to her!

  “I’m sorry…” Her apology disappeared in another gale of laughter. His face had turned a deep shade of red, his eyes narrowing to slits. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean to offend you. It’s just…just…” She burst into another fit of giggles.

  “Do you believe yourself too good for me, young goddess?” His kind face turned into a terrible sneer. Persephone’s laugh faded and she took a step back, bumping up against a tree as he advanced. “I may not be a god, but I am a king, and I more than deserve a wife who is the daughter of Zeus!”

  “Please…” Persephone could back up no further, her back pressed against the trunk of the tree. Pirithous tilted her trembling chin up with his hand, his eyes blazing with hurt pride. “I didn’t mean to—”

  “You will be mine.” His mouth crushed down on hers. Persephone struggled in his grasp as his meaty tongue forced its way past her teeth.

  She beat at him and cried out in desperation, “Help! Mother!” Suddenly an incredible heat glowed against her chest and a blue flash burst from her locket. Pirithous flew backward from her with a cry of both pain and rage, clutching his heart. His shocked eyes met hers, and they both looked at the small bauble hanging from the chain around her neck. It now glowed blue around the edges.

  “My mother gave me this.” Incredulous, Persephone felt its heat when she lifted the locket in her hand. “For protection.”

  “I will have you!” His face twisted in anger as he struggled to his feet. When he lunged for her, they both saw the white-blue arc flare out from the necklace, strike him, and force him backward. She didn’t wait for him to get up. Lifting the hem of her robe, she ran for the open field ahead.

  Chapter One

  Persephone sighed and tore another velvet petal off the daisy with a little more enthusiasm and vengeance than her mother probably would have liked. The Goddess of Spring should love picking flowers, not tearing them apart! It wasn’t that she didn’t like flowers, or sunshine, or brand new baby lambs. They were all wonderful—in moderation—but lately she had found herself with the urge to pull birds’ nests out of trees and crush rose petals in her fists—not very Goddess of Spring-like behavior, to be sure. Of course, she hadn’t done it, though the secret desire burned in her belly so often it began to scare her.

  Persephone picked another daisy and tossed it into her basket, swinging it on her arm and glancing across the field. Athena and Artemis had promised to meet her and help her gather wildflowers for Demeter’s Harvest Festival, but there was no sign of either of them yet. In the distance came the short, rhythmic report of someone chopping wood. She had been hearing it for half an hour and now cocked her head in that direction. Curious and decidedly bored, she slipped into the woods and followed the path toward the noise.

  She touched the locket at her throat as she walked, glancing down to see if it glowed blue. It had been a week since Pirithous had confronted her in these woods, and the necklace had been quiet since. She had been too afraid to tell her mother about the incident, although she had relayed the details to Athena and Artemis. Both armed goddesses had prowled the perimeter of the meadow and pronounced the old man gone. Still, she tried to be more cautious than she had been before.

  Slowing as she came closer to the source of the sound, she noticed a clearing near a small stream. A man—just a human, not a god—worked with an axe and some wood. He seemed to be making piles of it and Persephone wondered who he was and what the wood was for. She watched him lift his axe high above his head and bring it down to split a log.

  Slipping behind a tree, she peeked around to see how the muscles in his back and chest rippled as he worked. Something about it made her long to touch his browned skin, and the thought made her flush.

  The dark-haired man wiped his brow with the back of his hand, tossing the axe aside. He put his hands at the small of his back and arched with a groan. Glancing around the woods, he began to unfasten the loincloth he wore. Persephone stared, open-mouthed. She knew all about the differences between men and women, but had never seen a man completely naked before. The sight intrigued her.

  The man waded into the stream up to his thighs, reaching down to splash water up over his hard, ridged stomach, and chest. He turned his back to her as he bathed, kneeling down in the water and wetting his hair, then shaking off the excess. Wanting a better view, she poked her head out a little further. The woodsman stood and stretched, and she found herself wishing she could see the path his hands trailed down the front of his body.

  Persephone had been surrounded by feminine beauty all of her life, but her first glimpse of male beauty left her breathless and wanting more. She didn’t think the responsive, aching throb between her thighs could get more intense until he faced her again and she saw his hand wrapped around his erection. Stunned by the beauty of his form as he stood in the middle of the stream, naked and glistening and touching himself, she felt her belly tighten with longing.

  Fascinated, she saw his eyes close in pleasure, his hand moving faster and faster up and down his shaft. He had no idea she was there, his actions completely uninhibited. Persephone bit her lip, squeezing her thighs together against the pulse there. She knew what she was looking at. She had been taught about that masculine instrument of pleasure, made to deflower virgins, and she knew she should have been frightened. Instead she found herself excited and transfixed by the sight, her face flushed and her breath coming faster.

  He threw his head back, giving a loud groan, and she watched, stunned, as his manhood erupted like a white hot geyser, shooting in thick, pulsing jets. She covered her gasp with her hand, her eyes wide as he spilled his pleasure into the stream.

  The sight filled her with an incredible longing she had often felt but hadn’t ever been able to identify before. Will the ache between my thighs only be satisfied by a man? she wondered as he sank down and relaxed into the stream again. Her mother had been grooming her since she could remember to be one of the virgin goddesses, like Athena and Artemis. But what if I don’t want to be a virgin?

  “Persephone!”

  She whirled at the sound of her name, recognizing Artemis’ voice at the edge of the woods. The man heard it, too, and before he discovered her behind the tree, Persephone took off running from a man for the second time in a week.

  * * * *

  Being between Athena and Artemis sometimes made Persephone long for the earth to open up and swallow her whole. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy their frequent little threesome romps in the flowering fields. Gods knew they pleased her in ways only two glorious goddesses could, but there was a self-sufficient detachment in them both that left her aching.

  “Don’t you ever want more?” Persephone rolled to her belly between them, swinging her delicate feet toward the sun’s heat. She gazed at Athena through a gauze of flaxen hair, still tangled with the flowers they had been picking before they had thrown off their silken gowns, spread them wide, and sunk into a few blissful hours of divine pleasure.

  “Didn’t get enough, little one?” Athena chuckled. The deep resonance of her voice always surprised and scared Persephone a little. Or maybe it was the sword she always carried under her lustrous robes. Athena flicked one of her silky auburn curls over Persephone’s freckled nose, making her sneeze.

  “When is it ever enough for our precious Sephie?” Artemis laughed, leaning over to press a gentle kiss to the rounded swell of Persephone’s exposed bottom. She
rested her cheek there for a moment, still smiling, her dark hair tickling Persephone’s thighs, making her wiggle and sigh. “Little beauty, don’t you know we have everything?”

  “What more could you want, really?” Athena asked. “We’re goddesses. We can go anywhere. We can do anything.” Athena stretched her long limbs and yawned. They didn’t sleep or get tired, really, but they did get bored. Yes, they got bored a lot.

  “That’s not true...” Persephone stuck her tongue out at Athena’s back. “We can’t go everywhere.” Athena’s shadow blocked the sun and Persephone felt a chill.

  “Where can’t we go?” Artemis sat, too, her dark hair tumbling over her milk-white shoulders. She reached for her bow. Persephone always felt safe with them, tucked between two strong protectors, a sword on one side, a bow on the other. Alone, she sometimes felt liquid, like she could seep away into the earth and no one would even notice.

  “Elysium…” Persephone propped her chin in her hand and gazed out across the field. “Imagine what the Elysian Fields must be compared to these...too good for even the gods...”

  “Sephie!” Artemis pressed her fingers to the pout of Persephone’s full lips. “By the gods, girl, pray Zeus didn’t hear you! Ask swift Hermes, or perhaps dark Hecate. They are the only twain-travelers, and they do so at great cost. You do not want to go where shades go. There are darker things there than you have ever imagined...”

  “Yes, precious,” Athena assured her with a lopsided smile, leaning over to kiss her smooth cheek. “Even in your most rebellious dreams.”

  “Careful what you wish for, dearest.” Artemis ran a slender finger down the length of Persephone’s spine. “I think perhaps we should do something to dispel these terrible thoughts.”

  “Yes,” Athena agreed, meeting the eyes of the dark-haired goddess over the blonde’s bent head. “Something to take her mind off such things…”

  “Ohhhh…” Persephone breathed a sigh, feeling two hands, one from each side, sliding between her tender, virgin legs and parting them. She closed her eyes at their touch, craving it, aching for more. Whenever they were together, it always seemed as if she could never get enough. She tried to commit it all to memory—the feel of their fingernails tickling the inside of her thighs, the brushing of their hair over her skin as they both leaned in, feathering kisses over the gentle curve of her behind.

  Two trailing goddess tongues explored their way through her fleshy pink maze, making Persephone arch and moan in response. She didn’t know who was doing what, and she didn’t care—she just wanted more. Lifting her bottom high in the air, she wiggled toward them and reached between her own legs to open herself to their mouths.

  “Eager, isn’t she?” Athena murmured. Artemis chuckled in agreement as she crawled up beside Persephone on the grass.

  “Oh don’t stop…please!” Persephone pleaded, affirming the goddesses’ opinions as she spread herself wider in offering to Athena’s probing tongue. The little blonde’s honeyed cleft parted at the redhead’s insistence, and Persephone pressed the tender bud at the apex of her sex, showing Athena where she wanted her mouth.

  The goddesses had long ago taught Persephone about the center of feminine pleasure—what they called the feminine omphalos, or “omi.” Persephone had learned over time just how much delight her little omi could give, the goddesses always trying to find new ways to tickle each other.

  Artemis wiggled her curvy form underneath the slender blonde, capturing Persephone’s hungry mouth with hers. Persephone leaned into the dark-haired goddess’ kiss, feeling the full lush press of her body, devouring her mouth as they squirmed together on the luxurious robes spread beneath them. Artemis’ hands spread everywhere at once, her fingers slipping between them both to probe and spread Persephone’s exposed sex, where Athena’s tongue kept a delicious vigil on her sensitive omi.

  Persephone’s belly fluttered in response, and she moaned against the heavy globes of Artemis’ breasts, sucking and licking eagerly, making her way to their big, brown centers as Athena’s tongue worked its magic. Artemis gave a deep sigh, turning her attention to her own sex, the sweet rub of her hand sending sweet jolts of pleasure through Persephone as the goddess’ large brown nipples began to harden under her attention.

  Athena’s mouth abandoned its pursuit between the young blonde’s legs and Persephone whimpered, looking over her shoulder at the auburn-haired goddess, her eyes pleading for more. The redhead smiled, reaching for a handful of honey-colored curls and pulling Persephone up toward her.

  “Oh!” Persephone’s surprise was muffled by Athena’s wet kiss, the goddess’ mouth slanting across hers, giving back the sweet taste of her own honey as their tongues touched. Persephone, lost in the velvet softness of Athena’s lips, straddled Artemis’ rounded hips. The dark-haired goddess’ fingers tweaked Persephone’s nipples, making her moan against Athena’s open mouth.

  Persephone felt the heat of Artemis’ sex against her own and rocked against it, longing to quench the fire between her legs. Athena chuckled, feathering kisses over the blonde’s shoulder as she watched. The younger goddess struggled and moaned, trying to ease the tender ache.

  “Like this…” Athena’s hands moved over Persephone’s thighs, moving her. Persephone responded to her guidance, slithering her body across Artemis, straddling her at an angle, so their legs made a delicious X, positioning their slick clefts as close together as possible.

  “Oh yes…” Artemis’ fingers stayed between them, spreading them both open. She put her knees up, rocking with Persephone as their juices smeared and blended together. Closing her eyes, Persephone ground her hips in circles, feeling the folds of the other goddess’ flesh, all soft, tender pinkness, rubbing against her own.

  Persephone tried to make their little omis kiss, lost in the slippery darkness of sensation, pressing her sex faster and faster toward release. Artemis’ breath came more quickly as she pulled and tugged at her own nipples. Athena stretched out beside the dark-haired goddess and lifted one of her breasts. Artemis sighed as Athena drew it toward her mouth, licking the fat bud in the center, her lips closing fast around it and sucking.

  Persephone cupped her own breasts, pinching and squeezing her nipples, sending additional little shocks of pleasure down to her pelvis. Artemis rolled like thunder underneath her now, moaning and meeting her with every pass. Persephone slid her hand down, feeling the wet squelch of them together, the slickness of their soft curls.

  “Are you close?” Athena whispered against Artemis’ nipple, flicking it with her tongue.

  “Yes, oh yes!” Artemis squirmed against Persephone and grabbed her slim hips, rocking up to meet her. Persephone knew she wouldn’t quite make it with her, but wanted to send the other goddess over. Knowing Artemis loved to be filled, Persephone slipped her hand down and found the goddess’ slick entrance. Artemis gasped and bucked as Persephone probed, pressing her fingers into the sensitive flesh.

  “Ohhhhhh!” Artemis moaned and Persephone felt the other goddess’ climax in the muscles deep inside her slippery wetness, as if trying to rhythmically draw her fingers in further as the dark-haired goddess twisted and bucked. Persephone felt herself near the edge but wanted to hang onto it, to keep soaring. Persephone had never seen Artemis look as beautiful as she did in that moment. The little blonde splayed herself across the dark-haired goddess, feeling Artemis’ climax in the tremble and quiver of the lush, ripe body beneath her own.

  “Your turn.” Persephone pounced and straddled the red-haired goddess, burying her face into her pink, wet flesh. Athena jumped and squealed in surprise, and Artemis, still panting and shuddering from her own climax, rolled toward them with a smile.

  “Our little Sephie is such a fast learner, isn’t she?” Artemis cupped the quivering swell of Athena’s breast in her hand and their eyes met. Athena smiled, her eyes bright, before turning her attention to the blonde goddess’ thighs parted over her head.

  Persephone had come to love the taste of them, and
more, their response to her probing tongue. Athena gasped and shook underneath her as she accepted Persephone’s tongue lapping and poking through her hot, waiting folds. Persephone wiggled over the other goddess’ face and rocked when the redhead’s mouth found her pearl, sucking and licking like she was going to devour the slender blonde.

  Persephone moaned softly, her mouth never leaving the goddess’ sweet flesh, as Athena took her ever closer to her peak. She felt herself dangling there, her sex pulsing with a full, throbbing ache. Athena began to use her tongue, centered right over her sensitive omi—a fast, steady rhythm sending Persephone over the edge without a chance of looking back.

  “Oh, by the gods!” Persephone cried, feeling a hot, delicious burst of pleasure rocking her body, pressing herself against the other goddess’ face, drowning her in juices.

  “Mmmmm…” Athena, still slowly lapping, grazed her fingernails over Persephone’s wet, blonde curls, parting her wide. “Let’s do that again.”

  Persephone whimpered but locked her mouth back down over Athena’s slit, digging in deep with her tongue, greedy to taste more. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Artemis’ hand moving between her own legs and knew the other goddess was pleasuring herself as she watched them. Athena didn’t stop licking, her fingers spreading Persephone open, sliding inside of her, pumping in and out. What would it be like with a man? I want to feel the thick, hot heat of a man inside of me instead.

  Then Athena spread her legs wide, pulling them back to give Persephone even more of her. Persephone took her, probing her fingers deep, twisting and massaging inside, parting the goddess’ soft, red curls. Neither of them could talk, their mouths too busy, their tongues lapping. Their muffled cries and moans were like two hungry kittens kneading their mother’s belly for milk, wanting more…more…more!

  Persephone, gasping and gulping copious amounts of sweetness from Athena’s sex, could feel the taut, telltale tremble in the other goddess’ thighs that told her how close she was. Persephone couldn’t hold back, either, as much as she wanted it to go on forever. The exquisite torture had to end. And it did, exploding between them like a dam breaking, their bodies bucking together as they moaned and shuddered with it.