Dark Desires (Dark Romance Boxed Set)

by Cerys du Lys

  He was right. Her sex pulsed with a thick heat. It felt swollen, and the humming deep inside made her breath come faster and her cheeks flush. She had to tighten her muscles around the vibrating orbs and it just served to increase the sensation through her pelvis.

  “You are getting wetter, aren’t you, Sephie?”

  “Yes, Aidon.” She squirmed, her body pulling against the restraints as she struggled to maintain the hold on the slippery spheres sliding inside her sex. He watched her, a half-smile on his face, his hand moving in a steady rhythm between his own thighs. She couldn’t stand it anymore! “Oh please…I want…”

  “I know.” His smile changed, twisting into something almost cruel, his eyes glowing in the dimness. “I know exactly what you want. And I’ll give it to you…when I’m ready…and when you are.”

  “Please!” she begged, her hips thrusting forward all on their own. “I’m ready!”

  “No.” He shook his head, the smile never leaving his face. “I’ll tell you when you’re ready.”

  Groaning, she hung her head, defeated, the aching hum making her whole body tremble in the chains that held her aloft. This is torture! Sweet, delicious, horrible torture! She glanced at him again and licked her lips, watching with fascinated eyes at the movement of his hand. She longed to touch herself, too, to ease that precious ache.

  “You like watching,” he observed, easing back in the chair and pushing his hips up. The bulge there was very noticeable and she nodded. She couldn’t deny it. When he reached over and untied the loin cloth, exposing his hard length, she groaned out loud. She had never wanted anything more in her life. He pressed his erection up toward his belly, rubbing the wet tip of it there, and she watched as he took himself in hand. The motion hypnotized her, up and down, growing faster with his breath, and then slowing again. She remembered how it felt in her mouth, the thick pulse of him throbbing in her throat, and it made her mouth water.

  “Please…” she whispered, arching forward in the chains, straining toward him.

  “I like hearing you say please.” He smiled, his eyes meeting hers. “It’s such a pretty word from that pretty little mouth.” His gaze lingered over her mouth and then swept downward over her quivering breasts, her trembling belly, focusing on her slightly bulging sex. One of the golden orbs slipped further downward, the weight of the second one only making it harder to hold, the wetness already evident on her slim thighs.

  “Don’t let it fall,” he reminded her with a wicked grin. She groaned, straining to keep her muscles tight, closing her eyes with the effort. When she felt him clamping something onto her nipple, though, her eyes flew open again. “It will only sting for a moment.” She groaned as he clamped the other one on, looking down at the chain that connected them. Her nipples burned and she arched, moaning, twisting away from the pain, feeling the orbs slipping.

  “Aidon, please!” He wasn’t touching her, no part of him pressed against her, and Persephone longed to feel something, just the lightest feather’s brush of flesh.

  Persephone nearly lost her hold on the two golden orbs when Tisi pounded on the heavy door. “You must come quickly! Hermes has breached the inner sanctum!”

  They both heard another voice. “Hades! It’s me!”

  More pounding. Persephone looked down at Aidon, her eyes wide. He sighed, shaking his head and leaned in to kiss her navel. “Be right back—don’t let them fall!” She groaned as he stalked over and cracked open the door.

  “Hermes, make it quick,” he said. “I’m in the middle of something here.”

  Hermes’ voice became clearer. “It is imperative I speak to you, oh High Lord of Darkness.”

  Aidon snorted. “Don’t flatter me, or yourself. What is it?”

  “It’s Demeter.” Hermes tried to peek inside. Persephone kept seeing the top of his head appearing around Aidon’s shoulder. “She’s turned the entire planet into an ice dam and it’s been that way for months. She refuses to allow spring again unless you release her daughter.”

  Persephone’s heart raced at the sound of her mother’s name. She had thought of her often since she had been here and had hoped the message she sent with Sisyphus had reached her. Now she knew it had never reached Demeter.

  “I am not keeping her here against her will,” Aidon said through gritted teeth.

  “So let me see for myself.” Hermes’ head appeared around his shoulder again. “Let me talk to her. I need to tell Zeus something!”

  “Let him in, Aidon,” she called. He shrugged and swung the door open wide.

  Hermes stood in the doorway for a moment, his mouth agape. She knew what it must look like. “Hi, Hermes!”

  “Persephone!” Hermes looked back and forth between them, his wide white wings, almost twice the size of his body, opened as if about to take flight. “Are you okay?”

  She smiled. “Never better.”

  “Hades, you’re keeping her prisoner!” Hermes hissed, the wings on his ankles buzzing like hummingbirds. “Let this girl go home to her mother.”

  Aidon stalked over to the bed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Persephone, are you a prisoner here?”

  She shook the restraints above her head. “I think the chains are throwing him off, Aidon.”

  He chuckled and mouthed, “Don’t let them fall,” with his back turned to Hermes.

  Persephone looked to the small winged man, still straining to keep the orbs from slipping further down. “I’m no prisoner, I can assure you.”

  Hermes looked back and forth between them again, rubbing his forehead. “Hades, this is serious. Haven’t you noticed the influx of the dead? Thanatos said he tried to tell you! Mortals are dying, crops are failing, people are starving!”

  Persephone frowned, remembering a whispered conversation between her husband and the God of Death. She had noticed the numbers of shades increasing and had wondered at it. “This is my mother’s doing?”

  “None other.” Hermes settled himself into a large, dark chair in the corner. “She has been wandering day and night, wailing and mourning and looking for you. She told Zeus if you come home, she will bring spring back to the mortal world.”

  For a moment, Persephone let a wave of guilt and remorse wash over her. She felt small and young again, her mother’s daughter, not the Queen of the Underworld.

  “And if I don’t?” she asked.

  Hermes shrugged. “Then the big chill up there goes on indefinitely. Hence Zeus sending me here to fetch you.”

  Aidon stood, his eyes closed, head down. “Sephie, you need to go home.”

  “I am home,” she said, her eyes flashing at him.

  Hermes sat forward in the chair. “Look, there has to be some compromise we can come to here. Something that will make everyone happy.”

  “I’m not leaving my husband!” Persephone gritted her teeth, wincing and tightening everything below the waist as the orbs began to slip with the force of her words.

  “Sephie, I know Demeter well.” Aidon sighed. “She means to do what she says. If you do not go, she will cause the death of every mortal on the planet. Our gates will be overrun. I’ve been told about it, but I didn’t want to tell you.”

  “Like I said,” Hermes leaned forward, plucking a ripe, red apple from a bowl on the table beside him. “We have to think of a compromise.”

  “Do you want to get rid of me?” Persephone felt tears stinging her eyes.

  “NO!” Aidon turned and grabbed the apple from Hermes hand, throwing it against the door where it splattered into pulp. He stood there, breathing hard for a moment. Then he looked at Hermes. “You know better, my friend. If you eat anything in the Underworld, you must stay here.”

  Persephone brightened. “I have eaten here!”

  Hermes’ face turned as white as his wings. “Uh-oh.”

  “I know.” Aidon began to pace. They watched him padding back and forth like some dark beast.

  “What should I tell Zeus?” Hermes asked.

  “Zeus gave
her to me!” Aidon growled, frowning, but not slowing his pace.

  Persephone felt her tears slipping down her cheeks. “I don’t want to leave you.”

  Aidon stopped. He looked at her for a moment, pained, and then closed his eyes.

  “You decide, Sephie.”

  She looked between them, frowning. Have I made a mistake, not telling my mother where I am? Demeter had been wandering for months looking for her, agonizing over her disappearance. If I’d just been a grown-up, and stood up for myself from the beginning… She wondered if it would have made a difference, if she had taken Hecate up on her offer to send her mother a message. It doesn’t matter. I have the chance to be an adult—a queen—now.

  “Tell Demeter I have eaten in the Underworld, and by law, I must stay.”

  Aidon’s eyes softened in relief. “Thank the gods!”

  “Tell her that I ate six pomegranate seeds,” Persephone said, her voice soft now. Aidon looked up at her, startled. “And for those six seeds, I must do penance here in the Underworld. For the other six months of the year, I will belong to my mother’s world.”

  Hermes smiled. “See! Compromise! That’s what I’m talking about.”

  “This can’t be happening,” Persephone whispered, her tear-filled eyes meeting Aidon’s.

  “It is a just and balanced decision.” Aidon gave her a sad smile.

  Hermes stood, frowning. “Should I take her with me?”

  Aidon nodded, his voice hoarse. “Yes. I will release her to you later this day.”

  Persephone hung her head in defeat.

  “Leave us,” Aidon nodded at Hermes. “I will bring her to the gates.”

  Hermes fluttered to the door, and Persephone noticed his feet never really touched the ground. “I’m sorry,” he said, looking over his shoulder at her, his face sad. She just shook her head, and then the messenger disappeared.

  “Aidon, I don’t think I can leave you,” she cried. “I can’t imagine being without you for six days, let alone six months!”

  “I know, I know.” He came to her, running his hand through her long hair. “But I can make it easier for you,” he whispered, tracing the line of her lips with his finger.

  “How?”

  “Trust me,” he murmured, standing in front of her bound form.

  She smiled. “I do.”

  “I know.” He returned her smile. “You never even let them fall.”

  “I wouldn’t.” She shook her head. “Unless you told me.”

  “Give it to me.” Cupping his hand underneath her sex, but still not touching her, he waited. “Just one of them.”

  She slowly let her muscles go, releasing them bit by bit. The weight of the vibrating balls pressing down inside of her, coupled with her slick juices, made it nearly impossible not to let them both drop out of her at once. The first orb slipped through her swollen lips and plopped into Aidon’s waiting hand. She moaned softly, gritting her teeth and pulling the other one up inside of her with all of her strength. The aching hum increased the moment she tightened her muscles, sending shockwaves of pleasure through her pelvis.

  Aidon smiled. “Very good, Sephie.” She squirmed, his praise filling her with almost as much heat as the vibrating object between her legs. “Now, give me the other one.” She whimpered her assent, letting her muscles relax and the ball drop down to the opening of her sex. It hummed deliciously there, sending sweet thrills through her body, and she was loath to press it out, now. He saw her reluctance and smiled. “Do what I ask of you.”

  She sighed, bearing down just slightly and easing the orb out into his hand. He held them both up for her to see, the golden surface of each wet with her juices. They hummed in his fingers and she watched, fascinated, as he began to shift them, around and around. It required a deft touch, but he was clearly skilled, the balls switching places in his fingers so quickly she could barely tell them apart.

  His hand drew closer to her sex, the balls flashing back and forth, and she gasped when he touched them to her aching omi at the top of her slit. His quick, dexterous movements made the pulsing balls rotate there, circling that throbbing nub of flesh.

  “Oh, Aidon…” Her voice was just a breath and she arched her hips forward, the rising vibration between her legs growing with every quick movement of his hands. The balls orbited the sensitive, hooded swell of flesh she had been aching to touch for what seemed like hours. He gave her more pleasure than she had ever believed possible.

  “Let it come, Persephone.” His breath moved hot against her breasts and his tongue flicked over one of her nipples, making her moan. “Let it—”

  As if his words had given her permission, she felt her pleasure peak at that moment. He pushed her to even greater heights, the thrilling rotation between her legs forcing her to buck and shudder in the restraints. The wave seemed to crest forever as she thrashed and pitched forward and back in her chains, her cries echoing through the room. Spent at last, she collapsed, ignoring the pain in her arms as her own weight pulled them taut.

  Aidon caught her with one arm, tossing the balls next to her and unfastening her wrists with one hand before easing her back onto the bed. Still breathless, she turned her half-closed eyes to him, watching as he attached her arms to the other bedposts, pulling them tight enough to keep her arms spread above her head as she reclined on the bed. She didn’t care what he did to her, anymore. He could beat her, brand her, tie her up—it didn’t matter. The way he looked at her, touched her…somehow he made her into something she had longed to be and never knew she had even wanted.

  He kissed her cheek, her forehead, the tips of her breasts. “Before you leave, you will swim in the Pool of Lethe.”

  Persephone shook her head. “The pool of forgetfulness? Why?”

  “It’s painful for the living to remember the dead.” His voice cracked and he looked away from her.

  “No,” she whispered. “You will be dead to me.”

  He held her hand and kissed her fingertips. “Only for six months. For those six months you will be the Goddess of Spring again in your mother’s arms.”

  “How will I know to come back?”

  He kissed her, his mouth possessing hers. “I will come for you.” She lost herself in the feel of his tongue, his hands in her hair. “And when you come home, you will swim in the pool of Mnemosyne.”

  “But then...we have to do this...all over again?” A smile dawned on her face as she remembered their first glorious night together.

  “Yes.” He kissed her neck. “I will do everything in my power to help you remember.”

  She felt tears slipping down her temples. “Then I will do what you ask of me.”

  He pulled her to him and she tried not to remember she was going—that for six months she would be without him. He kissed her and she forgot her mother, springtime, everything but the delicious coupling of their bodies. She let go of knowing she would have a lifetime of forgetting and remembering, an eternity of light and dark, of renewal and discovery. She forgot, and she was free.

  Pronunciation Key

  Aeacus (Eye-ACK-us)

  Aegina (Uh-GYNE-uh)

  Aethra (Ay-EH-thra)

  Aidon (AY-den)

  Aidoneus (AY-duh-noose)

  Alecto (Uh-LEC-toe)

  Althaia (Al-THIGH-uh )

  Aphrodite (Af-ro-DIGHT-ee)

  Argonaut (AR-go-naught)

  Artemis (AR-tuh-miss)

  Asphodel (ASH-fo-del)

  Atalanta (At-uh-LAN-tuh)

  Athena (Uh-THEE-nuh)

  Atropos (AT-row-pose)

  Cerberus (SIR-burr-us)

  Charon (CAR-on)

  Cleopatra (Clee-oh-PAT-ruh)

  Clotho (KLO-tho)

  Demeter (DEH-muh-ter)

  Diopeithes (Die-OP-uh-thees)

  Discordia (Dis-CORD-ee-uh)

  Elysium (Uh-LEE-see-um)

  Erinyes (Uh-REN-yees)

  Hecate (HECK-uh-tay)

  Hephaestus (Huh-FESS-tus)

 
Hera (HAIR-uh)

  Hermes (HER-mees)

  Hippodamia (Hip-oh-DOM-ee-uh)

  Hypnos (HIP-nose)

  Ker (Care)

  Keres (CARE-ees)

  Kometes (Kuh-MEET-ees)

  Lachesis (La-KEYS-iss)

  Lapiths (LAP-iths)

  Leda (LEE-duh)

  Lethe (LETH-ee)

  Megaera (Meg-EAR-uh)

  Meleager (Mel-YA-ger)

  Minos (ME-nos) Judge in the Underworld

  Minthe (MIN-thee)

  Miseria (Mis-AIR-ee-uh)

  Mnemosyne (Nem-AH-sone-ay)

  Moirai (MWAR-i)

  Noire (NWAR-ay)

  Omi (OH-me)

  Omphalos (Ahm-FAL-ohs)

  Persephone (Per-SEH-fone-ee)

  Petulantia (Pet-u-LAHN-tee-uh)

  Pirithous (Per-ITH-oo-us)

  Polydeuces (Poly-DO-cheez)

  Prothous (PRO-thoo-us)

  Rhadamanthus (Rahd-uh-MAHN-thus)

  Sephie (SEF-ee)

  Styx (Sticks)

  Sisyphus (SIS-uh-fuss)

  Tartarus (TAR-tar-us)

  Thanatos (THAN-uh-toes)

  Theseus (THEE-see-us)

  Thestios (THESS-tee-ohs)

  Tisi (TEE.See)

  Tisiphone (Tis-SEH-fone-ee)

  Zeus (Zoos)

  ABOUT SELENA KITT

  Selena Kitt is a bestselling and award-winning author of erotic and romance fiction. She is one of the highest selling erotic writers in the business with over a million books sold!

  Her writing embodies everything from the spicy to the scandalous, but watch out-this kitty also has sharp claws and her stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths.

  When she’s not pawing away at her keyboard, Selena runs an innovative publishing company (excessica.com) and in her spare time, she devotes herself to her family--a husband and four children--and her growing organic garden. She does bellydancing and photography, and she loves four poster beds, tattoos, voyeurism, blindfolds, velvet, baby oil, the smell of leather, and playing kitty cat.

  Her books EcoErotica (2009), The Real Mother Goose (2010) and Heidi and the Kaiser (2011) were all Epic Award Finalists. Her only gay male romance, Second Chance, won the Epic Award in Erotica in 2011. Her story, Connections, was one of the runners-up for the 2006 Rauxa Prize, given annually to an erotic short story of “exceptional literary quality,” out of over 1,000 nominees, where awards are judged by a select jury and all entries are read “blind” (without author’s name available.)