by Bella Klaus
“Like this?” I raised a hand and willed it into my palm.
The metal object appeared in my hand, making my breath hitch.
“Even my weapon obeys your command.” He slipped a hand into one of the splits in my skirt and caressed my thigh with his thick fingers. “Everything I have is yours.”
“Everything?” I met his eyes in the mirror. Eyes that burned with a fire so bright that his gaze heated my core. Eyes that tore into my soul and yearned for more.
Hades pressed his erection into my back. “Tonight, everything I have is at your disposal.”
Heat flooded my core, and all my pent-up frustrations reared up in a rush of need. I wanted it to be me that he pinned down by the wrists and rode until we both shattered.
The hand caressing my thigh pulled back, wrapped around my waist, and turned me toward the window. “There’ll be plenty of time tonight to indulge ourselves.”
“No.” I grabbed him by the back of the neck.
His brows rose. “Kora?”
My pulse pounded a rapid drumbeat, urging me to demand what I had been longing for during the days we’d been apart. Hades gazed down at me, his eyes flickering with curiosity.
“Is there something on your mind?” he asked, his voice teasing.
I clenched my teeth. “No more waiting. I want it now.”
The flames in his eyes flashed with incandescent light, and his nostrils flared. “Tell me,” he said, his voice hypnotic and deep. “Tell me exactly what you desire.”
My throat dried, and my clit pounded and ached and swelled. “I want you on your knees.”
“What else?” he asked through panting breaths.
“Push apart my skirt.”
His eyes fluttered shut, and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. He made a low groan that I felt deep within my chest. “And?”
“Just like you said in the restaurant,” I murmured. “Put your head between my legs and pleasure me to a climax.”
Hades dropped to his knees. “When you put it like that, how could I possibly refuse?”
Without waiting for further instructions, Hades flicked his wrist, and my leather skirt vanished, leaving me standing naked from the bodice to my boots.
“Fuck, you’re so beautiful when you’re wet,” he growled.
The muscles of my core clenched with anticipation, and I sucked in a shuddering breath. “Get to work.”
“One request.” He held up his hand.
“What?”
“Sit on my face,” he said, his voice breathy. “I want to be surrounded by you, smothered, soaked in your juices.”
A whimper reverberated in the back of my throat. “Really?”
“Please,” he groaned.
I placed my hands on his shoulders and pushed him to the marble floor. Hades was surprisingly compliant, and allowed me to take charge, but this had been his request.
My heart thundered with excitement, and it took every ounce of effort not to erupt in sparks of lightning. This was just like those raunchy shows on Netflix—better, because I was the woman about to get pleasured, and not the girl lying in bed and touching herself under the covers.
Hades lay flat, his chest rising and falling with rapid breaths. He stretched out his arms, guiding me down with his hands on my hips. I wanted to refuse his offer of help and tell him I already knew how this worked, but every fiber of my being cried out for me to lower my sex onto his mouth and succumb to the pleasure.
As my knees settled onto the cool marble floor, his hot breath puffed against my folds, bringing forth a new bout of sensations. I panted through my parted lips, trying not to faint.
Hades wriggled beneath me, positioning us for maximum comfort. His deep moan reverberated against my sex, making my muscles ripple.
“Please,” I groaned.
He ran the flat of his tongue from my opening to my clit, giving me a surge of pleasure I felt across every nerve. My eyes bulged, and my pulse ratcheted up to eleven.
Hades groaned, lavishing my clit with languid, teasing circles that made my skin break out in tiny beads of sweat.
I rested my palms on my thighs, grateful that he had insisted we take things to the floor. With the deluge of sensations coursing through me and his sinful tongue making my muscles quiver, I would never have been able to stay upright.
“You taste so fucking good,” he moaned. “So wet, so sweet, so mine.”
“Yes.” I let my eyes flutter shut and focussed on the sensations, on the way he manipulated my most sensitive part and pushed me to unimaginable heights of pleasure.
His strokes were certain, firm, unhurried, as though he wanted to commit this moment to memory. I bit down hard on my bottom lip and stifled a groan.
“I want to hear you,” he said as he flicked his tongue
My core clenched and spasmed around nothing, hungering for the length pointing toward me from beneath his short kilt. It was thick, adorned with raised veins, and topped with a bulbous red head. Precum glistened on its slit, making my mouth water.
I leaned forward and wrapped my fingers around its impressive girth, only for Hades to shake his head. “Save that for the ball.”
“Let me just hold it.”
His deep chuckle resonated against my sex. “I have little self-control as it is when you’re concerned. Keep touching me, and we’ll both miss the ball.”
Releasing my grip on his erection, I bent down and gave his tip a light kiss, and resisted the urge to lick.
“You are insufferable.” Hades sped up his movements and lavished my clit with an onslaught of open-mouthed kisses that had me clenching my teeth and squeezing my eyes shut.
Every muscle in my pelvis quivered at the avalanche of pleasure, and my nerve endings sang with rapture. Licking my lips, I stared at his beautiful erection, hoping I would get a chance to ride him at the ball.
Pressure built up inside me, increasing with every flick, every lick, every swirl of his tongue. Hades growled beneath me with a ferocity that made my skin tingle.
I threw back my head and struggled for breath. This was nothing like the gentle pace he’d used to pleasure me in Kensington Palace. Hades was relentless, merciless, driving me to a madness beyond bliss.
With one hard suck of my clit, the pressure imploded, letting out a torrent of sensation that set my veins alight. I cried out, my entire body spasming and convulsing on his tongue.
As the climax ebbed, Hades slowed to softer caresses that coaxed out every sensation, every last modicum of pleasure until I was a boneless, trembling puddle of satisfaction.
When he drew back, my insides squirmed at the loss of his touch, but I forced myself to remember Captain Caria’s advice. I had to leave Hell. If Hades wanted me after he’d gotten the power, then he could seek me out in the Human World and take me out for dinner like a normal suitor.
With a wave of his fingers, the glass disappeared, and mist drifted into the room.
“How can there be clouds in Hell?” I asked.
He placed a hand on the small of my back, and we walked toward the window. “Where there is water, there is precipitation.”
I turned to meet his smiling eyes. “You get rain here, too?”
“It’s acidic, smells of sulfur, and occasionally falls in boiling torrents, but the milder parts of Hell are no different from London on the hottest day of the year.” He stepped into the chariot first and pulled me inside.
The wooden floor shifted a fraction beneath my feet, making me wonder if this was the same chariot he rode before the Great Divide.
We were so high up that I couldn’t see the ground below, but the mist parted a little to reveal glimpses of Mount Olympus. My throat dried, and I clutched the bident as though it had the power to keep me afloat.
I was no stranger to the Supernatural World. Until the night of the ball, I thought Mother and her coven were powerful witches, and I knew the difference between real magic and the fantasy kind they included in shows on TV. But this was the fi
rst time I’d seen floating chariots and flying horses.
“How does this work?” I wrapped my free hand around the golden crossbar that curved from one side of the chariot to the other.
Hades stood behind me and took the reins, his larger body closing me in the cage of his arms. “We gallop across the skies, and I’ll open a portal into the clouds above Green Park.”
“Why there?”
He flicked the reins, and the horses charged through the mist, pulling the carriage forward. “Green Park is angel territory and the easiest way for the likes of me to access the Devil’s Ball.”
I turned around to meet his glowing eyes. “Somehow, I thought the ball would take place in London.”
He shook his head. “Nine Demon Monarchs and their consorts converging in a single space would cause a magical disturbance. The deity in charge always opens up one of Heaven’s pocket realms.”
Something in the distance glowed in the mist—a fireball the size of my fist, which expanded with every passing second.
“What’s that?” My voice shook.
“That’s the portal I was telling you about.” He held both reins in one hand, wrapping an arm around my middle and pulling me closer into his body. “Try not to let the flames bother you. My magic runs through your veins. Nothing as trivial as hellfire could so much as singe a hair on your head.”
All the moisture in my throat evaporated, and I suppressed a shudder. Hades wasn’t lying about our combined magic. He had used my lightning to fight the soulkin, but his words did nothing to ease my pounding pulse.
The horses continued to gallop toward the fireball, which darkened as it stretched to form a ring. Through its opening lay an indigo sky dotted with silver stars.
“I need to close my eyes when we reach those flames.” My voice trembled.
The vibrations of his chuckle reverberated against my back, and I leaned against him. “Relax.” His deep hypnotic voice filled my ear. “Let me take care of your needs.”
Flames crackled in the air, making it hot and dry and dusty. I peeped through my lashes as we passed through a tight ring of fire, and suppressed a scream.
The horses’ manes ignited and the carriage picked up speed. Even the wheels caught fire, spitting out flames as we raced through the night sky.
Hades threw his head back and laughed, his firm arm pulling me into his chest. “I’ve missed this.”
“Don’t you get to ride your chariot?” I peered down at the busy streets of London, which seemed a mile below, and winced.
“It’s been a hundred years since I took it into the Human World,” he said. “Over two thousand since I rode with a passenger.”
I leaned against him, enjoying the feel of his strong heart beating against my shoulder. “If everything goes well tonight, then maybe you’ll have more time to do things you enjoy.”
“Or people.” The arm around my waist tightened.
My body melted into his touch. Tonight wasn’t just about gaining power. It was about making allies with enough of the Monarchs of Hell to subdue the threat of Samael. I inhaled a deep breath, filling my lungs with fresh air.
Green Park stretched out beneath us, sandwiched in between the grounds of Buckingham Palace and St James’s Park. A hexagonal building that I’d never seen on any map of London stood in the middle of the greenery.
I pointed down at it. “What’s that?”
“The Angel King’s London headquarters.” He leaned forward and growled. “More importantly, who the fuck are they?”
Five figures emerged from the trees on broomsticks.
“Angel hybrids come to confront an intruder?” I asked, my voice filled with hope.
“Any angel daring enough to approach two monarch-level demons would fly up to us on white rings,” he said, his hand a ball of fire.
It took me a second to realize that the second demon he’d referred to was me. I was about to object to being labeled as such, when one of the figures accelerated toward us, his pale face held in a mask of grim determination.
My eyes bulged. “Pirithous?”
“Who the fuck is that?” he snarled.
I gulped. “Our butler.”
“Shit!” Hades pulled on the reins, making the horses release ear-piercing neighs.
Rapid breaths heaved in and out of my lungs. “One of those riders must be Mother.”
Chapter Twenty
I gripped the crossbar with my free hand, clenched Hades’ bident with the other, and glowered down at the butler speeding toward us.
He met my gaze, his eyes shining silver with determination, his gloved hands holding the broomstick’s handle like he was trying out for a role in the Harry Potter movies. Locks of long black hair swept across his face, and the tails of his jacket billowed in the wind.
“Pirithous,” I yelled. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“My duty, Miss Kora,” he shouted back. “The mistress has been distraught since you were taken and wishes for your return.”
I shook my head. “Go back to the surface before you get yourself killed.”
Hades patted my arm. “Don’t bother trying to convince that skinny bastard. See the way the moonlight picks up his eyes? He’s under a sex thrall. Demeter probably hasn’t allowed the poor bastard to cum since the turn of the millennium.”
I wrinkled my nose, resisting the automatic urge to defend Mother’s honor, but what on earth did I know about what she and the coven did during the ceremonies I was never allowed to attend? Pirithous was always eager to play the sacrificial man.
“What should we do?” My voice shook. I was furious with Mother, Pirithous, and the coven, but I wasn’t about to attack them when they were vulnerable. And not before I knew the truth.
Hades pointed a glowing finger toward the butler’s head. “One blast of lightning should disrupt the magic of their brooms.”
My lips tightened. Would this be when Hades blew a hole through Pirithous’ gut, turned to me, and said ‘whoops?’ I elbowed him in the gut, but only managed to activate my funny bone.
“Mother’s down there,” I hissed. “And I’m not letting you kill anyone else.”
“If by ‘Mother’ you mean the wretch who held you captive for two millennia, corrupted your soul, erased your memories, and made you believe you were dying—”
“You will not make them fall to their deaths.”
“If only it were so easy to get rid of Demeter’s coven of bitches,” he muttered. “Their broken bones will knit together eventually, and one of the angels down there will take pity on their broken carcasses.”
With one final glare at him over my shoulder, I yelled, “I’m not letting them get hurt!”
Hades lowered his hand, and the lightning sparking from his finger receded into his skin. The horses galloped higher, closing the distance between us and the convoy of attackers, and some of the pressure around my chest subsided.
The moon darkened to a deep orange and turned completely black, save for a ring of silver light. I leaned forward, staring at our destination. This had to be a portal into the pocket realm.
“Your coven’s fate might not be up to us in the end,” Hades said, his voice light.
“What are you talking about?”
He chuckled, the sound cruel and harsh. “They’re about to spook the hellsteeds.”
Lightning streamed from his hands and traveled down the reins like sparks flying off a dynamite fuse, before reaching the horses with a zap. They threw their heads back and neighed with guttural fury that raised every fine hair on my body.
I whirled around, meeting his smiling eyes. “You did that on purpose.”
He placed his fingers on his chin and stared down at me with a look of wide-eyed innocence. “Was I wrong to give the helpless beasts a chance to save themselves?”
“You didn’t have to electrocute them,” I snapped.
“Look.” Hades turned me around to where the horses now charged down toward the broomstick ride
rs, blowing fire from their open mouths. “Now they’re free to retaliate against their attackers.”
“What was wrong with outrunning them?” I turned back to shoot him my filthiest glare.
Hades tilted his head to the side and offered me a warm smile. “Is this our first marital spat?”
“You’re such a—”
His brows rose. “A scoundrel, a blackguard, a rogue? I’ve heard it all before, Persephone, but any insult from your sweet lips will taste like summer wine.”
My brows drew together. Had Hades regressed again? “Umm, what are you doing?”
“Don’t forget you’re playing a role tonight,” he said into my head.
I narrowed my eyes. “So our bond is working now?”
He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into his chest. “I never said it wasn’t.”
“Then why didn’t you reply to any of my attempts to communicate?” I gave him a hard prod in the abs. “Don’t lie and say you couldn’t hear me because I was standing right next to Captain Caria when you gave her orders.”
“Because your voice in my head was too painful to bear,” he said out loud.
My face went slack. “Because I burned you with my lightning?”
He shook his head. “I used to think that grief was the most painful thing in the world, but it’s hope.”
“Hope?”
“The hope that you will decide to stay with me at the end of the bargain. The hope that you’ll fill our bond with your voice again.” He shook his head, his dark eyes shining with pain. “My future is in your hands. You have the power to exalt me with your love or bury me with your rejection.”
I pressed a hand to my chest. “Who are you talking about?”
“You,” he replied, his voice low. “After two thousand years of silence, hearing you speak back to me and knowing that it’s temporary is agony.”
My face grew hot, and the backs of my eyes stung with tears. “You didn’t tell me this.”
“I hoped the garden would convince you there was more to Hell than prisoners and plots.” He turned his gaze toward the glowing ring of moonlight.
