“You’ve accomplished that goal,” she assured me. “What do you have planned?”
“I’m taking you to Lucifer’s island,” I explained. “He’s letting us use his suite, and we’ll have access to his private beach.”
She squealed and threw her arms around me. “You’re taking me to the Caribbean?” Naturally, she didn’t give me a chance to answer. “I’ve never been there. This is so exciting. When do we leave? What should I bring?”
I chuckled at her excitement. “Everything is arranged.”
She hugged me again. “Thank you, Hades. I know you don’t like going out as often as we do, and it means a lot that you’re doing this for me.”
“I don’t mind going out when I’m with you.” It was the truth. The places we went might make me uneasy at times because I was used to being alone, but as long as I had Persephone by my side, I was happy.
Chapter 69
Persephone
I’d only been to the beach a few times in my life. I’d grown up near a lake, so I’d spent plenty of time in the water, but it wasn’t the same. The beaches I’d been to were nothing like Lucifer’s private beach. The water in the Caribbean was beautiful. It was an incredible shade of blue, and the sand on the beach was soft and white. I even had a sparkly blue drink.
“This is amazing,” I told Hades before adding, “I’m not sure I like this swimsuit. It’s very small.”
Hades flashed me a wolfish grin as his eyes moved over my body covered by the tiny green bikini. “It looks incredible on you.”
“What little of it there is,” I added.
Hades gestured to his own body. “You can always skip the suit like I did.”
As my gaze moved along his body, I gave silent thanks for his decision to strip naked as soon as we got to the beach, even though it was making it hard to have the conversation I’d planned regarding my living arrangements.
“I’m a little more modest than you are,” I replied.
“We’re on a private beach.” His argument about the private beach would be more convincing if two waiters hadn’t already stopped by to ask if we needed anything.
“I’m still going to keep everything as covered as this swimsuit will allow,” I told him. “Thank you for bringing me here. This was a wonderful surprise.”
“I had an ulterior motive,” he admitted.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“I want to make sure you understand that you can still go places while you’re staying in the demon realm.” He sat up and rested his arms on his thighs as he watched my reaction. “It’s not a prison sentence.”
I smiled at him and sat up. “It seems we were both thinking about the same thing today. I was actually going to ask you about living arrangements when I got back to your place, but you surprised me with this trip. There’s no reason to think I’m in danger.”
“True,” he agreed. “I could argue that you’re always in danger, to some extent, because of your connection to me.”
“And to Azrael,” I pointed out.
“Probably more so because of your relationship with Azrael,” he replied. “Part of me wants to use that possible danger to get you to stay with me.”
“I wouldn’t like being manipulated that way,” I told him.
“I know,” he agreed. “Relationships aren’t my strong suit.”
Reaching out, I placed both hands on one of his. “You’re doing great. Every morning, I have fresh zellafruit. You’ve taken me on some amazing dates, including this day in the Caribbean. I’d say relationships are definitely your strong suit—this relationship, at least.”
“I’m trying,” he replied. “You grew up around humans, and you’re a witch, so I need to think about those things. Failing to consider Evangalina’s witch heritage was one of Rainer’s biggest mistakes.”
“I don’t see how he could forget Evie’s witch side,” I muttered. “Rainer is a warlock, so he understands it better than you do. Sorry, let’s not talk about Rainer and Evie. You were saying?”
“Will you move in with me?” He quickly added, “Not just move in with me, but be with me. Bond with me. I love you, and I don’t want to spend a single night away from you. It’s safe for you to go home now, but I’m hoping you’ll consider my home your home.”
Chapter 70
Hades
Waiting for the woman you love to respond when you’ve asked her to spend eternity with you is a form of torture. Persephone’s hesitation was less than a minute, but it seemed like hours.
“By bonding, do you mean witch or fallen angel?”
Her question made me smile. I should have guessed she’d have questions.
“Fallen angel,” I replied. “If you want to do a witch bonding ceremony, we can, but I honestly prefer to avoid your council.”
“No, that’s fine,” she assured me. “I’m not interested in attending a long, boring council meeting just so they can perform an affinity test first.”
“We don’t need one of those,” I argued.
“As I’m sure you’ve already figured out from the council meeting you attended, the COWs like to stick with boring procedures, and they don’t react well to any deviations,” she stated.
“Cows?” I asked. “Since when do witches follow instructions from cows?”
“Council of Witches—C-O-W,” she explained. “My boss always refers to them as the COWs. I like it.”
I laughed at her response. “I like it, too. It would probably piss them off.”
“I’m sure it would,” she agreed. “Anyway, I’d rather avoid dealing with them if possible. This fallen angel bonding sounds better. Beatrice said it’s a lot like what she expected a witch bonding to be, but with no audience.”
“I’m not sure how a witch bonding normally works,” I admitted. “My magic has been drawn to yours several times when we’ve lost control together. It’s been a struggle to keep it from trying to bind itself to yours.”
Her expression was thoughtful as she considered what I’d said. “There’ve been times when I’ve felt the tug of your power before you’ve reined it in. I didn’t understand what was happening, but I should have. I understand how these things work—in theory, at least.”
“So, will you agree to allow our magic to be bound together?” I asked.
“I want to get married.” Her reply surprised me, though it shouldn’t have. Lucifer had married Beatrice. The practice was common among witches and humans, so it only made sense that Persephone would want a wedding. It was something I should have anticipated.
“I should have proposed to you,” I grumbled. “This is the perfect place for a romantic proposal.”
She blew out a frustrated breath. “Can you please stop worrying so much about being romantic or making everything perfect? Don’t get me wrong. It’s great, and I enjoy the attention, but I don’t need this all the time. I also don’t want you acting like someone you aren’t. You’ll be miserable if you spend all your time questioning your own actions.”
“A proposal is still important,” I argued. “This is one area where I need to do this right.”
“No,” she insisted with a laugh. “The wedding is for my parents. They’re old-fashioned, and they will want to see some sort of ceremony. This will be easier than going through the witch bonding process. Beatrice also told me a little about her bonding with Lucifer, and I definitely don’t want my dad witnessing something like that.”
Hades chuckled. “That would make even me uncomfortable. Are you honestly telling me you don’t want me to propose to you?”
“Yes, consider this decided,” she replied.
I grinned. “So, you’re going to move in with me and be mine in every way imaginable.”
The shudder that ran through her body was proof she was thinking about all the delicious ways I could possess her body.
She cleared her throat before speaking. “Yes, but we need to discuss details first. I’m not quitting my job, and I don’t want to feel like I ca
n’t come and go as I please. My movements have been limited while you’ve been worried that I’m in danger. How will it be when I’m not in danger?”
I let out a sigh because my answer wasn’t going to be exactly what she wanted to hear. “You aren’t a prisoner, and you never will be.”
“I’m sensing a but in your response,” she muttered.
“The demon realm isn’t always a safe place,” I replied. “There are areas you simply can’t go alone.”
“Because I’m a woman?” she asked.
“Because you’re not a fallen angel or a demon,” I replied. “If you go to those places, I’ll need to arrange for guards to accompany you, and there are some areas you can’t visit without me. This isn’t about gender. That may seem hard to believe, with the way Lucifer coddles Lucy, but that’s got nothing to do with her gender. He’d be the same with a son. I’m sure I’ll act the same if we have children.”
“Do you want children with me?” she asked.
It was my turn to fall silent. The only discussion we’d had regarding children was about how to prevent one from being conceived.
“We suck at this communication thing,” Persephone grumbled.
“Sorry,” I told her, leaning in to rest my forehead against hers. “I haven’t thought much about having children.”
“But you have children,” she replied. “Have you forgotten your daughters, Macaria, Goddess of Blessed Death, and Melinoë, Bringer of Nightmares and Madness?”
“You really know your Greek mythology, don’t you?” I asked as I studied her.
“It’s always fascinated me,” she admitted. “Especially stories about you.”
“Macaria and Melinoë are myths,” I replied. “I’ve never had any children. Do you want children?”
“I always imagined myself having children,” she replied softly. “I imagined I’d live in a cute little yellow house with a dog and two children.”
“So, you want children,” I replied.
“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Finding out I’m related to Azrael and thinking about living in the demon realm are big changes. I don’t know if children would fit into this new vision I have of my life. You still haven’t answered my question about how you feel about the subject.”
“I’ve never admitted this to anyone,” I said in a quiet voice. “When I first heard the myths of my daughters, I felt an ache in my chest. I was lonely, and I wanted those daughters to be real. This was before the curse, when I still thought I was happy alone. It seemed I was always wrong. When Lucy was born, I was jealous. So, yes, there is a part of me that wants children. At the same time, I often wonder if I have what it takes to be a parent. I’m not sure.”
Chapter 71
Persephone
I threw myself into Hades’s arms, and he cradled me close.
“What did I do to earn this kind of reaction?” he asked. “I want to make sure I do it again.”
“I was worried that this was going to turn into one of those awkward discussions where we both realized we want different things,” I replied.
“Instead, we realized that neither of us knows what we want,” he added.
“That’s not a bad thing,” I insisted. “We’re both open to the idea, but not sure what we want. For now, I want to focus on us.”
“We do have plenty of time,” he agreed.
“Exactly! I’m only twenty-five. Witches can live over a thousand years.” My mother was over two-hundred years old when she had me.
“Has Beatrice talked to you about what it means to bond with a fallen angel?” he asked.
“Not too much,” I replied.
“Once we’re bound using fallen angel magic, you’ll be as timeless as I am,” I replied. “It’s possible you already are because of your angel blood. Your mother hasn’t aged since the last time I saw her.”
With all we’d discussed, that revelation shocked me most. I wasn’t ready to even consider the possibility of being a timeless being. I couldn’t figure out why Beatrice had kept something that huge from me. Then again, it might make her uncomfortable for the same reasons it made me uncomfortable. I had many friends who would live finite lifespans. Having grown up around humans, it was likely easier for me than it was for Beatrice. I’d known my friends wouldn’t live nearly as long as I did. I’d also known that I’d have to leave my human friends at some point before they realized I wasn’t one of them.
“Are you okay?” Hades asked softly as he stroked my hair.
“I’m okay,” I assured him. “I may need another romantic getaway to recover from this one.”
“Sorry, baby,” he uttered. “This is a lot to talk about. You’ve already had so much to deal with recently.”
I smiled and shook my head. “You make it sound like I’ve been under an enormous amount of stress. The most stress I had was when you were avoiding me. Remember, I was never as worried that I was in danger as you were.”
“True,” he agreed. “I should have just let you enjoy our romantic getaway.”
I waved off his concerns. “If you hadn’t brought it up, I was going to. We needed to have this talk, and aside from the eternal being part, none of it has caused me any real stress.”
“You are an unusual woman,” he murmured as he shifted me so I was cradled against his chest and he was looking down at me. “Most would be happy to learn they’re going to live forever.”
“You only say that because it’s all you know,” I argued. “I’ll bet Bea hasn’t told me any of this because she’s still adjusting to it.”
“You might be right,” he agreed. “So, are you going to live with me? Bond with me? Marry me? That last sounded strange.”
I giggled. “It did sound strange coming from you. All the more reason you shouldn’t propose to me. Yes, to all of the above.”
Hades quickly stood with me in his arms and stalked toward the private elevator to Lucifer’s suite.
“Where are we going?” I asked with an innocent bat of my eyes.
Hades chuckled. “Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m about to do to you. You aren’t that innocent.”
Chapter 72
Hades
Had it been up to me, I’d have taken Persephone right there on the beach, but she wouldn’t have gone for that. Once I had her in the room, I spun her and pressed her back against the door before kissing her. It wasn’t a gentle kiss. I didn’t have it in me to be gentle at the moment. The rush I had was similar to when I was victorious in battle. Persephone had agreed to bind her magic with mine.
“Nothing will ever take you from me,” I murmured against her mouth as I reached behind her to try to undo her swimsuit. I ended up tearing her top off, but I didn’t care as long I could touch her. My hands cupped her breasts while my thumbs brushed against her hard nipples.
Persephone wasn’t a passive participant. One of her hands reached between us to grip my dick. I groaned, loving the way she squeezed with just the right pressure. Soon, a second hand joined the first as she did her best to make me lose my mind. She gripped and stroked my throbbing dick while I continued to toy with her nipples.
Neither of us could focus on kissing, but our lips remained touching, our breaths mingling. I needed to get her hands off me before I completely lost control, but they felt too good to stop her. When Persephone dropped to her knees in front of me, I surrendered to my arousal. I reached down to cradle her face in my hand, and she looked up at me with a smile filled with wicked delight. The little temptress knew what she was doing.
Her tongue swirled around the tip of my cock, and then she looked up at me. “I love your body.”
“I love it when you touch my body,” I uttered. “Put your mouth on me.”
Her lips wrapped around my dick, sliding up and down the length of my shaft. She took me as far into her mouth as possible before sliding my dick out and teasing the edges of the tip with her tongue. She knew exactly how to touch me.
Her hand gripped my dick as she
pulled back slightly to mouth the words to a spell.
“Stop,” I rasped out, interrupting her spell. “I’m not sure I can take anymore.”
“What if I promise to let you repay the favor when I’m done with you?” Her voice was teasing, but I heard the excitement. Our game was definitely turning her on.
How could I possibly refuse her offer?
I nodded. “While you’re teasing me, I want you to think about all the ways I’m going to make you scream when you’re done.”
“Oh, goddess.” Her words were little more than a breathy whisper, and her green eyes were filled with passion. Persephone was definitely thinking about how I’d repay the favor.
Her focus returned to my dick after she finished the spell I’d interrupted. As her tongue moved along the head, occasionally sucking it into her mouth, the spell caressed and squeezed. I was certain the spell would kill me, but I was helpless to complain. If I had to die, this was the way I wanted to go.
“That feels incredible,” I praised as I gripped her hair.
Between her tongue and the spell, I was already on the verge of coming. When her nails scratched my inner thighs, it sent me over the edge.
“Fuck,” I ground out as I came hard.
Chapter 73
Persephone
I loved pleasuring Hades with my mouth. The rush from the power I held over him and the joy I got from fulfilling his desires were a heady combination.
When I looked up at him, I expected to find him watching me with a relaxed, sated expression. Instead, he had a look of determination. Arousal rushed through me, making my core throb. He looked strong, dangerous, and incredibly sexy.
He pulled me to my feet and lifted me off the ground. My hand immediately went to his chest as I looked up at him.
“You look wild,” I whispered. “It’s a good look for you.”
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