Page 72 of Hades’ Revenge

He slammed into me, banging me into the wall until he roared out his own release. Pressing his lips to mine, he moved inside me, but with slower, more deliberate thrusts. He loosened his grip on me as we continued to kiss, exploring each other with our tongues.

“I can’t get enough of you.” His labored breaths slowed. “When we’re together, I don’t ever want to stop.”

“What did you say to me?” I spoke against his lips. “You spoke to me in Greek again.”

“Hmm.” He lowered me to my feet as he swiped his lips across my neck. “I don’t know.”

“It sounded so beautiful. How could you not know what you said?”

“I know what I think when we’re together, but I don’t know what I say out loud and what I keep to myself.” He smirked as he adjusted his pants and raised the zipper, leaving them undone. “Not everything is for your ears. There has to be some mystery.”

How does he make everything sound so sexy?

“I’ll have to look up the word kardia.” I bent down and scooped his dress shirt off the floor. “Since you won’t tell me.”

“Heart.” He helped me into his shirt. “It means heart.”

“What about your heart?” I hadn’t thought to ask him about health issues. “Are you okay?”

“You have got to be the most inquiring woman I’ve ever met.” He sat on the plush couch overlooking the stormy, city sky. “Come and sit with me.”

“I’ll sit with you if you tell me what you said.” I smiled, turning the tables on him. “You know, like for a price?”

“You’re learning.” He patted the seat next to him. “I must be an excellent teacher.”

“You’re an excellent everything.” I cuddled into his side and tucked my legs underneath me. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”

“I feel the same way about you.” He stroked my hair. “I definitely wasn’t expecting you.”

“Aren’t you glad you got that tattoo?” I rubbed the skyline on his forearm. “It’s what led me to you.”

He gazed out at the buildings in the distance. Is he thinking about his old life? The one before he was banished? Or was he happier that he had reinvented himself?

“What does the tattoo mean?” I asked, recalling how my father didn’t want to discuss it.

“I thought we were talking about what I said a few minutes ago?” He cupped the side of my face. “I can tell you what I said in Greek, or I can dredge up the past and give you a history lesson.” He frowned. “You can’t have both.”

“Why does it seem like you don’t want to share either with me?”

We hadn’t had much of an opportunity to really get to know one another. It had only been a few weeks since we met and nothing had gone smoothly since he arrived in New York.

“When I spoke in Greek, I said I needed you.” He touched his forehead to mine. “My heart needs you.”

“Oh.” I gently kissed his lips, thankful that he chose to tell me what he said in a foreign language instead of the meaning behind an old tattoo that probably meant nothing to him.

“It sounded better in Greek, right?”

“It sounds wonderful any way you say it.” I could live with the intrigue that surrounded him if he kept telling me stuff like that. “This has been the best birthday I’ve ever had.”

“I can do much better than this.” When he laughed, I melted. “You didn’t even have cake.”

“Who needs the calories?” I giggled, but I was known to love a decadent dessert. “Sex with you was much better than any piece of cake.”

“I appreciate that, but I know a fantastic baker back home.” He reached for a small, black box sitting on the coffee table in front of us. “He’ll make you whatever you want.”

I did feel bad that I didn’t get to taste the cake my mother had ordered for me. I always had a banana cake with chocolate icing. But that wasn’t my fault. I wanted to co-exist, but if my parents couldn’t accept Sebastian, I couldn’t compromise, especially now that I knew they were trying to marry me off to Christopher.

I might have expected that from my dad, but what the hell was my mother thinking?