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“M-miss Eloise… Nobody calls me Miss,” she slurred.
“Very well, Eloise. It’s time to go to bed.”
Eloise closed her eyes and swayed in her seat. “Yes, that m-might be best.”
Hades took a step closer and hauled her into his arms. Eloise squeaked but didn’t struggle.
He walked toward the staircase, the guards following after them.
Eloise raised her arms and wrapped them around his shoulders in an attempt to hold on to him.
Gooseflesh covered Hades’ skin. He wasn’t used to people touching him. He didn’t like the sensations they brought up in him. The only person he had ever allowed to touch him was Ava, and only to bandage his wounds. But he held Eloise close, as if afraid she’d fall off and break a bone if he didn’t.
She was so tiny and light in his arms that he easily ascended the stairs to the second floor. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and the wig came off her head, tickling Hades on his chin. He nudged it away, his lips and nose grazing her forehead in the process. Hades couldn’t help but get a whiff of her hair. Despite spending the night drinking with the criminals, she still smelled like a summer meadow.
The wig fell to the floor, and Hades had an inexplicable desire to burrow his nose into her hair, to kiss her forehead. He shook the foolish thoughts away.
He opened the door as he reached Eloise’s bedroom and walked inside. Hades slowly and carefully deposited her into her bed. Eloise didn’t let go of his shoulders as she lay down, forcing Hades to sit on the bed beside her.
She finally disengaged herself from him and leaned against the pillows, studying him with a frown on her face.
“You thought I wouldn’t be able to spend an entire day with them, but I did,” she slurred.
“Yes, I am well aware,” he said.
“Are you aware they’re afraid of you?” she asked and cocked her head to the side.
“Yes, I am aware of that too.”
Eloise reached up and traced her finger against his scar. “I wonder why.”
Her touch scorched his skin, heating him to the bone. He caught her hand and gripped it tightly with his fingers. Her pulse beat an even staccato against his fingers. She was relaxed and not at all scared of him. Probably the result of her inebriated state.
“Because,” he said slowly. “I am a monster.”
“Monster? Hm… I do not see a monster in you.”
Hades reluctantly let go of her hand. “Then you must be blind.”
She settled comfortably against the pillows. “What did you do that was so horrible then?”
“I’ve done plenty. None of it is for your ears.”
Eloise narrowed her eyes in thought. “Verity was telling me about all the horrible things clients do to them in Hades’ hell. Are these the terrible things you have done?”
Hades was taken aback by the question. Were the clients abusing his harlots? And they didn’t see fit to tell him! “What terrible things?” he growled.
She shrugged, her eyes closing. “Sticking their genitals where they do not belong.”
Hades blinked. “How do you know they don’t belong there?”
“It doesn’t feel like they belong there. Why would genitals need to be in a woman’s mouth? That’s disgusting.” She shivered. A smile threatened to break out on Hades’ lips, but he squashed it. “Have you done the same thing to many women?” Eloise asked.
Hades waited a beat, wondering if he should tell her the truth. She probably wouldn’t remember it by morning. “No. I have not,” he said.
“Will you do it to me?” she said with a yawn.
Hades almost choked on air in surprise. He cocked his head to the side. “Why would I?”
