AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Soft hands wrapped around her fingers as she reached to remove her veil, gently pulling them away and placing them at her sides before untying the girdle of Artemis around her waist.
Her heart raced as his fingers worked through the knots, the baubles on the ends of the ties smacking into each other as he tore through them and removed it, tossing it to the floor near the foot of the bed behind him.
Slowly, his knuckles brushed the inside of her arms as he traveled back up to her head to remove the veil. Fire shot across her skin at his light touch, heating it’s way up her chest and neck as he smoothly removed the veil, letting it float to the ground at their feet.
The nerves that had bundled in her stomach and rang in her ears all day melted away as she was enveloped in the fresh, minty scent wafting off Hades this close, their eyes boring into each other.
Persephone wiped her hands on her dress and reached up for his crown, carrying it over to the table and setting it beside her own. There were light footsteps behind her and his hands were in her hair, tenderly removing the symbols of fertility that had managed to get under the veil, and tearing through the intricate braid giving her a headache.
The relief was immediate. As the weight of her hair fell down her back, she moaned and fell back into Hades—but he wasn’t there. She caught herself before falling to the ground, embarrassment colouring her cheeks.
He was across the room, standing at the hearth with his back to her, staring at the flames as they danced circles around one another.
She took a shaky breath and began removing her jewelry. Unhooking the golden chain of her necklace, sliding the earrings from the small holes in her lobes, and placing them in the blankpyxison the table beside the bed. The thin bracelets were easy to slide off as she cupped her hands into themselves, the gentle sound they made as they cascaded down her arm and onto the necklace and earrings.
Cursing herself for choosing easily removable jewelry on the only night she would wish it to take long, she faced the back of her husband’s head. Not waiting for him to turn around, she began unwrapping the dyed-purple cloth draped around her body and letting it fall to her feet.
It dropped with a light whoosh, causing Hades to finally turn back to her. His eyes quickly dropping to her feet, now covered by a mountain of dark fabric. As he lazily made his way up her body and settled his gaze on her eyes, she tried to look anywhere else.
But she couldn’t bring herself to look anywhere but at him as he surveyed her body. She shuddered under his unyielding eyes, drinking her in as his eyes roamed over her breasts and down again.
Naked. In front of the King of the Underworld. Who was her husband.
Her husband.
When he still hadn’t moved, still hadn’t spoken, ice-cold embarrassment flooded through her body and she bent to redress, an apology already forming on her lips. It was cut short by his hands roughly grabbing her by the wrists.
His face was grim, his mouth set in a hard line. His eyes so sharp they cut into her soul, froze her where she stood. Sharp breaths smacked into her face as his breath quickened, the warmth of it on her cheek mixed with the grip he had on her wrists made her head spin.
She leaned forward, if he wasn’t going to kiss her, she wasn’t afraid to get this started. And over with.
“Get dressed,” he ordered and let go of her wrists.
Speechless, Persephone straightened and did not bend to dress again. The embarrassment she had felt moments before evaporated with the anger that boiled in her stomach at his rejection. Forgetting entirely about her nudity, she rounded the end of the large bed and stalked toward Hades, who had retreated back to the hearth.
“Why?” She tried to sound as commanding as he did, but it came out as a whimper.
He didn’t bother acknowledging her.
“Too many courtesans?” She hissed under her breath in case anyone was listening too closely at the door, this time with more conviction. “Well, I’ll be looking forward to meeting the number of them that surely walk these halls.”
The flames set his entire face aflame and highlighted his indifferent expression. She wanted to slap that look off his face.
“You seemed eager enough to remove my veil and the ridiculously complicated braid that was in my hair,” she gestured wildly to her head, “why stop? Just,” she reached for him and he stepped away, “let me do my duty as your wife.” She reached for him again and this time he didn’t step out of her reach.
Trailing her fingers down his arm to grab his hand, she pulled him closer, dropping his hand between her thighs as she kissed the exposed section of his chest. Kissing along his collarbone as she moved his fingers to slide up, up, up her thigh and—
Hades shoved her back, a chair scraping across the floor to catch her before she could hit the ground and he dropped to his knees before her. Grabbing the legs of the chair he pulled her toward him.
“You are not merely a wife,” he spat the word out like hot, greasy pieces of meat burning his mouth. He leaned over her, his hands softly trailing up her outer thighs as his mouth reached for hers. “You’re a queen now,” he murmured against her skin as his nose grazed up her neck, making her back arch beneath him. She reached between them, the air between them hot and heavy, her hand gently cupping his cock through the cloth. “Stop acting like a maiden with no self control,” he said against her mouth, their breath mingling.
For a second his words didn’t register, her head was too cloudy with desire to decipher what he was saying. She had just spread her legs open more when she realized what he said.
And that he was no longer in the room, and her hand was empty, cupping empty air in front of her.
“Dramatic bastard,” she yelled, standing and kicking the chair over.
§
