He considered what he would do first, which likely would be pressing his mouth to hers and drawing her thighs apart. He would slide his fingers along her core, then sink into her silken heat. They would both moan because of how long it had been since they had become lost in each other.
And after she was spent by his hand, he would draw her into his lap, take out his cock, and help her ride him until he came inside her so hard, she could taste it in the back of her throat, and even in that aftermath, he would lay her down and put his mouth on her clit and revel in how she tasted like him.
He shifted in his seat, his cock hard with these thoughts. There was a certain relief that came when they arrived at Nevernight, knowing he would soon be out of this suffocating cabin where their emotions were too high and too heavy. Persephone must have thought the same thing, because she was out the door before Antoni could open it. Hades followed as quickly as he could, but not before she fell on the hard cement sidewalk.
“My lady!”
“I’m fine,” she said as the cyclops offered a hand to help her to her feet, though as she shifted to sit, they both saw what a mess her knee was. It was more than a scratch; the skin was broken and blood welled in large bubbles, sliding down her leg.
She stared at it and frowned, then looked up at them. “It’s okay. I don’t even feel it.”
She tried to stand twice, during which Antoni moved behind her just in case she started to fall. When it was clear she wasn’t going to get up on her own, she took a breath.
“You know, I think I’ll just sit here for a little while.”
This was getting ridiculous. Hades realized she didn’t really want his touch, but he wasn’t going to wait outside while she sobered up, especially
while she was bleeding, so he gathered her into his arms and carried her into Nevernight, nodding to Mekonnen, who had come outside to hold the door open for them.
He took her downstairs into the empty club, having closed nearly three hours ago. Persephone had definitely been out later than usual. He headed behind the bar and sat her down before lifting her onto the counter. Then he reached for a glass and filled it with water.
“What are you doing?”
He pushed the glass into her hands. “Drink.”
To his relief, she obeyed, which left him to focus on cleaning her knee. He felt far less frantic about this wound—it was nothing like witnessing her body perforated by thorns. Still, that thought did not help him here, because it reminded him of how much danger she was in even from herself.
He removed his jacket and filled another glass with water to use on her injury. He would have used his magic to heal her, but it had to be clean first, so he set to work, folding a cloth to go under her leg before cleaning away the grime. Once he was finished and the area was dry, he healed it. There was a strange relief that came with seeing her whole.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He had not heard those words in a long time. He took a step back until he could lean against the opposite counter, drawing his arms over his chest. He stared at her in her leaves and her lace. She was beyond stunning, and as much as he liked the outfit, there was a part of him that wanted to rage that so many had witnessed her in it before him.
“Are you punishing me?”
She frowned. “What?”
“This,” he said. “The clothes, Apollo, the drinking?”
She looked down at the dress and back up at him. “You don’t like my clothes?”
That is not what I said, he thought as he stared at her. Then he noted the defiant set to her mouth as she pushed off the counter and reached for the hem of her dress.
Hades stiffened…everywhere. “What are you doing?”
“Taking off the dress,” she said.
“I can see that,” he said, eyes narrowing, though he tried not to smile.
“Why?”
“Because you don’t like it.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t like it.” His voice lowered.
But he wasn’t going to stop her, and once she stood naked in front of him, his eyes made the climb from the apex of her thighs where curls darkened her center, up her stomach to her breasts, which hung heavy and round. His mouth watered and he swallowed hard.
“Why weren’t you wearing anything under that dress?” he asked, because as fucking hot as he found it, he couldn’t help remembering where she’d been before she was here.
“I couldn’t… Didn’t you see it?”
Oh, he’d seen it.
“I’m going to murder Apollo,” he muttered.