They had not been apart long, but the anger and betrayal between them made it feel like months. His fingers itched to touch her, to help her out of her dress, to ignore the past few days of fury and frustration in favor of something far more pleasurable, but even he knew that was foolish, because all those feelings would be waiting on the other side of that intimate high.
Her dress puddled around her feet, and her skin glowed softly, bathed in the warmth of her lamplight. She straightened, dressed only in black lace, but before she could remove that too, she must have caught sight of him, because she glanced his way and startled.
“Please continue,” he implored, leaning against the wall opposite her.
Despite his frustration with her, he’d happily watch her strip, especially knowing he was soon to be the recipient of her anger, given what he’d come here to do.
She stared, speechless, and he wondered what she was thinking as her eyes roved over his body, but there came a time, all too quickly, when she met his gaze, narrowed her eyes, pressed her lips tight, and bent to pull her dress up, holding it to her chest as if they were not lovers at all but strangers.
That simple act made him feel many things but mostly hopeless.
He offered a humorless laugh. “Come now, darling. We are beyond that, are we not? I have seen every inch of you— touched every part of you.”
A tremor shook her, but at least she did not cringe.
“That doesn’t mean you will tonight,” she snapped. “What are you doing here?”
Hades’s impatience made his body vibrate. Why did she feel entitled to anger? She had defied him.
“You are avoiding me.”
He wondered how long it would have taken her to return to the Underworld if he had not sought her out tonight.
“I’m avoiding you? It’s a two-way street, Hades. You’ve been just as absent.”
“I gave you space,” he argued, because he’d assumed that was what was best, yet Persephone rolled her eyes. “Clearly that was a bad idea.”
“You know what you should have given me? An apology.”
She tossed her dress aside and whirled around, heading into the bathroom, where she removed the rest of her clothes. Hades followed as she stepped into the bath and sank into the steaming water. She didn’t seem to mind the heat, though it had already turned her pale skin a bright red. She kept her knees pressed to her chest, and as he spoke, her arms tightened around her knees.
“I told you I loved you.”
It wasn’t as if he had hoped to keep Leuce a secret for malicious reasons.
As selfish as it may have been, he hadn’t wanted to admit to turning her into a tree. It was abhorrent behavior and something she had criticized Apollo for.
“That’s not an apology.”
“Are you telling me those words mean nothing to you?”
She tilted her chin, anger flashing in her eyes. “Actions, Hades. You weren’t going to tell me about Leuce.”
“If we are going to speak of actions, then let us speak of yours. Did you not promise me you wouldn’t write about Apollo?”
He knew he was being a little unfair, but of the two things they were discussing, Apollo took precedence. He was a god with power and a taste for blood.
“I had to do it—”
“Had to? Were you offered an ultimatum?”
He couldn’t keep the bite from his voice, and his tone drowned out the part of him that was actually concerned she might have faced some kind of demand from her job. New Athens News was owned by Kal Stavros. At his question, Persephone looked away, setting her jaw.
“Were you threatened?” he continued.
She did not respond. She was digging her heels in against his anger.
“Did any of it have anything to do with you?”
She stood from the bath without warning, water rippling off her body, and clutched a towel to her chest.
“Sybil is my friend, and her life was ruined by Apollo,” she said, standing so close he could feel the heat coming off her body. “His behavior had to be exposed.”
Hades inched closer, tilting his head as he did.
“Do you know what I think?” he whispered furiously, letting his arms fall to his sides, fingers curling into fists to keep from touching her. “I think this is all a game to you. I pissed you off, so you wanted to piss me off, is that it? One for one—now we’re even.”
She scowled. “Not everything’s about you, Hades.”
He gripped her hips and drew her close, voice rough. “You promised me you wouldn’t write about Apollo. Is your word worth nothing?”