“I expect I’ll manage just fine as long as you’re by my side.” He doesn’t wait for a response. He just sweeps me into his arms and claims my mouth. I eagerly go up onto my tiptoes and wrap my arms around his neck. I’m aware of the snapping of cameras and the rise of whispers, but I don’t care.
When he finally lifts his head, I’m clinging to him to avoid my legs giving out. “Come home with me.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t just mean today. I mean for good. Move in.”
“I know that’s what you mean.” I smile and press a quick kiss to his lips. “And my answer is still the same. Yes to everything.”
Epilogue
Hades
“Are you ready?”
Persephone grins up at me, but it’s her happy smile—her real smile. “You’ve asked me that a dozen times in the last hour.” She bumps her shoulder into mine. “Are you nervous?”
Nervous is too mundane a word. In the last two weeks since stepping out of the shadows and into the glittering vipers’ nest that is the upper city, I’ve had a lot of adjustments. Persephone has been at my side every step of the way, expertly guiding me through each media interaction. I don’t know what I’d do without her.
I hope to the gods I never have to find out.
But tonight? Tonight is just for us.
“I’m not nervous,” I finally say. “If you’re not ready—”
“Hades, I’m ready. I’m more than ready.” She looks at the door leading into the playroom. It’s too soundproofed to be able to hear the people gathered behind it, but we both know they’re present. Waiting.
Persephone takes a breath. “How do I look?”
It’s another question she’s asked half a dozen times since I walked into our room and found her getting dressed. “You look like perfection.” It’s the truth. She’s left her long, blond hair loose and done something to give it waves, and she’s wearing Juliette’s newest creation. It’s another black dress that hugs her body, dripping down her neck in a halter top and skimming over breasts and stomach and hips to flutter about the tops of her thighs. It’s also backless, and every time she turns around, I have to fight the urge to go to my knees and kiss the dip at the bottom of her spine. “Little siren—”
“I’m ready.” She bounces up and presses a quick kiss to my lips. “I’m really ready. I promise.”
I take her at her word. “Then let’s go.”
We’ve already talked about how this will go. I’ve played it out for her step by step. There are times when surprise is part of the game, but I don’t want anything to ruin Persephone’s night. Our night. Not when this feels like a particularly meaningful step in the midst of a pair of lives that have been turned upside down.
I lead the way into the room. Once again, it’s set up to my specifications. The furniture surrounding the dais has been moved back a bit, a clear indication that this is meant to be a show and not an invitation to participate. The lights are down low and every spot is filled.
Persephone’s grip on my hand is loose and trusting, and she happily follows me as I weave through the chairs and couches to the dais. Before I can give her one last chance to change her mind, she steps easily up and into the light. She gives me a look over her shoulder as if she knew exactly what I’d been about to do. I bite back a grin and follow her up.
The lights give a different sort of privacy than the shadows do. I can see every inch of Persephone, but the rest of the room is a blurred glare. Another adjustment that can be made later on if this becomes a repeat thing; tonight, everything is orchestrated to ensure she has the best time possible.
I point to the center of the dais. “Stand there.”
“Yes, Sir.” She says it primly, as if there isn’t a wicked smile already curving her lips.
I circle her slowly, building her anticipation. Gods, she’s so fucking perfect, I can barely believe that she’s mine. That she’s made me hers as surely as if she’d tattooed her name on my very soul. I would do anything for this woman. Conquer the upper city. Knock the other Thirteen from their ivory towers. Give another endless interview with a gossip columnist.
I flick the hem of her dress, making it flutter around her thighs. “If I flip up this dress, am I going to find that you have no panties on?”
Her smile widens. “Only one way to find out.”
“In a moment.” I manage not to grin at her blatant disappointment and step closer to slide my hands up her arms, over her shoulders, to cup her face. I lower my voice, speaking just to her. “You have your safe word, but if you want this to stop at any point, just tell me. It stops.”