Page 12 of Winning Back Persephone (Jinx Paranormal Dating Agency #9)

PERSEPHONE

With dinner over and no more excuses for how to prolong the evening, I made my way to the front door. I knew I needed to leave, but I lingered in the hallway. Hades met my gaze, his intense brown eyes boring into me and making me feel as if the whole world no longer existed.

"I should..." I waved at the door, knowing he'd understand what I meant.

He nodded. "Let me get it for you."

My breath caught in my throat as Hades moved past me, bringing with him the scent that I'd associated with him for a long time. Most of it came from the same perfumed body oil he'd been using since before we'd met, and all it did was make me want to move closer to him.

"Hades." My voice cracked as I said his name, and I wasn't sure what I actually wanted to tell him. There had been so many things sitting on the tip of my tongue the entire evening, and right now, the urge was almost so strong that I couldn't ignore it at all.

"Yes?" He turned, and I realised just how close we were together. My breathing came a little ragged, and I tried not to think too much about what was going to happen next. Or how much I wanted it.

I had no idea which of us moved first, but his lips were against mine in a soft kiss that spoke of the years we'd spent together. It ignited every particle in my body. I reached for him, cupping his cheek with my hand and then through his hair, moving down to his arms and feeling the lean muscles beneath his shirt. He didn't have the imposing form of some of the other gods, but I knew as well as anyone that there was more beneath the surface than most people realised.

The kiss broke, but we didn't pull apart. Heat radiated from his body, seeping into me and making me want more of what I couldn't have.

"Sephie..."

"Don't talk," I murmured. "Just don't think about it."

"No."

I pulled back. "What?" Had he ever said no to me before? I was sure there had been plenty of times, but it certainly felt as if this was a first.

"I don't want to not think about it, Sephie. If we're going to do this, then you need to tell me it's what you want. And you have to know it's what I want."

I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to say. Being so close to Hades was making every part of me respond. I wanted to be closer to him, to feel his arms around me and to hear his voice whispered against my skin. "I want this."

"I do too," he responded. "But only if you're sure."

I nodded and leaned in to press my lips against his again. It wasn't soft this time, it was demanding and full of all the things I desired. I wasn't going to let him believe that I didn't want him.

He pulled away, and for one horrible moment, I thought good sense had broken through and that he was going to say that this was a bad idea and I should go.

Because it was a bad idea, and I should go. I just didn't want to.

I reached for Hades' hand and wasted no time pulling him down the corridor to our bedroom. His bedroom. I had to remember that this was no longer my home.

The room was exactly like it had been two years ago when I'd last been in it, down to the same bedsheets on the bed, though knowing Hades, they would have been changed within the past couple of days.

He pulled me to him and kissed me deeply, warmth spreading through me in response. His fingers brushed over my shoulder, pausing at the strap of my dress. He pulled back, meeting my gaze as he pushed it down.

My breath caught in my throat, and it seemed to break the tension hanging in the air. He kissed me deeply, and our hands became more frantic. My dress hit the floor, then his shirt, my underwear, everything. It was desperate in a way that it hadn't been for a long time.

He pushed me back onto the bed, both of us out of breath. He met my gaze, trailing his hand over my shoulder, brushing my hair out of my face.

"I haven't been with anyone else," he murmured.

"Neither have I," I responded, knowing exactly what he was getting at with the statement. I doubted either of us had thought to bring a condom with us, especially as the evening had never been intended to end like this. And it wasn't as if we'd kept any in here when we were together.

"Good." He kissed my throat, and anticipation shot right through me. There was no stopping what I wanted, and I reached for Hades' head, tangling my fingers in his hair and pushing him downwards.

He chuckled, the sound travelling right through me and turning me on more. He didn't need me to say anything else about what I wanted and followed my directions in the way only someone who knew me would. Someone who had worshipped me thousands of times and filled me with all of the best feelings.

"Pass me the pillow," he said, taking it from me as soon as I did and settling it under me.

A jolt of desire passed through me, knowing that meant he intended to take his time once he'd settled between my legs. He hooked his arms under his knees and pulled me closer, dropping his head so that his breath fanned against my inner thigh.

Even though he hadn't touched me yet, a small gasp escaped me, and when his tongue finally started to trace patterns over the sensitive skin, it became impossible to think.

I tightened my grip on his hair, urging him on more as he reached my core. Every movement was practised, taken from years of knowing what to do to drive me wild. I leaned back into the bed and enjoyed how good it felt to not have to tell him what to do. Not that I'd been in bed with anyone since we ended things, but one of the things that put me off actually dating was knowing that I'd have to try and communicate all of this with someone new. Hades just got me.

My thoughts fled as he used his tongue to add pressure to just the right spot. I gasped and pushed myself against him. It only encouraged him more, and he went faster and faster until I was barely able to breathe, and my thoughts were only fragments of what they were.

I cried out as he drove me over the edge, and the release crept over me, making every part of me respond. My body shook, and I gave myself over to the pleasure even as Hades kept going, prolonging my release and causing the next to start building. I knew from experience that this one would be even more intense, and I did nothing to stop him.

Noises I barely recognised slipped from my lips as white hot desire shot through me. I tightened my grip on Hades' hair and on the bed sheets beside me as my body flashed hot and cold, and my whole world became very small, full of nothing more than the pleasure brought to me by the attention Hades was giving me.

My mind went completely blank, without a single thought making through as the pleasure stretched into every small part of my being. My legs tightened of their own accord, keeping Hades in position until my second release had run its course. This one lasted longer until I collapsed back onto the bed, breathing heavily and feeling like I'd never be able to move from this spot ever again. I certainly didn't want to move. It was warm, and there was pleasure to be had here.

Hades moved to the side, a satisfied grin on his face.

"I take it you still like the same?" I murmured.

"You mean seeing you fall apart? I'm a fan," he responded, trailing his hand down my arm.

I let out a satisfied sigh and managed to shift onto my side. I pushed his shoulder so he ended up on his back. Neither of us needed to talk about what we wanted to do, we'd been here enough times to be certain about what each other wanted. I straddled him, feeling a deep sense of anticipation travelling through me as I felt his hard length against my leg.

I reached between us, taking him in my hand and guiding him to me.

Hades let out a groan, his eyes glazing over slightly as I lowered myself onto him, letting him fill me in a way only he could. Not that I had much to compare the feeling to, I only knew that this was good, and being with him felt right.

I rested my hand on his chest and used the leverage to rock back and forth. My body was still sensitive from my releases, and this only increased the feelings more. Hades smoothed his hand up my leg, his touch only urging me on. I lost myself in the rhythm of the moment and the sensations it brought with it.

"Sephie," he murmured beneath me, the tone telling me that he was close. I moved faster, urging him towards a release of his own.

He groaned, his hands gripping my hips as he held me to him as he came.

I collapsed onto the bed beside him, exhausted, satisfied, and hoping that there was going to be more to come once we'd had time to recover because this wasn't going to be enough. There was no way it could be when we fit so well together.

Hades pulled me closer to him, slipping an arm around my waist. I shuffled back into him and he kissed behind my ear in a tender way. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the comfort and how close it made me feel to him.

Being with Hades felt right, even when I pretended that it didn't.

"I love you," I whispered so quietly that I doubted he heard. It didn't really matter if he heard, I just needed to say the words, to have them out in the universe so that at least someone knew how I felt, even if I wasn't actually ready to admit it yet.