Page 30 of On a Pale Horse
Hades poured her a cup of coffee which she accepted with a small smile.
“Do we need to talk about it?”
Her smile grew wider and he loved the idea that he put that smile there. “Talk about what? Destroying every reflective surface in the house so he doesn’t come back?”
He snorted coffee and it burned. Once it cleared and Cloris stopped laughing, she said, “Not unless you say you won’t do it again.”
Something in him lightened. As if he’d been holding his breath waiting for it all to be real. “What? Anything in particular you wanted more of?”
She shook her head as she sipped again. “All of it. And more if you have it.”
He leaned up and kissed her cheek gently before heading toward the library to find the paper. Now if they could get rid of Hel once and for all then he’d declare life to be pretty perfect.
With the paper already in the middle of the table, Hades assumed Charon had come and gone for the day. He settled into his usual spot and sipped on his coffee. Cloris came in a few moments later and took up her usual spot as well.
It was a familiar scene and yet today it felt weighted. As if this were the life Hades was meant to be living all along. He’d squandered the time he had with Cloris before, and he never made the same mistake twice.
Flipping the paper on to the table he set his mug on a sideboard before standing. Cloris glanced up, then resumed reading the financial section. It wasn’t until he eased a line of kisses up the back of her exposed neck that she gave him her full attention.
“Good morning,” he whispered. Still with his mouth mere centimeters from her skin.
He continued his ministrations until his lips met her hairline. She twisted in the seat and reached for him drawing him in, but he didn’t kiss her like she wanted. Instead, he took his mouth to her neck trailing kisses and nibbles down the sensuous curve he was learning to love in an entirely new way.
“We have things to do,” she said. It came out breathy and not all together convincing.
He chuckled and continued, leaning in further as she wrapped her hands into his hair. God, he loved the feel of her fingers on his skin. Even more so when the sharp bite of her nails expressed her pleasure there. If she left a mark, he’d be happy for it.
He ran the flat of his tongue up the length he’d bitten and kissed a trail down before finally turning her face to take her lips. The strong coffee lingered in her mouth and his. It was like a jolt of morning endorphins laced with caffeine.
“I want you right here, right now.” Once upon a time he might not have been bold enough to make such a declaration to her, but the need in her eyes told him she wouldn’t refuse him.
“Will you talk to me?”
He paused as he reached down to grab the hem of her black tank top. At one point in his life his abilities had been a curse. Every time he’d spoken a word Hel would punish him until he lapsed into silence for years at a time. It was a while after he joined the Horsemen he even felt comfortable speaking again. This twist in situations threw him. He loved the pleasure it could bring her but at the same time the ability was tied to some torturous memories.
He must have hesitated too long since her voice broke the static threatening the calm peace he’d garner a few moments before in Cloris’s arms. “Sorry, what?”
Her eyes were shaded, the mask of arousal no longer lightened her features. As he focused on her, he could easily see the mantle of death. No one would be able to stand up to that expression, the power radiating from her. “I asked if you were all right. You went somewhere. I think I know. I’m so sorry I pushed you too fast.”
The panic in her voice ate at him, and he had to pull away. “You didn’t know. I have this under control. We’ve moved past this.”
But a terrified part of his heart worried if he was saying these things to convince her to convince himself. He’d thought the therapy was helping and that he’d gotten through it. The virginity was no longer a barrier. Now all that lay between them was his past, and their present. As well as a tenuous future he feared losing because he couldn’t keep himself in check.
He tried to paste a smile on, but he knew Cloris wouldn’t buy it. “I don’t know what just happened. I was standing there into it and then you said that and suddenly I was right back there again. I couldn’t stop it from happening. I don’t want to lose you, or this,” he gestured between them, “us. And everything we’ve worked hard to achieve together.”
She stood and knelt down in front of where he’d thrown himself in disgust. His legs curled under him, his hands fisting on top of his thighs.
Cloris brushed curls out of his face gently. “Listen, we don’t have to do this all at once. I know you’re tired of waiting. But we can take it slow and steady. That doesn’t mean going backwards.”
She ran her hands up his thighs to grip him around the waist before pulling herself into his lap. With Hel still on the fringes of his mind, he feared touching her, but as soon as her arms enveloped him, and he pressed his face into the hollow of her breasts, and he was home. The blaze of fury, heat, and revulsion that blasted through him with the memories began to subside, and he spent a moment breathing in the scent of her skin, falling into the hot press of her hands wrapped around his neck.
He loved her. So much it hurt to think about, to consider. The breadth of it exhausted her and he didn’t know if he was worthy of it. But he didn’t tell her. Not now, not like this.
She murmured soothing noises into his hair. He couldn’t make out the words, they didn’t matter, every sound calmed him body and soul. After a while she asked, “Are you okay? Better? Want me to make you something to eat?”
He chuckled and she leaned back to look at his face. “What?”
“The idea of you cooking.” He laughed again, and she swatted at his arm before joining him in laughter. Cloris was definitely not a cook. She could order mean takeout, but she could not identify a frying pan from a soup pot if her long, long life depended on it.
