Page 4 of On a Pale Horse
It was a simple arrangement. Cloris entered the kitchen past Charon and squeezed his arm on the way. She stopped dead in front of Hades and eyed his hand holding the coffeepot.
“Did you make that or did Charon?”
Hades suspected they didn’t like his coffee. “Charon did.”
She raised one perfect eyebrow, calling him out on the lie without a word.
“Fine. I did. What’s wrong with my coffee?”
“Nothing at all, My Love.” She grabbed his mug off the counter and took a sip. “One just needs to brace for impact when drinking it.”
He grabbed another cup from the cabinet and followed the pair into the library. They usually sat around it in the early morning hours, drinking coffee, and reading the paper. It was a piece of normal Hades loved about living in the human world.
“Are you going to the club today?” he asked Cloris, taking a seat across from her.
She looked up from the book spread on the mahogany table. “Oh, yes. This afternoon. We have a selection of new members tonight. I want to monitor them.”
He nodded. “I’ll come too.” She gave him a small nod and returned to her book.
From what he could tell, she had no reaction to how things went down the previous night. He continued his study of her as she read and drank her coffee. He needed a plan. A way to tell her, in absolute terms he wanted her. He closed his eyes and clutched his mug to his chest. An idea hit him like a lightning bolt. He even jerked forward, bumping the table. Two pairs of eyes locked on him, and he stood abruptly to leave. He didn’t say a word. They would find out his plan soon enough.
He marched down the hall toward his room, or study, but Charon called it the man cave. His phone sat on top of a stack of papers. He grabbed it and dialed the only person he could think of to help.
A sleepy voice answered, “What?”
“Bianca. I need you to tie me up.”
There was a long silence. “This is Hades, right?”
“Yes.”
“Well, okay. What time do you want me to meet you at the club?”
“How does ten sound? Go to room nine. I’ll leave it unlocked for you.”
“Sounds kinky. See you then.”
He let out a long sigh and sat the phone gently on the stack of papers again. This was a little like going from the paddling pool to jumping off the high dive into the deep end. He considered it for a moment, the way Cloris’s eyes would darken at the sight of him. There was no way she couldn’t react to this, and he couldn't wait to see it.
“Boss?” a deep, heavy voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Not your boss anymore, Charon. What’s up?”
“I’m going to go with Cloris to the club tonight.”
Hades shrugged. “All right.”
The man looked like he might expound but thought better of it and left the room with a duck of his head under the door frame. Hades ran his fingers into his curls and smoothed the errant strands away from his face. Now he had to figure out what to do with himself all day.
A light knock came from the door, and he glanced up to find Cloris there. “Hey.”
She shuttered her eyes and walked forward on her stilettos. A study in perfection. Part of him wanted to unravel her, dishevel her. “What are you up to?”
He pushed his phone across the paper with a finger. “Nothing, just trying to figure out what to do with myself for the day.”
Cloris stalked around the desk to stand in front of him, only inches away. The soft scent of lilies rose from her skin. White Easter lilies. She always smelled like that, even fresh from the shower.
He was about to speak when she began first. “Look, I’m really sorry about last night. I didn’t mean to push you…”
