Page 5 of On a Pale Horse
He reached out and pulled her forward by her upper arms. “You didn’t push me. I wanted you. I keep trying to make that clear.”
Her eyes rounded, and she swallowed. It was enough of a reaction to send heat through his veins. He leaned in and nipped her bottom lip. She gasped, parting her lips in response, so he flicked at the same spot with his tongue before whispering against her mouth. “I keep telling you how much I want you, and you keep backing down. Pretty soon, I won’t give you a choice. I’ll do something so drastic … you won’t be able to resist.”
She cleared her throat, and pride urged through him at the hitch in her voice. “And what would that entail.”
This time he didn’t play. He captured her neck and pressed his lips into hers, so she had no doubt. When he released her, he relished the dazed look in her eyes. “Guess you’ll have to wait and see.”
He stepped around her, grabbed his phone, and left before he could fall into a puddle at her feet and work his way from her delicate ankles to under her dress. There was only one place he might feel comfortable today. He closed his eyes and took himself to the alley behind The Black Horse Caffe.
Bianca had yet to return to work, but Katherine refused to sacrifice her touchstone to humanity. The minute she arrived back in town; she reopened her shop. Hades grabbed a seat at the bar top, but a woman already sitting two seats down turned and began staring. He shifted and snapped open his paper to make it clear he was busy, but she scooted her handbag from the chair next to her and slid over one seat. Then a moment passed, and she slid over until she sat next to him.
He looked up and gave her a nod, trying to be friendly, hoping she would take the hint.
Decidedly not when he felt a warm palm caress his inner thigh.
“Ma’am, please don’t touch me.”
It made his skin crawl when people touched him without permission. A flashback threatened to drag him under when Katherine came over and slapped her towel on the countertop with a snap.
The woman jerked upright, removing her hand.
“I’ll get your bill,” Katherine told her, and the woman glanced at him like she’d just missed out.
Thankfully, she didn’t touch him again, nor did she try to put her number down. Joining humanity had its downside. He barely went out in public because of that exact reaction. At least once a day, a woman would try to get him into bed or feel him up in some way or another. It frustrated and disgusted him. He wanted to be a regular guy, but as the former ruler of the Underworld, he also had to accept that would never happen.
“What are you having?” Katherine eyeballed the woman all the way out the door.
“Just black coffee and a croissant, please.”
Katherine smiled, a genuine smile, and grabbed a mug from the counter below. “How are you?”
He nodded. “All right, I suppose. How are you? It seems finding companionship of your own has done you some good. You look really happy.”
She glanced toward a back table where Arwan sat with stacks of books, almost obscuring him from view of the cafe. “I am happy. He’s absolutely insane, but I’m falling in love with him.”
Hades swallowed the threat of emotion rising in his chest and focused on answering her. “Good. I’m glad. You deserve to be happy. We’ve all been through a lot this year.”
Katherine nodded and slid the food across the countertop. “I hope you can find it, too, one day.”
Hades said nothing. The Horsemen were a close-knit group. They knew each other’s secrets, desires, and dreams. It pained him to think they all knew what he wanted, and Cloris held back from him. When they first started exploring, moving their relationship further, it had been a hundred years ago. They’d never discussed exclusivity, and on more than one occasion, he had to watch or listen to someone satisfy the needs Cloris wouldn’t allow him to sate. That ended tonight.
He took a quick sip of the hot coffee and glanced over at Arwan, immersed deep in a book.
Sometime later, Arwan shouted from his book fortress in the corner of the deserted coffee shop. Hades had finished combing over the classifieds, a fascination of his, so he closed the paper and turned to the newest member of the apocalyptic team. “I take it you found something.”
Arwan glanced across the stack of books as if waking from a dream. “Yes!” He hopped up, barely skirting the chair next to him, on his way to Hades. He shoved his chin length hair, away from his face in excitement.
Hades jerked away before the enormous book landed on his hand.
“Look.” He shoved the book toward Hades.
Hades dipped his head and tracked down the page that appeared to be in a language he couldn’t read. Which was odd since he could speak and read any language known to man. “Umm… You’re going to have to tell me what it says.”
Arwan didn’t miss a beat. He dragged the book back and read through it quickly before raising his eyes to Hades. “It says the Horsemen can give up their powers.”
Behind him, a glass mug hit the floor and shattered. Hades spun to catch sight of Katherine ducking down to clean it up. “I better call the others,” she said apologetically. A hint of fear—or was that hope? —in her eyes.
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