Lexi's Fate

~21~

Hades had heard enough. He loved Kade without conditions, but he was not going to stand by and let his son seduce the goddess he had claimed for himself. When he walked into the stable, Kade had Lexi cornered, and her wide-eyed expression gave away her anxiety. 

"And what kind of demonstration were you planning, Kade?" he said as he approached.

Kade casually stepped away from Lexi, and she hurried over to Hades, slipping her arm around his waist. The gesture offered the reassurance Hades was hoping for, and he responded by pulling her even closer.

Kade's eyes glinted as he crafted his excuse. "I was just suggesting how Lexi might bring her horse to the underworld. She's concerned the poor thing will waste away during her absence. You know how that feels."

Hades ignored Kade's taunt, putting his energy into the dilemma of Lexi's horse, which had been on his mind as well. "Were you suggesting Aristaeus might be of assistance?" 

"I was."

"There are a number of risks, but it's still a viable option. If Lexi thinks Jackie O would be up for it."

"I'm willing to try anything," she offered. "How long will it take Aristaeus to get here with a stallion?"

"If he's not preoccupied, I can have him here by tomorrow morning," Kade said. "Just say the word and I will head for Olympus straight away."

Lexi glanced at Jackie O, clearly contemplating her choices. "That's very thoughtful of you, Kade, but I don't want to mess up your holiday."

"If it makes you happy, Lexi, I will do whatever you want." The provocative tone in Kade's voice rang familiar to Hades, and it took a great deal of restraint to keep the scowl off his face.

"Okay. Thank you." Lexi lifted her wine glass as a token of her gratitude, and Kade bowed deeply in a sign of obedience. All the gesturing made Hades want to add one of his own, although he didn't think it would be well received.

Kade left the stable and Hades released a breath he'd been holding in. Lexi set her glass on the table and turned to Hades, taking both his hands in hers. "You have impeccable timing." 

She leaned into his mouth and kissed him, offering her tongue as a wine drenched aperitif. Hades accepted it as adrenaline rushed to his groin where it met the curve of her pelvis, and he imagined the beautiful flesh that lay beneath the fabric of her jeans. He ached to take her there in the stable. To show her the meaning of obedience. Hadn't she made him a promise when she put him down for his nap? Would she be open to it after her unsettling discovery in the hay loft?

Then she whispered an answer to his unspoken wish. "I need you like the sun needs the horizon." With a tug on his hand, she led him to a door beneath the staircase. Behind the door lay a small room filled with horse tack, a ladder back chair, and a desk. She pushed him into the chair and reached for a length of rope looped around a hook on the wall. 

As he sat submissively, she tied the rope to a rung of the chair. Then she circled him, unraveling the rope as she went and binding him to his seat. The devious smile she wore had his manhood hardening like clay in the sun. 

"I have been thinking about all the times I've surrendered to your requests," she said, speaking the words like a seductive threat. "And I have decided it's time I took the reins."

He smiled up at her, wishing he could reach out and pull her onto his lap. "You have always had the reins, my lady."

Her hands moved swiftly as she wound the rope around his chest, pinning his arms behind the chair and tying a knot that had him quite secure. All the while, his heart pounded at the thought of being subdued by this spirited goddess, a goddess who, a mere three months before, had never been kissed. Her sexual prowess had grown by leaps and bounds, which he gave himself some credit for. But the fire that sizzled beneath her polite posture was all her own, and he loved the burn.