Sundown

IX

Persephone woke as the sunlight crept across her face, wondering if the night before was the best sleep she'd ever gotten. It wasn't the first time she'd slept in his arms, but after months away from him and all the time spent sneaking around, it was long overdue.

She blinked her eyes open and looked at the empty sheets on the bed next to her. She sighed, stretching her limbs out, her hand connecting to something with a dull thud. She gasped, pulling her hand back as the sheets shifted.

"Should I expect you to punch me in the neck every morning?" Hades whispered, lying invisible next to her.

"Why do you keep doing that?" she whispered back, reaching blindly for him, her fingers brushing clumsily across his face.

"I heard her wake outside. I didn't want to risk being seen." She turned her body towards him, finding his shoulder and pressing her palm against him.

"A big scary king, afraid of one little nymph?" she teased as their whispered conversation continued. Hades appeared before her.

"Big, scary, king?" She pressed her lips together, trying to suppress a smile.

"The scariest."

He disappeared from her sight.

"Come back!" she whined, reaching for him again. He put his left arm across her torso and lay his head on her shoulder.

"The longer I'm invisible, the longer I can stay. In case someone comes in."

"You should probably get rid of this then," she said, pulling the sheets off of him, so there wasn't a shape in the sheets.

"I think yours can go too," he said, pulling the sheets off her her, "to avoid suspicion."

"Suspicion?" she challenged, though she certainly wasn't opposed to removing a layer between them.

"Of course," he whispered, his breath hot on her skin. "What would this look like?" He left his hand wander down across the front of her body. She flinched and giggled.

"Shh," he reminded her, hearing the nymph stir outside. She took a deep breath and settled, letting his hand wander up and down her side.

As much as Hades was ready to have his wife back as the queen of his realm, he would miss mornings like this. Her hair a mess, her limbs askew, her gaze soft from sleep, all illuminated by the sunlight. She was lovely anywhere, and she brought light with her to the Underworld. But when the sun shone on her, her raw, natural beauty was radiant.

He quickly lost track of such thoughts as his hands explored over her dress, relishing the feel of her curves under his touch. He lingered over her breast, taking its fullness into his palm. She wriggled beneath him as his thumb brushed across her nipple, pressing tight against the fabric. He flattened his palm, his long fingers venturing across her stomach, down her hip to inside her thigh, back up across her stomach, then back down to her other thigh.

"Stop teasing," she complained with a whisper, wanting him to satisfy the growing tingling between her legs.

"Patience," he cooed, taking her left leg and propping it over his leg. His hand slid down her knee back inside her thigh, lingering there before finally brushing the soft material of her dress over her sex.

She sighed in satisfaction, arching towards him. His fingers stroked her slowly, top to bottom, over and over again. Persephone's breathing quickened, loving his languorous touch but wanting him to press harder against her.

Persephone frowned when he moved his hand away and traced across her leg. He carefully took the end of her dress and pulled it up above her knees, a cool rush of air between her parted legs.

"What if someone comes in?" she asked, feeling exposed.

"I'm a big scary king," he reminded her, putting his hand back between her legs. She quickly forgot to be embarrassed when his fingers made contact with her most delicate skin.

Internally, Hades cursed. She was already wet, his fingers gliding easily over her lips. He worked over her slick folds with his hands while he watched her face, transfixed at the arousal clear on her face. Normally vocal and expressive, she struggled to keep quiet, squirming beneath him with. Short, staccato ah's passed her lips as it quickly became too much for her.

"Easy," he said gently, nuzzling against her shoulder and taking his hand away to give her a moment to catch her breath. He brought his hand up to her face, brushing his fingers across her lips, still covered in her essence. She took his fingers in her mouth with a mischievous smile.

Hades inhaled sharply: this was quickly getting out of his control. He pulled his hand away rougher than he intended and placed his now damp fingers over her entranced and hovered there. Eager, she pushed on his hand with her own, urging him on. Not needing much more encouragement, Hades pushed his index and middle finger into her.

Persephone's grip on his hand tightened as she threw her head back. She hummed in satisfaction, clenching around his fingers. He loved that she trusted him like this with her body: vulnerable, exposed, at his mercy. He took masculine satisfaction knowing every expression on her face directly correlated to pulling his fingers in and out of her, getting a reaction out of even the smallest of movements. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her lips parted, taking quick, shallow breaths in an effort to stop herself.

"Hades," she rasped, feeling climax coming closer and closer. "I need you to..."

"I know," he murmured against her skin. "I know." Continuing with his fingers within her, her stroked her bud with his thumb. She grasped at the bed sheets beneath her, her toes curled tightly. She bit her lip so hard she thought it might bleed, her cry muffled by her closed mouth.

Nearby, Demeter was awake, and something seemed wrong. She watched the nymph outside of Kore's room skeptically. She looked awfully well rested for someone who was keeping watch all night. Demeter walked up to her, ignoring her greeting and pushing past her into Persephone's room.

"Kore?" Demeter called out and she burst through the door. Persephone jerked upwards in bed immediately, startling her mother.

"Yes?" she answered, looking disoriented. Demeter eyed her: dress bunched at her thighs, sheets wrinkled and cast off to either side of her, sweat beading her forehead, hair wild and matted to her neck.

"Are you alright dear?" Persephone squinted at her, trying to come back to reality.

"Yes?" Demeter didn't seem convinced. "Mother, is everything okay?"

"Oh, I..." she stammered, now the one struggling to come up with answers. "I just wanted to know if you were awake. I'll give you a chance to get up." Persephone nodded, her mother leaving her.

After a few beats passed, Hades squeezed her, chuckling lowly. She fell back against the bed.

"That was too close!" Persephone insisted, elbowing him in the side.

"Perhaps now you see why I choose to be invisible?"