The bed was warm, which was something Hades had missed.
At his side in a bed unused since the death his beloved Persephone, Alessandra slumbered soundlessly. Her dark locks splayed against the sheets, her body nude and partially covered by the silk fabric that clung to the lower portion of her frame, leaving her topside exposed. Smiling, he couldn't help but marvel at the wondrous being that he'd made love to.
Beautiful, Hades thought.
He prompted himself on one elbow as he continued to gaze at her, dreading that he would have to leave so soon. He needed to go back to Olympus. Sharing a piece of his power-his soul-and forging a bond with Alessa stripped away his strength. He needed to be in good standing condition if he were to go back to the work that needed to be done.
But, still.
He couldn't find the capability to leave.
Casually running his long fingers through the soft wave of her hair, he guided a section off of the crook of her neck, and down the bend of her shoulder. Alessa stirred, wiggling to his touch, her body trembled in response to that single, intimate touch, and then her eyes opened. Eyes like sapphires stared long and heartily into his. A part of her couldn't believe this was real-she was alive and that for one moment in her life, she didn't feel cursed. This morning hadn't felt like any other she'd ever woken up to before.
Copying his pose, she lifted her head and placed it on her palm. And because he didn't even try to conceal himself, Alessa's eyes trailed down his torso all the way to his lower section until she stopped at his member. "This definitely isn't a dream." She blurted.
Hades chuckled breathily; he enjoyed being this way with her so open and carefree without the fear of rejection because she'd accepted him finally. His smile, although rare, was fitfully rewarding as it'd come from a place of pure bliss and it pleased Alessa to be the one that'd given that to him. Their emotions were in sync as were their souls that now functioned on the same frequency, the weight of it was heavy with the love that filtered between them, and her breath caught in her throat.
She knew in that moment, as well as last night that she was in love with this man. She didn't need all the time in the world to fall for him, but it was the actions on which he showed her that proved his feelings were the same.
He made her feel like everything she did was by her own choice, and while she was use to life as a princess, she had felt like the curse kept her from enjoying her life. It was poetic that the same man who made her suffer for his own selfish reasons had been the same man that set her free. Though none of that mattered, Alessa wanted to forget everything that had happened, all the deaths that she caused, and focus on the future.
She couldn't return to the place she called home, she couldn't fix the things that went wrong, and she accepted that.
She made a new family with Hades, Winnie, and even Gemma, the woman who saved her life. Though she hadn't quite found the time to thank her for that yet.
"This is real. We are real." Hades liked how he was able to show more affection towards her. Their hearts had been calling for each other all along, and now their love was solidified.
"What comes next, Hades?" Alessa asked. Wrapping the covers across her chest, she tucked it under her arms to hold it in place. She didn't see the need in concealing her body from a man that'd only just explored it merely hours ago, but with the way his eyes became hooded and his expression mirroring the one he had last night when he was making love to her, she knew what would come.
"Well," Hades began as he lowered himself to her, capturing her lips for a chaste kiss that surprised her. "I have an idea about what I want to happen next."
In one swift movement, Alessa was on her back and Hades was above her. She placed her hand over his mouth before he tried to plant another kiss. "This isn't what I meant."
He pouted. "We make love again whenever we want, we collect souls, and we live out eternity together. The end." He playfully nipped her fingers.
She yelped, and snatched her hand away. Sighing, Alessa voiced her next concern, "We aren't hiding what we are to each other, are we? I don't want to speak wrongly in front of Winnie."
Hades was taken aback by the confession. She should wear her new title proudly, and yet her self-consciousness got the best of her. Alessa felt almost embarrassed but that wasn't really the correct term for it. She was just confused and didn't know what to expect. Hades however was a bit offended by that but he had to remember that she came from a place where things were often done in secrecy and announced at the appropriate time. "No. Everyone already knew you were mine. I have done the one thing no God is supposed to do."
And then there was the issue of the rules. Who knows how many he'd broke for her? With his position being far greater than hers, she knew there were rules in place that Hades had broken. It was different, and she still didn't understand it completely, but she knew her entrance into the Underworld didn't bode well with the people that Hades had portraits of back at the manor.
She would learn though, for him she would learn how to be at his side. The feeling of power was better than the feeling of the weakness she harbored when her life was dictated daily. "What did you do?"
"I cheated the inevitable for personal reasons." He answered. "I vowed to take life, judge it accordingly, and deem it to the light or the dark when that soul passes into my realm. I am a guide, a mere observer. I can't change that fate or anyone else's, but I did for you." He admitted, feeling as if he was justified to have her. He would've fought until his very last breath for her because he what he did was risky. So much so that it would've led to a civil war with his brother, and the balance of life would change drastically depending on the outcome.
But they didn't know the truth.
Neither did Alessa.
"When was I supposed to die?" She hadn't thought to ask though it'd been on her mind. Her mother hadn't made that deal with the God of the Underworld for nothing.
Hades closed his eyes, repositioning himself so that he was sitting upright on the edge of the bed. "You were born sick, weak, the doctors didn't know how to save you, but I did. There was no time, and I felt like my window of opportunity would be lost if your mother hadn't agreed for me to take you. I wouldn't have blamed her if she let you die, it was a costly bargain, and she made the choice that any mother would make. I knew from there that I owed a great debt to her."
Alessa watched his shoulder sag over and his head fall into his hands. She almost felt instinctually angry with him, but there was no use. It was the past and she didn't have the choice. Frankly, she didn't know what she would've chosen herself had she been given the choice. Alessa tasted the salty tears that leaked from her eyes and trailed all the way to her mouth. She hadn't even realized her tears fell. "You saved me." She found herself saying. "And you allowed me to know my mother. For that, I thank you."
Hades' spine became stiff, disbelieving what he heard. But he realized that'd been what he needed to hear all along. He let go of an unconscious guilt that he harbored so long for keeping Alessa hinged and off limits to unforeseen forces that'd triggered his paranoia.
Hades whipped around, placing both of his hands on either side of her face and kissed her. She deepened the kiss; her tongue begging for entrance that momentarily stunned him seeing that she was more forthcoming than he remembered. He opened his mouth and their tongues clashed along with the urgent movements of their bodies. Hades made quick work of removed the sheet around her and laid her down.
With their mouths connected, Hades used his hands to explore her. He was relentless, clutching one of her breasts in his hand; he messaged it until her nipples hardened. Only then did he break the kiss to take her breast in his mouth. He sucked impatiently, desperate to those soft sounds that would escape unchecked.
Alessa arched her back, pushing her chest into his mouth. With her other hand, she clasped his and guided it to her other breast. Then he suckled the other one. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to be ravished and honored in such a way. He was gentle and kind to her and he only ventured as far as she permitted him to.
But she wanted more.
She spread her legs, feeling him settle warmly between the wetness already lapping at her folds. Hades hissed, his member throbbing and inching into her plush entrance, but he had other plans. As much as he wanted to mount her again, he wanted to prolong this and give her the pleasure she sought.
He crawled backwards until he was between her legs. Her sumptuous entrance glistened, but her legs trembled with anticipation. At the first lick, she opened and he began his feast. His tongue was ruthless, diving in and out of her with quick movements. She tasted so sweet and so her; he didn't know how else to explain it. He couldn't get enough and he wanted more. He inserted one finger, earning a very satisfied moan from Alessa as her hand snaked in his hair and tugged on the strands. She spasm once; but encouraged him to keep going.
"That feels so good." She rushed out, rocking into his mouth. "Yes, keep going."
The tiny sounds that she made spurred him on. He drew back a little to tease her some more before latching on again and silencing her quick sounds of protest to his absence.
"Hades . . ." She panted, her breathing coming in short and hurried. "Hades . . ."
He hummed his approval as he continued. He reached down and clasped his member in his hand in hopes to ease to ache that'd begun. He throbbed and wanted so desperately to be inside of her, but this wasn't about him. He wanted it to be about her.
"Ah, oh, oh, yes!" Alessa shot up, clutching his hair as she found her release, plowing back down as the waves of ecstasy wore off.
He climbed back on the bed, pulling her closely to his chest. Alessa pressed two kissed to his chest before reaching to grab him. Hades intercepted her hand. "That was all for you."
"But you-"
"I'm fine. We'll have plenty of time for that later." Hades said, although he felt his cock twitch as the slightest brush of her hand against him. He changed positions so that she was the one lying down. "You're hungry."
It wasn't a question, but an observation based off the fact that Hades had been lying on her stomach; Alessa's fingers stroked the silky strands of his hair. He would've fallen asleep had he not heard the raucous grumbling.
She felt her cheeks heat. "I guess I am. We would have to go back to the manor then." She said as that was the last place she wanted to be. At least not right now because she enjoyed having only Hades' attention.
"Who said anything about leaving?" Suddenly, a tray of fruits and meats and rolls appeared on the other side of the bed along with two goblets of wine.
"You know, I always forget that you can do that. It's starting to come in handy." She chuckled.
He moved so that she could get to the food. Sitting back, he watched her dine hungrily on the bread before grabbing meat and using the wine to wash it down. He found watching her eat to be entertaining and he was glad to see her appetite coming back. He just hated to have ruined the moment by saying, "I need to go back to Olympus."
She immediately stopped eating. "I need you here. With me."
"I know, agape. And there's no place I'd rather be than with you, but I overexerted myself by giving you my power and fusing our souls then again when I bedded you that I need to rejuvenate." The last words of his statement made Alessa's cheeks redden as she was flustered and she felt her core tighten with the convulsion from her excitement.
Hades smiled at seeing her that way.
He would make a quick trip and come straight back. He would not leave his Queen waiting.
Rising from the bed, the air was much cooler against his skin. Hades took a short moment to redress by going to his wardrobe and pulling out fresh linens. Alessa set aside her food for later as she watched him from the bed, her eyes trained on the flesh of his back. Not having the time to observe him the way she wanted last night, she took this moment to memorize his frame. The thought came to mind, that she was more excited about not knowing what to expect, not being able to get enough of each day spent here. Sure things happened that almost cost her life, but Hades made it worth it.
He was actually kinder than the men in the court of Evyon. Though she had seen a dark side to him, it was all she needed to actually trust him. If he was so harsh and deadly, then how is it she could have come so drawn to his acts of kindness? He was different to her, and he was kind to Winnie, and Gemma, even Hypnos. She saw a different side of him, and it was more realistic than those in her old home.
"Do you like what you see?" Hades smirked as he turned and realized Alessa had been watching him with a lustful gaze. She quickly averted her eyes, but not before she caught a glimpse at the dress that Hades unhooked from the armoire. He carried it in his hands towards the bed and laid it on the sheets before her.
It was astonishingly beautiful. She extended her hand towards the material and felt its familiar texture underneath her fingers. She remembered the zibeline fabric because it was given to her in the past by a person she could not recall. She remembered giving the seamstress specific orders for how she wanted the dress to look and yet she couldn't remember meeting the person who'd created such fine work. It was like there were holes in her mind left unfilled.
Things came to her-memories-that didn't belong to her.
They were those of someone else, and while she could never explain them she would brush them off as fantasies. Now, she was starting to believe they were more.
"Did this belong to her, Persephone?" Hades flinched at the way her name sounded from Alessa's lips. He noted the hardness in her tone, but that'd only come from a defense behavior brought on by her lack of knowledge. She didn't know. She didn't understand why he'd shown her the dress, but she would and soon. He couldn't forget Persephone, how could he when Alessa was the essence of her?
It was the only way he could preserve his love, and perhaps it wasn't meant for Persephone, but more as a reminder that he could love. Something he thought he wasn't capable of.
"Yes, it was one of her dresses-one of my favorites, actually." He answered. Alessa hung her head and looked in a different direction to hide her expression. Hades climbed on the bed next to her, cupping her chin so that he could bring her eyes back to his. "Do not think for a moment that you are disposable to me. You are the woman I love with all of my heart now. It is true that she held it once, and there will always be a memory of her in this realm, but it is you who has breathed life back into our home. You are my light."
"Thank you." Alessa rose from the bed leaving the sheets behind her. Her naked curve caught Hades' eye and he realized he didn't want to see her get up. He didn't want her to leave his bed at all. This would be where they'll preside for the remainder of their lives in his personal recluse. He didn't want to share her.
He had to replenish himself first.
"If you don't want to wear the dress-"
"I will." She interrupted, swiping it off the bed before he could hand it to her. She unlaced the back and started to climb in it when it suddenly disappeared and Hades was holding it again.
"I changed my mind, I want to dress you instead." He took the garment and loosened it up. The color was of caramel; the sleeves of the robe lace and flared near the wrists. The front of the dress was open for her breasts to be half exposed. Covering down the abdomen and mid waist the material began to open with a slit so that her thigh was exposed with the flowing skirt. The top was connected by small velvet buttons attached with a string. The back of the robe covered her completely like a normal dress she used to wear. It felt so right on her while he slipped it over her body. He wanted her to feel the brush of her thighs with no under garments. He wanted her to feel the way her breasts rubbed against the open lace with the air.
"I have never seen you in a more beautiful and complimenting dress. You look amazing. I don't know how I managed to wait as long as I did for you." The declaration almost caught Alessa off guard, she wondered what he meant by how long he had to wait for her, wasn't it the same amount of time as she technically waited for him? She just didn't realize it because he and her mother were the only ones who knew.
Dismissing the thought quickly, she ran her fingers through her mess of waves that was her hair and made them at least presentable. "We must go now." Hades took her hand. "Would you like to fast travel or walk back?"
"We can fast travel, I am quite sore." She admitted in reference to her nether regions. With a nod Hades clutched her into his arms and closed his eyes, allowing his body and hers to travel into the castle walls of their court.