Corrupted by Bella Klaus

Chapter Fourteen

Aknock sounded on the other side of the restaurant, making us both jump apart. Standing at a white door was a tall waiter with sandy hair and a face as pale as diluted milk.

He cleared his throat. “Excuse me, Monsieur, Madame.”

The man’s gaze darted about the space, lingering on the charred remains of the demons I had attacked with my lightning. Mother had left behind her four coven sisters, who still spasmed and twitched from the small amount of electricity I’d left channeling into them during our kiss.

“Yes,” Hades hissed.

“The food is ready,” the waiter said. “Would you like us to serve the first course?”

“No, thanks,” I said.

Hades grinned. “We’ll take our food to the pinnacle.”

The waiter bowed. “Yes, sir.”

My mouth dropped open. “Why on earth would we eat their food?” I whispered to Hades. “For all you know, Samael could have ordered worms or the hearts of newborns.”

Hades wrapped an arm around my middle and pulled me into his side. “I promised you a meal, and now you’re going to get fed. Besides, Gustave’s is one of the best restaurants in Paris. Their chef served each of the Holy Roman Emperors.”

Before I could reply, Hades transported us to what I could only describe as a transparent dome the size of my bathroom. Its only furniture was a circular table set for two, complete with four glasses, four forks, three spoons, and two knives. In the middle of the setting stood a candelabra that looked like it was made from the same material as the tower.

I turned in a slow circle, taking in our surroundings. We were about a quarter of a mile up in the air with three-hundred-and-sixty-degree views of Paris.

The sky was clear and starry, highlighting spectacular views of our surroundings, all illuminated by streetlights, headlights, and floodlights to highlight the historical architecture. On one side was a beautiful field arranged with geometric paths around a man made pool. On the other was the river.

Hades stood so close, the warmth of his body radiated through his armor. I placed a hand over my chest, trying to catch my breath. “Paris is even more beautiful than what I’ve seen on TV.”

“Yes,” he said, his deep voice resonating across my skin. “I’m rather enjoying the view.”

Hades stared at me with a hunger that made my heart flip. I thought he would kiss me again and press me against the transparent dome, but he stepped back toward the table and pulled out my chair like a gentleman.

“Thank you.” I lowered myself into the seat, letting him push it back in. “What is this place?”

“The pinnacle is an exclusive enclosure at the very top of the Eiffel Tower.” He swept his arm out, bringing up an image of the entire structure.

At its narrowest level was an observation deck, and on top of that, a needlelike structure that resembled a satellite tower. A red circle hovered a few inches above that point, indicating our current location.

I glanced down to the transparent floor, finally noticing that we were floating several feet above the metallic building, and snatched my gaze away.

“Do we have time to sit around eating when there are so many enemies trying to destroy us?” I asked.

“There’s always rest for the wicked.” He waved away my concern and lowered himself into his seat. “If anyone so much as scratches at the wards, I will transport us back.”

I leaned across the table, my eyes wide. “You’re that sensitive to the goings-on at the Fifth?”

“The magic we absorbed at the Devil’s Ball works to preserve the integrity of the Factions. Any attempts at eroding it will at least alert us that there’s trouble.”

My brows rose. “Why did it allow those demons you killed in the throne room to work for Samael?”

Hades tightened his lips and sat back in his seat. “Unfortunately, our angel overseers don’t provide us with the wherewithal to suppress demonic uprisings.”

“Azriel should try doing your job for a day,” I said. “He’d rust his armor after the first ten minutes.”

Light flared from the candles on our table, adding to the atmosphere of sophistication and romance. The corner of Hades’ full lips curved up into a knowing smile that made my cheeks heat.

This was the type of scenario I’d always dreamed of one day experiencing with a handsome prince, except I was with a king, a god, a beautiful being who had lived thousands of years, yet he looked at me as though I was the only woman in existence.

My heart soared. The only thing ruining the situation was the impending doom.

All thoughts of romance evaporated into the ether as images of Samael and Mother assaulted my mind. They had twice as many demons at their disposal, where the Fifth was being depleted by soulkins, Persephone, and traitors.

I leaned forward, my brows creased. “What if someone tampers with the wards and makes sure you can’t feel them?”

“Then you’ll sense the disturbance and inform me immediately,” he said in a voice as smooth as butter.

“Me?” I reared back. “All that time Persephone was draining power with that hideous plant, the wards didn’t so much as give me a poke.”

His brows rose. “That’s because you were too busy getting wasted on cocktails, spewing your guts in the toilet bowl, and sleeping it all off in an alcoholic stupor.”

Shifting on my seat, I unfolded the napkin and smoothed it on my lap. “Well, that’s the last time I drink anything stronger than ginger beer.”

Hades leaned across the table, his eyes alight with mirth. “There’s nothing wrong with indulging. Try not to mix your drinks until you build up a tolerance, and if a fiery red busybody offers you anything with chocolate, decline.”

The waiter appeared at Hades’ side and cleared his throat. “Monsieur, I have your first course. Moules d’Amour.”

He set down a silver platter containing oysters on a bed of coarse salt crystals. Some were plain, some drowning in a watery sauce, and others encrusted with colorful herbs.

I sat up in my seat, staring at the beautiful dish. The most I’d ever tasted of seafood at the mansion were the few occasions when Pirithous would steam fish. The oysters looked raw, and fit for those with a sophisticated palate. I bit down on my bottom lip, wondering which of the selections was the most suitable for a beginner.

Hades threw his head back and laughed. “Bloody hell. That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in ages.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Oysters,” Hades said through chuckles. “It looks like Samael was trying to satisfy his new bride.”

I wrinkled my nose. “They’re an aphrodisiac?”

“Not for a former angel who was castrated by his maker,” Hades replied with a chuckle. “Poor old Sam must have engaged in some serious dark magic to have fashioned himself something that could respond to oysters.”

The waiter stepped back from the table, and another one arrived with a bottle of white wine. “Chablis Grand Cru de Flamel?”

Hades inclined his head and gestured toward one of the four glasses in his place setting.

After pouring out a little for Hades, he paused to allow him to take a sip and approve the sample. Instead of filling Hades’ glass, the wine waiter walked around the table to fill mine.

I sat straight in my seat, watching the staff with wide eyes. This was the poshest thing I’d ever experienced—including the palace ball. Of all the times to go to a romantic restaurant for a fancy meal, why did it have to be after a battle?

When the waiters disappeared, I smoothed my hands down my napkin and sighed.

“What’s wrong?” Hades cocked his head to the side and frowned.

My shoulders sagged. “I wish I’d worn something nice for our first date.”

He reached across the table, took my hand, and placed a kiss on each of my knuckles. “We have eternity to enjoy the delights of the world. Besides, what you wear has no bearing on how I feel about you.”

Swallowing hard, I glanced down at my red leather breastplate, feeling a bit like that huge female warrior from Game of Thrones. “I still don’t understand how we can relax at a time like this.”

Hades gave my fingers a gentle squeeze. “Watching you demolish half the demons and a quartet of bitchy goddesses made me as stiff as a tower.”

My lips quirked into a tiny smile, and I lowered my lashes.

I had known those four my entire life, and not a single one of them had hinted that I was anything more than a puppet to keep in the corner. Now they were helping Mother return me to my shitty life. “Maybe the electric shock was exactly the lesson they needed to end their meddling.”

Hades snorted. “Those five will stop at nothing to keep you under control. There has to be more to their possessiveness than a simple case of psychosis.”

I met his eyes. “There’s something I haven’t told you.”

“Indeed?” He raised both brows.

“After Persephone attacked us in the bedroom, I returned to the mansion.” Hades tightened his grip on my hand, his mouth falling open with shock. Before he could say something admonishing, I added, “The butler said he had Dami, remember?”

He exhaled a long breath. “What happened when you rescued her?”

“I saw Zeus, but he’d been turned to stone.”

“How can you be sure it was him?” Hades leaned forward, his eyes alight.

“It looked just like the man in your tapestry, and the butler said the coven had used him as a source of power.”

“I knew it,” he said with a laugh.

“You did?”

“It was the first thing I thought of the moment you expressed your lightning.”

I inhaled a deep breath and nodded. Hades had said something like that. “They’re keeping him in a secure basement. What should we do?”

“Leave him,” Hades said.

“What?”

“Zeus is an asshole. Set him free, and he’ll go on a rampage. And who will be tasked to clear up his mess?”

“Us, I suppose?” I asked with a frown.

“And he’ll want his power back.” Hades squeezed my hand.

The rest of the story spilled from my lips, and I told him how Persephone’s soul had been shattered, gathered, and put together using Zeus’s magic. Hades never took his eyes off me during my entire confession, but his breath turned shallow, and his features slack.

“What do you think?” My voice shook.

“I’ve known this all along.” He raised my hand and brought my knuckles to his lips.

“Really?”

Hades paused, his eyes going distant. “I’ve only ever loved one woman from the depths of my soul. When I broke through Demeter’s wards and found you peering at me from the side of your house, it was like being hit through the heart with a thunderbolt.”

I leaned forward, my breath quickening. “It was like that for me, too.”

The corners of his lips curled into a tiny smile. “And I don’t just love you because you were once Persephone. There’s a quality you both shared that I find irresistible.”

“What is it?”

“Maybe someone who spends so much time bringing plants to life appeals to the god of death. Or maybe it’s the purity of your soul. It’s probably both.”

“You’re…” I gulped. “You’re not angry with me?”

He drew back, his gaze sharpening. “Whatever for?”

I lowered my lashes. “That I withheld this information, all the while chastising you for being a liar.”

He shook his head, his gaze lingering on my breasts.

“What are you looking at?” I asked.

“Sorry,” he said. “But I can’t stop imagining you in gold lingerie, throwing thunderbolts from the top of Mount Olympus.”

I sputtered. “That’s all you can say?”

“That, and we’ll leave Zeus as an inanimate statue for the rest of days. I’d throw it in the sea, but Poseidon might have too much fun with it.” He picked up an oyster and brought it to my lips. “These are delicious and exactly what you need to take your mind off Zeus.”

My gaze dropped down to the open shell and at the mollusc at the bottom of a pool of lemon juice and herbs. “Do they really work?”

“Humans say oysters contain enough zinc to make them spurt buckets, but these are a supernatural variety, bred for the purposes of heightening arousal. Try one.”

My tongue darted out to lick my lips. “Will it make me want to climb across the table and ravish you?”

He shook his head and brought the shell to my mouth. “It only enhances what’s already there. Just try one.”

With an eager nod, I parted my lips, letting him slide the contents of the oyster onto my tongue. It was colder than I’d expected, with a smooth texture and a mild flavor that wasn’t even fishy. It was mostly overpowered by the taste of lemon and salt and garlic.

“Now chew.”

I bit down on the oyster, enjoying its springy texture. Heat surged through my veins, coalescing at the juncture of my thighs. I exhaled a shuddering breath through my nostrils and raised my gaze to meet Hades’ eyes.

“How was it?” He waggled his brows.

“Surprisingly delicious,” I murmured.

“Would you like another?” He raised a second oyster to my lips.

“Aren’t you having any?”

His eyes smouldered. “You're beautiful, deadly, and utterly desirable,” he said in a deep voice that curled around every single erogenous zone, setting them each alight. “Taking anything to further enhance my attraction to you might make me go berserk.”

A flare of heat spread across my cheeks, down my neck, and to my breasts. It pooled low in my belly, making me shift on my seat.

“The oysters are starting to work,” I murmured.

“Imagine what would happen if you ate a second one.”

Without thinking too much about the consequences, I let Hades slip another between my lips. This one came with a burst of tabasco and a hint of horseradish. I barely chewed it this time, letting it slide down my throat.

Hades stared at me with eyes that blazed hotter than the candles, and he moved his thigh so close to mine that our bodies touched. He pressed a kiss on the column of my neck that set my skin aflame, making the armor feel too restricting.

“All my existence, I despised lightning, but now it’s the sexiest element in the universe.” He planted kisses along my jawline.

I squeezed my thighs together and swallowed my mouthful. “Is that because you hated Zeus?”

“Because I love you.”

My heart swelled. Hearing those words from Hades never got tiring. I turned to meet his eyes and pressed a kiss on his lips. “Less talk. More eating.”

“As my queen commands.” Hades brought me another oyster and then a glass of Chablis.

For the next few minutes, we exchanged kisses and drank wine, while I demolished the oysters. Each time one of the delicious morsels slid down my throat, he was ready with another. Sensual magic curled over my sensitive skin, making my skin hunger for his touch.

“Are you trying to get me drunk?” I asked after taking a tiny sip from my glass.

Hades groaned in my ear. “I can’t stop thinking about how you sat on me the night of the Devil’s Ball. The way you tensed and spasmed around my face and coated me with your juices. I want that for the rest of my life.”

My lips parted with a moan, and the pleasure from that evening pushed itself to the front of my mind. I could almost feel his hot breath on my sex, the press of his fingers on my thighs, that eager wet tongue laving me to orgasm.

“Would you do that for me every night?”

With a sexy growl, Hades snaked his arm around my middle and pulled me onto his lap. “I never did get any satisfaction at the ball. Fancy returning the favor? In exchange, I can supply you with a large quantity of spunk, which I guarantee will be delicious.”

I turned around to meet his hungry gaze. “You want me here?”

“This is one of the most romantic restaurants in Paris,” he drawled. “Fucking on the table after a well-prepared dish of Moules d’Amour is how guests show their appreciation to the chef.”

I threw my head back, a laugh bubbling from my chest. “You’re joking.”

“Deadly serious.” His large hands cupped my breasts, the pads of his thumbs running tight circles over my nipples.

“How can I possibly feel that through the armor?” I asked.

“Do you honestly think I would commission a garment that made its wearer unable to feel pleasure?” He nuzzled my neck.

I wiggled on his lap, settling myself against the thick bulge in his armor. “Knowing you, the answer would be no.”

Hades rolled my nipple with his thick fingers, sending sparks of pleasure racing between my legs. “Now you know how the magic works, or at least have a rough idea, you can lean back and enjoy the rest of your meal.”

He reached beneath my hamstrings and positioned my legs so they straddled his and I was leaning with my chest toward the table. He reached down between my thighs and he slipped his fingers over my clit.

Pleasure rippled up and down my hot slit, and the muscles of my core clenched with the need to be stretched.

“How are you finding the pleasure enhancement?” he asked.

Shivering at his touch, I swallowed hard. “It’s very effective.”

“Good,” he drawled. “Then we can make your pleasure last the entire evening. By the time you’ve finished eating, you’ll be so hot and wet and ready for my cock.”

I shifted on his lap and rubbed my asscheeks against his bulge. “Can I touch you?”

His chuckle was low and deep. “Keep wriggling like that, and I’ll come apart in my armor.”

“Like this?” I rested my elbows on the table and circled my hips, making sure to grind myself over his thick erection.

Hades moaned. “Just like that.”

The tray of oysters disappeared, replaced by a platter of tenderloin served with roasted onions, carrots, asparagus, and potatoes.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Chateaubriand.” Hades wiggled his fingers and reduced one of the slices into bite-sized morsels with his magic. “Allow me.”

Somehow, he managed to do this while teasing my clit over the armor. I tilted my head back, letting him lavish my neck with open-mouthed kisses. On a scale of one to ten for romantic meals, this was turning into an eleven.

Over the next several minutes, Hades fed me chunks of delicious steak while he swirled his magic through the thick leather of my armor. Once I’d eaten my fill, I turned around so we sat facing each other.

He stared into my eyes, his eyes blazing, his lips parted with rapid breaths. “Words can’t describe how much I want to fuck you.”

“Why don’t you show me with your actions?” I murmured.

“Here I was thinking you would want your first time in a pretty four-poster.”

I grinned. “We did that already.”

“Our first time as man and wife,” he said, his smile widening. “As King Hades and Queen Kora.”

I smoothed my hands over the leather of his breastplate, wishing I was touching his skin. “Maybe part of me already knew who you were the night of the masquerade ball.”

“Not surprising since I was dressed as Hades.” His eyes sparkled with mirth.

“But you told me you were a light mage.”

His eyes narrowed, and he cupped both breasts, rubbing his thumbs over the nipples. “You asked me if the collar was light magic, and I implied that it was.”

A moan slipped from my lips. “Well, excuse me for thinking people went to masquerade balls dressed as different people.”

“Why pretend to be something else when what you are is magnificent?” He pressed a kiss on my jaw.

“Are you calling yourself—”

“Magnificent?” He sucked on my neck. “Do you have reason to believe I’m not all that I claim?”

I wrapped my arms around his neck, shivering at his attentions. Hades was more than magnificent. He was the sexiest, most handsome, most infuriating creature in existence. “You think a lot of yourself.”

“Self-confidence comes with the job,” he drawled. “Without it, I’m just a pretty face, a perfect body, and a cock designed for pleasure.”

Drawing back, I stared into his twinkling eyes with a frown. “How is that a bad thing—”

Hades cut off my words with a kiss. A kiss that stole my breath, curled my toes, and made the pulse between my legs pound against my leather armor. I bucked forward, rubbing myself against the thick bulge in his breeches, but it wasn’t enough.

I needed more.

“Hades,” I murmured. “Please…”

“You want me to fuck you over the table?” His hot breath tickled my skin.

“Now,” I cried.

He moaned, the sound rippling over my skin like a thousand hot caresses. “Fuck, Kora, I could eat you all night, pound you until my cock falls off, and I’ll still hunger for your sweet pussy.”

From the other side of the table, someone cleared their throat.

I stiffened around him and hid my face in his neck.

“We’re skipping dessert,” Hades said, peppering the sensitive column of my neck with kisses.

“Your Majesty,” said a solemn voice that completely ruined the mood.

I turned around to find a man wearing a black suit, looking like a funeral director. He stood by the edge of our enclosure, flanked by a pair of large men in suits, each carrying tall staffs. If I had to guess, they were security wizards, but where had they been when Mother and Samael had attacked us with demons?

Hades growled. “Why would you interrupt my meal?”

The man coughed into his hand. “Forgive me, sire, but there’s the matter of the check.”

“I’m a long-standing customer,” Hades snapped. “Charge it to my card.”

He pulled at his collar and grimaced. “Not the food. It’s the cleanup.”

“What?” Hades snarled.

“Four women in need of immediate hospitalization, three dozen demon carcasses, scratches and ichor stains in a century-old marble floor, broken tables, chairs and ruined furnishings.” His shoulders rose to his ears. “Not to mention the weapons lodged in our celebrated leather booth.”

A knot of guilt formed in my stomach. That damage to the booth was from me.

“King Samael brought the demons,” Hades said. “Tell him to clean up his mess.”

“That’s the problem, Your Majesty. Neither King Samael nor Queen Demeter are accepting responsibility for the damage to the restaurant, and somebody must pay the costs.”

I swallowed hard. They had better not be expecting Hades to pay for the fight that they started.

Hades snarled, the sound making all the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. “If those bastards won’t take responsibility for their own messes forward the matter to Angel Azriel.”

The manager inclined his head. “Yes, Your Majesty. Very good.”

He stood at the other end of the table, his eyes wide, looking like he wanted to say something else.

“Spit it out,” Hades said.

“Who will be settling the check for the meal?”

Hades stiffened, his teeth grinding together. “Charge the food to my card.”

The manager and his security wizards disappeared.

I turned back to Hades and frowned. “Why are Mother and Samael being so stubborn?”

“Samael can be extremely petty, and your mother…” He shook his head. “Who marries that cockless sack of slime and sends agents into Hell to sabotage the integrity of my Faction out of a two-thousand-year-old grudge?”

I rested my forehead on his shoulder and exhaled a weary breath. “There’s something desperately wrong with that woman.”

Hades rubbed my back. “I’m inclined to agree. Now, let’s get out of here before someone else comes to ruin the mood.”

“Where should we go next?” I asked.

“Somewhere we can’t be disturbed.” He slid an arm around my middle and pulled me into his chest.

“Not my apartment?”

He grunted. “Not while it’s overrun with Hellcats. Remind me to contact the coffee shop and send a team of cat-whisperers to herd them out.”

I nuzzled his neck. “Thank you.”

“For what?” He pulled back, meeting my gaze with eyes that glowed brighter than the stars. “I haven’t fucked you yet.”

“For taking care of me, teaching me how to use my powers, and giving me more pleasure than I could ever wish for.”

Hades pressed a soft kiss on my lips. “There’s plenty more where that came from. Why don’t I show you another feature of your new greenhouse.”

In the blink of an eye, we sat on a bench within the domed structure with warm droplets of water showering over our heads. Thunder roared in my ears, accompanied by the patter and spatter of rain as it fell onto the wide expanse of green shoots.

The air was heavy with moisture, and my nostrils filled with the scent of wet earth. Parting my lips, I tilted my head up toward the roof, marveling at how the magic had mimicked the smell and taste of rain.

“How did you know I liked summer thunderstorms?” I hugged him tighter.

Hades tilted his head to the side, staring into my eyes with enough love in his eyes to melt my heart. “Forgive me, but it’s something Persephone enjoyed. During the summers she spent with her mother, I always knew to find her dancing in the rain.”

“Really?” I whispered.

He smoothed one of my curls between his fingers. “I noticed how much you enjoyed the pool of her garden, and assumed this was another similarity.”

“This is absolutely beautiful.”

“If I’m lucky, you’ll dance for me, and I’ll watch you twirl in the rain with naked abandon.”

I cupped the side of his face. “If I’m lucky, you’ll dance with me.”

His dazzling smile filled my stomach with fluttering butterflies. “You’d want to share something so special to you with me?”

“Of course.” I leaned in for a kiss. “Thank you again for setting up this surprise.”

The moment our lips touched, my mind conjured up the image of Hades laying me on the floor and continuing what we started at the masquerade ball. My eyes fluttered shut, and I relaxed into what was beginning to be a passionate kiss. I was so ready for him, and this time, there would be no one to walk in to interrupt us.

Hades’ tongue swiped at the seam of my mouth, demanding entry. With a moan, I parted my lips. His arm swept around my back, holding me in place, and he lavished me with a kiss so hot and wet and dominant that all I could do was surrender.

He lowered me onto my back, pinning me down, and he parted my legs with his thigh. My heart thundered. In all the time we’d been together, he’d never shown this level of intensity.

Maybe it was the battle, maybe it was the greenhouse, maybe it was his confession of love that triggered his amount of desire. Or maybe he’d been driven by my invitation for him to dance with me in the rain.

“I could have you every day like this until the end of time, and it would still never be enough,” he growled into the kiss.

My heart raced, my breaths turned ragged, and I clung to his back, digging my nails into the leather of his armor. Hades ran a hand up my thigh, over my waist, and grazed my nipple with his fingertips.

His touch was electrifying, intoxicating, and ignited a fire within me that raged for more. Then a sharp pain tugged at my insides, making us both flinch.

My eyes snapped open. “Did you feel that?”

“The wards are under attack from the inside,” Hades said through clenched teeth.

It took a second for me to realize he wasn’t talking about Mother or Samael. “Do you mean—”

“Persephone,” he growled. “She has finally resurfaced.”