Page 19 of Taming Winter

Yet one romp with Hades and my brain was in knots. Her beauty, her personality, and the way she put me in my place hit me in all the right ways. I never stood a chance against the fiery redhead who claimed my soul for her own. I groaned and rubbed the back of my neck.

Could I really be falling for the woman who murdered and tortured me? That used me as her personal servant? The thought was asinine. I would have the worst case of Stockholm Syndrome recorded.

Except… fuck, maybe I did.

This afterlife wasn't all that different from my living days. I had never been free. Being an assassin wasn't a career I had dreamed of as a child, it had been a need for my cabal that I filled. I had cared for the Hydras, and I would've laid down my life for them. Dare I say… I loved them, despite them using me. The only difference was that Hades represented my ultimate failure—to my career, to my cabal, and to myself.

The purposeful click of heels pulled me from my daydreaming. Hades walked in with an intensity in her gait. "We have things to discuss," she announced.

There was a tightness in her shoulders, and her fists clenched at her sides. Something had happened. I jumped to my feet on instinct, my soul lurching at her anxiety. Just more proof that I was already consumed by her, and I wasn't sure how to feel about that. "What happened?"

"My driver has informed me Apollo and Zeus are behind ‘Underworld’s Delirium’. They manufactured it as a cover-up." She spoke in a cool, monotone voice, as though she wasn't dropping a bomb on me.

The lives I had ended… those people suffered for no reason. I had come to terms with the fact that I was sent to kill innocents because they had been doomed to die anyway. I had helped prevent further spread and suffering. Somehow, I had convinced myself it had been for the best—that I had done something good for once. It had been just another move in the immortals' play.

My lips parted. "Zone 3's hospitals had housed Delirium patients with the general hospital population. I’d thought it was odd; it was like they were trying to get others sick."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It didn’t seem relevant at the time." I gulped. "I'm sorry, Master. I wasn't raised to ask questions."

Her voice softened. "Don't be sorry."

A silence settled over us. Her face was contorted with pain, tension still lancing her features. I understood then. Her brother had intentionally set her up to take the blame for his evil. Despite all he had done, somewhere deep inside her, she didn't want to believe he could do it again. I dared to brush my hand over her upper arm. Frost spread at the spot, only to melt under her heat.

"Please tell me we're going to retaliate for this." My voice wasn't my own. It was a deep rumble that vibrated out of my chest, threatening a brutal vengeance.

Her shoulders relaxed, and a wicked smile spread across her face. "That's why I wanted to talk, handsome. Apollo might be known for his healing abilities, but he also has the power to create and spread disease. He's a nasty man with a nasty set of powers. Take him out, and we take out their ability to continue this blight."

"I'm ready," I purred. For the first time, I felt excitement at the idea of killing. Taking out an immortal that had forced me to murder dozens of innocent people was just the type of vengeance that made me salivate.

Though a hurdle stopped my fantasies of bloodshed. "Can an immortal be killed?"

She shrugged. "Perhaps not killed, but they can be weakened, and they can be captured. But that, handsome, is a problem for tomorrow. I’m exhausted and ready for a bath and bed."

Hades came out of the bathing chambers half an hour later, her beautiful hair knotted into a pile on her head and her curves covered in a black silk slip. I gave myself a moment to take her in before lying back on my sleeping pad with an arm tucked behind my head. My eyes tracked the dancing purple patterns cast by the fireplace, and I readied myself to sleep despite having no urge to do so. My soul didn't need rest, and my mind was racing with the potential of what tomorrow held.

"Wolfe?" Hades’s nervous tone cut through the silent room.

She was leaning against her bed without getting into it. Her fingertips fiddled with the hem of her nightgown, and her brows furrowed together. "Would you want to sleep up here… with me?"

My face must have given away my confusion. This wasn't the confident, bordering on arrogant woman I knew. No, she was nervous and unsure of herself. I wasn't sure why, but I knew I didn't like it. I climbed to my feet and closed the space between us until my hips nestled between her thighs.

"I must've been really good today to earn bed privileges," I purred in a soft rumble, and her expression softened at the comment.

Her fingers fisted the waist of my pants and pulled me in. "Yes, you were."

"I would love to not sleep in a dog bed, Hades." I chuckled, and her cheeks flushed.

Her eyes went downcast, and I frowned. "Zeus really got to you today, didn't he?"

She yanked away as though I'd slapped her, and her expression hardened into something cruel and cold. "Zeus is nothing to me. You don't know what you're talking about."

I sighed and moved past her to crawl into the bed. It was luxurious, squishing to cradle my body. The silk was a cloudy embrace that tugged me toward sleep, despite having no need for it. I had learned sleep was like a decadent dessert, unnecessary but pleasant nonetheless.

As I tucked into the sheets and sank into the plush pillow, I opened one eye to look at the woman curling up next to me. She was beautiful, her hair spread over the sheets like the liquid fire that was her. I smiled at her luscious form and closed my eyes once more. "You don't need to hide from me. I'm yours for eternity."

CHAPTER 19