A Touch of Chaos (Hades x Persephone Saga, #4)

by Scarlett St. Clair

“Are you well?” he asked. He loved staring at her, but especially after sex. He liked knowing that he was the reason for the flush on her cheeks and the swell of her lips. She smiled, her gaze heavy-lidded. “Yes,” she whispered. “And you?” “I am more than well,” he said. Neither of them moved, content to lie in the aftermath of their lovemaking. “I missed this,” Persephone said, and Hades noticed that her eyes were welling with tears as she brought her hands up to cover her face. Hades frowned and bent to kiss her fingers. “You do not have to hide from me,” he said. “I want all of you, even your pain.” He waited for her, and after a few deep breaths, she dropped her hands. Her eyes were still watering, and tears spilled down the side of her face. “I do not know why I am crying,” she said, taking a trembling breath. “You do not need a reason,” he said, though he would argue that everything she had been through in the last month was reason enough. This was likely the first time she’d had the space to let her body stop fighting, and the reality of the world was crashing down on her all at once. Hades shifted onto his back, bringing Persephone with him, and he held her as she cried until she was silent and sleeping in his arms.