Asterion (The Court of the Underworld #1; The Gods Universe #1)

by Alessa Thorn

"Take me somewhere or take me here, I don't care,"

Asterion wanted to get underneath her, feast on the perfect piece of wetness between her legs, but he was too far gone. He needed to be inside of her like he needed to breathe.

"Vin recovered her bag, said there's a laptop you might want a look at," Theseus said, looking up from the message on his phone. "I can take her from here, boss. I'll put her in one of the holding cells under the arena." Asterion made a point of not looking at Ariadne. "She'll stay in the apartment's guest room where I can keep an eye on her. Don't argue with me. From what I witnessed tonight, she'll be out of one of the cells within an hour and stolen my favorite car." "I wouldn't have taken the Maserati, I swear. The Ferrari would have been another matter," said Ariadne.

"Good luck to you, boss. I don't know what you see in that harpy," Vin said but gave him a wink where Ariadne couldn't see. Vin knew precisely what he saw in her. Asterion would be surprised if all his men weren't a little in love with her now, not to mention Erebus. Like he needed that headache.

"Decided to finally come back, did you? Enjoy the show from your little balcony with your buddies?" Ariadne demanded. "The show? You mean watching you break my property and kill Hades's men and almost yourself in the process? No, I didn't fucking enjoy the show," he said as he closed the space between them. "You were the one dumb enough to put me in there. Don't pout that I didn't die when you've only got yourself to blame-" Ariadne's rant cut off as Asterion lifted the filthy, angry assassin up off her feet and kissed her roughly.

"Stop talking. Your body is laced with poison, and we need to treat it before you start hallucinating," Asterion said when they broke apart. Ariadne touched her reddened lips. "I think I already am,"

"Don't be a bitch. I want her for Serpentine when this is all over. You can't keep a woman like her locked up. She's going to need a job," Medusa said. "If she works for you, she'll pick up all sorts of bad habits, like backtalking me." "From what Hades has told me, she already does backtalk. Big ovaries on her to sass the boss, but she did. I'm so in love with her. We are going to be besties in no time. Though I think I'm going to have to fight Erebus for her. The boys are all quite impressed with her."

"Look upon me and despair, mortal!" Medusa shouted theatrically, making Asterion jump in surprise. "Can I despair after I have coffee?" Ariadne murmured sleepily from behind him. "Is there more?" "Fresh pot in the kitchen," Asterion said, trying not to laugh. "Thanks, I'll be back to despairing in a minute," she said and shuffled off with a yawn. "Wow, not even a nibble. No wonder Hades was pouting that his supreme awesomeness didn't affect her," Medusa chuckled.

"Hmm, you still should've waited for me to go with you. I can't lock you up, so maybe I need to work on making the thought of you leaving me unbearable."

"Please," she begged as he rubbed his dick against her sensitive entrance. "Promise me that you won't ever leave without telling me first," Asterion said. He eased inside her just enough for her to hiss at him with frustration. "You're not the boss…" she managed, wriggling in an attempt to push more of him inside her. He placed a hand on her stomach, pinning her down. "It's not about being the boss or stopping you from having freedom. I only want to know when you're leaving. It's not too much to ask, is it?" he eased inside of her a little further, and she reached out for him. Asterion was quicker, catching her by the wrists and pinning her arms above her head. "Holy gods, you can be a bastard," she groaned as he thrust slowly, teasing, pushing her self-control. "Promise me, and I'll give you whatever you want. I'll burn the world to the ground, or I'll lay it at your feet, just promise me you won't run away and scare me again."

"Never thought I'd see the day when I'd be taking you back to Crete," Charon said to Asterion over their headsets. "I can't say I'm stoked about it," Asterion replied, flipping the bone dagger over in his palms. "I'm not about to let them keep Ariadne." "Ah, love, it makes it all worth it," Erebus sighed, clutching his heart. "I'm hoping that she dumps you for me when she sees me in battle." "Stab him if you like. I'll make sure he doesn't die," Thanatos offered. Erebus only laughed harder.

"Asterion, I meant what I said the night I was taken. I don't care what you are, or that Pithos is going to keep on coming. I…love you. I'm never going to be some tame housewife or gentle-natured lover. I'm always going to be argumentative, and I'll probably make you want to wring my neck at least once a week, but I'm not going anywhere until you tell me to go."