Lilliana had been shocked at first, but they’d grown close, and soon Azagoth’s mate was confiding in Cat, sharing what they did in the shower, with the spanking bench, out in the woods... Cat shivered at the thought of doing some of those things with Hades.
The desire to feel more than the buzz she was getting through their clasped hands became a burning need, and she stepped closer to him, drawn by his bare chest and thick arms. If she could just smooth her palm over his biceps or abs––
Abruptly, he released her and leaped back, almost as if she’d scorched him. A muscle in his jaw twitched as he stood there, staring down his perfectly straight nose as if she were an enemy. And yet...there was an undercurrent of heat flowing behind the ice in his eyes.
Could he read her mind? And if he had, wouldn’t her naughty thoughts have made him want to touch her more? She didn’t know much about the males of her species, but she knew it didn’t take much to get them interested.
“Make yourself comfortable,” he said gruffly. “I don’t have a lot of visitors, so...” He shrugged as he gestured to one of two chairs in the small space.
Right. So...pretend that neither one of them had been affected by the brief moment of...well, she didn’t know what to call it. Maybe avoidance was for the best.
She cleared her throat in hopes of not sounding like a moron. “This is your home? I wouldn’t have expected you to live in a one-room...what is this? A crypt?”
“Ding, ding,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm but not malice. “Give the girl a prize. More snake soup, maybe?”
She held up her still-full bowl. “Thanks, but I’m good.” The crackling fire drew her attention to the carved gargoyles on the ends of the mantel and the faded painting of angels battling demons in a cemetery hanging above it. Okay, maybe Hades was taking the graveyard guardian thing a little too far. “So, why do you live in a crypt? Surely you could have a mansion if you wanted.”
“You’d think, right?” He gestured to the chair again. “Sit.”
It didn’t occur to her to not obey, so she sat carefully in the rickety chair that must have been put together by a five-year-old child. As far as she could tell, it was constructed of branches and strips of leather.
Hades folded his arms over his massive chest and stared at her until she squirmed in her highly uncomfortable seat. As if her discomfort was exactly what he was waiting for, he finally spoke.
“Tell me, Cat. What did you do to piss off Azagoth, and why would he send you to the Inner Sanctum without telling me?”
Shit. She was a terrible liar, and she had a feeling that Hades would see through a lie, anyway, but the truth...man, it was probably going to get her punished in a major way. She stalled by sipping the snakey soup.
“Also,” he pressed, not missing a beat, “what do you know about communications being down and the door between Azagoth’s realm and the Inner Sanctum being locked?”
She choked on the broth. “It’s locked for you, too?” At his nod, her mouth went dry. This was bad. Really bad. “I tried to go back, but I couldn’t. I thought I screwed something up.”
“You screwed up, all right,” he said, “but you couldn’t have gone back. Only Azagoth or I can operate the doors.” He tossed a log on the fire. “Why did you come here?”
Dread made her stomach churn, as if the soup had morphed back into a snake in her belly. “Before I answer your questions, I need to ask something.”
“Sure,” he drawled, arms still crossed over his chest. “Why the fuck not.”
Well, that didn’t sound promising. “Azagoth has the ability to destroy souls.” She shuddered at the very idea, at the sheer power one must possess to undo what God himself had done. “Do you?”
One corner of his perfect mouth tipped up. “You worried?”
“A little.”
“Seriously?” He lost the smile. “What the fuck did you do?” His eyes narrowed, becoming shards of angry ice. “Azagoth doesn’t know you’re here, does he? You entered the Sanctum without his knowledge. Holy shit, Cat, do you know what I’m supposed to do to intruders?”
She could guess, but she really didn’t want to. The bowl in her hands started to tremble. Calm down. He probably won’t kill you. Probably.
“Cat!” he barked. “At least one of my wardens is dead because of you, so I need some answers. Now.”
She couldn’t look at him, so she concentrated on her feet and said softly, “I accidentally let some souls into the Inner Sanctum.”
“Accidentally?”
“Of course it was an accident,” she snapped, annoyed that her motives were in question. “Who in their right mind would open the tunnel without Azagoth’s permission? I didn’t even know how to open the thing. I was cleaning, and I accidentally––”
“Okay,” he interrupted. “I get it. It was an accident, but that doesn’t explain why you’re here.”
She set the bowl on the edge of the coffin and blew out a breath. “I wanted to fix my mistake. I know it was stupid. I changed my mind, but the portal closed and I couldn’t get back.”