Instead, she opened her mouth, and something else came out. “What is up with you?” she snapped. “I have been flirting my ass off, and you act like I’m trying to sell you stewed maggots.”
“Hey,” he said with a wave of his hand. “Don’t knock stewed maggots. With enough spices and tomatoes––”
“Argh!” She spun away from him, too angry to continue this. And she hoped like hell he didn’t notice her nearly break her ankle on these stupid shoes that clearly didn’t work to catch his attention. Nothing did. Maybe it was time to give up and stop being pathetic. “Never mind.”
A hand clamped down on her shoulder, halting her in her tracks. A heartbeat later, Hades was in front of her, his expression serious. “Trust me, I’m not immune to your...feminine wiles.”
“First of all,” she said, shrugging away from his touch, “I don’t have any wiles. Second, you’re a big, fat liar.”
“Baby, you’re wearing fucking wiles.” He grabbed her wrist, and before she could resist, he ground his erection into her palm. “And does this feel like I’m immune? Did I look like I was immune when I was in the shower and you were stroking me?”
Holy shit. She stood frozen to the spot, her hand cupping Hades’s massive erection. Finally, she looked up at him, her breath catching in her throat at the glow of heat in his eyes.
“I––I don’t understand. If you want me, why have you been such a colossal asshat?”
One corner of his mouth twitched in a smile. “Asshat? I like that.”
With a huff, she stepped away from him. “It wasn’t a compliment.”
“Your hand was on my dick. Anything you said would have been a compliment.”
How had he gone from being a jerk to being all charming so quickly? “You still haven’t answered my question.”
“You want the truth?” Reaching up, he ran his hand over his hair and blew out a long, tired breath. “You’re off limits to me.”
“Off limits?” she asked incredulously. “Says who?”
“Azagoth.”
She scowled, searching her brain for a reason Azagoth would say that, but she came up blank. “Why would he tell you I’m off limits?”
“You mean, why would he tell me that when he didn’t seem to give a shit that Zhubaal fucked you?”
Ouch. Flustered, she opened her mouth. Shut it. Opened it again. “That’s not what––” She cursed. “How did you know about me and Zhubaal? What did he say?”
“He didn’t say anything. That bastard is as tight-lipped as a Ghastem.”
Seeing how Ghastems had no mouths...yeah. “Then how did you know? And why do I have to keep asking the same question twice?”
He shrugged, his bare shoulder rolling slowly. “Dunno.”
She was going to kill him. “How. Did. You. Know?” she ground out.
“Griminions love gossip. Those little suckers live for it. When they aren’t collecting souls, I’m pretty sure they hold tea and knitting parties or something.”
Hmm. Maybe the reason things with Z had been so disastrous made sense now. Because he’d taken her to his chambers, but then he’d refused sex with her. She’d been pissed, but what if the reason for his reluctance was because Azagoth had forbidden him to be with her?
Sighing, she wished away the shoes and padded barefoot to the wooden chair at the end of the bed. “Is he punishing me, do you think? I keep breaking stuff, and I’ve missed some cobwebs in corners, and once, I even tracked ashes through his library.” She sank down on the chair, her stomach churning. “He’s going to send me back to the human realm, isn’t he?”
She’d be in danger there, defenseless, easy prey for angel-hating demons and True Fallen who made it a sport to drag Unfallen into Sheoul. Even worse, she’d lose Lilliana as a friend. And she’d never see Hades again. At least, not until she died and came back to the Inner Sanctum as a soul waiting to be reincarnated.
Groaning, she rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms. She could lose everything, and wasn’t that a laugh given how little she actually had. Feeling suddenly very vulnerable, she wished herself new clothes that covered everything. She didn’t even mind the suffocating feeling of having so much skin hidden. Right now, the clothing was much-needed armor.
“He’s not punishing you,” Hades said, his gaze fixed somewhere outside.