Hades had heard enough. He loved Kade without conditions, but he was not going to stand by and let his son seduce the goddess he had claimed for himself. When he walked into the stable, Kade had Lexi cornered, and her wide-eyed expression gave away her anxiety. 

"And what kind of demonstration were you planning, Kade?" he said as he approached.

Kade casually stepped away from Lexi, and she hurried over to Hades, slipping her arm around his waist. The gesture offered the reassurance Hades was hoping for, and he responded by pulling her even closer.

Kade's eyes glinted as he crafted his excuse. "I was just suggesting how Lexi might bring her horse to the underworld. She's concerned the poor thing will waste away during her absence. You know how that feels."

Hades ignored Kade's taunt, putting his energy into the dilemma of Lexi's horse, which had been on his mind as well. "Were you suggesting Aristaeus might be of assistance?" 

"I was."

"There are a number of risks, but it's still a viable option. If Lexi thinks Jackie O would be up for it."

"I'm willing to try anything," she offered. "How long will it take Aristaeus to get here with a stallion?"

"If he's not preoccupied, I can have him here by tomorrow morning," Kade said. "Just say the word and I will head for Olympus straight away."

Lexi glanced at Jackie O, clearly contemplating her choices. "That's very thoughtful of you, Kade, but I don't want to mess up your holiday."

"If it makes you happy, Lexi, I will do whatever you want." The provocative tone in Kade's voice rang familiar to Hades, and it took a great deal of restraint to keep the scowl off his face.

"Okay. Thank you." Lexi lifted her wine glass as a token of her gratitude, and Kade bowed deeply in a sign of obedience. All the gesturing made Hades want to add one of his own, although he didn't think it would be well received.

Kade left the stable and Hades released a breath he'd been holding in. Lexi set her glass on the table and turned to Hades, taking both his hands in hers. "You have impeccable timing." 

She leaned into his mouth and kissed him, offering her tongue as a wine drenched aperitif. Hades accepted it as adrenaline rushed to his groin where it met the curve of her pelvis, and he imagined the beautiful flesh that lay beneath the fabric of her jeans. He ached to take her there in the stable. To show her the meaning of obedience. Hadn't she made him a promise when she put him down for his nap? Would she be open to it after her unsettling discovery in the hay loft?

Then she whispered an answer to his unspoken wish. "I need you like the sun needs the horizon." With a tug on his hand, she led him to a door beneath the staircase. Behind the door lay a small room filled with horse tack, a ladder back chair, and a desk. She pushed him into the chair and reached for a length of rope looped around a hook on the wall. 

As he sat submissively, she tied the rope to a rung of the chair. Then she circled him, unraveling the rope as she went and binding him to his seat. The devious smile she wore had his manhood hardening like clay in the sun. 

"I have been thinking about all the times I've surrendered to your requests," she said, speaking the words like a seductive threat. "And I have decided it's time I took the reins."

He smiled up at her, wishing he could reach out and pull her onto his lap. "You have always had the reins, my lady."

Her hands moved swiftly as she wound the rope around his chest, pinning his arms behind the chair and tying a knot that had him quite secure. All the while, his heart pounded at the thought of being subdued by this spirited goddess, a goddess who, a mere three months before, had never been kissed. Her sexual prowess had grown by leaps and bounds, which he gave himself some credit for. But the fire that sizzled beneath her polite posture was all her own, and he loved the burn.

Lexi knelt in front of him to unbutton his pants, and when he was properly vulnerable, she stood and stripped off her jeans, touching herself as she slowly lowered her panties. Hades groaned as he watched her separate the small patch of hair between her legs and press her finger inside. She leaned over him, resting one hand on his shoulder as she spoke against his mouth.

"You want me, don't you, my prince of darkness?"

"Like the darkness needs the light."

"What would you like me to do to you?"

"Show me no mercy."

Lexi lowered onto one of his exposed thighs, taking his erection in her hand and sliding her slick fingers up and down as she ground her warm, wetness against his leg. He hardened further under her touch, and his hips rose off the chair as he rode the waves of pleasure that she evoked. She let up only when his moaning grew loud enough for the horses to overhear. 

Brushing a kiss across his lips, she stood and spread his legs, slipping her body between them and dropping to her knees. She gazed at his rigid manhood, wearing a smile both seductive and sinister, and touching her tongue to her lips like she was starved for him. His body yearned to have her take him. To swallow him fully and bring him to climax, while the thrill of being under her will, not knowing what she had planned, provoked such need he nearly lost his composure.

Finally, she leaned forward, her breath caressing him like an ocean breeze, and she reached behind his body to cup his buttocks as her lips pressed around him. She circled the crown, licking off the moisture that had pooled there. Then she grasped him gently and sucked him in, stroking the taut vein with her tongue as she dove deeper. 

The sensations Lexi offered had him writhing against his ties and bucking out of his seat. He wanted so badly to hold her head between his hands, to exact some kind of control. She always knew when he was ready for release. Would she bring him to the brink then deny him? Would she truly show him no mercy?

As his breathing grew heavier, she slowed her pace and loosened her grip. "Dammit, Lexi. Don't stop. Please...don't stop."

She lifted her head and smiled up at him. "I thought you asked me to show you no mercy."

"That was just seductive banter. I rescind it now."

"But, there is more I want to do to you."

Lexi got to her feet and straddled him again, only this time she hovered over both thighs, using her long, toned legs to hold herself steady. He loved the way she used her body. Irrespective of his godly powers, she had control, and he enjoyed being under it. Like now, with her arms wrapped around him and her wet center grazing him to the point of delirium. He was already so close to losing his resolve, he didn't know how much more teasing he could endure before he begged her to finish him off.

Fortunately, Lexi was a merciful goddess, and she lowered onto him, enveloping his hardness with her warmth. He dropped his head back as she brought her mouth to his neck, sucking and licking his skin as she rode him. She maneuvered her fingers between her legs, pleasuring herself as the chair thumped against the floor. When he thought he could resist the pull no longer, she whispered a lusty command. 

"Let go, Hades. I want to feel your fire consume me."

The moan that escaped her signaled her readiness, and her legs tightened around him as she gave herself over. Hades swelled in response, pleasuring her further, and she elicited a series of prayers to the gods as he came like a fiery torrent inside her. She held him close, sharing her body heat as he finished with slowly retreating thrusts. They kissed passionately, basking in the afterglow. He only regretted not being able to hold her.

"I love you, Lexi. I hope you never doubt my devotion to you."

"So do I." Lexi looked into his eyes, allowing him full access to their depths, and what he saw there gave him a chill. But it was not the chill brought on by the splendor of sex. It was the chill that forewarns of rough waters ahead.