~23~

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Hades wanted Lexi as far away from Kade's awesome powers as possible, but he didn't argue when Lexi nudged him toward the stack of hay she was using as a plate holder, accepting the scoop of baked brie she offered him. Lexi had proven to be a committed partner, but there was a risk she would be tempted by Kade. She was a goddess, after all. A very passionate goddess.

Just as Hades expected, Kade relieved himself of the burden of clothing, and Hades made a point not to watch Lexi's expression. He didn't want her to feel like she was being judged. Kade had been handsomely endowed, and he used that endowment to lure mortal women and goddesses to him with the promise of pleasure. Hades feigned interest as Kade stretched his arms wide and rose off the ground. A moment later, a pair of black, feathered wings appeared on Kade's back and spread open behind him. Lexi grabbed Hades' hand, squeezing it tightly as she watched Kade's performance, and Hades used her gesture to justify a glance in her direction.

Lexi gazed in obvious wonder as Kade swept his wings back and forth, hovering above the stalls while discharging a black mist over the two horses. Tainted with lust, passion and desire, the vapor covered the beasts like a blanket, imbuing them with all the properties necessary for a night, or in this case, a day of unconscionable sex and folly. Both horses snorted and shook their heads, although Hades suspected Zenith would have been perfectly capable of sexual folly without Kade's help. Jackie O, on the other hand, had never been with a stallion, and she was not currently in heat, but her response was textbook. She lifted her tail and urinated in a short, quick stream, leaving her tail raised as she pranced around her stall.

"She's winking," Lexi said, as she pointed to Jackie O's rear end. Hades was no expert, but he had a good idea why they called it winking. The fact that Lexi had taken her eyes off Kade to focus on her horse offered him some reassurance, but Hades wasted no time ushering Lexi outside to let Kade finish the show by himself.

"I didn't know Kade had wings." Lexi glanced once more into the stable as Hades led her swiftly up the path before Kade could join them.

"He inherited them from his mother."

"Melinoe has wings? But I have never seen them."

"She only uses them when it's necessary, or when the mood strikes her, like when she's pissed off and wants to make a dramatic exit."

"Well, they're absolutely stunning." Lexi's proclamation lingered, and Hades felt it like the sting of an insult. Melinoe and Kade were among a handful of gods blessed with the gift of wings, as was Persephone's lover, Eros, and most agreed they worked to enhance their sexual prowess. Lexi never mentioned how stunning Thanatos' wings were, but she found him cold and insipid.

When they returned to the dining room, everyone had gathered around the table, helping themselves to breakfast and chatting. Lexi replenished the food on her plate and slipped away from Hades to talk with Clary and Mnemosyne. As he watched the trio of women laugh, he couldn't help speculating about the topic of their conversation. Were they talking about the show Kade put on for Lexi? When Clary used her hands to demonstrate the size of something, he was sure that's what they were discussing.

Hades had never been one to worry about the size of his manhood, or his ability to use it when pleasuring a woman, but he knew Kade had tempted Clary with more than just his stunning wings. Even Persephone had sampled the goods, and Hades wondered how long it would take for Lexi to give in to her urges. It was the way deities had behaved for eons. Marriages were rare and multiple consorts were the norm. He shouldn't even care, but he did. He didn't want anyone else touching Lexi the way she let him touch her, and he couldn't bear the thought of her taking another man into her, or enjoying the way another man pleasured her. She had told him many times that he had claimed her heart, but did she feel the same about her body?

He poured himself a glass of juice and took a blueberry scone from a large platter, escaping from the room to brood with his breakfast. The sliding glass door offered a brilliant view of the sea, and he stood in front of it as he collected his thoughts. Among the tangled mess that made up the grey matter in his head, a single image persisted—Persephone. Her arrival was only two days away and winter would follow, extending the darkness and bringing snow to the underworld. Those months proved difficult for many inhabitants, and the long nights brought out the brute in even the most docile. Lexi would need him for comfort and guidance, something he knew would be difficult with his attention focused on Persephone. He couldn't shake the worry that Persephone's arrival would taint Lexi's feelings for him, fostering her doubts about her decision to become his consort. And how fair was it to want Lexi to stay true to him when he still had Persephone? Would he fail, yet again, to adequately share his love between two goddesses?

Hades had faced this question before, and he had always chosen the goddess he could claim only three months out of every twelve, with the successive nine months leaving him in soul crushing solitude. Every day felt like an eternity, and he simply could not bear the pain of such loneliness. It had long ago begun to affect his work, a fact Hecate lectured him on frequently, and her advice had become rote; find solace in a consort or a mortal with no morals. Hades wanted a life mate, such as he had found in Persephone all those years ago, but her godly duties kept them apart, even when she took up her place in his domain. Theirs was the perfect example of a condemned love affair.

"Someone give you the slip, Hades?" Kade entered the room, ripping Hades away from his agonizing thoughts. He wasn't sure whether to thank Kade or tell him to fuck off. "Let me guess. You have come out here to brood."

"Your perceptiveness is exemplary." Hades spoke through his teeth before he realized they were clenched.

Kade laid his hand on Hades' shoulder. "I haven't seen you this preoccupied since... in a very long time. This goddess really has you unglued. What's her story? And don't tell me she gives good head. We both know gods cannot live on sex alone."

"It's not just the sex, it is the passion behind it. And it's not just her intelligence, it is her passion for learning. And she doesn't just live her life, she is passionate about every step she takes."

"Okay, okay. I see the trend. And you have found yourself in the same boat as when Clary was vying for your attention. Haven't I said before that you cannot keep two women happy in the same household?"

"I have told you time and again that Clary's powers were lamenting in the underworld. She left for no other reason than to fulfill her duties as a goddess."

Kade bobbed his head silently, pressing his lips together like he knew the secrets of the universe but had been sworn to secrecy.

Hades sighed. "Whatever Clary told you while she was under your powers of persuasion, I do not want to know. It will not influence my decision either way."

"So, you have made a decision? What is it?"

"I have no fucking idea." 

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