Scarlett's Letter (Touched by a God #1) (5 page)

Her eyebrows raised as he walked by the space she tended to remain in for the majority of her time there; her dance studio.  Hades met her gaze and secretly hoped that the old look might make a return.  He had no such luck.  The only look that rested there was curiosity.  In all of the times that she’d come to be with him, he’d never once had a visitor.  Even when he had to go to battle several years ago, he hadn’t been “visited.” He was sent a message on his phone to let him know that Bartong had brought his simple minded ass out of hiding.  He wasn’t even worth mentioning most of the time.  One doesn’t usually recognize an embarrassing itch at the base of your ass unless you are seeing a specialist about it.  The god of nothing was a very likely comparison.  He dismissed all thoughts of the peon and went toward the foyer where he knew Kaleo would be waiting.  Rouge’s voice stopped him.

“I want to go home now, Aides.  I don’t want to be here any longer.  What was once a beautiful, sensual dream has been ruined and a living horror story has taken its place.  You can’t actually be so malicious.  If you were, then you would go against everything that I have built you up to be all these many years.”

Her last words were barely audible.  He could tell that she was holding on to that version of him, the man that he was for her.  The god that he needed to be overruled said man.  The god had a mission that was more important than dealing with the trivial needs of the man.

He placed his hands on either side of her face, then let his power bleed into his eyes, “The living horror story is the truth of who I am.  The dream and the nightmare are one in the same.  I am
malicious
enough to have you remain with me because I can.  It’s easier to accept the entity as the whole and not hold on to something that is as much a myth as the Fates.”

  Hades wouldn’t reveal the truth that the Fates weren’t actually part of any myth.  He’d come into contact with them on many separate occasion.  They’d always been depicted as these gruesome looking women when in fact they were quite beautiful.  The ugly nature or personality came out when someone tried play mind games with them to glean more information from them.  He found that quite amusing because they are future tellers.  You would have to be kind of a dumb S. O. B. to even attempt something like that with them.  He’d been in the area    No one knew of his alter ego.  No one saw that other side of him.  Who he was to his minions, the demon leaders and his brethren was the god they’d all come to not only hate but fear as well.   She was the only one to get that glimpse of who that man was.  The façade had to be dismissed in order for her to remain.  He couldn’t be that man
and
ruler of the Underworld.

“The man that I met in the beginning, the man that I could have given…isn’t who you are, Aides.  He was a figment of my imagination.  The man, the cold, calculating, deceitful being that stands before me is the truth of who you are.  Everything else was a…lie.”

He saw that she fought with herself.  She didn’t want to appear weak or in pain.  He admired her for that quiet strength.  She pulled back the tears that he knew threatened.   It was a statement.  It was something that she didn’t need verified, but he did so without any prompting from her.  He wanted things to be very clear between them.

“Love me or leave, Rouge.  Know though that you are destined to be at my side.  There is no place that you can go that the call won’t pull you back to this place.  You can try to dismiss it or ignore it, but you are to be here with me for all eternity.”

Her eyes flared and fire sparked in her pupils before she spoke, “I know I’ll leave you, Aides.  Rouge died the moment you decided to destroy the good and allow your sick, twisted reality to attempt to be my own.  My name is Scarlett Rose Grace.  You, oh evil and lonely one, will only call me Scarlett.  Mark my words, I will escape from this place and you will NOT be able to do a damn thing about it!”

Those eyes flashed again and his heart skipped an actual beat.  He wanted to beam with pride at the fact that he could see a manifestation of his ability within her.  Hades completely ignored her statement.  He knew that she was going nowhere until his allotted time was up.  He would convince her tonight once she slumbered.  His nights spent alone and working his own hard on were over.  He was determined to be buried deep within her depths this evening.  She just didn’t know it yet.  Her spirit was admirable.  The tenacious way she spoke let him know that she believed what she’d said to him.  His Rouge believed that she would escape him.  He would enjoy letting her know that she was not the one that was in control of their fate. 

“Rouge, you and I are going to have quite an enjoyable time over the next few days.”

He chuckled then felt something hit the back of his head.  It was a light tap, whatever it was, but it effectively got his attention.  He turned and looked at the broken vase on the floor.  Hades shrugged his shoulders.  He’d hated the damn thing anyway.  Demeter had given it to him as a present. It was supposed to symbolize some great quote but he never cared to look into it.  All it did was remind him of why he was “trapped.” It was also the reminder of the reason that he usually walked the halls alone.

“Love the fire, Rouge.  Reminds me of what I’m getting in the bedroom. Care to join me there again?  I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Scar-let-t,” she growled between clenched teeth, emphasizing the syllables and the t sound in her name. “Keep dreaming, pretty boy.  The last taste that you had of this is going to have to do you.  Any worth that you had went out the window with my ice cold awakening.  Hope you and lefty enjoy yourselves this evening.”

He called his ability to himself and moved behind her. His hands grabbed hold to her full breasts that were practically spilling out of the tight, form fitting shirt she wore whenever she was practicing or choreographing.  The soft orange shirt reminded him of peaches.  He was pulsing with need as soon as he thought of his favorite treat. 

“Lefty and righty will have plenty to occupy their time with the twins and the creamy valley that await my rod even now.”

He snaked his tongue out and into her ear then nibbled on her lobe as his hands kneaded her bountifully perfect tits.  She pressed her chest forward and he rewarded her by rolling her pebbled nipples between his fingertips through the fabric of her shirt.  One hand slid down her front and under the hem.  He played with her belly button ring.  The jewel that dangled from it was his symbol and matched her marking.  It could also be seen on the tattoo on her hip.  The dragonfly had piercing violet eyes peering out of the top of the wings and the antennae formed Hades’ symbol.  He recalled spending a great deal of time outlining the tat with his tongue the first time that he’d seen it.  Hades’ hand moved from her right hip where his thumb had been moving over the reminder to top of her panties.

He felt the slight stubble that was a sign of her hair growing back.  She usually kept it nice and trim.  The fact that she hadn’t groomed the area caused him to growl.  She actually believed that he wouldn’t have her again and that a little stubble was going to be a deterrent.  He allowed his fingers to graze over the outer lining of her lips.  It was just enough for his fingers to run over the slight growth.  The gesture was enough to have her panting and seeking his stroke against that now wet engorged area that was awaiting relief.  His hand slid further into her panties and rolled over the entire area before he dipped two fingers into the heated depths of her.  He began to pump in and out of her while pinching and squeezing her breast.  Her response was to grind her ass against his pelvis.  She rubbed herself up and down the front of him, repeatedly.  He was about to strip them both when he heard a clearing of a male throat. 

Pissed that he’d been interrupted just before taking what was rightfully his, Hades appeared before Kaleo scythes in hand.  Kaleo’s axes were at the ready and they were in a battle in the next moment.  All that could be heard were the sounds of their exertion from the perfected moves they performed and the clashing of their weapons.  Kaleo’s axe barely missed cutting Hades’ face.  It was the only sign Hades had to tell him that she’d been watching.  She’d gasped at the closeness of Kaleo’s move to hitting its mark.  He enjoyed the fact that she was concerned about his well being. 

He and Kaleo immediately ceased their “greeting” and looked over at her.  The dark haired, brown eyed physician looked as if he was assessing her not as the doctor he was called to be in that moment, but as a man does a most coveted woman.

“Mine, Kaleo,” he tossed at his one and only trusted friend.  To her, he said, “You worry after me, Rouge.”

“My only
worry
was that the damned axe missed its mark.  Call me Rouge again and I’ll bury it in your heart myself.”

Her response actually aroused him.  He looked over at Kaleo who stood just an inch or two taller than him. They’d both watched as her eyes flashed with fire.

“Well?” Hades questioned his friend while looking at Rouge.

“Yes Aides, it’s true.  It’s official and confirmed.  You finally did it.  I have to say that it’s a shame that I beat you by a good half century and two already brought to fruition. Yours is most definitely there.  Procedures and precautions in place?” Kaleo questioned as his eyes peered into that of Rouge’s. 

If he didn’t trust his friend and know his friend’s ability then he would be tempted to take Kaleo’s head off of his shoulders.  Since he knew his friend’s interest was only in the demigod beginning to take up residence in his Rouge’s womb.  His interest would remain there for the moment, at least until he completed his exam.  After his eyes would return to admiring the woman and Hades would have make it clear what Kaleo’s purpose for being there was.  Hades knew his friend well enough to know that they didn’t leave each other’s presence without getting into a minimum of two altercations.  Neither knew what it meant to lose and neither tended to give up easily or usually ever.   

“Not yet, but forthcoming, my friend.  I wanted to be sure before they were instilled. Once in place…” Hades called forth a bag and handed it to Kaleo.

“…might as well paint a big red ‘x marks the spot’ on her beautiful little back.  The brethren are going to be gunning.  You know that,” Kaleo responded as he reviewed the contents of the bag.  The bag was filled with the usual payment of various chocolates.

“All the more reason for certain things to be set in motion,” Hades looked over at Rouge then to the doorway where her silent and invisible bodyguards now stood.  He gave a slight nod.

“Already done,” Kaleo immediately responded as he looked over at Hades and gave him a nod.

“What are you two talking about?” Scarlett interjected.

He’d been so focused on making sure the protections were put into place and the release of some of his heir’s abilities happened that he had forgotten that she was still there.  Her puzzled, angered look let him know that she didn’t appreciated being kept in the dark.  Before he could pre-warn Kaleo that he wanted to ease her into the realization of her current predicament, the man was speaking.

“We were discussing precautions for you, since you’re pregnant with the Leader of the Underworld’s spawn.  There’s going to be quite a few people attempting to capture you to get at this one over here.  He’s pissed off quite a few people, gods, demons and/or mythological creatures…over the centuries.”

He didn’t know which part of the explanation proved to be too much, but he watched her as she ran through all of the emotions that he expected her to.  First was the shock of the words that she’d heard.  Second was the fear of what those words meant.  The final was the look of complete horror that told Hades, in no uncertain terms, that she was checking out.  He moved to catch her body before she hit the stone ground, but as he appeared where her body should have been in mid-motion he found nothing but air.  A mist was there that was reminiscent of the remnants of his ability.  He looked to Kaleo who looked just as miffed as he was.

“What the fuck just happened?”

“Didn’t that look like your exit?” he heard Kaleo ask.

“I didn’t see it, only what was left of it.  It looked a hell of a lot like it though.”

“That’s unprecedented.”

“While you stand there fucking dumbstruck, I need to find out where the hell she went.  And how in the hell she got there? Why wasn’t I told that it was even a FUCKING POSSIBILITY?”

His voice shook the frame of the house in its entirety and some of the grounds surrounding them.  Where was she? He still had five days.  She wasn’t supposed to be able to leave him.  He wanted his woman back and he wanted some plausible explanation of how it was even feasible that she could just vanish before his eyes, without his foreknowledge.  He left his foyer and Kaleo’s amused visage to return to his looking glass.  When he called up the smoke and it cleared, he was surprised then pissed to watch as she awakened in her own bedroom.  He put out the call and saw her look around but she remained.  Once again, he tried.  The result was the same.  He tried a third time with no difference.  His bellow broke several of the glass pieces that were in the area.  He watched her tremble then get out of her bed.  His body vibrated with hostility towards the person that had interfered again. 

Hades didn’t have time to bask in the glow of the knowledge of his triumph.  He’d been triumphant in his conquest and some fuck face was robbing him of his time with Rouge.  He knew they were doing it because as a god they tended to get bored.  If they could torture their fellow brethren they would.  In spite of the knowledge of their limitations, they still attempted to do so, often.  He was guilty of it, but this bullshit was taking it too fucking far. His prize was staring back at him and didn’t even know that he was there staring at her.