Sundown

Chapter 14

It wasn't until Persephone fully woke and sat up and bed that the thought hit her: today was her last full day above. Tomorrow evening she would leave with him and not return for six months. She couldn't sort through what combination of her emotions she was: sad to leave, excited to return, or anxious at the thought of either.

She pondered what she wanted to do, hoping it would be a sunny day for whatever she decided. She landed on sitting by the river. It was early, so the only sound would be the calming bubbling of the water as it moved past. She liked being around people, but enjoyed the quiet of hearing the Earth wake up. However this morning when she approached, she found someone was already there.

Hades stood chest deep in the cool river water, scrubbing at his scalp. An unforeseen result of spending most of his time outdoors the past few days was that he seemed to always have dirt on him. While it shook off his robes easily enough, between the sweat at the heat of the day and the wind turning up dirt and leaves, he felt he had a permanent layer of debris on him.

He was told that the increasing winds were reflecting Demeter's cooling mood at her daughter's departure. He was convinced it was a deliberate attempt to keep him perpetually dirty, a last passive aggressive protest. He wondered how Persephone never seemed dirty despite constantly running around the fields, sitting directly on the ground, and digging through her gardens. It suited her and she always glowed, like she and the outdoors complementing each other.

Hades looked up and startled, briefly believing his thoughts had manifested her before him. Persephone stood not far from the water's edge, watching him. He froze mid-motion, eyes meeting hers. He hadn't expected anyone to be up this early, yet here she was, staring at him as he stood naked in the river.

After a few seconds of initial shock, Persephone casually walked over to the edge and sat down, putting her feet in the water. She smiled at his dumbstruck expression.

"Well don't let me stop you." He walked over, her legs at his eyeline. He looked up at her, wrapping his fingers around one her ankles underwater and kissing her knee. Her leg tingled where his lips touched her.

"Good morning."

"You're up early," she noted.

"Believe it or not, I didn't want everyone to see me like this."

"Really?" she teased, leaning back and looking at his wet shoulders and across his submerged body. "I'm enjoying the view."

"Are you?" he asked, running his hand up her leg in the water.

"Yes. But I'm glad it's a private performance," she added with a wink.

"Performance?" He kissed her other knee, nose running along the inside of her leg. He grabbed at her calves under the water, abruptly pulling her so close to the edge so thought she would fall in. She scrambled to grab onto his head for balance. He parted her knees wider, slowly kissing up along her inner thigh. He reached up to push her skirt up her legs and to her waist, splashing water all over her legs and waist.

"Hades!" she squealed in mock protest. "You're getting me all wet!"

He glanced up at her with a knowing look, the obvious double entendre going unspoken between them. His lips continued their path inward at a slow, teasing pace along the soft skin of her thighs. Just as she thought his lips would finally reach their destination, he switched sides, kissing back toward her knee again.

Persephone threaded her fingers through his scalp, trying to ease his head forward as he made good on the innuendo, his mouth leaving a trail of drops inside her legs. He placed himself just before her entrance and held there, his breath on her sensitive skin causing her to shiver. He finally kissed her, his lips cold and wet against her waiting, wanting body, eliciting a soft cry.