The Darkest Lie (Lords of the Underworld #6)(42)
Author: Gena Showalter

“Yes,” she grumbled. “I can do it while you’re awake.” She could project images into his mind at any time. Nightmares was just as able to invade daydreams, after all. But just then Scarlet wanted Gideon concentrating only on her aching body. On the here and now.

“Then, nope. I want you to do it later.”

“Why?” Why couldn’t he wait till after? Because he feared she’d leave him? Because he thought she’d deny him? “Never mind. But be warned. The ceremony was short, we couldn’t risk something longer, and kind of somber.” She’d give him what he wanted, though. “Just know that the moment you stop, I stop.” There. Bargaining, just as he liked.

“My displeasure,” he practically purred, tongue flicking out and darting back and forth over her clit.

Once again, her back bowed. Okay, maybe demanding he continue hadn’t been the most brilliant of plans. Her thoughts were fragmenting again, her blood heating yet another degree, her organs blistering before erupting into more of those decadent flames, her bones melting, wanting only to pour over him.

In a burst, the shadows and the screams escaped her hold, swirling around Gideon and filling the room. Just as well. She could use them to create the daydream.

Concentrate. Scarlet dug through her favorite mental files—files she’d buried and thought to never consider again—and found the one Gideon desired.

Instantly the scene opened up in both their minds.

Late at night, while the prisoners of Tartarus slept, Gideon roused Hymen, the imprisoned Titan god of Marriage, and brought him to the cell they used for making love.

For Scarlet, Gideon had arranged a lingering bath a few hours before, and had given her a clean white robe. Only, that robe was composed of lace and that lace conformed to her curves. She’d never felt lovelier, before or since.

When the two men stepped into her cell, she threw back her hood in eagerness, and her long, dark hair cascaded over her shoulder, brushed and silky for once. Gideon reached out, pinched a lock between two fingers, and brought the strands to his nose. He breathed deeply his gaze perusing her.

“Hideous,” the Gideon between her legs breathed just as the Gideon in the dream rasped, “Exquisite.”

A blush stained her cheeks, then and now. But she wasn’t the exquisite one, and she knew it. There was no more gorgeous sight than Gideon. His black hair rose in spikes, his blue eyes were bright, the midnight lashes framing them like feathered fans, and his lips still swollen from her earlier kisses.

He possessed a shadow beard, sharp cheekbones and a strong jaw. There wasn’t a flaw to him. He wore the thin silver armor she’d shown him in his dream of Steel, as directed by Zeus, and that armor was etched with jagged butterflies exactly like the tattoos they now bore.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked nervously. Back then, her voice had lacked the…hardness of today, and even Scarlet had to acknowledge how sweet and innocent she sounded.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life, sweetness.”

Her blush intensified, and ever shy, she cast her gaze to the ground, lips curling into a happy smile. “I’m glad.”

“Well, I’m not sure about this,” Hymen said. He cleared his throat, drew his hood around his face to keep his features hidden in shadow. “If anyone learns of my part in this, I’ll be executed.”

Gideon’s arm wrapped around Scarlet’s waist, a clear gesture of possession. “I told you. No one will learn of it, and besides that, you’ve already been handsomely rewarded.”

“But I—”

“Discovery is the least of your worries,” Gideon barked then. “Marry us or feel the sting of my blade. Those are your only choices. And, Hymen. If you feel the sting of my blade, it won’t be only once. No one will recognize you when I’m done.”

Hymen shifted from one foot to the other, his fear palpable. “Of course, of course. We’ll start now.” The words rushed from him. “Gideon of the Greeks, tell Scarlet of the Titans why you wish to wed her.”

Those piercing blue eyes met her dark black ones, and he took her hands in his. “From the first, you enchanted me. You are more than beautiful. You are smart and strong and determined. When I’m with you, I want to be a better man. I want to be worthy of you.”

As he spoke, this long-ago Gideon, more ice melted around Scarlet’s heart. But he wasn’t finished.

“I want to provide for you. I want to give you the life you deserve. One day, I will. Because I know, deep in my soul, that to part is to die.”

Tears flooded Scarlet’s eyes.

“Scarlet of the Titans,” Hymen said, a little choked up himself, “please tell Gideon of the Greeks why you wish to wed him.”

While her knees knocked together, Scarlet struggled to find adequate words. Words that would tell this man exactly how she felt. “From the first moment I saw you, I was attracted to you and hated myself for it. But how could I have known that underneath your beautiful exterior was an irresistible mix of courage, passion and tenderness? You quickly proved your worth, and taught me mine. I was a slave, but you made me a woman.”

His eyes were filled with tears as well, she noticed.

“You are my everything,” she whispered, chin trembling. “My past, present and future. My heart. My life. To part is to die.”

Hymen swallowed audibly. “Kiss now and forever-more seal this union.”

Gideon didn’t hesitate. He wrapped his arms around her, drew her close and pressed their lips together. Their tongues met, twined, his breath filling her lungs and her breath filling his.

They were one.

In the present, Scarlet allowed the image to fade. She realized she’d never released the headboard, and the metal was bent. Realized Gideon had stopped pleasuring her, but she hadn’t noticed, so lost had she been in the memory. So lost, in fact, that real tears were now streaming down her cheeks.

They were streaming down Gideon’s, too.

Their gazes met as they had inside that cell, and she saw the emotion swimming in those baby blues.

He was the same, yet so completely different. And the differences weren’t physical, though his hair was now as bright a blue as his eyes. He was harder, harsher, more distanced. Before, he’d had an easy smile and had delighted in soothing her with his biting observations of both the Greeks and Titans.

“Do you know why this prison is so big?” he’d once asked her. “Tartarus is overcompensating for the size of his dick.”