The Heart of Hades

7

Hades waited outside her brownstone the next morning. It had a red brick exterior and a deep hunter green door. Chintz curtains blocked the windows, and the steps had terracotta flower pots empty for the winter. The house seemed cozy for a movie star and his little sister. He leaned against a tree and looked around, noting several other neighbors leaving to walk dogs.

Unknown to Lilia, Hades was waiting outside to go running with her. She donned her favorite pair of running shoes, said one last goodbye to Ian, and walked down the steps. Hades played the least insight as he watched her stretch her muscles before beginning to run. She put her headphones in, pressed play on her phone to begin her running playlist. As she was about to run, she felt a hand tap her shoulder. Without thinking, she caught the hand that had tapped her and twisted it up and back.

"Don't touch..." She was about to say "me" when she recognized Hades. She let go immediately and apologized,

"I am so sorry! I thought you were a pervert." She took out her headphones and bowed her head.

"No harm's been done it makes me feel better that you can defend yourself somewhat," Hades assured her. She took in his appearance. He was wearing a pair of red running shorts with black running pants underneath, a white long sleeve shirt, and black shoes. His arm sported a band for his phone and his headphones were draped around his neck. His brown hair had been spiked up out of his eyes.

"My father and brother insisted I take a self-defense class if I wanted to go jogging on my own in the city. Why are you here?" she asked, c*****g her head to the side.

"I came to run with you. Poseidon and I are worried now that your powers aren't dormant, some more unsavory mythical creatures will take an interest in you," Hades explained.

"That still doesn't explain how you knew I would be running," she replied, hands on her hips and one eyebrow raised.

"Poseidon asked James about any habits that might attract danger. He mentioned you were a runner and a dancer. Poseidon does not exercise and asked me if I would be your running partner until we train your powers," Hades answered.

"I've thought about it and I don't want to use my powers to fight," she protested, glaring up at him.

"Consider it the next step in your self-defense classes. Now are we going to go jogging or what?" he asked with a smirk.

"Warning, I don't slow down so if you can't keep up I'm leaving you behind," she warned and took off on her normal morning run of five miles around her neighbourhood. Hades shook his head, smiled, and followed her, keeping a pace or two behind. He admired the view of her trim body. Her running clothes left nothing to the imagination. She was wearing black running pants, a hot pink sports bra with a white long sleeve shirt over top, and her blond hair was braided away from her face, reaching halfway down her back. Around her ears, she wore a pink fleece headband.

After several miles, Lilia looked over her shoulder and was surprised to see Hades keeping pace. She slowed just enough for him to come level with her.

"Do you run often?" she asked, taking out one earbud.

"I use it to help me think, I go for a run in the mornings before I open my gym for demigods and monsters alike," Hades replied. She checked her pedometer,

"Race you the last mile back?" she challenged with a smirk.

"Do you really want to, sweetheart? I've been running for centuries," he warned, a smirk of his own flitting across his face.

"Yes," she replied, taking off without warning, Hades laughed and caught up with her easily. Lilia grinned and kicked her running into top gear. She thought she had him beat until the last one hundred yards when he left her in the dust. Breathing hard, bending over her knees, she stopped in front of her brownstone and wheezed out.

"Cheater."

"What now?" Hades replied smugly standing on her steps and stretching his overused muscles. He hadn't sprinted in some time.

"I saw your purple aura flare when you flew past me," she accused, following his lead and stretching her legs.

"My aura is black, not purple," he stated, concern clouding his eyes. He immediately scanned the area to see if he recognized any monsters or gods. He didn't sense anyone, but it made no difference. Many monsters and gods could hide their auras if trained properly.

"Let's get inside now," he demanded, lifting her up off the steps and bodily forcing her inside.

"Why are you so worried? Who's aura is purple? Does everyone have unique colors? Or shades?" she asked, letting him close and lock the door behind them.

"I can name a few and yes, there are varying shades of colors for different monsters and gods. Few of the ones I can name aren't nice and they would love to get their hands on a demigod who can shoot lightning or fire out of their fingers," Hades replied, lifting his shirt to wipe his face. Lilia felt her breath hitch when she caught sight of his rock hard, six-pack abs. She didn't know why it surprised her. He ran a gym, for heaven's sake.

"Let me go get us some towels to dry off, you can sit at the kitchen counter." She pointed to the bar stools and pulled out a bottle of water from the refrigerator and set it in front of him.

"Thanks," he downed the bottle in one go, as she watched his Adam's apple move every time he swallowed. He was fascinating to watch, making her forget about the towels completely. He set the bottle down and stared back at her. His violet eyes caught her amaretto ones with a question.

"I'll go grab those towels," she squeaked, running out of the room to catch her breath. What was he doing to her? Never had she reacted to a man this way before. She practically wanted him to take her then and there on the kitchen counter. As she went to get the towels all she could think about were his lips crushing hers in a kiss, so invigorating she forgot who she was and how to breathe. Leaning against the closet door, she took a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart.

Hades gazed around the tidy kitchen. It was a well-crafted room. The cabinets were a deep cherry wood, the counter tops granite, black with flecks of silver, gold, and copper. All the appliances were state-of-the art stainless steel. He could see the place was well used and not just for show, as were some celebrity kitchens. As he looked around, a row of photographs by the bay window caught his eye. He stepped up to get a closer look and realized the dancer in each of the photos was Lilia. He could tell how much she loved to dance by the look captured on her face. He moved on to another picture in which Lilia wore a white ballet tutu and had a partner, her hair up in a tight ballerina bun, and her hands gracefully arched as she was being lifted off the stage. The last picture he took in was one where she had her hair down in ringlets, her dress forest green and tight in the bodice, but flowed around her body. He could see from the motion captured by the photo that the dress had a slit up to her thighs to allow for movement.

"That was the last dance I did with my troupe last year," Lilia shared, offering him a towel. He took it and asked,

"Why did you stop dancing?"

"It interfered with school and work. I kept having to ask for time off and it was irritating my superiors," She half lied, walking away from the picture which evoked a painful memory of giving up on something she loved. She couldn't bring herself to remove the pictures from the wall.

"Liar. It is one of my gifts as the God of the Underworld, I can tell when someone is lying even if it is to themselves," Hades explained wiping down his face and neck

"It isn't a way to live. You have to travel all the time never settling down, if you get injured your career is over and you have nothing to fall back on. I made my choice, and it was to have a stable life. I am sure James told you all about my childhood, where I spent almost all of it at a boarding school. My father is an award-winning photographer, and he likes to wander. His job allows him to do that, I was a mistake he couldn't give back. I know he loves me, but he loves his freedom more. I want a job where I live in one place and if I have a family, they will know I am coming home every night. My children will never wonder if they did something wrong and think that is why I am not around. I won't be that parent and I won't marry a man who is like that either. I need to know I matter to the man I marry, though I guess I thought I had found that with Phillip, turns out I was very wrong." Lilia couldn't believe how much she was sharing with a man she barely knew. To hide her embarrassment, she quickly took a sip of water and dried her face off with a towel.

"Why not audition for a New York company then? If you are as talented as everyone says, they will pick you up for a show. You could dance but live at home," Hades suggested. He could tell her family had done a number on her confidence and how she felt what a family truly should be.

"I thought I had that when I was dancing with my troupe. The troupe voted to go out on tour last year, and I had to tell them I wouldn't be joining them. Most dancers like the life of traveling the world, they don't like being tied down to one place," Lilia explained, leaning over on the counter. Unconscious of the fact she was giving him a free show down her sports bra. Hades coughed and looked away saying,

"What about Broadway? Don't most of the shows use one cast for New York and another when they go touring the country?"

"True, but I am almost done with my event planning degree and I don't want to give that up now, I have three months left. I enjoy planning parties and special events. I helped plan the Olympus Law anniversary party last year. Dance is a hobby for me, something I love to do but knew it wouldn't ever be my career, no matter how often my father and instructors pushed for me to become a professional." Lilia shared and then looked at the kitchen clock.

"Crap! I am going to be late! I still need a shower, you need to leave!" She panicked, trying to get Hades out her door by pushing against his chest, mentally marveling at how hard he felt underneath his shirt. He didn't budge an inch,

"Calm down, I'll call Poseidon and explain you are running late. He knows I'm here with you and will just suspect we are talking about aura training. Go shower and get ready I will drive you to work," Hades offered. A smile playing gently across his lips. She looked at him and asked,

"Don't you need a shower too?"

"I'll shower at my gym, I keep extra clothes there, now go take that shower."

"Fine, help yourself to anything to eat in the fridge," she said, rushing up the stairs to shower and get ready for her day. Once she was in the shower she leaned against the wall and let the water cascade over her.

Why was Hades really here? No one is after her, her powers weren't anything amazing. She should be wary of him and the way he made her feel. He had a way of making her forget about everything when they were together. Never had she been so open about her opposition to becoming a ballerina. Ian sort of understood but still felt she was letting her past get in the way of her future. Her father had no clue, and she never told him why she didn't want to dance professionally. Hades offered solutions but hadn't pressed her to become a dancer, although he didn't know how good she was, so he was just being supportive.

Stepping into her room, she threw on a long sleeve red jersey knit dress, with an empire waistline, the hem hitting just above her knees. She applied her makeup, keeping it natural, and grabbed her trusty knee-high brown boots. She left her hair down but put a hair tie on her wrist in case she needed it up and out of her way. She grabbed her work bag and went down the stairs to see Hades looking through an old photo album.

"Where did you find that?" she asked, struggling to do the clasp on her watch.

"On the bookshelf next to the T.V. You and Ian look a lot alike except for the eyes. Here let me," he offered, taking her watch in his cool hands and clasping it around her wrist. Lilia drew in a sharp breath as a shock ran up her arm and into her stomach. She looked up at him and his eyes darkened.

"We should go," she whispered, not breaking eye contact.

"True, you'll be even later if we don't leave," He agreed, not making a move to release her wrist and pull out his car keys. He watched several emotions play through her eyes, caution, curiosity, and finally desire to rival his own. Slowly, to allow her time to pull away, he lowered his head towards hers and touched his lips ever so softly against hers.

Lilia watched in fascination as he moved closer to her. She let him kiss her, closing her eyes. The sensation of his lips on hers washed through her body. She wrapped her arms around his neck, sliding her fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck. She felt the tip of his tongue probe her lips and opening her mouth she let it tangle with hers. Her head knew she shouldn't be letting this man she barely knew, kiss her into oblivion, yet she couldn't help but press closer to feel his hard body against her soft body.

Hades pulled her into his arms and pushed her up against the wall, changing the angle of his head to take the kiss deeper. He slid his hands down to grip her supple hips, pushing her harder into the wall, growling deep in his throat. He knew he should let her go, but his demons wouldn't listen to his head and continued the onslaught of kisses. He pressed his hips into hers, letting her feel his hard need against her. She responded with a soft moan. Hades lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, reveling in how strong he was.

Ring, ring, ring.

Hades' cell phone went off with Poseidon's ringtone, metaphorically throwing a bucket of ice water on their heated exchange.

"Hades your phone," Lilia whispered, putting her forehead on his shoulder, taking deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart. He nudged her head up and nipped at her neck, trying to keep the passion fueled.

"Ignore it," he growled, sucking just below the neckline of her dress, leaving a love bite behind. The ringing stopped for a minute and then started up again.

"What!" he yelled into the phone.

"When should I expect Ms. Heart to arrive at work? I have clients who need to be greeted, and paperwork that needs to be filed." Lilia could hear Poseidon's voice and was shocked to hear him laughing.

"We're coming, but I have a bone to pick with you once we arrive," Hades warned, setting Lilia back on her feet. She quickly straightened her appearance and checked the mirror to freshen her make-up.

"Just get here already," Poseidon replied and hung up.

"Damn, tonight after your first aura training session, we are going on a date," Hades ordered. Lilia lifted an eyebrow, crossed her arms, and said,

"Are we now?"

"Yes, I don't kiss a woman like that before we've been dating a while. You seem to have brought out a new ungentlemanly side of me this morning," Hades explained, picking up his dropped car keys and motioning for her to follow. Lilia grabbed her bag and house keys before following him out the door.