Hades

XIII

Ella's point of view

The sun was ruthless as it shone through the curtains, blinding me even in my sleep. Groaning I turned towards the clock beside my bed. The hands of the clock informed me that it had just gone seven o'clock.

I wonder if Hades is awake? Sighing, I heaved myself out of the comfort of my bed and slipped on my slippers.

The morning air was crisp and caused a shiver to run down my spine. As I walked down the corridor I noticed the door to the guest room was open and Hades was not inside.

The house was deathly silent, the only sound coming from a chirping bird somewhere outside. Maybe he was downstairs.

I descended the stairs quickly, searching for any sign that Hades was in the house. I stumbled into the kitchen, barely awake, thinking Hades might be there.

I quickly realised that I was mistaken. The house was empty, no sign of Hades anywhere. Sighing, I turned to the kettle on the counter, deciding that a cup of tea would help ease the feeling of abandonment.

Before I was able to turn the kettle on the front door opened and I stilled. Panic flashed in my mind, thinking that Kronos had finally made his appearance.

I whipped around and nearly ran into the blue-eyed man before me.

"Hades." I breathed out. I was slightly taken aback from our close proximity.

We were close, closer then we had ever been. I could feel his warm breath fan over my face, my nerves were on high-alert and my hammering heart refused to slow down.

"What's wrong Ella?" He whispered, his hand reaching up to softly touch my face.

It was a comforting gesture and I couldn't help it as I subtly leaned into his touch.

In that moment I noticed how well my face fitted into his hand, how it seemed to be carved to mold into the shape of his large fingers.

"Nothing, you just scared me a bit," I said honestly, craning my neck even more then usual to glance at his face, "you weren't here when I woke up so I wasn't expecting you to be back."

His face fell slightly at my words.

"I shouldn't have left you here alone. I ran back to my hotel to freshen up and grab some clean clothes," His eyes were filled with guilt as he looked down at me, "I was hoping to be back before you woke up."

I smiled at the thought, "It's fine Hades, I'm glad you are here."

It was his turn to smile now, his lips tugged at the corners and spread into a wide grin. In that moment it was just us two, alone in the kitchen, impossibly close and yet this seemed right.

Nothing else mattered in that moment and for the second time in two days, home was no longer a place, but rather the dark-haired, blue-eyed man before me.

It didn't matter that I barely knew him, the thought didn't even cross my mind, I was too caught up looking at his eyes to think properly.

I gulped, willing my brain to focus, "Would you like some breakfast?"

"Don't worry about breakfast Ella, you went through a lot this week because of me and I think it's only fair that I make you breakfast-" He parted slightly from me before nudging me slightly towards the staircase,"- go have a shower and relax, breakfast will be ready when you are finished."

I smiled slightly and thanked him for being so kind before hurrying up the stairs towards my room. Once I reached my bathroom I quickly stripped and took a shower. I was done in record time, not wanting to keep Hades waiting.