Lure of the Jaguar: Hades' Carnival, Book 7 by N.J. Walters Page A

the plaster as his body punched a huge hole in it. He seemed dazed for a moment. He swore and shook himself. The flecks of plaster disappeared from his suit, leaving it pristine once again.
    “What have you done?” Hades demanded.
    “I’ve shared my immortality with her, my life force. She is part of me now. And more importantly, I am part of her.” Stavros’ smile made her shudder. Right now, she wasn’t sure who the most dangerous man in the room was.
    Holy hell, the whole immortal thing was real. And she had to stop using any sayings with the word hell in them. But it was hard to comprehend the idea that she was now immortal. Stavros had given her that. And all because he wanted to save her from Hades.
    “And since I am a part of her, you cannot harm her,” Stavros continued. “If you try, you are the one who will be destroyed.”
    Hades clenched his hands at his sides, threw back his head and roared. Glass shattered and the furniture rose in the air before slamming back to the floor. He didn’t look so suave and sophisticated now. No, now he was the all-avenging god.
    “Why?” Hades demanded. “Why do you warriors share your power with these human women? You barely know her, yet you give so much to her. Why?”
    It was obvious to Toni by the way he said the word human that he didn’t think much of them as a race.
    Stavros shook his head. “If I have to explain it, you’ll never understand.”
    “Tell me,” the god demanded. He was panting hard and, if she wasn’t mistaken, smoke was seeping from beneath the cuffs of his sleeves and the hem of his pants.
    “When you love someone, you’ll do anything in your power to keep them safe, even if that means sacrificing yourself.”
    Toni was dumbstruck. This was the first time in her life a man had told her he loved her, and he hadn’t really told her at all. He’d told Hades.
    Stavros had gifted her with part of his immortality to save her. That was easier to believe than the fact that he loved her. But Stavros wasn’t the type of man to lie. He would always tell her the truth.
    He loved her.
    She played that over in her head, trying to get used to the idea.
    Hades spoke in a language she couldn’t understand, but she didn’t need a translation to know he was swearing.
    Just then, another portal began to form. This one was a swirling combination of brilliant white and darkest black. It formed much quicker than the first one had. A gorgeous woman stepped from the depths of the spinning circle and into the room. She was slender, but there was no mistaking the surge of power that preceded her. Her hair was black and fell to her waist. She was also wearing jeans and a silk blouse. Toni wondered who she was.
    “Persephone.” Hades seemed surprised to see the woman. From what little Toni knew about the Greek gods, she knew Persephone was married to Hades. Or at least that’s what the books said. Toni was quickly realizing that they truly knew little about the ancient gods.
    Persephone frowned and shook her head. “You just had to come here, didn’t you?” She walked over to the dark god, totally unafraid. Toni admired the other woman even if she wondered about her sanity. After all, the guy was the Lord of the Underworld.
    Hades flicked a nonexistent piece of lint off the sleeve of his suit jacket and shrugged.
    Stavros came to stand beside Toni. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and pulled her into the curve of his body. His sword was pointed blade down, the tip resting against the floor.
    Persephone waved her hand in the air and the damage Hades had inflicted to the room was quickly repaired. The glass jumped from the floor and reassembled itself in the window, the furniture became sturdy and whole again and the plaster repaired itself.
    Toni was in awe. That was some skill. Gave an entirely new meaning to the idea of renovation and redecorating.
    When she was done, the goddess turned to them. “You’ll have to excuse us. We must be