Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76370 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Because of that, I can’t guarantee what his answer will be.
After all, I didn’t expect him to make me wait a full twenty-four hours for a response, and yet here we are.
Hades steeples his hands in front of his face. He doesn’t bother with a greeting. We both know why I’m here. “There are conditions.”
Something like giddiness courses through me. He’s going to say yes. I keep my expression cold and unmoving through the ease of long practice. “I expected as much.”
“Aurora is too reckless to put hard limits in place, so I will do it for her.”
That surprises me enough to raise my eyebrows. “You don’t trust her to know her own mind after nearly a decade in the Underworld? Hades, you’re getting soft.”
“Violate the terms of this contract and see how soft I am.” The quiet menace in his voice has me going still. Hades might be an old dog, but he’s still got claws and teeth. There’s a reason why all the territory leaders, me included, respect his territory as neutral space. My mother taught me never to walk onto a battlefield unless I was sure I could win. I’m not entirely sure I could win a conflict with Hades, and because of that I’m forced to play these polite games.
“What are your conditions?”
“No blood play. Nothing that could scar.” He considers me. “No breath play or water play.”
I’m not exactly surprised, but it’s interesting that he feels the need to vocalize this list. “Those are the rules of the club.”
“And you won’t be in the club, so it requires stating explicitly. If you harm Aurora, I will destroy you.”
This is a fault line I could exploit if I so wished. Everyone looks at Hades and assumes the way to hurt him is to hurt one of his lovers—Megaera or Hercules. Very few people look deeper to realize that, no matter his cold attitude, he takes the protection of his people seriously. Especially Aurora.
He’s not the only one in Carver City that feels that way. If I harmed the girl, most of the territory leaders would turn on me. Even Ursa might, and she’s been my closest friend for years.
I lean back and cross my legs. “I have no intention of damaging your little princess, Hades. I just want to play with her.”
“Why now?”
I shrug, feigning nonchalance. “Now’s as good a time as any. Word has it that her bargain with you is almost expired. It’s my last chance to enjoy her.” Enjoy her. Such simple words that don’t come close to describing the fire in my blood whenever I’m around that pretty submissive. It’s been years since that single scene we shared, and I can barely be in the same room as her without wanting to wind her colorful hair around my fist and drive her to her knees. To make her cry and beg and orgasm. She ignites all my worst impulses, tempts me to forgo the control I value so highly.
If I were less stubborn, I’d let her go. Nothing good can come of having Aurora in my home for two weeks, but I have to risk it if there’s even a chance I can purge this burning desire from my veins. Moreover, a small, secret part of me wants to indulge in this selfish thing.
It’s been so long since I wanted something that I couldn’t take simply by the nature of who I am. Twenty years. Two decades of having everything I could possibly dream of at my fingertips.
Hades shakes his head. “The contract starts tonight. In one week’s time, I will either send one of my people to check in with Aurora, or you can bring her here. If I’m not satisfied at that point, you will forfeit the remainder of the time with her.”
“So protective,” I murmur. “Do you think I’m going to cut her into little pieces? Surely you know better.”
He holds my gaze. “I wouldn’t put anything past you, Malone. Anything. Better that you understand the consequences before agreeing.”
His determination to think the worst of me might sting if I hadn’t spent half my life curating a reputation that I am not one to be fucked with. Fear accomplishes as much, if not more, than violence does. Make a few examples of people and suddenly you have much less conflict on your hands. Another lesson from my mother. If only my sister had taken that particular rule to heart, she wouldn’t be dealing with the shitshow going on in Sabine Valley right now.
I push the thought away. There’s no point in worrying about my nieces and little brother. There’s nothing I can do to assist the situation while I’m here in Carver City, and trying to interfere will only make things worse. It doesn’t mean the knowledge sits comfortably, though.