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)
Not that any of that matters right now. It’s simply time to stop denying myself Aurora. I wave a lazy hand in his direction. “I agree. She’ll be returned to you in the same condition she’s delivered.”
His jaw clenches, but he manages to resist the urge to threaten me again. “Do you have specifications for what she should pack?”
“That won’t be needed.” Two weeks ago, when I finally decided to do this, I made all the necessary preparations. “Aside from anything personal she needs to stay overnight, I have everything taken care of.”
He stares at me a long moment. “Very well. Wait here.” He rises and moves around the desk, striding to the door.
It takes everything I have not to turn to keep him in my line of sight. The man is a predator, and offering him my back goes against all my training. I resist. It’s a power play, and getting out of my chair as much as admits that I don’t trust him not to knife me in the back. That I’m afraid of him. Unacceptable.
The door opens and closes, but I don’t relax. This office undoubtedly had cameras set up, and as tempting as it is to rifle through the desk, everyone knows that this is only Hades’s public office. He’s too smart to keep anything damning here where anyone could come sniffing and find it.
Instead, I fall back into an old habit of my childhood. The first lesson my mother taught me was patience, and there’s little more torturous than a child being forced to sit for long hours without any entertainment. It took me weeks before I realized that there was a point to the exercises. An observant person can tell a wealth of information simply from categorizing the room they are in.
The monotone black and gray paintings lining the walls are from an artist who goes by the moniker Death, something that no doubt amuses Hades. The black desk and gray furniture are all top-of-the-line and deceptively sturdy despite their elegant lines. There’s plenty of kink play that goes on in this room, and knowing what I do of Hades and Megaera’s tastes, it makes sense that they wouldn’t want to break the furniture every time someone gets rowdy. The bookshelves behind the couch are filled, but the black and gray and white spines aren’t creased, which further confirms that this room is for show, not for traditional office use.
The door behind me opens, and this time two sets of footsteps approach. Hades doesn’t round his desk again. He simply leans against it and crosses his arms. “Aurora has agreed to the contract.” His gaze flicks over my shoulder. “Behave.”
“Don’t I always?” Aurora’s sweet tone ignites something in my chest. Something I spent the first half of my life stifling and the latter half molding into something useful. Ambition is one hell of a drug, and there aren’t many mountains left to climb in Carver City. I’m at the top. No one challenges me, no one dares stand in my way when I want something.
Except this woman.
I rise slowly and turn to face her. The sight of Aurora is always a kick in the chest. She’s a gorgeous Black woman with a petite frame and light-brown skin. Over the years, her hair has run the range of every wild color in existence, though she seems to favor pink and blue the most. Tonight, it’s a deep indigo that’s nearly black in this light. She’s wearing a blood-red lace teddy that does little to hide her body. Another change. Up until a few months ago, she only ever wore white.
Such a small difference shouldn’t incite my curiosity, but something’s altered within her since she took over the second-in-command position beneath Megaera. She’ll never be as sarcastic or fierce as Tink was in the same position, but she’s managed to avoid being steamrolled by the Dominants that frequent the club.
She’s also barefoot.
I raise an eyebrow at Hades but don’t comment on it. His lips quirk a little, but his eyes stay cold. “Her overnight bag is at the front desk with Adem. You may pick it up when you exit.”
“Good. We’re leaving now.”
Aurora’s head jerks up, her large brown eyes wide. “You’re not going to play in the club first?”
I stalk to her and tap her pretty lips. “When I want you to speak, I’ll say so. Tell me your safe word.”
“Thorn,” she whispers.
“Good. Let’s go.” I flash a look at Hades over my shoulder. It shouldn’t please me to find his expression stormy with displeasure, but I’ve won this round and we both know it. “See you in two weeks, Hades.”
“Remember what I said.”
“Of course.” I take three steps past Aurora and snap my fingers, pointing to spot about a foot behind me.
She obeys the silent command, moving to follow with her head bowed and her hands laced in front of her. I don’t look back again, but I keep half my attention on her footsteps behind me as we head through the door and down the hall, bypassing the lounge where patrons come to chat and drink before indulging in the wide variety of offerings available in the Underworld. I recognize plenty of people at the bar and sitting in the booths tucked against the walls on either side of the room, but I’m not in the mood to chat.