Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Jafar

I knew I’d have to go through this song and dance the first time I brought Jasmine to The Underworld. I counted on it. I can take or leave playing in public, so attending a dungeon isn’t on my list of must haves solely for the sex. Having a membership so I can keep my thumb on the pulse of the city? That’s worth the hefty fee I pay every month and any grandstanding Hades requires.

It doesn’t stifle my irritation as I press my hand to Jasmine’s back and guide her in the same direction Meg took a few moments ago.

My baby girl wants to be shared, and from her reaction to Meg, she’s just as much a fan of women as she is of men.

I didn’t anticipate that.

I turns out I didn’t anticipate a lot of things when it comes to Jasmine Sarraf.

“Remember the rules,” I murmur.

“I remember.” On cue, she drops her gaze to the floor. I don’t need that shit the same way some people in this place do, but I can’t deny a thrill at the easy obedience. It’s likely only because she’s overwhelmed and probably over-sensitized. If the floor felt steady beneath Jasmine’s feet, she’d already have swung at me, have pushed me until I was tempted to fuck her right there against the bar to prove a point. She loves dancing on my buttons, and I can’t quite manage to hold it against her.

I push open the door and hold it while she walks through next to me. Hades does a round through the lounge once a night, but he mostly stays in his private lounge if he’s in the mood to entertain. The nights he plays in the public rooms, though, are the kind of nights that draw a crowd. It takes a specific kind of person to hold this place together with the amount of power that moves through its doors, and Hades has the personality for it in spades.

His button pushing irritates the fuck out of me.

The lounge is decorated in the same expensive understated tone as the main room. Sturdy leather furniture, thick carpet, dim lighting except for the trio of sculptures lining the back wall. I hate the low lighting. It gives the feeling of not being able to see the truth, and I have to keep reminding myself not to squint and give even that much reaction. I prefer to see everything in startling clarity. Hades is a fucking romantic.

He waits for us in his favorite chair, a giant piece that could easily fit three people fucking. It has in the past. Tonight, he’s got Meg kneeling at his feet, the very picture of a subservient submissive, her eyes downcast and her hands neatly folded in her lap. Hades sits forward as we cross the room, and I have to fight the urge to step in front of Jasmine to shield her from his gaze. He claims to know what his people want before even they do, to divine kinks as if by magic. The truth is he’s simply excellent at reading people and body language. No magic required.

It doesn’t stop him from dazzling newbies.

“You’re right, Meg. She’s exquisite.” He turns that penetrating look in my direction. “It would take someone special to sideline our Jafar, though, so I suppose that’s to be expected.”

“Hades.”

“Let your baby girl come closer, Jafar. I want a better look at her.”

I bite back a sigh. I shouldn’t be surprised that Meg basically sprinted back here to report on everything we spoke about. She’s Hades’s creature, through and through. It’d be a damn shame if she didn’t seem so pleased by that fact most of the time.

“Go ahead,” I pitch my voice low, though there’s no way Hades won’t hear. No doubt he can see the fine shakes working through Jasmine’s body from where he sits. Desire, yes, but she’s taking in so much, so fast. Too fast. Something else I should have anticipated. The woman has been locked up her entire life, and introducing her to the world outside her father’s walls should be done in small sips, no matter how she chafes at the restraint.

Bringing her here is the equivalent of throwing her off the deep end and expecting her not to panic. At least she trusts me enough to find my touch anchoring, even if she doesn’t realize that’s what’s happening.

If anyone realizes how precarious our balance is at this moment, it would be child’s play to knock us both on our asses. I hold myself perfectly still, as if she is just another sub, I’m just another Dom allowing the master of this place to investigate my property.

“Come closer, child. I won’t bite.” Hades grins, his white teeth flashing against dusky skin. “At least not unless you ask very nicely.”

Jasmine takes the last few steps that bring her nearly close enough for Hades to touch. He doesn’t. He’s too well-mannered for that under usual circumstances, though I can see the calculation in his dark eyes, already considering how to use this development to further his interests. “Jasmine.” He says her name as if he can already taste her on his tongue.

I take a step forward before I catch myself. Damn it.

Hades grins at me. “Got you.” He turns back to Jasmine. “Jafar has been a hard nut to crack. He fucks like a champ, but getting into that deliciously conniving brain of his? Impossible. And here you come, this near-innocent with a taste for …” He inhales deeply as if taking in her scent. Her very soul. “Rough play. Very, very rough play. You like him to force your subservience.” His voice deepens. “I approve.”

“That’s enough, Hades.” It doesn’t matter how he figured it out. I won’t have him stripping her bare here, not while she and I are on such fragile ground.

Hades’s grin turns knife-sharp. “Caged birds always crave the sky, Jafar. You’d do well to remember that.” He takes Jasmine’s hand and presses his lips to her knuckles. “You’re always welcome here in The Underworld, Jasmine Sarraf. If you ever want to bargain, I’m more than happy to make time for you.” He grins against her knuckles. “And if you want to play with our Meg, I’d be delighted to arrange that as well.”

“Hades.”

“Yes, yes, I’m overstepping. Can’t let your prisoner know that there’s a trap door within reach, can we?” He finally releases Jasmine’s hand, but he coasts his thumb over her knuckles in a casual move that sends my blood pressure through the roof. There’s no reason for it. Hades is casually intimate with everyone until he’s not. His touching Jasmine means nothing. Her catching her breath at the feeling of his lips on her skin means jack shit.

I have absolutely no reason to be jealous.

That doesn’t stop me from snapping my fingers at her. “Attend, baby girl.” A reminder of whose hand holds her leash.

The image of Jasmine in a collar, of gripping a chain attached to it, assaults me. I have to shove it away to prevent my body from reacting. Now is not the time for losing control, not while we have an audience watching so closely.

Once Jasmine has taken up a position at my side, I turn my attention back to Hades. “Don’t overstep.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Again, that slow smile that spells nothing but trouble. “As long as you remember to play by the rules. Your little coup has a lot of people looking over their shoulder. It doesn’t suit my interests to have Carver City paranoid and up in arms. Bad for business, you know.”

Ah. So we’ve reached the real reason for this visit. I hold up my hands and affect a casual smile. “No need for anyone to worry … as long as they aren’t thinking of taking advantage of the change in power. I have no intention of expanding territory.” For now.

Hades chuckles. “Somehow, I don’t think that naked ambition shining in those pretty dark eyes will make anyone feel better.” He smoothes a hand over his hair. It’s as perfectly styled as always, the silver in the dark strands lending him a layer of respectability that he plays up for all he’s worth. “Go enjoy yourself, Jafar. But be aware that we’re watching.”

Of course they were. As the newest power player to step up, I’m both a threat and more vulnerable than those who have held their positions for years—and decades in some cases. I have to solidify my base, and quickly, to prevent anyone from making a move that will end with me six feet under.

Tonight is partly about that.

There are those who pay more attention to bloodlines than others, but putting my collar around Balthazar’s daughter’s neck sends a clear message regardless of which side of the line they land on. If I was smarter, that would be the only reason I’m playing the game out like this.

I can pretend I haven’t watched her every day for the last five years, can pretend I haven’t fought my desire for her for the same amount of time. Most people will even believe it.

Not Jasmine.

Even in her relative innocence, she knows better.

I don’t speak as I guide her out of the room, down the hall, and into the main lounge. It’s Jasmine who sighs and says in barely a whisper. “This is all a show for the people he’s talking about. I’m the show.”

I should say yes and create clear boundaries between us. Now is not the time to allow myself to be distracted, no matter how good her pussy is. What’s more, it’s good business to cut her confidence down before she finds her legs. Jasmine was never allowed to stretch her wings enough to find her power when she lived in her father’s home. I’d be a fool ten times over to allow it in mine.

And yet …

I am that fool, because I can’t fucking do it.

“Playing the game protects us and everyone under us.”

“Us.” The faintest of smiles curves her red lips. “Don’t overplay your hand, Jafar. There is no us.” Jasmine flicks a glance around the lounge. There are more people here than there were before. “If the game protected anyone, it should have protected my father.”

“He was careless.” Balthazar was too sure of his power, too sure of his people’s loyalty despite his shitty behavior. He never thought to question it, so it never occurred to him that they would question it, either. I can’t afford to be that arrogant.

Especially not with Ali still out there.

Still a threat.

“Apparently so.” She doesn’t shift away, but I feel her withdraw all the same. “Put on your show. I’ll play the good girl.”

She, better than most, knows the importance of appearances. I open my mouth, but shut it because I don’t know what I’m supposed to say. Comfort her? The very idea is laughable. I want her. She’s under my care and control, which means her safety reflects back on me. That’s all it’s supposed to be.

I know better than to lie to myself, even if I’ll lie to everyone else as the situation calls for it. Jasmine draws me in a way no one else has. It started the moment I laid eyes on her, and everything I’ve learned about her since has only reinforced the truth.

She’s mine.

She was mine long before I ever claimed her.

I take care of what’s mine. It’s the only quality I possess that might keep me from the flames when I die, though it’s a long shot by anyone’s standards. I could break Jasmine. Even though she surprises me in different ways, I know her well enough to make it happen. It’s just the matter of applying the appropriate stressors.

I won’t do it.

I don’t want her broken. I want her strong and fierce and to see what she’s capable of without unwanted bonds chaining her to the ground.

That makes her dangerous in a way I’m not prepared to deal with.

“Jafar?” The way she says my name makes me think this isn’t the first time.

I give myself a shake. “Let me give you a tour.”

Her skeptical look almost makes me smile. Almost. I feel eyes on us as I press my hand to her back and guide her through the lounge to the door guarded by a dark-skinned woman with her long black braids pulled back from her face. She gives me a once over. “Look what the dog dragged in.”

“Allecto.” I have no idea what her real name is. Hades has three women who answer directly to him, his Furies, and they go by the names of their mythological counterparts. Hades takes his Greek shit seriously.

Meg is my favorite because she likes to get down in the dirt with the rest of us. Allecto and Tis—Tisiphone—are more in the way of hard asses. The real thing that counts against them is that they hate me. Always have.

She turns that dark gaze on Jasmine and raises her brow. “She’s not your usual type.”

I silently curse as Jasmine tenses. “Hades already gave his approval. Stop swinging your metaphorical dick around and let us through.”

“You’re just mad my metaphorical dick is bigger than yours.” She rolls her eyes. “Have fun. Don’t break the rules or I start breaking kneecaps.”

I can’t say for certain that her threat is empty. I’ve been a member here five years, and I’ve never seen anyone step out of line in a way that required Allecto to step in. The worst have been a couple lovers’ spats and one memorable fight between two Doms who didn’t want to share a particular partner. The lovers were strongly encouraged to fight in one of the private rooms Hades keeps and the idiot Doms had their memberships revoked.

“You don’t have to worry about us.”

“Mmhmm.”

I nudge Jasmine through the door and exhale slowly. She glances at me. “She makes you nervous.”

“Anyone with the tiniest bit of common sense is nervous around Allecto.”

A small smile pulls at the edges of Jasmine’s full lips. “I think I like her.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

She stops short and her gaze ping-pongs around the room we’ve entered. The lounge we just left is designed for a place to socialize as desired. This is the public playroom. It’s early yet, so there are only two scenes going on. “See something you like?”

Her attention narrows on the pair on the spanking bench. The man is bent over it, his forearms braced on the shorter blocks. The woman at his back wields a paddle with ease and familiarity, each smack of contact slightly overlapping the one before it, leaving his ass and upper thighs red. “I—” Jasmine swallows hard. “This is a lot to take in.”

Protectiveness surges, nearly taking me out at the knees. Before I can think better of it, I hook an arm around her waist and pull her to the corner closest to us. It’s got a handful of deep chairs that are excellent for fucking, but that’s not what I have in mind. Not at the moment, anyways.

I drop into the chair with her in my lap. Jasmine immediately tries to stand, but I band my arm across her waist. “Relax, baby girl. We have all night.”

“I thought you wanted to set the tone.”

I do. But not at her expense.

Damn it, I don’t know what’s happening to me. I always wanted Jasmine’s consent. I’m not a complete monster. But her emotional state never factored into my plans. Not until we walked into The Underworld and it truly hit home how fucking sheltered she’s been. I knew, of course. Part of the reason I was so damn sure she’d choose me was because of that fact.

I hadn’t bargained on the downsides of it.

“Breathe.” I hold her tight to me until she relaxes against my chest. “There’s nothing going on in this place that isn’t completely consensual.”

“I’m aware,” she snaps. “I know how this works. I read. A lot.”

I’ll just bet she does. I spread my hand across her stomach, brushing my thumb along the underside of her breast. “Is there a lot of spanking in these books of yours?”

“Some of them.” The ire drains out of her voice, leaving her a little breathy. “Sometimes it’s whips. Sometimes canes.”

I chuckle. I can’t help it. “Why don’t we learn to crawl before you start sprinting toward the canes and whips?” I drop my free hand to her hip and stroke her thigh where the slit in the dress has bared it. “Do you like pain, or do you just like the fight?” No question that she does like the fight. We’ve more than established that at this point.

“I like the fight,” she confirms. “I don’t know about the pain.”

“We have nothing but time.” It’s not quite a lie. As long as Ali is in the wind, he’s a serious threat. I need him wrapped up and taken out with the rest of the trash before I can finish solidifying my base. Jasmine’s presence, her submission, helps with the players circling outside our territory, but it’s not enough on its own. “Walk me through what’s going on in that head of yours.”

“I’m not sure I want to.”

I smile against her dark hair. Of course she isn’t sure she wants to. Every time she bares a bit of herself to me, she links us more firmly together. Jasmine’s smart enough to know that eventually we’ll reach the point of no return.

She just hasn’t come to terms with the fact that we reached the point of no return the second she looked at me with lust in those dark eyes and dared me to catch her.