10. Ex from Hell

I t takes a lot to freak me out, but the decay of the flowers and aging of the waitress did just that.

I made a beeline to my room after Drevi refused to tell me the truth. Being that I'm a judge of souls, my temper flares when they lie to my face. I knew he was more than human, but he held tight to his secret and wouldn't confess to me what he was.

All the dramatics and scene with Drevi didn't matter.

After all, I have quirks myself, but honesty is a must.

If he were to ask me if I was more than mortal I would answer him truthfully.

Lost in my thoughts, I step out of the elevator and I'm just about to slide my keycard into the lock when a familiar scent overpowers my nose.

My mind was still reeling from dinner and I failed to see the trail of flowers leading to my suite.

I slump down to the floor as my back leans on the wall for support. Millions of thoughts consume me .

Do I make my escape back to the Underworld? Confront that asshat hiding in my room? Call Lainie or Warrick?

My head feels as if it's going to explode as a shadow sends me into darkness. My gaze falls on Frank's handsome face.

"Don't you have a bar to tend?"

He offers me a hand and I let him help me stand.

"Well, I came to check on you. Drevi caught me up to speed on what happened. Why are you on the floor and not in your suite?"

"I was about to enter, but this mess of flowers made me pause. Drevi and his freak out seems more appealing than what waits for me inside."

He raises a dark eyebrow. "What could be worse than Drevi?"

I level with him, my tone deadpan as I reply, "My ex."

"Your ex," Frank repeats. "What is he doing in your room?"

"No idea. I came up here to clear my head and try out that monstrous tub, but then his scent of sickly sweet flowers hit me. I've had enough peopling for one day. I can't bring myself to go inside."

He still has my hand in his. "Well, if a bath is what you want, I'll just talk to this ex of yours. No one should have been given access to your keycard anyway."

Clearly he doesn't know my ex.

I'd worry about exposing him to my world but if he's Drevi's brother, then his world isn't exactly human.

Frank fishes what I believe is a master keycard from his pants pocket, and the little green light tells us we can enter. We're greeted by darkness. Frank gives my hand a little squeeze as we step over the threshold.

With grace, he navigates the room as I bumble behind him, my free hand brushing what I think to be his back. He turns to the left where the bedroom is situated.

Dim candle light flickers and a soft melody plays.

Horror fills me as I step up beside Frank to witness a scene that is seared into my brain, a nightmare in the flesh. There lies Seph, his long limbs spread across the bed, and he is naked as a wee baby, surrounded by every flower you can think of.

"What the fuck is this?" Frank demands.

The flowers start to mold as Frank gets more worked up.

Seph smirks. "What? A man can't wait for the love of his life to return?"

Without a second thought of Frank in the room, I wave my hand and clothes cover every square inch of Seph, starting with his poor excuse for a dick. All that can be seen is his face and hands when I'm done.

"How many times have I told you we are through? You have to move on, Seph. Never enter my room unless invited again," I command and point towards the exit.

As he crawls off the bed to storm out, he knocks a vase off the little side table and lets it shatter. Seph glares at Frank, pushes some of the petals off the bed as if to cover the glass.

"Oh, Hades," Seph whispers, as he moves past me, "you will be mine again."

Fuck, he just called me Hades, but I force that to the back of my mind. I did just show off my power, my name is the least of my problems.

Frank is still angry when I turn back to him, his eyes flaring with power, and this room is starting to smell of rotting flowers.

Once I hear the click of the door, ensuring that Seph made his exit, I do just as I did with Drevi. I place a palm on either side of Frank's face, willing him to calm down, and try to soothe him with my words.

"Frank, thank you for escorting me back into my room and ridding it of Seph. If you can't regain control of whatever this power is that rots flowers, I will have to call Warrick."

His dark eyes search mine. His breathing eases, and he does the last thing I expect. He crushes his lips to mine as he wraps his arms around me and guides my body onto the bed without removing his hands from around me. He deepens the greedy kiss, and I return it, teasing him with my tongue as I pull him closer to me. Seeing as it has been centuries since I felt this kind of passion given to me so freely, I greedily accept.

Frank breaks off the kiss, pulling back slightly before he asks, "Did he call you Hades? And where did those clothes come from?"

"Yes, he did, and magic. What about the flowers molding, huh? It isn't the same as what Drevi did, but I've never seen anything like that happen before."

He dodges the question and begins to untangle himself from me to stand, pulling me up, "I think I promised you a bath."

"That you did, and don't think I didn't notice that you ignored my question," I accuse as he leads me toward the bathroom.

He grins at me, making it clear he isn't giving in. "I have no idea what you mean. Though, you did the same to me. How hot would you like the water?"

This man is a master of avoidance.

"All the way up. I want to enjoy a long soak in this tub. Will you be joining me?"

Frank starts the water flowing and then aims his sexy grin at me. "Oh, I don't know that I can compare to Seph."

"I say we find out," I tease as I move closer. His breath catches as I unbutton that damn white shirt and pull the rest of it from its hiding place in his pants.

Tossing it to the side, I give him a once over. A slight tan, not overly muscular but cut chest and abs. The V that peeks out of the top of his pants has my mouth watering in anticipation to where it may lead.

As I reach for the button of his jeans, his hand grips mine. "Oh no, you don't get to see all of me without sharing some of you."

Frank twirls me around before his hand eases the zipper of my dress down. When it reaches the end, a groan escapes as he notices that I'm not wearing any underwear.

"You are a naughty girl, aren't you?" he murmurs in my ear, his length nudging my ass.

Feeling for the button of his pants once again, my hands work behind my back. "So, you've seen more of me, it's only fair that I see more of you."

As I finish my sentence, I push his jeans and boxers down. I spin in his arms, my dress falling to the floor as I tug him to me.

"Fuck," he mutters the moment our skin makes contact.

I peer up at him in confusion.

"You're beautiful. My brothers are going to kill me."

I raise an eyebrow. "Why is that? Would you like them to join us?"

"Fuck no," Frank says with a laugh. "I'm going to be selfish and enjoy this time with you."

Pulling away from him, I step into the tub. "Are you going to join me?"

His grin is wide and his cock hard, he steps in, sinking down into the water. The tub is big enough that he easily pulls me to him, resting my back against his chest .

"Is the water too warm for you?" I ask as he brushes my hair to the side. Goosebumps erupt on my skin and I bite back a whimper at the feel of his lips on me.

"No," he answers, his full attention on me now. "You're perfect, Hayden."

I hum, not sure how to reply to that and too lost in the feel of his other hand snaking around me, fingers ghosting over my side and to my stomach, then continuing lower. My legs fall open for him and he growls in approval.

"That's right, let me in," he husks, teeth grazing over my shoulder before he sucks hard on my skin, marking me. That thought has a flood of warmth filling my core and I tilt my hips up, silently begging for him to give me relief.

It's been a long day and I'm dying for a little stress relief. Preferably in the form of an orgasm or two.

Done with his slow teasing I shift, turning around and straddling his hips. Frank's eyes drink me in, slowly shifting over every inch of me.

"You're so fucking sexy," he says before pulling me closer and crushing his lips to mine. His kisses are sure and hungry, and its only seconds before he's licking his way into my mouth.

I moan into the kiss as his tongue dances with mine. As if they have a mind of their own my hips are rocking against his impressive length, the water making it easy to slide over him, making us both shudder.

"Fuck, if you keep that up, I won't last," he argues.

"I'm not really the patient type," I admit, scooting up and hovering over him, quirking an eyebrow to ask if he's sure about this.

His answer was to slam his hips upward, filling me in one smooth motion that has my head falling back. It's been far too long and he was much bigger than I was used to. The sting of the stretch is exquisite and I brace my hands on his shoulders, my breasts in front of his face, as I start to ride him.

"I think I've died and gone to heaven."

My laughter bubbles out of me at that. He has no idea how wrong he is. In fact, quite the opposite.

"Fuck me, Frank. Help me forget this crazy day," I beg. He leans forward and captures my peaked nipple in his mouth. He's not gentle now, in fact he sucks hard and bites down before soothing it with a quick flick of his tongue. While he gives me attention he slides his hand between us, teasing over my clit as I frantically buck my hips over him.

I don't think I've ever been this turned on in my life.

Pleasure coils in my stomach before he doubles his efforts, meeting me thrust for thrust as his hands play with my body like he's known it for years.

I couldn't stave off the orgasm if I tried. My cries fill the steamy bathroom as my pussy clamps around him. Waves of pleasure crash over me and I let myself get swept away in the storm of it.

Frank takes over then, hands gripping my hips tight as he slams me down on his cock over and over, chasing his own orgasm. It doesn't take long before he's letting out a feral growl and coming, filling me with his cum.

"Fuck," he curses as his head hits my chest, both of us breathing hard as the high of our pleasure ebbs away. "I think we might be more dirty than clean, now."

There's not a damn thing wrong with that. In fact, this is the best I've felt in far too long.