Chapter 3

3

Malone

I’ve never had a problem taking what I want. The world respects power and power alone, and that’s particularly true in my world. In the past, it’s been a simple matter of seeing something and going through the necessary steps to acquire whatever it is—whoever it is.

As I sit in the chair across from Hades’s desk, it’s with the uncomfortable knowledge that I don’t know what he’ll say in response to my request to contract Aurora out. The old man has a soft spot for the girl, and has ever since she came to work in the Underworld nine years ago. It’s not exactly a fatherly love, not with the games we all play, but he cares about her. It colors his perspective, ensures that he won’t be able to make this decision based on possible gains or compensation. He’s making it emotionally.

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.

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.

I’ve waited years to get my hands on Aurora again. Years of denial and thwarted desire. I might go out of my mind if I wait another hour.

I collect her small bag from Adem, and Hades’s concern is mirrored in the Black man’s dark eyes. He opens his mouth but decides against whatever he was about to say. Good.

Aurora follows me into the elevator and resumes her position on my left as it takes us down to the parking garage. Her body practically vibrates with the desire to ask questions, but she’s too well trained to do anything but obey. For now. No doubt she’ll find that backbone she’s gained in the past year sometime soon, but I’m enjoying this moment of submission without stipulation.

The elevator opens, and I don’t pause to think too hard about my motivations before I turn and scoop Aurora up into my arms. She squeaks a little and goes tense but doesn’t argue as I stride into the parking garage. I inhale slowly, catching the faint scent of vanilla, likely from her lotion or something like that. It’s too faint to be a perfume.

It makes my mouth water.

I find my head of security, Sara, leaning against the trunk of my town car. They look at me and raise their eyebrows. I’d informed them of my plans; Sara doesn’t like me to bring unknowns into my penthouse until they’ve run all the necessary background checks. They don’t like Aurora in particular, because she’s a ghost. There’s no record of her before she showed up in the Underworld as a submissive nine years ago. No birth certificate. No school records. Nothing. It raises Sara’s hackles, but they know better than to challenge me on this sort of thing when I set my mind to it. When push comes to shove, I’m just as capable of protecting myself as Sara is, and they know it.

They move to the back door and open it, holding it steady as I set Aurora onto the seat. “Scoot.” I wait for her to obey before I glance at Sara. “Take us home.”

“Short trip.”

“I got what I came for.” Whom I came for.

Sara waits for me to slide into the backseat and then shuts the door. A few seconds later, they climb into the front seat and we’re off. It’s only when we pass the boundary between Hades’s territory and mine that I allow myself to relax a little. I didn’t honestly think he’d change his mind, but Hades isn’t quite rational when it comes to Aurora. I couldn’t afford to rule anything out.

It’s happening.

She’s mine for two weeks, and mine alone.

I twist in the seat to find her sitting sweetly beside me with her hands clasped and her head bowed. The urge to touch her is almost more than I can deny, but I shove it down deep. There’s plenty of time for that later. For now, it’s important to establish how this will go. “Take off your panties, Aurora. Now.”