Club 22 (Hades Book 3)

by Tate James

  Oh shit. My heart almost leapt straight out of my chest and into the palm of his hand. "Zed..." I pleaded. My pussy was throbbing and desperate, not giving a fuck that we'd been working through some major psychological damage.

  "Yes, boss," he chuckled, picking up the pace and slamming his hips into mine with a little more force. His gaze held me as he worked, barely even blinking as he kept my attention captive. "More?"

  I jerked a hasty nod, and he grinned.

  "Alright. Stay with me, baby." He winked, then hooked his hands under my thighs to force my legs wider apart and my knees almost up around my elbows. He changed his position subtly, and then he started fucking me for real. My chest heaved with labored breathing as he slammed into me, over and over. Every time my mind started to slip away—and it did, more times than I could count—he was there, meeting my eyes, reassuring me that I was safe. Fucking hell, it worked too.

  When my cunt started tightening and my core filled with that rapidly building euphoria, I grabbed onto his neck, bringing his lips back to mine so I could kiss him as I came. And holy crap, did I come. Zed swallowed my screams greedily, his cock striking me deep and hitting the perfect place to prolong my orgasm like nothing I'd ever felt before.

  He waited until I was done—and I wasn't even remotely quick—before he finished off himself with a couple of hard thrusts. It only sparked the need in me for more, and I found myself writhing under him as he came, panting and groaning.

  "Holy shit, Dare," he said with a laugh when my hips continued moving. "Hold on, baby, I've got you."

  With that sinful promise, he slid down the bed, hooked my legs over his shoulders, and dove face first into my pulsing cunt. He didn't even flinch at the fact that his own cum was inside me, just used his tongue and his fingers to send me screaming into another, otherworldly intense climax. And then another.

  "What the fuck?" I gasped when my spirit returned to my body.

  Zed just gave me the smuggest of smiles and climbed back up to lie beside me on his bed. Then he reached out and stroked some stray hair away from my face with a gesture so tender it made my chest ache.

  "We good?" he asked, his own voice rough and husky.

  I sighed, more relaxed than I could ever remember feeling. "We're beyond good, Zed, and you damn well know it."

  He just smirked and kissed my sweaty shoulder.

  Therapy really did come in all shapes and sizes after all. Mine just happened to be in the form of my six-foot-four, well-dressed, and well-hung best friend.

  24

  After that first time with Zed, everything seemed to change. Not just in the freedom we'd unlocked to explore one another in ways we'd both been dreaming about for years, but inside my mind. It was like breaking through that wall had healed a festering wound in my soul, and every subsequent orgasm at Zed's hands—or mouth or cock—only soothed it further.

  "Anyone who tries to tell me sex isn't therapeutic," I mumbled into the pillow when I crashed out, half dead as the sun started rising on the horizon, "can kiss my ass."

  Zed gave a husky laugh, crashing into the mattress beside me. "I'd never argue that fact, but I'd happily kiss this anytime you asked." He slapped my bare rump, making me squeak. I was too exhausted to do anything more than that, though.

  "How's your scratch?" I asked, turning my face to the side so I could meet his eyes. It'd started bleeding again somewhere around the time he'd had one of my legs over my head, and I'd made him stop and patch it up before he was allowed to fuck me again.

  Zed rolled slightly to the side, peering down at the new bandage. "Totally fine, basically healed already."

  I just smiled, and he reached out to stroke his knuckles over my cheekbone.

  "We should shower," I said with a sigh. "And sleep. Otherwise, we'll both be worse than useless at work today."

  Zed arched a brow at me like he wasn't sure if I was serious or not. Then he got up, headed to the bathroom, and returned with his phone in hand. He climbed back into bed beside me, bringing his phone to his ear.

  "Hannah," he said when the call connected. "Cancel all of Hades’s appointments today. She's taking a sick day."

  Startled, I pushed up to sitting and tried to grab his phone, but he scooted out of reach with a sly grin on his face.

  "That's right," he replied to Hannah, "hold all her calls too. She needs to stay in bed all day with no distractions." He shot me a wink, and my whole body lit up with desire again. It was like the more of Zed I had, the more I wanted. "Excellent, thank you Hannah. Oh, and I'm also unavailable." He ended the call quickly, not giving her a chance to question him further, and I groaned.

  "You asshole. You basically just told my new assistant that we’re fucking." I smacked him with a playful punch. He caught my hand before I could pull back, though, and kissed my knuckles one at a time.

  "Good," he growled, all possessive caveman. "I want the whole fucking world to know that you're mine."

  A ripple of unease struck me at that, and I inhaled deeply. We really should have had a clear conversation about how this would all play out with Cass and Lucas... because I wasn't giving them up, no matter how strong my feelings for Zed were.

  Before I could crack open that uncomfortable can of worms, though, my stomach gave a loud rumble that made my guts ache.

  Zed gave me an amused smile. "Hungry?"

  I rolled my eyes. "Gee, what gave it away? We never got dinner last night, thanks to Chase crashing our date."

  He leaned in and kissed me softly. "Stay here; I'll get snacks."

  With a groan, he rolled his shoulders, then pulled some sweatpants over his sexy ass and left me in the sweaty pile of sheets on his bed. Knowing Zed, though, when he said he was getting snacks, it wouldn't be protein bars and a piece of fruit. No, he'd cook something from scratch, and my mouth watered just at the thought of it.

  Deciding I needed to freshen up, I forced myself out of his bed and raced through a near-freezing shower and brushed my teeth thoroughly. I needed the cold to try and shock myself out of the sex fog I was so deeply trapped within, but if anything, it only made it worse. I got out, shivering and thinking about all the ways Zed could warm me up again.

  Yeah. I had issues.

  I didn't bother heading to my room for clothes, opting to pull one of Zed's Dean Winchester sweatshirts on instead, then followed my nose downstairs to see what he was cooking.

  "Is that chocolate?" I asked, sliding my arms around his waist and kissing his bare shoulder as he stood at the stove. I realized after speaking that he had his phone to his ear, and I started to pull away. But his free hand clapped over mine, holding me where I was.

  "I've got to go," he told the person he was speaking to. "Something more important just came up." He tossed his phone onto the counter, then spun around to face me with raw hunger in his eyes. "I thought I told you to stay in bed, Dare."

  I grinned up at him as his arms looped around my waist and held me tight. "I knew you'd be cooking something good," I admitted. "So what is it?"

  He gave the frying pan a cursory glance, then reached back to turn the gas flame off completely. "Nutella pancakes. But they need a few minutes to cool, or the melted Nutella will burn your tongue."

  My stomach rumbled again, and my mouth watered. "Well shit, what will we do while we wait?"

  The wicked smile on his lips told me exactly what he had in mind, and the butterflies in my stomach flapped around like they'd just snorted an ounce of coke.

  "I can think of a few things," he murmured. "In fact, there's something I've wanted to do every damn morning I see you in my kitchen." His hands turned me around so that I faced the island counter, and his lips brushed over my neck. "Can I fuck you like this, baby?"

  My breath caught, and I pushed my ass back into his hardness as he found the hem of his sweatshirt on me and started pushing it up.

  "Can I?" he asked again when I didn't respond. He only lifted the top enough to expose my backside, leaving it on my upper body.r />
  In answer, I leaned forward, bracing my elbows on the counter and rising up on my toes to wiggle my naked rear end. "Better be quick; those pancakes are calling my name."

  Zed barked a laugh but wasted no time tugging his sweatpants down to free his sizable erection. I watched him with hooded eyes as he stroked himself once, then stepped closer. Gripping my hips, he pulled me back onto his cock, and a low groan sighed from my chest as he filled me up.

  Pulling out, he gave a grunt, then thrusted back in harder, pushing me up against the cold counter. "Holy shit, Dare," he moaned, "you feel so fucking good. So much better than I imagined."

  Incapable of speech, I just rose up on my tiptoes, offering him a deeper angle that he happily accepted. He moved slowly, deliberately, until I was writhing and panting with need.

  "Harder," I gasped, "Zed, fuck me harder."

  His hand slipped on my hip like I'd surprised him. Then his next thrust slammed into me hard enough to make the counter bite into my hips. Perfect.

  "Yes," I panted. "Yes, fuck, Zed... harder." My plea was a sexual moan, and he grunted as he did what I asked. One of his hands left my hip, reaching up under the sweatshirt to toy with my nipple and make me buck against him desperately.

  "I've got you, gorgeous," he promised in a husky whisper, his own breathing labored as he fucked me senseless over his kitchen counter. He abandoned my breast and pulled me back onto his dick hard enough to make me yelp, then he reached his hand around and found my clit. In an instant, my yelp turned into a cry of pleasure, which turned into screams when my climax hit me with the force of a freight train.

  Zed rode it out, not finishing himself inside me as I came, so I forced some strength into my shaking limbs and peeled myself out from between his body and the island.

  "Dare, what are—" His question cut short as I sank to my knees on the kitchen floor and wrapped my fingers around his throbbing shaft. He met my eyes, his brows raised in surprise, but he didn't protest when I took his tip between my lips and rolled my tongue around his crown.

  "Oh shit," he moaned as I took him deeper into my mouth, his hands coming to my head in encouragement. "Baby, fuck." His next words melted into a groan as I took him into my throat as far as possible, sucking him with confidence and knowing he was near climax.

  I gripped his ass, pulling him closer and giving him the permission he needed to control the pace. His thrusts into my mouth were tentative for a second, then as his finale crept closer, he became rougher and more desperate.

  Zed fucked my face, muttering curses and compliments about my sinful mouth as I sucked and licked, using every ounce of my exhausted energy to give him the blowjob of his life. When he exploded, I swallowed deeply, taking it all, then ran my tongue down the length of his dick as he withdrew.

  Looking up at him, I couldn't help the overwhelming sense of satisfaction at the expression he wore. Because I had done that to him.

  Gasping for breath, he gave a disbelieving shake of his head as he coaxed me back to my feet and kissed me long and hard. "You're incredible, Dare."

  I smirked back at him. "You're not so bad, yourself." With another quick kiss, I nudged him aside and reached for one of the Nutella pancakes in the frying pan. Surely, they were cool enough to eat by now.

  Zed just watched me with hungry eyes and picked up his phone from where he'd tossed it when I came into the kitchen. Holding my gaze, he brought it back to his ear and grinned devilishly. "You still there, Gumdrop?"

  I froze, the pancake halfway to my mouth.

  Zed gave a throaty laugh and shook his head. "Payback's a bitch, huh? Catch a ride home with Alexi; Dare is indisposed for the day."

  He actually ended the call this time, then leaned in and took a bite of the pancake in my hand. "Mmm," he hummed, "delicious." Yet the look in his eye told me he wasn't talking about the food. "Better eat up, baby. You'll need your strength. I want to fuck you on every damn surface of this house before Gumdrop gets home."

  Goddamn if that didn't make my belly flutter in excitement, but I sure as shit wasn't telling him that after his phone stunt with Lucas. Then again, like he’d said, it was payback. Lucas really hadn’t been as subtle as he'd thought when he’d fucked me with Zed on the phone.

  So I folded the pancake in half and took a huge bite. After all, I needed my strength.

  25

  As it turned out, Zed and I only managed to christen a handful of areas in his house before Lucas got home, and Zed reluctantly disappeared into his shower so I could talk to Lucas alone.

  "So..." he drawled, flopping down on the couch beside me. Zed and I had been taking a break, napping and casually watching TV reruns when Lucas had arrived home. "You guys worked some shit out?"

  His expression wasn't angry, just curious. With a small dose of jealous, which a shitty part of me actually enjoyed.

  "Um, yup," I replied in a hoarse voice. I'd done way too much screaming and moaning for one day, and it was wreaking havoc on my voice box. "We had a really good... talk." I wet my lips, unable to keep the heat from my cheeks at that evasion. But shit, Lucas knew full fucking well what I meant. Hell, he'd had the full audio of our session in the kitchen first thing in the morning.

  "How's your mom doing?" I asked, changing the subject away from Zed and me. Sure, Lucas had already given his approval and had even pushed me to give in to what I so clearly wanted with Zed. But that didn't really make it any less awkward. Especially seeing as beneath the blanket I wore nothing but a T-shirt and still had the sticky residue of Zed's cum on my thighs.

  Lucas stared at me a moment longer, like his mind was still firmly on the subject of Zed and me fucking. Or maybe he was remembering what he’d heard on the phone, given neither of us had been particularly quiet. Then he blinked and sighed.

  "She's okay. No, she's good. I think being at home is going to be really good for her. And the nurse you hired seems really lovely. Mom likes her. They were having tea and chatting when I left." He rubbed a hand over his hair, and I noted how tired he looked.

  Shifting in my seat to face him better, I reached out to link our fingers together. "You don't look like you slept much, though. Was something else wrong?"

  He shot me a wry smile. "You're one to talk about lack of sleep. Did you two even stop for water? Zed's not exactly nineteen, you know. He probably needs to sleep for a week now to recover."

  I snickered, not correcting him. Zed wasn't nineteen, sure. But he was more than eager to fill in his rest time by using his mouth and hands on me instead.

  "I've just been studying late," Lucas explained. "I picked up a couple of online courses for personal growth." He looked a little awkward about admitting that, so I decided not to push for more information, despite how curious I was.

  I yawned heavily and rubbed my hand over my face. "Fuck. I really am exhausted. Last night was..." I grimaced. "Did Zed tell you we had a run-in with Chase?"

  Lucas's brow furrowed. "No, he didn't. But the last thing you said on the phone was that he was there with you. Then you hung up and didn't answer any of my messages for the rest of the night. That's why I ended up calling Zed this morning."

  My lips rounded to an O, and I cringed. "Shit, I'm sorry. I totally forgot I left you hanging like that."

  Lucas huffed. "Yeah, well, I would have come home sooner, but I didn't have a car and your security team wouldn't let me leave the house. The only thing that stopped me from sneaking out and walking the whole way back was the fact that you'd told Cass you were safe." His glare was hard and accusing, making me feel like a total asshole.

  "Technically, I think I intended to send that message to you," I offered with a sheepish smile. "I was sending Cass something else and must have sent both to him instead." Because my mind hadn't been all that focused while Zed and I were leaving the parking lot after clashing with Chase.

  Lucas gave a shrug. "I figured. So did he, which is why he forwarded it to me."

  That reminded me I needed to call Cass and check tha
t my other attachment had downloaded properly. I hadn't seen my phone all day, but I vaguely remembered leaving it in the kitchen when I'd taken my shoes and weapons off when we got home.

  With a groan, I stood up from the couch and let the blanket fall to the floor. Even stretching my arms over my head, Zed's T-shirt was still long enough to cover my ass. Just. But Lucas was still seated and got an eyeful as I rolled the tightness from my shoulders.

  "I should get dressed and check my messages," I said with a sigh.

  "Or," Lucas murmured, sitting forward to place his hands on my bare thighs, "you could come back here and let me finish what I started at breakfast yesterday."

  I shuddered with raw, potent desire at the suggestion, but my core ached and not in a good way. More like an overused, under-rested sort of way.

  "I think I need a break," I admitted, pouting as I turned around to place my hands on his shoulders. "Or my pussy does, anyway. Raincheck?"

  He sighed but accepted my consolation kisses when I leaned down to seal my lips to his. "Fine," he muttered. "But Zed needs to learn how to share, or he'll wake up to find his balls superglued to his asshole."

  My lips parted in shock at that suggestion. "Lucas..." I gave a laugh, not totally sure what to say back to that.

  He just shrugged. "What? Cass would do worse."

  I cringed because he was totally right. Cass would be so unimpressed if I turned him down because Zed had already fucked me so raw it hurt to walk.

  "We'll have to work on that," I agreed. "But not right now."

  Lucas nodded, standing up with me. "Cool. Whenever, whatever, I'm game." He shot me a wink, and I shook my head as I headed upstairs to shower and change. Alone.

  When I found my phone—after my shower—I only had a handful of messages. One very sweet one from Hannah told me she hoped I would feel better soon and not to worry about work while I rested. There were a couple from Lucas from the night before, and the rest were from Cass.