Sinful Gods: Paranormal Romance (Hell's Playground Series Book 2)

by Jesse Darkling

  “Has she confessed anything to you about her powers?”

  I arch an eyebrow. “Not at all. We can’t use them except in the pit so why bother? There are lots of things I would rather talk about with the opposite sex— or rather show.” Why was he so interested in Shaye?

  “But you have connections and I know you’re curious about her god-patronage.” He leans back in his chair, lining a silver pen until it is positioned along the natural grooves of the dark oak of his desk. “Anyone have any info on that?”

  Fuck. Something is going on here. I keep my face neutral and shrug. “Not everyone knows their god-dad or mom if they’re lineage is twice removed or more. You should have all her hereditary bits, so why don’t you tell me?”

  For a long time, he stares at me like he’s trying to read me. Fat chance. I have learned from the Trickster himself. I could sell the Warden a vest of tickling feathers and never laugh once.

  He sighs, taking a sip of his coffee. “And her power is water?”

  “From what I’ve heard in how she killed Bono.” A muscle in my eye twitches. Shit. I gotta keep my cool. Can’t let him know how much I care. “Lots of goddesses have the power of water.”

  “She’s a beauty too.” He takes another drink of his coffee, gazing at me over the rim. “There are rumors of Aphrodite even.”

  I had thought the same. “Possible,” I say in a noncommittal tone.

  “What would it take for you to do some digging? Find out what you can about her powers and her lineage?”

  I rub my hands together. “First, no more solitary for me. Can’t do anything if I’m locked up day and night without access to my contacts.”

  “Done.”

  “Second, I need free access through the prison no matter the time.”

  “Only until lights out and not the red-restricted areas.” He sets his coffee down. “And third?”

  “I get a free pack of red vines once a week and special one-on-one sessions with Shaye.” I lean back in my chair. “If you want me to test her power, then I can do so under the guise of training her to fight.”

  “That won’t be necessary.”

  “Are you kidding?” I stiffen and touch my chin briefly. “Don’t you want her to be able to hold her own at this big fight you’ve got coming up with her? Wouldn’t want her to fail in the first five minutes... the crowd wants to see a blood bath.” Bile rises in the back of my throat thinking of her hurt, but I push down my loathing for the Warden, the gods, and this fucking place.

  He pales. “We don’t know what her powers are except the water and that overshadowed everyone’s expectations.”

  “I live for danger.” I stand and hold out my hand. “Do we have a deal?” This wasn’t what I came in here for. I had wanted to get him to release Shaye from the fights, but I could use this. Come to him later and tell him she’s not ready.

  With a grunt, he leans forward, and we shake hands.

  “Now, get out of my office, my coffee is already getting cold because of you.”

  I give him a salute, then stroll out of his office.

  A few guards give me the stink-eye as I pass them. Two corners later and hands yank me backward and throw me into the cement wall.

  Nelos punches me in the gut. I gasp and let out a laugh. He smacks me across the face. The metallic taste of blood coats my tongue.

  “You think this is funny?” he roars, kicking me in the side.

  Laughing always freaks out opponents and torturers. But when I wipe the blood from the side of my mouth, red flames dance in his dark eyes. Hello, that’s new.

  “What did you two plan? Huh?” He spins me into the wall, pressing his arm into my throat.

  “Sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Shaye.”

  I whack him with an uppercut to his chin and he stumbles backward, shaking his head. “Stay the fuck away from her.”

  “What did you promise the Warden?” he continues. “You set me up you motherfucker.”

  “If I had, you wouldn’t be standing here babbling at me.” I push off the wall.

  “Fuck you.” He throws a punch, but I block it. “I saw you,” he knees me in the gut, and I double over, but he wrenches my head up by my hair, “...you were just talking to the Warden on the morning after I got fucked over. You’re a fucking rat. I won’t let you put a wedge between us just so you have a shot with her.”

  I elbow him in the neck, and he chokes on a cough. Panting, I stumble up to him and hit him square in the nose. His head snaps back, but he returns with a fire flickering down his arms, which shouldn’t happen with the bands.

  “Cool it, asshole.” I unclench my fists. “I don’t have any fucking idea what you’re talking about. Me and the Warden have our own issues without dragging you into them.”

  Three guards march past and pause, eyeing us.

  “Evening, gentlemen.” I wave, trying to stand straight despite my side cramping.

  Nelos’ flames vanish, and he grimaces at them.

  “Move along, there’s no loitering in the hallways,” the shortest one says.

  “Of course.” I walk toward the outer courtyard, whispering under my breath. “Let’s talk about this with words not fists, eh?”

  Outside I go to the weights and sit on the bench while Nelos paces next to me.

  “All right, talk. Why do you think I set you up.” My head is pounding.

  Nelos lets out a breath, looking around before meeting my gaze. “The Warden sent me to off someone with my cursed power. I did and Shaye showed up in that exact moment under his order.”

  “Fuck.” I stand up fast and several prisoners glance our way. I pick up a weight and start doing curls to pretend I’m working out. “What happened?”

  “She freaked out. Ran. I got her to calm down, but why would he do that? Why would he send her down there when he knew I was going to be assassinating the guy?”

  “And he was asking me lots of questions about her today.” I shake my head but stop when my headache blooms stronger.

  “What about?” Nelos yanks up a barbell and starts doing deadlifts.

  “Her powers, her heritage… stuff like that.”

  “Why? Doesn’t he know?”

  “Not with her.” I remember searching his files for info on Shaye and her patronage was blank. “The Warden is up to something.”

  “Any idea what?”

  “Not yet.” I switch arms, doing a set of curls to keep up the ruse of working out. “But if we’re going to figure out what the hell is going on, then we need to work together.”

  He snorts.

  “For Shaye’s sake.” I meet his stare. “She’s in danger and we gotta figure out from who and why. And I think the Warden is the best person to start with. He’s definitely up to something regarding her and we need to discover what.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Xanth

  “Morning, Xanth,” one of the newbie guards calls out.

  Don’t recall his name and don’t care to learn it. He’s too green and this place is going to eat him up. I push past him to enter the prison, checking in with my card swipe. The box of chocolates is tucked under my arm and I feel like it’s burning a hole through me because I want to give it to Shaye and see the delight on her face.

  “We got another inmate that did a backdoor parole,” he continues.

  “Happens.” I shrug. If the fighting pits don’t kill someone, the other prisoners will. Death is the only thing constant in this shitty work. I spin my locker combination and put Shaye’s chocolates inside. I’ll bring them to her later after lunch. No doubt she’ll gobble them up and make herself sick. I smile at the thought of her gushing over each one.

  “Yeah, Skul,” the other guard continues. “His brother is demanding justice and investigation on account we found tons of brake fluid in his cell.”

  “Don’t use jailspeak with fellow officers,” I snap. “Makes you look weak to the prisoners and they’ll make fun of yo
u... undermine your authority, like call you cowboy.”

  “Right, I mean they found psychotic drugs.”

  “So? Skul was on those like many in this shithole.”

  “What’s wrong with being called, Cowboy?” he asks like he hears that all the time and I’m not surprised.

  I pinch the bridge of my nose. “It’s a nickname for young, obnoxious, bastard we often con.” When I lower my hand and see he’s giving me a perplexed expression, I say, “It’s backward yobwoc that means the same thing.”

  I pin on my check my holster, making sure my taser is charged up.

  “Rumors are saying that the footage of last night in the basement and leading out into the cells was wiped clean.”

  I slam my locker shut and he jumps back a foot. “Why was Skul in the basement? And no one was with him?”

  “I-I’m just passing along news, man, I don’t know anything else.”

  Fuck. Maybe he had been trying to sell off some of his stashed brake fluid and the sale bombed.

  “Officer Xanth, please report to the Warden’s office immediately,” comes an announcement over the comm system.

  Fuck, fuck, fuck!

  Down the hallway to the Warden’s office, I spot a glance of Shaye’s blonde head, but she’s too far away for me to call out to her. I chided the newb guard for getting too chummy with the prisoners, so I don’t need a lecture from him or anyone. And if it wasn’t for this fucking meeting, I’d take her back to my private room right now.

  “Xanth.” Warden waves at me from outside his office.

  I roll my shoulders back and follow him inside. Don’t bother to sit down because I want this to be over fast. Sooner he gets on with whatever he wants, the sooner I can catch up to Shaye. Should be time for her daily exercise with her cell group.

  Warden sits down, folding his hands across his bulging stomach. “Have you heard about—”

  “Skul? Yeah.” I can’t keep the irritation out of my voice. So what that some fucker died. Gonna happen sooner or later.

  His chair squeaks as he leans back. “I want you to use your skills and find out what happened.”

  When I don’t say anything because I’m trying not to give in to the voices about crushing his windpipe, he clears his throat.

  “You know I don’t ask this of you lightly, but I need to know who killed him and what happened.”

  Why the hell doesn’t he know? But I give him a curt nod and leave before I drain his life from him with my boiling rage. His leash on me makes me do my job and him looking over my shoulder feels like a dog on a chain and the collar is chafing me raw.

  All the way to the morgue, I’m clenching and unclenching my fists. Anger roaring through me and both guards and prisoners alike give me a wide berth when I pass.

  In the morgue, Jeri points to one of the body drawers. “Number six. I’ll come back in half an hour?”

  The muscle in my jaw ticks as he hurries out of the room. This is the part of my power that I hate. Oh, I used to revel in it, but it brings with it the pain of the dying that lingers with me for days afterward.

  I slide the drawer open and pull back the white sheet, stumbling backward. It’s a blackened corpse that looks like it’s been cooked from the inside out.

  Fuck me!

  I swallow down the bile rising in my throat. Can’t say I didn’t see anything. They won’t believe me. Or worse, they’ll call up dear old Dad for a second opinion and I don’t want that monster anywhere near Shaye. He’s been known to abduct women he wants, and I won’t let him have her.

  I march back to the body, then hold my hands above the blackened remains. Before I even close my eyes and a bloody scream rips into me. Skul is waiting in the boiler room when the door opens. Another prisoner walks in... Nelos? I can’t really tell for certain. The memory glitches like a bad connection. Then a wolf made of fire bites down on Skul’s heart. I shudder, feeling the pain as well.

  Skul fights back, but it’s useless. Then the door to the broiler room opens.

  Shaye!

  “Shit!” I jerk my hands away. She was there? Why? I shove the white sheet back over Skul and jam the drawer closed. I’ve got to find her and discover what the hell happened. The only reason this place isn’t shaking into the ground is that I know she’s alive. I saw her this morning. But the need to see her again, to touch her and ensure myself it wasn’t a mistake, that she’s not harmed, drums through my skull with each running step I take.

  I tear down the hallway and prisoners jump out of my way. This time of day, she should be in the exercise yard. My heart bashes against my chest as I march outside. My gaze sweeping the prisoners and my breath catches for a moment when I don’t see her blonde hair.

  Then she pops up behind a big gal shouting down at her.

  “Back away,” I boom and reach around her and grab Shaye, hauling her closer. “This prisoner has a meeting.”

  “With who?” the prisoner smirks.

  I ignore her question and turn away expecting Shaye to follow.

  When she lets out a cry, I spin. A guy is groping her, pushing her down on the weight bench. The big gal prisoner is laughing. My vision tunnels to a white rage. I kick out the laughing girl’s knee. She crashes down to the dirt, screaming.

  I stalk to the guy holding Shaye down. With one hand, I grab up a weight and smash it into the side of his skull. He collapses like a puppet with its strings cut. But he’s not dead. Not yet. I know the smell of death and those rushing into its embrace. He’ll live. And I’m going to teach him never to touch Shaye again.

  Gritting my teeth, I smack the weight down on his leg with a satisfying crunch.

  Then I toss the weight aside. No one meets my gaze. They are only prisoners here. No one will care what I’ve done, but word will spread that I defended her.

  I grasp Shaye’s arm and drag her along with me.

  “Where are we going?” she whispers, her voice shaking. “Does the Warden want to see me?”

  With Skul dead and her not having answers the Warden sent her to find, I have no doubt that she’s freaking out. But I can’t answer her. Not right now. Not until we’re alone and I have her in my arms. Until I’m tasting her and plunging deep inside her cause I can’t stand being away from her and thinking she was hurt fractures something inside me.

  I unlock the door to my private room. She jerks out of my grasp but crosses the threshold before me. Her arms lock at her sides and she spins, lifting her chin.

  I reach over and cup her face. “Are you hurt? Did anyone harm you?”

  “Thank you for saving me from that guy, but he didn’t hurt me.” The telltale sign of fear makes her voice shake.

  “I’m not talking about him,” I growl and eye her head to toe, then search her face and neck. No cuts or bruises.

  The door on an automatic switch closes and I can’t stand not touching her for a second longer. Being away from her and after seeing her in the death vision had made me crave her with intensity. It drives me crazy to see her. I inhale her with every breath, her scent intoxicates me, and I can’t think straight until I take her. I cross the distance between us and grasp the back of her head. My ravenous mouth claims hers. I sweep my tongue inside and she meets my desire stroke for stroke. I grasp at her prison shirt, ripping it at the seams. The material falls off her and she’s hanging onto me. Her nails dig into my arms.

  “I missed you,” I whisper, and she rewards me with a delicious moan.

  She’s still wearing too many fucking clothes. I yank down her pants and she lets out a gasp against my lips. I push her back and her legs hit the window looking out on the prison yard. I trail my fingers down to her clit and groan when I feel she’s already wet for me. I press her back against the window, then pull my rock-hard cock out. She hikes her leg over my hip, and I plunge inside her.

  The curtain is open and everyone in the yard below can see us. The basketball group is gawking at us, their ball bouncing away. Even the meatheads pumping weights stop and s
tare. They are all watching us. They see me fucking her, claiming her. Now everyone will know she’s mine. Knowing that makes me even more ravenous and I plunge into her harder and faster.

  She moans against me, clinging to my shoulders. Her climax clutches around me so fucking hard. I growl and heft both her legs around me, cupping her ass. I thrust into her, looking past her out the window to the prisoners who see what I’m doing, who see that I’m claiming her as mine. And they won't fucking touch her. Not without my permission. Not without invoking my wrath. If they are stupid enough to try, then they are welcome to the punishment and how much I can make them beg for mercy.

  “Xanth,” she breathes out. Her head is thrown back as she arches against me. Her nipples are taut and hard.

  I grasp one in my fingers, tugging slightly and she explodes with a scream, her body going rigid then soft as I drive into her over and over.

  She looks up at me through a satisfied haze of bright blue eyes that steals my breath. My orgasm rips from me like she’s a damn sex goddess plucking ripe fruit. I gasp, my body shaking and lean my forehead against hers.

  When I catch my breath, which takes too damn long, I look up at her. I expect to see the brightness of her eyes again, but they are the same pretty blue as always. Must have been the light from the sun shining on them at just the right moment.

  I shake my head and pull back from her. Hadn’t planned on fucking her so soon, but I wasn’t the least bit sorry. Shaye is addictive.

  The chocolate. I left the box in my locker.

  “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” I don’t wait for her to nod in agreement, but I stride out of the room. She’ll know it’s safer in here than anywhere in the prison.

  I reach my locker in record time and grab out the box of chocolate.

  “The Warden wants to see you,” a guard says.

  I bet he does. Fuck that. “Thanks.” I’ve no intention of going to his office right now. Shaye is more important. Acting like I’m heading to the Warden, I switch directions as soon as I’m sure the weasel guard isn’t following me. Really would like to send him to the graveyard except I don’t have time for that or the questions that will follow.