7th Circle (Hades Book 1)

by Tate James

I reeled back, stunned at the resentment in her voice. But she had no clue what had really sparked the war between me and our father. She had no idea how close she’d been to being sold as a thirteen-year-old sex slave to a Saudi billionaire.

  So instead of arguing with her, I shoved her aside and went to find whatever braindead, suicidal fuck boy had accepted her invitation to come home with her. Because there was no way in hell her cheeks were all flushed like that from an innocent study session with a girlfriend.

  "Dare! Stop!" Seph shrieked, grabbing onto my arm to try and pull me back. "You're acting totally insane! Just leave me the fuck alone and stop trying to ruin my life!"

  I had nothing to say to that, so I just rolled my eyes and shook her off. I didn't give two shits if she thought I was ruining her life, because I knew better. I knew what the alternative would have been if I hadn't intervened, and I wouldn't wish that fate on my worst enemy, let alone the one person I loved more than anything in the world.

  Seph continued yelling at me about how I was the worst sister in the whole world as I marched through to the living room and confronted her "study buddy" on the couch. But I pulled up short when I saw actual schoolbooks and art supplies scattered all over the floor... then laid eyes on the boy she'd brought home.

  Fucking hell.

  "Lucas," I gritted out from behind clenched teeth. "Fancy seeing you here."

  He met my glare unflinchingly, the corners of his lush lips kicking up. "Oh hey, Dare, right? You have a lovely home here."

  That little shit. I tucked my gun away because I really wasn't planning on shooting Lucas anytime soon, and there was no way he could be scared off like the other spineless bastards in Seph's school.

  "What the fuck are you doing here?" I snapped, not caring how rude I sounded. Seph was the only one who was going to freak out over my apparent lack of manners; Lucas already knew he was in huge trouble.

  My sister intercepted, though, stepping in front of me and glaring up at me with her face flaming red. "He's my project partner for art class," she snarled. "I told you that the other day. Now seriously, screw off and let us finish this assignment in peace." Her eyes said everything else, like how she was so mad at me she was thinking about cutting my hair off in my sleep or some messed-up prank shit like that.

  I looked past her, though, cocking a brow at Lucas like I could silently demand to know what he thought he was going to achieve here. But he didn't look even slightly fazed by how angry I was.

  Dude had balls for days.

  So, I rapidly changed tack. I shrugged, then smiled at my sister. "Sure thing. Wouldn't want to interfere with your grades."

  Lucas's eyes narrowed slightly, and I knew I'd thrown him off. About fucking time.

  Seph squinted at me with suspicion, but I just started on my way back to the kitchen before snapping my fingers like I'd just remembered something. "Oh, don't forget Demi is expecting you for dinner. So, you know, maybe wrap this up quickly." I indicated to their school supplies, then shot Seph a smile. "Have fun!"

  She glared harder, mouthing fuck you at me, but I maintained my smile and left the living area in search of my wine. I needed it more now than ever, that was for damn sure.

  Back in the kitchen, I found myself hovering. I should have taken my wine and retreated to my room or something. Or, really, I should have tossed Lucas out on his ass. Yet instead, I found myself lurking in the kitchen and straining my ears to listen in on what they were talking about.

  As badly as I wanted to tell myself I was just trying to protect Seph, I couldn't deny the fact that I wanted to know if he was flirting with her. Was he leading my little sister on? If he was, I'd kill him. No one messed around with her heart and lived.

  But part of me was really, really hoping it actually was the innocent study session Seph was making it out to be. I wanted Lucas not to be a douchebag. I had enough of those in my life already.

  For the most part, they kept their voices low enough that I couldn't make out the words. Every time Seph giggled, though, I tensed up with anger and... something else.

  After about fifteen minutes and a couple of sips of wine, I forced myself to go into my room and change out of my skintight black jeans and formfitting black bodysuit. When I returned to the kitchen in a pair of yoga pants and loose tank top, I found Lucas pouring himself a glass of water at the sink.

  Gritting my teeth, I slid back onto the barstool, where I'd left my wine, and opened my laptop, which I'd grabbed from my room.

  Lucas turned the tap off, then leaned his ass against the counter as he took a long sip from his glass. Fucker.

  Ignoring him, I raised my own glass to my lips and took a mouthful of the light, fruity sangiovese I'd chosen. I placed my glass down again, and Lucas leaned over the island to pick it up.

  My gaze flicked up, catching on his as he brought my wine glass to his mouth and drank from it. Holy fuck, that was sexy. It shouldn't have been, but somehow my mouth went dry and my panties went... well... not dry.

  "Mmm," he hummed, licking his lips way too damn sexually. "What's that one?"

  I drew a deep breath, rolling his seemingly innocent question around my brain. I knew full well what he was doing, though—reminding me how I'd introduced him to barolo last time he'd been in my kitchen.

  "Sangiovese," I replied, my voice low so Seph didn't come running to save Lucas from her big bad sister.

  He took another sip, his eyes still locked on mine. "It's delicious."

  I gave him a cool smile. "I'll be sure to send you a bottle when you're of legal drinking age."

  He gave a soft laugh, placing my glass back down and running his hand through his hair. The move was so calculated, tugging his loose Shadow Prep shirt up and showing off those mouthwatering lower abs.

  "What are you doing here, Lucas?" I asked in a near whisper. "The fuck do you think you're going to achieve by leading my sister on?"

  His gaze flicked over my shoulder in the direction of the living room, then he leaned his elbows on the counter opposite me. His shirt was rolled up to the elbows, revealing those strongly muscled forearms, and his eyes were intense.

  "I'm not leading her on, Hayden," he whispered back, his tone earnest. "I've made it crystal clear that I'm not interested in being anything more than friends with her. She's just not hearing me."

  I huffed. That did sound like Seph, especially with how much she'd gone on and on about Lucas all week.

  "Trust me," he continued, his low voice full of sincerity, "I would never mess anyone around like that. But when she asked me to come over after school and work on our project..." He gave a shrug as if to say, what's a guy to do?

  I shook my head slowly, astounded at his tenacity after I'd all but ghosted him all week. "Lucas..." I said his name on a tired exhale and trailed off when his fingers wove together with mine on the countertop. His touch was pure electricity, and I swallowed the protests I'd been about to make.

  "I needed to see you again," he murmured. "You're all I can think about. That kiss in your office the other night... I know you want me too."

  I couldn't even deny that fact.

  "Lucas?" Seph called out, and I jerked my hand free of his a split second before she came into view. "Oh. I wondered what was taking you so long..." She gave me a hard glare, and I just met her gaze with bored eyes as I took a sip of my wine.

  Lucas's eyes flicked to my mouth as I rested the glass between my lips, then he straightened up and gave Seph a bland, friendly smile. "I just got caught up talking to your sister," he told her with a small shrug. "Sorry I kept you waiting."

  "Uh..." Seph's suspicious gaze bounced between the two of us, and my stomach twisted with guilt. Then she gave him a bright smile and batted her lashes a couple of times. "No worries. I hope she was being polite." Her hard look told me she didn't for a second believe I’d been remotely polite, but whatever. I'd rather she think I was threatening him than the truth.

  "Of course," Lucas replied with a sly smirk in my direc
tion. "Actually, she was just offering to drive me home so you're not late to that dinner thing. I think my place is on the other side of town."

  He was guessing, I could tell, but he was also right. It was an easy enough guess, considering how the wealth of Shadow Grove was split up into distinct neighborhoods.

  Seph looked stunned for a moment, giving me a confused frown. "Oh. Uh... that's nice of you, Dare."

  I gave her a tight smile in return. "Yep." Because I couldn't exactly call Lucas out for lying, could I? Not if I didn't want my sister to find out Lucas and I were more than friendly already.

  "We should probably finish this project then," she said to him, jerking her thumb toward the living room.

  Lucas just picked up his glass of water and followed her. Not before he shot me a mischievous wink, though. Goddamn, he was trouble.

  21

  Seph and Lucas probably spent another half an hour on their homework, and I forced myself to stay in the kitchen and not send Seph to Demi's early on some bullshit excuse.

  Zed called me during that time, letting me know that the SGPD had been making a nuisance of themselves in several of our venues tonight, spot-checking IDs of patrons—no one's idea of a good time—and questioning the bar staff about whether they knew about any illegal activity within the premises.

  Not a single one of my employees would ever rat out the Timberwolves, but it didn't make the whole thing any less irritating.

  "We need to get our hold back on them," I told Zed when he finished his verbal report. "It's becoming inconvenient to have the cops working for someone else."

  He grunted a sound of agreement. "No shit. Life was a hell of a lot easier a year ago when they could simply be paid to look the other way."

  "It's a challenge to my authority, Zed," I muttered, picking at a hole in the hem of my tank top. "Sooner or later, people will start noticing. Then we're going to be back at square one, defending what's ours against greedy bastards looking to expand."

  He let out a sigh on the other end of the phone. "Agreed. So what do we do?"

  I chewed the edge of my nail, thinking about his question. "Grab one of them and make him squeal. One of the higher-ups that used to take payouts from Charon, preferably. There's no way those slimebuckets suddenly turned into model citizens."

  "Yes, sir," Zed replied with an edge of amusement. "I'll get Alexi and his guys on it and I'll call with an update when we know more."

  "Good. Don't hold back." I ended the call with an internal scream of frustration, tossed my phone onto the counter, and pressed my forehead to the marble. Just over the course of my conversation with Zed, a blinding headache had built up behind my eyes, and I wanted nothing more than to hit something. Maybe I needed to drop down to KJ-fit, my local training gym, and beat the ever-loving crap out of some wannabe MMA fighters to burn off some steam.

  The sound of my little sister's voice made me lift my head back up from the counter, though.

  "...you sure?" she was asking. "It's really not that far out of my way, and my aunt Demi won't mind if I'm late for dinner."

  "Yes, she will," I snapped, my irritation temporarily disabling my filter. "Besides, Lucas and I need to have a chat on the way home. Don't we?"

  I kept my tone flat and hard. Seph would assume I wanted to threaten him into leaving her alone, and I was going to let her think that. Better she think he was scared off by her violent, borderline-sociopathic sister than suspect the truth behind his disinterest.

  Then again, there's no way she would think he was unavailable because of me. Hell, even I barely believed it, and I was involved.

  "Absolutely," Lucas agreed with an easy smile. "I'll see you in class on Monday, Seph."

  She glared daggers at me, silently demanding I not scare him off, but I just stared back at her unblinking. "Ask Demi how her travel plans are going while you're there," I told her, a not-so-subtle push to leave.

  Seph scowled. "You're not coming down to the parking level with me?"

  "I need to change," I told her, lying as easily as I breathed. "I have to stop by Club 22 later to check on things."

  She hesitated a moment longer, then gave a frustrated little sound and grabbed her keys from the hall table. The door slammed after her, but I didn't move from my stool until I was sure she must be in the elevator.

  "So, you need to get changed?" Lucas murmured, stepping up behind me and trailing his fingertips ever so gently down my bare arms. It sent shivers chasing across my skin, and I swallowed the sigh that wanted to escape at his touch. "I can probably lend a hand with that. Or... with the undressing part, anyway." He brushed my hair away from one shoulder and dropped his lips to my neck.

  I let out a low chuckle, hiding how turned on he was already getting me. "I'm not fucking you, Lucas. I just didn't want Seph getting her hopes up that you might kiss her in the car. This way you have a convincing reason to decline all her offers in the future. She's used to me chasing away her admirers."

  He gripped the seat of my stool and spun me around, then placed his hands on the counter to either side of me.

  "I'm not one of her admirers, though," he told me with a small grin. "I'm one of yours, Dare."

  "Don't call me that," I told him with a frown. "Only Seph calls me that."

  Lucas inclined his head in acknowledgement. "Fair enough. I prefer Hayden, anyway."

  I rolled my eyes, not pushing the issue on that one. I liked the sound of my name in his mouth.

  "I'm still not fucking you, Lucas." My voice lacked the hard edge of Hades, though. Hell, not even I believed me, so it was no great shock when he didn't immediately back away.

  That was one of the major things that kept drawing me back to Lucas. He didn't let me push him around. He didn't let me push him away. He knew what he wanted, and he wasn't afraid to go balls to the wall in pursuing it.

  In this case, what he wanted... was me.

  "Because of my age?" he asked in a low murmur, his tone coaxing and seductive. "I never picked you as one for conforming to societal expectations, Hayden. Besides, I turn nineteen in a month. That'll make you only four years older."

  I glared back at him, entranced by te gorgeous emerald depths of his eyes. "You're still in high school, Lucas."

  He shrugged. "So? I bet you've dated older guys before. What difference does it make?"

  Cass flashed across my mind, then I remembered how Chase had been three years older than me. We'd been officially engaged before I’d even turned fifteen—entirely due to our fathers’ manipulation, too. Or mine, at the very least.

  So yeah, Lucas had a point. He wasn't a child; he'd made that all too clear. If he was old enough to go looking for a job in a whorehouse like Swinging Dick's, then who the fuck was I to split hairs?

  "This isn't a game, Lucas. You can't even begin to imagine how dangerous it is being close to me. People would hurt you, use you, betray you... just to get to me. You don't need that shit in your life." It was a last-ditch effort because with every passing second I was less convinced that he was a bad idea.

  "I'm willing to take that risk," he replied without even a moment's hesitation. He had no idea what he was neck deep in—that much was painfully clear.

  "Seph likes you," I told him softly. "I can't hurt my sister. Not for anything."

  He gave a slow headshake and a small smile. "But I don't like her. Not like that. No one can even come close to what I feel for you, not since the moment I laid eyes on you last weekend, Hayden."

  Internal groan. Where did he learn those smooth moves? He was like a fictional character, for fuck’s sake.

  "Just give me a chance," he pleaded, echoing what he'd said in my office earlier in the week. "Please, just give me one chance to convince you that this isn't a bad idea, that I could be exactly what you need in your life. Someone with no ulterior motive. Someone who sees the real you." He paused, wetting his lips as my heart pounded hard in my chest. "No one ever needs to know. I can be discrete, and I won't tell a soul."
r />   Jesus Christ. Why did that turn me on so hard? Maybe it was just the way he leaned into me as he spoke, like we were being pulled together by a magnetic force.

  "You want to be my dirty little secret, Lucas?" I couldn't fight the smile creeping over my lips as I said this.

  He raised one brow in a facial shrug. "If that's what it takes? Yes. I want you, Hayden. In whatever way you're offering." He paused and grimaced. "Even if it is just to kill time until that big, scary tattooed fuck from the other night comes to his senses."

  My brows shot up in surprise. I hadn't realized Lucas was paying attention to Cass while he was on stage. Or that he'd accurately guessed who it was that’d had me all tied up in knots this week.

  I drew a deep breath, knowing I needed to send him home. Nothing good could come from me caving now. Demi's warning echoed through my mind about corrupting a genuinely nice, normal guy, and I started to shake my head.

  Lucas wasn't giving up so easily, though. He leaned in, his lips capturing mine in a smolderingly hot kiss before I could come up with any more weak excuses why I should not give him a chance.

  I kissed him back, letting him sweep me up in his arms and carry me halfway to my room before I managed to pry my lips free.

  "Lucas, this is—"

  "A fucking fantastic idea," he growled, finishing my statement the way he wanted it to end. "I'm not asking for forever, Hayden. Just a chance. You carry so much weight on your shoulders... Let me be an outlet for all that stress, beautiful. I could be your lighthouse if you let me."

  My heart pounded so hard in my chest it hurt, and I saw nothing but sincerity in his face. I groaned.

  "Fuck it," I muttered, then tightened my legs around his waist and crushed my lips back to his once more.

  Then the doorbell rang.

  "Ignore it," Lucas suggested, still walking with me wrapped around his waist until he reached the edge of my enormous bed. He lowered me down with staggeringly impressive control and strength, his mouth against my throat the whole time, sucking and biting my skin and probably leaving his mark.