The Redemption Series

by Melynda Price

  “Olivia—.”

  His gravel-coarse voice sounded pained. Snatching the discarded washcloth from his hand, she wiped her face and demanded, “Answer me, Haden. Does he know?”

  The second it took for him to answer felt like eternity. His grip on her tightened possessively. Just like everything about Haden, his muscle-hard body was unyielding against her backside, and damn if her pulse didn’t quicken.

  His touch wasn’t at all like Liam’s. Nothing could compare to that level of intimacy she and Liam shared, and their connection went so far beyond physical and emotional aspects. They were spiritually connected in a way she couldn’t describe—in a way she would never get Haden to understand. But still, there was no denying that something quickened inside her at Haden’s touch, and she didn’t like it—didn’t trust the way her body responded to his.

  “He knows—.”

  The truth of those two words fractured her heart. She shook her head, tugging her hair from Haden’s grasp, and leaned forward, straining to put distance between their bodies. His forearm loosened, allowing a small measure of space, but instead of letting go of her hair, his hand slipped into its length, combing through the strands in a gentle caress.

  “—and I think it’s time you talk to him about it.”

  An unladylike snort escaped her lips. “Oh, you do, do you? And what would you have me say? ‘My heart is a traitorous bitch and I don’t deserve you, but please marry me anyway?” When she turned to face him, her legs tangled in his and she began to topple to the side. His arms wrapped around her, holding her upright. “I love Liam!” she professed adamantly. “He is who I want, and he is who I’ll marry.”

  Something had flickered in his eyes a second before his pain slammed into her chest. As if her hand had a will of its own, it lifted and she cupped the side of his face, her gaze imploring him to hear her. “I am so sorry. I know this hurts you, and I would never intentionally cause you pain. You deserve to be happy, Haden, truly you do, and I want that for you.” A muscle in his jaw ticked beneath her palm. “You said you needed to hear me say it, to confess it just once, then fine, you win, but your victory will be bittersweet. Do I love you? Yes, I do. I admit it. I love you, Haden. And there’s nothing I can do to stop it. Believe me, I’ve tried, and I hate myself every day for it. But I can promise you this, I will never act on my feelings for you—ever.”

  As she spoke, she could see the walls erecting around him, banishing one of those rare glimpses of a gentler Haden—a loving, compassionate Haden—a side of the male she was better off never seeing or knowing, because, dammit, it made her love him all the more.

  “I will not admit this to Liam. I will not tell him something that will only hurt him—especially when there will never be anything between you and me beyond friendship.”

  Haden’s jaw tightened against her palm, teeth grinding as his face hardened into the stoic mask of indifference. Abruptly, he released her, and with preternatural grace, he swiftly rose to his feet and stepped away from her. With the absence of his strength and his touch, the pang in her chest intensified—his pain or hers? It didn’t really matter because, in that timeless moment, she knew profound loss.

  Oh God, why was this happening to her?

  Straightening to his full imposing height, Haden looked down at her with all the compassion he’d spare a stranger. “Like I said, Olivia, I don’t need friends.”

  “Everyone needs friends, Haden.”

  “That’s not what I need from you,” he growled.

  He turned to leave and she grabbed his wrist. “I can’t give you what you need. We both know that, Haden. And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you can move on.”

  His eyes narrowed in steely determination as he yanked his wrist from her grasp and stormed out. The door slammed behind him, leaving Olivia kneeling on the bathroom floor, feeling like one of her anchors had been jerked out from under her, and she was about to be swept into the sea by the next riptide.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Thanks to Jose Cuervo, Haden was feeling no pain as he hunkered down in a small corner of the bar where he could drink alone and wallow in peace. The place was packed tonight, crawling with demon and mortal alike, not that these humans would have any clue who in the hell they were cavorting with. To them, they’d just see a biker bar—a place that was known for its booze and its brawls, and the wings weren’t half bad, either.

  Haden often frequented The Wrath because it was the closest demonic bar in the area and a hot-spot for intel. Aside from the need to put some distance between him and a certain emerald-eyed female, he hoped to glean some news of Gahn’s whereabouts, and if he was lucky, perhaps get a little more info into what he was planning. So far, that road had led to one dead-end after another. If anyone knew what the bastard was up to, they weren’t talking. All he’d been able to discover was that Gahn was not in Sheol right now, and that wasn’t breaking news. What he wanted to know was how, exactly, did that manipulative prick plan to seize the High Court and what did the Neph baby have to do with it?

  Tyber was right. If the High Court discovered Gahn’s plot to overthrow them, they’d strike against the Dark Court, swift and hard. The collateral damage to both fallen and human alike would be catastrophic, because the Dark Court would most certainly bring this war to Earth in a quick hurry. Fuck, he needed to get back out there and continue hunting for Gahn. This babysitting bullshit was driving him absolutely insane. Hell, he quickly decided, was all a matter of perspective. Though the elders claimed to have granted him salvation, they’d surely sentenced him to a fate worse than damnation when they’d bonded him to that woman.

  A sick fucking joke—that’s what this was. Those self-righteous pricks were probably yucking it up right about now. At that thought, Haden slammed the glass of tequila, welcoming the slow, fiery burn that seared his empty gullet. Yeah, he probably should have eaten something before consuming half a bottle of tequila, but fuck it, after the day he had, he wasn’t sure how much more of this agony he could possibly take.

  As much as he tried to fight it, he couldn’t seem to curb his desire for that woman, and knowing there was a part of her that loved him back, proved to be every bit as torturous as she’d warned it would be. There was no satisfaction in knowing he’d been right. It brought him no measure of comfort to have heard her say those words because as much as he felt her love for him, he also felt her love for Liam, and knew he stood no chance of ever winning her. As long as that bastard lived, Olivia’s heart would forever belong to that angel.

  He’d never been more tempted to off someone in his whole accursed life. The only thing saving Liam was the pain it’d cause Olivia and the suffering he’d endure through their bond.

  Married… Olivia was getting married. It should have come as no surprise to him, yet the inevitability of it made that pill no less difficult to swallow. The only silver-lining in this shit-cloud he called life was that while she was away on her honeymoon, Olivia would become Liam’s sole responsibility, and Haden would finally have the opportunity to hunt down Gahn and finish what he started.

  Haden wondered where Liam thought he could possibly take his new bride where she would be safe from the encroaching threat of the Dark Court. Then again, that wasn’t his problem now, was it? As long as Olivia stayed alive on his watch, that was all he needed to concern himself with. And, yeah, he could tell himself that a thousand more times and eventually he might even believe it.

  “Hey, odd man out! It’s a surprise seeing you here.”

  Haden tensed at the sound of that familiar voice he was too shit-faced to place and lifted his head. It took him a moment to focus on the blonde trolling up to him. The alcohol induced eye-to-brain delay left him squinting at her for another moment as he tried to remember where he’d seen the buxom female.

  She helped herself to the adjacent seat and shot him a saucy smile that quickly turned into a flirtatious pout when he failed to acknowledge he knew her. “You don’t recognize
me, do you?”

  Considering there was two of her, he’d probably have a better time of it if he could somehow manage to bring those pictures together. He closed one eye, and when that didn’t help, he tried to close the other. Nada.

  Haden blinked a few times to clear his vision, and the woman coiled her long blonde waves into a twist and held her hair up. “Does this help?”

  Shit… “Addy?” his tequila-seared throat rasped.

  She gave him a triumphant grin and dropped her hair, letting it fall in a sexed-up disarray. “Hey, you do remember. I’m still waiting for that cup of coffee, you know.”

  “Here, have a shot instead.” Haden filled his glass and slid it across the table.

  The woman grabbed the shot, gave him a cheers salute, and tossed back the amber liquid like a pro. He could tell the moment the burn got her, because her dark chocolate eyes watered a little and a dainty, breathless cough escaped her throat.

  Haden couldn’t resist the amused chuckle rumbling in his chest. “Careful, you keep drinking like that and Jose’ll sneak up and bite you in the ass.”

  She arched a manicured brow and gave him a sassy grin that suggested Jose may be closer than he thought. “You wanna get out of here?”

  A tempting offer, but he just wasn’t feelin’ it. “Look, Addy, I’m not looking for a relationship.”

  “Who said I was?”

  Damn this female was tenacious. “I like it rough,” he warned, figuring that oughta scare her off.

  Her saucy smile was simply sinful. Perhaps he’d misjudged her. “Who said I don’t?”

  Fuck me… “I’m thoroughly shit-faced right now.”

  “Afraid you’re gonna have whiskey dick?” she challenged, tossing down the gauntlet with a teasing grin.

  He scowled. “I’m not that shit-faced,” he grumbled, tossing back another shot.

  “Good. Then let’s go.”

  “I’m in love with another woman.” The confession tumbled from his lips all too easily. Perhaps Jose Cuervo should mind his own fucking business.

  Her bright, slightly-wasted smile fell. Sighing dramatically, Addy shoved back her chair and stood. He’d been wondering what it’d take to scare her off, and there you have it. The truth was such a bitch sometimes. When she turned, he thought it was to walk away, but then she came around the table and stood behind him. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she bent down and whispered beside his ear, “I’ll make you forget all about her.”

  Probably not, but then what the fuck did he have to lose? It was worth a shot. Right about now there wasn’t much he wouldn’t try to get even a few hours of relief from this gnawing pain in his chest. Reaching up, he caught a fistful of her hair and with a growl, tugged her closer. Her startled gasp was abruptly cut off when he turned his head, and kissed her full, parted lips—hard.

  She still tasted like Jose and he was more than ready to get this three-way started. His cock swelled—aching as his mind and body instantly associated the earthy agave flavor with another female. Whiskey dick my ass…

  Shoving aside all thought of the raven-haired, jewel-eyed female of which he would not name, Haden abruptly let the woman go and she stumbled back a step before regaining her slightly altered balance. He stood and grabbed her hand, then snatched the bottle off the table with the other. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s go. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “Wait!”

  Haden had her halfway out the door when she finally came to her senses and put on the brakes. A little late for cold feet…

  He almost didn’t stop. His dick was depriving his alcohol-sodden brain of enough blood flow, he was tempted to toss this flirtatious cock-tease over his shoulder and caveman her ass right outta here. It’d serve her right to taste the consequences of her reckless actions.

  He spun on her so fast, the woman let out a startled gasp, and then laughed at her jumpiness. Arching a sardonic brow, he growled, “What’s the matter, sweet? Change your mind already?”

  She chuffed, a wholly unladylike sound that somehow worked on her. “Not a chance, big guy. I just gotta go tell my friends over there that I’m leaving with you.”

  She nodded at the table of eight in the billiards room. Some were shooting a game, some were talking and laughing it up—all were drinking. If they noticed she was gone, none of them gave any indication. Great buddy system she had there.

  “Wait here,” she said and started walking away. After a few steps, she stopped abruptly, as if a thought suddenly dawned on her and turned back. “Hey, what’s your name?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Kinda. If I turnup floating in the river tomorrow, my friends can’t very well say I went home with Odd Man Out.” Her top lip tugged into a teasing smile.

  “Stop calling me that,” he grumbled, giving her a surly scowl, but she wasn’t deterred by gruffness. He wasn’t used to anyone teasing him, nor did he particularly appreciate it. Yet, for some reason he tolerated it from her—anyone else and they would’ve been dead by now. Perhaps he just wanted to get laid.

  “Then tell me your name,” she insisted.

  “Haden,” he finally conceded because he was tired as hell of standing in the doorway.

  She nodded as if approving of the name. “Haden what?”

  “Just Haden.”

  She shrugged, whatever, then turned and made her way back toward the table, weaving through the crowd. He watched her go, and as she passed a table closer to the back, Haden realized he wasn’t the only guy here that noticed the buxom blonde.

  Two demons, each donned in earthly glamour that was far from glamorous, watched the female with a predatory gaze. When the one doing a damn good owl impression craned his neck back around, Haden’s pulse quickened, his muscles tensing in recognition—Amos… He’d been looking for that piece of shit. This was the same prick that attacked Olivia the night Max had taken her here—the night he’d seen that female for the first time and his life had never been the same since.

  He should have recognized the bastard right away by his tats. The guy was covered in ink, sleeved in a macabre of grey-wash depicting violent scenes born from the very depths of Hell itself. If that hadn’t been a giveaway, then that face full of metal definitely was. His gauged ears bore holes so big, he could see a glimpse of Addy’s ass through them. A bull-ring ran through his septum and spear-point studs decorated his bottom lip. Yeah, a real beaut, this one…

  The demon seemed to take great care in outlandishly defacing his body. Too bad he didn’t put a bit more of that effort into hygiene. While Haden couldn’t tell for sure, he was pretty confident something was living in that greasy mop called hair. Amos leaned close to his buddy and whispered something. The other demon leaned back in his chair and took his time checking out Addy’s ass—and it was a fine one, at that, with her palms planted on the table as she bent forward talking to a friend, completely oblivious of the sudden spike of testosterone in the air.

  Tamping down his own surge of lust, the ache in his balls was a painful reminder that, unlike absence, abstinence did not make the heart grow fonder. Haden dragged his gaze from that pert little ass just in time to see Amos’ friend lean over and say something. The bastard wore a shit-eating grin, and Haden just knew he wasn’t getting out of here with his piece of ass in tow without some bloodshed.

  Right on cue, the woman stood, waved goodbye to her friends, and took the path of least resistance back to him. Unfortunately, that happened to lead her right by that bastard’s table. With the speed of a striking viper, Amos snagged her wrist and jerked her into his lap. Addy’s startled yelp was drowned out by the cacophony of bar noise. Even if she cried out for help, it was doubtful her plea would be heard over the crisp smack of pool balls, or the sharp clanking of bar glasses. The din of conversation shouted over the bump and grind of the jukebox was damn near deafening.

  The woman struggled in his beefy arms as Amos quickly pinned her on his lap with an efficien
cy that proved he was no stranger at subduing his prey. He took what he wanted and didn’t mind the fight. In fact, Haden would be willing to bet that for this bastard, the battle was half the fun.

  Overpowered and terrified, her desperate gaze searched the crowd, looking for him as Amos began to paw at her breasts. She wiggled and struggled to evade his touch—a game Amos made of it, Haden realized as a sardonic smile split the demon’s face and his head tipped back in mocking laughter. The moment her eyes connected with Haden’s, she screamed for help.

  Aww hell… Was she worth the effort? It wasn’t like he couldn’t just go find some other woman to fuck. He was rather enjoying his drunk, and nothing killed a good buzz faster than a bar fight. The thought that he might not win never entered the equation. It wasn’t a question of might that had him pondering whether or not to intervene. But, dammit anyway, it was bad enough being a guardian for one. He sure as hell didn’t want to add another to the list. And this woman was asking for it. She was careless, reckless with her beauty, and if not tonight, then some other evening it was going to catch up with her. The blasted female reminded him of Ashley, except cagier, and a bit less waspish.

  Fuck, she was beautiful… His cock bucked in his jeans, staking his claim and calling Haden to action. The determined piece of flesh voted he get his ass over there and rescue that woman. Apparently he was in it to win it, and with the mood he was in, Addy was going to be trading one hot-blooded male for another. And like Amos, he wasn’t inclined to take no for an answer. Robbing Peter to pay Paul still left one hell of a debt, and damn if he wasn’t going to collect.