by Katee Robert
BDSM in all its flavors requires an incredible level of trust from all participating parties. If the wrong person were to become involved… Well, it hasn’t happened since I’ve been here. We get assholes sometimes, but no one who actively ignores the rules, both explicitly stated and generally understood. Anyone who plays here is guaranteed a consensual good time, no matter what they’re looking for.
Which means I need to check this guy out before tonight. Hades wouldn’t actively undermine our operation, but he often plays deeper games that make my life difficult. Sending a submissive who doesn’t realize they’re a submissive even out into the lounge without the proper preparation is a recipe for disaster.
Training them himself…
He hasn’t been that hands on in training since I was new here.
What the hell is going on? I blink to find Tink still watching me with her pretty green eyes. “Was there something else?”
“I’m coming up on the end of my contract.” She props her hands on her hips, drawing my attention to her floral romper and black strappy heels. A black cropped jacket pulls the outfit together just like Tink always seems to. She makes my suits and slinky dresses feel mundane sometimes, but no one can pull off fashion the way she does.
I lean back. “Two months. You’re not quite there yet.”
“Compared to the last four years and change, two months is almost the end.” She considers me. “Is staying on an option?”
I blink. Tink hates Hades. Actively loathes him. I can’t imagine she would be content to work for him unless under duress. “Do you want to stay on?”
“I don’t know yet.” She shrugs. “I’m exploring my options.”
If I were a better person, I’d guide her out the doors and tell her never to look back. Tink was meant for greater things than working as a combination assistant manager, costumer designer, submissive, and general fire-put-outer.
I’m not a better person. She’s worth her weight in gold, and I’d be a fool to let her go. “Of course. You’ll always have a place here.”
“Oh. Okay, then.” She nods a little too fast. “My shift starts at eight, but I’m going to give this dude a run-down at seven.”
“Does he know that?”
“He’s staying in the building.”
I’m not expecting that, though I should. Tink also lives here, courtesy of the terms of her deal. Of course this new toy for Hades will be under our roof. “I’ll talk to him now.”
“Thanks.” She turns and disappears through the door.
I stare blindly at my office. I’ve put this room together over the years. It’s the one place in the Underworld that’s mine. That I earned through actions and time and trust from my employees. I indulged myself with the pretty teal color on the walls, the one that makes me think of the trip Hades and I took to the Maldives on our first anniversary. I don’t like clutter overmuch, so all the important information is filed away in the classy cabinets that have locks on each door. I keep my desk clear, which isn’t a positive right now, because my hands itch to fiddle with something and there’s nothing but my computer marring the smooth mahogany surface.
There’s no help for it. I’m not going to be able to focus until I’ve gotten to the bottom of this particular mystery. I could ask Hades directly, but I can’t guarantee he’ll tell me the truth. Beyond that, I’m curious.
Sure. That’s it. It’s simple curiosity.
As I push to my feet, I take a moment to be honest with myself. I’m a little jealous, too. It doesn’t make sense, and it’s not something I’ll ever admit, but I like there only being Tink and me in here as permanent deal-related employees. As Tink said, she’s up in two months. I can’t imagine what that would be like. Mine is a lifetime contract. There’s no end in sight, and I made my peace with that a long time ago.
No use thinking about it now.
I make sure to lock my office door before I head down the back stairs to the employee floor. It houses a dozen apartments, though only five were in use until today. I step through the door to find Allecto leaning against the wall.
She raises a dark brow and pushes her long black braids over her shoulder. “That didn’t take you long.” She’s a beauty like all Hades’s Furies are—me, Allecto, and Tisiphone. Her dark brown skin is flawless, and she wears a sports bra and high-waisted workout pants. Obviously she’s on her way to the gym.
I could play it cool, but she and Tis are as close to sisters as I’ve ever had. I lean around her to look down the empty hallway. “Don’t act like you’re not curious too.”
Allecto gives me a sly smile. “You should go introduce yourself. He’s in number six.”
Near-sister or not, I don’t trust that look on her face. “What do you know?”
“Nothing much.” She bypasses me and heads down the stairs to where the gym is located. “More than you.”
I wait a full three seconds and then stalk down the hallway to the door with the stylized six on it. I raise my hand and then reconsider. Something about this whole situation sends warning bells tolling through my mind. It doesn’t make any sense.
Surely I have nothing to be afraid of?
I knock briskly before I can stall longer. I listen to the heavy footsteps approach from the other side and find myself holding my breath. And then the door opens and the very last person I expect to see stands there, his blond hair a little messy like he’s been running his fingers through it, his blue eyes going wide at the sight of me, his mouth curving into a smile. “Meg.”
“I… Hercules?”
He barely seems to register my shock, grabbing my hands and towing me into the apartment. It’s decorated like all the unoccupied ones are—tasteful neutrals and welcoming furniture that’s just as comfortable as it looks. Hercules releases me almost instantly, but I can still feel the imprint of his hands on mine. More than that. I can still feel his tongue rolling over my clit. His cock filling me. His strong hold keeping me in place as he fucks me just like I commanded him to.
He looks at me like I’m the greatest gift he’s ever been given. “He followed through on his promise. I honestly wasn’t sure he would.”
Surely I’m misunderstanding this. Surely Hades didn’t do what I’m beginning to suspect he did. “His promise?”
“Your freedom.”
I stare. He looks so incredibly proud of himself, a golden retriever expecting to be praised for his good behavior. Did I really think this guy might be a good one? I really should know better by now. I take a careful step back and cross my arms over my chest. “Let me see if I have this straight. You decided to bargain yourself away for a woman you just met—”
“Yes—”
“—without talking to her first and figuring out what she wanted.”
He’s starting to realize he might have misjudged things. Hercules flushes. “I saw the way you were with him. You both admitted what he made you do with me. I had to do the right thing.”
The right thing.
The right thing.
I shake my head slowly. “You are an idiot.”
Hercules’s blue eyes go stormy. “Don’t talk to me like I’m a stupid teenager.”
“Then stop acting like one!” I have to turn away to regain control of my tone. Screaming at him might feel good for a few moments, but he truly doesn’t understand. In the end, it’s like kicking a puppy, and I’ll feel worse for doing it. I press the heels of my hands to my eyes. “How long?”
“What?”
“How long did you give him? A year? Three? Five? Seven?”
His silence gains weight. I turn back to find him staring at me as if he’s never seen me before. “I gave him forever, Meg. A full trade. Me for you.”
My breath leaves me in a whoosh. A lifetime. Who is this guy that Hades was willing to lay out those terms? I don’t know. There was a time when he would have told me his plans, would have sketched them out in all their intricacy and filled me with wonder at how devious his mind was. No longer. The
distance between us is too great these days, both of us moving about our lives separately with deliciously painful clashes that hurt more than they help. Even with that, I thought we were still partners. Dysfunctional ones, yes, but equals in our own way. Silly me. I should know better than to trust anyone at this point. Even him. Especially him. “You should have talked to me first,” I say weakly. “You don’t understand.”
“Help me understand.” He cautiously takes my hand and tugs me toward the couch. As if he is going to comfort me. This man makes absolutely no sense. He’s the one in more trouble than he obviously understands. He’s the one Hades has just conned. I’m the one who should be comforting him.
But I didn’t beg for him to save me. He didn’t ask. He just took one look at us and assumed he knew a single damn thing about how our lives work. He’s a fool, and I don’t suffer fools, even when they’re pretty enough to make me temporarily lose myself.
“Oh, now you’re willing to slow down long enough to actually consider my opinion?” I jerk my hand out of his. “Does my damsel in distress roll allow for a speaking part?”
“I don’t get why you’re pissed. Shouldn’t you be happy? You wanted out from under Hades, and now you can be.”
I laugh. A broken, sad sound. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
His confusion shifts to anger and his mouth goes tight. “How the hell would I know what I’m talking about when you didn’t talk to me? You say I didn’t consider what you wanted, but you did the exact same thing to me. If you’re telling the truth about not wanting to be saved, then stop for a second and think about how that night looked from my perspective. He said he made you fuck me, Meg. As in forced.”
I understand what he’s saying, but I’m reeling too hard to sympathize fully. “So you talk to me! We have a conversation. You don’t jump headfirst into a deal with Hades because you made assumptions and didn’t bother to fact-check them before acting.” I hold up my hand when he starts to speak. “I… I can’t do this right now. I have to go.” I turn and walk away. I have to. Hercules might have fucked me, but he doesn’t know me. He obviously doesn’t want to know me either. Not the real me. He’s looking for someone to save, and he assumed I fit the bill. It never occurred to him that he should ask first.
I close the door behind me and take a slow breath. Anger is so much easier than guilt. I knew Hades had something else going on when he sent me after Hercules, and I did it anyways. I hadn’t realized the misleading conclusions Hercules would draw from the whole situation, but I should have. I knew he wasn’t part of our world, and I was too lost in my own experience to make sure he understood. Part of this is on me.
But not all of it.
It takes fewer than five minutes to climb the stairs to the level above the club to Hades’s office. He keeps a room that’s vaguely office-like on the club floor itself, but it’s all for show—and play. As secure as the Underground is in general, it’s not secure enough to leave vital business information where someone could just walk in, locked doors or no. Our clientele specialize in being where they shouldn’t.
So Hades gives them a decoy office. No one has thought to question it yet. They see what they want to see, and they leave it at that. Hades is too powerful to fuck with.
For them.
I’m too angry to heed the warning. He and I are going to have words, and we’re going to have them right fucking now.
Chapter 7
Hades
She comes through my office door like a gale-force wind. Even after all these years, my Meg steals my breath when she gets riled like this. She’s out for blood, and mine will do just as well as anyone’s. We both know it won’t happen, that I will never yield, but Meg never hesitates to charge onto the battleground when she’s decided it’s worth her while.
She’s decided it now.
For him.
I study her as I sip my scotch. She looks as divine as always in her carefully tailored suit and sky-high heels. Her hair is mussed, and I know she’s been to see Hercules. A tiny flame of jealousy flares, but I’m not interested in feeding it. Meg may be mine in every way that matters, but she’s not built for monogamy. Begrudging her that is like begrudging a falcon its need for the sky. After all, I brought Hercules here for her, at least in part.
Meg narrows her eyes. “You played him.” She breaks the silence first. Point to me.
“I played him.” Fuck if it doesn’t feel good to finally be putting this plan in motion. Decades’ worth of anger with no outlet, no recourse, and the method of my revenge walks right into my web like a lamb to the slaughter. Whether or not Hercules is guilty makes no difference to me. Neither does his knowledge—or lack thereof—when it comes to his father’s sins.
Thinking of Zeus has me tightening my grip on my glass. Some things don’t go away with time, and my rage at the man is a live thing in my chest, snapping and snarling and demanding payment in blood.
Meg clenches her fists. “What happens when he realizes I’m not leaving?” She froze, her blue eyes going wide. “Wait a damn minute. Are you kicking me out? Is that what this is about? You needed an upgrade?”
I straighten, and she instantly takes a wary step back. My Meg knows me well, but apparently not well enough. She’s the most priceless thing in my life, the one person I could never replace, not even if I searched the world over. I knew she was unhappy, but for her trust to have broken down this far stalls my breath in my chest. I will reclaim our relationship. Hercules will help me, whether he realizes it or not. He’s helping even now, lancing a wound that we’ve both spent years pretending didn’t exist.
I set my glass on the table and meet her gaze. “Strip.”
“Damn it, Hades.”
I love the way her mouth forms my name, even in anger. I raise a single brow. “Was my order unclear?”
She considers arguing. I can see the battle in her expression. It doesn’t matter. We will have this conversation one way or another. If I have to pin her down and rip each piece of clothing from her body first, then I will. Finally Meg reaches for the button of her jacket. “No, Sir. Your order wasn’t unclear.”
I can actually see her coming back to herself as she loses each piece of clothing. Meg may enjoy dominating, but with me, she’s the perfect submissive. Not in a well-behaved sort of way—the term doesn’t apply to her—but in the way she inspires me to step to the line every single time. I don’t have to hold back with this woman, because she can take everything I give her. More, she loves it.
Once she’s undressed, I snap my fingers, and she drops to her knees. An instinctive response, and one she no doubt resents. I allow myself a moment to appreciate the picture she creates on her knees, all sharp angles and bottled-up fury. Some days I think she hates me more than she loves me, but she is one of the few constants in my life. We were made for each other, two twisted trees that grew to lean on each other to the point where they won’t survive alone.
Meg has no plans to leave me. I would know it if she did. That doesn’t change the fact that she’s unhappy. She’s withering with every day that passes, and I want to see her bloom once more.
“That’s better. Shall we try this again?” I push slowly to my feet and move to her. I don’t touch, not yet, but I circle her, letting the anticipation build in both of us. Finally, when she’s practically quivering, I reach down and draw my fingers through her hair.
Meg leans into it, though her mouth tightens as if she didn’t mean to. “You used me as bait. You tricked him into coming here. You trapped him with a lie.”
“Yes.” No need to deny it. Not here. Not with her. “Though one could argue that there’s a very fine line between a lie and the truth. The man is a white knight in search of a damsel. It’s not my fault that he saw what he wanted and ignored the reality. You are no damsel, love. You never were.” I wind her hair slowly around my fist, increasing the tension as I force her head back.
So beautiful, my Meg. So sharp and brittle and broken
. I cup her jaw and drag my thumb over her bottom lip. “He doesn’t see you, love. Not like I do.” A slip, that. I have no reason to be jealous. Meg is mine. Hercules is as well, though he isn’t aware enough to realize it. Not yet.
She blinks up at me, vulnerability crawling through her eyes for one breathless moment before she shuts it down and her walls go back up. “Hades… Sir.” She swallows, and I can feel the movement against my palm where it rests on her throat. A reminder of who truly owns her. She presses her lips together and then seems to decide to continue questioning me. “Why?”
I allow my lips to curve a little. It’s not beyond me to yell and rage, but I learned a long time ago that soft words and gentle sentences inspire fear and obedience just as easily. More so in some cases. Meg sees and shivers in my grasp. I could tell her my plans, could lay all the details out in a neat little row. But, knowing her, she’ll balk at the idea of using Hercules; both to heal our relationship, and to construct my revenge. No, there’s plenty of time for pure honesty later, once we’ve come out the other side.
I speak softly. “I don’t want you to fuck him again. Anything else is up to your discretion, but not that. Not yet.” Not until it serves my purpose.
She frowns as if I can’t see the conflict written all over her body. “I don’t want to fuck him.”
“Yes, love, you do. And you can… but not yet.” I give her bottom lip another slow stroke. “Do you think I’d deny you anything, Meg? You want him. I’ll give him to you.”
The line between her brows deepens. “You didn’t do this for me.”
It stings a little, her lack of faith in me. It’s nothing more than I deserve, but after ten years together… No use in following that thought any deeper.
“Why?” she finally asks.
“Because, love, we’re going to seduce him. Together.” And, in doing so, we’re going to bring all of Olympus to its knees.