Two months ago

I Rritation rippled through me as I glanced down at my watch. I'dbeen lurking around the bar for way too long already, yet she stillhadn't emerged from her office. Was she okay in there?

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I shook it away. Of course shewas okay. She was Hades, more than fucking capable of handling herself if abunch of mouthy upstarts wanted to test her dominance.

I glanced at my watch again. Shit. Not even a minute since the last time Ichecked it.

"Can I get you another drink, Cass?" the pretty, young bartender, Sara,asked me with a heavy bat of her false lashes. She knew she wasn't my type,but it didn't stop her flirting.

I shook my head, declining, then finished the last mouthful of my beer. I'dhung around long enough that I was starting to draw attention, and that sureas **** wasn't going to do me any favors. And for what? To feed my sickobsession with seeing a woman too guarded, too beautiful, and too damnuntouchable to ever be mine.

With a self-disgusted grunt, I slid off my barstool with every intention ofleaving the club. Yet, as if on autopilot, my feet carried me toward the narrowstaircase that would lead up to the mezzanine level where I knew Hades kepther office. Where I'd caught a flash of her blazing red hair disappear hoursago with a handful of Timberwolf enforcers trailing behind like naughtypuppies.

"Boss is in a meeting," the stern-faced, muscle-bound Timberwolfbouncer announced as he stepped in front of me before I reached the firststep. "Doesn't wanna be disturbed.

"I narrowed my eyes, picturing my fist slamming into this steroid-pumpedfucker's face. Vividly imagining the way his cartilage would crunch under myknuckles and the hot, wet spray of blood from his nose. But shit, he was justdoing his job. So I rubbed a hand over my jaw, thinking, then gave a smallnod of understanding.

I'll swing back later, then." Even though I really shouldn't. I had no goodreason to request a face-to-face with Hades. None. Except that I just wanted to see her. It felt like I hadn't seen her in weeks, even though we'd interactedin a professional capacity plenty. It was different under the eyes of rivals,though. I couldn't just watch her like I'd grown so addicted to doing—notwith that punk-*** bitch Skate watching my every move.

Reluctantly, I forced myself to turn away, but the bouncer called out again.

"Hold up, Reaper." His gruff voice made me pause and tilt my head backtoward him. His finger was to his ear, holding his radio earpiece in place ashe listened to something. Then he raised the microphone attached to the wireand muttered a few words into it before flicking his gaze up to mine. "Bosssaid to send you up. She just finished her meeting.

"This was undoubtedly a bad idea, but I just brushed past him and startedup the stairs, nonetheless. **** me, I needed to turn around, walk out of thedamn club, and call up a sure thing to **** away all this godforsaken tension.But no. No, I just had to torture myself further.

The Timberwolf enforcers passed me in the short corridor that housed theadministration offices, and none of their gazes were friendly. Hell, they weredownright hostile, but it didn't faze me in the least. There was only oneperson in the state who intimidated me, and it was none of these testosterone-soaked bastards.

A second after I passed them, they were gone from my mind as I spottedthe door to Hades’s office slightly ajar. Goddamn if my pulse didn't kick up agear.

Still, I kept my expression neutral and my posture relaxed. No matter howbadly I wanted to do filthy things to the woman in that office, she was still athreat. I'd seen what she was capable of when pushed and knew better than tounderestimate her. So I paused and tapped politely at her door to announce myself.

Her eyes swept up slowly, clearly having already known I was therebefore I knocked, and her gaze was as unreadable as ever when it met mine.

"Cass," she said in that hard-edged voice of hers. I ached to hear herspeak to me without the carefully built fortress guarding her every fuckingthought. "I didn't know we had a meeting planned.

"Neither did I, and yet here I am.

I just gave a casual shrug and took a few more steps into the office,glancing around for her shadow. "Where's Zed at?"

Her brow twitched with something faintly resembling irritation. "Did you come here to see me or him? My time is money, Cassiel, and you're wastingit.

"Not exactly the response I'd quietly been hoping for, given I'd just sat atthe fucking bar amidst a crowd of Gatsby-styled drinkers, desperate to get myfix of my worst obsession. But also not unexpected. I folded my arms overmy chest, wishing like hell she'd check me out like her bartender had been afew minutes ago.

"I was in the area taking care of business," I lied. "Figured I'd stop by andtell you the boys at Rex’s are expecting Seph's car tomorrow. They'll get itfixed up and dropped back to you before school on Monday morning.

"Yes, I could have told her this by text message. But then I wouldn't have afresh image of her in my mind while cramming my **** down some randomgang *****'s throat later. I knew how fucked up that was, but so what? Inever claimed to be a fucking choir boy.

"Is that all?" she asked, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. I liked to lie tomyself and pretend she was too young for me, but it was the weakest of lies.It only took one look into her eyes to see she'd dealt with more in her twenty-three years than most seasoned mob bosses would see their entire lives. She'ddived headfirst into the gauntlet of fire and come out harder than titanium.

I searched my brain for another excuse for why I was there, any excuse,but came up blank. ****. Now she was staring at me even harder, and it wasmaking sweat form on my spine. How? How could she have that effect on me?

"Yeah," I muttered, still with nothing to fucking say but bluffing like apoker champ, "some prick tried to slash the tires on Zed's Ferrari on my wayin. I scared him off, but he had that Wraith look about him." I gave a shrug."Maybe look into it. Skate's been acting shadier than usual.

"Hades continued to stare at me for a long moment, her eyes still totallyunreadable as her fingernails tapped a rhythm on the side of her crystaltumbler. I hadn't even noticed when I'd walked in, but there was barely amouthful left in her glass and the bottle sitting on her desk was less than halffull. Was she drunk?"

Cass, why do I get the feeling those aren't the reasons you came in heretonight?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. A faint smile touched herscarlet lips, and my chest tightened. She wasn't drunk—her gaze was far toosteady and clear—but shit, she was probably on her way.

Desperate not to let my thoughts play out over my expression, I swiped a hand over my face and broke eye contact with her. This had been a badfucking idea. But she almost always had Zed lurking somewhere nearby,unknowingly keeping me in check and reminding me that she already hadsomeone. Someone with a hell of a lot less damage than me. I hadn't realizedhow fucking tempting it would be to make a move when we were alone.

"I should head out," I muttered, not answering her question. But I didn't leave.

She pushed her chair back from the desk and stood, making me freeze tothe spot. Fucking hell, she was gorgeous. Her tight jeans hugged her legs in away that made me envious of the goddamn denim. I was jealous of fabric.Christ, I needed an intervention.

A couple of steps carried her around the desk, and I needed to swallowheavily at the picture she painted in those sexy-as-**** heels and the hugegun strapped under her arm right beside her ******.

"What are you doing tonight, Cass?" she asked, stepping right into mypersonal space so I needed to look down to meet her eyes. ****, she wasshort, even in those heels. My hands itched to grab her by the waist and shoveher against the wall while I impaled her sweet cunt on my ****. If I thoughtfor a second she wouldn't put a bullet in me for that, I'd have done it by now.

I gave a small frown in response. "Uh, Reaper shit," I grunted. "Why?"

Her left shoulder rose and fell in a slight shrug. "I've had a crappy dayand could use some company tonight."

What... the ****? Is she hitting on me?

Dumbstruck, I just blinked at her in confusion. Then she bit her lower lipand her usually hard gaze heated and I was a fucking dead man. My dickstrained against my jeans, and my pulse raced like I was a prepubescent boyabout to be kissed for the first time.

"Hades..." I murmured, trying and failing to keep the ache of longing outof my voice. But shit. Was I on a trip? Nah, not possible. I hadn't evensmoked tonight, and unless someone had drugged my beer, there was no wayI was imagining this. Was there?

She drew a noticeable breath, then reached up to place a hand on the backof my neck. The shock of her fingers against my skin was like a lightningstrike, and I could barely breathe when she leaned in closer.

Fate was never so kind to me, though. The second I made the decision tokiss her, the false wall panel behind her slid silently open, and Zed met myeyes with a threatening glare, his hand resting casually on the butt of his rifle.

A split second before Hades’s lips met mine, I turned away, and her kissseared a hot brand against my cheek instead.

"Sorry," I grunted as my stained soul screamed in agony, "I've got shit to do."

Anger and embarrassment flashed across her beautiful face as she steppedback, but it was gone in an instant as her signature hardness returned. "I guessI misread the way you were just eye-fucking my mouth then, huh?"

I swallowed heavily, hating myself already. But Zed's presence was thelast nail in this coffin. She deserved better than my broken bullshit. Better tosquash the spark now before it burned either one of us.

"Yeah," I muttered. "You did. I don't **** children."

It was a phrase I used so damn often when Shadow Grove’s college girlscame sniffing around, searching for a taste of the dark side, so it just fell frommy lips before I could even consider the consequences. But I instantlyregretted it when her eyes widened and her body flinched like I'd physicallystruck her.

****. ****. What had I just done?

Too late now, though. So I jerked my head to Zed in acknowledgementand stomped my moody shit out of the office, out of the bar, and straightacross to my bike. I needed to get the **** out of there before I finally brokeand begged for forgiveness at her feet. What a fucking mess.

I didn't look back once as I kicked my engine over and roared out of theparking lot, but I had to stop at a traffic light two blocks away. A sleek blackFerrari pulled up beside me as I waited for the light to change, and furyrippled through my whole damn body.

"**** off, De Rosa," I snarled, barely even glancing over at the driver,who'd rolled his window down.

Still, I could see enough of him to know he was smirking at me in victory.Son of a motherfucking *****. If I wasn't afraid of the backlash from Hades,I'd have kicked his head in by now.

"She's out of your league, Saint," he replied, but his voice lacked themockery I was expecting. It made me turn to inspect him closer, and I foundnothing but bitter regret on his face.

I huffed. "No shit. Yours too."

Zed didn't argue. He just jerked a nod. "I know."

The light changed to green, and we both peeled out in opposite directionswithout another word. Zed seemed to be heading toward 7th Circle, and I was on a mission to get fucked up and fucked. Anything to make me forget themonumental mistake I'd just made with the one woman who haunted mydreams day and night.

Shit. I really was a fuckup.