Hades was so going to die if I had anything to do with it. I had no idea how I was going to start, where to look, or what to do, thanks to my lack of connections in the otherworld community, but I would figure it out.
If I killed him, did that mean that I would rule the Underside? I wasn’t technically his daughter. Were there rules? I had no clue how anything worked, and I needed some lessons. Accepting Coal’s help would be a good start. He was involved with Daddy for thousands of years. He had to know something. I cringed, imagining the pain he’d been through at my father’s hand.
Hades: the gift that kept on giving.
I pushed all the thoughts aside for now. I will start tomorrow. Now, I needed to drown my sorrows and perhaps unleash my inner naughtiness.
But even that felt wrong, defiling Onyx’s body like that.
No, my body. Onyx is dead. Nothing will bring her back. Just because I look like her doesn’t mean I am her and have to act like her.
What would Coal think? Screw Coal. It doesn’t matter.
I was the furthest thing from a saint, and any amount of good I tried to do now wouldn’t make up for the countless years of debauchery.
I refused to lose who I was, especially when I had already lost so much of myself in such a short time.
Looking fine as hell in a skin-tight black leather skirt and a dark purple shirt that was so low cut I had to apply tape to my boobs and stomach just to keep it on, I slipped on a pair of suede pumps that matched my shirt and vanished from my bedroom. I didn’t want to face Coal and the whole feelings thing and just wanted to have a night of fun by myself.
It shouldn’t have mattered, but I couldn’t stand the way he looked at me now. So expectant, so torn. He may have been a great asset to hustling last night, but tonight, I didn’t need him or his troubled mind. I wasn’t planning to hunt like I should have to rebuild my energy—something about killing in this body again made my skin crawl. Like somehow, after thousands of years, killing again would taint her. So, I didn’t require his help.
Coal was going to be mad at me for leaving without him, but I didn’t care. After everything that happened, I needed a Coal-free evening.
Plus, I was still working out the trust thing with him, and I didn’t want him seeing what I had planned for my body tonight. Our body? Eh…
The club was overflowing with people waiting to get in. Instead of standing in line out front for hours, I walked around back and popped myself right into a bathroom stall. It sucked what little energy I had, but it was necessary. Soon, I would be running on nothing but alcohol, and I was just fine with that.
When I opened the stall door, three pairs of glassy eyes stared at me through the mirrors, bewildered.
“Drinks are strong tonight, no?” I said and smiled, straightening my skirt. Then, I fluffed my hair and blew them a kiss.
The music was jumping. The entire club vibrated with the hum of the bass. Thick smoke climbed to the rafters of the building from fog machines placed strategically throughout the club. A show of lights twisted and turned, blinking in and out to the beat of the music, causing the fluid dancers to twitch as they moved. The balcony was full of sloshed patrons spilling their cocktails on the people below, and various couples were scattered throughout, shoving their tongues down each other’s throats and grabbing asses. They were not bothering to hide how hot they were for each other.
My stomach tightened; my nipples hardened as the soft fabric of my top rippled over them. Whatever Coal did to me had me going. My energy still hadn’t recovered, but my libido was in full swing.
I inched my way to the bar, working through all the sweaty grinding bodies. A couple of sexy as all-get-out guys stopped me and sandwiched me between them. I shrugged. This would do for now.
The taller one had blonde hair, shaved on the sides and carefully shaped into a sexy faux-hawk with vivid green eyes and a long slender nose that reminded me of Coal’s, only smaller scale. His tanned skin was clean-shaven and angular, his jaw square. Otherwise lean, he had thick legs that gave him the appearance of gliding rather than walking.
The other was shorter and stocky with hair a shade darker, more sandy, that fell shaggy-like around his ears. Eyes like ice devoured my chest. Icy eyes notwithstanding, his gaze burned my skin as it traveled down the dip of my plunging neckline. A traditional Japanese dragon curled around his forearm, cutting off abruptly at his wrist. A koi swam through lush waves on the other arm, both tucking beneath the rolled-up sleeves of his Henley.
The blonde moved in close and ground his cock into my front, the other into my back. I relished in the feel of their touch, letting the sensations seep through me and soothe my nerves. They held me like I was a delicacy to be discovered. Their lips were soft against my hot skin. They worked together skillfully, both careful to avoid each other’s movements as if they were holding two different women. Dancing like this was obviously not the guys’ first time with the same woman at the same time.
The thought turned me on incredibly.
The blonde’s mouth covered the skin of my chest, his hands landing on my exposed side boob. His thumbs rubbed soft circles against the sensitive flesh and had me wishing he would pass them over my puckered nipples.
Large hands wrapped around my hip bones from behind and squeezed in a bruising grip. Then made their way down to my thighs and over the round of my ass. I let out a soft moan as the sensation and music flowed through me, straight to my core.
I allowed my eyes to close and my head to fall back on his chest as he ran his hands over my stomach and up higher, allowing the faintest touch to my yearning nipples. I arched into his palms, forcing him to cup me as I intertwined our fingers.
The blonde in front of me with gorgeous green eyes placed his hands on my hips and pulled my body in closer to rub my core against his thigh. A soft cry slipped from my parted lips. He moved to soak it in, but I turned my head ever so slightly, and his lips landed casually on my cheek.
No kisses. Kisses were the most intimate form of connection; I didn’t do kisses. In fact, I had made it all these years only kissing one man––the only other person I had ever had feelings for. The only other person I had ever let in. He learned what I was and tore my heart out. Then, I had to kill him. It hurt too much, and I vowed I would never again let myself get tangled in that kind of web.
Until Coal.
No.
Just because Coal had fed and knew everything about me didn’t mean I would go there with him. I wouldn’t mistake my need for his help as a weakness. He knew too much. How could I ever let him in like that? I had made it this far in my life without the intimate touch of another, and just because he had touched every cell in my being and left me with an emptiness so deep it seemed only he could fill it, it didn’t mean it was him I was needing. There were plenty of other guys on this earth.
But no others like Coal. I snarled. This bitch was getting obsessed, and it was pissing me off.
I lifted our hands over my head, gyrating my hips to the music and rubbing my ass over the swollen cock behind me, just to prove a point to my inner bitch. The dude followed my lead, letting his hands caress smoothly down my arms. He drew a moan from me, the sensation overwhelming as my need to have someone touch me from head to toe grew.
Not someone. Coal.
I needed him to replace the emptiness he left inside me. The emptiness that kept growing, aching.
Screw him.
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get him off my mind. Never had anyone ever been so entwined with me, known everything about me. This situation was far from comfortable.
Not only could I not let anyone else in or get attached, but Coal also would never go for it. I was in his mate’s body. That had to be the biggest mind-fuck ever recorded. He probably looked at us expecting her and got me. I repulsed him. That was obvious.
That’s what you think. The bitch in my head snickered.
No, I couldn’t go there, even if I wanted to. That was ju
st so wrong in so many ways. Did our bodies look the same, or was it just our faces? Did we have the same boobs, the same ass and hips? Birthmarks and freckles? I shivered as dread clawed my psyche, and I lost focus on the feeling around me.
God, I hated my father. He was despicable, and his reach was endless. He was in my mind, messing with my life though I hadn’t seen him in a thousand quiet years.
Mood spoiled, the song transitioned into the next, and I slid from between the two men. Not ready to end the evening, I grabbed each one of their hands and pulled them through the maze of bodies on the dance floor. Some women eyed me, others gave me looks of approval as we worked our way to the bar. I ignored them. I didn’t need their approval to sleep with two guys at once.
“I need a drink, or five,” I said as I stepped up to the bar, a man on either side of me. The bartender poured us each two shots, then followed up with pouring actual drinks as we downed the shots, one right after the other. The clear liquid was fire in my throat as it worked its way to my belly. Thankfully, I had some pizza, or else I would be toast quite soon. Then again, I was running on a quarter of the shadow I usually was.
To Hell with it.
We clinked our glasses together, and I sipped my Dirty Bong Water through the little straw. Shit, the bartender had a strong pour.
“What’s your name?” the green-eyed blonde asked as his eyes followed the depth in the plunging neckline of my shirt. He licked his lips.
“Shay.”
“Nice to meet you, Shay,” both men said, their eyes glimmering with sex.
“You might not be saying that later.” They laughed, but I was dead ass serious. I hadn’t intended to hunt tonight. And these men weren’t deserving of my punishments, but my hunger was raging, and I was already feeling the effects of the shots.
Maybe it was the drinks, or perhaps it was being touched by two strangers that had my shadows heating up.
Perhaps it was Coal’s invasion that had him washing over every cell of my being, leaving me yearning to be touched like that again. Maybe it wasn’t hunger at all but a need for the intimacy that his feeding brought. I growled, drawing the attention of both men as I forced the thought from my mind.
“I’m Collin,” the blonde said with a wink. “This is my best friend, Micheal.” Micheal, the sandy blonde, nodded to me, his blue eyes glassy and bloodshot. They’d been at this for a while. I needed a little less talking and a bit more dancing, so I downed my drink and slammed it back on the bar. I wasn’t one for trying to balance a glass while I swung my hips. The men took my cue and followed suit.
Taking one hand in each of mine, I dragged them back into the sweat-drenched bodies. A path cleared around us, and I started bobbing to the beat of the music.
Collin threaded his leg in between mine from behind, letting Micheal take the front this time. Collin’s hands rested lightly on my hips, and Micheal wrapped one palm around my nape. His free hand roamed my lower back as he pulled me into his body. I relished in the smell of man coming from behind and a musky cologne from the front. The air was thick with the two men around me as we bumped and ground together. Micheal’s leg replaced Collin’s, and he leaned in, rubbing his thigh shamelessly against my pussy. I rubbed myself against him, hitting the right spots and egging myself on.
Pressing harder on my core, Micheal bent down and pressed his lips to my neck as Colin’s hands roamed my stomach, finding their way under my shirt to palm my boobs. His thumbs and forefingers worked my nipples into stiff peaks. I dropped my head back on his chest and moaned softly.
The room spun around me as my heart started racing with anticipation and the rush of being felt up in a room full of people. A buzz from our drinks was definitely kicking in, but it only served to dull my senses. Frustrating. I was desperate to feel their touch, and as much as their bodies were all over me, it just wasn’t enough. It wouldn’t compare to what Coal had done.
Pissed off and overcome with a desperation to fill the void that was no longer just in my chest but all over my body, I pushed Micheal off me and tore myself from Collin’s grip. Both men stumbled back with their heads cocked to the sides as they tried to figure out why I had gone so cold.
The world shifted around me, and I had to blink to focus on the task at hand. What was I going to say? I needed fresh air. Maybe that would help.
God damnit, Coal. I was just about sick of his shit. He wasn’t even here, and he was ruining my time.
“Bathroom break, be right back,” I drawled drunkenly. A smile graced Collin and Michael’s lips, and they nodded, leaving me to my freedom. I wasn’t going to the bathroom, though. I needed some air.
I pushed out the side exit. The door swung open and smacked against the brick, bombarding the night with the thumping music. My ears rang in the silence when the door shut behind me, and I stumbled, a bit disoriented from the alcohol that was running full force through my veins.
A man about six foot four stood next to me. He had a large chest and even larger arms. His head was bald, but he had a reputable salt and pepper beard. A silver barbell spliced both eyebrows, two studs glinted off his nose, and he had a long talon-like spike that sprung from beneath his bottom lip to disappear in his facial hair. He pinned me with dark eyes, concern and irritation floating in the air around him.
“You alright, miss?” Pretty sure he asked simply because he was doing his job and not because he cared, I glanced at him. He now had four barbells in his eyebrows.
“Man, the drinks really were s-strong,” I slurred, making wide eyes at him. “Yeah, I’m fine, just needed some air and maybe a cab.”
“I’ll call you one. You can wait here until it comes.” Rolling his eyes, he pulled a large smartphone from his pocket and dialed. He could’ve been calling his best friend, Johnny Rapist, for all I knew, but I was so drunk, I didn’t even know where the end of the alley was. It didn’t make a difference who showed up.
“Yeah, thanks.” I stumbled, my ankle bending as my heel stuck in a crack. I jerked myself upright and regained my balance.
“You’re sure you’re alright?”
“Don’t worry,” another deep voice echoed down the alley. “I’m her ride. Thanks for looking out for her.” The man held his hands palm forward in surrender.
“Coal,” I ground out. Anger pounded with my pulse. What was he doing here? How did he find me?
The man just shrugged, and I almost told him that I had no clue who this dude was and that he was trying to kidnap me, but he was just a human. Coal could snap him like a twig if he tried anything. Much to my chagrin, he didn’t need to die.
I inched forward, then kicked off my shoes so I could walk a little easier. I should not be that drunk off of how little I drank, but I didn’t want to let Coal know just how drunk I really was. He knew enough about me. So, losing the heels was the best option.
My body, however, sprang to life at the soothing sound of Coal’s voice. Every cell betrayed me as it reached for him, and without my doing, my shadows curled up over my feet, caressing my legs like a whisper. Like we had enough energy to do something like that.
“Whores,” I said as I made my way over to him. Thankfully, it was dark, and the bouncer took to scrolling through his phone. I forced the shadows to go away, but they refused to listen. They just wanted Coal.
Damn them.
Damn him and whatever the hell sort of spell he put on me. That’s what it was, a spell. It had to be magic. I had only taken to one person, and since him, I never really ever wanted anyone. And I had banged some pretty hot people.
None had ever made me want them without even really touching me before, though.
Guiding myself with my hand on the cool brick, I finally made it to where Coal waited.
“Why are you here?” I demanded. His eyes trailed over my chest, burning brightly as they went lower and lower, following the shape of the opening. His tongue snuck out and licked his thin lips. I found myself mimicking that action, but it fell flat when I saw the anger s
immering in his eyes.
“I called for you to watch another movie, and you didn’t respond. So, I checked my friend finder on my cell and found you here.”
Friend finder? We weren’t even friends. Damn, I was drunk if that didn’t seriously piss me off. Tracking me? Really?
“So, you’re stalking me now?”
“Hardly stalking you. You realize that I failed to kill you, and there is still a hit out on you. You are weakened. If Chronos came he—” his words trailed off, and he swallowed. Failed my asshole, he just stopped himself. I was sure of it.
“D-don’t act like you’re here for me. You’re here for her!” I jammed my finger into my forehead and nearly fell over from the action. The sudden jerking made my head spin, and I had to blink to refocus my eyes.
“I’m here because you were gone and could’ve been killed.”
“Oh, piss off, you don’t give a shit about me. You tried to kill me,” I drawled. I knew I was being insanely dramatic. I had no reason to be acting like this other than my pride was hurt over the things my father had accomplished. None of this was Coal’s fault.
I missed a step and had to lean against the wall. Corded muscles wrapped tightly around my torso and he led me into the shadows with a grimace. “Chronos can’t kill me anyway.”
“How much have you had to drink?” He disregarded my attempt at opening the wounds from earlier. Wounds that I thought I had closed, but apparently, drunk me was still pissed off.
“Not enough, that’s for damn sure.” I tripped over something, but he didn’t let me fall. It pissed me off even more. I didn’t need his protection. How many times did I have to say that? “Get off of me.” In my stupor, I shoved at him, pulling at his arms with the shadows that were calling for him. But even they were too drunk to do anything other than drool over him.
Despite being pissed with him, his touch and closeness were drenching my panties and had my nipples hard enough to cut glass.
With a way too possessive growl, he gripped me tighter, and we dissolved into nothing.
Pawns Daughters of The Underworld Book 1 Page 7
