Darkness Embraced (Hades Hangmen 7)

by Tillie Cole

  The temperature in the room seemed to rise about a hundred degrees. I watched Adelita, she watched me, then . . . “Tanner . . .” At the sound of my name from her lips, I threw off the last fucking morsel of sanity I had left and marched to where she stood. Not even giving her a chance to talk, I smashed my lips to hers. Adelita moaned into my mouth, and then her tongue was warring against mine.

  My fucking heart was a drum about to burst from my chest. My hands were everywhere on her. Her hands pressed my cheeks then moved down to my biceps. Familiar red nails dug into the flesh, and I hissed as the pain, mixed with her taste and feel and sound, made my cock about ready to bust through my jeans.

  Ripping my mouth from hers, I yanked my shirt off, then pulled down the straps of her nightgown until her tits were freed. With a low growl, I dove forward and sucked a nipple into my mouth. Adelita threw her head back and moaned. Her hands were a vise on my head as she kept me at her tit, my tongue thrashing the nipple back and forth. I slipped my hand under her nightgown. As soon as my fingers found her wet pussy, Adelita cried out. Releasing her nipple, I slammed her down on the bed, climbed over her, and covered her mouth with my free hand. “Shh,” I hissed. “Keep quiet.”

  Adelita’s eyes rolled as I slipped a finger inside her, looking for the spot that would make her fall apart. I tracked my eyes down her body, memorizing her tits and legs and pussy. But it wasn’t enough. I wanted her naked under me. Wanted her skin pressed against mine. I took hold of the thin material covering her body and ripped it down the middle. I pulled the ruined nightgown from underneath her and tossed it to the floor. Then I sat back and looked down at all of her—Adelita fucking Quintana. Looked at her lying on the bed, her body bared for me—nipples tight and red, pussy wet and waiting.

  I found her already watching me. And when a small smile spread on her lips, that fucking antagonistic side of her I knew was under that perfect cartel princess shit, that fucking fire, slipped through. Biting her lip, Adelita moved her foot and slowly slid it against my cock.

  It broke me.

  I crashed my mouth to hers. But only for a second, before I slid down her body. Hooking my arms under her legs, I yanked her down the bed—bitch didn’t want to play it soft. Adelita’s eyes flared, pupils dilated, and she struggled to catch her breath. Heat burned through me at the sight of her laid out before me. I groaned, then lowered my body and licked right along her bared pussy, from clit to hole. Adelita’s head snapped back and her mouth opened. But she trapped her scream in her throat and silently breathed it out.

  The taste of her was threatening to pull me apart. I licked along her pussy again, sucking her clit into my mouth and flicking it with my tongue. Adelita writhed in my arms, but I used my strength to pin her arms down so she couldn’t move. So she had to take my licks and know who was fucking her. More than addicted to her taste, I worked her faster and faster until she tensed, stilled, then broke apart under me.

  As Adelita gasped for breath, her skin grew slick with sweat. She shook in my arms, her hips jerking from coming so hard. Seeing her like this, seeing this perfect body and face shattering because of me, made me turn fucking red-hot savage. I snapped my jeans open, pulled off my boots, and threw them to the floor. Before Adelita even had a chance to recover, I moved between her legs and slammed inside her in one long thrust. Adelita’s back arched off the bed as I rocked into her, back and forth and back and forth. Her tits scraped against my chest, and her arms wrapped around my neck, fingers clawing at my skin. Bitch gave back as much as I gave her. She used her hands on my neck as her anchor as she lifted off the mattress and rode my cock.

  Her pussy squeezed me hard, and I sank my teeth into the side of her neck and sucked. The princess only rode me harder. Pressure built at the base of my spine. Letting her know her brush with control was over, I threw Adelita to the mattress and pinned her down as I fucked her. I fucked her hard, so hard she’d be feeling me inside her for days. So hard that even if another dick ever came inside her, all she’d think of was me, this moment. My cock owning her pussy.

  Adelita’s breath grew labored. She stayed pinned to the mattress, and I couldn’t look away. Her hair was spread out around her head like a damn halo; her cheeks were flushed, her lips thick from my mouth. Her pupils were so wide her brown eyes looked black.

  My heart raced. My arms, still pinning her down, started to shake as I tried to rip my eyes away. But I couldn’t. My chest tightened as I thrust faster. It tightened as I tried to think of her as nothing. Think of her as impure and beneath me. But when her pussy clenched and started choking my dick, and I watched her come, head back and whispering, “Tanner,” I knew I was completely fucked. Letting out a too-loud roar, I slammed into her one more time, the sight of her perfect face ripping the cum right from me. I dropped my head to her neck and pushed into her until I had nothing left.

  I inhaled slowly as I caught my breath. I kept my head tucked into Adelita’s neck, breathing in her scent. I needed to move. I told myself to fucking move, to get the hell away from her room, but my body wasn’t listening. And when her hand came up and ran over my shaved head, and down along my spine in soft, slow caresses, I knew that I wasn’t going anywhere.

  My dick was still hard inside her. Only when it went soft did I pull out. I felt my cum spill onto her thighs, and I nearly got hard again. I moved my hand between her legs and rubbed it into her skin. Marking this bitch as belonging to me. Making sure she knew who’d just had her—who’d taken her for the first time two months ago.

  Adelita’s breathing hitched. I lifted my head, and my stubbled cheek rubbed against her smooth one. Adelita’s brown gaze fixed on mine. She didn’t say a thing. Just kept looking at me. Something broke in my chest as she did. I didn’t know what the fuck it was, but it terrified me.

  I held my breath as her eyes searched mine and her fingers ran over my face. “¡Hola, Tanner Ayers. It is nice to have you back.”

  My nostrils flared, and I closed my eyes, fighting whatever was possessing me. Fighting to remember who I was and what I believed in. But when I opened my eyes and saw Adelita’s smiling face staring back at me, every other thought but her and me and us, like this, right now, completely disappeared.

  I turned my head into her hand and kissed her palm. Adelita’s eyes widened. So I kissed her mouth, and she melted against me. When I broke away, I rolled to the side. I stared at the ceiling, refusing to let in the things that were stabbing at my brain—my father and what he would do if he knew I was here, my brotherhood back in Texas . . . and the entire US Klan—what they would do if they found out their heir was fucking a Mexican. Worse still, a cartel princess.

  “Did you miss me, Tanner Ayers?” Adelita’s question pulled me from my thoughts. She crossed her arms on my chest and settled her chin on them. I searched her face and looked for the inferiority. But I couldn’t find it. Bitch was the most perfect thing I’d ever seen.

  “What’s happening between you and that Diego cunt?” I asked, my voice sharp as a dagger. Adelita’s eyes widened as the question hissed from my mouth. There was nothing calm or nice about the way I asked it.

  But then a knowing smirk pulled at her mouth. That action both pissed me the fuck off and made me want to push my cock between her lips and fuck her mouth. Reaching out, I dragged my thumb over her lips and demanded, “Answer the question.”

  Adelita rolled her eyes. She was one of the only people I’d ever met who didn’t fear me. I didn’t know why. She bit my thumb. I hissed, my cock stirring to life at the sharp sting of pain. Adelita released my thumb and said, “Nothing. We grew up together. He is Papa’s second in command.”

  “He wants to fuck you.”

  “Well, I do not want to fuck him.”

  Leaning into her, I bit at her lip, before pushing my tongue inside her mouth. Adelita moaned against me. Hearing a noise, I checked my watch. I had about fifteen minutes to get back to my rooms unseen. I threw my jeans and shirt back on and headed for the door. Rational tho
ught seeped back into me. “That’ll be the last time I come here. The last time we fuck.” I ignored the crack in my chest as the words left my mouth.

  My blood buzzed through my veins like electricity zipping through live wires. My skin was red hot at the thought of not having her again. But I had to fucking leave. I had to stop being so fucking weak.

  Just before I reached the door, Adelita said, “You’ll be back here tomorrow night, Tanner Ayers. You can’t seem to stay away from me.” She smirked, but her cheeks flushed. “Just like I cannot stay away from you.”

  My fingernails rolled into my palm and dug into my flesh. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe to calm the anger her words ignited. But it was no use. I turned around. Adelita was still on the bed, naked and watching me, her skin still slick from our fucking.

  I marched to where she lay, fisted my hand in her hair, and pulled her to my face, about to tell her what I thought of her kind, her fucking mind games. But when I opened my mouth, something else fell from my tongue. “That cunt comes near you, and I’ll kill him.” Adelita’s lips parted, and her head dropped as she roved her eyes over my chest and arms. Moving my hand between her legs, I slipped a finger inside her, my dick twitching as she moaned. “I own this pussy, princess. Don’t you fucking forget that.”

  I pulled my hand back, then stormed from her suite. I shut the door, and gave myself a fucking second to breathe. Then I sneaked back into my room before I was caught.

  The next night, I was back in Adelita’s bed, and back in that pussy that I owned. And the bitch must have been a damn witch, because I started replaying Tank’s words from a while back, when he’d joined the Hangmen and left me, his best friend. That one day I would meet someone who would make me question everything. Make me realize that the invisible empire was all bullshit. It couldn’t be. I believed in it all. I did. The Klan had a goal, and I was dead set on seeing it happen.

  Squeezing my eyes shut, I thought of the burning crosses, the rallies, and the people we’d killed. Thought of the white race. How we were meant to lead. To reign supreme. But when I pictured Adelita’s face in my head, the lines were getting blurred. I struggled to see impurity. Adelita’s smile, lightly tanned skin, and dark eyes clouded my mind. And, fuck, to me, they were perfect . . . just like her . . . a perfect Mexican . . . I didn’t know what the fuck to do with that . . .

  “Tanner?” I shook my head, and then those eyes were right there in front of me once more. But this time they were real. My hands were shaking, and my neck was so tense I thought my tendons were gonna snap. My eyes squeezed shut as hellfire took me over, fucking eradicating any sanity, any good, that was left inside me.

  “Tanner . . . please . . .”

  Adelita’s pleading voice made my eyes slam open, and I was across the room in seconds. My hand fisted into her hair—hair that, after all this time, I still remembered the feel and smell of—and I glared into her eyes. I didn’t look any lower. If I saw that fucking wedding dress again I wasn’t sure what I would do.

  “You betrayed me,” I snarled, desperately trying to keep a check on my rage. “You fucking betrayed me.” My voice barely made a sound at all, but it was dripping with poison.

  The tears that had been building in Adelita’s eyes seemed to vanish in an instant, replaced by a spark of rage. She opened her mouth to speak, but the door to the room opened.

  “Tanner?”

  I spun around, unable to hold back my anger. “Get the fuck out of here before I kill you.” Slash, Zane, and Ash’s eyes widened, and the three of them hurried back from the door. Their faces were confused, like they didn’t know what the fuck was happening. But I’d lost it. I didn’t have it in me to explain. I was done trying to be the Tanner they all knew. The one who kept his temper in check. The one who tried to pretend he wasn’t a stone-cold fucking killer. The one who kept back the part of him that was fucking tapped.

  I pulled my knife from the back of my jeans and made sure the gun in my holster was loaded. “Fuck!” I spat, knowing my brothers would be here soon. Knowing the shit was about to go down. My muscles vibrated as I waited for whoever was gonna come through that door. Because they would. And even though these men were my brothers, if they tried to get anywhere close to Adelita, I’d fucking ruin them.

  I didn’t have to wait long. Minutes later, Bull, Tank, and Beauty rushed through the door. I fisted my knife and stood in front of Adelita. It was Tank I focused on. He took one look at me and his hands went into the air. “Tann? What the fuck?”

  “Get back,” I warned. My voice was pure threat. Bull stepped forward around Tank. “I said get the fuck back!”

  “Tann! Shit! What the hell is happening?” Tank blocked Bull from coming any closer. Bull’s face was laced with fury as he watched me like a hawk.

  “Tank, get the fuck back. I won’t ask again.”

  “Tann, I don’t know what the fuck is happening here. But speak to me. I’m your best friend. Tell me what the fuck is going on! You planning on taking her somewhere? This about your bitch?”

  My eyes darted around the room. I had to get Adelita out of here. I had to protect her. No one was touching her. The thought of Shadow taking her from her room, or whoever had tied her to the chair binding her hands and feet, almost pushed me over the edge. My vision was misting with red at the thought.

  The door flew open again, and Ky, Styx, Vike, AK, and Rudge barreled through. I locked onto Styx. He was my biggest threat. More brothers piled in. Cowboy and Hush and Smiler. The prospects I’d threatened. The blood in my veins flowed like rapids now, my ears echoing with the adrenaline that was surging through me.

  Ky stepped to the front. “What the fuck is going on?”

  “Get back,” I said, slowly, so the fucker would know not to test me. Ky blinked in shock, then tipped his head to the side. I knew that look on his face. I’d pissed him off. Before he, or any of them, could speak, I said, “I’m warning you. Any of you try to get to her, I’ll fucking kill you. No one will touch her. Just fucking try me.”

  “Finally!” a voice said. I found Vike. Fucker was smiling. “The beast has awakened. The fucking White Prince is here. The beast we’d all heard of. I was wondering where he’d been all this time.”

  Ky took a step forward. “I mean it!” I warned. “I don’t wanna hurt you, but I will if you try me.”

  “Tann?” Tank pushed Ky back and kept his hand on the VP’s chest to hold him off. Then something flashed across Tank’s face. “The bitch . . .” he said, and I saw he was trying to piece shit together by the look of concentration on his face. He tried to see Adelita behind me. I blocked her from view. “It’s not the cousin in that chair, is it?”

  The room filled with tension as silence fell. My eyes flitted from one brother to the next, my knife held out, just in case they tried to blindside me. I heard Adelita hitch a breath as I said, “This is Adelita Quintana.” This time it was Tank I addressed. “And she ain’t my bitch, brother . . . she’s my fucking fiancée.”

  Tank’s eyes closed briefly. That was what I’d been keeping from him. That she was so much fucking more than just my bitch. I never moved my attention from him, so Ky caught me off guard when he plowed past Tank and punched me straight across the face. He pushed me against the nearest wall. “Your fiancée? Anything else you’re fucking keeping shut about, asshole?” His words were fuel to the fire that was flaring inside me.

  Slamming my hands on his chest, I threw him off me and caught Adelita’s eyes. Tears were running down her cheeks. My stomach fucking plummeted at the sight. Ky used my distraction to hit me again. I tasted blood in my mouth as the fucker kept coming at me.

  “No!” I heard Adelita’s voice call out. Shoving Ky back, I fought to get to her. Ky grabbed my arm, and I swung. My fist connected with his lip, busting it wide open. He only smiled, licked his lip, and stormed toward me again. Fucker didn’t know when to stop.

  Tank got between us. “Quit it!” he ordered. I looked back at Adelita. Her worried
eyes were still locked on me. “Tann, calm the fuck down.” I breathed in and out, edging away from Tank and back toward Adelita.

  A loud whistle cut through the room. Styx pushed through the brothers to stand before us like fucking Hades himself. His hands lifted.

  “Calm the fuck down before I make you,” he signed. Tank interpreted. I kept my chin high. I wasn’t backing down, and I wasn’t gonna be made to feel like shit. This was Adelita. My fucking old lady.

  Styx signed to Beauty.

  “He’s told her to take Adelita back to our room, in the clubhouse,” Tank told me, knowing I didn’t know ASL.

  “Sure.” Beauty looked at me, sympathy flooding her eyes.

  “Lita,” I said without looking her way. “Beauty’s Tank’s old lady. I’ve told you about her, remember? About Tank?”

  “Si,” she whispered. My stomach turned at hearing her voice again. She was scared, but like always, she was refusing to show it.

  “Smiler, AK, take Beauty and Quintana’s daughter to the clubhouse and keep guard.”

  AK stepped forward with his knife.

  “Stay the fuck there,” I said. AK’s jaw clenched. “I’ll untie her.” Keeping my eyes on my brothers, I sliced my knife through the ropes around Adelita’s ankles, then moved behind her to untie her hands. As soon as her hands were free, they found mine. I took a deep breath as her fingers entwined with mine. That fucking feeling I’d held on to for all this time came flooding back. The settling of the rage in my blood. The steady beating of my heart, and the sense of home. Not giving a shit that all of my brothers were here, I moved in front of her, lifted her to her feet, and crushed my lips to hers.

  Adelita melted into me as though no time at all had passed. If I hadn’t been aware of where we were, I could have tricked myself into thinking that we were back in Mexico. Back in her room. I was fucking consumed by her. Her smell, her feel, her taste.

  When I broke away, Adelita’s eyes opened. Tears fell down her cheeks, and I had to fight back the anger that still burned inside me. She’d been getting married. Here she was, in Texas, in my fucking arms . . . in a white dress meant for someone else.