Chapter 7
HADES
Hades tapped his steering wheel, torn between waiting patiently in his car, and going in to collect Aaren from the Wine Shack.
He couldn’t wait to see Aaren again. Couldn’t wait to gather him close and breathe him in. The past few hours had been torture; Aaren’s taste lingered on his lips, dragging him into memories of their hot little tryst.
Back when he had been following the breadcrumb trail left by one Aaren Miller, all Hades had hoped for was one good meal.
Instead, he had found so much more—an omega trapped in the shadow of an abusive alpha, an omega who responded beautifully to everything Hades said and did.
Aaren had him hooked; he kept being surprised whenever Hades showed up, and he kept blushing, all self-conscious but pleased.
And the things he said—scraps of unguarded honesty mixed with horny thoughts, except Aaren didn’t seem to have any control over his own mouth.
He kept catching himself when it was too late, when the words had tumbled out like sparkling gems. Then he would squeak and squirm, trying to hide.
It was adorable.
He was adorable.
If Hades had his way, Aaren would have already dumped his boyfriend. Hades would’ve hired a lawyer to go over Aaren’s contract, to see if there were loopholes to let him out of the arrangement.
But this was all happening fast. Aaren needed time to trust Hades, and he needed to understand what Hades could provide for him.
So even though Hades hated the idea of sending Aaren back to his asshole boyfriend, he forced himself to be patient.
He wanted Aaren to have a choice. He wanted Aaren to be comfortable making his choice.
In the meantime, he would steal Aaren away, claim him little by little so Ballus wouldn’t realize what was going on under his very nose.
Aaren would wear Hades’ scent; he would be filled with Hades’ come. Hades would fuck Aaren in Ballus’ bed, make Aaren beg for his knot. And Aaren would completely forget that Ballus existed, because he was too busy screaming Hades’ name.
That was the price Ballus would pay for treating his omega like shit.
“Too bad, fucker,” Hades murmured. “He’s mine now.”
He palmed his bulge and got out of the car, making a decision.
At the Wine Shack’s back door, Hades knocked politely.
Rex opened it with a scowl. But the moment he recognized Hades, he broke into a grin. “Friend!”
“Yup. That’s me.” Hades pulled him into a quick one-armed hug. “Good night for you guys?”
Rex nodded, letting him in. “Busy night. A few fights. I sent them away. Derek helped.”
“You were protecting Olson?”
“Yup.” Rex puffed out his chest.
“Great job. I’m sure he’s very pleased with you. Where’s Aaren? I’m here to pick him up.”
“Kitchen.” Rex gestured. He sniffed at Hades. “You mate with Aaren?”
“Planning on it.” Hades grinned. Rex grinned back and wandered back to his baby.
Voices drifted over from the kitchen.
“He’s so big,” Aaren said dreamily. “Like, he’s this long, and so thick. I don’t think it’ll fit.”
“Please stop,” Olson groaned.
“But I can’t stop thinking about it,” Aaren said.
“The sooner you finish cleaning, the sooner you’ll get to go home and do things I don’t want to hear about!”
Hades stepped into the kitchen, finding Aaren’s small, round shape easily. He was facing away, dark hair mussed, and he was holding his hands apart as though measuring out a certain length. Then he curled his fingers into a loose fist, fingertips not touching, and jerked his hand up and down.
Hades couldn’t help it. He coughed to hide his laugh.
Both omegas turned around.
Olson looked relieved. Aaren blushed bright red.
“Hades!” Aaren squeaked.
“Good, you’re here,” Olson said dryly. “You can help with cleanup, and take Aaren away before I learn more things that I didn’t want to know about you!”
“But he’s so big,” Aaren whispered loudly.
“I don’t care,” Olson whispered back.
“I’m right here,” Hades said.
Aaren choked and buried his face in his hands. “Oh gods. Did you hear all of that?”
“Yes.”
Aaren hunched his shoulders and groaned.
“What do you still need help with?” Hades said, since he was just as committed as Olson to getting Aaren out of here.
“Um, wiping down the counters and mopping the floor. Not that much, actually.”
“C’mon, your boss is right. The sooner we finish, the sooner you’ll get to finish.”
Aaren wheezed. “Oh gods.”
But he sprang into action, grabbing a rag and a bottle of cleaning fluid. He handed those to Hades. Then he fetched the mop and bucket.
“Thanks for lunch,” Aaren said in the middle of mopping the floor. “That was really nice of you.”
“I wanted to give you something that you hadn’t had in a while.”
Aaren ducked his head, smiling. Something about that sight... It made a hot, tight feeling swell in Hades’ chest.
“How was your night?” he managed to say.
“It was good. I made my omelet burger and mashed potato between cooking everything else, so I wouldn’t eat it all at once.” Aaren rubbed his belly. “It was amazing.”
“Good.”
“Also, Emmy gave me more pickup lines because I was sad that I didn’t get to read any to you.”
Hades grinned. “You’re really keen on those pickup lines, huh?”
Aaren bobbed his head excitedly. “The sooner I read them to you, the sooner you’ll fall for my charms.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” I’m already falling for your charms, Hades thought but didn’t say. “I’ll listen to all the lines you want to tell me.”
Aaren lit up even more. “How was your night?”
“The usual, I guess. I did some drafting work—I’m a drafter. I make detailed technical drawings of buildings and machinery for engineers. Then I worked out.”
Aaren’s gaze dropped to Hades’ hips. “You didn’t jerk off?”
Hades grinned. “By the time I got home, I had calmed down enough. Figured I’d save my load for you. These balls are pretty heavy right now.”
Aaren’s blush returned in full force. “Oh.”
They smiled at each other, almost too innocently considering the heat that kept sparking between them.
“So, um, can you draw things that are not... buildings or machines?” Aaren asked. “Can you paint me like one of your... French omegas?”
Hades laughed. “I would love to,” he said, his voice dipping. “But these details should not be discussed at your workplace.”
Aaren beamed, looking so shy and pleased that Hades wanted to bundle him up and bring him home.
He imagined Aaren stretched out on his own bed, lit by sunlight, the curves of his body soft and inviting. Would he look better in the high-contrast lines of charcoal, or in gentle pastel watercolors?
Maybe one of each. More of each, in different poses and levels of lewdness.
“You look like you’re thinking sex thoughts,” Aaren whispered. He glanced at Hades’ crotch. “Definitely thinking sex thoughts.”
Hades snorted. “I was thinking about drawing you. Or painting you. You’d have to hold your pose for a while.”
“In sex positions,” Aaren guessed, his sky-blue eyes growing dark.
“Possibly with breaks in between,” Hades admitted. “For me to... unload.”
“Into me?”
“Depending on how many times I need a break, you might not stay very tight at all.”
Aaren bit his lip and whined. “When? When can we, um.”
“Later,” Hades said roughly. “When we can sit down with our schedules and find a few good dates.”
Aaren nodded quickly.
It didn’t take them much longer to finish cleaning up. Now that Aaren was motivated, he moved a lot more efficiently, speeding his way through the kitchen and bar. Olson raised an eyebrow at Hades; Hades shrugged innocently.
“I’m clocking out!” Aaren yelled to Olson when he had stashed the mop and bucket.
“Good. That’s better than sitting around and moping,” Olson said, waving them off. “Please work out your sexual tension so you don’t have to overshare with me.”
Hades laughed. “I’ll work it out of him. Thoroughly.”
Aaren made a happy sound.
Hades wrapped his arm around Aaren’s shoulders and led him to the car. “I’m going to drop you off first. Your groceries are still at my place; I’ll pick them up and head over. Do you think that’s enough time for Ballus to leave?”
Aaren wrinkled his nose. “Probably. I just wish I didn’t have to see him at all. But then he would start to ask questions.”
Hades hummed. “If it’s okay, I’d like you to do something for me.”
“What?”
“Have me on a call while you’re with Ballus. He doesn’t have to know it’s happening; in fact, it would be better if he doesn’t. Just leave the phone in your pocket, keep the call going.”
Aaren’s breath hitched. “Why would you want to do that?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“He... He doesn’t say nice things, Hades. He says awful crap to me.”
Hades stiffened. “I want to get an idea of how badly he’s treating you.”
Aaren bit his lip. “If you hear the things he says... What if you suddenly agree with him?”
“You know I won’t, right?” Hades frowned. “You’re perfect. Nothing he says will change that.”
“Only if you prove it to me after.”
“Deal.” Hades stopped them next to the passenger door, turning Aaren around to face him. “Sweetheart. I want to be in this with you. I don’t want you to face that ugliness alone.”
“You have to promise not to storm the house or try to hit him.”
Hades hated it, but— “I promise.”
“Okay.” Aaren sagged. “Maybe he won’t say the really awful things tonight.”
For Aaren’s sake, Hades hoped not. Otherwise he just might hunt the fucker down, and punch his lights out. “Here, get in.”
He opened the door, brushing his wrist down Aaren’s arm as the omega climbed into the passenger seat. Then he got behind the wheel and started the car.
Aaren looked so worried that Hades reached over, cupping his nape and pulling him close. “You can always end the call, okay? I don’t want this to be something you regret.”
Aaren breathed out noisily. “Okay.”
Hades kissed his forehead, then his cheeks and the tip of his nose. Then he pressed a gentle kiss to Aaren’s soft lips, lingering there. Just holding him close.
“You have a safe place with me,” Hades murmured, kissing him again. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
Aaren trailed his fingers carefully up Hades’ arm, slowly returning the kiss. When he finally relaxed, Hades brushed his fingers through Aaren’s hair and pulled away.
“Good boy,” Hades said. “You’re doing so well for me.”
Aaren lit up, smiling shyly. Such a sweetheart.
Since the streets were quiet this late at night, Hades drove with one hand, resting the other on Aaren’s thigh. He stopped on the same street as before—Violet Lane—so Aaren could walk the rest of the way home.
“Here,” Hades said, catching Aaren’s arm when he undid his seatbelt. He leaned in and kissed Aaren full on the lips, a slow, filthy kiss that had Aaren moaning into his mouth. “Spray yourself down, and call me.”
Aaren whined, his mouth so soft and warm. Then he pulled away and got out of the car. When he was done spritzing scent suppressant all over his body, he dialed Hades on his phone.
Hades looked him in the eye and answered the call. “Hey.”
“Hi,” Aaren said, his voice ringing out a second before the same voice came through, albeit tinnily, on Hades’ phone.
“You’re going to be okay?”
Aaren nodded. “I’ve made it this far.”
“I’ll see you soon,” Hades said. “And I’ll reward you well. You can hold me—or my cock—to it.”
Aaren broke into a smile. “I’ll be so good for you.”
Fuck. How the hell was Hades going to get anything done, when Aaren kept being so sweet for him? He palmed his bulge. Aaren moaned.
Since Aaren wasn’t going to close the door, Hades leaned over and shut it himself. “I’m putting you on hands-free so I can drive.”
“You can go hands-free for a different reason next time,” Aaren blurted. Then he promptly blushed.
Hades laughed. He watched Aaren in his rearview mirror as he pulled away; Aaren wasn’t making any move to wander home. “I’ll be back in twenty. Think you can wait that long for me?”
“My hole can’t.”
Hades huffed. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Wear me. I think I’ll fit very well.”
“Didn’t you say I’m too big to fit?”
“I’ll make it fit!”
“Good boy,” Hades purred. “You’ll definitely be getting a big, big reward tonight.”
Aaren moaned. “Okay. I’m—I’m going in.”
Hades gripped his steering wheel. He followed the sound of Aaren’s footsteps and the jangle of keys, barely remembering where he was driving. Aaren’s front door opened and shut.
For five blissful seconds, there was quiet.
There came a low growl. “You’re finally back, you bitch. Where the hell did you put my remote? Did you hide it again? I can’t fucking find it. Do you know how much time I wasted looking for it because you couldn’t fucking put it back in the right place?”
Hades stepped hard on the brakes, his instincts snarling. What the fuck?
Through the phone, Hades heard Aaren suck in a loud breath. “Isn’t it on the couch?”
“No. Do you see anything on the couch, huh? Are you blind?” The voice was closer now.
Hades had to pull over and force himself to calm down. Who the hell spoke to their omega like that?
Why the hell had he left Aaren with that asshole?
Aaren sighed and stomped through the house, his footsteps loud. There was some rustling, and he spoke again. “See! It was on the floor under the couch! Maybe you kicked it off without even noticing, when you were sleeping.”
Ballus scoffed. “Don’t be an idiot. I don’t do that kind of crap. Only omegas are that stupid.”
Aaren sighed louder and muttered, “Yeah, because you’re so self-aware.” More loudly, “Don’t you have to go to work?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m going now that you’ve finally found what you lost,” Ballus sneered. “I should’ve known you weren’t just fat and stupid, you’re also a complete waste of my time. Pathetic little slut.”
Aaren hissed.
Hades could turn back right now. He wasn’t even two blocks away. He could turn back and walk through that door, and slam his fist into Ballus’ face.
Multiple times.
“Yeah, fine, just go,” Aaren muttered. “Like any other omega would stick around with you.”
Hades made himself breathe. He had promised Aaren that he would not step in. As long as Ballus hadn’t laid a finger on Aaren, he couldn’t break that promise.
He closed his eyes. Six months. Aaren had put up with this abuse for six months, and he had been prepared to suffer another six. By himself. With no one around to soothe his hurts.
Was that inheritance contract worth this much suffering?
Hades took another deep breath, before pulling back onto the road.
The sooner he picked up the groceries, the sooner he could go back to Aaren and comfort him.
Treat him the way he was supposed to be treated.
He would make up for all those terrible times Ballus had antagonized Aaren, make him feel safe again.
And if he happened to plow Aaren deeply on Ballus’ bed, well. That was just part of the comfort Aaren was owed, and Ballus had failed to give him.