Hades's Second Chance

1. Hades

Chapter one

Hades

“I hate this,” I sulked, arms crossed, watching my ex-wife freshen up her lipstick in my bathroom mirror.

“You could start dating again, too,” Jenny offered, rubbing her lips together and giving them a little pop.

“Don’t want to,” I grumbled, tearing my gaze away.

Seeing her like this was excruciating—all dressed up to meet another man.

Her chocolate brown hair was pinned back in an elegant French twist, and her nails were painted an eye-catching coral pink.

She’d swapped her Mom jeans and T-shirts for a breezy floral skirt and a lacy white camisole with a deep V-neck that cupped her heavy tits with heavenly perfection.

And she smelled fucking divine. Usually, she smelled like chocolate chip cookies, or cinnamon rolls, or whatever sweet treat she had been busy baking in the kitchen that day.

This time, she was wearing her favorite perfume—Some Enchanted Evening—with notes of jasmine, wildflower honey, and amber.

I knew from personal experience that stuff was like goddamn catnip.

One whiff and it drove a man wild. So, she saved it for special occasions…

like our wedding. And our honeymoon. And our first anniversary.

My gut twisted at the familiar scent and the years of memories that came with it.

Jenny tucked her tube of lipstick into her purse, braced her hands on the counter, and turned to look at me.

I leaned back against the doorframe, broody and sullen that she wasn’t staying to get that perfume all over my sheets tonight.

Instead, she was dropping the kids off with me for the weekend and going to dinner with someone else.

“You’re pouting,” she said.

“I’m not pouting,” I protested. “I’m a grown man. I don’t fucking pout.”

She pursed her lips with a skeptical hum.

“We’ve talked about this, Simon.”

I huffed and dragged my gaze back to her.

“If you need to get laid, you know I’m ready and willing to lend a hand, mi amor. Morning, noon, and night.”

Jenny sighed with a scathing glance.

“I’m not hooking up. I’m looking for a serious relationship—a man who might become my husband one day and help me raise the kids.”

“You have a husband already,” I pointed out.

“No, I have an ex-husband,” she bit out.

I said nothing. A beat of agonizing tension filled the air. Jenny rummaged around in her purse until she came up with a necklace and looped it around her neck, fumbling with the clasp.

Seven years ago, Jenny and I got a divorce. I did everything I could to change her mind, but in the end, she was resolute. She hated the dangers associated with my club, and when I got shot busting a trafficking ring, it made her even more determined to get away from this life.

I didn’t fault her for that.

Stepping up behind Jenny, I took the necklace from her and easily hooked the clasp at the nape of her neck. Then I smoothed my hands down her back, over the generous, soft swell of her hips.

“Simon,” she warned.

“Just getting your zipper, honey.”

I tugged at the zipper in the back of her skirt, pulling it up. Trying desperately to ignore the heat of her skin radiating through her clothes as my knuckles grazed against her.

“You have to stop calling me that,” Jenny admonished, softer than before. As if she was almost reluctant to say it.

“Sorry, hon—” I broke off and cleared my throat. “Old habits.”

For a moment, our gazes met in the mirror, and we stared at each other.

My Jenny barely came up to my shoulder, with a full, curvy figure. Everything about her was soft, from her silky hair, to her smooth skin, to the warmth in her eyes, and the kindness in her heart. She was always brimming with love.

Jenny was all sweetness and light, while I looked like a Doberman with bared teeth, snarling at anyone who dared to get close. I loomed over her, lean with muscle, golden brown skin tattooed with dark ink. My black leather cut bore patches to signify my loyalty.

My club, The Reckless Order MC.

My position, Road Captain.

And my road name, Hades.

When I got married, I had My Jenny stitched into my cut, too. I did the same thing when Mia and Casey were born.

“Aren’t you going to wish me luck?” she prompted.

“No,” I said, my voice gritty and low. “I hope your date doesn’t show up tonight. And I hope you’re so upset about it that you come home and beg me to comfort you, over and over, until the sun rises.”

Jenny clucked her tongue and shook her head.

“That’s a terrible thing to say, Simon.”

But there was a pretty pink flush creeping up her neck, indicating that I had successfully planted an image in her mind and she wasn’t mad about it.

“I’m just offering,” I replied. “Call it a backup plan.”

“I’m not calling it anything, because it’s not going to happen.”

She grabbed her wrap from the counter, draping it around her shoulders. The sparkly silvery blue brought out the color in her hazel eyes.

“You’re wearing that fancy perfume though—your favorite,” I said. “You wouldn’t want to waste it, would you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I wear perfume all the time.”

“Not this one,” I replied, as my gaze fell on a wispy little lock of hair at the nape of her neck. I coiled it around my finger absently. “It’s like your secret weapon. You only wear it when you want to get fucked so deep into the mattress—”

Jenny whirled, jabbing a finger into my chest to cut me off.

“Simon! For God’s sake. The kids will hear you.”

I smirked, arching an eyebrow.

“So, if the kids weren’t here, you wouldn’t mind continuing this conversation?”

She huffed and narrowed her eyes. Just as she took a breath to protest, an echoing crash emanated from the kitchen.

“Mom!” Mia called. “Casey climbed up onto the counter again! I told him not to.”

Jenny sighed and rubbed her forehead.

“I’m not even out the door yet and your son is already causing trouble. He’s just like his father. You can’t behave yourself for two seconds either.”

I chuckled and stole a quick kiss to her cheek.

“If I remember correctly, that’s what you loved about me when we first met. Couldn’t keep your hands to yourself when a sweet little angel like you got a taste of how fun it was to mess around with the bad boy.”

Jenny shooed me out of the bathroom.

“I was twenty-three years old with questionable judgment and raging hormones. You can’t hold that against me. A decade later, I’ve learned my lesson.”

I placed my hands on either side of the door frame, preventing Jenny from escaping or pushing me away. She gazed up at me through her lashes, trying to look stern and determined. But the darkness of her pupils betrayed her arousal at my close proximity.

“Learned your lesson?” I said in disbelief. “Sweetheart, just last week, you were riding my face—”

She made a noise of exasperation and shoved me in the chest.

“Oh, you bastard. You’re hopeless. Go!”

I laughed and caught her hands, rubbing my thumbs over her knuckles.

She was so fucking cute when she blustered like this, insisting that she didn’t have feelings for me anymore and it was only sex to scratch a mutual itch.

Just because she signed her name on the dotted line of those divorce papers clearly didn’t do a damn thing to cool the chemistry between us.

Another crash came from the kitchen. I groaned and reluctantly released Jenny’s hands.

Marching into the kitchen, I found Casey standing on the counter, rising up on tiptoes to reach for the sweets I kept stashed on the top shelf of the cabinet.

Boxes of pancake mix and cereal were scattered on the floor after getting knocked over.

I scooped him up, swinging him over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Your feet are supposed to stay on solid ground, you little monkey,” I said.

Casey giggled, giddy from the blood rushing to his head. He pointed at Mia.

“She dared me to do it!”

Mia gasped.

“I did not! That’s a lie!”

I heaved a sigh at their bickering. For the most part, they got along well enough.

Mia was an angel, just like her mother, with the budding maturity of a ten-year-old.

Casey had inherited my wild side. At five years old, he was a menace.

Their personalities were on such vastly different ends of the spectrum that they were bound to clash occasionally.

Jenny emerged from the bedroom, patting her hair to make sure she was presentable.

“You two behave while I’m gone. Is that clear?”

Mia and Casey chorused their agreement together. Jenny cupped Mia’s face in her hands and kissed the top of her head. She ruffled Casey’s hair and tickled his tummy, making him squeal with laughter.

Then she turned to me, and her gaze caught on mine for a moment.

“If your date causes any problems, give me a call,” I said.

Jenny huffed with amusement and a knowing look.

“I bet you’d love that. Riding in on your Harley to sweep me off my feet like a knight in shining armor. In fact, you would take it a step further and get your entire club to ride along with you. The whole damn cavalry of tattooed, testosterone-fueled bikers would show up to rescue me.”

I smirked and took a step closer, gazing down at her.

“Sounds sexy, doesn’t it?”

The tip of Jenny’s tongue flicked out, wetting her lower lip. She hesitated for a split second before shaking her head.

“I’m not letting you ruin my date, Simon.” She busied herself with adjusting her wrap, diligently avoiding my gaze. “It’s been seven years since our divorce. I’m long overdue for this.”

I said nothing, biting my tongue. I wouldn’t stand in the way of my Jenny finding her happiness. Even if it was silently killing me.

When Jenny and I officially signed the paperwork that put an end to our marriage, something inside me just…snapped. I got drunk and stayed drunk for days in an effort to numb the suffocating pain.

Before my Jenny came along, I had never been in love. I hooked up for sex and nothing more. Marriage never crossed my mind. I didn’t know what it was like to crave the presence of someone who felt like a home.

Then I met her. And she lit up my life.

How the hell was I supposed to live without her?

For a while, I held out hope that I could do something—anything—to save our marriage. Our feelings for each other were still undeniably there.

Like last week, when I picked up takeout for dinner and brought it over. Jenny tried to act indifferent, aloof, unaffected by my presence.

Until the kids were in bed.

And my Jenny ended up right where she belonged—with her lush thighs straddling my head and her skirts hitched up around her waist, riding my face.

She claimed I was just giving her a much-needed orgasm or two after an exhausting day as a divorced mother, raising two kids, with no spare time to devote to her love life. She wanted to feel desired. She wanted to feel like a woman again, instead of just Mom.

I desperately latched onto that scrap of hope, eager to prove that we were still right for each other.

But Jenny seemed determined to find another man. She kept talking about it, making plans for when she remarried someone else.

And now, she was finally pulling the trigger, putting herself out there again.

“I’d better get going or I’ll be late.” Jenny smoothed her hands down her skirt and took a deep breath. “How do I look?”

“Beautiful,” I said without hesitation. “As always.”

Jenny’s cheeks went pink and she lowered her lashes, glancing away.

“You’re so pretty, Mama,” Mia said, smiling up at her mother with adoration.

“Thank you, baby,” Jenny replied softly, brushing Mia’s cheek.

“For what it’s worth…” I paused and swallowed hard around the lump in my throat. “Good luck tonight. And I hope…you enjoy yourself. You deserve that.”

A small smile curved Jenny’s lips and she touched my shoulder. Then I watched, with my heart plummeting into my stomach, as she walked out the door.

Mia slipped her small hand into mine, leaning against me. Casey squirmed in my grip until I lowered him to the ground, combing my fingers through his tousled knot of curls.

“All right, kiddos,” I said. “It’s just the three of us tonight. So, let’s take a vote. Who wants ice-cream for dinner?”

Mia and Casey’s hands shot into the air, standing on tiptoe with eagerness. Jenny would kill me if I didn’t make them eat something healthy.

But she wasn’t here.

Besides, I felt like drowning my sorrows, and I couldn’t do that with a plate of goddamn broccoli. Alcohol was off limits since I needed to stay sober while the kids were with me.

So, a pint of brownie fudge ripple would have to suffice.

Rummaging around in the freezer, I grabbed a container of ice-cream and handed out spoons to the kids. Mia and Casey trotted after me as we moved to the living room. I turned on the television to watch their favorite cartoons.

When I dropped onto the couch, Mia and Casey snuggled up on either side of me, and we dug into the ice-cream together.