Chapter 3 #2
“I don’t need a safe word,” I try again, my hands going to his shoulders and then up to clasp his neck. “You won’t hurt me, Maliki. And in no universe will I ever want any of this to stop.”
I go up onto my toes to kiss him before he can reply, my breasts pushing against his bare chest. He never put on more than a pair of sweatpants, and I’m thankful for that now. Because it’ll be so much easier to disrobe him.
Yet he fists my hair and yanks my head back from his, breaking our kiss.
The movement is so sharp and harsh that I yelp.
“If you want all of me, then you need to acknowledge your safe word. Because I’m going to give you what you want, Sera.
And I need to be able to trust you to make me stop if it becomes too much. ”
“It won’t,” I tell him.
“You don’t know that,” he replies, his gaze searching mine. “You have no idea what I want to do to you, trouble. All the dark cravings that live inside me. My love for blood. My need to bite.”
His gaze roams over my neck and down to my shoulder, to the mark he left there while buried deep inside me.
“I’ve been kind, Sera,” he informs me. “Gentle. But if you want me—all of me—then you need to agree to a safe word.” His grip in my hair tightens, causing it to sting a bit at the roots. “Now tell me what it’s going to be, mate.”
I shudder, that term one that goes straight to my heart.
Mate.
Maliki claimed me. Mated me. And now… now he’s offering an experience I can’t even begin to comprehend.
But I know I want it. I want him. I want more.
So there isn’t a choice to make. It’s clear. “Hades,” I tell him. “My safe word is Hades.”
“Mmm, good girl,” he praises and leans down to brush his nose against mine. The tender gesture contradicts the way his fist tightens in my hair.
It also conflicts with the hungry gleam in his eyes.
I’m being held by a predator.
A dangerous fae.
An assassin.
Yet he’s ensuring that I feel safe. Providing me with an out. Being a good mate.
“I’m going to turn you into a beautiful mess, Sera,” he vows, a dark note underlining his tone. “Make you barely recognizable, all while proving that you don’t need a knot to satisfy you. Not when you have me as a mate.”
My nipples tighten against his chest, my breasts suddenly heavier than before.
A sound escapes me, one that resembles a plea. Because I want everything he’s offering and more. I want to lose myself in him. His touch. His kiss. His everything.
A memory that’s all mine.
A moment just between us.
An experience that I’ll never forget.
“There’s somewhere in the maze that I want to show you,” he goes on. “I think that’s where we should play.”
I blink and push back just a little. “You want to go back into the maze?” I ask, suddenly a little nervous about the idea of leaving this cabin. It feels secure here, like I can’t be dragged off to that plane of nonexistence again.
However, a rebellious part of me sort of likes the idea of exploring.
Especially since Hades said he was going to show me the changes he’s made to the labyrinth when he returns.
Seeing them without him will probably infuriate him.
Why does the thought of angering Hades excite me? I wonder as Maliki’s lips curl.
“Don’t worry, trouble. The only thing you need to fear here is me,” he informs me, then waves a hand toward the kitchen, causing all his food preparations to vanish into thin air.
I ignore the manifestation magic and focus on what he just said about needing to fear him. “What?” I ask, my eyebrows lifting.
“You told me to treat you as unbreakable, Sera,” he replies, nipping at my lower lip before lifting me up into his arms. “So let’s see how much you can take before you regret that request.”
My eyes widen, my heart skipping a beat in my chest.
However, that erratic movement isn’t the result of panic so much as arousal.
And it only becomes more chaotic as Maliki engages his shadows. His power swathes me in a sea of black, momentarily blinding me before releasing my vision to a new scene.
We’re no longer in the cabin.
“Where…?” I trail off, studying the rocks all around us. “I thought you said we were going somewhere in the maze?”
Maliki’s expression holds a feral note to it, one that reminds me of that night in Death’s Den when he threatened Jack. Except I trust Maliki not to hurt me, even with his sensual threats.
“We’re in the Rutting Grounds,” he says as he sets me down.
“R-rutting Grounds?”
His lips curl. “Yeah, sweet mate. Hades showed it to me the other day during one of your naps. I’ve been dying to explore it ever since.”
I swallow. “O-oh. And… and why is that?”
“Because this whole maze was built for endless days and weeks of fucking, Sera. Which means all those boulders out there were manifested with various positions in mind.” He leans against the cream-colored wall beside us.
It’s a sheet of rock, just like all the ones spread out before us.
Only the corridor one is smooth, while the others appear to be textured.
They also vary in shapes and sizes.
Creating a labyrinth of a whole different variety.
My throat goes dry, the field before us taking on a whole new meaning as I replay Maliki’s words through my mind.
“Those don’t look… comfortable,” I say slowly, considering the jagged edges.
“I don’t think comfort is what Hades had in mind when he built this place. But I’m certain we’ll find a way to enjoy ourselves.” He folds his arms and props one bare foot up on the rock behind him. “Go ahead and explore. I’ll be right behind you.”
My lashes flutter as I try to focus on him again. “Explore?” I repeat, the word nearly a croak.
“I’m telling you to run and hide, trouble,” he murmurs, his eyes taking on a wicked glint that matches his tone.
“Why?” I whisper.
“Because, sweet mate, I’m in the mood to hunt.” He tilts his head down, his gaze seizing mine. “You wanted to feel dirty, yeah? So we’re going to play my way.” He cants his head a little to the side. “Now remember your safe word, Sera. And run.”
The growl that underscores that final word has me reconsidering all my choices.
As do our rocky surroundings.
But a memory tingles in my mind, one of Persephone playing a similar game with Hades long, long ago.
Only, she didn’t run so much as frolic. And she certainly didn’t hide.
She wanted to be caught.
Dominated.
His.
And while I desire the same game with Maliki, I also want to make him work for it.
I won’t wait on my knees the way Persephone did with Hades.
I’ll keep running.
Force Maliki to catch me.
Make him prove himself worthy of my submission.
Only then will I give him what he craves. My body. My heart. Maybe even my soul.
“Ninety seconds,” he warns. “That’s the only head start I’m going to give you, trouble.”
“Sixty,” I counter, wanting to feel challenged, not coddled. “And not a second longer.”
I take off across the rocks. Let go of all my worries. Forget the past. Ignore all the memories threatening to overtake my mind. Block Demeter from my thoughts. And focus on the present.
On Maliki.
On running through the Rutting Grounds.
And experiencing life—my life.