I kiss Hercules.
He tastes like mint and something surprisingly sweet, and after a moment of shock, he returns the kiss with interest. The man might be submissive but he’s all enthusiasm as he slips his fingers into my hair and tugs until he’s able to deepen our kiss, to tease my mouth open. To claim me, just a little, just right now. To connect.
It’s not enough. I knew it wouldn’t be the second our lips touched. I want that connection as much as he does, want the purity Hercules brings to every interaction. He hides nothing. It doesn’t even occur to him to try. After a decade with Hades, it’s refreshing in a way that goes straight to my head.
I straddle him and the new position makes my shift dress ride up. Hercules strokes his hands down my back and squeezes my ass, urging me to grind against him. He’s hard, all thick and long and full of promise. Exactly what I need. I reach down to the front of his pants, but he catches my wrist. “No, Meg.”
“Excuse me?”
“Hades—”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. The reminder stings. I yank my hand away from him. “Do you always do what you’re told?”
The guilt on his face confirms it even before he says, “This time, I do.”
The reminder is a slap in the face. I was willing to suffer whatever punishment Hades dreams up for his command. Apparently the same can’t be said for Hercules. He might say he came here for me, but he stayed for Hades. I see the way Hercules watches him, recognize it on a soul-deep level. He’s caught in Hades’s gravitational pull. He’s not the first, and he won’t be the last. There is absolutely no reason for that to sting. And yet it does. “So much for that shining armor you’re so fond of. You’re just as bad as the rest of us.”
I climb off him, but he catches my wrist again. “That’s not fair.”
“No, it’s not, but I’m not in the mood to be fair right now.” The lost feeling from last night washes over me again. I’m just a raw nerve right now, not good company for anyone. That seems to be the rule, rather than the exception, these days. “Please leave.”
“Meg.” Now censure creeps into his tone. “We have a job to do.”
The sudden urge to scream and throw things washes over me. I have to close my eyes and breathe through it. I am Megaera, Queen of the fucking Underworld. I do not indulge in petty temper tantrums. It takes far longer than it should to wind myself back into something resembling calm. A facade, and not even a good one, but it’ll have to do.
I carefully put my desk between us and sink into my chair. Hercules is still sporting a cockstand for the ages, but I ignore it. The room feels too small with him in it, but I ignore that too. I’ve never been claustrophobic, but right now the entire city feels too damn small. There isn’t enough air, enough space, enough freedom.
I turn my monitor so he can see it. When I speak, my voice actually sounds normal. “These are the numbers from last night. Tink—and now you—are aware of them, but ultimately the books are my responsibility.” For now. I ignore the insidious little voice inside me and continue. “Most mornings, Tink and I meet to discuss the information the staff gathered the night before. We have files on all the major players in Carver City, and it’s in everyone’s best interest if we know as many of their dirty secrets as possible.”
“Who are the major players of Carver City?”
I might laugh if I didn’t want to strangle both him and Hades for putting me in this position. I’m not a goddamn kindergarten teacher, and I might resent it less without Hades’s clear hand of manipulation in all this. If he’d just talk to me, instead of forcing me to backflip through his hoops.
I pull out a laminated map that I keep in my locked desk drawer. It’s an archaic way to keep track of things, but Hades is old school and sometimes the lines shift enough that it’s actually useful. I unfold it and point. “This is Carver City.”
Hercules takes in the red lines I’ve painstakingly marked, finally focusing on the little square in the center. It’s only a couple of city blocks, but it represents safety in a way I don’t think he can comprehend. He points to it. “This is the Underworld.”
“Yes. Hades’s territory, but for all intents and purposes, it’s neutral territory for everyone else. They can visit the club without worrying about power plays and murder attempts, at least for the most part. These belong to others.” I touch each of the slice in turn. They were in varying sizes and shapes, marked out with blood and violence in some cases, with deals and threats in others. “You will see their leaders and generals in here at one time or another. I’ll get you copies of the files on them, but it’s important that you don’t do anything to fuck with their coming here. We can’t gather knowledge if it’s not given within this space. We don’t send our people into their territories. It has to happen in the Underworld, and it can’t if they’re not here. Do you understand?”