Page 28 of Underworld

He turns back to me, holding out a hand. “Do we have a deal?”

I look at his hand, hesitating for only a moment before sliding my hand into his. “Deal.”

“What’s your name, kid?”

Fuck, what name am I going by now? It’s . . . “Emma.”

He quirks a brow, knowing that it has to be a fake name, before shrugging. “Emma. Hum. The Ember from Tartarus herself. I’m sure you’ll get lots of customers with that tagline. Emma the Ember from Tartarus.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Jane

Present Day

I let out a long yawn before looking around at the guys. My brows knit together when I see their frowning faces. They look irritated. “Why do you look like someone pissed in your chocolatey pebbles?”

Jace arches a brow. “Pissed in our chocolatey pebbles?”

I nod. “You look irritated.”

“We are irritated,” Zane confirms in a huff.

“Why the hell are you irritated? You are the ones who wanted to know what happened.”

Alec sighs heavily and explains, “You just told us that you worked at one of our clubs. If we had kept up on our club visits, we would have known you were there.”

I shake my head. “I completely changed my look. You wouldn’t have recognized me even if you had visited.”

“Still doesn’t help with the fact that you were so close, and we didn’t even know,” Howe says with a growl.

“Why did you leave Tartarus?” Jace asks.

“Ben, well, I guess he wasn’t really Ben. Luka was charged to take over a different club after a year and a half. He didn’t trust the new guy in charge to keep me off the floor, so when he left, he recommended another club I could work at that would provide me with a little protection.” I snuggle closer into the couch. “I only stayed there for a few months before moving to a different location.”

“So . . . what other jobs did you work?” Howe asks.

I shrug. “I usually worked at bars and strip clubs. It was easier to blend in. People didn’t ask a lot of questions. I usually picked places I knew my father wouldn’t visit but didn’t stay in one place too long in case he had people looking for me.” I stifle another yawn before resting my head on the back of the couch.

Suddenly, I’m lifted into the air. I didn’t realize I had closed my eyes until I opened them to see what was happening. Jace is carrying me towards his bedroom, so I smile, closing my eyes and snuggling into his chest.

His chest rumbles as he asks softly, “Do you mind being mine for the night, Princess?”

Shaking my head, I say, “Not at all.” I’m still half asleep as I feel myself being lowered and sigh when I’m laid on a very comfortable bed. I snuggle into the bed and one of the pillows that smell heavily of his woodsy scent.

He snuggles up behind me, spooning me, and throws the blanket over us. I can feel his warm breath on my neck as he takes deep breaths. Letting it out with a deep sigh, he snuggles closer.

As my body relaxes, I feel myself sink into the bed. I have never felt as safe as I do with my boys. Although, I suppose they aren’t boys anymore. I don’t even realize I’ve fallen asleep till I wake up the next morning.

Jace stirs behind me and presses a soft kiss on my neck. His voice is rough from sleep as he says, “Morning, Princess.”

“Morning,” I say with a smirk. I can’t stop myself from rubbing my ass against his conveniently placed morning wood. I snicker when he groans.

“Don’t play games, Princess,” he warns as he presses his cock roughly against my ass.

“What if I want to play games?” I whisper. He shifts away from me just far enough to push up on his elbow and look down at me.

He arches a brow. “You want to play?”

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