A Worthy Opponent: Wicked Villains #3 Read online

  A Worthy Opponent

  Wicked Villains #3

  Katee Robert

  Trinkets and Tales

  Copyright © 2019 by Katee Robert

  All rights reserved.

  Cover art by By Hang Le

  Editing by Manuela Velasco

  Copy Editing by Lynda M. Ryba

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-951329-91-4

  Print ISBN: 978-1-951329-00-6

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Created with Vellum

  To Gina L. Maxwell.

  Two Hooks are better than one!

  Contents

  Also by Katee Robert

  Content Warning

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Katee Robert

  Wicked Villains

  Book 1: Desperate Measures

  Book 2: Learn My Lesson

  Book 3: A Worthy Opponent

  Book 4: The Beast

  * * *

  The Island of Ys

  Book 1: His Forbidden Desire

  Book 2: Her Rival’s Touch

  Book 3: His Tormented Heart

  Book 4: Her Vengeful Embrace

  * * *

  The Thalanian Dynasty Series (MMF)

  Book 1: Theirs for the Night

  Book 2: Forever Theirs

  Book 3: Theirs Ever After

  Book 4: Their Second Chance

  * * *

  The Kings Series

  Book 1: The Last King

  Book 2: The Fearless King

  * * *

  The Hidden Sins Series

  Book 1: The Devil’s Daughter

  Book 2: The Hunting Grounds

  Book 3: The Surviving Girls

  * * *

  The Make Me Series

  Book 1: Make Me Want

  Book 2: Make Me Crave

  Book 3: Make Me Yours

  Book 4: Make Me Need

  * * *

  The O’Malley Series

  Book 1: The Marriage Contract

  Book 2: The Wedding Pact

  Book 3: An Indecent Proposal

  Book 4: Forbidden Promises

  Book 5: Undercover Attraction

  Book 6: The Bastard’s Bargain

  * * *

  The Hot in Hollywood Series

  Book 1: Ties that Bind

  Book 2: Animal Attraction

  * * *

  The Foolproof Love Series

  Book 1: A Foolproof Love

  Book 2: Fool Me Once

  Book 3: A Fool for You

  * * *

  Out of Uniform Series

  Book 1: In Bed with Mr. Wrong

  Book 1.5: His to Keep

  Book 2: Falling for His Best Friend

  Book 3: His Lover to Protect

  Book 3.5: His to Take

  * * *

  Serve Series

  Book 1: Mistaken by Fate

  Book 2: Betting on Fate

  Book 3: Protecting Fate

  * * *

  Come Undone Series

  Book 1: Wrong Bed, Right Guy

  Book 2: Chasing Mrs. Right

  Book 3: Two Wrongs, One Right

  Book 3.5: Seducing Mr. Right

  * * *

  Other Books

  Seducing the Bridesmaid

  Meeting His Match

  Prom Queen

  The Siren’s Curse

  Content Warning

  This book contains an abusive ex-partner (emotional, physical). Most of it happens in the past, off page, but it may be triggering for some readers.

  Chapter 1

  Tink

  “Two more days, Tink.”

  I don’t look up as I carefully set each drink on the table. Working at the Underworld feels a whole lot like swimming with sharks under the best of circumstances. Now, with a clock ticking down the seconds until I’m free, it’s significantly more dangerous. I place the final drink down and glare at Gaeton Thibault. He’s sprawled across half the booth, taking up more than his fair share, even considering how huge he is. He’s cocky and irritating, and I usually enjoy sparring with him.

  Not tonight. Not with him tossing the reminder of my deadline at my feet.

  I glare. “Get your feet off the table. This isn’t a barn.”

  He holds my gaze for a long moment. It’s a struggle not to look away. Gaeton might have that easy charm that draws people to him, but he’s dominant right down to his big bones. He doesn’t fuck around, especially in this club. But I’m not the kind of submissive who will fall to their knees and play the silent partner to kinky bedroom games. I look down my nose at him. “Now, Gaeton.”

  “You’re awfully bossy for a sub.”

  “You’re awfully dense for someone who’s a general to the Man in Black.”

  He chuckles and drops his feet back to the floor. “There. Are you happy now?”

  Happy? As if that’s even in the realm of possibility for me. Happy is for people who aren’t walking around with my kind of sins tattooed on their soul. The weight of knowing what I left behind didn’t used to bother me. The relief of being free was too strong. Or, if not actually free, then free of him. Working for one of the scariest people in Carver City has its perks, but free will isn’t really one of them.

  I realize I’ve been silent too long and snort. “You know better.” I prop a hand on my hip. “Your clothing order will be in tomorrow.”

  He’s watching me too closely. People see the muscles and his general hugeness and assume Gaeton is an idiot. It’s something he’s embraced because enemies always underestimate him. I’ve been watching people too long not to know better. He’s smart as hell and has the kind of ambition that will either see him leading his own territory one day or burning the city to the ground around him.

  Finally, he sits back and gives me a slow smile. “Why don’t you deliver it yourself? A little one-on-one with my favorite submissive.”

  I don’t bother to resist rolling my eyes. “I always deliver it myself, you ass.”

  “See you tomorrow, then.” He sinks enough innuendo into the statement to make several people within hearing range glance over. But that’s Gaeton; he likes a show, even at someone else’s expense. Implying that we’re meeting outside the Underworld—the neutral territory ruled by my employer, Hades—is a power play. An annoying one.

  “Try to stay out of trouble in the meantime.” I glance at the other men at the table, but they’re all minions.
No one will cause any trouble tonight, and Gaeton is here without Beast, which means the furniture is probably safe. Those two really need to fuck and get it out of their system, but no one asks my opinion.

  I head back toward the bar that dominates the center of the room. It’s been built around a truly impressive marble sculpture that isn’t quite an explicit orgy but is close enough to count. It’s all very Hades, just like the rest of the Underworld. A sex club that specializes in kink and power, where all the main players in Carver City can come and spill their secrets into the willing ears of Hades’s Dominants and submissives. For being some of the scariest people in existence, they’re all too ready to do exactly that. It’s mind-blowing.

  I stop next to the bar and check the room. Most of the half-circle booths lining the walls are filled; people use the shadows for covert conversations and foreplay. In another hour or so, many of them will start filtering into the public playroom through the door at the back.

  The bartender, Tisiphone, gives me a sympathetic look, which is just as much a warning as her pouring healthy splashes of whiskey into two tumblers. Tisiphone might be the nicest of Hades’s three Furies, but she’s no slouch. And she knows better than to handle me with kid gloves. She tucks a strand of long dark hair behind her ear. “Hades wants to see you. He says to bring him a drink.”

  Words I really, truly don’t want to hear. I might have made a deal with Hades four years, eleven months, and twenty-eight days ago, but I’ve avoided him as much as possible since. All his deals come with teeth, and mine is no exception. Usually, he’s content to let me work as long as I don’t rock the boat, but with my contract end date coming up, apparently that’s no longer the case.

  Lucky me.

  I down the whiskey and grimace. I prefer my drinks sweet enough to make my teeth ache, but desperate times and all that. I take the second glass and weave my way through the room to the door that leads to Hades’s office. Or at least his public facing one. Very few people are allowed in his private office, and I’ve never been curious—or fatalistic—enough to investigate.

  I knock on the door as I open it. The room is dimmer than I expected, and I hesitate just inside the door. Even knowing Hades doesn’t harm the people under his care, I’ve long since learned the hard way that there are exceptions to every rule. I press my lips together to keep from calling out like some kind of heroine in a horror movie.

  “Come in.” He sounds as drily amused as ever. I hate that. I’ve always hated that. Being in the room with Hades makes me feel like I’m just short of understanding some kind of inside joke. He makes me feel like a silly child without even trying.

  I straighten my spine and put some belligerence in my step as I move past the low couches to his massive desk. If I didn’t know better, I’d suspect he shifted the lights in the room with the intention of creating shadows where he sits now. I carefully set down the whiskey glass. “You know, I am aware you have better shit in your private stash back here. You didn’t need me to hand-deliver your drink.”

  His lips quirk, though I still can’t see his eyes. I only get the impression of square black frames and a glint of silver in his hair. He steeples his fingers in front of his mouth. “Remind me when your contract is up.”

  I count to five slowly. It does nothing to stifle my emotional response to those words. Fear. Anger. The kind of elation that comes before a leap of faith and an unfortunate encounter with gravity. “Two days from now.”

  “Ah yes.” He leans back, shielding his whole face in shadow. “My Meg tells me that you’re requesting to stay on.”

  My mouth goes dry. I’d talked about it with Meg, yes. Meg, arguably the most powerful of the Furies, the trio of women at Hades’s back. Tisiphone holds the bar and a number of secret assignments. Allecto runs security. Meg is queen to Hades’s king.

  She’s also my direct boss. My friend, maybe, though the thought of labeling us as such about gives me hives. Friends are a lever just waiting to be pulled, a weakness to be exploited. “Yes, we’d talked about it.”

  “Allow me to add a clarifying viewpoint.” He lets silence fill the room in slow ticks of the clock behind his head, until I have to clench my fists and press my lips together to keep from babbling like a fool just so we don’t sit here for one more minute. Hades shakes his head slowly, breaking the spell. “Unless you can offer me something worth a deal, there will be no extension.”

  My breath rushes out, and I weave on my ridiculously high heels. “You’re shitting me.”

  “I assure you, I am not.”

  Anger rises in a welcome wave. Foolish to let it gain hold here, but I feel particularly foolish in believing I might actually have a place here beyond my time as Hades’s minion. “So that’s it. Deal is done, you kick me out. I’ve been here five years.”

  “Yes, you have. You’ve served me well and become a welcome asset. None of that changes the reality of your situation.” He leans forward and the gentleness in his eyes is so much worse than the anger I expected. “You can’t hide forever, Tink.”

  Easy enough for him to say. He’s one step down from a god in the Underworld and his little square of neutral territory in Carver City. No one fucks with Hades, and that protection extends to all his people. He doesn’t have to worry about the sins of his past coming for him, howling his name on the wind.

  I lift my chin. “The second I leave, he’ll try for me.”

  If anything, Hades’s dark eyes go gentler yet. “You’re not the same woman who showed up here that first night.”

  Really? Because I feel like that woman. With the threat of forcible freedom from this cage bearing down on me, it feels like being propelled back in time. Years, months, days, hours. They all peel back the strength I worked so hard to build up around me. I start to shake. I’m not strong. I can fake it with the best of them, but when push comes to shove, I’m nothing more than the girl who was too weak to save herself. “Please.”

  As soon as the word slips free, I want to snatch it back. I don’t beg. Not to any of the Dominants I’ve shared scenes with over the years. Sure as fuck not to Hades.

  I shake my head. “Forget I said that.”

  He nods slowly. “There’s someone here to see you.”

  The change of subject leaves my head spinning. For one eternal moment, I’m sure it’s him. The one I sacrificed everything to escape. But no, as cruel as Hades can be, he’d never throw me to the wolves so explicitly. I take a careful breath, and then another. When I answer, all the quaver is gone from my voice. “Who?”

  Hades motions to the door behind me. “Room Two.”

  He’s in one of the overnight rooms?

  I cross my arms under my breasts. “I scene, Hades. I don’t fuck like that. Not in the overnight rooms.” I can’t pretend I don’t have sex on the job. I do. But it’s only when I choose to offer it up in negotiations. Going to the private overnight rooms meant for patrons instead of the playrooms with built-in safety measures? Absolutely not.

  “No one in my employ ‘fucks like that.’” He pushes slowly to his feet. I don’t believe in magic, but the way Hades unfurls his presence is as close to it as the real world is capable of. He’s not a large man, but when he wants to be, he’s overwhelming as hell. “He requests discretion for the conversation. This was the simplest way to honor that request. As always, Allecto and her people will monitor through video and microphone. I don’t expect it to be an issue, but you’ll hardly be alone.”

  Not yet, at least.

  Not for two more days.

  I give a shaky nod. I should probably apologize for assuming the worst, but I won’t. I’m too raw, too exposed. “I’ll go now.”

  He doesn’t respond as I turn on a heel and stride out of the office. In the hallway, I briefly consider changing, but my black panties and equally lacy black bra aren’t out of the ordinary for working a shift as a submissive. The only little rebellion I’m indulged with is wearing heels instead of having to go barefoot like the others. At
five foot, two inches, I’m what Meg fondly calls pixie-sized. A plus-sized pixie, rather. I snort.

  Whoever this guy is, he’s obviously connected with the Underworld or Hades wouldn’t allow this kind of meeting. Which means there’s no need to change or worry about appearances. I don’t allow myself to wonder why it’s me meeting him instead of Meg or even Hercules. They’re Hades’s inner circle, the people who can make calls with the authority he extends to them. I’m only me.

  I make my way up to the private bedrooms. They’re usually reserved for people who choose to spend the night rather than people who want to fuck. In the Underworld, most of the sex happens out in the open, or at least in the individual rooms off the public playroom. They can be altered to fit a whole range of themes, all in the name of lust.

  There’s no point in knocking. Whoever is on the other side of the door knows I’m coming. I cloak myself in anger, allowing it to soak into my very pores. A suitable shield if ever there was one. By the time I open the door, I’m fucking untouchable.

  Until the man on the other side of the room turns to face me.

  Hook.

  Chapter 2

  Tink