The Devil I Hate (Devil's Knights 1)

Aiden stopped at the side entrance to the bar. A black sign said The River Styx in red letters and hung from chains above the door.

“Why are we here?” I asked, even though I knew the answer.

He flashed one of his boyish smirks. “You know why, sis.”

“This place gives me the creeps.”

My brother snorted. “We’re just checking the place out.”

“Your obsession with The Serpents is going to get you killed.”

“Marcello said they hang out at this bar.”

Squeezing his hand tighter, I looked up at him. “Since when are you best friends with Marcello Salvatore?”

He rolled his shoulders. “He’s been helping me out. Marcello isn’t the man you think. You should get to know him.”

I rolled my eyes, wondering when my brother had become so close to Marcello. “Are you an action junkie? Is this another addiction? Because you keep putting yourself in these compromising positions.”

“Marcello knows Hades. This is where I will find him.”

The leader of The Serpents called himself Hades. His second in command, Morpheus, was named after the Greek god of sleep. Then there was Lethe, like the river in the Underworld. And Minos, a king who judged the dead.

“You don’t know what they look like,” I pointed out. “You can’t waltz into a bar like this and ask for Hades.”

“I got a plan,” he assured me as he opened the door.

He had a plan. It just wasn’t a good one.

Pops spun me around the dance floor a few more times before Luca appeared at my side. His cold, hard stare rocked me to the core, settling deep in my bones. He hated me as much as I hated him. That was fine by me.

“I’d like to dance with Alex,” Luca said to Pops. “Find something else to do, Wellington.”

“Mind your manners, boy.” He moved closer to Luca, her expression intense. “Learn to respect your elders.”

He emphasized the word elders as if he were talking about something more than older people. Like it meant something to them.

Luca tugged on his tie and cleared his throat, his lips pressed into a thin line. “May I dance with your beautiful granddaughter, Mr. Wellington?”

Pops glared at him for a moment before his expression softened. “That’s better.”

I took Luca’s hand, and he moved my arms, so they were around his neck. His hard body felt incredible against mine, a fact I tried to ignore as his fingers jabbed my hipbone. We moved to the beat of the song, acting as if we were a normal couple. Like he wasn’t holding me in his death grip with a forced smile for our audience.

“You’ve spent most of your night with Sonny,” he said midway through the song. “Do you prefer his company over mine?”

“It wasn’t intentional. You were busy with your family.”

His dark blue irises met mine. “You will be part of my family, will you not?”

“I don’t know. Will I?”

“You are my queen.” His breath ghosted my lips, so close we could have kissed. “It’s time we make it official.”

“Did you have a change of heart since our little chat in your office?”

“We don’t have a choice.”

“I feel like Rapunzel,” I quipped. “Stop locking me inside my tower. You can at least take me out, so I can find some enjoyment in this nightmare. If you want a wife and a queen, you better start treating me like it.”

He pursed his lips, considering my request. “My schedule is full.”

Anger flared inside me. My skin burned from his touch, and I wanted to push him away. But we had the eye of everyone in the room. As we moved to the beat of the song, their gazes shifted. They followed us as if they were hanging onto every move we made.

I slid my hand up to his chest, feeling his heartbeat. “Too full for your future wife?”

“That mouth of yours,” he growled, his voice deep and smooth.

Licking my lips, I stared up at my handsome Devil. “Maybe you should do something about my mouth.”

Luca smirked, then rolled his thumb across my bottom lip, smearing my lipstick. “Perhaps I should.”

After years of fighting with him, I knew he would only respect a woman who made him work for it. He was one hundred percent alpha male. Intimidating and scary in every way, his cock got hard for mouthy women. I enjoyed playing games with his head, and I needed to play the ultimate game if I wanted to find my brother.

He stroked my cheek with his fingers, staring at me as if we were the only people at the party. “Come to my room tonight for a drink.”

“No.”

His eyebrows rose in surprise. “You don’t say no to me.”

“I meant to say, No, sir. Is that better?”

Luca shook his head at my defiance. “You make my cock so fucking hard. This won’t end well if you keep pushing me.”