The End of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 4) (31 page)

He did not miss a beat. “Yes.”

She wished he did not answer so quickly. His certainty made her feel things that she should not feel, especially for a Queen who was about to inherit the Underworld throne. She wanted to feel cold and detached, yet what he elicited was the polar opposite. When she was with him, all she felt was warmth and security. She felt love, and this was an emotion she did not want to be beleaguered with. She was scheduled to go to war with him in a matter of days. The last thing she should feel for him was any form of affection. 

She expelled an exhausted breath. This was going to be a difficult week for her to endure. “Why must you make the road to my immortality so complicated?”

He chuckled before leaning back in his seat. “What fun is it to attain things easily?” Aware of her reticence to be alone with him, he reached out and grazed a hand over her cheek.

“I’ve missed you,” he said without filter, without an ounce of hesitation. There was no doubting the genuineness of his words or the aching tone in his voice.

She said nothing back.

Although her heart raced at his words, she did not allow her features to betray her emotions. She remained stoic, cold. He would never know her true feelings if she could help it.

“There is not a single day that passes where I do not think about you,” he persevered quietly.

Soo Jin could feel his poignant eyes on her. The sadness that rippled in that declaration ruptured her sensibilities. She did not doubt the verity of his words. However, for the health of her future, she could not react to it.

She continued to say nothing, for it was better to let it roll off her than to address it.

He smiled in understanding at her silence. Determined to make her feel more comfortable, he casually moved her bangs from her face and said, “I hear that you’ve been training hard for our battle.”

“Something you should be doing as well,” she finally spoke, locking eyes with him. She wished he would understand how difficult he was making this situation. Why was he chasing after a dream that would never come to fruition? It was their destiny to battle one another for the throne, not to fall in love and fade away from the rest of the world.

He quietly laughed to himself. “I feel like I’ve been preparing for a battle, but it may not be the one you’re training for.” He sighed, turning his attention back to the road. “Go to sleep.”

“Excuse me?”

“You must be exhausted,” he stated lightly. “Go to sleep.”

Even though fatigue was riding her, she did not feel it was necessary to sleep. “I’m okay.”

“It will take us a while to get there. You should rest,” he insisted. He regarded her with warm eyes. “You do not have to be a Queen this week, Soo Jin. You do not have to be alert, you do not have to be a God, and you do not have to make plans to rule the world.” He looked at the cars around them. “You can simply exist as the rest of us humans here.”

“You are not one of them,” she corrected without delay.

“For this week, we are.” He laughed. “Did you forget about the second ground rule already?” He locked his gaze with hers. “Please get some sleep. I want you well rested.”

She recalled the second ground rule that she agreed to: that she would abide by anything he wished. It was such a simple request that it was not worth fighting him on it. Since her homecoming, she had been getting little to no sleep. It could not hurt to close her eyes and rest for a few hours.

With that thought, she laid back and permitted herself to fall into a peaceful slumber.

The sense of security that overcame her was unlike anything she had ever experienced—at least as An Soo Jin. In that dreamlike moment, she no longer felt like she had to be a Queen amongst Gods; she no longer felt like she had to oversee an entire society to ensure their compliance. In that suspended moment, she was a normal girl in a car with the person she trusted most. Nothing in this world could touch her because he was there. Nothing in this world could hurt her because he would never allow it. Nothing in this world mattered because wherever he was taking her, she knew she would be safe . . . 

Soo Jin awoke to the feel of the wind grazing over her face.

She opened her eyes and felt an onslaught of warmth run through her when she realized the roof of the car was down.

Then, she froze in her position.

Soo Jin could not believe what she was seeing at first. She truly believed she was dreaming. She rubbed her eyes to ease her vision from what she thought was a web of dreams. As she continued to stare at the masterpiece before her, she realized that this was not a dream. This was reality. 

The lake before her was just as she remembered from Yoori’s memory. It was as beautiful as the last time she set eyes on it. The warm sun hovered above, shining over the surface of the water and reflecting over it like diamonds. Her eyes shifted from the lake to the surrounding landscape. The windy and deserted road they were on brought them into the heart of the mountains. Soo Jin could not help but be in awe of everything. The trees, the acres of green grass, and the sanctity of this stunning scenery left her spellbound.

The wickedness of the world did not appear to touch this place. It was pure, completely free of evil. Nothing about this magical place had changed.

Nothing had changed except her.

She heard ducks quacking in the distance and did her best to not pay attention to them.

Soo Jin drew in a fearful breath. She was positively unnerved with where she found herself. She prayed that she would survive this place.

“Why this place?” she uttered over the roaring wind.

Tae Hyun rested his soft eyes on her. With the backdrop of the majestic lake behind him, he looked like he belonged in a dream. “You really don’t know why?”

She knew very well why he brought her here. This was where his relationship with Yoori progressed into something more than a “boss and assistant” relationship. This was where they first kissed—where they realized they had fallen for one another. 

“It’s as beautiful as I remember,” she commented, fearing everything this place represented. At least in the Underworld, she had her society to remind her why she had to be a God amongst humans. In this lake house community, she had nothing but the memories of a life a God should never seek.

It went without saying that she was out of her league here.

Soo Jin could scarcely get out of the car when he parked in front of the lake house. Despite the wonderful memories, this was the last place she needed to be. Gathering all her bearings—as she did not want to appear too affected in front of Tae Hyun—she pushed the door open and stepped out. With her bag in hand, she followed Tae Hyun as they entered the house.

It felt like she had stepped through a time machine.

Her gaze charted the lake house with quiet awe. From the corner of her eyes, she sighted the unopened alcohol bottles that Yoori and Tae Hyun had left behind on their last trip. She could see the unmade blanket on the sofa that Yoori used, and she could even see the chair that Yoori angled in front of the floor-to-ceiling window so she could admire the lake. Everything was just as Yoori and Tae Hyun had left it, and she had never felt more like a stranger. This sanctuary belonged to Yoori and Tae Hyun, not Soo Jin and Tae Hyun. It could not be more abundantly clear than at that very moment.

Tae Hyun held a hand out, guiding her out of her reverie. “Let’s go.”

Soo Jin threw him an inquisitive look. “Where?”

He angled his head lightly. A mischievous sheen illumed in his eyes. “You were such a good sport in the car. Did you forget the second condition already?”

She snorted rudely.

These “ground rules” were going to be the death of her.

With nothing more to say, she begrudgingly took his hand and followed him up the glass stairs.

They entered a bedroom that could double as a penthouse suite. The bedroom had its own balcony and an uncompromised view of the lake in all its glory. It made the last room her human counterpart stayed in look like a closet space. It did not take her long to deduce that this was Tae Hyun’s master bedroom. Unlike the last trip, she would not be getting her own room. She would be sharing with the irresistible bastard himself. 

“Looking to finish what you started in Japan?” she asked bitterly, staring at the king-sized bed that was seemingly beckoning them towards it.

A smirk edged his lips. With the refinement of a tiger, he began to walk toward her with such predatory grace that she found herself reflexively taking several steps back to avoid him.

“Just because I won the challenge does not mean that you can’t have fun as well,” he murmured, strategically herding them towards the bed. He relieved the bag from her grasp after she hit the mattress with the back of her legs. His silky voice came over her, easily entrancing her as he spoke. “You like the right side, don’t you?”

She said nothing. She merely looked up at him, feeling utterly hypnotized by his enticing eyes.

The smirk continued to adorn his lips as he wrapped his thumb and index finger over the zipper of her jacket. Slowly and deliberately, he unzipped her jacket, revealing the black camisole tank top beneath it. Never taking his eyes off of hers, he gently slipped the jacket away from her and tossed it to the ground beneath their feet.

“Get on the bed,” he commanded. Though his expression remained cool and collected, it was his voice that throbbed with carnal need.

The entranced woman in her was eager to adhere to his command. It was the Queen in her that convinced her to stay where she was.

She regarded him with combative eyes. “Is that a request or are you invoking your second ground rule?”

“Get on the bed,” Tae Hyun repeated, staring at her with adoring eyes. He pressed his muscled physique against hers, letting her feel exactly how hot his body was. “
Please
,” he added, falsely making her believe he was more innocent than he was.

Overwhelmed with the sexual magnetism that was radiating from him, she did as he commanded and cautiously got onto the bed. To her surprise, instead of joining her in bed, he reached for her boots and pulled them off. He leaned over the mattress to pull the white comforter over her. When he brought the comforter to the area around her neck, he leaned forward to ensure that the pillows were angled at the perfect height for her neck.

Bewilderment clawed at her. “What are you doing?”

“I promised you a wonderful week, Soo Jin,” he crooned against her lips, taking his sweet time to readjust the pillows around her. She was so enthralled by his actions that she could hardly focus on anything else. “But before that, try to get enough sleep. I’ll come back for you later.”

Click.

Something cold encircled her wrist, snapping her out of her stupor. Soo Jin peered up. A round, silver metal imprisoned her wrist, winking at her in the wake of the afternoon sun. It took her half a second later to register that she had been handcuffed to the bedpost.

What the fuck?

A raging inferno flared in her eyes. Was this guy out of his mind? Who did he think he was handcuffing her to a bed?

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Making sure I see you later this evening.”

She was livid. “What happened to trusting me to abide by your rules?”

He graced the room with an amused laugh. “I’m smitten with you, but I’m not stupid, Soo Jin. I know your game by now. At the first sign of trouble, you will cut your losses and make your escape. I can’t chance that.” He smirked, dividing his attention between her and the handcuffs. “Plus, I clearly recall having this misery bestowed to me. I’ve been meaning to get revenge. I can’t pass up that chance.”

“I wasn’t the one who handcuffed you to the bed,” she corrected irately.

He showed no signs of changing his mind.

“Get your rest, baby,” he advised, running his fingers through her hair before backing away from the bed. “We’ll start all the fun later tonight.”

Brief confusion fractured the anger mounting inside her. Puzzled, she furrowed her brows. “You’re not staying?”

Tae Hyun chuckled as he began towards the door. He tossed his leather jacket to the floor and then pulled his black shirt off.

Despite her grievances with him, she felt her eyes roam over his perfectly sculpted body. He seemed to have gotten more ripped since she last saw him. There was more definition to his tempting physique, more muscles that left her feeling hot all over and threatened to shoot her control to hell. She could barely hide her appreciative sigh as she watched this flawless creature make his way to the door.    

“You look like a delectable offering lying there, handcuffed on the bed. If I stay, I doubt I’ll let you get any sleep.” He gave her a wink before he departed into the hall. “See you soon, my Queen.”

Soo Jin shook her head after he disappeared out of sight. She peered up at the handcuffs, stared at her reflection in one of the windows, and groaned in misery. She truly wished that she had won the challenge. Now that she was at his mercy, she feared what he could do to her. He was already a force to be reckoned with when she attempted to avoid him all these weeks; she was terrified of what a week of being with him would do to her.