The End of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 4) (17 page)

He mirrored her movements by folding his arms over his black suit.

“After you appeared with Kang Min and Jae Won, she was ready to run to you guys. At that time, I didn’t know what you were capable of; I didn’t know what the brothers were capable of. In case anything went awry, I didn’t want her to be there. So I silently ordered a couple of my Serpents to grab her and take her home as a precaution. I wanted to protect her from all of you; I wanted to protect her from bearing witness to things she shouldn’t see in case a bloodshed between us occurred.”

“Smart choice,” Soo Jin replied, feeling relief that Hae Jin wasn’t there when she killed the man who questioned her power. She also felt relief that Hae Jin didn’t see her making out with Ji Hoon to hurt her brother and relief that Hae Jin didn’t see her fighting Tae Hyun. Despite her distant behavior towards Hae Jin now, she did not want Hae Jin to hate her. The last thing she wanted was for Hae Jin to be afraid of her. 

“Have you been purposely avoiding me?”

Soo Jin was abruptly tugged out of her thoughts with his ludicrous question.

“Why the hell would I?”

Even though she
had
been avoiding him, she would never admit it to him.

Since their confrontation, she had been disturbed that she couldn’t get that butterfly feeling out of her stomach whenever she thought about him. Being around him made her feel all too human, too much like a young woman instead of a feared Queen. She abhorred the effect he had on her. She wanted to kick herself for being stupid enough to walk into the very building that he was already in. He was probably having a meeting with some trusted alliances, and like a stupid prey, she sauntered into the lion’s den and pretty much laid there on a silver platter, conversing with his mentor and friends and unknowingly tempting him to come feast on her.

“Then can we go somewhere private to talk? Alone?”

There was no seductive tone in his voice. Even though it sounded professional and sincere, there was no denying the spark in his eyes. Desire teemed in his gaze. He appraised her appreciatively, openly admiring the outfit she wore and the way her perfect curls were gathered on one side of her shoulder.

“I’m not going anywhere alone with you,” she clipped out instinctively.

She had not forgotten what happened after their fight. Her physical wounds had already begun to heal, but the scar he left her—the one where he promised to “win her back”—was still deeply rooted in her mind. She didn’t want to deal with this type of war with him, and if she could help it, she wouldn’t do anything to encourage it either. Being alone with him was just asking for trouble.

“So you admit it,” he noted complacently, knowingly. “You’re afraid to be alone with me.”

“I admitted no such thing,” she snapped, the prideful Queen within her enraged that he dared to voice such a blasphemous thing.

It may have been true that she was hesitant to be around him because no matter how strong she was, Soo Jin also recognized that she was a twenty-four-year-old woman in the presence of a twenty-four-year-old man who had the charms to rival Casanova, the body to challenge Adonis, and the ungodly good looks to rival fallen angels. As her weak counterpart once deemed, Kwon Tae Hyun was made for sex. And unfortunately for Soo Jin, in addition to being a celebrated legend in this world, she was also a young woman who had needs. At the moment, all she wanted was—for lack of better words—to have sex with Kwon Tae Hyun over and over and over again until she died. After that, she wanted to wake up and repeat the process over and over again.

She inhaled a sharp, chastising breath at the thought.

Fucking tempting bastard.

Nope.

There was no way in hell she was going anywhere alone with him.

“I simply don’t want to be alone with you,” she contended calmly, never one to admit her weakness in front of any man. “I’m not afraid of you. Why would I be afraid of you?”

He shrugged a bit too innocently for her taste. “I don’t know. Why would any girl be afraid of being alone with a guy unless she was afraid of the things she might do when no one else was around?”

A wordless curse escaped her lips while her eyes sharpened with daggers.

“Your arrogance is offensive,” she commented swiftly.

“And your ignorance is insulting,” he contended just as easily before stepping closer to her.

His tall frame towered over hers, reminding her that despite their stations in life—that they were born to be enemies—there was an undeniable chemistry between them. He was a very attractive man, and she was a very attracted woman. She wanted him, and the fact that he was so close only further enticed her.

“What are you apprehensive of, Soo Jin? I only want to talk to you from a King to a Queen.” His strong shoulders lifted in a lazy shrug. “But of course, if you want me to speak to you as a man to a woman, then that could easily be arranged too.”

Dismayed with his words, an angry Soo Jin was about to tell him to fuck off before he cleverly plowed on.

“We’re prospective Lords in the Underworld, Soo Jin, not savages. I know that ambitious body of yours is just waiting to destroy me, but placing your killer instincts aside, how about we act like the civilized and professional business people that we’re also trained to be? After all, if you follow the cliché standard and try to fight me every time you see me, then we’re no better than the parasitic street gangs our world looks down upon.”

Damn, he got her there.

She definitely didn’t want to be like the parasites she hated so much. She also knew she couldn’t keep avoiding him, at least not when he was standing right there. If she kept on running away, then she knew what that would signify to him. Preys only ran when they were unsure of their capabilities and were afraid of being caught by their hunter.

If she kept playing this cat and mouse game, then it meant that she was running away—it meant that she was the prey. And God help her, that would only further legitimize Tae Hyun as the hunter. She couldn’t have that. She could not be hunted when she was a predator herself; she could not allow him to hunt her when he was her biggest rival for the throne. She had to set the precedence early on in their relationship; she had to show him that he was not chasing after a girl—he was chasing after a Queen.

Resolved that she wasn’t going to run anymore, Soo Jin kept her chin held high and stared at him challengingly. Although she would not give him the satisfaction of a chase, she would happily give him the beginnings of their war.

“How do you survive with that insatiable arrogance and smart mouth of yours?” she asked, silently crediting him for provoking her into being alone with him. The annoyance of having to be around him aside, she had to give credit where it was due. He was definitely showing her what a formidable King he was.

Tae Hyun chuckled, the vibration of his laughter doing funny things to her stomach. He extended a hand out to her, inclining his head towards the elevator. He obviously had a place in mind for their private meeting together.

“I have a girlfriend who has an equally smart mouth to insult me and keep me in line,” he answered affectionately.

Soo Jin caught the underlying message in that statement, but chose to disregard it. She proceeded into the elevator without taking his hand and stood in the corner of the metal box with her arms crossed. She ignored the extreme palpitating of her heart as the doors slid to a close and the elevator began its ascension into the top floors. When Tae Hyun favored her with a breathtaking smile that sent heat to rush to her cheeks, she inwardly prayed for strength.

This private meeting with the charismatic King of the Underworld was not going to be easy, and she prayed she would not come out being his seduced prey when it was over.

“No matter where you hide, we will drag you back.”

06: The Seduction of Gods

“Is it a good idea to stay here?” Soo Jin asked minutes later, stepping into a colossal office at the top floor of the high-rise building.

The office was enormous. Its opulent furniture and equipment radiated sophistication and wealth. There was a dashing mahogany desk that was placed in front of the gorgeous panoramic vista of the city. Behind the desk’s window, Soo Jin could see the sun’s brilliance spear through the cloudy skies. Shifting her gaze from the window, she measured the impressive room once more. The room was massive enough that it could have easily doubled as a grand penthouse. Captivated by the swirls of color on the walls, Soo Jin smirked as she looked at the abstract paintings that adorned the walls. She had to admit that the owner of this office had good taste. When she buys her next building, Soo Jin would definitely take notes from this office space.

She stopped at the center of the room and edgily looked at the door. Although it was closing hour, she didn’t feel comfortable staying in someone else’s office. How awkward would it be if the owner walked in and found two strangers in his office?

“Why not?” Tae Hyun inquired, closing the door so quietly that she didn’t even realize he was standing behind her until a whiff of his alluring cologne reached her nostrils.

“Well, what if the owner comes in?” Soo Jin asked, whipping around and instinctively backing away from him.

With the grace of a tiger, Tae Hyun stalked towards her with ease. “He already has.”

“This is
your
office?” Her eyes widened incredulously. As she continued to back away, the palpitations of her heart increased by the second. She surveyed the building, utterly dumbfounded. “This is your company?”

“I may have reign over the 3
rd
layer, but that doesn’t mean I’ve given up my passion for the 1
st
layer,” he explained coolly. There was a predatory gaze in his deep brown eyes as he spoke to her. It made her so hot that she could scarcely feel the air conditioning in the office. “This company is ran by the executives I’ve chosen myself and is personally ran by me when I have time. I perform my 3
rd
and 1
st
layer businesses in this building. It’s essentially my secret hideaway.”

“And you told Yoori that your friends could offer her a job when you could’ve given it to her all along?” The words escaped her lips faster than she could have caught them. A part of her was outraged at this new revelation. It stunned her that he owned a company this entire time. Really? He didn’t think it was necessary to share this information?

“Yoori is a prideful, ambitious, and stubborn girl,” he replied, smiling to himself in a way that only a boyfriend could when he thought about his girlfriend. His legs continued to inch forward while hers continued to retreat. “She would never work here under the pretenses of getting the job solely because her boyfriend owns the company. On my end, I didn’t plan on insulting her by offering it to her. God knows she already hated being my personal assistant. I doubt she would volunteer to work here. She would know that if I were her boss, I’d never let her out of this office.”

“Why didn’t you tell her who you really were and showed her all of this?” Soo Jin inquired, her vigilant eyes on him like a wolf.

Albeit she was on guard with him, her body was failing to meet the standards of her vigilance. To her horror, it kept playfully pulling her away from him, teasing the man they knew was a skilled hunter and predator.

“All of this is merely a shell,” he suavely replied. “She already sees me for who I really am. That’s more than anyone else could say in this world.”

“Why are we here, King of Serpents?” Soo Jin prompted sternly, quickly recognizing that at the moment, Kwon Tae Hyun had no intention of speaking to her as a King to a Queen, but as a man would to a woman. He was fucking speaking to her as a man would to a woman he wanted to seduce.

“Because I haven’t seen you in a couple of days, and I’ve missed you,” he told her without filter, shocking her with his bluntness.

Soon after, he stole her breath when he stalked her to the edge of the mahogany table. His body filled the frigid air between them and pressed against hers
.
Then, with a sensuous glide, he casually slipped his hands underneath her bare thighs and easily lifted her onto the table. Using her moment of distraction to his advantage, as he had probably anticipated the raging Queen to berate him for his audacity, he gracefully moved into the space between her legs. Arrogantly standing between her legs, his body heat stroked against her bare skin while his enticing eyes held hers.

No one needed to tell Soo Jin what a precarious angle this was. They weren’t touching, but the position they were in not only encouraged it, but it also demanded that they mold against each other.

“You’re afraid of me,” he mused out loud. He raised a free hand and brushed through the long curls of her hair. When he felt her breath teeter, he cupped a cheek with his hand. With lazy strength, he stroked his thumb close to her lips.

“There are exactly eighteen different ways I could kill you right now,” she warned, sitting up straight. She attempted to ignore the pleasurable sensations he evoked with his mind-blowing caresses. “If you’re smart, then you’d better start backing away.”

He expelled a laugh that reverberated throughout the room. It was a rich, deep tone that women dreamed of hearing every morning when they woke up from bed.

“Do you not think I can kill you?” she incited frigidly, her fists curling at her sides. She didn’t do well with insults, and she wouldn’t tolerate being insulted by him.

“You went easy on me the other night, Soo Jin,” he murmured appreciatively, soothing the inferno raging within her with his languid voice. “I’ve been spoiled. I know I'm in your debt. Of course I know you can kill me.”

She stared up at him skeptically and tilted her head to the hand cradling her cheek. She bestowed him with a dangerous smile that only fools would mistake as welcoming. “Then why aren’t you backing away?”

“All it takes is one way to kill me,” he prompted nonchalantly. Instead of backing away, he leaned forward and laid his hands flat on each side of her. He leveled his eyes with hers, giving her an unobstructed view of all the perfect features of his face. “Why aren’t you killing me?”

“Don’t mistake my laziness to kill you right now for feelings towards you,” she clipped out, unwilling to shift away in fear. She stared at him dead in the eyes, noting that the small space caused their lips to nearly touch. The proximity of those tempting lips elicited nothing but sexual frustration from her. It took all her self-control to keep her traitorous lips from leaning forward and devouring his.

Barely able to contain her own sensuous desires, she frostily said, “You’re still my enemy, and I’m just waiting for the day where I can kill you in front of the Underworld. Now, unless you want to get that defined ass of yours kicked, stop invading my space.”

He favored her with a dazzling grin. He shook an amused head at her tenacity. “Isn’t it funny that although you go by different names, you and Yoori both have the uncanny ability to drive me crazy, tease me to death, and say just the right words to ruin the sensual mood I try to put us in?”

“If that’s the case, why aren’t you getting up and giving me my space?”

He sighed. Slowly and all but too deliberately, he pressed his forehead against hers. He strategically hovered those dangerous lips of his over hers, teasing her to death, but never kissing her. “I said you ruined the mood. I didn’t say you screwed up any endeavors on my part.”

This would have been the perfect moment to head-butt him. It would have been the perfect moment to lift her leg up and kick him in the groin. With his guard down, it would have been the perfect moment for her to attack. However, Soo Jin seized none of the moments as she sat there quietly, allowing herself to indulge in his teasing.

Damn.

No man who had this type of power—the power to make a woman’s body feel alive with wonder—should ever be allowed out of captivity. He was simply too irresistible, too fantastically sexual, and too dangerous for any woman to try and fight off. If a woman of Soo Jin’s caliber was feeling a bit disjointed, then God help all the other women in the world because Kwon Tae Hyun was going to annihilate the entire female species with a simple, sensual smile.

“You’re dangerous,” she murmured mindlessly. Satisfaction weighed on her lids, begging her to close her eyes so her body could enjoy his tempting endeavors.

“No more than you are to me,” he crooned appreciatively.

The feel of his breath on her skin sent chills to stream over Soo Jin’s tense body. She quietly cursed to herself. First he made her hot, now chills blanketed over her. This guy was definitely going to give her an aneurysm soon.

“Are you cold, Soo Jin?” he asked seconds later, his fingers running from her kneecap to her thighs. He took stock of the shiver he gave her every time the breath from his lips touched her skin.

“A little bit,” she stupidly admitted again, her cheeks flushing with need.

He laughed, resting his eyes on the heels embellishing her feet.

“I’m sure a pair of cute little black Uggs will make it better,” he whispered, focusing his attention on her long bare legs before returning to her eyes.

Soo Jin smirked upon being inadvertently reminded that in this conversation, he wasn’t the only seductive God in the game.

“Unlike a pair of powerful heels, Uggs do not evoke unrelenting fear from people.”

“No,” he conceded carelessly, “but I’m sure they’ll keep those pretty little feet of yours warm.”

Something in her heart dropped. She snapped out of her stupor when she registered why Tae Hyun was referencing the Uggs. She knew who he was referring to when he casually brought the shoes up. The reminder of that person caused a firestorm of rage to brew in her body.

“Don’t you feel like you’re cheating on her right now?” she bit out, her now icy eyes berating his calm ones.

Intrigue reflected on his face at her accusation. “Is it considered cheating when I want to win my girlfriend back?”

“I was
never
your girlfriend,” she corrected, getting angrier and angrier by the second.

Choi Yoori was his girlfriend—not her. 

Choi Yoori was the one who was emotionally attached to him—not her.

She was only physically attracted to him. No harm, no foul there.

“And I won’t be your girlfriend,” she declared with finality. Her stubborn heart meant every word of it. “I don’t care what you do. I don’t care how hot you are, and I don’t care how irresistible you may be—I won’t be your girlfriend.”

Tae Hyun was silent for a brief second. The shift in his expression told her that even though he had anticipated her blatant hostility towards his advances, it didn’t mean it was easier for him to hear the object of his affections speak to him like he was a cursed plague.

“How did Ji Hoon win you?” he asked out of the blue.

For the first time, she saw a tinge of jealousy flicker in his eyes.

“Why?”

“I’m curious,” he retorted, aggravation laced in his voice. “I rarely get jealous of him. I find myself a bit envious now because Ji Hoon was the one who got you. Apparently, I’m not doing a very good job because you’re already so revolted by me.”

Soo Jin clamped her lips shut. Initially, she was unwilling to enlighten him. However, when she saw the seriousness in his eyes and knew very well that he wouldn’t let this go, she said, “I became Ji Hoon’s girlfriend because I was vengeful, power-hungry, and self-serving. In addition to all that, I was young. I didn’t know better. He was delicious eye-candy, he had power, he promised vengeance for my father, and it was all very . . . attractive to me.”

She smiled at Tae Hyun, enjoying the jealousy that brimmed out of his eyes. Eager to give him a taste of his own medicine, she decided to employ some teasing of her own.

“Hmm . . .” Murmuring approvingly, her desirous eyes were locked with his curious ones as she slipped her hands underneath the black suit jacket he wore. She immersed herself with the texture of his dark blue dress shirt. She slowly eased the jacket off his shoulders, her fingers pressing tightly against his body. She reveled in the feel of the rippling muscles that tensed beneath the fabric.

“Do you want to know why Ji Hoon is so attached to me?” she whispered softly, confidently.

Her eyes held his while he allowed her fingers to dance against the planes of his body. She dragged her fingers towards the expanse of his muscular chest and began to unbutton the top three buttons, revealing a breathtaking glance of his sculpted chest.

“Because he never had all of me.”

There was intrigue in his eyes, a sense of relief that Ji Hoon had only been blessed with kissing her and had never been gifted with anything beyond a kiss. “You’re a virgin?”