Wicked Games

WICKED GAMES HITCHED LIVE BOOK TWO G.K. DEROSA Copyright © 2023 Mystic Rose Press All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher, Mystic Rose Press. Print ISBN: Cover Designer: Carol Marques Published in 2023 by Mystic Rose Press Palm Beach, Florida www.gkderosa.com Created with Vellum To all the girls who have had their hearts broken and wanted a little sweet revenge ;) CONTENTS 1. Sharing A Bed with an Angel and a Devil 2. It’s Only Just Beginning 3. A Romantic Walk on the Beach—Kind Of 4. I’ll Take Eliminations with a Side of Crazy 5. Five Men and a Lady 6. From Warm & Fuzzies to Hot & Heavies 7. Faerie Flambé and Potent Pixie Dust 8. Ride that Tiger 9. Masseuses and Candlelight Missiles 10. What Are You? 11. The Bastard Prince, A Wolf, and A Tiger 12. Rainbow Waterfalls and Angel Kisses 13. Mauled by a Tiger or Wolf? 14. Keeping the Monster at Bay 15. Groveling 101 16. Stifling Urges and Murderous Tendencies 17. Three Goodbyes and a Portal 18. Home Sweet Hell 19. Hot and Bothered 20. Demon Balls 21. Three Demons and the Devil 22. Mind-blowing Morning After 23. Hello, Tiger 24. Skinny Dipping and Surprise Exes 25. Vampire Venom is Better than Sex 26. Being Selfless is Highly Overrated 27. Sneak Peek of Savage Love Also by G.K. DeRosa Acknowledgments About the Author 1 SHARING A BED WITH AN ANGEL AND A DEVIL I paced the length of my bedroom, fists clenching and unclenching at my sides. Holy shit. Jack was back. And in about three minutes, I’d have to sit through a date with him and Castiel. Talk about an awkward threesome. The producers really pulled out all the stops on this one. A quick knock at the door sent my heart catapulting up my throat. “They’re ready for you, Aspen.” My bodyguard’s deep voice seeped through the cracks between the timber. Squeezing my eyes shut, I inhaled deeply. Flashes of Castiel’s mangled body filled my vision. The blood. So much blood. My lids jolted open, and I let out a strangled huff. I can’t do this. I couldn’t sit across from an attempted murderer and pretend everything was fine. Even if Jack had been compelled. No! It wasn’t his fault. He didn’t know what he was doing. I repeated it over and over, hoping it would sink in. Dante had compelled him—for who knew what reason. I just had to change my mindset. It wasn’t Jack’s hands that wielded the knife that ripped through Castiel’s flesh. No. It was Dante. “Aspen, everything all right?” Breck’s voice yanked me from my inner pep talk. “Be right out,” I shouted. Marching to the mirror, I took a quick glance at my reflection and frowned. Sure, the cute flowery sundress and strappy wedges were adorable, but despite Barney’s styling magic, the dark rings under my eyes popped through. I hadn’t slept a wink last night. Besides the whole date with a murderer thing, I couldn’t shake that weird moment with Knox. What had that been about? If Dax hadn’t appeared, would he have kissed me? Would I have let him? Ugh. Shaking my head out, I spun from the mirror and trudged to the door. I’d have to deal with Knox later. Right now, I had to keep two men from killing each other on this insane double date. With a quick wave to Breck, I strode past him and headed for the stairs. When I reached the landing, I hazarded a peek at the foyer below. My heart froze, all the air siphoning from my lungs as my eyes settled on the former SIA detainee. Jack hadn’t even been gone a week, but his appearance had changed markedly. I thought my raccoon eyes were bad until they focused on him. His hazel eyes were sunken in, a hollow look replacing the typical warmth. Deep purple bruises and partially healed cuts mottled his face. His clothes sagged off his emaciated body, and I sucked in a breath to keep my lungs pumping. Fuck. What had they done to him in prison? His eyes chased up to mine as if he’d sensed my gawking, but I quickly dropped my gaze before he caught me and compelled my feet down the steps. As I made the turn around the spiral staircase, I found Castiel scowling on the opposite side of the grand entrance. Oh, gods help me. This was going to be a fucking nightmare. I plastered on a smile and faced the angel bachelor. I hadn’t seen him much at all since his return from Celestia, the angel realm. Ignoring Jack, I marched straight for Castiel and drew him into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re back,” I whispered as I brushed my lips along his cheek. “Glad to be here.” His eyes flickered across the foyer to Jack. A never-ending moment of tense silence filled the space. Methyss sprang up from nowhere, and for once I was actually relieved to see him. He shot me his trademark crazed smile. “Hello, hello, Ms. Aspen. Isn’t this an exciting day?” He clapped his hands, bouncing up and down on his toes. “Two bachelors back for another chance at love!” I barely resisted the urge to growl at him. He placed his hand on the small of my back and pivoted me toward Jack. I kept my eyes down for as long as I could, but the weight of his gaze boring down on me was too much to ignore. I lifted my chin and met those weary, vacant eyes, and a pang of pity pummeled me to the core. “Won’t you say hello to our newly acquitted bachelor?” Methyss’ dark eyes lit up with mischief. “Innocent until proven guilty as they say.”