Insatiable (Inferno Games #3)

34. Who’s In Charge Now?

QUINN

Holy shit! “Dade?”

I can barely breathe as his name leaves my lips, my heart pounding in my chest. There he is, trapped in a cage, his wings folded tightly around him in the cramped space, but his face… his face lights up with the most un-Dadelike grin I’ve ever seen when he spots me.

“Valentine!”

I don’t think. My feet move on their own, racing across the room so fast I nearly slip on the slick marble. Nothing else matters. The world shrinks to just me and him, and I can’t get to him fast enough.

“How did you get here?” My voice is breathless, almost shaking.

“My girlfriend happens to be a genius.”

His words are light, teasing, but I can hear the relief behind them. I fumble with my Hell Cell, unlocking the cage with trembling hands. The second it clicks open, I don’t hesitate—I throw myself into him, crashing against his body with a force that knocks the wind out of both of us.

Our lips meet in a desperate collision. It’s not soft, not gentle. It’s raw and hungry, every emotion we’ve buried, every fear and hope crashing together in that kiss. His hands are in my hair, pulling me closer, as if he’s afraid I’ll disappear. I feel the warmth of his wings as they unfold, wrapping around us like a shield from the rest of the world.

“Fuck,” I whisper against his lips, pulling back just enough to look at him. My fingers trace the line of his jaw, memorizing every inch of him, like I’m trying to convince myself he’s really here. “I thought I lost you.”

Dade’s eyes soften, his thumb brushing across my cheek. “You didn’t. You never will. I will always come for you, Valentine.”

His words are a promise, but there’s something more—something deeper. I kiss him again, softer this time, the taste of him grounding me in a way nothing else ever could. Each kiss is like a lifeline, tethering me back to reality, to him.

I pull him closer, my body melting into his as our kiss deepens. It’s fierce, burning with everything we’ve been through—survival, fear, love—and it makes my heart ache in the best way. The world around us fades, and for a moment, it’s just him and me, tangled in a kiss that says everything words can’t.

“I love you,” I whisper against his lips, feeling the truth of it down to my bones.

“Let’s get out of this cage and you can show me just how much,” he teases.

“I don’t know,” I say, looking him up and down. He’s wearing nothing but a gold cloth. Beneath the pair of us is a gold cushion.

“I think I want you to fuck me in here.”

The moment I say it, his eyes turn gold and his face slackens. “As you wish.”

He starts pawing at my clothes with no finesse. It’s almost robotic in his movements.

It’s not sexy. He rips away my shirt, exposing my bra. “Dade! Stop!”

His eyes flash again before settling into a deep, familiar black-brown, the wild intensity gone as quickly as it appeared. I push myself up and stumble out of the cage, clutching the torn remnants of my shirt around my shoulders. I can’t stop staring at him, barely able to reconcile the person I thought I knew with this altered version of him.

“Sorry, my Valentine,” he says softly, a grimace flickering across his face. “They’ve cursed me. I’m compelled to do whatever you say. I have no control over myself when you give me directions. It’s... my punishment for coming to find you.” He pulls himself from the cage and stands before me. His aura is dark, but warm. “It is my curse to bear, not yours. I shall leave and find somewhere else to be until I can control myself around you.”

“Don’t even think about it, Dade Angelis. I’ve never been able to control myself around you. Not once, not ever. It’s about time you saw what it’s like to be so completely under another’s spell.”

Dade’s eyes flicker with lust. “I have always been under your spell, Valentine. You have always enslaved my heart.” His voice deepens into a growl. “It’s just that this…”

“Could actually be fun?” I interject, a teasing smile playing on my lips.

This time when Dade kisses me, it’s tender, his lips soft and apologetic against mine. The shift in him is immediate, and I can feel the difference in every brush of his fingers along my skin. His kiss isn’t rushed or desperate now; it’s slow, reverent, like he’s trying to pour everything he feels into it—his regret, his longing, his love.

He looks down and notices a scratch on my breast where he was too heavy handed with ripping my shirt.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispers against my lips, his forehead resting against mine. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He leans down and plants a soft kiss on my breast where the faint lines of his fingernails scratched me.

“I know,” I interrupt softly, pulling him up. I cup his face in my hands, forcing him to look at me. “You don’t have to apologize. None of this is your fault.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he murmurs, his voice raw. “But I can’t control this.”

For a moment, we just stand there, wrapped in each other. His arms come around me, protective and warm, and for the first time since stepping into this tower, I feel safe. He presses his lips to my forehead, then pulls back just enough to look at me.

“So you’re saying you have to do whatever I say?” I say with a sly grin.

“Valentine,” he warns, but there’s no anger in it.

“If I told you to lie on the bed, you’d have to do it?”

“I guess there’s only one way to find out.”

I lick my lips. This is going to be interesting.

“Dade?”

“Valentine?”

“Go and lie on the bed. And while you’re at it, take that stupid gold loin cloth off.”

His eyes flash gold and he does exactly as I say, albeit in a mechanical way. The end result is the same, though. He’s naked and in my bed. Exactly where I want him.

“I could have some fun with this,” I giggle, inspecting his erect penis. I climb on top of him, noting his black-brown eyes. “Just kiss me.”

I lean down to kiss him, but the moment my lips touch his, I feel the tension beneath his skin. It’s not the heated anticipation I’m used to—it’s something different. His hands move up to my hips, but the way they grip me feels forced, mechanical. The gold flash in his eyes from a moment ago still lingers, and it unsettles me.

I pull back slightly, hovering over him. “Dade?”

His gaze softens, but there’s an edge there, like he’s fighting against something. “Valentine, I want you—always—but this isn’t me. It’s the curse. I can’t be what you need when I have no control. You need to stop telling me what to do. Trust that I want to do it, anyway. You have no idea.”

The raw honesty in his voice cuts through my playful mood, and I can feel the weight of his words settle between us. I was teasing, thinking we could have fun with this, but now it feels wrong. Like the curse is trying to strip away what makes us, us.

I brush a hand through his hair, sighing as I shift off him. “I want you, Dade. Not this curse. Not some puppet controlled by Hell.”

His hands slide up to my waist, this time gentle, real, and he pulls me back down to him, his lips brushing against my forehead. “There’s nothing in this infernal curse that means I can’t command you though, he says playfully, lifting me up and gently lowering me onto him. I let out a long sigh that turns into a moan as he thrusts his hips up, catching me off guard.

“Who’s in charge now?” he asks, gripping my waist. I couldn’t get away from him even if I wanted to, which I most definitely don’t.

“You are,” I whisper, leaning into him. I’m more than happy to let him lead and as he shifts us round so that he’s on top, I know I prefer it this way. Dade’s hands tighten around my waist as he moves us effortlessly, shifting his weight to hover above me. His breath is hot against my neck as he whispers, “That’s right. I’m in charge now.” There’s a playful growl in his voice, but it’s laced with desire, and it sends a shiver down my spine.

His hips press into me with a slow, deliberate rhythm, each movement drawing out a gasp from my lips. I reach up, fingers tangling in his hair as I pull him closer, needing more of him, needing to feel the connection we’ve fought so hard for. Every thrust pulls me deeper into the moment, the heat between us building until it’s all I can focus on.

Dade’s gaze locks onto mine, and I can see the intensity there, but it’s no longer forced. This is us—no curse, no commands—just pure, unfiltered desire. His lips find mine, and the kiss is hungry, full of passion, his hands exploring every inch of me as if he’s trying to memorize me.

“I’ve got you,” he murmurs against my lips, his voice low and full of promise. And he does. Completely.

Afterwards, breathless and sweaty, with me cocooned in his arms, I listen to him tell me how he got past the hellbeast in the exact way I told Tate. Tears fill my eyes when I find out that my best friends are here and are back in the games, albeit as slaves like Dade.

“I need to go find them. I’d like you to come with me, But I’m not going to ask you to.”

He kisses my nose and slips out of bed. “You don’t have to command me to do the right thing, Valentine. I wouldn’t be here without them. We also need to get you some food. Your stomach gurgling almost put me off my stride earlier.”

“I’ve not eaten,” I admit. I’m starving.

I head to the wardrobe and find a dress that I’m pretty sure I’ve seen on the cover of a fashion magazine before now. When I look for something for Dade, I come up empty. “There are no clothes in here for you. Didn’t they give you anything to wear?” I peek around the door to find Dade holding up the hideous gold loin cloth. “I think they expect me to wear this. It’s a mark of a slave.”

I laugh before realizing he’s being serious. “You can’t wear that. You’ll have to wear one of the suits in here. They are all my size, so they’ll be a squeeze, but anything is better than that.”

I throw him the biggest pair of pants I can find, but the second he tries stepping into them, they disappear in his hands. I throw him another pair and the same thing happens. I find both pairs hanging back up in my closet as though neither of us had touched them.

“It’s this infernal slave curse they’ve got me under,” Dade growls as a shirt of mine disappears into thin air and somehow finds itself back on a hanger in my closet. Reluctantly, he puts the loincloth back on.

With his long dark hair and his black wings, not to mention the dark expression on his face, he does look sexy as all hell. If he was planning to stay in my room all day, it would be fine, but out in public. Dade is the most private person I know and this will kill him.

“How about I go out on my own and get us both some food? I’ll see what I can do about the clothes situation too.”

Dade looks murderous, but he nods his head. Being on his own in a room isn’t the problem. Dade has always liked his own company, but being forced to do it, is not something he’s going to cope with.

Downstairs, I'm once again struck by awe at the grandeur around me. In life, I cleaned the houses of the rich, but this place makes those look like hovels. It’s palatial, every detail dripping with wealth. Under any other circumstances, I’d be floored to be in a place like this. But here, it’s just a fa?ade—a pretty shell over the ugly truth. In these games, it doesn’t matter how luxurious the surroundings are. A jewel-encrusted knife can kill you just as easily as a rusty one.

I don’t know where Juliette, Rowena, or Tate have been assigned, so I head toward the row of restaurants to see if they’re inside. I try a few places before I hear shouting behind me. I pause, listening closely, and there it is—that voice I’d recognize anywhere. Felix. Probably in another screaming match with Anthura. My stomach growls, a sharp reminder that I came here to get food. I’ve never been this hungry in my life. But something in Felix’s tone gives me pause. It’s raw, more heated than usual.

I shouldn’t care. After everything he did—what happened to Jenny, the way he treated all of us—I should walk away. But he could’ve killed me in the Labyrinth, and he didn’t. That complicates things.

With a heavy sigh, I turn and follow the sound of Felix’s voice, cursing myself for caring. It’s coming from near the platform entrance and the back stairs. I ease the door open slightly and peek through. My blood boils instantly at what I see.

One of the male contestants is standing there holding a leash—a leash attached to a choker around Rowena’s neck. She’s dressed in a ridiculous gold bikini, shivering in the cold. Without her usual floaty dresses, the swell of her pregnant belly is painfully obvious. It’s disgusting, humiliating, and infuriating all at once.

I gasp, then clasp my hand to my mouth. I know I should storm in, rip that leash from the bastard’s hand and beat him to a pulp. But something holds me back. Felix's voice, sharp and full of anger, cuts through the air again, and I realize he must be just out of my view.

“Let her go or I swear to God I’ll rip your windpipe from your throat and strangle you with it.” I’ve never cheered for Felix in anything, but I’m cheering silently now.

The man doesn’t even flinch. “You’ve got your own hot piece of ass,” he says, nodding to someone just out of view. “Leave me to do what I will with mine.”

Felix is like a bur as he barrels into the man, knocking them both to the floor. Both men seem evenly matched, but it’s weird to see Felix fist fighting. He spent his entire life having staff to fight his fights for him so he could keep his hands clean. His hands aren’t clean now. He’s like a man unhinged as he pummels the other man. But the other man is fighting back. I grit my teeth as I watch the pair. Felix gets him in a chokehold.

“Rowena. Go jump off the first flight of stairs,” The man manages to grit out.

Almost as soon as the words leave his mouth, Rowena turns towards the stairs, her eyes a gleaming gold. The sound of the leash hits each step as she starts upwards.

“Shit!” I barrel fully through the door and race up the stairs after her, passing someone next to the stairs.

“Rowena stop!” I cry out, but her eyes remain gold and she continues on. I try holding her back, but she’s stronger than I am. “Stop!” I cry, pulling on her arm. Tears roll down my face as she drags me from step to step.

“Command her to stop!” Felix yells out and I’m not sure if he’s talking to me or the lunatic he’s holding by the throat.

“I can’t!” I yell back.

“Command her to stop or I will fucking end you. Do you hear me?”

The lunatic laughs, a strange high-pitched laugh, but doesn’t say the words to make Ro stop. We’re almost at the top of the first landing. It’s about twenty feet from the ground. If she falls, she might survive, but it’s unlikely. I grip onto her with all my might, forcing myself between Ro and the edge. Her eyes glisten unnaturally, but I know she sees me despite the compulsion. If she takes a step forward now, we’re both going over the edge.

“Rowena!” I plead, my face wet with tears. “Please don’t do this. You’ll be killing your baby!”

A solitary tear streaks down her face, but she presses forward. First I go over the edge, then right after, she follows.

There’s an almighty scream.

Half a second later, I fall on something soft and it takes a few seconds to realize Dade has me in his arm. Ro is holding onto his other arm, sobbing loudly now that the spell is broken.

“I heard you yelling stop,” Dade explains as he flies us both back up to the landing we’d fallen from.

“You are fucking dead meat!”

I glance down to see Felix pound his fist into the man’s nose. Blood spurts everywhere, but Felix doesn’t stop.

“Felix!” Ro shouts out, causing him to momentarily pause.

“Don’t kill him. You’ll be out of the games.

Felix looks insane with madness, but there’s something in his voice that lets the man go. The man’s head drops to the side. He’s not dead, but he’s unconscious, which means Ro is safe for now.

“We need to get him to a hospital,” Ro whispers.

I look at her incredulously. “He tried to kill you.”

Before she can respond, Felix charges up the stairs, positioning himself protectively between us.

“Ro. You nearly fucking died. I almost lost you.”

“But you didn’t.”

Felix’s hands tremble, and I can see the storm brewing in his eyes. His chest rises and falls rapidly as he takes in Ro, making sure she’s still standing, still breathing.

“That monster doesn’t deserve our mercy,” Felix growls, glancing back at the unconscious man. “What if he wakes up? What if he comes after you again?”

“And what if they throw you out of the games?”

“I would relinquish my place in the games if it meant keeping you safe. I will not let him touch you again.” Felix clenches his jaw. The fire in his eyes flickers as he grapples with her words. “I’d rather burn this whole fucking place down than see you hurt.”

“I know,” she replies softly, reaching out to place a hand on his arm, grounding him.

I grip onto Dade as Felix leans in and takes Ro in his arms and kisses her.

I want to feel happy that Felix has finally got his shit together where Rowena is concerned, but I can never forgive him for what he did to Jenny.

Ignoring the stab of pain in my heart watching them, I glance back down to the unconscious man and finally get a good look at the person Felix was with. The one I raced past in my desperation to get to Rowena before she threw herself off the landing.

My heart tightens and I can’t breathe. Standing on the floor below me, staring up at me, tears in her eyes, is the one person I came to Hell for. The other half of my soul.

“Jenny?” I say in a hoarse whisper. I’ve heard her voice before in Hell, but it wasn’t real. Maybe this isn’t real either.

But then she starts to run up the stairs, her long red hair bouncing behind her.

“Quinn!” She throws herself into my arms and grips me tightly. Tears pour from my face as I hug her. I’ve found her. I’ve finally found my baby sister.

“I thought you were in the seventh circle?” I finally manage to say I pull back and look at her sweet fifteen year old face, covered in tears and snot and the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen.

“I was, but yesterday they brought me here and put me in a cage in Felix’s room.”

“You’re Felix’s slave?” I glance over at Felix and my stare hardens.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt her. There’s only one woman I want, and I’ve finally got her.” Felix turns back to Rowena, a smile spreading across his face, and that’s when the anger in my chest ignites.

“That’s all well and good, but she’s the reason we all ended up here. You fucking raped her!”

“I literally met her for the first time about twenty minutes ago, Snowflake. I gave her a fucking burger. Does that sound like the act of a rapist to you?”

Anger boils though my chest. “I saw a photo of you and her together so don’t lie to me.” I pull Jenny to me and wrap her protectively in my arms. She’s wearing nothing but a gold bikini like Rowena. Whoever came up with this shit had some perverse Princess Leia fantasy.

“I. Have. Never. Met. Her. Before.” Felix nods towards Jenny. “Ask her if you don’t believe me.”

I know he’s lying. Maybe everything messes with my mind in Hell, but I saw the photo of them before I was shot. I turn to Jenny, hate how I’m exposing her to this. “Jenny. You know Felix right? Did he ever… hurt you?”

Jenny looks terrified. Slowly she turns her eyes to Felix then back to me. She lowers her head, nodding almost imperceptively.

I point a finger at Felix. “Don’t you dare come near my sister or me ever again.” My voice shakes, and angry tears stream down my face as I turn to Rowena.

“And if you even think about dating this disgusting asshole after everything he’s done, don’t expect us to be friends.”

With that, I take Jenny's hand and lead her up the stairs back to my room.