Lure of the Jaguar: Hades' Carnival, Book 7 by N.J. Walters

She had no idea what was happening, but she knew she didn’t want to be naked and any more vulnerable than she already was.
    An inky-black circle appeared in the corner of the room. With each passing second, it grew larger and larger and seemed to suck most of the light from the room. Toni rubbed her eyes, but it didn’t disappear. She wasn’t seeing things.
    A rush of pure menace slammed into her, and she scooted back on the mattress before she stopped herself. The hell with this. No way was she letting Stavros face whatever this threat was alone. She briefly wished her gun wasn’t tucked away safely in the trunk of her car.
    She slid from the bed and took a step toward Stavros. He never took his gaze off the swirling black hole, but she knew he sensed her movement.
    “Stay back,” he warned her.
    “What is it?” She had to know. It looked like some dark portal. She shivered as another wave of menace slammed into her.
    “Not what. Who.” Stavros held the sword hilt with both hands, the blade angled in front of him. “Hades has come for you.”
    Up until that moment, Toni realized a small part of her had doubted Stavros entire story in spite of everything she’d seen and experienced. But no more.
    Before she could ask Stavros any questions, a man stepped from the dark depths of the portal and it collapsed behind him, winking out of existence. He was tall with dark hair and midnight-black eyes. There was a cruel twist to his lips, which was echoed in his eyes. His face was all angles and planes. There was nothing soft about him. He wore a suit that had obviously been tailored to his lithe, muscular frame.
    “Hades.” Stavros called the man by name. No, not a man, a Greek god.
    Toni felt slightly lightheaded. She took a deep breath and then another. She’d been holding her breath and that wasn’t smart. An honest to god— No, scrap that. This guy was the real deal.
    Hades looked more like a CEO than a god. His shoes gleamed, his shirt was crisp and he even had a pocket square in flaming red tucked in his breast pocket.
    “Warrior.” The god inclined his head at Stavros and then turned his attention to her. Hades pinned her in place with his dark gaze. There were nightmares in those eyes, endless suffering and fear. In spite of her determination to be brave, Toni shivered as a sense of dread filled her.
    Hades smiled as if he knew the effect he was having on her and was pleased by it. Toni straightened her shoulders and glared back at him. Hades chuckled.
    “I’ve come for your little friend,” Hades informed Stavros.
    Stavros shook his head. “You can’t have her.” And then her warrior smiled. “In any event, you’re too late. I’ve already claimed her. Toni belongs to me.”
    The possessiveness in his voice sent a shiver down her spine. Her skin went clammy and she felt slightly ill. What did he mean that she belonged to him? She belonged to no man. She liked being single. Liked her life as it was. It was one thing to sleep with Stavros, but that was all it was—sex between two mutually consenting adults.
    She was lying to herself. Somehow, someway the jaguar has sneaked beneath her barriers and into her heart. Damn him.
    Red fire blazed in Hades’ eyes. The fires of Hell.
    Toni clenched her fists and stepped closer to Stavros, not so close she would impede him if he needed to swing that scary-looking sword, but close enough for him to know he wasn’t alone. She might fight with him later, but right now they were united against a common enemy.
    Hades hurled a bolt of lightning at her. Toni screamed. There was nowhere for her to go, no way for her to avoid being hit. It was instinctual to throw up her hands in front of her. It was a puny defense at best, and she knew she didn’t have a hope in hell of surviving. But the deadly blast never touched her. It seemed to ricochet against an indivisible barrier and deflect back at the god.
    Hades was thrown backward and crashed into the wall, crumbling