The flicker in his eyes wasn’t a surprise. I knew Hades well enough to understand what he wanted. What he enjoyed. He didn’t care about the pancake or how it tasted. He cared that I’d made it just for him. He cared that I’d taken the time to cut a bite and feed it to him. He absolutely loved the intimacy of sharing it and the fork.
No one had ever shown him this level of familiarity and consideration.
As I’d told him once before, he wouldn’t be happy if I’d simply given him my body and nothing else. He wanted more from me. And I wanted to give it.
“So, where are we going to go after this?” I asked, handing him his fork so I could start on the omelette that Zotera had made.
“There is an island I remember that I would like to see again.”
“Okay. Then that’s where we’ll go.”
“Am I going?” Zotera asked hesitantly.
“Of course,” I said. “We wouldn’t leave you home alone.”
“Would you prefer to spend more time with Eugene?” Hades asked.
“Yes, please,” she said quickly.
I glanced at Hades. “So, just the two of us? Is that smart?”
“Do you doubt my ability to protect you?”
The edge in his voice had me rolling my eyes. “Eat your pancake, Hades, before I take it back for being prickly.”
He scowled at me and quickly took another bite while I poured myself a glass of milk and made a mental note to reorder groceries since we were almost out.
“And for the record, I don’t doubt you,” I said. “However, when there’s two of them and one of you, I know that creates a limitation. Instead of chasing down whoever you see, you’d need to stay with me, which prolongs this limbo we’re in.”
“Wisdom and beauty,” he said with a sigh. “Shall we ask Megan and Oanen to accompany us?”
I picked up my phone to send Megan a quick text.
Me: Are you up for another potentially dangerous double date day?
Megan: Hell yes! We’ll be there in fifteen.
“Megan and Oanen agreed,” I said, setting my phone down and grinning at Zotera. “You’re off the hook. Should I let Eugene know to expect you?”
She shook her head. “I like surprising him.”
We had breakfast finished and cleaned up and a grocery order placed for later by the time Megan arrived. She hellgated Zotera and another omelette to Eugene’s house and returned while shaking her head.
“Never thought I’d see someone more affectionate than Fenris.”
“What happened?”
“She jumped on Eugene and kissed every inch of his face before he knew what was happening. Once he knew who was attacking him, he just stood there and grinned.”
“He’s living his best life,” Oanen said. “Who wouldn’t love that level of affection?”
“I’ll let Fenris know you said that,” Megan said with a smirk.
“That’s just mean,” Oanen said with no heat.
“Are we ready?” she asked. Her gaze caught on what I was wearing, and she looked down at her jeans and jacket. “Am I overdressed?”
“I have no idea where we’re going,” I said, taking Hades’ arm. “Today’s a Hades’ day. His pick.”
