“It will,” Hades agreed. He looked out for them both, guiding Aaren to the lawyer’s office while Aaren still had his nose buried in his phone.
The sheer amount of trust that Aaren placed in him... Hades’ insides swelled with pride.
Varian met them in a small meeting room in a neatly pressed suit. “I received the statement from your evaluator. Everything checks out, so I’ve made the necessary adjustments to your contract, Aaren. Here’s the revised version—with Hades’ name instead of Ballus’. When this is filed with the court and approved, I’ll forward it to your contract lawyer.”
Aaren nodded, flipping through the printed pages. Before Hades could brace himself, Aaren’s eyebrows crawled up his forehead.
“Peterson Scalding Jr.?” Aaren blurted, his eyes glued to the new name on the contract.
Hades winced. “That name did not age well, did it?”
“I see why you’d rather go with Hades,” Aaren said solemnly. “Especially since there’s nothing junior about you.” He glanced at Hades’ hips.
Hades coughed lightly. They had woken up together this morning, and Hades had spent some time knotting Aaren thoroughly. In fact, his ears might still be ringing from how loud Aaren had been.
Varian cleared his throat. “Sign here, please.”
Aaren signed. Varian left to make copies of the contract.
When he returned, he smiled. “It’s been submitted to the court; I’ll email you when they’ve accepted it. That shouldn’t take too long.”
His confidence settled the nerves in Hades’ stomach. Not that Hades showed any outward sign of it.
“And now I can dump Ballus?” Aaren said hopefully.
“I’d wait ‘til we have confirmation that your new contract has been accepted,” Varian said. “But if you make a move before then, it probably wouldn’t present much of an issue.”
Aaren nodded solemnly.
“Thanks for all your help,” Hades said.
“Anytime,” Varian said, walking them to the door.
Just before they stepped out, Aaren turned to Varian. “Hey! You actually know our evaluator, don’t you? Gable. He has the same tattoo that you and Fury have on your wrists.”
Hades raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t noticed it. Then again, he hadn’t been sitting across the restaurant table from Gable.
Varian smiled. “Yes, we know each other. I just didn’t want to seem too familiar with him, since you and I are meeting in a professional context.”
“Good to know. Anyway, it was great meeting you. Bye!” Aaren all but dragged Hades out of the office.
“Sharp eyes, sweetheart,” Hades praised.
Aaren blushed and shrugged. “Tattoos are interesting. I like looking at yours.”
That made Hades preen. “You can look at them whenever you like.”
“I have already lovingly rubbed my eyeballs all over you,” Aaren said. And winced.
Hades’ heart skipped. Did Aaren really mean the L-word? Best to discuss it some other time, because Aaren—
Aaren was now vibrating, clutching Hades’ forearm and looking as though he might shake out of his skin. “I’m almost free!”
“What do you want to do with the rest of your things at Ballus’ place?”
Aaren paused in his wriggle-dance. “What are the chances that we can sneak in and out without being caught?”
“You tell me.”
