Page 23 of Hades

My cheeks heat at his admission. I do not want to have sex with Hades, but knowing I can get his attention does things to me.

It’s been far too long since I’ve been with anyone.

“Keep looking, but you’ll never get to touch. So are you going to eat with me or no?” I turn and ask him.

“Sure. My gut can take some food poisoning.”

“I can cook.” I glare at him.

“Ramen doesn’t count, Princess.”

“Fine, do you want to cook?”

He laughs even harder. “It’d be the same result. We could order in.”

“So some stranger can poison us?” I quirk a brow.

“I’ll taste test everything so if anyone dies, it’s me. Besides, you’re the doctor. Maybe you can save me.”

I roll my eyes.

“Fine, order something. I’m not picky. I’m going to shower and change.”

I leave him in the living room to go do as I said. It doesn’t take me long to shower and change, feeling much better as I do.

When I come out to the living room, Hades is there with the food set out and some comedy movie on the TV.

“What did we get?” I ask.

“Tacos. Figured you can’t go wrong there. Got a variety.”

I look down and see a bite taken out of each of them.

“Did you really try every one of them?”

He nods. “I still feel fine, so I think we are safe.”

It’s actually kind of sweet that he was willing to risk himself like that for me. I mean, it’s his job as my bodyguard, but still.

“Thanks.”

I sit down and pick out two tacos and some rice as I settle into the couch.

He makes his own plate, and we eat in comfortable silence. He laughs at the movie, making me smile. Once we are both done, I clean up and join him back on the couch.

“I didn’t think you knew how to laugh for real,” I tell him.

“I haven’t done much of it for a while, but I remember,” he mutters.

“I have always wondered…” I trail off.

“Just ask. Everyone always does,” he says, all humor gone.

“Why did you go nomad?”

He looks down at his hands. “You go nomad either voluntarily or you are sent there because you betrayed your club but not bad enough to lose the patch. I know many who chose to go nomad to escape their pasts or find a new future…”

“You were exiled,” I say, not needing him to spell it out for me.