Page 21 of Laverna

Would he come to his senses and regret what they had done? Would he wake up and be full of his old scorn? Laverna hadn't wanted to wait around to find out. She didn't regret it, and it had been consensual despite all the magic in the air. They would just have to ignore that it had happened, and things would be normal.

Romulus hadn't seemed mad when he came out of the temple room. He had looked sleepy and fuckable. Laverna shook the image from her brain. She would treat him like she did every other one-night stand. It would all be fine. So super and completely fine. Fuck.

Laverna put the ground beans into the espresso machine and took down fresh cups. Her body ached in a way that reminded her she'd had rough sex the night before, but she purposely ignored it.

They had witches to find, and Laverna and the wolves would be hunting that night. They had only been waiting for Romulus's final say on some of the plans. Claudius had called their contacts in the Carabinieri and sent out alerts, looking for any sighting of Canidia and her coven. They would continue to tighten the noose in the hope the witches would fuck up big enough, and they would have no choice but to reveal themselves. It was good to have Romulus's men and contacts help, but working with any kind of police made Laverna itchy. Her feelings weren't what was important; finding the missing kids was.

Laverna had seen Canidia's victims before. She knew what they were currently going through and the state they would find them in. Children had been taken from family outings at the archaeological park that stretched from the Colosseum to the Capitoline Museums. It could have been chosen purely for convenience's sake because it was always chaotic with visitors, and it was a maze of walkways between ancient structures. Lots of places for children to get lost and for kidnappers to hide in.

She had chosen to investigate there that night with some of her eyes on the street. They would take a look at Romulus's men and take off in the other direction. They had all been soldiers at one point, and it showed. Soldiers were too close to cops.

Laverna was so deep in thought, she didn't hear the kitchen door open or anyone come in until Romulus appeared, a bulk of warmth and power behind her. To her credit, she didn't squeak in surprise like a frightened mouse before a hungry wolf. She took a deep breath and glanced over her shoulder. He was in jeans and a T-shirt again, and she wished he didn't fill them out quite so well. When he wasn't in a suit, it made him seem like less of a douchebag, and the fact that he could be one was something that was dangerous for her to forget.

"Coffee?" she asked, trying to brush over her uneasy thoughts.

"Please," he replied. He was looking at her a little too intensely, and she wished that she had put on something more than a pair of old tights with a hole in the back of the knee. "Thank you for helping me last night. I don't want to think about what state I would have been in without you."

"You're welcome." Laverna filled a cup with steaming espresso and passed it to him. "I think that's the first time you've ever thanked me for anything, Romulus."

"I'm pretty sure it was the first time you helped me out of a problem and not created one for me. What happened to calling me Rom?" he replied with a frown. "I thought getting you to scream it for me last night meant we would be past the formalities."

Laverna's cheeks heated, and she returned to the machine to fix her cup. "Ah huh, you thought that, did you?"

"Really, Laverna? Are you going to pretend it never happened?" he demanded, sounding almost...hurt.

Laverna sipped her scalding coffee before turning back to face him. "I'm not pretending it never happened. I'm acting like it wasn't a big deal because it was nothing, and we have bigger things to worry about."

Romulus's glare was now truly spectacular. She would never figure out how his brain worked. What the hell was his problem?

"So it was what? A pity fuck because you felt sorry for me?" he demanded.

Laverna's brows shot up. "Firstly, I don't feel sorry for anyone who gets a chance to fuck me. Secondly, what is your fucking problem now? I'm trying to act like an adult about this, and you're acting like I just punched you in the nuts instead."

"Infuriating woman," he growled, stepping forward so she was pushed up against the counter. "It wasn't nothing, and I don't want you pretending otherwise." He leaned down until they were almost eye level, and her lips tingled in anticipation of a kiss. His breath was hot against them as he whispered, "Tell me you don't want to do it again."

Laverna's heart thrummed so loudly he could probably hear it. She couldn't lie to him by saying no, because she very much wanted to do it again. She just couldn't hold out hope that he would want her after whatever madness was currently gripping him had passed. He had been different around her for weeks, but that didn't mean he couldn't switch back to being a mean asshole and rip her heart to shreds. She didn't have that much heart left to risk it.

"We should get back to work," she said, her voice far too breathy.

"You can pretend as much as you like, goddess." Romulus tugged the collar of her shirt down to reveal the suck bruises he had left on her shoulders and chest. His eyes gleamed gold with wolf. "Those don't lie. My marks. Mine."

Laverna knocked his hand away. "Careful not to get too possessive there, Rom. I'm not about to put up with that shit from anyone, least of all you. I'm not going to become part of your pack or surrender to you, show my belly, or whatever the fuck your other submissive bitches are into."

Romulus only smiled and leaned in so his leg pressed between hers. Laverna bit back a whimper. He ran his cheek along hers and whispered in her ear. "Yes, you will, and you will love every single minute of what happens afterward." Then he was gone, leaving her still leaning against the counter for the support.

Laverna steadied her knees and reached into a cabinet where she kept a bottle of whiskey. She poured some into her coffee and took a large mouthful. She had no idea what to do with any of that, but she was starting to get a horrible feeling that Romulus really had lost his fucking mind.

14

The night was stormy and humid, and it made Laverna's mood increasingly bad. The one good thing the constant sprinkle of rain did was clear out most of the tourists who loved to linger around the archaeological park to take moody photos of broken columns in the shadowy light.

Laverna had seen it when the temples and streets had been new and alive. To her, the place felt like a graveyard. She thought of Jupiter and the other proud gods who thought they would rule forever.

Laverna had always been on the outskirts of all the pantheon dramas, and she had preferred it that way. Like Hermes, she managed to keep the major pantheons from giving her too much grief and stayed friends with the chthonic gods. They were both creatures of above and below. She idly wondered if he had noticed the key ring she had stolen from him during the twin's baby shower.

Laverna stared at the remains of the temple of Jupiter and lifted her middle finger up at it. It seemed like the gods and goddesses that had always been made into the outcasts had survived throughout the centuries when all the Jupiter's and Zeus's of the world had gone.

Good fucking riddance, Laverna thought. The world was better off without bullies, especially those with divine power to throw their influence around.

---