Page 40 of I Dated a Retired Hero

“Get the hell out of here. I will handle this. Check on it again in five minutes or not, but I am powering up.”

Everyone scattered. She pulled in the radiation and opened the door. “Sergei! I don’t care what kind of tantrum you are throwing. Suck it in, or I will drain you so hard you will become a black hole.”

The tendrils thinned, and everyone was pale and locked in place at the table.

She walked to Zera. “Here’s your ice cream. And here’s the spoon.”

Zera grabbed her arm. “Thanks for being quick.”

“Well, not that quick. Feral got hers first, but she told me to get up here.” Sergei had his head in his hands. “What the hell happened to you?”

The general cleared his throat. “I suggested he choose another partner instead of you. He isn’t known for his fidelity, and our family has lines of mistresses.”

“I know. He was very forthcoming about that, but my parents died holding each other with smiles on their faces, and I know that it shaped my ideal of what love and partnership should be.”

The general cleared his throat. “Didn’t you kill your parents?”

She smiled and said something that no one had ever listened to. “My parents died because they saved me, but they died of radiation exposure in getting me to the cooling tank. It was the plutonium rods that did the damage. Not me. I was the cause but not the effect.”

Zera sat back, and the prefect grabbed the ice cream, opening the lid and digging in.

Dmitri said, “Thank you, Litha.”

“It’s okay. Sergei, come with me.”

He looked at her warily. “Why?”

“Because while I don’t normally reward bratty behaviour, you look like you need some ice cream. Come on, or I am going without you.”

She turned and walked out, hearing him scrambling behind her.

He touched her back, and she didn’t elbow him, so he kept the grip, and she led the way to the elevator.

“Litha, I am not good in small spaces yet.”

She looked at him. “I don’t want to do the stairs, so what will it take to get you in there with me?”

He paused and said, “May I hold you?”

“Sure.”

He brightened up, and when they got into the elevator, she pressed the main floor and then turned and plastered herself against him. “Is this distracting enough?”

Sergei smiled slowly. “Definitely. I apologize for my behaviour.”

“I am not the one that you were holding hostage. I would have just pulled you in and left you weak in the knees.”

He grinned. “Tempting. I would like to try that one day.”

She frowned. “Is this flirting?”

“Yes. Would you like me to notify you?”

“I am sure I will get the hang of it eventually.”

“Your side of the table offered a suggestion.”

The floors ticked by. “What was the suggestion?”

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