Page 88 of Sinful Mates

Hades sliced open a portal back to their Underworld and the three of them disappeared through it.

“Thought you could meet a new friend.” Zethan rubbed my back.

Oh, he was sweet under all that darkness and death. “I had fun… besides meeting you know who.”

My mate brought me close, shielding my body from the entrance. “That prick’s dead.” His voice came out low and like a weapon of death. “He could have come to us, man to fucking man, and had it out with us. Sort out the shit. Now’s he signed his death warrant.”

Wrong topic to bring up.

I played with my mate’s ear-length sandy hair. “Let’s not let him ruin our night.” I switched to a lighter topic. “Am I the only one dreading dinner at Hades’ palace?”

A long groan rumbled in his throat. “That’ll be … interesting. My money’s on Slade leaving dead.”

“Mine, too.” We shared a smile, his like the sun emerging from behind dark clouds, basking me in the warmth after a cold, unforgiving winter.

Zethan rocked me from side to side and I relished his warmth and strength. “Hungry, baby?”

Not really. Meeting Colton welcomed a ruthless winter into my stomach that chased away any appetite. “Yes,” I lied, because my mate went to all this effort.

Zethan released me, held out his arm, letting me link mine with his. “This way, my queen.”

CHAPTER30

Zethan

Candles,check. Flowers, check. Dinner cooked and not burned, check. Musicians playing flutes and lyres, check. Mate beside me at the long dining table, check. Four guards at the doorway, another ten on the other side, check. If Colton planned a siege, then he had to get through them first.

Aliyah smiled at the servants delivering platters of fruits, meats, vegetables, and wine, a fucking vision in her white, pleated dress, bronzed skin, and kohled eyes that automatically appeared on every human that entered the Underworld.

The switch up from jeans to dress was a drastic change, and I couldn’t stop admiring or touching my mate. She leaned into the palm I pressed to her cheek and kissed it. Shockwaves pulsed from my chest to my core.

Her gaze roamed my body, the flexing muscles, pale skin begging for more sun, and exposed scars, leaving a trail of fire everywhere she touched me. On Earth, they were ugly and shameful. Here, they were a symbol of strength, the power to defy death and rise above it. By the way my mate’s eyes appreciated me, she felt the same. I fucking loved how she saw beyond the flaws to the man below.

“I didn’t take you for a romantic,” my mate teased, popping a date in my mouth.

I crushed that fucker between my teeth, remembering Slade’s quip at my attempts at romance with Liz.“You’re as romantic as roadkill!”

Fuck that asshole, he was right. I was the least amorous of Aaliyah’s four mates. Didn’t know how to court a woman or the first thing to say to her to win her heart. I might as well have been a caveman clubbing her over the head and dragging her away.

Alaric gave me sage advice before our date. Start simple and small. Dinner and candles. Meaning two, maximum.

Yet the Underworld staff went overboard. One hundred or more burned around us, the food and the flowers, hiking my nerves. Any one of them could catch on fire and harm my mate or me. Like I needed more scars on my fucking body.

A servant delivered a platter of honeyed cakes for us to snack on. Overkill with the damn table full of food.

“No more,” I ordered, gesturing at the twenty or so platters. “This is enough to feed an army.”

Millions went hungry the world over, some dying from starvation. Souls that came to my door, and I refused to dine like a fucking asshole king while others suffered.

“Yes, my king.” The servant bowed and backed away.

“Clear some of the candles away too.” I made a sweep of my hand over them to avoid knocking them over.

The servant timidly stepped up and blew four out, carrying them away.

Aaliyah set a hand on my arm, infusing her calm and love through my skin. “Everything okay? You seem tense.” She said the last word softly to ease it.

“Fine, baby.” I forced my jaw to relax and gave her a softer smile, probably as awkward as a damn mummy risen from a tomb with an unhinged chin.

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