Page 68 of Dance of Ruin

“No.”

I startle, then smile when I turn to see Kratos filling the doorway to Bianca’s room. He’s wearing dark jeans and a plain black tee that do nothing to hide his massive size. His arms are crossed, tattoos clearly visible on both forearms.

He grins at me, then his eyes sweep the room like he’s assessing it for threats before he nods to himself, seemingly satisfied.

“Yeah, still no monsters, ninja assassins, or freak waves waiting for you to turn your back so they can get me, love,” Bianca sighs with a roll of her eyes.

Kratos gives her a look, but I can see a hint of smile on his lips as he crosses the room to her bed. He bends down, kissing her softly before he pulls away again and nods at me.

“How goes, Naomi?”

I get that Kratos terrifies most people. I mean, it’s like talking to a literal giant. He’s close to seven feet tall, arms as thick as my torso, shoulders as big as my head, and the rest of him is essentially made from iron.

It’s not like I activelytryto imagine my friends in intimate situations. But considering how petite Bianca is…

Yikes.

“Just stopping by to say hi to my girl here,” I grin.

“She play you the heartbeat yet?”

I grin. “Yeah.”

Kratos beams from ear to ear. “That’s the heartbeat of a Spartan warrior, I’m telling you.”

Bianca sighs. “And if it’s a girl?”

Her husband shrugs. “Stillgonna be a bad-ass motherfuckin’ Spartan warrior.”

Bianca and I both laugh.

“You wait, it’ll be triplet girls,” I eye him. “And they’llalldance.”

Kratos snorts. “If you’re trying to scare me, try harder. I’dloveall girls.” He nods thoughtfully, like he’s thinking about it. “I’d be agreatgirl-dad.”

Bianca rolls her eyes. “You understand that there’s more to the job besides scaring off boys?”

“Details, details,” he grumbles.

Just then, the door opens and a doctor walks in with two attending nurses, explaining that it’s time for routine bloodwork and a fetal stress panel.

“I’ll give you guys some privacy,” I say, leaning down to hug Bianca again, still trying to shove aside the guilt that I’m hooking up with her freaking brother.

“Come visit again soon?” she pleads.

I grin as I squeeze her again. “Obviously.”

14

NAOMI

It’swindy enough that I wish I’d brought a jacket when I fled my apartment earlier to avoid the mad prince.

Or that I hadn’t worn askirt

I quicken my pace, heading down 5thAvenue toward the wind-sheltered entrance to the back alley that runs behind the Mercury, where we all tend to congregate before rehearsal. For a second, I wonder about getting a coffee, but when another gust of wind blows up my damn skirt…again…I nuke that idea.

Instead, I pause just long enough to look longingly across the street toward Urban Grind Café. Maybe I can put on my puppy-dog face and convince Vaughn to go grab?—

---