Page 28 of Desired By Eros

The envy oozed out of Psyche’s sister. “Lord Eros, it must bore you though looking at old bones.” She laughed. “Only my dear, eccentric sister would find paleontology fun.”

“Paleoichnology,” Psyche said. “With a focus on paleoclimatology.”

Christine rolled her eyes. “Like I said, so boring. Surely you have better things to do? What are the parties at Mount Olympus like?”

‘Tedious.” He reached over and pretended to caress Psyche’s arm. Though his fingers never really touched her skin, from Christine’s point of view, it looked like an intimate caress. “But to answer your other question, no, I don’t find it boring at all. In fact, I find it fascinating. Not to mention stimulating.”

Cade let out a cough as he put his glass to his lips.

“Cade?” Artemis patted his back as he continued to choke. “Are you okay?”

“F-fine.” He wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Just went down the wrong pipe.” After clearing his throat a few times, he trained his gaze on Eros. “Fascinating, huh? Tell me, what’s your favorite dinosaur?”

“Well, that’s easy. It’s the—”Fuck. He went blank, turning up nothing. He was pretty sure Psyche had mentioned a few of them, but none popped up in his brain, so he said the first thing that came to mind. “The, uh, titanicsaurus, of course.”

“Titanosaur,” Psyche whispered.

“Right, thank you, darling,” he said. “The titanosaur. They have no toes, you know.”

Agnes placed her cutlery down, the clinking catching everyone’s attention. “Psyche, how are conditions at the dig site, and how is the management meeting your needs? Do you have a comfortable place to stay? Didn’t you say they would be providing housing?”

“Yes, but I opted to come in early this week and camp.”

“Camp?” Agnes’s voice pitched higher. “In a tent? But how do you sleep?” She tsked. “The synthetic fabrics on the sleeping bags must drive you nuts. And what if it gets cold and damp?” She clucked her tongue. “Send me your manager’s number, and I’ll take care of it.”

“I told you, I like camping.” Psyche’s shoulders dropped. “Please don’t call anyone.”

While Agnes’s concern for her sister was evident, Eros could see it was also stifling. “I assure you, Agnes, our tent was very warm and cozy.”

This time, it was Artemis who choked as she bit on a piece of potato. “E-excuse…me?” Even as her eyes watered, they were edged with a quiet fury.

“It was cold and raining,” Psyche began. “I couldn’t let him stay outside like he’d been doing the past few days. If he got sick, how would I be able to come back here?”

“See? It was a practical decision. Truly, it’s brought us closer together.”

“I didn’t realize gods got sick,” Agnes shot back.

“Occasionally,” he lied.

“So, how is your mother, by the way, Agnes?” Artemis began. “I haven’t seen her since that charity event in Seattle. It was such a nice ball.”

“She’s doing great,” Christine piped in. “And I was co-chair of the ball, did you know, Lady Artemis?”

“Really? Tell me more.”

Relief poured through him as Artemis steered the conversation away before Agnes could further pry into his business. Technically, no one outside the pack was supposed to know he was being punished, as the council didn’t want anyone to try and help him.

“So, when you—” A loud cry interrupted Artemis as she and Christine were talking about the centerpieces at the ball. “Liam’s awake. Oh dear—” A second, even louder one followed. “And he woke up Phoebe.” She made a motion to stand up, but to Eros’s surprise, Psyche spoke up.

“I’ll go check on them.” She pushed away from the chair, the legs scraping audibly on the wood floor.

“She’ll need help with both,” Artemis declared. “This won’t take?—”

“You stay,” Cade placed a hand on Artemis’s arm. “I’ll take care of it. You’ve already done a lot.” As he got up, the whites of his eyes glowed briefly as he looked fondly at her.

“Oh my,” Christine said once Cade was gone. “Is that how the mate bond manifests for your pack?”

“Yes.” Artemis’s eyebrows drew together. “Why? Isn’t it the same with yours?”

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