Page 68 of Learn My Lesson
“Yes. Not just a bargain with you, a bargain with one another.” Hercules smiles and it’s so sweet, it washes over me like golden sunlight. “The three of us on equal ground, such as it is.”
I find myself holding my breath. Hades doesn’t make us wait long. “A bargain it is, then. A mutual claiming.”
“Sounds kinky,” I murmur.
He chuckles. “When you’re healed, it will be. Until then, we seal it with a kiss.” He brushes his lips softly against mine and then repeats the move with Hercules. Hercules presses a quick kiss to my lips and stands.
My heart is so fucking full, I can barely stand it. “I think this is the best bargain I’ve ever made.”
“The feeling is entirely mutual.” Hades lifts me into his arms. “Come on, love. Let’s get you in bed.”
It’s not as graceful as we’ve been in the past. The pain meds haven’t quite kicked in yet, and I’m moving like a person three times my age. They bracket me in, warming me, comforting me with their bodies better than they ever could with their words. Surrounded by the two men I love, the two men who love me, something inside me relaxes, and despite my pain, I draw my first full breath in what feels like years.
This is right. This is exactly where we’re meant to be.
This is fucking perfect.
1 Zeus is the type of dude to use a magnifying glass to set ants on fire…but figure out how to do it in such a way that they don’t die quickly. Knowing the suffering he’s caused Hades is more satisfying than a quick death.
2 Allecto’s thing for lights is a direct result of my siting through MANY monologue sessions about lights from the Mister.
3 Neon Gods would be a very different book if Hades had made a different choice here…
4 If you look back through my series, there are a LOT of cranky doctors with crappy bedside manners. Apparently that’s a thing I love deeply.
ONE-MONTH ANNIVERSARY
MEG
“People don’t celebrate one-month anniversaries.”
Hades gives me the look that statement no doubt deserves. “You’re arguing just for the sake of arguing, love.”
He’s not wrong. The last four weeks with Hades and Hercules have been a whirlwind of bliss. Even as a rational part of my mind tries to convince me that we’re simply in the honeymoon stage, that reality will filter in at some point, it never quite gains traction. I’m too damn happy to poke holes in our relationship. It’s almost a relief to realize it. I don’t have to pick things apart. Challenges will arise, but we’ll deal with them just like we dealt with the hurdles at the beginning.
I shiver as Hercules runs his fingers through my hair and presses them against my temples, massaging gently. I’m sitting between his thighs on the bed as we watch Hades get dressed. He has a meeting this morning with Isabelle Belmonte, the youngest daughter of the Man in Black. I’m very curious to hear what’s brought her here. She and her sisters never visit the Underworld, but that doesn’t stop the rumor mill from churning, especially when this is the woman who led both Beast and Gaeton around by their cocks before dumping them and escalating their rivalry into true enmity.?1
Or that’s how the story goes. Only those three know the full truth. Those three…and perhaps Hades.
Hercules moves to the tense spots at the base of my skull and I can’t hold back a little moan. He chuckles. “Let us have our fun, Meg.”
As if I would tell them no. Not about something like this, a small celebration of how right things are finally going for us. More, it’s an official statement of our relationship to the rest of Carver City. Everyone knows we’re together. Tonight will inform them that we are permanent.
I relax back into Hercules and fight to open my eyes. “A public scene.”
“Mmm.” Hades finishes buttoning his shirt and picks up his jacket. “It’s time to let our world know Hercules is ours in truth.”
“I suppose if we’re going to celebrate a made-up anniversary, this is an excellent way to go about it.”?2
“I suspected you’d see things our way.” He crosses to the bed and presses a quick kiss to my mouth and then does the same to Hercules. “No fucking, you two. I want you fresh tonight.” And then he’s gone, leaving the suite and us to our own devices.
Hercules loops an arm around my waist and hauls me back into his lap. He sets his teeth against the sensitive spot where my neck meets my shoulder. “Thank you.”
“You both knew I was going to say yes.”
“Yep.” He hooks my thigh and guides my legs wide over his. “Didn’t have a single doubt.”
“Uh-huh.” I press my lips together as he cups my pussy and eases two fingers into me. “You’re being disobedient.”
