Page 6 of Hera

I really should not have done that.

His brothers burst into laughter. “So, I take it you turned her down?”

“Of course I did! She does not know me.” Augustine pulled on his shirt. He glanced at himself in the mirror, noticing his normally blue eyes of his human form were turning violet. He took a deep breath and forced his shift back, deep under his skin where it couldn’t be found. “I am going to go to the Athens Bar tonight. Do not wait up.”

“All right. Take care, Auggie,” Finley said.

“Yeah, yeah.” Augustine made a face at the phone after he hung up. His brothers meant well, but they were a tad overprotective. He did up the buttons on his shirt quickly.

They might be free from the witch’s curse that put us to sleep under the mountain, but they are not reallyliving.

He gathered the rest of his things in his duffel and headed out the back door of Valhalla’s Throne to avoid the crowds. Or more importantly, to avoid the sender of that note.

Granted, Augustine hadn’t dated in a very long time—millennia—but even so, he wasnota...

What was the phrase?

An end table?

He shook his head as he stalked down the street.

A one-night stand.

Even the phrase made the hair on the back of his neck prickle. He craved the connection with a woman, something that could not be rushed. Besides that, he couldn’t risk his dragon shifter status showing up in the midst of a passionate encounter with someone he didn’t trust one hundred percent.

The loud music and bright lights of Athens Bar drew him like a moth to a flame. Augustine soon found himself sitting at the polished bar with a drink in hand. He felt the tension leave his back muscles after he’d drained half the pint and he was finally able to tune into the conversations around him.

“Do you think we should allow more humans in?”

“I’m not sure... They would have to be thoroughly vetted beforehand. They won’t all turn out to be as accepting as Charles.”

“But if we did, we’d really be opening up the dating pool in Purgatory.”

“Do we really need to? Lucifer and Chloe didn’t need a human, and you can see how happy they are together.”

“But Demi would never have met her mate if Sharon hadn’t meddled and sent a human.”

Intrigued by the conversation, Augustine turned around on his bar stool and leaned backward against the solid wood. The two were both stunningly beautiful women, one dark and one fair.

The dark-haired one continued, “What kind of vetting are we talking about here? Personal recommendations from our people living topside?”

“To start.” The blonde nodded her agreement. “We can discuss further expansion if that goes well.”

“Maybe every second month can be a human-inclusive night. We should also put a little more effort into pushing it down here.”

Augustine suddenly found two pairs of stunning blue eyes fixed on him. The blonde smiled at him, her sharp teeth glinting in the lights behind the bar.

“Hello, honey, have you heard about our speed dating nights?”

“Speed dating? No, I do not think so,” Augustine said, suddenly feeling cornered even though the two women hadn’t left their seats.

“Don’t worry, dear, we don’t bite,” the brunette said. “Well, not without consent.” She winked. “I’m Aphrodite, and this is Eve.”

Aphrodite.

Augustine swallowed hard.

I know that name.

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