Page 48 of For the Love of the Gods

That wasn’t going to happen, not when she cringed and fled before I could tell her I was nowhere near finished with her. Her head screwed back on when Raiden had interrupted. Not to mention the barely restrained regret that marred her beautiful face as she walked away from me.

My head wasn’t fully cleared, even though it should have been. I didn’t do this shit. Not with her.

She was the epitome of everything I hated, everything I didn’t trust. The fact that she was wrapped up in a distractingly beautiful package was just a side effect.

I valued loyalty and trust above everything else. Those I kept around knew that. I’d been burned by disloyal people twice. Twice had I lost those important to me because someone decided that their life wasn’t as valuable as power, as their own success.

And Rose was the perpetrator of one of those deaths. Whatever kindness she showed or other people backed was just a manipulation tactic. She was good at getting people to trust her, that was the point.

It should have hardened my resolve, but it only felt like it was cracking the glass, every touch or piece of information another splinter.

I needed to keep pushing, to see beyond that heart-breaking smile to the woman behind it. Then, I’d know how to get to her. Starting with pancakes.

My stomach grumbled at the thought. They’d be good, excellent. She was a brilliant cook, I’d give her that. I knew the invite extended to Raiden and I was a passing, ingenious offer, but I wanted breakfast, damnit.

I pulled a black hoodie over my head, leaving my flannel pants on, and followed the buttery scent hanging in the air outside my door. The closer I got to the kitchen, the easier I could hear the voices inside.

There were at least ten people there, if I guessed correctly. But my ears were specially attuned to one voice, melodic and honey-sweet, cutting through the others.

I heard that laugh of hers right before I stepped around the corner, and I had to take a deep breath to keep myself from getting hard.

Fuck, I was so screwed.

“Dominic, man, good for you to join us!”

“Good morning!”

“Hi, Dominic!”

“You look like hell.”

The greetings hit me from every direction as I stepped through the door, bombarding me before I could even match the sentence to its owner. There were eight people here, all sitting around the large oak table in the center of the room. Two spots were open at the head of the table and the seat next to it.

Great, now I was going to have to sit and smell the sweet oil Rose used on her hair and fight the urge to bury my nose in it.

Lukas sat at the opposite head, greeting me with a head nod and the sarcastic cheers of his coffee cup. That fucker definitely told me I looked like hell. Beside him sat Raiden and his husband Belen, their hands threaded together below the table.

Filling out that side of the table was a girl with a mess of curly black hair I didn’t recognize and Corrina. The Greek goddess of love gave me a smirk that carried so much innuendo with it I almost laughed.

On the other side of the table sat Jason Dionysus, Sabina Minerva, and Sebastian Apollo. I nodded in greeting, trying to force the morning frown off my face. I actually liked them.

“Good morning,” Rose said from the stove, funneling all my attention towards her.

She stood in front of a large griddle that covered two of the burners and was flipping the fluffiest pancakes I’d ever seen with expert precision.

My mouth watered.

At the pancakes, not at the way Rose’s pajama shorts exposed her long, tanned legs. She blushed as I approached, but didn’t drop her eyes from my face.

I was going to sit down, but I needed coffee first. I walked by her, bending down to drop a “Morning” right by her ear, before I started at my coffee.

I could hear Rose’s swallow and I fought a laugh. That was her tell. She may have fled, but she wasn’t unaffected.

“Alright, I’m making these pancakes, but that’s it. Put what you want on it,” Rose said as she plated another pancake on top of an already perilously-large stack.

Everyone jumped out of their seats and rushed to the countertop. Jason literally elbowed Lukas to get ahead of him. There were bowls of fruit and nuts and containers of syrup and jam crowding the marble. It looked damn good.

Plates were loaded up in record time, and I watched as everyone sat and restrained themselves. Raiden slid a plate in front of Belen and Jason in front of the girl with curly hair across from him. She gave him a curt nod, but a small smile.

---