Chapter Thirty

“You can't go out with her,” Darius was saying when I entered the kitchen the next morning.

“Good morning, Amélie,” Declan said brightly.

“Good morning, angel,” Dominic added.

“Morning,” Darius muttered.

“Good morning,” I said and went to the teapot on the stove. They had hot water ready for me. “Thanks for this.” I poured some into a waiting mug and then selected a bag of tea from the many boxes laid out behind the mug. Alphabetically. I was betting that was Declan's doing. As I dunked my earl grey into my mug, I asked, “What's going on?”

“I was just telling Darius that we're going out on our first date tonight,” Declan said as he went to the stove and lifted the lid on a skillet. “Bacon and hashbrowns?”

“Yes, please,” I said.

“I'll make you some eggs,” Dominic offered. “How do you want them?”

“Over medium. Do you know what that is?”

“Whites cooked but yolk still runny?”

“Yep. Thank you.” I put some sugar in my tea, kissed Dom then Deck on their cheeks, and went to sit at the table where Darius grimaced at me. “What?”

“You can't go out with him tonight,” Darius said. “A god is after you. You need to stay here.”

“I never said that I was taking her off the property.” Declan sat down beside me. “I'm going to order delivery and we can have dinner in the garden. A night picnic.”

“I like that,” I said and bumped my shoulder into his. “Perfect.”

He grinned at me and my heart went wild. I had to take a deep breath, then a sip of tea. It was too early for my heart to get a workout. My brain needed to wake up first.

“We just strengthened the ward,” Darius said. “You'll have to go out to pick up the food.”

“They always call when they get to the gate,” Dominic said from over by the stove. “Deck can just meet the delivery driver out there.”

I lifted my brows at Darius as I took another sip of tea to hide my grin.

“Fine,” Darius huffed. “But Hades said to stay put while he investigated this god.”

“What else did he say?” I asked.

I had gone to bed as soon as we got home the night before, so I wasn't up when Darius got back from speaking to Hades. All I knew was that Darius decided to go alone so the other two could stay with me. It was considerate, and I had to remind myself of that, so his grumpiness didn't piss me off.

“He smiled when I told him what you learned. And it wasn't a good smile,” Darius said.

“He enjoys a good hunt as much as we do,” Dominic added. “He also helped to reinforce our ward. It should have been fine, even against a god, but since you're here, he wanted to be extra cautious.”

“It's nice that he cares,” I murmured, wondering if he really did. Did Hades believe that I was their mate too? And if so, how could I deny it? He was the one who had cast the spell. He would know when it worked. More importantly, did I even want to deny this anymore? Shit, I was even softening toward Darius.

“If you're going to spend time with Declan tonight, I'd like to spend some time with you today,” Darius said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“What was that?” I looked up from my tea as if I hadn't heard him. I was softening, but I couldn't help messing with him. It had become a habit.

“Will you—” He cleared his throat. “Would you like to stay in on a date with me?”

“Stay in on a date?”

“Instead of going out on one.”

“Right.” I grinned. “Sure. What would you like to do on our date?”

“Do you play chess?”

“Yes.”

“How about a game after breakfast?”

“All right.”

“That's your big date?” Dominic huffed. “You're going to seduce her with your chess skills? Way to go, Bobby Fischer.”

“Way to go on the really fucking old movie reference,” Declan drawled.

I snorted a laugh.

“Do you have a better idea?” Darius lifted a brow at Dominic.

“Yeah, I do.” Dom came to the table with the frying pan and slid a couple of fried eggs onto my plate, perfectly cooked. “First of all, food has to be a part of a date. It helps the hound bond—that whole providing sustenance for our mate thing.” He took the pan to the dishwasher, stuck it in, and came back to the table to sit down on the open chair on my right. “So, I'd cook a meal with her. Together. We could decide on the recipes, plan out the meal, prepare it, then enjoy it together.”

“Sounds wonderful,” I said. “How about lunch?”

Dominic beamed at me. “You're on. Come and get me when you're done with Darius. I'll have some recipes for you to pick from by then.”

“I like a man with a plan.” I leaned over and kissed him. This time, it was on the lips. Dom tried to make it more, but I pulled away when his lips started to part.

“Why does he get kisses?” Declan pouted dramatically.

“He got a kiss,” I clarified. “And you got one earlier.”

“He got a better kiss.” Declan's eyes twinkled.

“He's a bit ahead of you on the intimacy track.”

“Which is why you should be giving Declan and me priority,” Darius said. “I assumed our date would include lunch.”

“But you didn't say that,” Dominic pointed out.

“Don't start again,” Declan said to them. “Amélie has agreed to give us a chance. If you screw this up, I swear I will write the word 'Fool' on your foreheads in permanent marker while you sleep.”

I snickered, then leaned over and kissed Declan's cheek. “You're movin' up the track.”

Declan grinned at me. “Nippin' at Dom's heels?”

“The heels you should nip are mine.” I winked at him. “Maybe you can work your way up from there too.”

“I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff,” Dominic said. “Are we talking about some light spanking and bondage or something a bit more intense? Cause I'm down. And I mean either way. If you want to tie me up and slap my ass, we can do that. I'd even wear a dog collar for you.” He held up his hands like paws and barked. “Or I can buy us one of those bondage chairs. Or tables. Or beds. Whatever they're called. Fuck, if I know, I've never done that shit before. But for you, I'll try anything.”

I burst out laughing. “Take a breath, Dom.” I blinked. “Dom. Oh, God, even your name is perfect for S&M.”

“So, that's a yes?” he asked eagerly.

“She was just teasing me, Dominic.” Declan rolled his eyes. “Gods, you are lucky that she ended up with you first.”

“She likes to laugh,” Dom said. “And I'm the funny one. We're all lucky that I ended up with her first.”

“Your modesty is humbling,” Darius said dryly.

I burst into another round of laughter.

“Declan's sense of humor is more mature and nuanced. You're a fucking frat boy.” Darius stood up and came around the table to hold his hand out to me. “Grab your tea, angel. It's time to play.”

I lifted my brows at Darius as I picked up my tea. “Oooo, that was sexy. You have my attention.”

“Hey!” Dominic growled. “Angel is my nickname for her. You don't get to slither in and snatch it up, Slytherin. She saved me, not you.”

With a surprising tenderness, Darius looked at me and said, “She's going to save us all, Dom.”