Chapter 35

Chapter

Thirty-Five

PERSEUS

“I hate this so much.” Eros leans back in his chair, his hands pressed to his eyes. We have been sitting at the breakfast table for the past four hours staring at these screens trying to trace payments and coming up empty.

“The good news is, this hacker didn’t touch all of my accounts.” I sit back in my chair and slam my computer closed.

“That helps us, how exactly?” Eros asks. I know he is tired and frustrated like I am, but the attitude is still not appreciated.

“It means I can make sure the staff here keep getting paid and we can hire someone else to figure this shit out. Someone far more versed in forensic accounting than we are. Our guy Max should have been on this, and we’re going to get his ass out here to fix this shit.”

“Thank fuck!” Eros shouts, closing his computer, too.

He is silent for a moment, but the way he is chewing his bottom lip tells me he wants to say something. He is just looking for the words. So I sit and wait for it.

“Do you think Paris…”

“You were pretty sure of it last night,” I point out, and he slams his hand on the table a few times.

“I was positive. I just knew it was him, but after seeing his eyes when I accused him of that… and after talking to Athena about all of it… I wasn’t so sure. But this…”

“I know.” I do .

I know exactly how that conflicting emotion in your gut feels. I have it every single time I look at Athena. I want her. I want to trust her, and I want to bring her in. And so does Heph. He even admitted last night as we kissed in the shower that he wasn’t sure if he was willing to give up women completely either. He, like me, doesn’t want to choose, and I see no reason we should. I just don’t know if I can let her in fully, no matter how much a part of me wants to.

Hopefully, spending time with her this afternoon has helped them get a little closer. There is still the whole matter of the inheritance between us, but that is a problem for later.

“Do you know someone we can hire?” Eros asks as he gets up to grab a drink from the fridge. He holds up a bottle of water, asking if I want one, too.

“Yeah,” I answer both questions at once. I catch the bottle in midair and take a long drink. “The lawyer that Freya used mentioned having an accountant brother-in-law. I figured I would reach out to him first.”

“Good deal. Make the call, then come out and join me on the patio.”

“Okay.” He walks off, and I make the calls.

I leave a message for Max to get his ass out here. I want to know where my fucking money has gone. Heads are going to roll, and I’ll start with my accountant who dropped the ball if I have to.

Before heading out to sit on the patio with Eros, I send Heph a message.

Perseus: Everything good there?

Heph: Yeah, we are good. The meds really help, but we don’t have a location for Paris yet. Athena is making calls to find an available place for Ellen to stay. It’s a good thing she thinks Athena is her to be daughter-in-law. Which is weird as fuck, but coming in handy at the moment.

Perseus: That is weird.

Heph: How about you guys, any luck?

What he means is if there is any proof. Heph, like me, does not want this to be all on Paris. Even the thought of that level of betrayal guts us both.

Perseus: Nothing yet either way. I have a professional looking at the accounts now. I’ll keep you updated.

Heph: Okay. Keep me posted.

Perseus: You too. I’ll see you tonight. My bed again or yours?

I can feel the heat rising to my cheeks.

Heph: My bed, but your ass.

I bite back a laugh as I type .

Perseus: Deal, but only after I get your mouth.

I put away my phone, grab two beers from the fridge, and go to meet Eros on the porch.

“So are we going to talk about it?” he asks, looking out over the back gardens.

“Talk about what?” I sit next to him and hand him one beer. We twist off the tops and flick them into the nearby garbage can before settling to look over the backyard. I hate to admit it, but since Athena took over the house and instructing the staff, this place looks stunning. It looks like something out of a fairy tale.

“How you’re going to make me pay for last night. How we both love the same girl, or how you and Heph finally fucked last night? Your pick.”

“How do you know Heph and I fucked?”

“I didn’t until just now.” He looks over at me with a huge grin. Cocky bastard. I answered the only one I knew wasn’t a minefield.

“I’m not in love with Athena.”

He glances over at me and gives me a bored expression. “If you are not already in love with her, then you are well on your way. It’s hard not to fall for a woman like that. I did try…”

This time I give him the bored look.

“Okay,” he adds. “I didn’t try very hard, but I tried a little bit.”

“I don’t know her well enough to love her, but I want her. I don’t think I have ever wanted to fight with a woman just to have her end up under me so I can take my frustrations out on her pussy more in my life.”

“Yeah, she is good at inspiring hate fucking.” Eros nods, taking a sip of his beer. “You know, when I asked her why she was still a virgin, I expected her to tell me it was none of my business, something sarcastic or even a non-answer. Do you know what she said?”

“She slapped you across the face and told you it’s because all men are disappointments,” I say, watching a butterfly land on some of the red flowers she had planted.

“No, well, kind of, but without the hit.” Eros takes a deep breath. “She told me she heard all the stories from women about not having their needs met, and how every woman wished that sometimes their lovers were different. That if they had a man who was kind and tender, they just wanted to be railed into next week, making them feel like they are desired and their man can’t control themselves around her. If they had a man who fucked them hard, they wanted one who could make soft, gentle love to them and make them feel cherished and loved. She said that she never wanted to choose. She has no interest in picking one man to fuck for the rest of her life. She said the men she has dated would never be okay with the idea of sharing her. Instead, they treated her like they owned her or had some exclusive rights to her body. Athena would never settle for one man, so she decided she wouldn’t have any.”

“Okay, then she had sex with you because…”

“She was dealing with intense emotions and decided to self-medicate with my dick.”

I spit out the beer that was in my mouth and started choking.

“You okay there buddy?” Eros pats my back while I try to regain my composure and the ability to breathe.

“Really?” I ask after I take a full breath. “That’s how you phrase that?”

“No, that is how she phrased that. At first, I felt a little used, but then I figured that just means I have a medical-grade dick.”

“Jesus Christ.” I laugh. “What the fuck am I going to do with you?”

“I’m hoping that you and I and the others are going to sort this shit with Paris out, whatever that means. Then we will pull Athena into our family and let her use all of us for our FDA-certified dicks and cuddles. I really enjoy cuddling her. It’s weird. I never liked that before. It always felt all gross and clingy, but now I am like fuck yes, give me the soft fuzzy blankets and all the pillows and my girl and I will cuddle her so hard.”

“I can’t with you right now, man.” The laughter makes me feel lighter than I have in a long time. It’s kind of nice, if I am being honest, but it doesn’t change the fact that some really awful shit had gone down, and I have this hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach that it is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.