“What the hell,” Ballus snarled.
Aaren sped up, ducking out of sight. He felt like he could fly and he couldn’t stop smiling.
A few moments later, Hades fell into step beside him. “That was fucking gorgeous.Youwere fucking gorgeous.”
Aaren wriggled. “Thanks for the fries. They made me so happy. And the cheesecake too.”
“Good,” Hades purred. He slid his arm around Aaren’s waist and led him out of the mall.
It was only when they were safely ensconced in Hades’ car, that Aaren gave in to his guilty feelings. “Did I leave a huge mess at the restaurant?”
Hades huffed. “That was not your fault. Ballus used you as an excuse to pick a fight with the staff. His pride wouldn’t let him back down and admit his mistake. I was so damn tempted to pay their bill, to shove it in his face, but I wasn’t going to make the staff deal with him blowing up. Gable said he would handle it. Good guy.”
“Yeah, he was great,” Aaren said. “I’m glad he’s the one doing the eval.”
“Same.” Hades reached over the center console and took Aaren’s hand, lifting it to kiss his knuckles. Aaren’s heart skipped. Hades’ touch was warm and sturdy, and the look in his eyes...
Hades was kissing him, suddenly, soft lips slanting against his own, his tongue sliding against Aaren’s.
“Fuck, when you pulled that mic drop on my sandwich, all I could think was, ‘That’s my omega.’ I was so proud of you.”
Aaren shivered. “Really? But it was because you were there, that I felt brave enough to do it. I knew you wouldn’t mind me stealing your sandwich.”
“You can steal all my sandwiches, sweetheart. As long as it makes you happy.”
Aaren grinned against Hades’ mouth, leaning into the kiss.
It was only when Hades pulled away, that Aaren remembered they were still in the mall parking lot. Ballus was probably around somewhere.
“I think we’re real close to getting Ballus off your tail,” Hades said.
Aaren’s heart skipped. “Yeah.”
With luck, things would go smoothly, and he would get Hades on his contract instead. One whole year with Hades—what would that be like?
And by the end of that year, they would have a baby.
Aaren scrubbed his palms on his thighs, trying to get rid of his nervous sweat.
The thing was, Aaren didn’t just have his own inexperience to worry about. What if Ballus discovered that Aaren was pregnant? With Hades’ baby?
Would he attack Aaren physically?
Before he could ask what Hades thought, Ballus stormed out of the fancy mall.
Aaren sank low in his seat, hoping he’d gotten low enough that Ballus couldn’t see him. Hades drove them out of there.
He couldn’t erase the squirming doubt in his belly, though.
28
HADES
This all felt a little surreal.
If you had asked Hades a month ago where he saw himself now, his answer wouldn’t have been ‘Going to visit a lawyer with an omega I knocked up.’
And yet.
