“It’s fine. I overstepped.” Hades looked sincere. “Why don’t you make me food, I’ll make you a drink, and we’ll call it even?”
“Okay.” Aaren took a deep breath to center himself. “Okay. Do you have any food allergies, or things you hate?”
“No allergies. But I do hate okra. Hate it with the heat of a thousand burning suns.” Hades bared his teeth.
Aaren laughed. “Did they make you eat okra in prison?”
He froze, thinking maybe he shouldn’t mention the ex-con thing. But Hades scrunched up his face.
“Ugh.Fuck prison food. That’s the worst thing about prison, really.”
“Not the other scary alphas? Or being bored?”
“I had friends with me. My cellmate Jag ended up becoming my sworn brother, and so did the guys across from us, Storm and Fury. It was... a bit of an extended vacation, just without the scenery or paid time off.”
Aaren couldn’t wrap his mind around that.
“Do you have the ingredients for hot chocolate?” Hades asked, changing the subject.
“Yeah, milk’s in the fridge.” Aaren stood in front of the fridge, watching as Hades peeked into the cabinets. Hades found the saucepan and set it on the stove. Then he approached Aaren, raising his eyebrows.
“Oh,” Aaren said, shuffling aside.
There wasn’t enough space in the kitchen. Hades stopped in front of him, just inches away.
“Excuse me,” Hades murmured. He gently grasped Aaren’s hips and moved him out of the way. The heat of his hands burned through Aaren’s pajamas.
He watched in stunned silence as Hades rummaged in the fridge, grabbing the milk. Then, as though he hadn’t just touched another alpha’s omega, Hades strode over to the stove, pouring milk into the saucepan.
The alpha grinned over his shoulder, capping the milk. “Gonna watch me all night?”
Aaren snapped out of his daze. “Oh. That’s right. I’m supposed to cook for you.”
Hades huffed. He stepped closer, this time brushing past Aaren’s arm as he returned the milk to the fridge.
He couldn’t be doing it on purpose. The kitchen was just too small.
Aaren made himself open the fridge again.Focus!He needed to make something good, well worth the two hundred bucks thatHades had paid him. “I’m totally not distracted by the huge alpha in my kitchen.”
Hades laughed quietly.
There was one tray of steak in the fridge, but that was for Ballus’ dinner. Aaren had no time to run to the convenience store for extras, and besides, the meat there was terrible. What hedidhave was chicken breast and potatoes, sweet bell peppers and tomatoes.
“I have something in mind,” Aaren said slowly. “It’s not going to be some fancy three-course meal, but it will be tasty.”
“Perfect,” Hades rumbled.
Aaren spared a second to watch Hades stir the milk in the pot. He busied himself with food prep—trimming the skin and bones off the chicken breasts, slicing them into thin halves and dumping them into a plastic tub for a fast brine. He filled a pot with salt water and dropped some quartered potatoes in to boil.
“You’re stronger than you look,” Hades said quietly when Aaren heaved the pot of potatoes over to the stove.
“I boil bigger batches of potatoes at work,” Aaren grumbled. “It’s not just fat on me. I have muscles too.”
“Yeah?”
He felt the weight of Hades’ gaze on his body, sweeping up and down his limbs. When he glanced up, he found an appreciative look in the alpha’s eyes.
Aaren swallowed hard. He turned on the burner for the potatoes, then reached over to preheat the oven. This made his bare armbump against Hades’ elbow; there was a tattoo of something long and scaly under Hades’ shirt sleeve.
