Page 100 of Lost

* * *

“Want me to go get the champagne for you now?” Kevin stood uncomfortably just inside the closed door of Aphrodite’s opulent bedchamber.

“Hell no. I have plenty of champagne. I’m not a barbarian.” She nodded to the kitchenette off the sitting room exquisitely decorated with an amethyst velvet couch and matching chairs embroidered with silver thread that depicted a triple moon. “Well. Don’t just stand there. Get in the shower and wash that nasty stink off. Put on those new pajamas. Then we’ll talk.”

“But. Um. It’ll be dawn in…” he paused, connecting to his internal clock. “Less than two hours. I need to go somewhere safe to sleep.”

She sighed. “I said you’re my soldier now. You stay here.”

“Here, here?” Like his eyes had a will of their own, his gaze went to the huge canopy bed clearly visible through open French doors.

“Seriously? You think you’re sleeping in my bed?” Aphrodite rolled her eyes.

“No! No way. I wouldn’t presume. Ever. But where am I sleeping?”

“I have a super luxurious walk-in closet. There aren’t any windows in there. Or, you can sleep in my soaking tub. Take your pick.”

“How about the couch?”

“There are windows out here.”

His gaze went to them. “Aren’t those purple velvet curtains black outs?”

She sighed. “Fine. Yes. This once you can sleep on the couchifyou really don’t stink andifyou don’t snore. I can’t stand a snorer.”

“I promise I don’t stink, and I don’t think I snore. But I’ve never slept with anyone, so I can’t promise that.”

Aphrodite’s cornflower blue eyes found his. “So, you’re a virgin.”

Kevin’s cheeks flamed hot. “Well, yeah. I am.”

“Huh. Interesting. Get in the shower.”

She shooed him toward a closed door, through which he gladly escaped to find himself in a marble bathroom that was so white and so clean that he didn’t want to touch anything.

“Do you want something to eat? I’m going to call the kitchen,” Aphrodite called through the door.

“Um, yeah. I’ll eat about anything. And, uh, could you get me a bottle of—”

“Blood. I figured as much. Oh, and put those awful clothes you have on in a laundry bag under the sink. Tie it tight and remember to throw it away tomorrow. Super gross.”

“Yeah, okay. No problem.” Kevin didn’t know what else to say to that, so he stripped, easily finding an empty laundry bag, and pulling the drawstring tight.

Then he entered heaven.

Her shower was enclosed in circular glass, and it had one of those giant round showerheads that made it feel like Kevin was in a fantastical rainstorm. There were also showerheads that spouted from the walls, and when he flipped a switch, streams of hot water cascaded at him, hitting all over his body. She, of course, had soap that felt like silk and smelled like almonds and honey.

He wanted to stay in there for hours, but he could almost feel Aphrodite’s impatience, so he forced himself to hurry as he quickly lathered again and again, until every trace of the stinking blood goop had left his skin.

Kevin dried with a violet towel so big and so fluffy he could have used it as a blanket. Then he put on the new sweatpants and T-shirt and stuck his damp head hesitantly out into the room.

On the glass coffee table in front of the couch, Aphrodite had put a tray filled with a big sandwich, chips, and a tall glass of warm red blood that had his mouth watering.

“Come on out; it’s just me. I never let any of the servants in here while I’m home. They clean and whatnot only when I’m out. And I make them leave my food deliveries outside the door on a silver tray table.” She shrugged. “Yes, I know. I like decadence. Not apologizing for it.”

On sock feet, Kevin padded into the sitting room to find Aphrodite dressed in comfy-looking yoga pants and a white sweatshirt withWILD FEMINISTblazed across her chest. She was curled up on one of the embroidered velvet chairs, sipping champagne and nibbling on a cracker that had little black balls on it.

He sniffed in her general direction. “That smells fishy. What is it?”