Page 64 of Trick or Stalk

That word does something strange to my stomach.

He crouches.

Penny immediately puts her paws on his knee.

His large hand moves over her head, gently and carefully.

This shouldn’t affect me. But it does.

“What's her name?”

“Penny.”

Something flickers in his eyes. Again, it’s gone too quickly for me to understand.

“Penny,” he repeats.

Her tail beats against the floor.

I smile. “She likes you.”

“I can see that.”

“She's usually a good judge of character.”

His hand stills against her fur.

For the first time, he smiles. It's small. Dark. And somehow makes him even more intimidating.

“Is she?”

My stomach flips. I have absolutely no idea why.

Penny licks his hand.

I sigh. “Apparently.”

He stands. “I'm Hades Jenkins.”

I stare at him. “Hades?”

“Yeah.”

“Like... god of the underworld Hades?”

His mouth twitches. “That's usually the one people mean.”

I blush. “I wasn't sure if there was another Hades I should know about.”

“There isn't.”

“Good. That would've been embarrassing.”

Even worse than it already is.

His eyes stay on me.

I'm starting to feel like he can see straight through me.