Page 3 of Hades

“Learned your lesson?” I said in disbelief. “Sweetheart, just last week, you were riding my face—”

She made a noise of exasperation and shoved me in the chest.

“Oh, you bastard. You’re hopeless. Go!”

I laughed and caught her hands, rubbing my thumbs over her knuckles. She was so fucking cute when she blustered like this, insisting that she didn’t have feelings for me anymore and it was only sex to scratch a mutual itch. Just because she signed her name on the dotted line of those divorce papers clearly didn’t do a damn thing to cool the chemistry between us.

Another crash came from the kitchen. I groaned and reluctantly released Jenny’s hands. Marching into the kitchen, I found Casey standing on the counter, rising up on tiptoes to reach for the sweets I kept stashed on the top shelf of the cabinet. Boxes of pancake mix and cereal were scattered on the floor after getting knocked over.

I scooped him up, swinging him over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Your feet are supposed to stay on solid ground, you little monkey,” I said.

Casey giggled, giddy from the blood rushing to his head. He pointed at Mia.

“She dared me to do it!”

Mia gasped.

“I did not! That’s a lie!”

I heaved a sigh at their bickering. For the most part, they got along well enough. Mia was an angel, just like her mother, with the budding maturity of a ten-year-old. Casey had inherited my wild side. At five years old, he was a menace. Their personalities were on such vastly different ends of the spectrum that they were bound to clash occasionally.

Jenny emerged from the bedroom, patting her hair to make sure she was presentable.

“You two behave while I’m gone. Is that clear?”

Mia and Casey chorused their agreement together. Jenny cupped Mia’s face in her hands and kissed the top of her head. She ruffled Casey’s hair and tickled his tummy, making him squeal with laughter.

Then she turned to me, and her gaze caught on mine for a moment.

“If your date causes any problems, give me a call,” I said.

Jenny huffed with amusement and a knowing look.

“I bet you’d love that. Riding in on your Harley to sweep me off my feet like a knight in shining armor. In fact, you would take it a step further and get your entire club to ride along with you. The whole damn cavalry of tattooed, testosterone-fueled bikers would show up to rescue me.”

I smirked and took a step closer, gazing down at her.

“Sounds sexy, doesn’t it?”

The tip of Jenny’s tongue flicked out, wetting her lower lip. She hesitated for a split second before shaking her head.

“I’m not letting you ruin my date, Simon.” She busied herself with adjusting her wrap, diligently avoiding my gaze. “It’s been seven years since our divorce. I’m long overdue for this.”

I said nothing, biting my tongue. I wouldn’t stand in the way of my Jenny finding her happiness. Even if it was silently killing me.

When Jenny and I officially signed the paperwork that put an end to our marriage, something inside me just…snapped. I got drunk and stayed drunk for days in an effort to numb the suffocating pain.

Before my Jenny came along, I had never been in love. I hooked up for sex and nothing more. Marriage never crossed my mind. I didn’t know what it was like to crave the presence of someone who felt like a home.

Then I met her. And she lit up my life.

How the hell was I supposed to live without her?

For a while, I held out hope that I could do something—anything—to save our marriage. Our feelings for each other were still undeniably there.

Like last week, when I picked up takeout for dinner and brought it over. Jenny tried to act indifferent, aloof, unaffected by my presence.