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“I drew first blood. Why the fuck would I leave now?” She has more fight than I gave her credit for. It’s no matter, I’ll stamp it out quickly enough.
“Because, princess, this is no place for little rich girls. I don’t play nice.” I press my body against hers in an obvious threat. It’s empty, but she doesn’t know that.
“I don’t play at all. Get your fucking hands off of me.” Her knee comes up, but I block it before she makes contact with my balls.
“Bad, girl,” I growl, and for just a second, I swear her body responds to mine. She likes this. I’ll be sure to let Eros know, but my job is to torment her, not seduce her.
“Fuck you,” she bites out.
“Nah, brat isn’t my type. I like my women a little less desperate.” I let her go and take a step back, before turning and grabbing a towel for my nose.
It smarts, but it’s not too much blood. Maybe she didn’t break it. Perseus enters the kitchen before she can say anything.
“What’s going on here?” he asks.
“I want him gone.” Athena points at me.
“Nothing,” I answer Perseus, ignoring Athena as I pour a cup of coffee for him and one for myself and make his coffee just the way he likes.
“You need to leave my house. Now!” Athena demands.
I set down my coffee, about to lay into her again when Perseus turns on her.
“No,” he says simply.
“This is my house.”
“Not yet, it isn’t.” Perseus is in her face, his fists clenched at his sides, but he’s controlling his temper. “This house is still half mine until you screw up and lose it. Freya also stipulated that all of us get to live here. All of us have free rein in this house. I live here, Heph lives here. Eros lives here, and Paris will always be welcome to come and go as he pleases. If you don’t like it, then give up your claim and leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” She pushes him back, and I am on my feet in an instant in case she tries to take a swing at him. Athena doesn’t attack him. She doesn’t even leave the room. She steals my cup of coffee and sits back at the table, pulls a planner from her bag and a tablet, and starts typing away on her phone like I found her. “I will be spending the day planning this next party. If you have any allergies, please let me know now so I can make sure the caterers can put it in everything.” She levels a look at Perseus and me.
“I have shit to do,” Perseus says to me. “You good here?”
“Yup.” I take a seat at the table in front of Athena. “I’m just going to help the princess plan the party. Make sure she doesn’t kill you with shellfish.”
“Awe, no shellfish? What a shame,” she says, staring at her screen. I look behind her and Perseus winks at me. Normally, driving someone crazy isn’t my idea of a good time. But maybe this could be a little fun. There isn’t really anything I won’t do for Perseus. I owe him everything.
The rest of the day I make sure I am wherever Athena is like an annoying fucking shadow.
She wants to hire a grounds crew. I tell her no. We have a grounds crew. They just need a list of what needs to be done.
“Just give me the list, and I will get it to them,” I say with a smirk.
“No, you won’t.” She doesn’t even look up at me. “You will toss it away, and nothing will get done.”
“Are you saying I’m lazy?” I lower my voice issuing an obvious challenge. She takes the bait just like I knew she would.
“No, I’m saying you’re dishonest. I’m saying you’re a dick who doesn’t give a fuck what happens to anyone but himself. So no, I will not be accepting your help.”
I cross my arms and wait just a beat. The grounds crew are here and just outside the door. It’s their morning routine to fill up their water bottles and get some coffee before they start the day. I know this, but Athena doesn’t.
As soon as I am sure they can hear us clearly, I say, “Look, princess, this house has a full staff. The grounds crew we have will take care of everything you need. They are the best at what they do. You just need to let me know what needs to be done.”
“Everything,” she snaps. “Everything needs to be done. And the best?” She huffs. “Hardly. Best at being incompetent maybe. The grounds are a mess. The hedges are overgrown and shabby looking, the lawn desperately needs to be mowed and—”
“I’m sorry Miss, but Freya preferred the grounds to look wild. She had us tending to the plants to see they were healthy, and the gardens in the very back,” Myra, the head of the ground keepers, says, her daughter Polly behind her grabbing her skirts and hiding from Athena. “But if there is anything you would like changed, we just need to know, and we will handle it. My crew has been tending this house for almost five years. There is no better crew for this estate.”
