Page 80 of Junkyard Dog

Dio rolled his eyes and released Bo. “Let him settle in before you start spoiling him, Seph.”

Persephone’s long skirts billowed behind her as she scampered barefoot across the floor, wrapping her slender arms around Ryan’s and Alex’s necks. She burrowed her face in their fur, squeezing them tight. “You go freshen up and we’ll see you get a decent meal.” She glared back at Dionysus. “Poor thing’s thin.”

“He’s not thin,” Dio argued, offering his hand to assist her to her feet. “You’ve merely become accustomed to us burlier beasts, my dear.” He lowered a bowl of mead to Bo’s muzzle, patting his head when Bo dove into it.

Alex looked around the room, the luxurious tapestries and delicately carved pedestals adorned with statues and vases fashioned by the hands of favored artisans.

No pink.

No pilling blankets adorned with colorful cartoon characters.

No rows of photos hanging on the walls.

No intoxicating floral shampoo mingling with fruit-scented lotion.

No judgmental cat staring him down.

Home.

*

Alex snorted asBo squatted in his chiton to prove his point.

“Easy on, easy off,” Bo stated, tossing his chlamys over his shoulder and needlessly demonstrating the speed of removal for him. “No buttons to fuck around with. No zippers slicing your junk. On. Off. Done.”

Rolling his eyes, he sprawled out on the chaise, yanking at the fabric bunching under his leg as he called out to Ryan. “You ready yet? I’m pretty much done with the fashion lesson from Dior over here.”

Ryan groaned from the bathing room. “Give me five. How’s the knee?”

He straightened his leg, grimacing when the slightest shift in position shot fire through his nerves. “Not great.”

“Shouldn’t have gone in there,” Bo snarked, booting the chaise. “Maybe your laid-up ass will luck out and Iris’ll come by.”

All levity disappeared from his head as his mind ripped through images of the only woman he wanted to see. He locked his attention on the flawless lines of the marbled tile, focusing his thoughts on the perfection of his surroundings.

The chaise molded to him, the cushioning remaining in place as he shifted and turned.

The bath temperature was always ideal, never turning cool with time.

There was no scorching heat of the sun, no overworked air conditioners humming in the background.

“Ready?”

Ryan extended his hand, assisting him to his feet and steadying him before they began their trek toward the banquet hall and the tempting aromas that were drifting through the palace.

*

Bo grinned atAlex, a glass of wine in each hand and three of Dionysus’s less dedicated servants lounging at his side. He raked his eyes over Iris’s tiny form, licking his lips before smirking and lifting his glass to Alex.

Ryan and Hades sat at the end of the large banquet table, Persephone flitting around them as she refilled their plates with ripe berries and aged cheeses, stopping periodically to reprimand Hades on his perceived overindulgence in Dio’s wine. Her hand would stroke Ryan’s head absently as she passed him, a habit she’d acquired early during her time in the underworld when the brothers were confined to sharing a single body.

“May I?”

Alex blinked, returning his attention to Iris. “Excuse me?”

“Your wine.” She smiled. “May I refill it for you?”

Shaking his head, he placed the empty glass at his feet. “No thanks.” He glanced around the crowded hall. “Is it always this busy now?”

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