Page 111 of Junkyard Dog

Charlotte led him to the bathroom and paused. “Remember that right now we have doubles of some things.”

She sat on the edge of the bed and bit her lip as he stuck his head into the bathroom, shrugging when he saw the cluttered counter. “We’ll just move all that into the vanity and it’s fine.” He flicked open the mirrored door to prove his point, closing it without a word and checking the cabinet under the sink. “If you ever doubt my commitment to you, I want you to remember that you tucked the razor I put to my face under the drain trap.”

“Promise,” she said, her giddiness returning as he closed the bathroom door and looked around the bedroom. “I had to move a few of your shirts over there to get my work clothes in the closet, but I think I made it all fit.”

She opened each door with a flourish, revealing stacks of clothes he couldn’t remember ever seeing before.

“Do you even wear those?” he asked, pointing at a pile of bright T-shirts neatly folded and stacked to the top of a cabinet.

“I might.”

He licked his lips and scanned the room. “I’m impressed. You made it work.”

She crawled across the bed and rose up on her knees, running her hands up his chest. “You sure you’re good with this? We aren’t moving too fast, are we? I’m not pushing you on this, am I? I mean, we’re slowing down after this, so—”

“If anyone’s pushing anything, it’s Seph.” He grinned, thinking back to the week prior when his mistress had stormed into the tavern demanding to know why a month had gone by without a wedding, completely aghast to learn human relationships didn’t progress at the same speed those of the gods did.

“I dislike these self-imposed timelines, Alexandros. Love is love and I want an excuse to wear a new dress.”

It had taken a lot of reassurances that her hard-fought negotiations with Hades hadn’t been in vain.

Recalling the heated discussion, his eyes widened and they flicked to the small drawer beside his bed.

Charlotte followed his panicked gaze. “Oh, I didn’t touch anything in there. I figured that was your personal space.”

“Ah, yeah,” he said, toeing off his shoes and kicking them into the kitchen, smirking when her attention flashed away from the drawer toward his sneakers, her eyes narrowing. He bent down to kiss her, making a mental note to move the engagement ring from his bedside drawer to the safe at work for a few more months.

Epilogue

Alex bit backa groan as Seph straightened the hem of his sleeve and turned, continuing her appraisal of the grounds of his new home. “Perhaps I should have supplied you with a bust of myself to auction off instead of one of Dio’s. Then you could have purchased a dwelling with brighter grass.”

“It’s a desert, Seph.” He sighed, his mood lifting as Charlotte’s coupe pulled into the driveway, Max’s truck hot on her bumper. “Do you at least like the house?”

Looking up at him, she reached up and tucked his hair behind his ear. “You did well, honey. I’ll be by another day to see what I can do with the grounds.”

Charlotte skipped up alongside them, curtseying quickly before linking her arm in his and kissing his cheek. “So? Don’t you love it? Did Alex show you the paint chips we were looking at?”

Persephone lifted a perfectly sculpted brow, stepping aside as Max jogged over to them and openly stared at the goddess. “He informed me pink was off the table,” she stated, hands on her hips. “I recommend holding out on the gray palette he favors until he relents.”

“I’m right here, Seph,” he reminded her, wrapping his arm around Charlotte’s waist and pulling her in tight.

“Then you understand you are both outnumbered and overpowered.” When Max opened his mouth to speak, Seph tilted her head and gave him a devastating smile. “Young Max here agrees with me, don’t you, dear?”

“Damn right, I do.”

With a quick kiss on Max’s cheek and a wink at Charlotte, Seph strode out of the yard.

“You have the hottest MILF in town, Alex,” Max muttered, finally tearing his eyes of the gate the goddess had disappeared through. “I’m dropping your boxes onto the driveway and taking off.” He cracked his knuckles with a sly grin. “I gotta date with the receptionist from the dealership doing my brakes.”

Charlotte swatted at her partner’s shoulder before she rose up on her toes and wrapped her arms around Alex’s neck. “Thanks for the help, Max,” she called out, her attention snapping back to Alex as she licked her lips and kissed his jawline. “I’m willing to give on the paint if you don’t put up a fight about those pink throw cushions I want for the living room.” Before he could respond, she pressed against him and wound her fingers through his hair. “And I get to pick the bedding.”

Glancing over his shoulder to ensure Max was out of view, he slid his hands up her ribs, ghosting his fingers over the sides of her breasts. “Do I get to decide how we break in that new bedding?”

“Of course.”

“Can we have a few practice sessions before it arrives?” he murmured as he nuzzled her throat, the brown fence of the property line catching his eye. “It wouldn’t be too cheesy if we painted that fence white, would it?”

The End

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