Page 52 of Art of the Hunt
He glanced her way. Artemis couldn’t read his expression, but she nodded anyway.
“No,” he said. “It was the fourth.”
“What is he talking about, sister?” Apollo demanded.
Hunter continued before Artemis could say anything. “Can you believe the guy who was trying to kill me was the owner of an ice cream truck? I thought for sure it was the guy from the massage parlor.”
Apollo furrowed his brow.
“I found out the guy from the massage parlor is in therapy,” Artemis supplied. “He’s seen the error of his ways.”
Hunter nodded. “That’s good. It gets frustrating, sometimes, fighting crime. Feels like you don’t always make a difference.”
Artemis stared at him. This was exactly Zeus’s reasoning for hanging that No Vacancy sign on the front door of Mount Olympus.
“But you have to believe,” Hunter added, his gaze sharpening, focusing on her and only her. “And you have to keep trying. You can’t give up.”
She slowly shook her head, their eyes locked. “I don’t ever want to give up.”
One side of his mouth lifted into a crooked smile. “Guess you won’t have to now.”
She launched out of her seat and straddled his lap, throwing her arms around his neck. “Does this mean you forgive me?”
His hands settled on her ass. She was peripherally aware of Apollo watching them. Hopefully, he didn’t lose his shit while she and Hunter were in the middle of making up.
“It means we still have a lot to talk about but…yes. I forgive you.”
“Oh, Hunter!” She kissed him, a smacking press of the lips quickly morphing into something highly inappropriate for the middle of a biker bar with her brother sitting nearby. She reluctantly broke the kiss. “I lo—”
“No.” Apollo slashed his hand through the air, magic sizzling in its wake. “For the love of Zeus, don’t say it. Not while I’m around.” He upended two of the shots, downing them both, and then stood, swiping the back of his hand across his mouth.
Artemis started to scramble off Hunter’s lap, but Apollo placed his hand on her shoulder, stopping her. “Stay. It’s obvious you’re comfortable there.” He paused. “It’s obvious you belong there.”
She blinked rapidly. This was the second time today she’d been near tears. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d cried before now. Hopefully, this wasn’t a side effect of falling in love with a human.
Apollo squeezed her shoulder. “Make sure you take care of each other. Treat him as an equal.”
She nodded. “Of course.”
Apollo’s features turned stern. “If he boasts about your chastity and I hear about it…”
She quickly shook her head. “He won’t.”
He smiled. It was warm, affectionate even.
And then he twined his arm around her neck, securing her in a headlock before rubbing his knuckles in her hair, effectively ruining her braid and turning the strands into something resembling a bird’s nest.
“You jerk,” she called out, prepared to summon her bow and teach him a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget.
Except he was gone, vanished, and Hunter’s hands were still on her ass, his gaze locked onto her face, and, honestly, she had better things to do than plot revenge against her brother for messing up her hair.
She had Hunter to do.
Chapter Seventeen
Artemis and Hunter strutted away from the scene of the crime, side by side. Artemis brushed her palms together while Hunter thrust his hands into the front pocket of his favorite jeans. The ones Artemis gave him after she’d given him immortality.
A second explosion burst behind them. Neither of them flinched. They just kept walking.
