Page 55 of Heroes & Hitmen
“Fine,” I grit out.
Only because he brought cupcakes.
We make our way over to the bench and I slide my messenger bag off my shoulder, dropping it on the seat and sinking down beside it. Settling the cupcake box on my lap, I try not to drool when I flip open the lid to scope out the sugary goodness inside.
“So, which one do you want?” Ares drawls as he plops down next to me, scooching in close and tossing an arm over my shoulders.
“What are you doing?” I grumble irritably, trying to shrug his arm away.
“Just showing the world how happy and in love we are,” he murmurs as he pulls me in even closer, the warmth of his body bleeding into mine.
Ah, sothat’swhat this is about.
In the privacy of our apartment, I can rebuff his advances all I want, but out in public, we’ve got a story to sell. One that Alpha has spun into a spectacle for the entire pack.
I glance out over the quad, suddenly all too aware of the curious stares aimed our way. Members of my pack who hardly looked my way before, suddenly far too interested in my life.
“There’s a fork in there, too,” Ares remarks, nudging me with his thigh. “Still think it’s a weird way to eat cupcakes, but also kinda cute since it’s you.”
I shake off the prickly feeling of being watched, looking down into the cupcake box again and spotting the little plastic fork.Dammit, he just scored another point.
“It’s not weird, it’s civilized,” I say defensively, reaching inside to claim the red velvet cupcake. I pass the box over to him, but he doesn’t help himself to the German chocolate, instead shifting the box onto the bench beside him and watching me intently as I peel back the wrapper and carve off a bite with the fork.
“So, wanna talk about the plan?” he asks, eyes glued to my mouth.
“Does that mean you’ve got one?” I reply absently between bites.
“Well, that depends.”
“On?”
“What you want.”
I stop chewing, eyes darting his way. I hate questions that I don’t know the answer to.
“The way I see it, we’ve got three options here,” Ares sighs, leaning back and kicking up an ankle to rest on his opposite knee. “The first, and my personal favorite, is that we lean into this whole thing, fall madly in love, and mate for real.”
I snort a laugh, nearly choking on my cupcake. “Hard pass. Option two?”
“We leave the city,” he replies.
“Didn’t Alpha already shut down your request to whisk me away to Colorado?” I question, cocking my head.
“Well yeah, but we could always go on the run, Bonnie and Clyde style,” he answers, wagging his brows.
“And then someone from home would have to take your place, which you said wasn’t an option,” I point out.
“Right,” he sighs, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Forgot about that part.”
I carve off another bite of cupcake, pretending not to notice how intensely he watches as I bring the fork to my lips. “What’s option three?”
His eyes ping back up to mine, the spark in them dimming. “We get you out, and I stay behind.”
I blink back at him as the words sink in, then shake my head. “If I disappear, Alpha comes after you,” I warn. “Maybe even your whole family.”
“Not if I play the part of the jilted lover, heartbroken that his daughter ran out on me,” Ares counters. “Might even let me out of my contract early to make up for it.”
I roll my eyes and stuff another bite of cupcake into my mouth, savoring the sweetness on my tongue. “Even if hedidbelieve you, there’s still a flaw in your plan,” I mumble.
