Page 8 of Lovesick Gods (Lovesick #1)

Danny tore his second sugar packet in two, showering granules all over the countertop. They were talking about him.

Cho and Lucy’s voices grew fainter as they moved further up the line. Backing up a few steps while he stirred his drink, Danny kept within hearing distance.

“Don’t you have a man to see about a job , sis, or you gonna pester me the whole way to getting my morning coffee?”

“I know you know his identity, Mickey. You know his haunts, his routine. The way you cased this place before we came in, I bet you chose this particular coffee shop on the off chance of seeing him again.”

Danny’s gut twisted like he’d been punched. He was lucky Cho hadn’t spotted him. He also realized that Lucy didn’t know his identity; Cho hadn’t told her. But her teasing wasn’t merely empty jokes. Cho’s reactions made it clear that she knew exactly what buttons she was pressing.

“When’s the last time you got laid anyway?”

“Can we drop this?” Cho grit out. “Do I look like I’m retiring any time soon? Our electric friend wouldn’t stoop to fraternizing with someone like me even if he does think I have a soft spot for this city.”

“You do have a soft spot for this city. And for him.”

“Lucy…”

“See ya later, Mickey. But if you’re not gonna try a little lightning any time soon, at least go for something with some bite.”

Danny pivoted to face away from the entrance as he felt Lucy breeze past him. He’d encountered her when he was Zeus many times. Gaia, she called herself, because she could create and control plant life large enough to wrap a grown man up like the next meal for a boa constrictor.

Awakening as an Elemental was often hereditary but not a guarantee.

Danny knew from Cho’s police file that he and his sister didn’t share the same mother, obvious only in Lucy’s paler skin tone.

Otherwise, they had striking similarities in their features—the shape of their eyes, the line of their noses, the dark color of their hair, though Lucy’s was bobbed at her chin shorter than her brother’s, and as an Earth Elemental, her eyes were brown.

Waiting a safe amount of time after she’d left, Danny darted back to the condiments counter to get a new lid. He took a sip to calm his nerves. Still terrible, but he’d risk being late now if it meant getting a fresh coffee and the chance to confront Cho.

He’d always assumed Cho’s subtle flirting was just to get a rise out of him. The man mocked him, lied to him, betrayed him. And all that, that got his crank turning? Even when he’d played nice with Danny in the past, he’d just been hoping to bend him over the nearest surface.

Cho wasn’t good or redeemable. When the city needed him, when Danny had needed him, he’d run away and hid, then dared to show his face right after and expected Danny to act like nothing had happened.

Cho just wanted to use Danny like everybody else.

Even Andre and Lynn wouldn’t look twice at him if he wasn’t Zeus.

Just like them, Cho only saw Danny suit deep, not even skin deep, just leather and lightning.

No one cared about Danny Grant. His past relationships proved that.

He’d never once been the one to end things; they’d always left him first. Vanessa left because he was too distant; he couldn’t tell her he was an Elemental, and it had only gotten worse after his mother’s death.

Before that, his last boyfriend had been sweet and soft and loving, but he couldn’t handle Danny’s intensity.

“Maybe I need someone who isn’t Lightning leaning,” he’d said.

Danny didn’t care what element someone was, but he didn’t want sweet or soft right now. He definitely didn’t want loving. He shouldn’t have to always be the lonely superhero that couldn’t be honest about who he was without putting people in danger.

Cho wouldn’t be in danger. He could take care of himself. Danny wouldn’t have to hide that he was Zeus. He wouldn’t have to hide anything, worry about anything. He could take what he wanted and blow off some of that steam rising steadily within him.

Turning around, he spotted Cho in line, halfway to the counter now. Cho was smooth and handsome and exuded sex appeal. It wasn’t as if Danny was blind to that. This could be everything he needed. And he’d finally get his revenge.

He started to walk forward.

Andre had told him not to break some poor girl’s heart. No worries there. At worst, Danny would get some no-strings-attached sex out of the deal. At best…well.

Wouldn’t it be something if he could swindle the unflinching Prometheus?

If he could get Cho to actually fall for him, head over heels in love with him, and then rip the rug out from under his feet?

It would be such sweet vengeance for what Cho had done to Danny.

A guy like him probably wouldn’t even feel it, but it would still be validating to finally be the one on top.

“Crap!” Danny said as he shouldered into Cho—purposely, but playing up that he’d tripped. “Sorry, shoot, I am so sorry, I just—Cho?!”

“Well, well…this is an expensive coat, Danny. I hope you’re planning on paying for that.” Cho smirked despite his words, amused at seeing Danny rather than upset that he now had coffee all down the left side of his trench coat.

Other than the mess Danny had made, Cho looked good .

He always did, always so slick and put together compared to Danny’s button-down, sweater, and seen-better-days blazer.

Today Cho looked like a businessman to better blend in with the crowd.

Blue suit, dark trench, shiny striped tie.

He wore glasses to veil his identity, and his dark hair hung loose to frame his face.

He was equal in height to Danny, both over six feet tall, but Cho was broader than Danny’s lankier frame.

The faint scent of cologne wafted up from him, and when Danny reminded himself of his goal, the scent and sight of the man made his gut burn hot with anticipation.

He feigned concern for the people around them and leaned in close to Cho. “What are you doing here? Lowering yourself to robbing coffee shops now?”

“Just passing through. Usually I’m a morning person, despite my frequent late nights, but even I need a shot of caffeine to get going.”

“Of course you’re a morning person,” Danny grumbled, honestly annoyed at that, but still playing into his game. “Well my morning is thoroughly ruined now, thanks.”

“I’m sure you can get back in line for another cup.”

“Was already planning to. The new girl doesn’t know what she’s doing.

” Danny subtly insinuated himself beside Cho in line.

To anyone watching they were just two friends catching up as they ran into each other on their way to work.

“Want a hint? Request for Esther to make your order. She’s been here forever. ”

Cho stared at Danny as he stood there, holding his now half-empty coffee cup and not making any attempts to move away. “Are you angling to budge in line, Sparky? That’s awfully villainous of you.”

Naturally, Cho fell into the pattern of their old banter—Danny barely had to make an effort. Pulling on a smile, he watched Cho’s expression shift into mild surprise. “It’s not budging if you’re going to pay for it.”

“And why would I do that?”

“You owe me,” Danny said, fighting to keep the loathing from his voice.

Cho shrugged, keeping his face neutral. “Wasn’t taking down the big bad alone more satisfying?”

Bristling on the inside, Danny focused on the task at hand. “And where have you been getting your satisfaction lately?”

Frowning, Cho searched Danny’s face for an angle. Danny didn’t try to hide exactly which angles he was interested in. Biting his lip, he glanced down Cho’s body without an ounce of subtlety—he wanted his offer to be crystal clear.

They were next in line.

“Make my morning better, Ice Man. Buy me coffee. Then next time I’ll owe you one. And maybe, some night soon, if you play your cards right…” He trailed, leaned in close again, and whispered softly beside Cho’s ear, “I’ll let you bend me in half like you want.”

Cho visibly shuddered when Danny didn’t pull away.

Jackpot.

“Can I help you, gentlemen?” the cashier asked.

Leaving Cho tongue-tied and gaping, Danny grinned as he turned to face her. This game was satisfying already. “Two large Liquid Lightnings to go, please. Shot of chocolate and whipped cream for his. And can you make sure Esther makes them? She’s the best.”

Danny set his ruined coffee on the counter, which the cashier took with a questioning look, but once she spotted the state of Cho’s jacket, she understood and threw it away.

Cho paid with a professional smile but didn’t say a word.

Once they moved out of line to wait for their order, he caught Danny’s eye. “Chocolate and whipped cream?”

“I hear you have a sweet tooth. Trust me. You’ll like it.”

“Will I now?”

Danny made a point of licking his lips—slowly. “You got a phone?”

Cho’s shock dissolved in favor of an accusatory scowl hidden behind a tight smirk. “Real funny, kid. Almost had me going for a second. You think I’m that gullible?”

Rolling his eyes, Danny shouldn’t be surprised Cho suspected a trap, but his plans had nothing to do with tracking Cho’s location or calling the OCPD.

He took out his own phone and pressed it to Cho’s chest, forcing him to clutch it or risk it falling to the floor.

“Here’s mine. Take my number. Call sometime if you want.

Or don’t. Whichever. But if you do, I guarantee you won’t regret it.

” Leaving his phone in Cho’s hands, Danny grazed the skin of his fingers as he pulled back and held the man’s gaze the entire time to prove he wasn’t joking.

He wasn’t, after all. He needed an outlet, and Cho would be so fun to lose himself in for a while—and then betray once Danny was done with him, just as he’d been betrayed six months ago.

“Winter!” the barista called, which was the name Cho had given with their order.

Leaving Cho standing there, Danny took his time picking up their drinks. He thanked the girl properly, with a slight look of sympathy in his eyes to say that it wasn’t her fault he was back for a third time, then returned to his nemesis.

Cho’s expression was still guarded, wary, but the smile was real, proving his interest and how anxious he was to see where this might lead.

When Danny gave him his coffee, Cho handed back Danny’s phone. They parted ways at the exit, Cho left, Danny right heading toward the precinct. But when Danny checked his phone later, there was a new number saved in his contacts.

Labelled simply ‘Mal’.