Page 113 of Soul Mates: Hercules Valentine and I

“Good night, Hercules.” There’s a dismissiveness in her tone. I don’t even believe that she’s going to keep her word. “I’ll see you tomorrow, without a date.”

The call ends. A door finishes rolling up, and he drives into another garage. It’s all pretty fancy, actually, and I would remark about it, but I’m still rattled by his call with his mother.

He hasn’t asked for my hand back as the car is being lifted up. I’m in sensory overload. I’ve never been in an elevator for a car. My parents would never indulge themselves with this sort of contraption. But I like it.

“Tomorrow’s your mother’s birthday?” I ask, trying to gauge where he’s at emotionally.

“Yes,” he says with a sigh.

I’m surprised he hasn’t asked me to go with him. I would turn him down, but I thought at least he would ask me. He’s staring straight ahead.

“You don’t want to go?” I ask.

“Not really.”

“But you have to?”

He glances at me and, after a moment, smiles faintly. “Yeah.”

The car stops, and he fiddles with some controls. It’s so strange how fast his entire demeanor changed after a conversation with his mother. My mom doesn’t have that effect on Max. My brother and mother have their own special bond. When I was in high school, Max used to call my mom, and they’d be talking on the phone for hours about everything from the day’s news to how she should structure her next colloquium. A call from my mom never rattles Max. I think it’s because she doesn’t dig into his personal life.

“But really, are you okay?” I ask as the lights in the garage brighten.

His smile is forced and lazy. “I am.”

“You can take me home if you like. I mean, I can rustle up something to eat.”

This time, his smile touches his eyes. “Like a spoiled sandwich from Monday? No way. You’re my responsibility tonight.” Finally, his eyes are ablaze with lust. “And I’m not done with you.”

My breaths are deeper, my nipples tingle, and my flower flutters like a dandelion in the wind. He hasn’t stopped looking at me as if he wants to ravage me.

“Okay,” I say, feeling winded.

“Okay,” he says as if the matter is settled.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Hold Off On the Truth

Hercules Valentine

Iwant to ask her questions to hear her answers. But I don’t want to make her lie to me either. I’m certain she’s not going to come clean. And I can sense her cringing whenever she has to be dishonest. I’m glad she’s uncomfortable with lying. I’m also glad she’s holding out. If she tells me the truth, that’ll put me in a situation that I’m not ready to be in right now.

As we walk into my penthouse from the garage, she says that my place reminds her of the one I had in Boston.

“That penthouse belonged to my brother Achilles,” I say with a smirk.Does she really think I’m that spoiled? If only she knew. If only anyone knew.“I was in college. My parents never would’ve let me live that way while I was in school.”

“Oh,” she says.

She looks confused. I don’t know what it is about this aspect of Paisley Grove that I find so damn attractive.

“What are you thinking?” So many times in the past, I’ve wanted to ask her that.

“Nothing,” she says, shaking her head. “I just thought it was your place.”

I smirk. “Disappointed?”

“Kind of, yeah…” She shakes her head as she closes her eyes. “Because I kind of used to have a cab drive me past the building—a lot, actually.”