Page 402 of The First Taste

I bob my head. “Yes.”

“Hm. So much for this being an impregnable fortress.”

My brows rise. “They are Lyon blood. There would be no point in trying to keep them out, lass.”

“Yes, well.” Fatigue shows on her face. “I’m going to take a bath. Maybe with some bubbles and scented bath oils…” She wrinkles her nose and cuts her eyes toward the other room. “I’ll… catch up with you all later. I’m sure you have plenty to catch up on.”

Then she shuts the damn door in my face. For a second, I stare at the dark wood, blinking.

Her retreat is a little unexpected. Then again, what would I have asked her to do? Probably exactly the same.

“Fuck,” I say, although no one is listening to my opinions just now.

I walk over to my clothes, putting my shirt and boots on. All the while I am ruminating over what exactly I could say to Penny that would…

Well, I don’t even know what effect I hope to get out of it. She just throws me off my game, in every way possible.

God damn it.

Shaking my head at myself, I stomp out of the bedroom and down the twisting halls to the study. My brothers are waiting not-very-patiently for me. Ares is sprawled in dad’s chair, Eros standing by the window. I slam the door, wiping the smirk off both of their faces.

“So?” I demand. “What have ye got? It had better be good, ye complete idiots.”

Ares gives me a look. “It is, as a matter of fact. That’s why we flew straight here.”

I glare at him, stalking up to the desk. “Spill it.”

He rocks back in the chair, a smile splitting across his face. “We know how to ensnare Constantine. With a little help from Persephone, we think that we have the perfect plan.”

“Lure him out with a juicy piece of bait…” Eros adds. “Then lead him into a trap of our own devising. Once he’s in, we crush him.”

He makes a fist, grinning.

I look back and forth between my brothers, my mind spinning. “Constantine would be gone? For good?”

“If our plan works, he will die.” Ares looks extra pleased at the very thought of spilling blood. “And we will slide right into place as the arms dealer of choice.”

“Sit down,” Ares says, sweeping his hand. “Hear us out.”

I cross my arms, glancing between my brothers. For several seconds, silence reigns.

Then I walk over to one of my father’s chairs, collapsing into it. “I’m listening.”

Ares and Eros both lean forward, excitement shining in their eyes.

Persephone

Ilook at the time on the new iPad that Hades gave me, sighing. It’s almost three in the morning here in Rabat, a gorgeous city of gleaming white buildings built up on the sparkling Moroccan coast. After traveling for three days to arrive at our hotel, achy and covered in the city’s dust, I broke off from the Lyon brothers. I said I needed a nap and a shower.

Really though, I wanted some alone time. Traveling with all three men left me uneasy. Hades I had a firm grasp on, so that was all right. But Ares and Eros, who looked so like their older brother, were very much not like him at all.

Ares is handsome, as tall and dashing as the other two. But I soon figured out that he’s as boorish and crude as they come. When we were at the private airport in Inverness, the second that Hades left the room he came and pressed himself up against me. There was no pretense or guile when he propositioned me, either.

He simply arched an eyebrow and asked if I wanted to fuck.

Eros gave me no reason to outright dislike him, but I felt like he was watching me at all times. Always thinking and watching.

At least he didn’t try to get me in bed, though.