Chapter Fifteen
Dinner was a disaster.
I was still so in love—or maybe obsessed—with Rune Demos that I saw him everywhere. Every blond man who walked by was him. It got to the point where I was certain he was sitting at the bar watching me. But when I got up to use the restroom, I saw the back of his head and realized that his hair wasn't pulled back as I assumed, it was short. And he was big, even more muscular than Rune. Sure, Rune could have cut his hair, but I doubted it, and there was no way he had beefed up that much in a week. I was just seeing things.
My distraction ruined my date with Kaleo. He was a good sport about it, but in the end, he drove me home, thanked me for a nice evening, then drove off without asking for my number or trying to get an invitation upstairs. I fumbled with my keys, annoyed at myself for losing another opportunity with a great guy. I dropped the keys, but before I could pick them up, someone else did.
“You okay?” a deep voice asked as a male hand extended the keys to me.
A shiver ran down my spine. It wasn't Rune's voice, but it reminded me of him. I looked up. “Holy shit,” I whispered.
The man frowned. “Excuse me?”
“You . . . you look a lot like someone I know.”
He had blond hair down to his shoulders. A bit longer than Rune's. He also had green eyes, but his were a bright emerald green, not a dark ring around a pale center. His nose was leaner than Rune's too. But there was something about him, maybe the jaw. He looked enough like Rune that he could be . . .
He saw it the moment it clicked for me and grinned. “You're quick.”
“Are you following me?” I thought back to the restaurant. “That guy at the bar, the big one, was he your other brother?”
“We're not brothers.”
“Yes, you are, but whatever. Your packmate. Is that better?”
He cocked his head, his jaw looking harder. “That was Braxen. Yeah, my packmate. I'm Merrick.”
“I'm surprised you don't all have names beginning with the same letter.”
“Why would we do that? Sounds dumb.”
“All right,” I muttered and opened my door. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Merrick. Goodnight.”
“Don't you want to know why we're watching you?”
“No, I don't think I do. Just don't do it again.”
Oh, yes, I did. I wanted to know very badly. It had to be because of Rune. He was hurting too. There was no other reason for his brothers to be stalking me. But I wasn't going to give this guy the satisfaction of begging for information on a lover who had chosen to leave me. I'd known Merrick for ten seconds, and he was already rubbing me the wrong way.
Merrick grabbed my upper arm. “Lora, he's not himself.”
I froze.
“He told us about you. About Hermes. He was . . . he likes you. A lot. But we're possessive by nature. He can't deal with Hermes.”
“Yeah, I know. We went over this. We went over it a lot. But I can't exactly break up with the god who gave me immortality.” I looked at him and finally voiced my biggest fear. “He might take it back.”
Merrick's frown deepened. “He can do that?”
“I don't know!” I shrugged off his grip. “But even if he couldn't, I owe Hermes. He saved me in many ways and many times over the centuries. And he's not possessive. He's fine with me having lovers. So, I can't complain.” I paused and took a breath. “Look, I love him. Rune, I mean. I told him that. He still chose to leave instead of compromising. He flat-out said he couldn't. And I still love him. I would end things with Hermes if I could. In a fucking heartbeat. But I can't, and he can't deal with that, so we're at an impasse.”
Merrick's expression shifted during my speech. It went shocked, twitched, and then turned to stone. He took a step back. “I understand. Sorry to bother you.” He walked away.
I watched Merrick go. Merrick and Braxen, Rune's packmates, had spied on me all night. I wasn't going crazy. Yes, I was still a mess because of Rune, but I hadn't been seeing things. The question was, how much of a mess was Rune that his brothers had come looking for me?
Hope threatened to rise again, but I shoved it down. If Rune got over his possessiveness so we could be together, that would be great. I would be thrilled. I'd put aside my anger over him leaving and welcome him back with open arms. But I didn't want to hope for it. Hope only makes disappointment worse.
I went into the gallery, locked up, then headed upstairs. Hope dogged my heels. It kept churning thoughts in my mind, making me wonder what Rune had said to them about me. Did he tell them he loved me? Was he moping about their house, eating pints of ice cream, and watching romantic movies? Doubtful, but maybe he was snapping at them, grumpy. I could see that. They had gotten worried and come to check out what all the fuss was about.
And found me on a date with another man. Shit.
I didn't bother turning on the lights when I got to my bedroom. It didn't occur to me why I kept things dark until I found myself heading to the window. I stood to the side of the frame and peered out. There, across the street, stood two men. Both blond. One was Merrick and the other was the big guy from the restaurant. Braxen. They were speaking animatedly, gesturing at my building.
“What the fuck?” I whispered.
I watched them argue for a few minutes before Merrick got a phone call, and they rushed to a parked car. Just before he got in the passenger seat, Braxen looked up and light from the streetlamp bathed his face. My breath caught. He was beautiful. Maybe even more so than Rune. His short hair let his looks shine, nothing to distract from his full, sensual lips and sharp jawline. And that body. I thought Rune had the perfect physique, but I liked this too. All that strength on display. Cerberuses were known to be powerful fighters. The brawlers of Hades. Guards of the Underworld. One look at Braxen was enough to confirm it.
I knew he couldn't see me, but I still got nervous when he continued to stare. Merrick must have said something to him because he flinched, then climbed into the car. They sped away.
“Well, at least I know I can still get the hots for another man. Kinda disturbing that it's Rune's brother, but what does it matter anyway? He's not coming back.”