There is absolutely no reason for that sliver of thoughtfulness to have heat flushing my body. None at all. I’m not so starved for attention that my head will turn over such a small thing. And yet… “Thanks,” I say softly.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think he’s blushing as he unlocks the doors and we climb into the car. We don’t speak as we pull out of the parking garage, and I’m grateful for the silence because it allows me time to get my head on straight. I don’t need to be overanalyzing Eros’s motivations for switching vehicles. I need to think and strategize about what I’m going to pack and what I absolutely can’t live without. Doing it in one trip is going to be a challenge, but I’ll figure it out.
I don’t question the fact that Eros knows where I live. I can pinpoint the buildings of all of the Thirteen and most of their inner circles and families. It pays to be aware of these things, and so everyone is.
“Where should I park?”
“The street.”
He makes a face. “That’s more exposed than I’d like to be.”
“I know, but it’s a risk we have to take.” The security people who work for the building monitor our comings and goings and report them to my mother, and the last thing I need is for her to decide we need to be detained so she and I can have a sit-down. There’s no avoiding it indefinitely, but I want Eros and me to be beyond the point of no return before Mother gets involved. Like Aphrodite, even she will have to recalibrate once his ring is on my finger.
Speaking of… “We need rings.”
Eros expertly parallel parks in a spot small enough that I would have said it was impossible. He turns off the engine. “The jeweler will be at my place at two this afternoon with a selection. I just need your size.”
Of course he’s thought of that. I tell him my ring size and watch as he shoots off a text. My phone is still blowing up with notifications, but I’ve silenced it so I can work through them when I have time. “I don’t know if Callisto is there, but I don’t want a confrontation.”
“You don’t have to worry about it.”
I give him the look that deserves. “I think we’ve already established that violence is definitely something you’re capable of.”
He transforms before my eyes. The coldness disappears from his face and he gives me a charming smile. “I would never harm anyone the love of my life cares about.”
I dig my nails into my palm, using the bite of pain to remind myself that this is fake. No matter how intensely my heart flutters when he looks at me like that, it’s all an act. I may need to get my damn heart looked at soon, though. Surely skipping beats this regularly isn’t healthy. “Let’s get this over with.”
“After you, beloved.”
11
Eros
I’ve seen the outside of Demeter’s building plenty of times, and I have the blueprints of the penthouse she shares with her daughters—just like I have blueprints for all the buildings of people who could eventually be my mother’s marks. It’s still a different experience to walk into the lobby. I count half a dozen carefully concealed security people, which means there’s likely another half dozen on the premises, if not more. Demeter’s taking no chances, though she’s not the type to want to rub the presence of security in her guests’ faces.
Or maybe it’s her daughters she’s worried about.
In any other situation, the security people would be an annoyance, but right now they’re actually an asset. My mother won’t strike here, won’t send her people here. It’s too risky, with too little reward. Psyche is safe as long as we’re in this building, and I can relax a little.
She heads past the main elevators and down a short hallway to a different one. She presses her palm to the pad next to it, and a moment later, it flashes green. Interesting. The doors slide open and she steps inside. “I’m going to put together a suitcase, but I need you to haul out some of the other things.”
Curiosity grabs me by the throat. Her social media always looks so effortless. I don’t fuck with that shit for the most part, but even I know the more natural it appears, the more effort it actually takes. I’m about to get a peek behind the curtain.
It shouldn’t matter. Her savviness at presenting a compelling story to the world is an asset I intend to utilize. That’s it. Watching her stage that “spontaneous” photo with us in my bed was a revelation. She went about it with a single-minded focus that I find entirely too sexy, and that was done with a few lamps and her phone. I want to see how she works when she has all her tools at her disposal.