by April Zyon
“Is she always like this?” one of the other guys asked.
Mikhail slowly shook his head. “They wouldn’t kill you until they got what they wanted from you. You’d wish you were dead the entire time, but when your death came, it would not be easy or pleasant. Not by their hands.”
“Between her and Debbie Downer there, this is going to be fucking pleasant,” another one of the guys muttered. This time, Mikhail shot the group a warning look.
“Hey, you leave him alone. I can’t say that I blame the poor man. I mean, between him and Gareth, I swear I have hurt the two of you more than any person ever in my life. I’m so stinking sorry for that, too. You can be grumpy with me all you want, but you are not allowed to pick on the quiet wonder here. That’s all for me to do.” Okay, so she teased, but with having someone that smelled so good so close and looking as amazing as he did, why not? And it was that line of thinking that had her scooting closer to Mikhail and resting her head on his shoulder. Closing her eyes, she sighed happily. Huh. Interesting. If she didn’t know better, she’d have sworn that his arm wrapped around her shoulders. Nice.
“I can’t believe she’s sticking up for the big, bad wolf,” someone said with a chuckle. “This has got to be a first. Quick, someone mark it on the calendar.”
“All right, enough,” Ares said. “Inside with the lot of you. Camilla needs some time to adjust to the fact you are all assholes. And having all of you piling on her before she’s even in the door is unacceptable. In, now. We have things to discuss. Mikhail, stay put, I’ll give you the minutes later.”
Camilla watched the scenery before her as she swung on the swing with Mikhail. “I feel like you really don’t like me much, do you? If you don’t want me here, you should say so. Uncle will just have to get over himself and put me somewhere else. The others I can handle, because I swear, they are just like five-year-olds, but you, I don’t know. You’re different.” She shouldn’t be touching him, but she couldn’t seem to help herself.
“So, I’ve heard,” he said softly. They continued to swing through a long pause, his long legs pushing the swing back and forth for them. “You can stay,” he finally told her. “This is the safest place for you. Besides, the only other place Ares could stash you would either be at one of his Earthen homes under lock and key, or on Olympus. I can tell you from personal experience, Olympus is not all it’s cracked up to be. For one, the food is better here most days and at least you don’t have to worry about being skewered by weird mythical beings here, either.”
“Right.” Camilla laughed and said, “Please tell me that unicorns are real and those creatures ride through the night and spear assholes with their horns. Or something like that. You know, something fitting for a creature that most liken to sunshine and sparkles.” She snorted. “I hate those things. I know, weird for someone like me to hate them, but just the stories of unicorns make me want to scoop my own eyeballs out.”
“No, no unicorns. Minotaurs, centaurs, griffons, and a few others that even our resident Greek and Roman couldn’t identify.” He appeared serious, deadly serious, if she were reading him right. “But then there is also the gods and goddesses, who aren’t all on board with this human-interaction program and don’t mind accidentally trying to kill us off with some force behind their maneuvers.”
“Huh, sounds like the vacation spot of the year. Not.” She laughed. Leaning her head back on his shoulder, she sighed. “This is a beautiful spot. Are you sure that you guys will be okay with me causing all kinds of trouble? Because let’s face it, I will. I know I will. I’ll try not to, but that’s worked for me all of, oh, say, never.”
“You are welcome to remain as long as you like,” he said. “As far as the outside world is aware, this place doesn’t exist. Ares has some sort of protection built around it to deter humans from coming near, as well as lower-level weres and vampires. Unfortunately, the alphas of both groups are not that easily deterred. Though since we don’t exist on a map and a satellite won’t ever come over our land, they shouldn’t find us easily.”
“Shouldn’t. Oh boy.” Camilla rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. “I just hope that your words aren’t taken as a challenge by the cosmos. Weird stuff happens, you know.” She was mostly teasing. “I can shoot a bow. A gun wouldn’t be that much different, would it?” Her mind changed gears quickly: she went from talking about hoping to not tempt the Fates into trying to figure out if she would be able to protect herself should the need arise.
“It’s a lot different, but if you’re living here, we’ll need to show you at least the basics,” he told her. “Especially since you are now officially sitting on one of the largest arsenals in the country. Not the largest of course, but it’s pretty damn big. We’ll also need to teach you about the various weapons here and all the dos and don’ts.”
“As long as you don’t ask me to wake up before five a.m., we are so totally golden. I will take whatever you want to teach me and I promise to at least try not to belt you again. Just make noise when you come up behind me. Otherwise, I swear I will do all that I can to sew bells into your clothing, I’m so not even teasing.”
“Wouldn’t matter. I could move without setting off them all off and still sneak up on you. Snipers move in micro-increments,” he told her. “And we’re up at oh-four-hundred every morning for our five-mile run before we do our hand-to-hand training. Only after that is there to be breakfast served.”
“Well, good on you for being no Sleepy Joe. Me, I like my sleep. I really do. I actually get very cranky if I don’t sleep, so I think I’ll do that while you boys do your thing.” She patted his leg, actually patted him, and then left her hand on his thigh.
He gave a snort at that. “Should be interesting,” he commented. A moment later, she felt the weight of his cheek pressing to her hair as he continued to push the swing back and forth. He didn’t say anything else, though she knew already that he was more than comfortable with silence.
Camilla didn’t say another word, just enjoyed being there in the swing with the massive man. His arm around her kept her far warmer than the temperature around them. With his cheek on top of her head, she … well, she honestly felt heavenly. It had been years since Camilla had let anyone this close to her—if she didn’t count Gareth, that was—and she liked it. A lot.
Chapter Seven
She and Mikhail had sat outside until the sun had begun to descend. When the temperature had started to drop, he’d suggested they go inside. He’d taken her in and given her the tour of the house before showing her a big bedroom with a view out on the back of the property toward the surrounding trees, and what looked to be a lake or a wide river.
A knock on the door announced Gareth as he stuck his head around it. “Dinner’s on in ten minutes, if you’re interested.”
“Food?” That instantly perked Camilla up. Before the man could even close the door again, she was out in the hall and linking an arm with his. “So, what’s for dinner? I’m starving. Oh, Uncle should have told you guys that I eat. And I eat a lot. I really love food,” she admitted. “I know it doesn’t really look like it, but I do. I guess that because I’m always running around playing tag with the kids in the play yard, so I’m able to burn through the calories as I do. Oh, crap. Now I have to find something else to do, but if you even dare to mention the four a.m. runs, I might have to trip you and tell your team that you tripped over air.”
Gareth just stared at her like she’d lost her mind. Entirely possible, given how the last day and a bit had been. “There’s plenty of food, so don’t worry. We have a full gym in the basement next to the war room, armory, and weapons range. We also have a swimming pool, hot tub, and sauna down there. I’m sure you don’t need to be up for four a.m. runs to find a way to exercise. Plus, there’s always…” he trailed off with a slow grin.
Camilla just watched him, cocking her head as she frowned. “Always what?” When she realized what he’d inferred, she flushed. “Oh.” She grinned and, before
she could think better of it, asked him, “And are you offering up your services?” However, the moment she said it, she slapped her hand over her mouth, eyes wide, and shook her head. Good lord love a duck, had she just propositioned this man?
Gareth threw his head back and laughed. When he’d calmed himself, he stepped in closer and lowered his head so his lips brushed her ear. “And if I was?” he asked her softly. “What would you say to that, Ms. Berry?”
“Depends upon when you might catch me,” she admitted. “Because I can’t seem to stop myself from saying whatever pops into my mind when you or Mikhail are around. Isn’t that just straight-up crazy?”
He chuckled and drew back. “Good to know.” He winked. “Come on, dinner’s up, and if we’re not there we might just end up starving. They’re like rabid animals when the food comes out.”
Camilla grinned. “Well, that would just suck, because then I would make you take me out to eat. Doesn’t matter to where, as long as we had lots of food.” She couldn’t get over how easily she had just blurted things out with these men. She was so screwed.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” He led her down the hall to the stairs. “But you won’t have to do that tonight. We have plenty of food and they’ll likely save you some, since Ares is still kicking around. He’s very protective of you,” he commented. “Very.”
“Well then, why in the world were you rushing me? Don’t you know that you’re never supposed to rush a woman?” she teased. She knew that there was no such rule, but it felt nice to be able to play around. She liked it, a lot.
“Yeah, but the look of panic on your face, for that brief second, was totally worth it,” he told her as they descended the stairs. “Don’t worry, the guys may give you grief, but they’re just trying to figure you out. That, and how the hell you managed to get Mikhail to actually let you stay. I know why, but I’m so not telling them.”
“Maybe you’ll tell me.” Camilla grinned and shrugged. “I think that it’s so that I can talk the ears off you guys so he’ll have blissful silence?” Yeah, that wasn’t it and she knew it. She didn’t know why Mikhail had allowed her to stay, but she was happy he had all the same.
“Keep dreaming, sweetheart.” Just outside the kitchen, where noise seemed to be the name of the game, Gareth tugged her to a stop. “I won’t tell you all of it, but I will say this: Only you had him agreeing to let you stay. And not because you clipped his family jewels. Although I will admit, that was funnier than anything I’ve seen in a while.”
She flushed in embarrassment. “Please don’t mention that again? I’m typically not that uncoordinated, but it seems like around you and him, I am. It sucks, too. I’m so not even kidding there. It’s terrible to know I’ve plowed you down, hit him, and slept on you. Yep, I’m so having a stellar day.”
“At least I got most of the good stuff,” he said with a laugh. “Though I’d work on not abusing him too much. He’s got a hair-trigger that even I’m not sure of what the limits are.” He led her into the kitchen and utter and complete chaos. The guys were busy getting food on the table in between filling their plates and trying to talk over one another.
“I didn’t mean to do it,” Camilla said again. “I really didn’t.” She took in the chaos and shook her head. “Oh, this is so not going to do.” She whistled with her fingers in her mouth—loudly. “Attention!” she shouted. “Come on, soldiers, you all know better than this. Work as a flipping unit instead of trying to mow each other down.”
Every set of eyes in the room pinned her in place. Then the chaos resumed even louder than before.
“It doesn’t work,” Ares said with a chuckle. “They actually have a method to the madness if you watch long enough. And not a single thing ever ends up on the floor, no matter how close you think it is to happening. Just look,” he advised before slipping through the insanity to the fridge.
“Good lord. I don’t get it.” She leaned her shoulder against Ares when he returned and watched. He was right. “How in the hell do they make this work?”
“Skill and years of practice,” he told her as he lifted the bottle of beer to his lips. Taking a long drink, Ares shrugged. “They’ve been through wars together, some of the toughest and hardest battles there were. Plus, they all survived my training and became a much tighter group. They all instinctively know where the others are. It’s a little creepy, but you get used to it. The noise level will die down once they have their plates filled.”
“Is that when we’ll get our food? Because I’m hungry. I really do want to have some food, if you wouldn’t mind, please?” When Mikhail looked up at her, Camilla couldn’t help herself from waggling her fingers at him in a wave.
All activity came to a stop again, but this time everyone looked at Mikhail. He looked at her and the guys were observing him. He came around the table and right to her, then held out a hand. He didn’t say anything, just towered over her with his hand out, palm up.
Camilla didn’t even hesitate. She placed her hand into his and grinned. Stepping away from her uncle, she was pulled in closer to Mikhail. “I’m starving. Are you going to block these boys so that I can get some food? I bet that you play football like nobody’s business, don’t you? I would like to see that—you in football pants.” As she jumped from one topic to another, the look on his face was almost … well, if she wasn’t mistaken, it was almost a grin.
“I’ve never played football,” he told her softly. He guided her around the table and let go of her hand long enough to pull out a chair for her in front of a very full plate. He looked to her and waited for her to sit down.
“Huh, maybe I can still get you to try on the pants? Thank you, Mikhail. For making sure that I have food and for humoring me.” She settled into the seat he offered her and took his hand in hers, squeezing it. “You’re a good man. Thank you for giving me a reason to smile in all of this chaos.”
“Eat,” he said as he settled into the chair next to her. Gareth took the seat on her other side, and the rest of the men settled. Ares got to sit at the head of the table as everyone began to dig into their meals. The only conversations now were grunted requests for the salt or pepper and more rolls.
Camilla ate along with them. She didn’t speak because she couldn’t with her mouth full. Finally, when her plate became empty, she said, “That seriously was delicious. Who cooked it? I mean, we weren’t outside for that long, were we?”
There were a couple of snorts from down the table. “We all cooked, and you were out there for almost two hours.” When she looked for the speaker, one of the guys with dark red hair tipped his chin. “Lincoln,” he supplied when she just stared at him. “It took a while to cook the meat, but we knew we had time.”
“Right. Well, it was very good. Thank you for cooking for us.” She laid a hand on Mikhail’s forearm and smiled. “It didn’t seem like two hours, but if you say so, I believe you.”
“It was.” Gareth nodded as he buttered another roll. “I figured Mikhail would have come screaming through the house by that point given how you like to beat on him.” Okay, so he wasn’t going to let that drop.
“Good heavens.” Camilla laughed. “You’re like the kids I teach, never letting anything go. Once you’ve found something to pick on, you keep harping on it. That’s too funny. You’re all like your own little family. It’s nice,” she said with a smirk. “I like it.” Even if she was the one being picked on, she didn’t mind, honestly.
“All right, who’s on dish duty?” Ares asked as he got to his feet. Everyone pointed at him. “Well, shit,” he muttered. “I knew I shouldn’t have asked that. Fine, but the lot of you need to get out of here.”
“Hell no,” someone else said. “You’ll cheat then. You have to do it the old-fashioned way, God of War. No using your powers.”
“What are they talking about?” Camilla asked. “We do dishes often, so why is now so different? You know how to make use of the dishwater and rinse dishes.” She laughed suddenly as she re
alized what was going on. “Oh, gotcha. You want to make them all go poof and clean into the cabinets, don’t you? Oh man, that is cheating. They’re right.”
“I do not cheat,” Ares said, his spine stiff and his entire demeanor offended. “I just don’t need all of you lollygaggers sitting around being assholes. No offense, Camilla, sweetie.”
Mikhail snorted at that. “I for one don’t have the urge to remain and watch him do the dishes. But someone should in order to make sure he does them.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it,” someone said with a deep Southern accent. “James, ma’am,” he said when she looked his way.
Camilla smiled at James and waved at him. “Hi there,” she said with a small, shy lift of her lips. “Thank you for sticking around and watching over my uncle to ensure that he does what he needs to do to clean up this mess.”
“No worries. Besides, he usually has some good story to tell while he’s working, so it’s not really any hardship at all,” James told her. Which was apparently enough for the others, because after they stacked the plates and put away the food, they all disappeared quickly. All except for Mikhail and Gareth, who stuck close to her.
“So.” Camilla placed her other hand on Gareth’s forearm. “Will you two go for a walk with me? I know it’s not a four-a.m. run or anything, but a walk would be lovely if you gentlemen are of a mind to.”
“I’m game,” Gareth said with a smile. “But you really should try one of the four-a.m. runs. It’s so quiet and calm at that time of day. Not another soul up and moving. It’s very serene and Zen, actually.”
“Yeah, no thanks. No one is up and moving at that time of the morning because they have more sense than that. I mean, come on. Seriously?” She shook her head. “And I beat whoever wakes me at that time of the morning with a rolling pin, so you might want to make sure to pass that along.” The grin on her face said more than her words did.
