It feels surreal to step into the shower with him and have him wash me. We’ve done this before. Hell, we did this earlier today. It feels different now. He sits me down on the tile bench and carefully cleans my legs, probing gently for glass.
Hades has never touched me like I’m breakable before. I don’t think I like it, but I’m too tired and too breakable to complain. When we turn the water off, Hercules is waiting with the bandages. Hades combs my hair while Hercules patches me up. As I suspected, most of the cuts are small enough that they don’t need much. There are two slightly larger ones on my arm, and he carefully bandages them.
“I love you,” I blurt out. “Both of you. So fucking much. It scares the shit out of me.”
Hercules flicks his gaze to my face, more serious than I’ve ever seen him. “You both know I’m head over heels for you two. I have been since that first night.” He glances at Hades. “So, no shit, I love you.”
I find myself holding my breath and relax as Hades strokes my drying hair. “You know I love you, Megaera. I may not say it often enough, but I have ever since you walked through my doors, full of fury and a determination to save someone who didn’t deserve it.” He leans over until I can see his face. “I haven’t taken care of you the way you deserve, and I’m sorry for that.” He glances at Hercules. “And you. You were never part of my long-term plan, and yet here we are.” He hesitates. “I don’t give my love easily, little Hercules. You’ve slipped in when I wasn’t paying attention.” He gives a slow smile that makes my stomach flip over despite how exhausted I am. “Now you’re mine forever.”
“I’d like to propose a new bargain.” He squeezes my hand. “The three of us—for good. Three lifetime bargains in one.”
Hades goes still. “Three.”
“Yes. Not just a bargain with you; a bargain with one another.” Hercules smiles and it’s so sweet, it washes over me like golden sunlight. “The three of us on equal ground, such as it is.”
I find myself holding my breath. Hades doesn’t make us wait long. “A bargain it is, then. A mutual claiming.”
“Sounds kinky,” I murmur.
He chuckles. “When you’re healed, it will be. Until then, we seal it with a kiss.” He brushes his lips softly against mine, and then repeats the move with Hercules. Hercules presses a quick kiss to my lips and stands.
My heart is so fucking full, I can barely stand it. “I think this is the best bargain I’ve ever made.”
“The feeling is entirely mutual.” Hades lifts me into his arms. “Come on, love. Let’s get you in bed.”
It’s not as graceful as we’ve been in the past. The pain meds haven’t quite kicked in yet, and I’m moving like a person three times my age. They bracket me in, warming me, comforting me with their bodies better than they ever could with their words. Surrounded by the two men I love, the two men who love me, something inside me relaxes, and despite my pain, I draw my first full breath in what feels like years.
This is right. This is exactly where we’re meant to be.
This is fucking perfect.
Thank you so much for reading Learn My Lesson! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! If you did, please consider leaving a review.
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The Wicked Villains series continues in A Worthy Opponent with Tink and Hook’s story. With Tink’s contract coming to a close, she’s got vengeance on her mind. The only person who can help her? The man determined to bring her to her knees…and put a ring on her finger! But can Tink and Hook get over their animosity to bring down their mutual enemy? Only one way to find out!
About the Author
Katee Robert is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. Her titles The Marriage Contract and The Bastard’s Bargain were both RITA finalists. Her books have sold over a million copies. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, children, a cat who thinks he’s a dog, and a Great Dane who thinks she’s a lap dog.
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Someone to Watch Over Me
Iris Morland
Chapter One
Blood, sand, heat. It smells of copper and he can’t see anything in front of him. He shouts, hoping he’s not the only survivor, and he hears a groan through all of the noise. He wonders if his eardrum is blown from the blast.
He follows the noise. It’s instinctual at this point. He wonders if he imagined it when he can’t find the source of the sound. Then: he sees something. He kneels next to his comrade, gently turning him over. He doesn’t know if his friend is dead. When he hears him choke and gasp, he realizes he’s alive.
But given the wound in his belly, he will be dead within minutes.
He tries to get his friend up, get him help. He can’t die out here when they’re going home in a week. Not like this. His friend has a new baby girl and his wife needs him—
Another blast rocks him. He collapses onto the sand, hits his head on something hard and painful, and it all goes black.
Seth Thornton barely caught the scream in his throat as he woke up. Thrashing under the too-heavy bedcovers, he sat up, gasping for breath. He could taste the sand and blood on his tongue, even though he’d been in Fair Haven, Washington, for a year now. After his third tour as a Marine, he’d finally earned inactive duty.
Except that inactive duty had meant that Seth had no idea what to do with his life now. Who was he, if not a soldier? He knew war; he knew guns; he knew death and he knew victory. But mostly, he knew loneliness, and it was like a pall he couldn’t overcome. Even with his twin sister, Lizzie, getting married and having a baby, even knowing he could do whatever he wanted with his life now, it wasn’t enough.
He blew out a breath. “I’m turning into a total sap,” he muttered as he got up. After taking a quick shower and getting dressed, he made himself a cup of black coffee—his usual breakfast—and after he’d downed the mug, he decided to get some fresh air.
It was better than sitting in that apartment and reminiscing about his best friend’s death.
Outside, it was an obnoxiously beautiful day. June in Washington State heralded the end of the rainy season, and the sun shone so cheerily that Seth scowled up at the sky. What did the sun have to be so fucking happy about?
It didn’t help that he had nightmares more often than not. When he could sleep, the memories crept up on him, taking over his dreams, until he’d wake up even more exhausted than when he’d gone to sleep. Lizzie had stopped asking about the dark circles under his eyes because he tended to snap at her, but he saw the worry in his twin sister’s expression
You can’t keep going on like this, she’d said just a week prior. Nobody can.