I guess what Paxton had said about not imposing their wills on me or risk losing me altogether had sunk in. I hadn’t believed that it would ever happen, but the demigods were starting to bend their rules and change themselves for me.
Nat and Yelena gasped, their eyes as bright as mine. Who wouldn’t want to see the interior of the death demigod’s home? It was better than going on a vacation for them.
But then nervousness rolled off them. I could hear it dropping on the ground with a splashing sound.
I grinned at my friends. “They won’t bite.”
Paxton snorted. “You can’t be sure of that, Buttercup.”
Nat’s and Yelena’s eyes widened to big round Os. They hadn’t expected the sea demigod and me to be on friendly terms. They’d hated him for my sake.
I sneered and thrust my chin toward Paxton. “Even that mean bulldog. He’s all bark now.”
Then I flushed. I’d just flirted with the swimming boy.
Paxton smirked in satisfaction.
“Let’s get out of here,” Héctor said roughly, not wanting me to linger in the classroom any longer.
He reached for me, but Zak beat him to it and pulled me into his arms.
In a swirl of starlight and shadows, we teleported out of the class.
We landed in the dining room of Héctor’s off-campus house in the forest. Hors d'oeuvres and drinks filled the long, gilded table.
That was how considerate my Héctor was, but then he’d taken his role as my provider and protector seriously since the day he’d rescued me from demons on a Manhattan street. I wouldn’t discourage him though, as I benefited from his generosity.
I rushed toward the table and called my friends eagerly. “Crème brûlée! They’re authentic. My Héctor must have teleported them from Paris.”
Héctor beamed at me, heat in his deep sapphire eyes. He liked it when I called him mine.
He kissed me on the lips. “Enjoy, lamb.”
He nodded at my friends, motioned with his chin for his cousins to follow him, and jogged toward the backyard garden.
I’d seen the lovely garden. I thought of bringing my dessert to the garden to savor it while sitting on Héctor’s lap, but the demigods had some serious shit to discuss and they didn’t want my friends to hear it.
And now my role was to play a good hostess and comfort my friends, even though they were tough, future Dominion warriors.
Zak came to me and brushed a kiss on my lips before heading out of the house.
Nat and Yelena widened their eyes and dropped their jaws like two idiots as they watched the demigod kiss me, completely forgetting about the delicious refreshments on the table.
Then Axel grabbed me to him before I could sit down to eat.
He kissed me hard. “Save a crème brûlée for me, Cookie.”
“I can’t promise that,” I said, eyeing the dessert.
He laughed, grabbed a cupcake, and jogged toward the exit.
And then Paxton was the only one left. Nat and Yelena glared at the Demigod of Sea. They didn’t turn on their full angry voltage, though, since they were still terrified of him. Even so, they were courageous enough just for looking daggers at a demigod.
Paxton didn’t pay attention to them, so my friends were wasting their energy if they wanted him to notice or care. The gesture wasn’t wasted on me, though. Their support warmed my heart.
I tilted my head to the side and looked at Paxton.
“What do you want, Paxton?” I asked huskily, surprised that there wasn’t hostility toward him in my voice anymore.