I couldn’t wait until I started my senior year of high school. I didn’t even care that the academy wasn’t the one I’d gone to for the last three years. Although I would have obviously preferred to stay where I knew everyone.
An hour before dinner, another staff member came to my room with a box in hand. He set it down on my bed, made brief eye contact with me, and then scurried away as if he were afraid to be in the same vicinity as me. I pursed my lips and narrowed my eyes as annoyance filled me.
If this was how everyone was going to be around me for the next three years, I was pretty sure I was going to rip my hair out and scream.
Within the box was what I assumed was the dress Hades wanted me to wear for dinner tonight. It was modest in black, with a Peter Pan collar and the hem falling to my knees. It looked like something I’d wear to school, not to eat a meal in my home.
I tossed that shit right in the closet and picked out my outfit. In fact, I put on the most unappealing clothes I could find, ones that would be sure to piss Hades off.
Oversized sweats and a holey crop top it was, an outfit I wore when I’d paint on the back porch in the summers.
I knotted my hair into a messy bun at the crown of my head, went shoeless, and headed downstairs.
It was easy enough to find the dining room despite the large estate, and I told myself I’d have to find someone to show me around so I didn’t get lost in this behemoth of a house.
I spied Hades right away. He sat at a long oak table that was positioned parallel to the monstrous fireplace. The sound of the wood crackling as it burned seemed overly loud.
He wasn’t wearing his typical three-piece suit and tie. Instead, he had on a crisp, white, button-down shirt. The collar was opened, and a tan swatch of hard male flesh was on display.
I hated he was so gorgeous as he sat like a king of the underworld. He had one forearm slung over the side of the chair, and the other one stretched out on the table.
With a curl of his fingers, he motioned me farther in. I stopped when I was a few feet from the table, staring at him because I wanted Hades to know he didn’t intimidate me. Even if that was a boldfaced lie.
He scrutinized my outfit as he sat at the head of the table.
“Let me guess —” he drawled.
His gaze went back to my toes, which were painted pink. It was the nail polish my mother always kept on her vanity—one of her items I’d taken with me before leaving home.
“—that color is called Princess.”
I didn’t react, just kept watching him. I knew he was the type of man who pushed people’s buttons. He enjoyed getting under their skin, liked finding their weakness so he could use it to his advantage.
I could read that from him as easily as I knew he was an arrogant asshole.
Hades smiled.
I smirked right back. “I mean, if you like it so much, I can let you borrow it.”
His smile vanished, and he narrowed his eyes before he murmured, “You’re a mouthy little thing.” He let that hang between us, the words heavy and suffocating. “In this house, we dress respectfully when asked to share a meal together.” He brought his square-cut glass to his mouth and took a pull from the dark-colored liquid.
“My clothes are fine,” I said in the tightest voice I could muster. I was about to take a seat at the opposite end of the table when he made a deep sound, stopping me.
“You’ll sit beside me when we eat dinner.”
The last thing I wanted to do was sit next to him. But I said nothing and took my place at the spot beside him. I could see his smug expression behind his glass as he took a sip, his gaze locked on me.
Thankfully, we didn’t have to speak because a flurry of staff came in and started placing dishes in front of us.
A platter with a silver dome was placed in front of me, the servant pulling off the lid and standing to the side as if he waited for something.
I looked between him and the dish, then at him again before raising an eyebrow. “Thank you?”
Although my parents had the money, we didn’t have a waitstaff serving us hand and foot. In fact, to be honest, I felt a little uncomfortable with this show. I wasn’t anyone special to have this kind of attention thrown my way.
“Gerard is waiting for your approval of the meal.” Hades’ voice might’ve sounded amused if a man like him could find humor.
I looked back down at the platter and focused on the perfectly formed mound of garlicky mashed potatoes, green beans that seemed to be stacked in a lattice design, and herb-crusted chicken breast that smelled delicious, and then there was a small, porcelain plate that held a buttered roll. Gerard set a glass of iced water on my other side before taking a step back.