Page 147 of Hades

“I do trust you.” I reached across the table and took her hand. “But I’m also going to do everything in my power to keep you safe. That’s not negotiable. The difference is, I’ll be honest about it. I’ll tell you what I’m doing and why. I won’t lie to you.”

She squeezed my hand. “Will you back off if I ask you to?”

The question hung there. I could have lied. Could have told her what she wanted to hear. But we’d already established the rules. No secrets. No bullshit.

“No,” I said quietly. “I won’t.”

Her jaw tightened. She tried to pull her hand back, but I held firm.

“Listen to me,” I said. “I can’t turn off what I am. I can’t promise to stop protecting you just because you ask me to. That’s not how this works. That’s not who I am. But I will tell you every goddamn thing I’m doing. I will explain my reasoning. And if you tell me to back off, I’ll hear you. I’ll consider it. But I won’t promise compliance because that would be a lie, and we don’t do that.”

She stared at me. Silent. Processing.

“This is who you’re getting, baby,” I said. “A man who will move heaven and earth to keep you safe. A man who will lie awake at night thinking about threats you don’t even know exist. A man who trusts his gut even when it means overstepping. But also, a man who won’t hide behind excuses or justifications. Who will fight with you about it if that’s what you need.”

“That’s not partnership,” she said quietly. “That’s control with a better PR campaign.”

“Maybe.” I brought her hand to my lips and kissed her knuckles. “But it’s the only kind of partnership I know how to give. And I won’t insult you by pretending otherwise.”

A small smile tugged at her mouth. “You promise we’ll fight?”

“Baby, I guarantee it.”

She laughed. Soft and real. The tension in her shoulders eased.

“Okay,” she said. “We do this together. You tell me what you’re seeing. I tell you what I’m seeing. We figure it out.”

“Deal.”

We drank our tea in silence. Comfortable. Connected.

When the mugs were empty, Lettie stood and held out her hand. “Stay.”

“I was planning on it.”

We lay in her bed with the lights off and the window cracked. Cool air drifted in. Cerberus had settled near the door, his breathing steady and rhythmic.

Lettie’s head rested on my chest, and my arm was wrapped around her, holding her close.

Not sexual.

Just intimate.

Just us.

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

“I know.”

“Not of what’s coming—I can handle that.” Her fingers traced patterns on my ribs. “I’m scared of losing this. Losing you.”

I tightened my hold. “You’re not losing me.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yeah, I do.” I kissed the top of her head. “Whatever’s coming, we face it together. And when it’s over, I’m still going to be right here. In your bed. Holding you. Pissing you off. Making you come. All of it.”

She laughed softly. “You’re very confident.”