Page 72 of Hateful Prince
“It turns her on, boss man. Read the fuckin’ room.”
I was going to put this dog in a kennel at the other end of the estate if he kept it up.
“I cannot be contained. Try me.”
I raised a brow but refrained from comment. We had bigger fish to fry.
“Where’s he at right now?” I asked, looking to Tor and Kai.
“Why not ask me?” Hook protested. “I know everyone’s whereabouts.”
“All right, small fry. Since you’re so eager to help. Where’s Swift?”
“Wait,” Dahlia said, placing her palm to my chest. “Shouldn’t we make sure we have the right guy first?”
“You’re the one who named him,” Kai pointed out.
“Well yeah, but... innocent until proven guilty, right?”
“Not in my world,” Tor offered. “Murder first. Apologize later.”
“And it’s not like Nautica was completely cognizant of the world around her. What if she wasn’t giving us everything? All we have to go on is that he’s a blond American male. That could be Ryan Gosling, for all we know.”
“Ken would never,” Asshole grumbled.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I asked him.
“Watch a movie once in a while, man. Sheesh.”
Everyone stared at me, and I realized I needed to let them in on Asshole’s secret. “He can talk. The dog. In my head.”
“And we’re sure he’s not a figment of your imagination?” Hook drawled.
“It’s Cerberus,” Tor said, surprising me with his insight. Then again, the demigod did seem the most in the know about me and my kind, so maybe it wasn’t that much of a stretch.
“Exactly.”
Asshole stood a little taller. “That’s right, big boy. And don’t you fuckin’ forget it.”
I would have sworn the little fucker winked at me.
“Big dog energy. Just like you said, super chief.”
“You’re never gonna let me live that down, are you?”
“Nope. Your morning pep talks were the highlight of my day. Don’t think I’m letting you give those up once we go home. I need my ups.”
“Does anyone else wish we knew the other side of this conversation?” Dahlia asked.
“Trust me, you don’t. He’s a lot to handle.”
Asshole lifted his leg and pissed on my shoe.
“Case in point,” I grumbled.
“Seems like maybe he doesn’t appreciate the way you talk to him,” she said mildly, stooping down to pick him up.
He held my stare while he nuzzled into her breasts. I was five seconds away from murdering him. He knew it too. There was no missing the smirk in his beady black eyes as his tongue lolled out of his mouth.