Frozen Holidays 1& 2 Eudorus and Zelus (5 page)

She wasn’t locked in a cage like they had
been but she was a prisoner of circumstance and in some ways that
was worse. He believed if he didn’t get her to Olympus soon,
carrying the child without the proper medical supervision would be
the death of her. He liked skinny women, he liked curvy ones. He
was one of those males that saw the beauty of females in general
and didn’t discriminate on a physical basis. What he demanded was a
beautiful soul. He couldn’t lie with a black-hearted female and
that had prevented him from being useful as a spy.

With Jen, he had hit the jackpot. She was
beautiful inside and out. She was a nurturer, like Cherish but she
wasn’t tough like her. Life had kicked her hard and she had
withdrawn inside herself. Life was still kicking her but he would
soften that as much as he could until he could whisk her away. He
wanted to be her hero and he thought she would allow him that
honor. Many of the gods drooled over Doc, Sierra, and Cherish, but
he didn’t need a female that could whip his ass. He wanted a
homemaker, a mother, a wife, and a lover. Jen would be all of that
and more.

She would contribute with love and kindness.
Not that the other mates weren’t loving and kind, but so far most
had wanted to fight and aid in missions. Jen would be the one
keeping the home fires burning and that job was as important as any
even if it wasn’t appreciated as much as it should be. He went to
his temporary home. It was one of those long term hotels for people
moving to an area. He had two bedrooms and a bigger place by
himself than Jen had for herself, Danny, and the baby that would be
there sooner than she expected.

Chapter 4

Plans Set in Motion

Hades woke and looked over at the sexiest
female alive. She was tired, not surprising since she carried his
child. She had not conceived as quickly as the others, also not
surprising since everything was more difficult with her. It was
alright because she was worth it and he would weather any storm and
pass nay test to be with her. All of the gods had gotten amazing
females, each in their own way.

He had studied all the information about this
Jenna Jones that he could gather and he was certain she was
Eudoros’s mate. She seemed softer than the other mates, but he
thought that conclusion might be faulty. The female had had a tough
life with no one to encourage and love her. She had survived things
most people would have just given up through. He thought she was
much stronger than she appeared. She would make a good addition to
the extended family. Not everyone was a warrior and even with their
somewhat embattled circumstances, they still needed homemakers to
make Olympus the home they all wanted to live in.

Doc moved and he pulled her on top of him.
“Good morning, Sweetness,” he whispered to her. She smiled with a
sexy sleepy look on her face as her hair fell tousled around her
face.

“Morning, Sexy,” she said before she leaned
down and kissed him. “What are we doing today?”

“Today we set up a plan because we need to
move quickly. I’m not sure all those we intend to save will survive
undamaged if we wait much longer. With the plan coming together for
our team at the other facility, we have to push Ros to take action
here.”

“I agree, but how will we get in?”

“I think it may be time to get Eudorus’s mate
involved. She’s the only one we have an in with. I’m pretty sure
Eudorus has become friends with both her and the boy child.”

“He’ll object. She’s so small and
fragile.”

“I think she hides a warrior’s heart in that
small delicate body.”

“He’s due here in thirty minutes, we’d best
be ready.”

“I thought we might…”

“No time right now but later, we’ll make up
for it.”

“Very well female. I’ll hold you to
that.”

Showers were quick and separate so they
wouldn’t loose track of time and get caught up in each other. Doc
went first so she would be fully dressed even if Eurodos came
early. They were dressed and Hades held his mate on his lap feeding
her breakfast from his plate. He liked to keep track to be sure she
ate enough for her and the child. She was a doctor, but she still
got caught up in her work and if he didn’t watch her like a hawk,
she would forget to eat and get dizzy.

Eurodos knocked and Doc hopped up to answer
the door but Hades stood too and pushed her gently into the seat.
He went to the door expecting Ros but ready for anything. He got
what he was expecting and he motioned him inside. Hades wasn’t sure
how this talk would work out. He couldn’t deny he was relieved when
Doc decided to talk to Ros about it.

“Ros, you know females, even those who might
not seem tough are often stronger than they seem?”

“Yes,” he answered cautiously obviously
unsure about where this was going.

“We need to move faster than we had planned
on and the only way in is through Jen,” Doc said quickly.

Ros stood there just looking at her open
mouthed. Whatever he had expected, this wasn’t it. “She is too
frail to use in such a way. The risk to her and the babe is too
great.”

His reaction was no surprise and Hades sat
down and relaxed watching to see how Doc would address his
concerns. “She is perfectly capable of doing what we need her to
and you will stay with her to see she isn’t harmed. If we don’t
move quickly, she may be harmed more by our unwillingness to
act.”

Ros was quiet while he contemplated what Doc
had said. Hades knew they were all worried, not only about the gods
at risk but the females that were being used by Raker. The man was
a menace to gods, humans, and even the animals used in some of the
testing that were stolen from their owners to be abused and starved
during the testing process. He had to be stopped and they all knew
it. Hades didn’t blame Ros for not wanting to use his little mate
in such a dangerous mission. He wouldn’t have considered it
himself, but the need was too great and the danger to all those
they hoped to save too much.

“I’ll worry about her, besides what will we
do if she won’t help?”

“You know her best, do you really think
she’ll pass on the chance to get a little pay back?”

The look on his face made it clear that he
suspected she would agree. He probably wasn’t looking forward to
explaining everything to her, but Hades and Doc intended to help
him with that.

“I’d best get to the corner so I’m there when
Jen comes back from taking Danny to the school bus.”

“Okay, but when you talk to her keep in mind
the plan at the other facility is scheduled in two days. If it goes
it first, you will lose your window to take down this place,” Hades
added.

He had enough on his plate with the mission
he and Doc were in charge of without covering this one too but
there’s been some emergencies both for the governments that hired
them and for some of the facilities they were now operating. They
had even used a few demons for some of the missions which was not
something they would do if they had a choice. The demons didn’t
mind but let some humans get a look at those pointed tales and all
hell would break loose.

Ros left looking as unhappy as a god could
be. “What do you think he’ll do?” Doc asked.

“The right thing, it isn’t in him to do
anything else.” She nodded, hoping Hades was right.

She didn’t Ros as well as she did some of the
others, but Hades knew him well enough. His judgment would be what
they’d go by. Things were speeding up now and the end was in sight.
So far everything had gone amazingly well but the worst was ahead
of them. Jen’s reaction could aid them or ruin any possible chance
of success. It was all in someone else’s hands now and she hated
the loss of control but she and Hades couldn’t do it all and
dealing with Ros’s mate was his job. Dealing with her mate, that
was her job. She moved over to him and put her arms around him
holding him as tight as she could. There was a time she had thought
they wouldn’t ever be together. She had been ready to walk away
from him and never look back. She was thankful every day now that
she had him. There was some time to kill and they had each other.
Who could possibly ask for more?

Chapter 5

Lie by Omission

Ros headed to the corner as fast as he could.
He wanted to be there before Jen made it by on her way to work. He
had a feeling she might think he had seduced her in order to get
her onboard for this mission. He didn’t know how to convince her
that wasn’t true. He hadn’t known her long but it hadn’t taken long
to develop deep feelings for her. He wanted forever and he hoped
this mission wouldn’t cost him his chance with her.

He was in place in his big red suit with the
padded tummy a few minutes before Jen came by. As she came around
the corner she looked up and their eyes met. She smiled and still
managed to turn a bright shade of red. At least he knew she was
thinking of last night and it had made an impression on her. She
hurried into the building where she worked even though he knew she
had time to stop and talk had she wanted to. He thought she didn’t
know what to say or how he’d act now that they’d been together.

If she was worried he no longer wanted her,
she needn’t be. He wanted her more than ever. He considered her his
and he pitied the man that would even think to lay a hand on her in
passion or as a threat. She didn’t know it yet, but they now
belonged to each other. He would kill for her or Danny. He would
find a way and he would show her that he would take care of her. He
had a line of people, mostly young women, waiting to take pictures
with Santa. How they had discovered he wasn’t an old man, he didn’t
know.

He found he preferred the vomit, spit, and
pee of the youngsters to the females grabbing his crotch and trying
to kiss him. He looked at his watch and realized he had somehow
missed Jen leaving for lunch. He was probably fending off that one
girl that had tried to reach down his pants. He had a lot of
respect for the males who played Santa each season. He hadn’t
realized how hard a job it would actually be.

He closed down for lunch to the complaints of
some of the females. Too bad, they could come back or not for all
he cared. Any money raised might be going to a charity but he’d
rather just donate himself than have his body abused any more. He
went to the café where he took a long lunch, ate a nice meal and
reflected upon how fucked up his existence had become in a
relatively short time. He made it back just in time to catch Jen
dragging a reluctant Danny in the door. She pretended not to see
him, but that wouldn’t work at the end of the day.

He had every intention of closing early
enough that he would be waiting for her when she and Danny stepped
out the door. Let her try to ignore him then. Her attempt to
distance herself from him was doomed to fail. He thought of nothing
but their time together and what a nice family they’d make for the
rest of his day. As he’d planned, he closed up an hour before she
was due to get done and he waited around for her.

Just as he planned, he caught her just as she
came out of the door. She looked nervous but that was probably
because she didn’t know how to address what had happened between
them or what it meant. Danny was trying to turn her around to head
to the corner Ros sat on. He turned just enough to see Ros and his
smile lit up his whole face. He tugged on his mama’s arm but she
seemed determined to run away. Ros wasn’t about to let that happen.
Even if he didn’t need to speak to her, he needed to be close to
her.

“Ros, Ros!” Danny yelled. “Ros is right here,
Mama.”

Jen turned reluctantly almost as if she were
fearful of what might come next. Ros smiled at her, his attitude
gentle. He had given them a lot of thought and he realized he loved
this female and her child. He would fight to keep them in his life
even if he had to fight her until she knew he loved her.

“Ros, I didn’t see you there,” she said her
flushed red with the awkwardness of the moment.

He let her get by with the white lie. “That’s
okay, you see me now. I’d like to take you and Danny out for a
meal. I need to talk to you about something. It’s important,” he
added the last part when he saw she was about to protest.

Danny got excited. “Come on Mama. It’ll be
fun.”

Jen sighed. Ros could see she was overwhelmed
but when this was over he’d take care of her. She wouldn’t have to
worry about anything anymore. “Okay, but tomorrow is a work and
school day so we need to get home early.”

Ros smiled victoriously thankful she had
agreed. He didn’t know what he would have done of she hadn’t. “I’ll
get you home in time.” He grabbed her arm and led her to the SUV
sitting near the corner.

“I have the perfect place in mind, Danny will
love it,” Ros said and he recognized that he was already in daddy
mode. He thought of the little guy first. He’d even gotten a car
seat so Danny would be safe.

They pulled into one of those places that had
a pizza bar and all kinds of games for kids. Danny squealed in
excitement. Ros suspected Jen’s budget hadn’t stretched to places
like this since her husband had passed. Ros opened the door getting
Danny out of the back first. While he was getting Danny out, Jen
got out and watched quietly.

“You have a child’s car seat?” she asked and
Ros could see the wheels turning in her head.

“I bought it today for Danny,” Ros
explained.

He took her arm on one side and Danny’s hand
on the other and escorted them through the door. Danny broke loose
as soon as they were inside and ran around the game room checking
everything out. Ros stopped at the counter and bought a pile of
tokens. Once Danny burned some of his energy off and found them at
their table, he gave him a handful of tokens. The look of happiness
on the boy’s face brought tears to Ros’s eyes. Jen was blinking
rapidly, probably trying not to cry as well.