Page 149 of Zeus

"If I hadn't been touching you-"

"I'm not going to lie and say it was worth it because it sucked all the way around, but we both made choices. I stepped into you. I knew the risks, and I took them anyway. You weren't alone in that."

I hold up my hand to silence him when he opens his mouth to continue arguing.

"Do I think it's a good idea for us to infiltrate another group of bigoted assholes together again? Probably not, but-"

"Do you think I'd let you do it alone?" he growls, pissed at even the idea of something like that.

I raise my eyebrows. "The domineering, do what I say shit is super sexy in the bedroom, Frankie. Don't get me wrong, but that shit will not fly when it comes to work."

"You can't do that shit alone."

"And I won't be, but you can't interfere with what Cerberus asks me to do, and I won't do that with your jobs."

"We'll discuss that later," he says as if time will change my mind.

I pull in a breath, trying to calm myself. There's something about having the chance to speak my mind without worrying he's going to take off and put another decade between us. It makes it very difficult to bite my tongue right now, but I also know that until we're faced with an issue to argue about, then there's no sense in arguing about what-ifs right now. It would only be a waste of time and energy.

I know him well enough to know the argument will be the same on his end when we face it.

"Will we share a room?" I ask, trying to shift gears.

"On our next job? I guess it depends on what we're doing."

I glare at him, watching his face transform with a smile.

The man is fucking with me, and I can't decide if I want to smile right back or grow irritated.

I opt for the grin.

"Do you want to share a room?" he asks, his eyes dipping as if he's uncertain of my answer and preparing himself for disappointment.

"Are we dating or are we together?"

"Together?" he says, making it sound more like a question than an answer.

"Yes," I answer. "We're together."

"So we share a room," he says as if it's that simple.

"Think they will give us two rooms that we can combine and have more space?" I ask with a grin.

"Already needing some distance?"

I shake my head. "Not at all, but there will be times I want you close, but not within arm's reach."

I rush to explain when he looks disappointed.

"I take a while to get my head right after a mission," I begin. "I don't know how long Cerberus jobs usually take, but the three weeks at that compound were one of the shorter times I've spent in one of those types of places. It could be completely different now that we're together. I won't know until I'm faced with it."

"That's understandable," he says. "We can always ask about two rooms."

"You don't think anyone there will have a problem with it?"

"Why would they care if we have two rooms together?" he asks. "We'd take up just as much space if we weren't together."

"No," I say, shaking my head. "Will they care that we're together?"