For the Love of Cupidity: A Valentine’s Day Novella (Heart Hassle Book 4)

Just thinking of all the crap I’ll probably be bombarded with is enough to make me want to crawl back into bed. I also don’t want to tell the cupids that I need a break, but the pointed looks from my mates lets me know that they aren’t going to let me put this off.

“Fine, I’ll tell them I can work this one last time, but then I’m gonna take a week off after the baby is born.”

“Twelve weeks,” Evert counters.

“Are you insane? I can’t take twelve weeks off. I’m the freaking boss!”

“Ten,” Ronak says.

“Three,” I retaliate.

“Nine,” Sylred offers.

These guys are freaking relentless. “Four. I’ll do a whole month. That’s a lot,” I say, trying to convince them.

The guys all exchange a look, and then Okot leans forward and picks up my hand. The gesture is sweet and makes me relax a bit from being ganged-up on. He strokes the pad of his finger over my palm, softening me immediately. “Take eight weeks, my beloved.”

I smile dreamily at him. “Okay.”

My genfins blink in surprise, but Okot just smiles and leans back, looking proud.

“What the fuck? Why did you agree to him so fast?” Evert demands.

“Daddy said a bad word again!” Amorette giggles.

“Because. She was taken care of by him this morning,” Sylred says pointedly.

Sex code talk in front of a toddler has become a necessity.

Evert rolls his eyes. “Well, then we should’ve let the fucking lamassu open up the debate. She would’ve folded at twelve weeks right off the bat.”

“I would not have,” I argue. I probably would have.

Evert gives me a look. “You always cave to whoever…took care of you, last.”

I shrug. Okay, fine. He’s not wrong.

“Well, eight weeks. That’s the deal,” I say, taking another sip of buttermilk. Sniffing it slightly, I reach for the salt and pepper and dump some in. Swishing it around, I take another drink and sigh in contentment. Much better.

When my cupid boss mark starts glowing more brightly, my mates gives me sharp looks.

“Fine! I’ll call Sev and tell him.”

“Ooh! Can I play with Sev? He talks funny,” Amorette says excitedly.

“Absolutely not,” Evert says, standing and plucking her from her seat.

Her bottom lip pokes out. “Why not?”

“Because he’s a fucking terrible influence.”

Yeah, the irony is not lost on me.

“Daddy said a bad word again!”

“Sorry!” Evert barks, warding off all of our exasperated looks as he ducks out of the kitchen with a sticky Amorette in tow.

“Take care of it, little demon. Today,” Ronak says in his bossy tone, which he softens by using his draped arm to pull me close and land a kiss to the top of my head.

Then he stands and follows Evert out, while Sylred starts clearing the table. I get up to help him, but he shakes his head. “No. Sit.”

“I can help,” I insist. “I’m pregnant, not an invalid.”

“The last time you started helping with the dishes, you started dry heaving,” he points out.

“Yeah, well…as long as there aren’t any gross food particles stuck to any of plates, I can totally do the dishes.”

He cocks a blonde brow, the corner of his lip tilting up. “I’m pretty sure our dirty food plates are going to have food on them.”

“Fine. Then I’ll wipe the table,” I say, moving to grab the rag.

But the moment I pick it up, Okot reaches out and grips it. I don’t want to let it go, though, so we have a weird, super mellow tug-of-war contest before he gently peels my latched-on fingers from the rag and takes it from me.

“When you wiped the table down two days ago, you started crying,” he gently reminds me.

I huff out an annoyed breath. “That’s because I found a moisture ring stained into the wood! It was upsetting!”

“Wasn’t it just—”

I cut him off. “Yes, it just ended up being syrup. But still. It could have been a moisture ring.”

Now both of them are trying not to laugh at me.

“Fine. I’ll just go sweep.”

They exchange a look. I can see it in their faces. They want to argue again, but they’re the nice ones, so they just shuffle awkwardly on their feet and make things weird.

I clench my teeth. “What?”

“It’s just…well, umm…” A red blush creeps over Sylred’s cheeks as he trails off.

“Just say it! Why can’t I freaking sweep?”

Ronak comes walking in, heading for his mug that he’d left behind. “Because your belly is so big that the broom handle runs into it, and you can’t see your feet, so you end up missing what little dirt you do manage to get.”

He walks back out before I can reply. I feel a kick, like the baby is agreeing with him. Not cool.

“Yeah? Well…” Not having even a semblance of a comeback, I trail off, and the front door shuts behind a chuckling Ronak. “Asshole alpha,” I grumble.

I eye Sylred and Okot, who have suddenly become very busy with cleaning. So busy, in fact, that they’re avoiding my looks.

Cowards.

“Fine. I guess I’ll just go into the front room and do cupid stuff,” I say, nearly pouting.

Sylred turns and nods with a relieved look on his face. “Good. It’s better to get it all taken care of before the baby comes. Which should be any day now, judging by your, umm, size…”

He blinks, a horrified look coming over his face as he realizes what he just said.

“What’s wrong with my size?”

“Nothing,” he says quickly. Too freaking quickly.

“Are you saying I’m fat?”

Sylred makes a choking sound like he’s suffocating on his own stupid words and hurriedly shakes his head. “No, no, no. That’s not what I’m saying. I wouldn’t say that.”

My eyes narrow on him. “You wouldn’t say that? So then, it’s true, but you just wouldn’t say it, because you’re too nice? Is that it? Is that what you’re saying?”

His brown eyes widen. “I, umm, you…ahhh…what?”

“My beloved.”

Okot’s voice cuts through the super hormonal haze of anger, and I realize that my hands are smoking. Anger always sets off my wonky demon powers. Go figure. As soon as my gaze flicks to the lamassu, Sylred slinks away, practically running towards the sink.

Okot moves in front of me and touches my belly. “Take a deep breath, my beloved.”

I do, and the hellish smoke dissipates.

“Now listen,” he says, grasping my neck. “You are beautiful. You are round with our child, looking like a goddess. We do not think you are fat, because you aren’t, and even if you were, you would still be beautiful to us. Understand?”

I slowly nod, the last of the irrational anger expelling out of me as he trails his thumb over my bottom lip. He just gave me two orgasms not even an hour ago, so I sort of just melt at everything he says and does.

“Good,” he says, placing a kiss on my forehead. “Now, go take care of your cupid work, and let them know about taking time off. When you are finished, I will rub your feet.”

I find myself turning around and walking out of the kitchen before he even finishes his sentence. I can’t resist a good foot rub.