Chapter 7
Ares may have…broken him. Like, really broken him.
He undid the ropes, but Eden didn’t move, just continued to stare blankly up at the ceiling. Figuring it was too cold to leave him like this, Ares picked him up, carrying him bridal style toward the bedroom and into the attached bathroom.
When he placed Eden’s feet on the ground, the man’s arms came around his waist, tightening with the same level of strength Ares had felt earlier when he’d punched him.
It seemed like they were past the stage where Eden tried to get rid of him. That was good. Progress.
Ares held him steady as he got the shower ready, testing the spray and adjusting the nozzles until he was sure the temperature was just right.
Then he pulled Eden’s robe off—which was difficult, since Eden didn’t want to let go of him—and picked the naked man up a second time, lifting him just over the lip of the stall, before setting him within the glass box.
Water cascaded down Eden’s chest, but he still gave no reaction.
Okay…
Ares rotated his neck to get the kinks out and started stripping out of his jacket and shirt, eyes locked onto Eden, who was fortunately able to stand on his own if nothing else.
Once there was no fear of getting his clothes wet, Ares stepped closer and started cleaning Eden off, hand gently rubbing between his thighs.
“None of that,” he softly chided when Eden’s dick twitched, the sound of his voice finally seeming to break the spell enough that the older man blinked at him.
“I already showered,” Eden said dumbly. He swayed, hands coming up to brace himself on Ares’ shoulders.
“Relax, almost done.” He’d simply wanted to warm him up and clean off any lingering spit. The come he’d taken care of with his mouth, but the rest…Ares didn’t want Eden waking in the middle of the night feeling gross.
He finished the task quickly and then helped Eden out of the stall, toweling him off. The robe remained on the floor where he’d left it. That ugly piece of crap had no business touching something that belonged to Ares, and he added the item to his mental checklist of things to buy.
There was no resistance when he carried Eden to the bedroom, or when he put him to bed and settled the covers around him.
Little by little, the Starling’s gaze was becoming more focused, and Ares sat on the edge of the mattress to wait for him to come down from the orgasm high he was clearly experiencing.
Experimentally, he ran his fingers through Eden’s blond hair, brushing the strands off his forehead. It was soft, wet from the shower. Real. He was warm from the shower, safely tucked into bed…
It appeared that Ares liked taking care of the other man.
“What an unexpected reality.” He couldn’t recall the last time he’d cared for anyone. Maybe Zar…
Maybe…not.
He couldn’t be sure.
“You’re frowning,” Eden whispered, almost as though he was afraid to disturb the moment and break the quiet. “Why?”
“It’s nothing.” He wouldn’t know how to explain even if he’d wanted to. “How do you feel?”
“Like I just had the best orgasm of my life, and you haven’t even fucked me yet.” Eden’s gaze dropped to Ares’ lap.
“Not tonight.”
“But you will, right?”
Ares chuckled. “I will.”
“When?”
“After I’ve earned it.”
Earn scowled. “I’m offering to do it now.”
“You’d sleep with me to get rid of me,” Ares said.
“Our first time won’t be like this. You’re putting up a good front, but you’re scared I might hurt you.
You’re worried I’ll force myself on you anyway and figured this was the best option.
That’s not how I want it. I’m not going to take you, Eden. You’re going to give yourself to me.”
“I think there’s been some sort of misunderstanding.
” Eden sat up, the blankets pooling in his lap.
“I’m not telling you to fuck me because I’m scared of you.
I’m telling you to give me your cock because I want it.
Hell, if your mouth could make me feel that good, I can’t be blamed for wanting to know what your cock feels like. ”
He needed to go before the Starling convinced him to alter his plans. Tonight had been a giant leap forward, and Ares couldn’t risk setting them back just to get his dick wet. No, bedding Eden would have to wait.
“All in due time.” He got to his feet, clicking his tongue when Eden grabbed his wrist. “I’m leaving.”
“Where are you going?”
“Back to my hotel.”
“To do what?”
“Sleep.” Ares motioned with his chin toward the window. “Did you forget? It’s the middle of the night.”
“You can sleep here.” Eden’s fingers tightened, even though he seemed just as surprised by that offer as Ares was.
“You don’t know me,” he reminded.
“Sure I do. Your name is Ares Major, you’re good at picking locks, you have a twitchy trigger finger, and you’re the God of Blowjobs. I also know that if your plan was to kill me and hide my body, you would have done so already. You want something else, something only I can give you.”
It didn’t exactly take a rocket scientist to figure that out, so Ares wasn’t impressed. Still, he didn’t attempt to pull away again, a bit curious where his tiny piece of paradise was going with this.
“I gave you Galen’s job, which meant you work for me now,” Eden told him. “I’m ordering you to stay.”
“It doesn’t work that way.” Ares considered his options anyway. It would be a waste of time driving all the way back to his hotel now, but… “No sex. If you try to initiate, I’m leaving.”
He assumed that would be enough to convince Eden to let him go, since he was obviously just horny. As soon as sex was off the table, he’d give up, and they could call it a night.
“Fine.”
Ares frowned.
“What? I said fine.” Eden tugged him hard enough that Ares had to plant a knee on the mattress to prevent himself from toppling over. “Come on. Get in.”
Nothing about this night had gone as he’d expected, and Ares found himself slipping between the sheets, lying on his right side so he could keep his eyes on Eden.
“Don’t trust me?” Eden snorted. “Shouldn’t that be my position?” He settled down and then slid closer, locking a hand around the base of Ares’ skull when he went to move away. “Chill. I’m not trying anything funny, promise. I’m just cold. Cuddle me.”
“…Cuddle…you?”
“One would think you’d never cuddled before.”
“Never.” That involved letting people get close, and Ares didn’t trust himself, or others, enough for that. You didn’t need to cuddle to have sex. Once he was finished, he typically left his partner to their own devices. “I don’t usually clean people off either.”
“Wow, guess that makes me special.” He was teasing him, it was obvious, but there wasn’t any malice in his gaze. In fact, Eden seemed rather content as he pulled Ares in until they were practically chest to chest. “You’ve got to put your arms around me. Do it properly.”
He draped one arm over Eden’s shoulder but didn’t quite know how to maneuver the other one.
“Here.” Eden lifted his head, waiting for Ares to catch on.
Ares slid his arm beneath his neck, allowing him to use him as a pillow of sorts. “What now?”
Eden snorted. “Now we go to sleep. In the morning, you’ll tell me all about how you plan on exacting revenge on my behalf—and there better be loads of pain and suffering involved, or I’ll be angry.”
“I’m fairly certain most people find the hurting of others distasteful.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not most people. Besides, it’s their own fault I’m like this in the first place. They have it coming. But if you aren’t willing—”
This time it was Ares who clung to him when Eden made to pull away. “This is the game I’ve prepared for. Of course I’m willing.”
“Good.” Eden made a big show of closing his eyes. “Go to sleep, Lucifer. Something tells me tomorrow is going to be a stressful day.”
It was a surreal experience, but Ares found himself wide awake, long after Eden had drifted off to dreamland. He was mesmerized by the soft intakes of breath and the way Eden’s chest rose and fell. The ticklish feeling of his exhales ghosting against his throat.
The rest of the universe seemed to come to a screeching halt, and all there was left was Ares and Eden on this bed, lost in space and time.
How much of this was real, and how much was a trick?
If Eden really could be placated and made pliant with orgasms alone, things would be rather easy for Ares. But physical attraction like that could wear off. Eventually, it might not be enough to keep him.
And he would be keeping him. If there’d been any question of that fact before, it was solidified now.
In the warmth of a lover's arms, Ares had discovered a sliver of true paradise, and he wasn’t giving that up for anything. Which meant sticking to the plan. Conditioning Eden into needing him, beyond the physical.
Ares hadn’t come all this way just to fuck, as Eden had so crassly put it.
He’d come here to conquer.
* * *
“This is absurd! I would have never agreed to it!” Yarrow tossed his holopad onto the desk with enough force that the device cracked in the corner.
From his place by the window, Ares absently glanced at the busted device and then turned his attention back onto the street out front. He’d been standing there, watching the employee parking lot, since the start of this meaningless conversation, waiting.
Perhaps sneaking out this morning hadn’t been the wisest decision. Eden had looked so peaceful though, and Ares hadn’t had it in him to wake him. There’d also been this scheduled meeting he couldn’t miss, though now he really wished he hadn’t bothered to show for it.
It was far too early to listen to Yarrow squawk. His voice was nowhere near as pleasing as the Starlings.
“You did agree to it,” Ares reminded absently, wondering how much longer he was going to have to put up with this. He supposed he didn’t really have to. If it’d been Zar here in his stead, Yarrow would have already found his head separated from his body.