Chapter 14
Eden woke to a tongue in his ass.
Or maybe he woke because of one.
Who knew.
Didn’t matter.
“What the hell?!” He tried to move away, but a strong arm slammed down on his lower back, pinning him to the silky sheets as that probing tongue continued to fuck crudely into him. A moan rumbled up his throat, and he pressed his forehead to the pillow he’d been resting on. “It hurts.”
“Sore?” Ares' voice reached his ears, the single word asked before he delivered another lick to Eden’s aching rear. “Don’t worry, you aren’t getting cock right now.”
“Then what are you doing?” He gasped and writhed when the tongue was replaced by a long finger.
“I cleaned you out in the bath yesterday, but then I got carried away on the plane.”
“Are you saying you just licked—”
“Hush.” Ares gave him a playful slap on the ass that shouldn’t have hurt yet smarted all the same. “Don’t talk dirty to me or you’ll end up stuffed after all. I was ordered to give you rest.”
“Ordered?” Eden gathered just enough strength to lift his head and glare over his shoulder at the man responsible for making him feel like roadkill warmed over. “Who the hell has the authority to order someone like you around?”
“Someone like me,” Ares said cryptically, then elaborated when Eden’s mouth thinned into an unamused line. “Zar. I was worried when you didn’t wake up. I asked him to check on you.”
“Please tell me you didn’t let your brother come in here and see me naked and wrecked?
” He hadn't even met the guy yet! That could not be his first impression of Eden.
Angry, he kicked out without thinking, hissing when his ankle was instantly captured, and he was not so delicately flipped onto his back.
Ares dropped over him in a flash, and Eden froze, breath catching in his throat. Seeing his reaction, the Black Hart took pity on him, cupping his face and tracing the rise of his cheek soothingly with his thumb. “Don’t look at me like that. I won’t impale you.”
Ares was wearing different clothing, and Eden finally realized he had no clue where he was.
The sheets he was lying on were cherry red and made of high-quality silk. The ceiling he could spot over Ares’ head was black with an ornate pattern of charcoal beams and pipework Eden couldn’t make sense of.
“Where am I?” And why did he have a sinking feeling?
“Your room,” Ares said. “I wanted to monitor you, so I’ll be staying the night.”
“My…room?” He frowned. “And…yours?”
“It’s across the hall.”
“No, that’s not…Lucifer.” They were going to have separate rooms? Wait. That wasn’t important right now. “Get off of me and explain what’s really going on. How the hell did we get here, wherever here is?”
“Airplane,” he made it sound like that was obvious, but he did climb off Eden.
Slowly, Eden eased into a sitting position, grimacing at the twinge in his ass.
“Careful,” Ares urged.
“No shit.”
“I hope you don’t have to. That won’t feel great right now, all things considered.”
“Don’t talk about—” He stopped himself, took a deep breath to try and achieve some calm, and tried again. “Where are we? Don’t you dare fucking say my room again.”
“Castle Black.”
“Castle what now?” Eden glanced around. The walls were made of ebony stone, and every piece of furniture did in fact seem to be a dark shade.
The bedroom was massive, around the size of his entire house, with an open glass shower stall in the far corner, and a huge circular bathtub set before a curved glass window.
“We’re home,” Ares said. “Our home. Ours and the rest of the Black Harts, to be specific. Castle Black is located on campus, but the building is exclusive to us. You won’t be bothered by anyone here.
This entire floor is mine, so feel free to move about it as you please.
If you want to walk around naked,” his gaze swept down Eden’s chest, and he realized he wasn’t dressed, “I have no complaints.”
“Yeah, well, I do. A lot, in fact. Starting with what the actual hell?!” Eden grabbed one of the pillows—which was probably the fluffiest, softest thing he’d ever touched in his life—and chucked it with all his might at Lucifer.
Only to groan afterward from using his body to do anything other than breathe and merely exist.
“What the hell have you done to me?” he asked.
“You’re the one who begged me to fuck you,” Ares reminded.
Like a complete and total prick.
“Is this why you kept putting it off?” If he’d known that the man turned into an actual demonic hell beast between the sheets, Eden might have given it a second thought. “Is it always like that?”
“Not always,” Ares said.
“Oh, well, that’s good at—”
“Sometimes I go longer.”
Eden’s mouth dropped open, and he stared at him, waiting for him to laugh and say he was just kidding.
But of course that didn’t happen.
“I can’t do that again,” Eden stated.
“You were only out for thirty-seven hours. That’s not—”
“I what?!”
Ares tipped his head and gave him a funny look. “We flew halfway across the planet to get here. You slept through the entire trip.”
He’d slept through more than just the flight, but he had a feeling bringing that up and getting mad about it wouldn’t do him any good. Instead, he motioned to his chest, which was covered in marks. “And all of this?”
“They’ll fade.” Ares didn’t seem pleased by that prospect.
“Are you seriously pouting?”
“You're right. There’s no need to be disheartened. I can always remake them.”
“No.”
Ares snorted but didn’t say anything else.
He didn’t really need to.
“Absolutely not,” Eden insisted.
“Admit it, that was the best sex you’ve ever had,” Ares said smugly.
Of course it had been, but it’d also been the most exhausting, both mentally and physically.
Truthfully, Eden wasn’t sure how he was meant to recover from it.
Regular sex was going to feel too vanilla now, he could already tell, which meant this damn Black Hart had ruined everyone else for him, and that’d been after only one time.
When this finally ended, and he got bored with Eden, or Eden chose to walk away after getting most of his revenge, what then?
Was he just supposed to become a monk and abstain?
Ares sighed. “Fine. We’ll keep it condensed most nights. I suppose it can’t be helped. After tomorrow, you’ll be working, and I can’t exactly carry you to and from class every day.”
Eden turned to the window and saw it was dark out. “I can’t believe you brought me all the way here without waking me.” He didn’t even want to think about what he must have looked like, being lugged around by Ares like some doll. “If you were closer, I would hit you.”
Ares chuckled and then came over, dropping down at his side. He tilted his jaw in his direction. “Hit me, babe. Go on. If it’ll make you feel better, why not.”
Eden lifted his hand, but when Ares didn’t so much as flinch at the threat, ended up lightly punching him in the shoulder. “Screw you. I’m too tired. Next time for sure.”
“Of course.” Ares chuckled and reached out to smooth a few loose strands of hair off Eden’s forehead. He clicked his tongue when Eden attempted to shove him away. “Be good.”
“Or what?”
“I’ll ignore doctors' orders and teach you another lesson.”
Eden sneered, then rested back against the headboard. “I thought you said your brother looked at me?”
“Zar has medical training.”
“Oh, is that his major?”
“No, he’s a pianist. He’ll be in one of your classes.”
Eden’s brow furrowed. “He’s majoring in music?” Actually… “What about you?”
“Fine arts.”
He blinked, certain he was being messed with, but when Ares didn’t retract that statement said, “You can’t be serious.”
“I told you, didn’t I? There isn’t an art form around I can’t master.”
“Cocky much?”
“You’re well acquainted with my cock, Paradise.” He smirked at his own joke. “But no. I’m not bragging. That’s just the truth. I’m artistically inclined, so to speak.”
“Prove it.” Eden didn’t know why he demanded it, but a swirl of excitement broke through the confusion and annoyance he’d been feeling, and he clung to it.
“Sure.” Ares shrugged and stood, ambling over to a desk set on the opposite side of the room.
He returned a moment later carrying a sketchbook and a charcoal pencil.
He resettled at the end of the bed, leaning against the baseboard in an almost mirror of Eden’s pose.
Then he started sketching, eyes jumping from Eden’s face to the page without any further delay.
“What are you doing?” It was a stupid question, but suddenly he was self-conscious. Ares frequently gave him lengthy looks, but…
“Capturing paradise,” Ares teased, though aside from his tone, nothing else gave him away. He was too focused on what he was drawing.
“How many times did you come?” Maybe if he kept the conversation going, he wouldn’t be so nervous.
“Total? Five times. Want to know how many times you came?”
“I don’t have to know. I can feel it.” His dick was sore.
He didn’t even know that could happen. Forget about describing the way his ass felt.
It was a little slick even now, making him wonder if he was closing up all the way.
He was too embarrassed to ask though, so he kept that lovely possibility to himself.
“It shouldn’t hurt too much. I slathered you in sun cream. I just deposited half a tube inside your hole with my finger.”
“And you? How do you feel?” The bastard looked fine. Better than fine even.
Ares must have showered at some point, because his hair was still curled in damp tendrils at the ends. He was wearing a snug black long-sleeved shirt and a pair of combat pants in the same inky shade. The guy even had socks on.
“Is there a reason I’m naked?” Eden added.
“I feel great,” Ares said. “Better than I have in years. More present. And I already explained that. I was rubbing you down when you woke. I have clothes for you.”
“Ones that I’m allowed to wear?” The snarky reply was meant as a joke, but when the Black Hart seemed to be considering it, he growled. “Don’t push your luck, Lucifer.”