Chapter 16 #2
Inzer shook his head warningly, frazzled, and then drew up to his full height, clearly attempting to gather an air of superiority in the face of a student he was obviously afraid of. Was he trying to show off in front of Eden?
Pathetic.
“Mr. Major, is there anything I can help you with?” Inzer asked.
“Hold on.” Ares kept clicking away on his device.
Eden gave it a moment and then glanced between them. “Inzer?”
He waved him off and pressed a finger to his lips, indicating Eden should remain quiet.
“Do you let all of your students treat you this way?” Eden asked, and when Inzer’s eyes went wide, he chuckled. He took a step toward Ares, evading the hand Inzer tried to grab him with.
“You’re being rude,” Eden turned his tone chiding as he addressed the Black Hart. “You shouldn’t ignore your teachers.”
“No, no, it’s fine,” Inzer rushed to his defense. “You’ll have to forgive him, Mr. Major, he’s new, and—”
“Sorry, Professor Baldur,” Ares cut him off, ending his game and closing out of the app before giving them his full attention. “I didn’t realize. No one’s ever said anything about it to me before.”
“It’s fine.” Eden chucked his chin toward the device. “Did you win?”
“Of course. I always win.”
Inzer had gone pale. “You two…know each other?”
“He’s Ransom,” Ares said. “Why wouldn’t I know him?”
“Right, yes.” Inzer swallowed uncomfortably. “That makes sense. You’d know the face behind your favorite game character, obviously.”
“He’s my boyfriend,” Eden had no clue why he said it, but the words tumbled past his lips before he could help himself.
Honestly, seeing the sweat appear on Inzer’s brow sort of made it worth it.
The asshole didn’t deserve to walk around comfortably.
Let him stew and wonder what Eden was doing dating a Black Hart.
Let him worry and really think about Eden’s family and what he’d done to them, like he should have been doing all along. Everyone here was terrified of Ares.
Eden wasn’t above using that to his advantage, even if it meant rumors getting around that the two of them were together. Suddenly, maintaining distance so he could save face in front of his students didn’t matter as much.
Why should it? Hadn’t Lucifer promised to handle things if anyone treated Eden disrespectfully?
He smirked. “What’s wrong, Inz? There’s no policy about professors and students at Sacrum Cor. I made sure to check before accepting the position.”
He had not, but he assumed that was true, since there was no way in hell Ares would have brought him on as a staff member otherwise.
“No, right, of course.” Inzer stepped back.
“Aren’t we going to lunch?”
“Actually, about that, I just remembered I have a meeting. Silly me. Rain check?”
“Are you meeting with Professor Rain?” Ares purposefully misunderstood. “There’s actually something I have to discuss with him. I’ll head there with you.”
Inzer opened his mouth but was clearly struggling to come up with a response.
Eden chuckled and reached for Ares, taking his hand and pulling him off the wall and further away from the shocked man. “Behave. It’s clear he’s in a rush. Aren’t you, Inz?”
“Yes, yes, I am. Sorry to dash, Eden.”
“It’s no problem. We’ll catch up another time, won’t we?”
He blinked at him, then found his voice. “Of course! We’ll schedule something later. I really have to go. It’s great seeing you again, welcome to Sacrum Cor!”
They watched him practically trip over himself to get away, and the second he turned the corner, Eden’s fake smile vanished.
“Why’d you give him an out just now?” Ares asked quietly. “Have you changed your mind? Slitting his throat quickly and being done with it is always on the table, Paradise.” He pressed a thumb to Eden’s forehead, smoothing out his brow. “Don’t overthink it. Just go with what feels right.”
“I didn’t give him an out.” Eden turned and looked at him. “You can have him followed, can’t you?”
Without responding, Ares tapped at his multi-slate. It only rang twice before an unfamiliar voice answered.
“What’s up?”
“You should be stepping out of the arts building right now, right?” Ares asked.
“Yeah.”
“Professor Yezaers will be passing by shortly. Follow him for me, will you?”
There was a pause and then, “I see him. For how long?”
Ares sent a silent look Eden’s way.
“I just want to know who he meets with next,” Eden replied.
“You hear that?”
“Got it.”
“Fisher?” Ares called him before the man on the other end could hang up. “Discretion.”
“I got you, A.”
“Another Black Hart?” Eden asked once they’d hung up.
“No, he’s just a friend.”
His eyes narrowed. “A friend who gave you a shiny new nickname? What? He’s too good to call you Creation like the rest of them? Or is he special?”
He was still slightly miffed Ellery got away with calling him War. Now there was another man with a unique nickname for him?
Ares grinned, far too pleased for Eden’s liking, and reached out to cup Eden’s cheek. When he was batted away, he laughed. “Don’t be jealous, boyfriend. You’re all I’ll ever need.”
“Screw you.” He turned on his heels and headed down the hall, making it halfway to the stairwell before noticing he wasn’t being followed. With a huff, he spun back around. “Well? Are you coming or what? I’m hungry.”