Chapter 21
Ares watched the live feed of Eden pleasuring himself projected across his bathroom wall.
He’d kept that space blank on purpose and now filled it with footage of his Starling trying to get himself off.
His frustration was palpable, clear from the pinched brow and the way he kept slamming back on the toy harder and harder with each passing minute.
He was going to hurt himself.
Or break the dildo.
Maybe both.
Eden didn’t know he was watching, thought he was sticking it to him by going off to handle things on his own, leaving Ares high and dry, but that wasn’t the case.
Ares lowered onto the closed toilet seat, hand traveling down his chest and over his stomach, until he was cupping himself beneath his pants.
He spread his legs wider and got more comfortable, settling in for what appeared to be a long show.
His Starling didn’t realize it yet, but the toy he’d selected was two inches shorter than what Ares was packing.
All of the toys in the drawer were like that. Perfect on the outside, yet lacking in some tiny, obscure way. After the rigorous pounding he’d subjected Eden to for almost two whole days, something even slightly smaller was bound to make a difference, and not for the better.
Sure enough, when Ares turned up the volume, he could hear Eden cursing over the sound of the shower spray. He chuckled and applied more pressure to himself, reaching down with his other hand to tug at his balls as he watched Eden struggle to achieve orgasm.
Poor thing was going to have to work for it. Served him right.
That would teach him. Teach him to come to Ares for these types of things.
Show him that only Ares could provide what he truly needed.
The goal was a reality wherein they didn’t play pretend when it came to lust and desire.
He was after a future where, at the first tickle of arousal, Eden would come to him begging for it.
Ares’ cock sprang free when he finally undid his fly, his flushed member stiff and aching.
He had his own drawer of sex toys he could use, but unlike Eden, he had the added benefit of being able to see what he coveted most. He took his time teasing himself while staring at the Starling, trailing the tips of his fingers up and down his shaft in a way that caused him to shiver.
His pants were shoved down to his ankles, and when he resettled, he rolled his thumb against his slick slit, smearing precome around his crown.
He did this for a while, coating himself with his own juices as he listened to Eden grow more and more agitated as he chased after a release that didn’t seem to want to come.
“Sloppy,” Ares tsked, watching the way Eden practically beat his dick.
Contrarily, Ares grasped his cock, fingers cinching as he began stroking his length.
His thumb focused on his crown, playing with the sensitive area, tugging and rolling over it as he pumped into his fist. He switched to tapping lightly against his frenulum with each upward stroke, and before long, he was close to tipping.
The second his free hand fondled his balls, he exploded, squirting thick ropes across the bathroom floor. Some splattered against the projection, and Eden happened to groan at the same time, causing his cock to gush even more.
The first orgasm did nothing to satisfy his craving, and Ares didn’t even bother letting himself go, still stroking when he lengthened all over again. He was more sensitive now than before, more eager, and he drove into his hand with hard pumps, ass practically lifting off the seat in the process.
Instead of that shitty piece of plastic, Eden could be riding him right now. Could be bent over and presenting for him. But no. He had to be stubborn. Had to keep up the act.
Why he even bothered was beyond Ares. When he thought Ares wasn’t paying attention, Eden looked at him like he was a walking wet dream. The night they’d first met, at the company dinner, his attraction toward him had been written all over his face.
Eden wanted him.
But he wanted to cling to that illusion of control even more.
For now.
Ares would break through his walls and get through to him. Would reshape him little by little, piece by piece, until Eden’s very subconscious was slave to Ares’ whims. He’d discover the key to happiness in this reality was to give himself over, completely.
“Lucifer,” Eden sobbed his name, the frustration growing as his orgasm continued to elude him.
“I’m getting in your head,” Ares said to the projection.
“I’m laying siege to your mind the same way I overtook your perfect, sculpted body.
Then all that will be left is your heart.
Your soul. Gods, I’m going to consume you so thoroughly, you’ll drop to your knees and beg at just a hint of my affection. ”
Eden had accused him of not being capable of taking what he wanted, but that simply wasn’t the case. Ares had been taking all along. Bit by bit, in small, unnoticeable ways. He was bringing the frog to a boil, so to speak.
“And I have such a fat frog.” His gaze lingered on Eden’s bright red dick, the angry member swinging between Eden’s thighs as he gave up on it and set his focus on riding the toy and rubbing at his nipples.
Ares came again just as Eden was wiping tears of frustration from his eyes.
Looked like they were going to have a long night.
* * *
Eden finally achieved orgasm an hour after disappearing into his rooms. It didn’t seem to have been worth it, and he sat on the floor of the shower for a while after, head hanging low as water poured over him.
Ares took that time to clean up his mess. When he was done with that, he left to change into comfortable clothing, finding Eden was still there when he returned.
That wouldn’t do. At this rate, the professor was going to make himself sick on his second day of work. They couldn’t have that now, could they? Eden would complain, Ares would be blamed, and it would set them back a step.
With a sigh, he left his bedroom and went to the kitchen. Caffeine didn’t affect his Starling, and Eden was known to enjoy a late-night cup to help relax. Ares got a pot going and then checked the fridge, grimacing when he saw how empty it was.
He called Nyoka, who answered on the third ring. “Bring me snacks.”
“Bite me.” The other Black Hart hung up.
Ares tried again, this time with Ellery.
“I’m out with the team,” Ellery told him. “You’ll be pleased to know Sedos wasn’t invited. His best friend is here though, posting pictures of all of us to his Inspire account.”
Ares would never think of using social media to torture someone, but while Ellery’s antics came off childish to him, he knew from history they were effective. Bullying was a special sort of hell. That was the reason he’d assigned the task to him in the first place.
Eden had his own frogs he wished to see boiled.
Ending the call, he considered his other options. Illya, Devyn, and Camren were away, and Zar was most likely busy with the stranger he’d called Jackal. If he bothered Ryker with a task as lowly as playing the part of an errand boy, the hothead would most likely bring rat poison out of spite.
He glanced down the hall. He didn’t like the idea of leaving Eden alone, even for a short while, not when he knew how fragile his mental state was, but…
The Starling had picked at a couple of desserts during his lunch break, and he’d arrived at Castle Black in a timely manner, indicating he hadn’t stopped to eat anything after class either.
Seeing no other way around it, Ares went to get food from the downstairs common area.
Because he was in a rush, the elevator seemed to take a million years, and he turned on Vanity as he waited, realizing he hadn’t signed in all day.
A rarity for him, but he’d spent his time distracted by thoughts of Eden and hadn’t considered checking in with Ransom once.
“Ransom isn’t real,” he mumbled to himself as he did his daily tasks, a series of check-ins like sending energy to other players on his friends list and interacting with Ransom in the library.
The elevator dinged, signaling he was there, and he stepped out without bothering to glance up. The gasp a few feet away gave him pause, and after hitting another couple of buttons and earning some praise from Ransom, Ares tore his gaze off the screen, eyes landing on the man called Jackal.
He was favoring his left leg—not the one Ares recalled injuring earlier, interestingly enough—and propped himself up against the wall directly across from the elevators, eyeing Ares warily.
Ares blinked at him and then turned in the direction of the kitchen, stopping a second time when the man spoke.
“Not going to shoot me again? I still have one good leg.”
He stared back at him, noting he was close enough to the front door that he may have been attempting to make another break for it. There was no sign of Zar, however. The panel above the elevators wasn’t even lit up, so he wasn’t on his way down either.
Maybe he hadn’t realized his person was missing yet.
“Keep it,” Ares replied. “For as long as you can. Reality is cruel.”
The man snorted, but Ares was already turning away, mind back on his task and the game.
He found the makings for a decent charcuterie board and set the game to play one of the audio cards he’d won.
It ran for just under five minutes, and he’d earn gems after.
The story was soft, an afternoon date with Ransom at the library, the sound of rain in the background.
A version of Eden’s voice filled the kitchen as Ares sliced meats and cheeses, and he zoned out listening to it.
By the time the card finished, he had a selection of four cheeses, three meats, two types of crackers, and two containers of chocolate-covered pretzels and salted nuts. Opting to play another card since he’d be traveling back up, Ares clicked on the next one and walked back to the elevator.