Chapter 24
The king-sized mattress in the main bedroom was firm yet soft, and the pile of pillows and thick blankets in assorted gray shades were pleasing to the eye. At least, Ares thought so, since he was the only one who could see them.
Eden whimpered beneath him, and Ares hushed him for what had to be the millionth time in the last thirty-two hours. He’d given the Starling a break, a chance to sleep—he wasn’t a complete monster—but three hours was as long as Ares could hold himself back.
They’d spent most of the first night and day in front of the fire, but he’d brought Eden here after he’d passed out.
The headset and spreader bar had been removed, and the handcuffs had been separated and reattached to trap Eden’s arms over his head.
The hook in the wall, accessible through the metal rungs of the headboard, had come in handy, easily locking him into place when Ares slipped the metal loop at the center of the cuffs over it.
The gag and the blindfold remained, preventing Eden from glaring or cursing at Ares for his antics, though he got the sense they were well past that point. The fact that the velvet over his eyes was soaked through was indicative of that.
Outside, a thunderstorm raged, rain pinging against the roof, wind rattling the glass panes of the windows.
It was gloomy and gray, the dying afternoon light overcast and heading toward darkness.
Orange-gold light from the smaller fireplace in the corner of the room that Ares had prepared earlier cast their shadows dancing against the walls, and he glanced at them every now and again, liking the way they looked.
The way they blended so seamlessly together as he and Eden became one over and over again.
He pressed his cock in deep, rolled his hips, and then slowly extracted himself from Eden’s warm heat.
He’d checked while his Starling was sleeping, and his hole was thoroughly used, puffy and swollen.
Each glide of his cock must have brought as much pleasure as it did discomfort, but knowing Eden liked a little pain spurred Ares on.
Keeping the tempo slow and almost lazy as he screwed him, Ares lifted slightly so he could take in the marks peppered across Eden’s body.
They decorated his chest and his arms, his stomach…and lower. Though Ares couldn’t see them, he knew similar love bites and hickies brought color to Eden’s thighs. To his plump ass. Everywhere Ares could touch, he’d loved on.
He’d left a mark, a claim, proof of his ownership. For at least a week, no one who saw even an inch of Eden’s skin from the chin down would be able to ignore the blatant message.
This sliver of reality was his.
“Mine.” Ares lowered and dragged his tongue across Eden’s right jawline, curving up over his cheek.
“Mine to take. To fill. To plunder. Do you know how good it feels to fuck you like this, Paradise? Nice and slow, I can feel every squeeze of your muscles, every flutter of your hole. The pulsations of your weepy, overworked dick.”
He buried his face against the curve of Eden’s neck and inhaled, moaning as that tantalizing scent permeated the air and the Starling's body reacted to his whispered words.
“I know you’re not a fan of it,” Ares confessed. “But I took you rough already. Now it’s my turn. Don’t worry about coming. You’ve already released thirteen times to my three. I’ll ease you toward the edge and pull you back before you get the chance to fall. How does that sound?”
Eden wailed around the ball gag, but Ares chuckled at his torment.
“You shouldn’t have denied me all week,” he said.
“For the rest of the weekend, I think I’ll take over that particular role, what do you think?
This time, I’ll play the perpetual tease.
And you?” He pulled his cock out to the tip and then purposefully pushed back in, feeding him inch after inch, all while Eden cried and shook beneath him.
“You’re going to be my cock warmer. You’re going to lie here and take it soft and unhurried.
I’m not in a rush to blow my load, babe. ”
Ares pumped his hips leisurely and felt Eden’s dick throb against his stomach.
“Picturing how distressed you were trying to achieve orgasm on your own in the bathroom earlier this week makes me want to prolong this even more,” he divulged.
“And thinking about how you attempted it again in bed a couple of days ago makes me want to keep you here indefinitely. Writhing beneath me is where you belong, Eden Baldur, don’t you see? ”
Eden had emitted a strangled sound at the start of Ares’ confession, and now went as still as he was able, mind no doubt cataloging everything else he’d done in his rooms, trying to identify if there were any other embarrassing moments.
“Before you get mad about the hidden cameras, you should know they’re every bit as much for your benefit as they are mine.
Considering my stamina, do you really think either of us would be able to function like regular adults if I gave in to temptation and truly kept you a slave to my cock twenty-four-seven?
Allowing me access through a screen satisfies a portion of my darker urges to consume you.
It’s what granted you the space you needed this week to wrap your head around what’s happening to your body.
“Does it feel like it’s betraying you?” Ares surmised. “I bet you wondered how you could grow so addicted to me after just one time. Did you rage at your subconscious and try to deny it?”
They both knew he had. Ares had watched Eden sprawled out on his bed at Castle Black, his hips lifted and angled to take the thrusting dildo attachment of the Pumper 3000. He’d managed to come sooner than he had in the shower days prior, but it’d still taken him a while to do it.
“Want to hear a secret? The largest attachment your favorite fucking toy comes with is still an inch shorter than my cock. You won’t find satisfaction elsewhere again.
” Not if Ares could help it. “But I’ll play with you whenever you like.
All you have to do is ask me for it, babe.
Is that really so difficult? Ask,” he rammed into him aggressively once and then went back to his measured movements, purposefully driving Eden wild, “and you shall receive.”
Eden sobbed and trembled, and Ares took a moment to kiss his forehead.
“This cock is yours, after all,” he continued.
“You possess the God of Creation. Together, we can make our reality heaven.” He tugged on Eden’s irritated right nipple, sure to dig his nail into the healing teeth marks in the process.
“Or we can make it hell. I told you I played fair, and you let your guard down. Think, pretty Paradise. How will you leave me at the end? Both of your professions, the roof over your head, proof of your revenge…it all rests with me. I own your reality, Eden Baldur. There is no escape, and since you don’t have an exit strategy, the simplest solution to all your struggles is to give in. ”
Choice was as much an illusion as everything else. It wasn’t Ares' fault Eden had fallen for the mirage.
Taking a modicum of pity on him, Ares removed the ball gag, wiping saliva from Eden’s face as he gasped.
When he whined again, the sound was clearer, unmistakable.
“Please,” Eden’s voice crackled. “Please.”
Ares kissed him with the same slow pace as his hips, and when Eden turned his head away, continued down his throat to that sensitive spot between his neck and shoulder, sucking and biting until Eden was pulling on his restraints loud enough for the metal to clank.
“Lucifer!” He widened his thighs, taking Ares deeper on the next thrust. “Please!”
“This is how I felt all week when you refused to come to me,” Ares said. “Why should I be thoughtful of your needs when you couldn't care less about mine?”
“Manipulative bastard.” Eden backtracked when Ares stilled inside of him. “No, no, I didn’t mean it! I’m sorry. Please.”
“Please what?”
“You know what!” He tossed his head against the pillow. “Harder. Faster. I need you deeper, Lucifer, please! Let me come. I want to. Make me come.”
“There’s a lot of me, me, me in there, Paradise.”
“I’ll do whatever you want,” he offered. “Anything. Just stop this.”
Ares considered. He really was having a great time. He hadn’t felt this present or whole in…maybe ever. The only shadows in this room were the ones he and the Starling made, and reality wasn’t so much as cracked, let alone shattered.
“I could live here for eternity, just like this,” he admitted. “Inside of you.”
Eden sobbed. “Anything. I’ll do anything if you’ll just fuck me properly and be done with it. I’m begging you. God. My god.”
Oh.
Ares liked the sound of that.
He’d never cared about the moniker before, but hearing Eden call out to him like that…
“Promise?” There were other areas of their relationship that they could work on…Perhaps this was a golden opportunity. “Anything?”
“Yes!” Eden frantically nodded his head.
“And all I have to do is be rough with you?” Clarification was always necessary when setting rules. Unlike the man beneath him, Ares was sure to read the fine print of every contract he got himself involved with.
Eden licked his lips. “Make me come,” he said. “And come yourself.”
Ares snorted. “Do you think I’ll be done with you if I orgasm as well?”
“I need a break. Let me have one after, a real one, and I won’t resist the rest of the weekend. You can do whatever you like with me.”
Appealing.
“Deal.”
Ares drove into him with enough force that Eden’s head came up against the headboard.
* * *
“Is this seriously what you’re asking for?” Eden straddled Ares in the tub, working eucalyptus-smelling shampoo into his dark locks.