25. Lourdes
Lourdes
Iwake before Ares opens his eyes. The soft hum of the electric shades automatically retracting makes me look toward the row of windows. A glow of sunlight sits on the horizon through the gauzy curtains, casting the bed in soft gray.
Staying as still as I can as to not ruin this quiet moment, I take in my fill of Ares without his notice. Even in sleep, he looks under control. Composed. Elegant.
I don’t share my bed lightly.
Yet here I am. Staring at the most beautiful man I’ve ever laid eyes on. He’s a picture of masculine perfection against a room still hazy with morning mist.
Ares lies on his back beside me, one arm flung over the pillow, the sheet draped low down to his hips. The sleep pants he’s wearing look new.
Perhaps he doesn’t know they are paper thin. I saw the outline of every curve last night. Every muscle. Every muscle. His size and the beauty of his cock are things I can’t even think about without feeling aroused. I bet a man as potent as Ares can smell a woman’s arousal.
I softly prop myself up on one elbow and let my gaze wander.
My fingers itch to trace his regal nose and cut jawline.
Run my hands through that thick black hair.
His face is relaxed. Awake Ares can be his evil twin.
Asleep Ares has soft lines around his eyes.
His age is just a number. There aren’t any gray hairs at his temples.
His muscles are like carbon rings, signaling the years it took to craft his perfect body.
I watch the slow rise and fall of his chest, the dark sweep of his lashes against tawny skin.
He doesn’t look ruthless right now. He looks…human. And that’s what will break me. Thinking it’s not dangerous to fall for a man like this. I can’t disappear into this life with him. Not when Sandrine needs me.
Still, I gaze down his chest and back to that long line of muscle disappearing beneath the sheet. My pulse stirs low in my stomach.
His eyes open without warning. One blink and he turns his head to me. He’s not groggy. Not confused. Instantly, he’s alert, and the softness is gone.
“Good morning,” he says, his voice rough.
Heat floods my face. “Do you always wake up like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like a switch has been flipped and you have problems to solve immediately.”
His mouth curves faintly. “I have enemies. It’s a useful habit.” His gaze drifts over my face. “How long have you been watching me?”
“Long enough. You don’t snore. I appreciate that.”
He huffs a quiet laugh and rolls onto his side, propping up on an elbow as well. “And how do you wake up? I missed it.”
The comment strikes a nerve. He missed it. Missed…me.
“I don’t know. I never woke up to anyone staring at me to tell me how I sleep.”
“I watched you last night.” He fingers the sheet between us.
“And?”
“You sleep like you’re bracing yourself.”
I blow out a breath from the corner of my mouth. “That’d been my life lately, I guess. Caged.”
His expression shifts, unreadable curiosity flickering behind his eyes. “I enjoy caging wild things,” he says softly.
My heart kicks at my ribs. “Is that what I am?”
His thumb brushes a strand of hair from my shoulder. “You are wild to me. On the verge of growing into who you are meant to be, butterfly. Just don’t fly away too soon.”
“I suspect if I did, you’d catch me like you said last night.”
His grip tightens around my hair, and in a low growl, he says. “Catch you. Cage you. Maybe keep you.”
“Can you kiss me again?” I hear myself asking.
“Just a kiss?” He shifts his weight, moving on top of me.
“Yes.” But my legs naturally splay open, and the feel of his hard cock against my center takes my breath away.
God, what have I gotten myself into?
Swallowing, I tilt my hips, and he settles further between my legs.
Growling, his mouth brushes against mine. One hand cups the back of my head, the other trails up my thigh.
Thinking he may want to take this further, I break the kiss. I find dark, hooded eyes of a predator looking down at me.
I feel my lips trembling, and then his eyes go there. He smiles and lays one more soft kiss on my mouth. Sensing my need to stop, he swallows and lets go of my hair.
“Let’s get the day started.” He sits up and glances toward the window. “We need to be on the boat early to deal with the tides.”
I sit up as well and wrap my arms around my knees. “What kind of boat do you have?”
“You’ll see.” He swings his legs over the side of the bed and stands, the sheet falling away.
I swallow hard and stare at the bulge between his legs.
“I’ll shower first,” he says. “I have some business to attend to before we leave.”
When the bathroom door closes behind him, I push out of bed and open up the large wooden wardrobe where all the clothes he bought for me were folded and put away while we ate dinner.
I reach into a drawer and see several bathing suits. All bikinis. Ugh.
Early morning decisions without coffee won’t do. I dash downstairs to the kitchen, but only find espresso. The sharp bite is a jolt, but it goes down smooth.
But when I return to the bedroom, the bathing suit decision doesn’t feel any easier.
The bathroom door opens, and Ares steps out, naked, just holding a towel against his body, using it to dry off. Water still clings to his skin, droplets tracking down his chest.
“Problem?”
You’re naked! Yes, that’s a problem.
“I’m not a swimsuit person,” I say, eyes lowered.
“You will be. For me. With me.”
“I prefer not to scare endangered sea life.”
“Not everyone does this to me.” He tosses the towel and motions to his erection. “Makes me hard minutes after I’ve already come in the shower.”
My breath stutters. “I… Uh…”
His cock pulsing with lingering drops of water. “And yet, I’m willing to wait to be inside you. But this is what waits for you when you accept what power you have over me.”
“I… Well,” I continue to stutter. I want him to be crazy. Unbound and unhinged.
If I can survive that.
“And just so you’re aware, I get tested before and after any sexual arrangement. I’m clean, Lourdes. When you submit to me, I will take you bare.” He fists his cock. “Are you on birth control?”
My body tingles with how real this just got. “No.”
“Then I’ll make the proper adjustments. I have no intention to impregnate you against your will.”
“Do you want children at all?” I ask, fighting for every breath as he stands there naked.
“Not a topic for right now.” He strides toward me, and it’s like a tree coming at you.
I’m shadowed by his height and girth. The heat of him envelops me, and I don’t know how long I’ll hold out before I lie down and spread my legs for him.
He’s so close I can smell the soap and a hint of spicy lotion. “But for some reason, you make me want things I never thought I’d want.”
Then he casually disappears into his closet as if he didn’t just detonate something inside my chest.
My pulse pounding in my ears, I still have to get dressed. I grab a black bikini and a lightweight pale blue sundress and take them in the bathroom to get ready for our day on the boat.
Inside, I press my back against the door.
The mirror reflects my flushed cheeks and wide eyes.
My heart is racing, not just from Ares’s naked body, but from how controlled and intense he is.
Sex with David was routine, uninspired, from what I can remember.
I’m certain that with Ares, it will be anything but. I worry if I’ll be able to satisfy him.
I strip from my nightgown and step under the shower, letting the warm water calm me. I finish and dry off with the softest towel ever. Getting ready to slip my arms through the bikini top, I notice the bra cups are lined with shiny beads. I look closer. Oh God, are those diamonds?
“Holy shit.”
The string bikini bottom sits high on my hips and low in the front. It’s trimmed with another row of diamonds. The top offers a good eyeful of my cleavage, but covers enough that I feel supported and comfortable. But as little as it covers, it looks classy.
Just not very conservative, yet I remind myself that Europeans often sunbathe topless. Americans have stamped shame on nudity.
I twirl around admiring myself in the mirror. Satisfied, I pull the sundress over my body and head out of the bathroom.
Ambling to Ares’s closet, I peek inside. He’s buttoning up a linen short-sleeved shirt to go with his salmon-colored linen shorts when he sees me.
“Do you want something?” he asks.
Yes. You.
“Is this okay for the boat?” I finger the dress.
His eyes rake up and down my body. Slowly, he moves toward me and grabs hold of my chin. “It’s more than okay. It’s perfect.”