Chapter Eleven
CASSIE’S WORDS HUNG in the air between them.
She looked as if the wind had been knocked out of her.
Deflated. Ares was numb. He recognised shock.
He had to admit he too felt a little blindsided after Caius’s wake-up call.
It had been all too easy to pretend there wasn’t a real world waiting for them to return.
Ares to his security business and Cassie to become queen.
What Ares didn’t tell Cassie was that when he’d heard Caius’s voice on the phone he’d had an urge to cut the connection and say nothing. Because he’d known before his friend had even spoken that this…was over.
But it was for the best. This little…moment had been an indulgence Ares should never have allowed to happen.
It had been weak. Selfish. He’d broken all of his own rules to not let anyone get close enough to hurt him the way his family had done with their callous disregard.
He amended that now. Not his family. His parents.
His siblings…he’d never given them a chance really and he was only fully recognising that fact after all this time.
Cassie with her questions had made him acknowledge that they’d been pawns as much as he had.
It wasn’t as if they’d had any power to help him when he’d been kidnapped.
And yet he’d cut them off, excised them from his world.
One of the tenets of his life, the thing he’d built so much around—not needing anyone, being a loner—no longer felt so solid. Or attractive.
His very justified sense of injury was no longer so justified and the woman in front of him, who he’d been moments away from taking here on the floor of the gym like a feral youth, was the cause of this introspection.
Ares didn’t need introspection. His life had been perfectly fine.
And the fact that her usual sunniness was dimmed…
shouldn’t matter a whit. He took a step back and tried not to let his eyes travel down over that perfectly honed body, encased in clinging Lycra.
Her little midriff-baring vest top and the leggings that cupped her ass like a second skin.
And he definitely couldn’t think about the surprising strength that had caught him off guard. But then, that just summed up his whole experience with her. Surprising at every turn.
His voice sounded gruff. ‘You should get ready, Cass.’
‘Yes. I should.’
Ares mentally pleaded with her to smile, light up again, but she just turned and walked out of the room looking dejected and he had to push down the surge of protectiveness he felt at the thought of her facing everything ahead of her alone.
She wasn’t his. And she wouldn’t be alone for long. She’d find a husband and carve out a better existence than she’d seen from her parents. He knew she would.
A short time later they were at the same private airfield in Athens where, just days ago, Cassie had evaded her security team and headed off on a solo adventure.
Everything felt different though. She was different.
She felt as if a layer of herself had been sloughed away and a new layer of skin had formed.
She felt more sober. Less inclined to smile for the sake of it.
She also felt heartbroken and she wanted to hate Ares for making her fall for him. But she couldn’t. The thought of going back to Sadat and becoming queen wasn’t daunting. What was daunting was the fact that she had to do it without Ares, and that he wouldn’t be by her side. Ever again.
She was standing in a small vestibule now, eyes hidden behind sunglasses, as Ares spoke to officials to arrange her flight home. This was it. This was where he was going to say goodbye and then it would be as if these last few magical days had never happened—
‘OK, let’s go.’ Ares had taken her arm and was leading her out of the small room onto the tarmac and walking towards the sleek jet.
Cassie tried to get her brain to catch up with her mouth. ‘Where are you going?’
He glanced down. ‘With you.’
Cassie’s heart skipped a beat. ‘What do you mean? Aren’t you staying here? Or heading back to America?’
‘I will be, but not just yet. We’re making one stop before I let you go back to Sadat.’ They were climbing the steps to the plane now. An air steward was waiting for them, smiling. Cassie smiled back and it slipped off her face as soon as they were in the plush cabin.
‘Ares…?’
He was walking through the cabin checking the space and turned around. He was wearing jeans and a dark shirt, sleeves rolled up, buttons undone revealing the top of his powerful chest.
He looked over Cassie’s head to the steward. ‘OK, we’re good to go.’
Cassie folded her arms and cocked one hip to the side, eyes narrowed on Ares. ‘Want to tell me what’s going on?’
He reached for her and tugged her to a seat. He took the one opposite and as the plane started to move he said, ‘Buckle up.’
‘Not until you tell me where we’re going.’
He looked at her and then reached across the divide and slotted her safety belt together. Cassie tried swatting his hands away but the sensation of his hands near her belly and legs made her clumsy.
She was tempted to undo her belt to have him do it up again but resisted the childish urge. Eventually under her death glare, as the plane gathered speed and lifted into the air, Ares said, ‘We’re making a little stop en route to Sadat.’
‘I’ve gathered that much,’ Cassie said dryly. ‘Where exactly?’
‘Florence.’
‘Florence,’ she echoed, struggling to understand.
Ares looked at his watch. ‘Yes, it’s a little over two hours.’
And then it hit her. Florence. Her insides turned to jelly. ‘Are we going to the Uffizi gallery?’
Ares nodded. He said a little gruffly, ‘I wanted to give you one more experience from your list.’
Cassie shook her head, overcome. ‘Ares…’ She undid her belt and launched herself out of her seat and into Ares’s lap. His arms went around her and he commented, ‘I don’t think we’re technically cruising yet, so you’re in breach of safety procedure.’
Cassie knew that if the plane went down in that moment, as long as she was in Ares’s arms, she wouldn’t care. She felt like crying but she pushed it down and grinned at Ares and wriggled a little on his lap. ‘I’ve got a new addition to the list.’
His eyes turned molten. ‘I’m sure we can accommodate late additions to the list.’
A short time later, when they were safely cruising, Ares made good on fulfilling Cassie’s wish list. They were in the bedroom at the back of the plane and Cassie was biting down on her hand to avoid screaming out loud.
Ares’s head was between her legs, his hands holding her thighs apart, and his tongue was engaged in sending her spiralling into a paroxysm of pleasure so intense it was almost painful.
She had her other hand on his head, fingers tangled in his thick hair, simultaneously pulling him closer and pushing him away.
When Ares finally lifted his mouth from her clasping body, he was smiling. He moved up her body, stopping to press kisses to her belly and then enclosing a nipple in his hot mouth, teasing the sharp point with his teeth.
He lifted his head. ‘You’ve now been inititated into the mile high club.’
Cassie was still reeling from the intensity of the orgasm. A short sharp dart of jealousy struck her to think that this wasn’t Ares’s initiation into the club. But then this was the last time they’d— She reached for him to stop her mind going down that path.
‘Kiss me, Ares.’
He obliged, with a deep explicit kiss. Cassie spread her legs wider and reached down, wrapping her hand around him, stroking his erection, making him stop the kiss and hiss. His cheeks were flushed. ‘Cass…you’re killing me.’
‘I want you inside me. Now.’ She sounded so bossy. He’d turned her into someone greedy.
He found protection and rolled it onto his length.
Cassie already felt the pain of regret and separation and as he entered her, it tinged this lovemaking with an unbearable sense of poignancy.
This time was different. Eyes connected, Cassie couldn’t have looked away even if she’d wanted to.
When the climax broke over her she didn’t even care that Ares would see the moisture in her eyes, she couldn’t stop it.
He chased his own completion, his body jerking against hers, and she lamented the barrier stopping his seed from spilling into her.
She felt it on a very primal level, that she was meant to be with this man.
In every way. But she bit into his shoulder to stop herself from saying the words that wouldn’t be welcome.
And yet, as she gripped him close to her, legs wrapped around his back, hearts slowing down in unison, she desperately tried to tell herself that it was just hormones and amazing sex, that she couldn’t possibly have fallen for this haunted lone wolf.
But she knew she had and that this would be her cross to bear for ever. She wanted to hate him for that. But she couldn’t even do that.
‘Wear this.’
Cassie took the baseball cap Ares handed her, and put it on her head. She’d tied her hair back into a bun. They were in a chauffeur-driven SUV being taken from the airport to the museum. It felt strange to be back in a busy city again. Jarring.
She still felt a little over-sensitised after the plane. She’d noticed that, after making love, Ares had washed and dressed and left her to do the same, saying something about making calls.
Since they’d landed he’d been solicitous but was clearly drawing back.
Putting boundaries back in place. Boundaries that had never really been there.
And it felt so wrong. Cassie wanted to stamp her foot and demand he look at her.
She smiled at herself mockingly—exactly how a petulant princess would behave.
They pulled to a stop on the banks of the Arno river, in front of the imposing building that housed the famous galleries. It rose up, dominating the landscape. Cassie still couldn’t quite believe Ares had thought of this.