9. Chapter 9
nine
A fter getting dressed, Ethan and I make our way back. Fear and tension linger all around us. The hushed whispers as we venture through the halls. The quick glances and fast paces.
What in the world is putting everyone on edge?
My gaze finds the claw marks in the carpet, broken glass, and other signs of destruction. It’s like a tornado swept through here, destroying everything in its path.
“Did something happen while we were gone?” I ask Ethan as I pitch him a confused look. All of this tension is putting me even more on edge.
Ethan smirks a little. “I think you know why they’re slinking around like this.”
Deep down, I do know. Ethan has already warned me, but a part of me was uncertain about how true his words were. Now, I see that he wasn’t bluffing. Ares’ effect is felt everywhere, and it’s easy to tell that he isn’t happy.
“Ares. Why’s he so upset?” I ask him as we head up the staircase.
“Because you’re with me and not him. He’s upset that he lost control and had to part from you,” Ethan explains.
“Oh,” I breathe.
“You should see him,” he says as he pauses at the top of the staircase where Ares’ floor is.
I turn to him with a frown on my face. “Did he hurt you earlier? Has he ever hurt you?”
“I have a few scars from past fights with him. He has a lot of power. More than anyone, but that’s to be expected,” Ethan admits with a simple shrug. “But I’m fine. He just needs to simmer down, and I’m sure seeing you will calm him.”
“How do you mean, expected ?”
Ethan lifts his hands in innocence. “That’s something you should talk to him about.”
I suppose he’s right. I reach out and give his hand a grateful squeeze before turning and heading to Ares’ room to find the door cracked open.
After a deep breath, I push the door open and step inside, my eyes growing large at the sight of his room in disarray.
His bed is torn to pieces. There’s a crack in the glass of the window. Deep claw marks scar the walls.
The only thing that steals my attention from the rabid mess in his room is the sound of the shower running in the bathroom. I quietly open the door and walk inside, my eyes straying to the bathtub where I bathed him. My heart flutters at the thought and then stops when I can see Ares’ silhouette through the fogged glass shower wall.
“Get in,” he whispers, and my skin tightens. I’ve never been naked before with another being, but I know how normal it is for these shifters to be bare.
“Ares,” I whisper, and he slowly turns. The hot water cascades down his body, following every curve. I can’t control my gaze from dropping lower.
“I shouldn’t have lost it. I’m sorry if I scared you,” he says, his voice so soft and caring it makes my skin buzz.
“You didn’t scare me,” I say, edging closer. “I’m just… not sure what to do with myself… and you.”
“Me?” His dark brows tug together as he steps slightly out of the stream of water.
“I’m not scared of you, but I am scared about the way I feel about you. How quickly I’ve fallen for you without sharing too many words.” I take a shaky breath. “Perhaps… that’s the bond.”
“Perhaps,” he says, and a smile tugs on his full lips as a glint of amusement flickers in his eyes.
“Come shower with me,” he says and reaches for my hand.
I step closer, my hand resting in his, and he pulls me into the stream. My shift dress clings to my skin as a laugh falls from my lips.
Ares joins my laughter and gently tears the wet fabric from my body until I’m bare before him.
We stare at each other. The sound of running water echoes around us, and I carefully let my hand glide over his smooth, heated skin.
His gaze sweeps over my naked body. My nipples perk under his burning stare as I watch his lips curl into a smile.
“Little rider,” he muses as he leans closer, his fingers trailing over my skin until his nostrils flare .
“You smell like him,” he growls. The vibration makes me shudder, heat thrumming through me. I grip his shoulders and try to pull him closer, but he’s too strong to even budge.
“Can’t reach, little rider,” Ares teases with a light chuckle.
My face heats as his laughter reaches deep inside me. I’m seeing the man who hooked me from the start with so few words. “I’m here with you right now.”
Placing his forefinger under my chin, he tilts my head slightly. “Where you belong.”
“I don’t understand how,” I say, shaking my head.
He breathes in deeply as he cups my face. “You’re mine.”
“Ares, I want to be, but—” No more words come as he crouches down, grabbing the backs of my thighs and lifting me up in one sweep, pressing my back against the cold tiles.
My legs wrap around him on instinct as his cock nudges against my core.
A gasp leaves me as he pushes his hips against mine.
“Tell me again that you want to talk,” he teases as his hand glides up to my breast, lingering around my nipple.
Sparks fly over my skin as I stammer. My core coils, urging me to go further as my pussy weeps.
A grin pulls on his lips, and then they’re on mine as his hand leaves my breast, trailing down between my legs.
His fingers dip between my legs as he strokes my clit, and a sharp moan follows, vibrating around our tongues as my hunger for more reaches higher. My heat flares up as his dragon calls for me.
My hips rock against his hand as his pace increases, luring me higher and higher until he slows.
His lips peel away from mine, and so does his hold on me. My chest rises and falls with every rapid breath as I try to understand what he’s doing, but then he lowers himself. He kneels before me as he grabs my leg, his eyes lingering on the scratches on my knees, and he carefully presses his soft lips against the broken skin.
“Ares,” I breathe, and his gaze snaps up before he props my leg over his shoulder.
His warm lips brush over my thigh. “Say that you’re mine,” he whispers as his lips reach closer and closer, teasing over my mound.
My lips remain sealed, and I can’t pull my gaze from him buried between my legs with his eyes focused on me.
He glides his tongue over my skin and flicks it over my clit. My back arches in response as my hips jerk forward.
“Say it,” he growls, the vibration beating over my clit, forcing a shiver up my spine. My breath hitches in the back of my throat as I grind down, moving my hand to the back of his head.
He quickly grips my hand and tosses it aside. “No cheating, little rider.” But I see it, the amusement, how much he likes my daring side.
His warm tongue flicks over the sensitive spot again, then his lips latch around it and he sucks slightly.
“Oh, God,” I moan as he keeps moving, playing, teasing me until I’m on that thin edge again, on the verge of falling. I’m close to finding my release, and then he stops.
“Say you’re mine,” he says, his pupils changing into slits, and a wave of heat rumbles within me.
“ This is cheating,” I snarl. It quickly becomes a moan as he flicks his tongue over my clit.
There’s no anger, no loss of control as he flicks over my clit again. My fingers trail over his arm to the back of his head again, only this time, he doesn’t stop me as my fingers rake through his hair, tugging him closer .
“Ares,” I moan, my heel digging into his back as my hips buck with every flick and play until I have nothing left and crash over that edge. An inferno crashes through me, leaving me breathless.
My body shakes in its release as Ares’ licks become soft strokes, trailing back to my thigh before he lets my leg glide off his shoulder.
“You won this time, little rider,” he says as he rises, gripping my chin between his fingers.
“Only this time,” he warns and claims my lips, forcing me to taste myself on his tongue.
A red flush covers my cheeks as our lips part and Ares hovers over me, the aftermath of pleasure buzzing on my skin. My body burns for him, craving more touches. “Don’t leave me.”
A pleased groan rumbles in Ares’ throat as he brushes his fingers through my hair, exposing my neck. “Then, say it.”
My words get caught in my throat, and it’s like my thoughts take physical form as the bedroom door flies open and Ethan steps inside.
A growl resonates around me as Ares immediately snarls at Ethan, boxing me in under him.
“So, you can enjoy her, but it’s a problem when I do?” Ethan scoffs at Ares.
My eyes dart back and forth between them as the tension deepens. This is all my fault.
My hands secure themselves on the side of Ares’ head, bringing his eyes to mine. Realizing what I have to do, knowing what I want, knowing I have to make a choice, I say, “I won’t choose.”
Ares’ jaw tightens as he rips himself from my grasp. “You’re mine, and mine only. I. DON’T. SHARE.”
His breath grazes against my marking spot as he holds me tightly. My entire body tenses when I realize what he’s prepared to do.
“Ares, no!”