24. Ares
Ares
We’re leaving the terrace after dinner when a rare emotion hits me: I care about Lourdes.
I care about her well-being. That she’s looked after, safe, fed, and clothed. I’ve not paid this kind of attention to any woman before. Not even the ones I’ve had arrangements with.
Is this what love feels like? I can’t be sure because I’ve never been in love.
But the thought that I could be falling in love with this woman rattles me.
Talking about Alexander earlier and how he was killed by the Irish reminded me I’m not a god. I’m an mortal man. A man with flaws, although I hide them. And while Lourdes is dazzled by the beauty of this place, she’s not intimidated by the power beneath it.
That alone makes her a dangerous drug to chase.
I steer her back into the house and upstairs to my bed chamber with my hand resting lightly at her spine. I’m aware of the warmth underneath her dress and the control I need to be this close to her and not detonate.
Control has never been difficult for me. I wield discipline like a sword. It saved my house from descending into chaos after Alexander was killed.
This need requires a different kind of control.
Inside the bedroom, she asks me, “What else do you expect from me while we’re here, Ares?” She says my name differently from any other person. “Physically?”
“I will not touch you unless you give me permission.” With Lourdes in my bed, I’ll have to show restraint like I’ve never known.
“I work for you. Won’t that…complicate things?”
I look her in the eye. “You might be the biggest complication I’ve ever purposely tangled myself up in. I find that intoxicating. I don’t do easy. I don’t want a woman kneeling. I’d rather you run so I can chase you.”
Her brows furrow. “And the rope?”
I smile, my blood heating. “That’s for after I catch you.”
Swallowing thickly, she says, “If you catch me.”
If, my ass…
“One more thing.” I look down at her hand. “You will remove your wedding ring before you get into my bed with me.”
Nodding, she slides it off and looks around.
“May I?” I hold out my palm.
When she hands it to me, I want to toss it into the trash can. Instead, I drop it into my duffle. I will forge it into a bullet and use it to kill David Sinclair myself when I get back to New York once we locate him.
“Where is your phone?” I ask.
“My purse.” She picks it up from the chaise. “I haven’t touched it. Haven’t wanted to see any messages. Or reminders.”
“May I see it?”
She reaches inside and hands it to me. “There’s no code. David wouldn’t allow me to lock it.”
Not responding to that insane lack of security from a hitman, I take her phone and sure enough, there are messages and missed calls.
Glancing up at her, I say, “He’s looking for you. I’m blocking his number and any numbers not in your contacts. Don’t worry. He’ll never get near you again.”
She takes this in and nods. “Can I use the bathroom for a while? To freshen up and get ready for bed?”
“Of course.” I step aside and let her pass.
I undress, and while I prefer to sleep in the nude, to be polite, I choose a thin, loose pair of sleep pants.
From the workbag I brought with me, I slide out my laptop and sit on a leather chair near the closet. I send messages to Daria and Atlas that David has left unhinged messages on Lourdes’s phone and must be finished. Immediately.
Atlas suggests tagging him, and Daria sets that up.
When Lourdes comes out of the bathroom, she’s wearing a gauzy white cotton nightgown. Standing in the doorway with the bathroom light behind her, I can see all of her naked curves underneath.
There will be no more work tonight. I close the laptop and drop it into my bag. This woman is all I want to think about right now.
I step toward the bed and lift the covers on the side closest to the bathroom. “Get in.”
After she slides beneath the sheets, I remain standing a moment longer, watching the outline of her body molded into the white linen.
I inhale and mentally reset. I need this day to end, the day I stay polite. The day I’m the good guy.
The man Lourdes will spend the rest of this trip with is a man who will turn the world upside down to get what I want.
And I want her.
I turn off the lights and get in bed beside her, careful to leave space between us. She lies on her back, her head tilted toward me, her features bathed in the moonlight.
If I touch her now, it will be because I don’t have control of myself. Restraint is my superpower tonight.
I grab the shade control and hit the button until the room goes pitch dark.
“Go to sleep, little storm. Tomorrow, you can join me out on my boat,” I say, tossing the remote on the bedside table. “I’d like to take a look at the shelf damage for myself if I’m going to invest money to fix it.”
Lourdes nods and closes her eyes. I can tell she’s fallen asleep in a few minutes. As her breathing deepens, she turns slightly in her sleep, her hand wandering and landing on my chest.
Fuck. Me.