a hundred times a day, but it has never felt like that. Ares pulls back, resting his forehead on mine. Our noses brushing together as I pant, and he nuzzles me.
“The others, they’ll be mad?” My fingers circle his wrists as I let my hands glide up his forearms, stopping when I reach the cuff of his shirt. I tease the smooth skin there, letting my fingertips delve under the fabric to his inner elbow before I drag my nails back down softly. I hear Ares swallow a gulp.
“Definitely,” he purrs. My eyelids low, I see his lips just inches from mine. I want to know what it would feel like to have him really kiss me. Lifting my chin, I bring our mouths closer together resting my lips on his. With the very tip of my tongue I trace just under his top lip. Ares’s hands tighten on my neck, almost to the point of pain, before he releases and flows his fingers over my shoulders and down to my waist. Gripping me, he lifts me so my butt is on the tiny kitchen counter. My arms go over his shoulders as he parts my legs, stepping even closer.
Ares angles his head low, his nose nudging my collarbone. My head falls back, allowing him better access as he runs the tip of his tongue up the column of my throat. “Oh hell,” I moan huskily when his teeth nip my jaw line. His fingers tremble as his palm finds my cheek. His forehead meets mine again, and I let out a huff of disappointment.
Rocking back and forth across my brow he mutters under his breath, too low for me to hear. It’s like he’s working himself up to it, and that thought splashes cold reality over me. My hands go from pulling toward me to pushing him away. Ares leans away, his eyes fully black and his mouth parted as he searches my face. Whatever he sees there has him stepping back, scrubbing his hands over his face. “Forgive me Cara, I was lost in the moment.” His words are formal and stiff. I hop down from the counter, my fingers covering my lips.
“It was me, I’m sorry. You don’t have to… I don’t want to make you feel like… I’m sorry this bond is so different. I feel different than I ever…” Heat rises from my chest and up my neck, landing on my cheeks. Ares takes a step toward me with his arm outstretched, but I spin in the other direction, heading to the curtained off area that makes up my room.
Dropping to my bed I bend forward, burrowing my face in my knees. What was I thinking? He told me it was wrong, that the others would be mad, but I still wanted it. Still do, if the quiver in my stomach and the tremor in my hands are telling me anything.
Sitting upright, I tell myself it’s no big deal. Girls probably throw themselves at him all the time; he’s probably kissed tons of them. I feel an actual pain in my chest when I imagine him doing just that. Shaking away the image, I run my hands over my thighs a few times. I’m not even really sure why he brought me here—to grab my stuff?
A few moments pass before I hear and feel his steps as he nears my room. He’s hesitant, walking slowly. Not meeting my eyes, he tells my, “The guys called, are you about finished up?”
Taking my cues from him I stand, feeling awkward about the moment we shared. “What should I bring?”
He looks around my room and the corners of his eyes crinkle when he winces. “Anything you want to ke—” He stops mid sentence. “Have for a while?” His voice lifts at the end, telling me he’s not sure himself. “And the picture,” he adds, sounding much surer of himself. “Don’t forget the picture.”
Twenty One
Walking in the same side door we used yesterday, I toe off my sneakers. The house smells divine with the aroma of roasted meat filling the air. Ares is a step behind me and his palm meets my back when I don’t step out of the little room immediately. He guides me down the hall, past a few doors, and into the kitchen.
The rest of the guys are all seated at an island facing the stove. Each of their heads turn in our direction. Tangling my fingers together I wait, feeling unsure of where to