get her away from Ares—she loves him. What if he loves her too? All the sympathy I had evaporates when I begin feeling threatened by her proclamation.
Pushing my feet against the floor I begin to rise from my seat, only Dante’s hands prevent me from standing. He bends his mouth close to my ear and he makes a noise that might come close to a hushing sound, but it sounds more like a low growl.
“I’m sorry, Mia; I should have never let that happen.” Ares’s large frame shrinks, taking the weight of the emotions. My back falls onto the chair behind me, he cares for her.
I already knew that, but this hits me harder because before it was an abstract notion. Now I can see it in the way his shoulders have fallen, the subtle way his eyes are watching his hands on the table before peeking up at her, like he’s afraid of what he’s going to find.
It’s hard to watch. Ares has been bigger than life from the first moment he ghosted into my world. Never one to back down or bite his tongue, he says what he wants, when he wants, and expects everyone to yield to him without exception. Seeing him in that chair looking unsure, maybe even a little regretful, causes something in my chest to tighten. I try to draw in a breath, but my lungs feel constricted.
“We could work, Ares. I can be what you need—I am what you need.” Mia’s voice grows steady as she speaks, conviction filling her tone. Ares looks back down at the table, shaking his head no. “Why not?” she demands.
Finally, meeting Mia’s stare, he tells her, “Because I don’t love you. I don’t want to hurt you Mia, but I don’t love you.”
Mia’s eyes well up with tears again, and with a shaking voice she asks, “What does she have that I don’t? I tried to be everything for you. I was never good enough, but I tried. I watched you with countless other women because you always came back to me. It may have taken a while, but in the end you always came back. So tell me, Ares, what does she have that will stop you from doing the same exact thing to her?” Mia’s arm points at me from across the table.
“A piece of my soul.” Ares turns to look at me then, some of his confidence returning as his eyes meet mine. “But it’s not just that.” His eyes still staring into mine, he adds, “I can’t see anyone but her, I feel her on my skin when she’s not with me. I smell her in the air, taste her on my tongue when I breathe. She is what I’ve been looking for my entire life. The feeling I get when we touch, it makes every moment I spent without her worth it. I love her.”
Chapter 9
I didn’t notice Mia leaving the table. Hell, the world could have been on fire, and I probably wouldn’t have noticed. Emotionally, I’m a wreck. I don’t know if I feel bad for Mia, or if I’m happy that Ares admitted how much I mean to him. Both, I suppose. Seeing how devastated she was and how hard it was on Ares isn’t something I’ll soon forget. I still have questions about their relationship, but I know now isn’t the right time to voice them.
Hesitantly, Ares reaches over for my hand. I lay my palm in his, wrapping my fingers around his thumb. Dante drops a kiss on the top of my head and leaves the room, giving Ares and me some time alone. “That was my fault.” Ares looks down, then back up at me. “I didn’t realize she would be that upset.”
My eyes go wide. “You really didn’t know she was in love with you?”
Ares’s shoulder rises, and he grimaces. “I know it makes me an asshole, but I had no idea.” He looks away again, staring over my shoulder. “I thought it was a relationship of convenience for both of us. We haven’t been together in almost a year.” I see him peek at me from the corner of his eye.
I swallow, taking in that information. Can I trust him, is he being truthful? “Why won’t you look at me then?” Slowly Ares turns his head, his eyes reluctantly meeting mine. My gaze roams over his face, looking for deception, but in truth I don’t know what that would look like on him.