awareness down my spine. His forehead meets mine, both of us struggling for air as we try to catch our breath. The tips of my fingers graze the bare skin of his side. I’ve pulled his shirt free, and the reward of feeling his skin against my own makes the effort so worth it.
I open my eyes and watch as my hand delves farther under his shirt. My palm connects with his side as I run my fingers around his back. Every touch leaves me greedy for more. Ares doesn’t move, and I can feel the rigidity of the muscles in his back as my hands move slowly up and down.
His breath is shallow and, lifting just my eyes, I see him watching me with his bottom lip pinched between his teeth. Ares leans his hands on the table just beside my hips, crowding me even more. I love every second.
His voice a mere rasp, he says, “Keep touching.” Ares buries his face in my neck, and I wrap my other hand over his shoulder in an embrace. His chest brushes against mine as he winds his arms around me, lifting me off the table. My legs encircle his lower torso, and the center of my body presses up against him. This is new, this feeling of having him right where I need him, all to myself. My arm over his shoulder tightens around his neck, helping me balance.
Coming to his full height, he walks me slowly from the room. I have the briefest moment where I almost tell him to put me down, worried someone might see us, but I ignore the nagging thought. I’m exactly where I want to be. Needing to touch more of him, I slide my hand down the neck of his shirt. Every step he takes has the muscles of his back moving under my hands.
Turning my face into his neck, I pepper him with tiny kisses before becoming brave enough to use my tongue and teeth. Ares freezes mid-step, his breath panting. I pause with the tip of my tongue just below his ear. His body shivers, starting at his neck and working down. I did that. I pull in a deep breath, feeling powerful in a sense I’ve never experienced before. I want everything he’s willing to give me. I’ve gone so long with just my mom and me, and she never showed me affection. I feel like I’ve been craving his touch my entire life.
He hasn’t started walking again, but I continue licking my way up his neck. Nuzzling my way to his ear, I pull his lobe into my mouth and suck gently before sinking my teeth in.
“Oh, damn,” he groans as his hand snaps out to the wall. Releasing his ear, I pull back. The cool air rushes between our chests at the loss of contact, and it feels intrusive. Ares's eyes meet mine, a sea of blackness staring back at me. Taking my hand out from under his shirt, I brush my thumb under his eye, caressing. I lean in and place a small kiss right on the tip of his nose. “What do you see?”
“You, I see all of you.” Ares takes a few more steps and my back hits something solid, before he pushes his body against mine. My head falls back and my eyes close, rolling back in my head. “I can feel you,” he breathes into my chest, his head lowered. Moving his hips back from mine, his hand slides between us and settles low on my stomach. “I can feel your desire.” His fingers slide lower, just shy of placing his hand between my legs. I don’t know if I’m scared, or excited. Both I think.
Something low clenches when his hand travels in the opposite direction, under my shirt. His flattened palm moves to my side, his fingers on my back with his thumb bumping up my ribs. He stops his upward ascent when his thumb grazes the underside of my breast. My nipples tingle inside my bra. I can already imagine his hands there, his mouth. “Laura.” His voice is thick, his words almost a mumble. “May I touch you?” When I only squirm, his hand leaves me. I feel the immediate loss of heat.
I wrap my arm around his neck again and, placing my mouth at his ear, I whisper, “Please, Ares.”
His body undulates into mine. “Say it,” he demands, as both of his hands lift to the wall above my