Something he would seek to be worthy of all of their lives.
The urge to claim her was strong, but there was still so much she didn’t know about him, so much to tell her. And he couldn’t do it now, not when she’d just dealt with the truth of the war he’d been in, the things he’d had to do.
Not after she’d seen him kill for her and worked through her own shock and fear to come to this moment, where she was openly loving him, letting him pin her and love her and pleasure her.
And he would until she couldn’t think anymore. He would wipe away the day for both of them, make the pleasure so great that nothing else mattered.
Make her see what was happening between them was like fireworks that had already been lit, inevitable.
She was his from the moment he saw her in the rain. Even before that. Since she was born, since she was created.
When Zeus had taken a mate, a soul-deep loneliness in Ares had made him long for the same, wonder what it would be like. He knew it had to be powerful because he’d seen his stoic friend spend months pursuing the little woman his bear was set on for a mate.
But he hadn’t understood, no, truly not even close. You had to find your mate to understand just how strong the pull was. He didn’t know if maybe it was extra strong because his mate was extra spectacular. Beautiful, giving, sensitive, trusting.
Amazing in bed, her eyes glazing in pleasure as the pressure increased between them.
He stroked around and over her, and when she came, something inside him closed in, treasuring the sound, the scent of the air, like sex on a bed of wildflowers, and the look of her face, tensed in pleasure, lost in the moment.
He gave no quarter, continuing to stroke and play with his thumb as his fingers found their way inside her, diving and retreating, the way he wanted to do with his dick. Her eyes flew open as she started to move toward another orgasm.
That’s it. Go as many times as you can. I won’t let you stop until you have.
He’d been worried about showing her this aspect of himself in bed. Insatiable, possessive, intense. He found himself needing his other hand but wanted his mate to stay splayed beneath him.
He worked his hand over her clit as he leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “Can I tie you?”
Her eyes met his, wide and still focusing in on the pleasure between her legs, but she nodded, relaxing her hands against the bed for him to do what he wanted with them.
“You’re everything, Katrina,” he said. “You’ll never stop being everything.” He pulled two silk ties from the closet and secured one around one delicate wrist, binding it to the headboard. “Is this okay?”
She nodded as he gently tied the other wrist. She was bared to him. He’d stripped her naked when they’d started, wanting to see all of her at once, every bit of his mate.
He loved each smooth curve, looking forward to getting more and more acquainted with her soft body. He wanted to know every inch of her by heart, so he could see her, feel her, even when he was working or not with her.
He’d build them a new house, one that was safe, but not made of concrete. Something up in the mountains maybe.
Whatever she wanted.
But right now, from the fire glowing in his mate’s brown eyes, he knew what she wanted was him.
“Ares,” she said, writhing under his gaze. He lunged forward to take her lips in a hard kiss, sweeping his tongue inside her, and then jumped down between her legs, hands on her thighs, spreading them outward.
His tongue found her immediately, taking over where his fingers had been, lapping her, circling her, dipping inside her, and then running over her beautiful little clit. She was wet for him, her juices tasting amazing, her scent heady and hot. He couldn’t get enough of the little noises she made as she strained against her bonds, as he pressed forward, determined to make her feel more pleasure than she could handle, more than she’d ever had before.
He could feel the soldier in him, intense and fiery, concentrated on his goal and nothing else. Make Katrina come, over and over.
One slow flick of his tongue had her coming apart, and he raised his head to watch her go, flailing against his hands on her thighs and her tied wrists, screaming his name to the ceiling. It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, and when she lay back, panting, he knew he had to see it again.
He thrust his fingers inside her as he licked, pressing upward against the soft roughness of her G-spot.
“Ares!” she gasped in shock, eyes wide as she felt the dual stimulation of his fingers inside her and his tongue over her.
He moved in circles with his mouth, giving her long, intense french kisses in her most sensitive place. He wasn’t merely pleasuring, he was making love, and he treasured the way she screamed and arched as he kissed her. As his finger crooked inside her and his mouth sucked, and she screamed again in the throes of a double orgasm.
He could feel her body jerking against him, her soft flesh quivering. Her eyes rolled back and then closed as she bit back curses at the intensity of the feeling.
He kissed and licked, savoring each little convulsion, and then came out of her as her panting began to subside.
“You… know how to… overwhelm a girl,” she said hoarsely.
“You want me to stop?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Her eyes met his with a challenge. “Never.”
“I didn’t think so,” he said, going back to work with his tongue and his finger, needing to see her lose herself to that pleasure again. She was so wet and hot now, and she seemed to like the restraints. Perhaps she liked that she didn’t have to do anything, that it was all in his hands and she just got to lie back and receive.
That’s how Ares liked it as well.
It wasn’t long before she went again, twisting in his hands as he held her grounded and kept his mouth on her in a slow, languorous kiss as the orgasm brought her home.
She was gasping and panting when it finished, and she looked up at him with somewhat desperate eyes. “Ares, I can’t take much more. I want you inside me.”
He wanted it too. Even though he could keep going like this forever, he decided to give her what she wanted. He stripped off his pants and boxers, savoring the hungry look she gave him at his nakedness.
He tore open a condom and rolled it over him, wincing at the tightness for a moment.
But soon, there would be a much better tightness around him. More importantly, the warmth of the woman he loved. The woman who would be his forever.
He knelt between her thighs, then lifted her hips and thrust into her, settling her legs against his chest and shoulders.
She looked up at him in surprise that quickly turned to satisfaction and lust as she adjusted to him. He could feel her tightness grasping at him. Nothing in the world could ever feel as good as this, coming home with Katrina.
He began to move, holding her hips as he thrust against her. Again and again, watching her as he went all the way in and then pulled nearly all the way out, seeing the expression of missing him, the glowing anticipation in her eyes. Then he’d thrust back in, hard and fast, making her gasp his name, telling him to hurry but to never stop.
He made her go, stroking her G-spot to a rhythm that was only theirs. She screamed and arched, her beautiful belly shaking, her breasts bouncing as his hands found them and tweaked the nipples, making the orgasm that much more intense.
He made her go once more, which was easy now that she was sensitive from too much stimulation, and then began stroking toward his own release. But he would take her with him. He listened to the sound of her breathing growing more intense, more labored. The flush on her beautiful skin showing just how exhausted and pleasured she was.
But he wanted every last drop of her pleasure, and he’d bring it from her when they came together.
“Ares,” she gasped out, incredibly close as he stroked inside her. He could feel the tension in himself, tighter than a rubber band about to snap. So close to release. But they would
go together or not at all. “I want to feel you. Untie me.”
He did, quickly undoing the ties with one hand while holding her with the other and continuing to stroke.
When she was free, she curled forward, reaching for him, and he came over her, her legs still pressed to him, their bodies melded together at the hips.
His mouth came down to hers, kissing deeply. As her nails dug into his back and she began to crest into her release, he pulled back to whisper against her mouth, “I’d do anything for you, Katrina. Anything.”
She screamed as the orgasm took her and he felt himself go rigid inside her, her muscles all around him pulling his release as he finally let go so they could tumble over the edge together.
It was a beautiful kind of free fall, incredible energy rushing through him, making it hard to breathe as he made little strokes inside her while he came and came. He felt her tensing, heard her screams of release, knew it was only the two of them in the world at this moment and no one else could hear them.
He held her tight as they came home together.
9
The next morning, Katrina woke up before Ares and took a moment to revel in just how good the previous night had been.
Ares had always been a good lover, but she’d never known he could be so intense, so demanding, so possessive.
She’d even loved being restrained by him, giving up total control. She’d been alone for so long, taking care of everything on her own for so long, that it was an amazing feeling to just let go.
And let go and let go. He’d been insatiable, pulling every bit of pleasure from her that her body had to offer, and it had been an amazing feeling.
She guessed she loved both parts of him equally. The slow, languid pleaser who smiled at her as he got her off, and this stoic, intense soldier who fucked like his life depended on it and gave no quarter until he’d gotten what he wanted.
She was warm and a little sore between her legs, but in a pleasant way, like a reminder of who had just been there.
Her Ares. Her soldier.
She couldn’t even imagine how overwhelming being this man’s lover for life would be. But she couldn’t imagine it going any other way either.
She was his; she could feel it in every movement he made.
She turned toward him and watched him as he slept, his tanned muscles relaxed, his blond hair tousled, his long hard body stretched out in front of her.
She gently got out from under his arm and waited for him to settle back into the sheets, then she crept out of the room and down the stairs to the living room.
She cautiously checked the hall before going out to the kitchen to get some breakfast. She hadn’t eaten since the incident yesterday, and making love had sapped her strength.
She brought her cell phone with her, checking for messages from her mother, who worried about her being on the road all the time. She hadn’t been the best mother or the most present, but Kat still tried to keep in touch and be a good daughter.
Even if she tried to keep her out of the loop enough that Ben would have no reason to bring her into things.
There were no new messages so she slid the phone back into her pocket and pulled cereal and a bowl out of the cupboards. She was just finishing her first bowl when she felt a buzz and a little beep from her pocket.
She didn’t know why, but she felt a little frisson of fear as she pulled out the phone and opened it. Why feel fear if it was probably her mom?
But it wasn’t her mom.
The text in front of her made her heart pound hard in her chest.
I’ve found you.
Kat silenced her phone, not wanting anyone to hear. She sat on the couch as more texts came in.
You’ve gone and made me angry.
You’ve found a protector, a capable one, and he killed my men.
But I won’t be unprepared again.
Men like him can be bought and paid for, so before you go feeling safe, remember I can hire a hundred of them and send them all there.
Dammit. A part of her felt he was lying, that there couldn’t even be ten men like Ares, let alone a hundred, but she also knew that was naive, that there were many dangerous men in the world.
Tears stung her eyes in frustration. Just when she was starting to hope for something, Ben had to come and ruin everything.
And Ben had the money to, as a man who’d made his living trafficking drugs rather successfully. Ben Vincent, heir to a crime ring.
Her phone beeped.
Text back if you’re getting these messages.
She texted back a single period, and the messages continued.
You have a choice to make.
I’ve decided all this bloodshed and chasing you is futile. I don’t want to waste time and energy any more than you do, and I know your new friend will fight to the death for you. I know you don’t want that.
She clenched her jaw. Ares had said he’d do anything for her. Anything. She knew that would include dying for her, and she couldn’t let that happen.
If you want to accept my compromise, come out into the courtyard alone. I’ll arrange the rest.
Just me? she texted back.
Just you. Getting you is still winning. You can give me more heirs, and you’ll be repaying your sister’s debt.
And your precious Mac can stay in the town, and I promise he’ll be safe. As long as you continue to cooperate.
She swallowed.
What was the promise of such a man worth? Still, it was that or wait for the inevitable army he would send to kill Ares and take her and Mac anyway.
At least this way, all the people she’d been trying to protect would be protected.
Mac, Ares, and Maude.
She looked over at Ares’s bedroom. She didn’t want to leave him. She would have been happiest there by his side.
But sometimes there were more important things than her own happiness. Like keeping the people around her safe.
Ares would be furious, but it wasn’t his choice to make. From the moment he’d found her on the side of the road, he’d known that Kat would have to make her own choices based on what she thought was best.
Ben was right. They’d never be allowed to stay here together in peace anyway. At first, after seeing how capable Ares was, she’d thought maybe they could sustain it. But Ben’s resources could bring so much down on them, and she couldn’t risk Mac above all.
She grabbed a notepad from a dresser drawer and wrote a quick note on it. Then she placed it on the kitchen counter and pulled out her phone.
Her phone beeped again. You have two minutes, then I’m sending in my men. And you don’t want me to send in my men.
I’m coming.
She closed the phone and looked at the front door, wondering if the alarm would go off.
But Ben had said he’d take care of the rest.
She had one thing to do before she went. She opened the door leading downstairs and crept quietly down to say good-bye to Mac. She followed the sound of soft snoring and walked to the end of a hall to find a room with a heavy metal door that was ajar. Inside were two beds, with Mac asleep on one and Maude on the other.
She sat next to Mac, brushed his hair aside, kissed his forehead, and tried to lock up the feelings at the thought of leaving him.
But he’d be safe here. Her note and her sacrifice would ensure that.
Ares would understand.
She ran upstairs before she could change her mind.
My hacker has disabled the alarm. Go, before your soldier wakes up.
She had no time left to think about it, so she did as he said, creeping quietly into the courtyard as a man met her outside, dressed all in black.
He grabbed her and ran for the wall, getting over it before the beep of the alarm turning back on sounded behind them. They took Kat to a waiting hummer and shoved her inside, taking off into the morning.
Her heart ached for Ares.
But at least they’d had one more amazing night togethe
r. At least she knew he loved her and after reading her note, he would know she loved him.
That was all she could give him.
* * *
Ares woke abruptly, reaching around him for Kat, even as his instincts screamed at him that something was wrong.
She was gone.
He threw on clothes in a rush as he texted Hades, telling him to come quick, that Kat was gone. He didn’t even need to check his house to know.
His heart just knew his mate was absent, and his animal would insist they go after her.
The soldier in him was already going.
When he was fully dressed, he ran out into the living room and stopped when he saw a small note on the kitchen counter, addressed to him from Kat.
He almost didn’t want to read it, didn’t want to know what could make her run just when things had been working so well between them.
But regardless of what had made her leave, she was his and he loved her. He’d get her back first and then have a talk with her about not listening to him.
He lifted the note and began to read.
Ares, it’s been amazing getting to know you the past few days. I love you. I truly do. But you don’t understand the man chasing us. He’d never let go. He has unlimited resources, and even a man as amazing as you would never be able to get to him. This is my chance to make sure that at least Mac is safe, and you and Maude as well. Take care of them and yourself. You three will do great together. I know this will break your heart, but it would break my heart to see anyone hurt. I love you and I always will.
Love,
Katrina
Ares’s heart burned within him, anger threatening to annihilate him from the inside out. He wasn’t angry at Kat for cowing to the threats of a man who knew nothing about what Ares could do. He had no doubt the man had tricked her.
No, he was just angry at the man who’d done all this, made her feel threatened.
He slammed his fist into the counter, seeing a small crack form in the granite. Cold resolve filled him as he started to plan. Kat didn’t know it, but he’d placed a tracker in her phone. If she still had it on her, he could find her.
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