Page 59 of Bound By Flames

Look at me. I’m right here.

Ares’s punches slow down, the ferocity in his eyes dimming as if he’s suddenly aware of a different kind of pressure. He glances up, and I can see the moment he feels my gaze on him. His eyes meet mine, and for the briefest of seconds, the wildness in them falters, softens, sparking with something vulnerable, almost intimate.

His lips part and I see him say, “Mia.”

He stops hitting, his fists bleeding over the chest of the other man, his focus shifting to me as he stands up, towering over the unmoving body. The noise of the crowd shouting his name fades back in, but it’s distant now, almost irrelevant. Because Ares stares at me with a ferocity that sends goosebumps all over me before inclining his face to the left.

I should know better and not follow him.

But I do because this man is like an oasis after days of thirst.

He doesn’t even lift his fist in the air like the two first winners of the night. Just gets out of the cage and heads rightinto the direction of his office, men patting his back and clapping their hands around us. Hard rock is back blasting in the hall but I’ve tuned it out, already following his steps as I feel the rest of the crowd already back into party mode, some of them heading to the bar and others leaving the warehouse.

I follow him as he opens the office door, holding it ajar for me to step inside. There’s no one else in this area. It’s just the two of us. My heart pumps harder, and I swallow hard.

Why am I here?

What happened to pushing him away?

I close the door and look at his modern, sleek office, turning my face to the left door of his bathroom, the sound of the shower making my knees weaken. But I don’t turn and step back into the main hall to find Erin and get back to our house.

Be reasonable.

Get out of here.

Nothing good will come out of this.

I should leave.

I should know better.

I really should.

Inhaling slowly, I bite my lips and step into the room where I find my husband standing, blood dripping all over him as his back rests on the wall, gawking at me shamelessly from head to toe. My belly clenches at the sight.

“Did you come to give me my reward, princess ?” A sly grin lifts the corner of his lips. My breath fastens, and at that moment, I know that I’m in trouble.

Ares

I couldn’t watch her when I entered the cage. Couldn’t stand looking at her because she would have seen through whatever bullshit I was trying to shield myself from and cut straight to the truth. The fight wasn’t for my men. It was for her. All of it. And fuck me for underestimating that fucking guy and letting the bastard choke me in front of her. Pissed me off so much, it turned me into a beast afterward.

I needed her to see that side of me.

I needed her to see all of me.

‘Cause I’ve been led on in my past and I only want the truth now.

No bullshit, no hiding behind masks, no fucking trying to act like someone you’re not.

I want her to be raw and brutally honest, and in return, she will have the same.

“So, still think it was that simple?” I say, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, my flesh cut open at my lower lip and bleeding on my chin.

She shakes her head, all sass and confidence gone, my little Mia shining in the depth of her brown chocolate eyes, threatening me to drown in them. In a mindless movement, she tangles her fingers.

What’s wrong?

I push myself from the wall with the back of my foot and get closer to her still standing in the doorway as if she’s scared to get in. The shower I turn on fills the place with steam. Her eyes turn all watery, and I’m taken off guard. Thought she’d be happy.I didn’t expect a warm congratulations, but fuck, I did almost choke to death to show her I had the guts to win.