Page 71 of Bound By Flames

“Seriously?” I roll my eyes dramatically.

“Can't know with certainty there's not a fucker out there trying to take you away from me,” he says with a low and deep voice echoing from my flesh to my bones.

Does he care about me…that much?

“We…we will have Shadow and Ash, and she also has her bodyguards. It'll be alright. You can't keep me locked up here.” I shake my head at my possessive and unreasonable husband.

“Sometimes I wish I could,” he murmurs with a sly grin, stroking my cheek softly.

Flirtatious Ares is really hard to resist.

“I have to go now, princess. You'll be alright?” He checks my eyes as if he can read into my darkest thoughts.

“Yes, and don't go all soft on me, big guy.” I push his chest playfully with a smile.

“I know, you're not like glass, princess. You're made of gold. So fucking stunning and still, so fucking strong,” he says, taking my breath away.

Like gold.

No one ever described me this way.

Then, he grabs my ribs on both sides, lifts me up from the floor, and kisses me brutally for a total of five seconds before leaving me here, panting, in the middle of our living room.

A few minutes later, Maria strides in,

“Would you like a refreshment, Mrs Malone ?”

“Um, yeah, I mean, yes. Water, please, cold with lots of ice cubes,” I say, shaking my head to land back to reality.

She nods with a little smile then turns back to the kitchen.

Ice cold water.

That's exactly what I need right now.

Ares

“Prez.”

“Ares.”

“Mornin’ boss.”

My men greet me once I step into the warehouse, my watch indicating ten o'clock, which is three hours past my usual schedule. I called Vox on the way, who literally lost his shit on me for not calling him back sooner.

I was busy.

Busy?

The team we got on Nero found that he would be meeting with a supplier about twenty minutes away from the club. We’ll trap him there. Ambush the guy with our best men, then bring him back to our basement and break him slowly here, then we’ll take over his cities and eliminate him and all his fucking threats.

Vox and I agreed to keep his girl, Rose, and Mia, in my house to keep them safe and guarded. It won’t be easy, but we’ll have to plan this fast and make sure it does not end in a bloodbath like my father did the day he tried to take over another Chapter and ended up with a bullet in the lung, costing him his life.

“Boss, can I talk to ya?” Carter’s voice echoes behind me as I reach the door of my office.

“Sure.” Opening the metallic door, I let him pass. His gigantic stature barely fit in the doorway, his blond hair disheveled, his cut still on him. Carter is my enforcer, the best one in the country. Found him when he was barely a man, helped him find an outlet for his anger and he’s now as much feared as me across the country.

I don’t bother offering him to sit. Carter’s never been into social interaction and pleasantries. Goes with his occupation. He got better at reading us with time, but I always notice how he keeps on searching the movement of our faces to make sure he gets our feelings right. Some folks would call him a sociopath. I just call him Carter. He’s a great guy and always has the club at heart. I’d trust him with my life. And I did, the night he took over Shadow to protect Mia.