Page 21 of Broken Obsession

His mask was gone. Had it fallen off during their tussle?

“Words. Focus. Name four things you feel. I’ll help you. What’s this?” He dragged the tips of his fingers to his mouth.

“Lips.” He didn’t have it in him not to humor Ares, the pounding in his skull and the burning in his lungs too great.

“Describe them.”

“Soft.” His fingers were forced to trace over the top and bottom. “Full.”

“Good. That’s one. Give me another.” Ares made him trace his jawline.

“Sharp. Smooth.” Had he shaved recently?

“Another.” He brought his hand to his brow.

“If I say bushy, will you be insulted?” Eden murmured, not even sure why he cared. Oh, probably because he knew pissing off the guy currently pinning him down wasn’t wise.

“Not in the slightest. You’re doing great, Ransom. One more.” Ares placed Eden’s hand over the top of his head.

“I said,” Eden’s hand flexed on its own accord, and the next thing he knew, he was grabbing a fistful of that luscious black hair and yanking with all his might, “my name isn’t fucking Ransom!”

Chapter 5:

Ares hissed, and his dick swelled. He quickly readjusted so Eden wouldn’t feel it, shifting his weight to lighten his lower region, the move only giving the furious man beneath him a better grip.

But anger was good.

Better than the panic he’d been slipping under like the wave of a tsunami.

“You hear that?” Ares tried to calm his breathing.

“What? You whimpering like a bitch?” Eden growled.

Okay, he hadn’t whimpered, but that was fine. Whatever.

“Tell me what else you hear,” Ares made his tone commanding, but kept it low and coaxing, the way he knew most people liked.

Zar didn’t agree with him, but it was Ares’ experience that people were a lot more susceptible to honey than vinegar. When you got a person to feel at ease and drop their guard around you…everything from there was smooth sailing. At least for a moment. Capturing and holding onto that moment, now that was the real tricky bit. Trust was a funny, fickle little thing like that.

But he didn’t need Eden to trust him entirely, not just yet. He just needed him to recenter, and to do that, he would need to listen and take instructions.

A hovercar zipped by outside.

“That,” Ares said. “Did you hear that? Tell me about it.”

“Car.” Eden’s fingers loosened in his hair, but he didn’t release him. “Why aren’t you trying to make me let go?”

“I don’t need you to let go. I need you to do the opposite. Focus up, Starling. Give me one more sound. I know you can do it.”

Eden frowned at the nickname the Player in Vanity called Ransom, but he didn’t call Ares out on it. Was he okay with that one then? He seemed to take great offense at being referred to as Ransom, which was a real pity.

There went half of Ares’ fantasies.

“My heart,” Eden replied. “It’s pounding.”

“It’s slowing,” he corrected. “You’re getting there.”

“Getting where?”