Page 46 of Broken Obsession

It took Eden a second to backtrack, but then he found it. “Yes, of course I threw up a ton while viewing what was left over of my family, asshole.”

“Ares,” he corrected, then considered, “or Creation. Baby is fine too. Honey. Sweetheart—”

“Lucifer, I will hit you if you don’t stop talking.”

That was interesting. “You aren’t afraid of me.”

“Why would I be?”

“You just watched me beat a man within an inch of his life for two hours straight. Oh.” He hummed. “I guess it was actually for one hour and forty-seven minutes. Your eyes were closed toward the end there.”

“I can’t tell if you’re trying to shame me or not,” Eden admitted.

“I’m not trying to do anything,” he said. “But I would like to leave. The cleanup crew should be here any minute.”

“Again?” Eden glanced toward the door to the other room but didn’t let his gaze linger. “You mean you aren’t taking care of that yourself?”

“Of course not. People like me don’t need to bother with stuff like that.”

“Then what was with all the preemptive plastic?”

“I was just setting the scene for you.”

“Excuse me?”

“You know how it is. Setting is super important to keep the right mood in every game, especially a murder mystery one.”

“This isn’t a game, Ares. This is real life.”

“Sure it is.” He tugged Eden out of the room and into the hall. “Come on. Your temperature is dropping already, and we’re not even outside yet. I’m worried you’ll get sick.”

Eden barked out a laugh. “That’s hilarious. You’re worried about me, after doing something like that to somebody else?”

“That was somebody else.” He was failing to see the connection, but no matter.

He moved more slowly than he would have if he’d been on his own, but whether Eden wanted to admit it or not, he was in a bad way. Ares couldn’t tell if it was due to what he’d just witnessed, the cold, or both, but by the time they’d finally made it outside of the building, he’d decided he was done taking chances just so his Starling could hang onto his pride.

“Tell me you didn’t come here on that shitty piece of metal?” Ares scowled at the bike, and then, before Eden could answer, bent and scooped him up a second time. Ignoring his protests, he turned and headed around the side of the building to where he’d discreetly parked his hovercar in the shadows.

“Put me down!” Eden’s fingers were like ice when they grabbed Ares’ throat threateningly.

Wordlessly, Ares dropped him to his feet the second they’d made it to the car, pulling the door of the passenger side open before pushing Eden toward it. He sighed when the voice actor refused, twisting in his hold until his back was pressed against the vehicle and he could glare up at him.

“Don’t be stubborn,” Ares said. “It hasn’t even been three hours, and you’re already going back on our deal?”

“I agreed to give you a night in bed,” he snapped, “not to obey your every command. I’m not some servant you can bossaround yet, and if that’s what you’re after, then we need to have a compensation discussion.”

Ares smirked and set a hand on the roof of the car at either side of Eden, bending slightly so their faces lingered close together. “You want me to pay you?”

“If your plan is to use me as an assistant or boss me around like one, yeah.”

“I don’t need an assistant.” It’d be a bit odd for him to walk around campus, treating a professor like a personal employee, but Ares kept that to himself. “I don’t need a popsicle either.” He cupped his cheek, happy when his Starling didn’t immediately try to push him away.

It felt…a lot like the rush he got whenever he leveled up in a game or pulled the Memory card he’d been desperate for from a banner. Like a burst of light sparking in the dark cavern where his heart should be. Typically, that brightness only lasted so long, momentary gratification that left an emptiness needing to be filled all over again far too soon.

How long would the feelings Eden elicit within him last?

Was he just another spark, or was he the inferno Ares had been searching for? The fire that could finally light him ablaze and put a stop to this never-ending numbness?