Page 63 of Broken Obsession

“No.”

Ares hummed. “What do you remember?”

“This.” Eden whined. “Only this. Has there ever been anything else?”

“No,” he replied. “And there never will be again.”

That settled it.

They were going to miss their flight.

* * *

“Pain and discomfort are of the body, not the mind. They aren’t real.” Mother circled the chair Zar was tied to and frowned. “Up the voltage.”

The assistant, a girl fresh out of college, did as she was told without flinching, twisting the controls to send more electricity zapping through the wires attached to the seat. She took notes as Zar’s eight-year-old body twitched and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Helplessly, Ares sat in the corner of the room, knees curled up, face half hidden.

One day, they would return every shock, every gasp for breath, every cut…

Soon, this reality would end, and the real one would begin.

* * *

Ares peeled his eyes open and stared sightlessly up at the ceiling while his mind struggled to catch up to the present. Typically, he drugged himself with hardcore sleep aids to avoid the dreams, but he’d fallen asleep in the tub, an exhaustion brought on by utter contentment getting the better of him.

He shifted and water sloshed, helping to bring him more into focus.

Eden was lying over him, his chest gently rising as he slumbered. The water they’d been bathing in had gone tepid, but the drop in temperature didn’t seem enough to wake him.

That was unsurprising. Ares had kept him on his cock for well over a day. The last he’d spoken, Eden’s voice had been hoarse, and when Ares had carried him to the bath, his body had been limp.

Carefully, Ares sat up, freeing himself from Eden’s weight so he could climb out. He lifted Eden from the water next, carrying him straight back to the bedroom to lay him out on the bed. He toweled him off, making sure to dry him everywhere, from between his toes to between his thighs.

Eden winced and made a sound of protest when the towel ghosted against his cock and balls, and he rolled slightly when it brushed between his cheeks.

Ares tried to be as gentle as possible, drying him there quickly before discarding the towel and heading to the single dresser. Most of Eden’s belongings had been packed already, but there was a single pair of maroon sweatpants and an oversized black t-shirt left behind.

As soon as Ares got him in them, he rearranged him beneath the covers.

“Did I overdo it?” he wondered aloud as he peered down at his sleeping man. He should have exercised some restraint, no matter how many times Eden had asked to be taken. The next time…

Who was he kidding. The next time would be no different. Ares had purposefully left Eden’s right ass cheek unblemished for that very reason.

Next time he’d color him there. Paint his handprints over his unmarked flesh.

Create a masterpiece to rival the one he’d made last night.

Ares forced himself to walk out of the room, grabbing some water from the kitchen before pausing by the couch to take in the mess. Should he clean it? Did it matter? It wasn’t like the Starling was going to be staying here any longer.

Deciding he could worry about it later, he opened his multi-slate and got to work getting them new plane tickets. Once that was done, he sent an email to the Dean of Sacrum Cor, explaining Eden’s delayed arrival, and rescheduled the meeting to sign the contract.

Neither of those things took very long, and he found himself perched on the armrest of the couch, staring at Eden from the other room. He couldn’t trust himself not to take him again, and he needed the Starling to rest.

Was this devotion?

Eden had spent the past two nights being worshiped by Ares’ cock and was now allowed time to rest despite how hard Ares was growing by the second.