Page 8 of Broken Obsession

“Gave me an A- on that term paper.”

Ares chuckled. “Illya will flip out if he discovers you plan to attack a professor over something like that.”

“So don’t tell him.” The sound of a door unlocking and a beep came, indicating he’d reached Ares’ floor. “Then he’ll never know.”

“Can I make a suggestion?”

“What’s that?”

“Use redwood spice instead. I’ve got a vial in my nightstand. Rain always takes a coffee break in the east cafeteria between his ten-thirty and eleven-thirty classes on Fridays.”

“Ew, why are you on a first-name basis with that prick?” Despite his comment, Ryker could be heard opening and rummaging through a drawer, having clearly taken his advice.

That wasn’t surprising. Ryker was haughty, bitter, and quick to infuriate, but he was also impatient and didn’t like wasting his time—or brain power—on trivial matters. To him, punishing a professor for a poor grade he’d most likely earned was about as trivial as it got.

“Rain’s not so bad,” Ares said.

“Sure, that’s why you’re helping me poison him.”

He shrugged, even knowing his friend couldn’t see the movement. “You’d do it with or without my help. Besides, since when has a personal connection ever held me back?”

“You’re terrifying, Ares. Beautiful, but absolutely terrifying.”

“Beautiful but deadly.” That’s what the students on campus whispered about all of the Black Harts, though it was more commonly spoken whenever Ares and Zar were present.

In that case though, Ares was the beautiful, and Zar was the deadly.

He recalled how he’d shot a man just the other night and vaguely wondered what people would think if they knew. Perhaps they’d stop calling him God of Creation on campus, andwould instead choose something more doom and gloom, like Angel of Destruction, or—

“Aren’t we all,” Ryker chuckled, words putting an end to Ares’ spiraling thoughts. “Some of us more than others.”

He bristled, waiting for the dig against Zar, but then relaxed when Ryker went another direction.

Ares made a note to call Zar later, though it probably wouldn’t make a difference. Ryker was right, no one was capable of getting through to their friend whenever he fell into one of his episodes.

“Ellery has such a baby face. Hard to believe he gets laid at all.” Ryker was moving through the room now, having gotten what he’d come for. There was the sound of the locks clicking back into place, and then a moment later, the ding of the elevator arriving.

He must be in a better mood.

“Make sure not to use too much,” Ares warned.

“Relax, I’ll get the dosage right.”

“Ask Nyoka for help.” He had a pill maker. That could be useful in this situation and ensure Ryker stayed in line.

A bit of harmless fun was one thing, but causing lasting damage to a professor, or worse, killing one, was a serious offence. There were limits to Ryker’s reach, especially since his dear old dad cared more about appearances than anything else.

“Yeah, yeah. I got it. Not like this is my first rodeo.” Ryker hung up without another word.

Moving to the ivory couch, Ares dropped down and then activated his laptop, which he’d left on the coffee table. The holographic screen flickered to life, the rectangular projection already showing the live feed from Eden’s home.

He’d hidden the cameras before their run-in the other night and had been observing him for about a week, but Ares’ breath caught in his throat when the screens switched to thefootage of Eden’s bedroom, and he got a clear view of what his target was up to.

Eden was kneeling at the foot of the bed, facing away from the camera. His thighs were spread, hips tilted back. A metal contraption whirred as it thrust powerfully in and out of his body. He was completely naked, a sheen of sweat glistening on his skin, pooling in the divots just above the curve of his ass. His hands twisted in the thin material of his comforter, and his rough moans and panting could be heard mixed in with the sounds of the machine making good work of his rear.

Ares had never seen that model before, and he quickly typed out a search on his multi-slate, glancing between the smaller device and his laptop screen so as not to miss anything.

“The Pumper 3000,” he read aloud as soon as he found an exact match. It had received almost all five-star ratings and claimed to be the best fucking machine on the market, with seven different speeds, five vibration settings, and three different attachable dildos to choose from.