Page 95 of Broken Obsession

Looked like they were going to have a long night.

* * *

Eden finally achieved orgasm an hour after disappearing into his rooms. It didn’t seem to have been worth it, and he sat on the floor of the shower for a while after, head hanging low as water poured over him.

Ares took that time to clean up his mess. When he was done with that, he left to change into comfortable clothing, finding Eden was still there when he returned.

That wouldn’t do. At this rate, the professor was going to make himself sick on his second day of work. They couldn’t have that now, could they? Eden would complain, Ares would be blamed, and it would set them back a step.

With a sigh, he left his bedroom and went to the kitchen. Caffeine didn’t affect his Starling, and Eden was known to enjoy a late-night cup to help relax. Ares got a pot going and then checked the fridge, grimacing when he saw how empty it was.

He called Nyoka, who answered on the third ring. “Bring me snacks.”

“Bite me.” The other Black Hart hung up.

Ares tried again, this time with Ellery.

“I’m out with the team,” Ellery told him. “You’ll be pleased to know Sedos wasn’t invited. His best friend is here though, posting pictures of all of us to his Inspire account.”

Ares would never think of using social media to torture someone, but while Ellery’s antics came off childish to him, he knew from history they were effective. Bullying was a special sort of hell. That was the reason he’d assigned the task to him in the first place.

Eden had his own frogs he wished to see boiled.

Ending the call, he considered his other options. Illya, Devyn, and Camren were away, and Zar was most likely busy with the stranger he’d called Jackal. If he bothered Ryker with a task as lowly as playing the part of an errand boy, the hothead would most likely bring rat poison out of spite.

He glanced down the hall. He didn’t like the idea of leaving Eden alone, even for a short while, not when he knew how fragile his mental state was, but…The Starling had picked at a couple of desserts during his lunch break, and he’d arrived at Castle Black in a timely manner, indicating he hadn’t stopped to eat anything after class either.

Seeing no other way around it, Ares went to get food from the downstairs common area. Because he was in a rush, the elevator seemed to take a million years, and he turned on Vanity as he waited, realizing he hadn’t signed in all day. A rarity for him, but he’d spent his time distracted by thoughts of Eden and hadn’t considered checking in with Ransom once.

“Ransom isn’t real,” he mumbled to himself as he did his daily tasks, a series of check-ins like sending energy to other players on his friends list and interacting with Ransom in the library.

The elevator dinged, signaling he was there, and he stepped out without bothering to glance up. The gasp a few feetaway gave him pause, and after hitting another couple of buttons and earning some praise from Ransom, Ares tore his gaze off the screen, eyes landing on the man called Jackal.

He was favoring his left leg—not the one Ares recalled injuring earlier, interestingly enough—and propped himself up against the wall directly across from the elevators, eyeing Ares warily.

Ares blinked at him and then turned in the direction of the kitchen, stopping a second time when the man spoke.

“Not going to shoot me again? I still have one good leg.”

He stared back at him, noting he was close enough to the front door that he may have been attempting to make another break for it. There was no sign of Zar, however. The panel above the elevators wasn’t even lit up, so he wasn’t on his way down either.

Maybe he hadn’t realized his person was missing yet.

“Keep it,” Ares replied. “For as long as you can. Reality is cruel.”

The man snorted, but Ares was already turning away, mind back on his task and the game.

He found the makings for a decent charcuterie board and set the game to play one of the audio cards he’d won. It ran for just under five minutes, and he’d earn gems after. The story was soft, an afternoon date with Ransom at the library, the sound of rain in the background. A version of Eden’s voice filled the kitchen as Ares sliced meats and cheeses, and he zoned out listening to it.

By the time the card finished, he had a selection of four cheeses, three meats, two types of crackers, and two containers of chocolate-covered pretzels and salted nuts. Opting to play another card since he’d be traveling back up, Ares clicked on the next one and walked back to the elevator.

The Jackal was gone, but he hardly noticed, too distracted by the new audio date and Ransom’s voice describing the animals at the zoo they were supposedly visiting.

Back in his private kitchen, he made a cup of coffee the way he knew Eden liked, set it on the corner of the board, and brought it down the hall. He didn’t bother knocking, entering the Starling’s bedroom, and moving to place the snack down on his desk.

“What are you doing?” Eden was standing in the bathroom doorway, a towel slung low over his hips, watching him with curiosity. His eyes were puffy, a clear sign he’d been crying, and his skin was still pink from lingering beneath the hot spray for too long.

Ares should have made iced coffee instead.