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Ares

CHAPTER TWENTY

I’ve watched her on stage from the shadows these past two years, and if I had any hope that the impact of her beauty would eventually be neutralized for me, I have just realized that I was deluded. Serenity is now even more perfect than when we first met.

All traces of late adolescence are gone. She is still very young, but there is no doubt that she is a full-grown woman.

Her hair, still long, falls loosely down her back and also a little down the front of her body, creating a brown blanket, bringing back the desire to wrap my fingers around it.

I keep both hands in my pockets and force myself to concentrate on what I came here to do, even though those doll-like eyes, which at this moment show insecurity, and the mouth with full, naturally pink lips, are a fucking distraction.

When I set out to help my brother Zeus by becoming the guardian of the then orphan and aspiring ballerina, the only heir to the shares he needed, I intended to keep our relationship strictly professional for as long as my obligation lasted.

I knew we would eventually have to meet, but it only took a single visit to New Orleans for me to know that working closely together would be a bad idea.

Even if it weren’t for the instant attraction I felt for her, I don’t create bonds other than family ones. I didn’t want a woman to take care of, or in this case, a girl.

I was protecting her from myself, from my desire for her, because whatever would happen between us wouldn’t last.

All Serenity Clementine had to do was keep quiet, remain a good girl, reach the damn age stipulated in her will to take possession of her assets, and disappear from my life forever.

She wasn’t supposed to take risks. She wasn’t supposed to awaken the madness of an obsessive fan. But first and foremost, she wasn’t supposed to hide anything from me.

I barely finish the thought before I feel like a bastard over the first two points. It’s not her fault she’s so beautiful and talented. Of course she won the hearts of fans around the world, and among them, hundreds must be perverts.

But she was very wrong to not tell me from the beginning that there was someone stalking her.

According to what the bodyguards who heard her testify told me, it has been happening since she returned to New Orleans from the German boarding school.

More than two fucking years ago.

Serenity also revealed to the police that the son of a bitch leaves her gifts and notes, and what goes through my mind is: how did the security guards, whose only mission on this fucking planet was to protect her, let someone who posed a risk get so close to her?

Her moving to New York left me torn. While I liked the idea of having her nearby, there was a downside: the temptation would also be nearby.

Now, however, I am determined to keep her close to me. As much as I don’t want any intimacy, because I know myself well enough to know where we’ll probably end up if I give in to my desire, I’m a Kostanidis and, for now, she’s mine.

No one will hurt her.

“You are mine. What in the hell was going through your head when you didn’t tell me you were being stalked?”

“You never even came to see me again.”

I run a hand through my hair, irritated. “So that was it? I didn’t come to see you, so in retaliation, you hid something from me that could harm you or much worse?”

“Of course I didn’t . . . I didn’t need to call you. I have Otis!”

“And why didn’t he protect you? You could be dead, Serenity.” I’m not saying that to scare her; I need her to understand the gravity of the situation. But in the next moment, being who I am, I exempt her from any responsibility and put all the blame on myself. I run both hands over my face. “You are right. I shouldn’t have disappeared like I did.”

“You didn’t disappear. You have your own life. I’m not a child. I have my own life too.”

I ignore her dismissal. I failed her. Attending some of her performances around the world wasn’t nearly enough. This will never happen again.

“Change of plans. You will no longer live in the apartment I assigned to you.”

“What?”

“You heard me. You will live in a unit on the floor below mine. I own the entire building. The apartments are duplexes, so you will have all the comfort possible and I will be able to monitor you better.”

“ Monitor me? I don’t need to be watched.”

“That’s what I thought, but here you are with scorpion venom in your bloodstream that could have been fatal.”

“But it wasn’t, Ares. I am fine.” Despite what she says, her lower lip trembles.

I’m not a sensitive guy—on the contrary, I’m a heartless bastard—but seeing her weakened puts something close to an iron ball in my stomach. “This is not a debate. You will move wherever I determine, Serenity.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

“I will send an army after you. Or better yet, I will go on every trip you take.”

“You wouldn’t have time. You are a businessman and I’m a dancer. We have separate lives.”

“I just need a cell phone and a notebook, girl. Don’t test me. Don’t think you can win a wrestling match with me. You wouldn’t stand a chance.”

She opens her mouth to speak, but I shake my head.

I have never felt so divided in my life. I want to strangle her and at the same time pull her to me and protect her. I want to turn her over on her stomach and spank her ass for keeping such a serious secret from me for so long, and also swear to her that everything will be okay.

I want to lock her in a fucking tower, where only I can visit her, but also tell her to fight, not allow a sick person to steal her life.

I decide on a middle ground.

“You can argue all you want, Serenity. Until we catch whoever tried to hurt you, you will be under supervision.”

“I have shows coming up. Are you telling me you’ll follow me around the world?”

“Your next few shows are all here in the United States. I have your agenda,” I say, revealing a little of my obsession. “But, yes, when you go to other countries, I will go too.” In fact, I’ve only just made up my mind about it, but she doesn’t need to know that.

“You won’t be able to.”

“What?”

“You said you only need a notebook and a cell phone, but that’s not true. I read the papers, Ares. You own SIN nightclub and go there every night.”