Page 16

We strolled along the sidewalk, and when he reached for my hand, I let him.

A connection threaded between us, one that was impossible to ignore.

But no matter how hard I’d tried to shove the memory away, I couldn’t stop thinking about the comment he’d made about “my kind” days ago, when I was putting down rules for us hooking up.

“What you said about me being an opportunist was hurtful,” I said, even though he’d already apologized that night.

“I know. It was wrong. I’m truly sorry for treating you that way. I won’t make the same mistake again.”

I nodded, eyes straight ahead, until he turned me to face him. His large hand cupped the side of my face, his thumb caressing my bottom lip. “I know who you are, and I’m truly sorry for letting my insecurities get the best of me.”

“You don’t need to keep apologizing.” It didn’t hurt, though. Sincerity bled through his eyes and the truth in his words. Remorse pulled his lips into a frown. I wanted to wipe it away. “Let’s put it behind us. ”

His gaze bounced between my eyes, probably searching to make sure my words were true. Then he nodded, and just like that, the air seemed lighter between us. We continued walking, hand in hand, the silence comfortable between us until we arrived at his condo.

By that time, the brush of his thumb over the back of my hand, the heated glance I caught if I looked at him, had built a different kind of tension between us. I didn’t want to talk about anything. I just wanted him.

We rode the elevator up, and he pulled me close.

Pressed against his large body, I splayed my palm over his tight abs.

The attraction and desire pulsing between us was palpable, and I didn’t dare look him in the eye.

If I did, I knew one of us would pounce.

Elevator sex, where there was probably a camera, didn’t sound appealing.

Off the elevator and inside his condo, we hurried to his room.

Shutting the door behind us, he flipped the lock, and I found myself pressed against the solid wood.

His mouth was on me before I could take a breath.

But with him touching me, oxygen was overrated.

I loved the way he made me feel, how my body reacted to him, and the power I had with a simple touch.

I let my hand wander down his hard chest and over his washboard abs until I got to the waistband of his athletic pants.

I slid my hand in and skimmed the top of his cock already at full attention.

Before he could grab my hand, I brushed the side of his length then curled my fingers around his thickness.

A deep growl vibrated through his chest, and I shivered with anticipation. Our gazes met and held, and I gasped at the lust burning in his topaz eyes. He crowded me against the door, slowly removing my greedy hand.

Then his mouth slanted over mine in a hungry, all-consuming kiss. My body was on fire, plumping and readying for him. Too many clothes stood in my way. I needed skin on skin, and I tugged at his shirt. He pulled away and whipped it over his head. His pants and boxer briefs quickly followed.

I started to do the same, but he intercepted my hands, and before I knew it, I was naked and in his arms, exactly where I wanted to be.

He lifted me, and I wrapped my legs around his waist, my back against the door.

As his mouth devoured mine, he returned the favor, plus some, when his fingers rubbed slick circles over my clit until I writhed against him.

Sensations pulsed through my body the more he touched me.

When he inserted a finger, then another, my body spasmed around them.

A little more pressure on my oversensitive bundle of nerves, and stars burst behind my eyes.

Friction from the head of his cock teased my entrance while my core continued to contract in orgasmic bliss. Then he pushed inside, seating himself all the way in, and I screamed as I went over the edge a second time, stealing my ability to think.

Ares chuckled, but the sound was wicked, dark, and shivers erupted all over my body in anticipation of what he would do next. He drove me wild.

Still fully seated inside me, he carried me to the bed. He had to pull out as he laid me down, and I whimpered from the loss. Then his weight covered me, he lined up and slid back in, and all was right in my world again.

He trailed kisses along my neck, and I arched to give him greater access.

Rolling my hips to meet his, I panted as he pumped in and out.

My hands trailed along his back and shoulders as I reveled in the way his barely leashed strength felt bunching and contracting beneath my fingertips.

I urged him to go faster, harder. He increased the rhythm, and I moaned at how good it felt.

When his lips grazed my ear and he whispered my name, then rolled his hips, applying pressure to my clit, I catapulted over the ledge, falling apart in his arms. He thrust deeper than he’d ever gone before as he chased my orgasm with his own.

I welcomed his weight until he rolled to his side, taking me with him, secure in his arms. I might have dozed. I wasn’t sure. But when I woke, he was right there with me. It wasn’t until his stomach growled that we laughed and got up.

My body felt amazing, and I strolled naked into Ares’s bathroom to shower and change.

Miraculously, his three roommates were out, and I was glad we could take advantage of it.

And the best part was that my headache from the horrid day at the academy was gone.

I pushed it from my mind because it was the last thing I wanted to think about.

“Do you want any food?”

I eased my head through my T-shirt and thrust my arms into the sleeves before tugging it down. “What do you have?” I hoped it would be something Aurora had made. I loved her food. It was healthy but delicious.

“Looks like tacos. Liam probably begged Aurora to make them.”

I finished dressing and met him in the kitchen. “Are you having some?”

He smirked, and I rolled my eyes.

“I don’t know why I even asked.”

Ares and his roommates could put more food away in one sitting than I could in an entire day. Then again, I didn’t do all the physical things he did on the regular.

“How was practice?”

One of his eyebrows raised, and he gave me an amused smile. “Same as yesterday. Brutal, but also necessary. We face one of the top teams in our division at our next home game.”

“Oh, right. Iowa.”

“Want to go? I can get you a seat with Aurora. Bring Mallory if you want. ”

I perked up at that. “Yes. Definitely, but not as anything more than a… ahh, friend?”

I didn’t read anything into it. We kept things pretty easy when we hooked up.

It was sex and usually sleeping together because we were both so tired after several rounds.

Then we went our separate ways in the morning.

There was no pillow talk, no sharing our deepest, darkest secrets, hopes, and fears.

Ares laughed. “Yes, friends with benefits. Okay, consider it done. I’ll have Aurora text you Saturday with the seats.”

A frantic knock cut through Ares’s laughter. “Ares, open up. I’ve got great news.”

Ares and I locked gazes at the sound of a key being inserted in the door, and it turned. No, it couldn’t be.

I reacted before Preston had finished unlocking the door and threw myself behind the end of the couch. Ares must’ve rounded the island and blocked for me, as Preston’s voice no longer sounded muffled and nothing was said about my presence. I stayed crouched where I was, shamelessly listening.

“I did it! I made the team.”

“What are you talking about, P? What team?”

“Hey, are those tacos?”

“Ah, yeah.”

“Cool.” A loud crunch sounded.

“Preston, what team?” Ares asked again.

“The football team. Coach let me try out late, and I made it. Probably because he knows about you, though.”

“I doubt that, P. A coach won’t let you be part of the team because you’re related to someone. He must’ve seen talent in you.”

“Thanks.”

Though Preston said it around a mouthful, I could hear the pride in his response.

“Your mom and dad would be so proud.”

“Yeah.” A wistfulness entered Preston’s tone, and I froze at the sudden vulnerability. “Mom went to every one of your games. She loved football. I don’t know why I didn’t try out sooner. I just wish she were here to go to my games too. She’ll never know…”

My throat tightened at the pain choking his young voice.

“She knows. Trust me, P. She’s watching you all the time. Your dad too. Every game, they’ll be watching. And I’ll be there.”

“I know, or at least when you don’t have a game.”

Ares grunted.

“I miss them. So goddammed much.”

“I do, too, bud.”

They talked briefly before Ares asked how Preston had gotten there and if his nana knew. A friend from the team had driven him and was waiting to take him home. They said goodbye shortly after, and when I heard the door shut, I unfolded from my hiding place.

I met Ares’s sad eyes as the pieces fell into place. “I didn’t know. I mean, I did, but not really.”

“It sucks. My sister was an amazing performer and a great singer, and she and her husband were coming home from a gig one Saturday night. A tired trucker hit them head-on. Then she was just… gone. I think the suddenness of it all affected Preston the most.” He blew out a breath as I closed the distance between us.

“The accident was two years ago. My mom took Preston in, but it’s been hard.

He’s a little lost. I do what I can. I want to do more. ”

“But you have school and football, and there are only so many hours in the day,” I finished for him, and he grimaced.

I got it. I wanted to take my sister in so she didn’t have to deal with our mom.

Our hands were tied in a sense. They were both okay where they were, and we could help more when we graduated and got full-time jobs.

“I wish I’d known the loss was so recent.” Two years wasn’t that long ago. “The school mentioned he was living with his grandmother, but that’s all I knew.”

“I’m not surprised the academy didn’t tell you, but they should have. It’s frustrating. The knowledge would help a substitute teacher prepare to handle a struggling kid.”

“Yeah, it’s a problem. I would have dealt with things differently.

” And I intended to going forward. “I know what it’s like, in a sense, losing a parent.

While my dad isn’t dead, he messed up and broke apart our family.

Mom’s not the greatest. She’s dealing with her own sense of betrayal and loss and not handling things well for my sister.

And Dad… we won’t get to spend birthdays or Christmas with him at home, as he’s in prison.

It’s not the same as losing a parent, but it’s still…

difficult. The worst part is knowing that the dad I thought he was isn’t real.

He wasn’t the greatest, but now I know that his persona was nothing but lies. ”

Ares hauled me into his arms. “I’m sor?—”

I rested my finger against his lips, silencing him.

I didn’t need to hear the words, but the hug helped ease my discomfort.

And the closeness ignited something more.

Heat sparked in his topaz eyes at my touch, and a thousand butterflies took flight in my stomach.

I’d just gained insight into Ares’s world, which was just as messy as mine, if not more so.

I’d thought he had it all, that his life was relatively easy.

It wasn’t, and he’d never looked more attractive to me than he did at that moment.