Infinity Chronicles Book Three

by Albany Walker

  “We can next time if you want,” Ares suggests. I nod, thinking I would like to next time, but accepting that they’ll understand why we didn’t today.

  Ollie steps through the door first and he moves forward so we can enter behind him. Turning so he’s facing our group, he leans in and whispers. “The contractor is coming early tomorrow. I say we use that as an excuse to get out of here early. There were a lot of cars in the driveway.”

  “Agreed,” Milo adds quickly. I almost let out a sigh of relief. I thought I had a couple more days before I had to meet a whole bunch of people.

  Mal pokes his head into the mudroom, his lips twisted up in a sly grin. “I heard that,” he singsongs and ducks away just as quickly.

  “Damn it,” Ares curses.

  “He won’t say anything, he just wants to make us sweat,” Dante offers.

  “Let’s hope not, if he tells Mom, she’ll have a fit.” Ares places his hand on the small of my back. He’s in his customary suit pants, button-up shirt, and vest. He looks amazing, delectable, but I feel like I come up lacking next to him in my sweater and jeans.

  “We better go out there and make sure he doesn’t say anything,” Milo urges, pushing us out of the mudroom.

  Ares leans down and whispers in my ear, “Stay close to one of us while we’re here.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that,” I mutter under my breath, thinking today might be a good day to be invisible.

  Milo and Ollie are leading the group as we make our way past the kitchen and into the formal living room. I spot Scott and Carolyn first, they’re chatting with a woman and two men I’ve never seen before near the wall. Carolyn is smiling and their conversation seems relaxed.

  Ollie walks over in their direction, placing a kiss on his mom’s cheek when she notices him. He stands there and nods as the people his parents are talking to start to include him in the conversation. He looks over in me, my hand in Ares’s, and he pulls a face.

  I rub my cheek against Ares’s arm to hide my smile. Thank goodness no one is making a big deal about our arrival.

  Milo migrates over to one of his dads, greeting him with a hand on his back. Ares squeezes my hand and leads me over to a small bar set against the wall, keeping my hand in his as he pours himself a short glass of amber liquid. I glance around to see where Dante is, but he’s not in the room. My eyes skip over a few people and I notice that some of them are watching us. Some are trying not to make it obvious, but others don’t bother to hide their interest.

  I turn back around pretending not to notice, but I lean in closer to Ares. “People are staring,” I say under my breath.

  “They won’t come over.” He doesn’t keep his voice down. He turns back around and levels his gaze on the room. Every eye in the room is now directed elsewhere. He leans down and places a kiss on the top of my head. “They won’t bother us.” He pulls back and gives me a devastatingly handsome grin. “Why do you think they agreed to let you stay with me?”

  “I didn’t realize they even discussed it,” I tell him honestly.

  Ares’s smile doesn’t falter. “Do you really think they want to be playing the distraction instead of being here with you?”

  I look over at Ollie, who looks about as bored as he could be, then over at Milo. “They’re talking to their parents.”

  “No, they are answering all the questions about us so we don’t have to.” I look again, Milo is speaking, his head nodding, with a plastic smile on his lips.

  “Well, that’s not far. They shouldn’t have to do that alone.” I take a step forward.

  Ares stops me, holding my hand tightly. “They don’t mind Laura.”

  “But you just said… and Ollie looks miserable.”

  “Let me put it this way, they would rather it be them than you.”

  I look up at Ares. His face is more closed off than I’ve seen it in weeks and his posture is stiff. “How did you get stuck with me?”

  He chuckles under his breath, but outwardly his features don’t shift. “Sweetheart, I’m the one keeping them away.” He pauses, and his next words stun me. “These people only pretend not to fear me.”

  My heart aches at his declaration, which was delivered harshly. I look out at the people milling around the room, seeing them in a different light. A wave of fierce protectiveness crashes into me. His words may sound like he’s angry, but I can sense the hurt underneath.

  With a subtle movement I go from clinging to him, to standing a little in front of him. I dare one of these people to treat him with anything other than kindness.

  “Laura, how are you darling? Ares,” Rosa calls, coming into the room with her arms already outstretch as she approaches. She gives me a quick kiss on my cheek and moves to Ares’s other side. There’s something about the way she is speaking, just a little too loudly, and the way she’s standing, that makes me think she’s doing exactly what I am. Protecting the most powerful of our kind. Her eyes land on mine and she gives me a wink of understanding.

  “Dinner is just about ready. If everyone would like to follow me.” Ares guides me from the room, while his mother waits for everyone else to rise from the seats and gather near her. I look back as we leave the room, and almost every eye is on us.

  Dante meets us near the formal dining room, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his dark jeans. “Hey, were there a lot of people in there?”

  “Some,” Ares answers noncommittally. I reach for Dante’s arm with my free hand, not liking the frown marring his brow. I think back to when Ares had taken me to meet Dante’s tiger for the first time, how nervous they both were for me to see him in his shifted form. I don’t think it was an accident that Dante didn’t follow us into the room. How long has Ares been taking on the brunt of their shared unacceptance?

  A new resolve falls over me, I don’t give a shit what these people think of me, but I’ll be damned if they’ll ever make any of my men feel like freaks because they’re afraid of them, and how powerful they are. A static charge fills my blood, making my hair swirl into the air as if carried by a current.

  Ares freezes, halting before we reach the dining room. “Laura?” His reaction is enough to tell me I need to cool it before going into the dining room.

  I take a few deep breaths. “I’m fine.”

  “Are you sure?” Dante whispers. “If you need a minute, we can go to the room.”

  “We don’t want anyone knowing the extent of your abilities yet,” Ares cautions.

  “I said I’m fine.” A little misplaced anger seeps into my tone. I pull my hands free from Ares and Dante and shake them out, dispelling a little of the static energy collection on my skin. “Sorry.” I gentle my voice.

  “No one here is going to hurt you,” Ares tells me, completely misjudging my unease.

  I make a sarcastic scoffing sound. “That’s not what’s bothering me. I don’t like the way these people look at you.”

  A throat clears and I turn to see a couple of people from the living room that were staring at us. They have the nerve to look at me with upturned noses.

  Rosa makes her way to the front of the group, a small frown marring her features since she missed the exchange. “Everything all right?”

  I bite my teeth together to keep from speaking out. Instead, I give her a tight smile and nod my head. “Fine.”

  Milo and Ollie walk past the growing group of people to come to our side. As I turn away to head to the dining room, I catch a glimpse of Ares’s face. His features are hard, and shadows dance across his cheeks as he tilts his chin down to stare at the group behind us. Not a word is spoken, but the threat is clear.

  I feel guilty that I started this, that they are seeing him for what they fear, since now he’s going all Dark Lord on them. I reach for his arm, pulling him so he’ll turn. He does so, reluctantly. In the next second, I offer my hand to Dante. Milo and Ollie form a wall behind us as we finally reach our destination.

  Rosa keeps casting suspicious glances at her
guests, while the rest of their parents, clueless to the brief encounter, carry on light conversations while everyone is filling their plates with food. The dining room isn’t quite large enough for all of us, so there are a few tables set up in the kitchen and living room. Our group snags one of the tables in the living room, away from most of the guests’ prying eyes.

  “Still at the designated kiddie table,” Ollie snickers, and I look over to see that the table closest to us is, in fact, a kiddie table. Several children, ranging in age from seven to about sixteen if I had to guess, sit there looking supremely bored.

  “Works for me.” Milo settles in his seat. “What happened in the hallway?” He lowers his voice to just above a whisper.

  “It was me,” I confess, before Ares or Dante can make an excuse. “I got a little sparky. While they were trying to calm me down, a couple of the people heard me say I didn’t like the way they looked at Ares.” I rub my fingers over the tablecloth, not meeting anyone’s eyes.

  “Good.” Ollie snorts and drops his plate to the table. “Half those assholes talk shit, but they’re just fucking scared. They wouldn’t know what to do with half the power he has.” He scoops up his fork and digs into his food like it’s no big deal.

  The rest of the guys begin to eat, so I take my cue from them and drop the subject, picking at the food I put on my plate. Everything looks and smells delicious, but with the way my stomach is feeling, I’m not sure I really want to eat very much.

  Dante is the first to notice my lack of interest. “You need to eat.” He pushes my plate closer to me using the end of his fork. His eyes stay on mine until I place a bite of sweet potatoes into my mouth. He makes a grunting noise and returns to his overflowing plate.

  “How soon do you think we can get out of here?” Milo asks before he’s even done eating.

  “I think we should just sneak out, make a couple plates to take home. No one would say anything. Besides, your mom looked like she was about ready to kick everyone out. Did you see the way she was eyeballing Frank?” Ollie shakes his head with a smirk on his lips. Dante lets out a low chuckle in response.

  “I don’t know why you guys never told her the way those people treated you, you know she would have kicked their asses herself,” Ollie continues, sounding baffled.

  “I’ve never cared what they think about me.” Ares looks over at Dante quickly, a tick working in his jaw. “I let it go because some of them are their real friends. I also know that it is literally fear that makes them wary of us.”

  “They aren’t bad people,” Dante agrees.

  “I guess,” Ollie concedes, but he doesn’t sound like he agrees with them.

  “I’m going to grab a soda, anyone want anything?” Milo stands.

  “I’ll take one.” Ollie points his finger in the air.

  “I’ll have a water, if you don’t mind.” I meet his gaze.

  He nods. “Ares, Dante?”

  Ares rattles the two ice cubes left in his short glass. “I’m good.”

  “Nah,” Dante mumbles around a mouthful. When he swallows, he adds, “I’m about to get up for more anyway.”

  Milo walks over to the kitchen where he opens the fridge. “Hey honey,” Linda calls, walking into the kitchen from the other room.

  “Hey Ma,” he greets her, retrieving a bottle of water from the fridge.

  “So, that’s the plan, right? Grab more food and get the hell out of here?” Ollie pulls my attention back to the table.

  “We’ll see. We would have to at least say goodbye, I haven’t even really seen the guys yet.” Ares pushes his plate away, clearly done. I reach over and snag his uneaten roll. Ollie’s hand lands on mine. I look up and narrow my eyes on him.

  “You already had one,” I accuse. “Plus, I got to it first.” I widen my eyes at his hand on top of mine.

  A wave of heat blisters over my hand, but it doesn’t hurt, it’s more of a caress, then he pulls back, giving me a saucy wink. “I can get another, I just didn’t want it to go to waste. By all means, enjoy.”

  I drag my prize back to my plate, thinking he gave up way too easily. “Eat the bread, Cara,” Ares demands when I don’t look away from Ollie. He snickers at me like I just got in trouble. I rip off a big chunk and shove it in my mouth.

  “You’re so cute.” Ollie scrunches up his nose at me, grinning.

  “You should have seen her in the hallway, she looked like she wanted to pick her teeth with Frank’s bones before Mamma came over.” Dante has a wistful smile on his lips, his eyes unfocused like he’s thinking back.

  “Mom said no one is expecting us to stay long.” Milo places my bottle of water in front of me, and hands Ollie a can of cola.

  “Let me get a refill first.” Dante stands and goes over to the kitchen.

  “I want to make a plate to go, nothing will be open later and I know we’ll all be hungry.” Milo doesn’t even bother to sit down; he joins Dante in the kitchen again.

  Ares sighs, but he stands up too, extending his hand down to me. “Make a plate, we’ll get out of here and go home to relax.” My heart does a little flip-flop when he says home. “What are you smiling at?” He gathers both of my hands and wraps them around my back, pressing our bodies together. I’m forced to tilt my head back to look up at him.

  “Nothing, going home just sounds good. Home.” A giddy giggle erupts from me. Ares leans in and plants a kiss on my lips even though I’m still smiling, and I kiss him back.

  “You need to be at the venue at eleven o’clock.” This isn’t the first time Rosa has mentioned the time we need to be there. She has her hand folded over Dante’s elbow. We all already said goodbye to the others. It took longer than I expected, but making sure we said bye to all ten of their parents wasn’t as easy as you’d think. First, we had to find them, and then they wanted to chat for a few minutes.

  Rosa followed us out from the kitchen, placed a covered tray in my hands, and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. “I saved these for you and the boys, I hope you like them.”

  “Cannoli?” Dante sounds hopeful.

  “I didn’t make them,” Rosa cautions, “but they’re good.” Dante reaches for the tray. Rosa swats his hand before he can get close enough to lift the lid off. “Wait until you get home. They’re for everybody.” She knows him too well, he would probably eat them all before we got home. He grumbles but doesn’t try again.

  “We won’t be by tomorrow. We have a few last-minute things to take care of for Saturday. You need to—”

  “Be there by eleven,” Ares cuts her off.

  “Okay, okay. Go home. I love you all.” Rosa pouts a little. “Love you too,” is chorused back to her from the group. I’m not one of them, I’m not there yet.

  Chapter 22

  “There are a bunch of sales for Black Friday, we should get a TV or two.” Ollie is lounging back on the bed, his phone in his hands. “I wish we could get some furniture.” His finger scrolls up the screen.

  We’ve been home for a few hours. I’m sitting on the floor cross-legged, while Milo and Ollie are close together on the bed, both looking at the phone.

  “Wait, what about that one.” Milo reaches over and touches the phone screen.

  Ollie whistles. “That’s big.”

  “That’s what she said,” Milo quips without even cracking a smile.

  Ollie snickers. “Ares!” he shouts without giving any warning.

  Milo pushes him to the side. “That was right in my ear.”

  “That’s what she said.” Ollie busts out laughing at his own joke. Milo just rolls his eyes.

  “What?” Ares enters the doorframe, his hair still damp from his shower.

  When Ollie stops cackling, he tilts his head back and looks at Ares. “Can I have your debit card?”

  “For what?” Ares crosses his arms over his chest, the sleeves of his dark gray shirt tightening over his biceps.

  “Just a TV or two,” Ollie says innocently.

  Ares narrows his eyes on
him skeptically. “Don’t order too much shit Oliver. Or you’ll be the one finding a place to put it when the construction starts,” Ares warns.

  “I won’t, I promise. Just a couple TV’s and maybe a place to sit, even if it’s temporary. I’m tired of lying in bed all the time.”

  Ares jerks his head. “My wallet is downstairs on the counter.” Ollie jumps up and Milo bounces on the bed, tipping over.

  “It’s not like it’s going to magically appear once you order it, what’s the hurry?” Milo grumbles re-situating himself on the bed.

  Ares follows Ollie out of the room. I climb up on the bed and settle in next to Milo. He takes his arm from behind his head and lifts it so I can scoot in closer. I lay my palm over his upper stomach and my head on his chest. There’s nothing soft about Milo, but I still love being next to him. “I think he’d have the whole house furnished in an hour if it was possible.”

  “Agreed,” Milo says, his voice echoing under my ear.

  “Oh, I see how it is.” Ollie bounces onto the bed on his butt, Ares’s slim wallet clutched in one hand, his phone in the other. “You wait for me to leave and then you get all cuddly? Well, good thing I don’t mind being the third wheel.” I tilt my head back and look up at Milo, we make eye contact then he rolls his eyes at Ollie’s antics.

  Ollie snuggles in close behind me, curling around my back. His hands now empty and reaching over me to land low on Milo’s stomach.

  Milo makes a grunting noise in response. He bites his bottom lip, his eyes searching mine. I don’t wait for him to decide to kiss me; I lean forward and place my lips on his. It’s not often we find ourselves alone—well, just the three of us anyway.

  Milo leaves his one arm behind his head, holding himself back I’m sure. I feel the way his abdominal muscles tighten as he curls forward into my kiss. Ollie moves right along with me, his arm moving over my waist. He plants a few kisses on the back of my neck. My heart rate easily triples being between him.

  Milo opens his mouth, the tip of his tongue teasing me with soft sweeps against mine. I inch farther up his body, my hand gripping his shirt. He shudders out a breath and I pull back, seeing his eyes squeezed tightly together.