I spin away from him, letting myself drop to the bed. In that moment I make the decision to tell him some of what I’m feeling. I can’t meet his eyes when I say, “I think our connection, our Infinity, whatever you what to call it, is broken.”
Ares folds himself next to me, his feet bare stretching out much further than my own. My eyes travel up over the light gray pants he’s wearing and past the thin black t-shirt to his face. His hair is wet, curling at the end where the water is still pooling off the tips to land on his shoulders, the dark fabric concealing any of the moisture that falls.
“I really don’t think that to be true,” he holds up his hand to stop me when I would interrupt him, “but tell me Cara, why you think it is.”
“I know you know my name is Laura.” Ares hides a grin, smothering it with his hand. “Why do you call me Cara?”
Ares sighs, leaning back on his hands. I watch the lines of his torso as he does. He looks up at the ceiling, unaware I’m ogling him. “Did you know my mother was Italian?” He departs the information so conversationally. I shake my head no, even though he must know this information is new to me, but I’m afraid to interrupt him. “Until her marking manifested, she lived in Italy.”
“My fathers were both from America, so it was decided she would come here. She never really got over leaving her family. We usually manifest around sixteen, she was a young girl all alone except for her pair, living in a big city.” Ares turns to face me, his lips tipped up at the corners crinkling his eyes. “She would like you.”
Before I have a chance to say anything he continues. “She said having me made her miss home even more, we grew up speaking both languages.” Dropping back on the bed, his eyes still on me he adds, “Sometimes I slip up, and in Italian Cara is a term of endearment.”
“Where is she now?” I lie back on the bed, turning so I’m facing him with my head supported by my hand.
“She and my fathers travel quite a bit. I suppose we will see them for Christmas if not sooner.” Reaching over he places some loose hair behind my ear, tracing his fingers over my neck when he pulls away.
Clearing my throat, I sit up. This is exactly what I was talking about. I’ve witnessed small touches between them, it’s completely normal for them, the same way they share food. I, on the other hand, take it to mean more. I want it to mean more.
Ares places his hands behind his head and stares up at the ceiling. “Now, tell me what’s bothering you.”
How am I’m going to tell him and what can I say that won’t make me sound like the hoochy Dante already thinks I am? Maybe he’ll be able to help me understand what I’m going through, maybe this is just part of being in an Infinity and I’m misunderstanding my emotions and attraction to them. My breathing is a little rough, like I’ve been running around the room instead of only lying next to him.
“Laura?” Ares’s voice is soft, he’s not demanding an answer, but he’s willing to listen.
“I’ve been feeling… strange.” I stumble over the words.
Ares adopts the same position I was in, on his side facing me with his head propped in his hand. “Strange how?”
Shrugging, I can’t meet his eyes. “Different, like I’m feeling drawn to you guys.” I feel the heat of Ares’s palm as he slides it over my back and shoulders.
“And that bothers you?”
Another shrug. “Shouldn’t it? There are four of you.”
Ares sits up, repositioning so our hips and thighs are touching. I swallow, he probably doesn’t even realize he’s doing it. “I think you’ll get more used to it, it feels completely natural to me. But I’ve known this was coming, or hoped it was for years. It might take you a little time to adjust to us.”
“What if I don’t? What if I always feel like this?” I can’t chance looking at him, he’s so close, and I still remember the way his lips felt on mine.
“Why don’t you tell me exactly what you’re feeling–are we smothering you, do you need more time alone?” His words are slow, like he’s trying to decide what and how to ask.
This is so fucking awkward. Pulling my feet up off the floor, I wrap my arms around my knees and rock forward and back a few times. “Well, I’m not used to all the casual touching.” I peek at him, wondering what he’s thinking.
Ares’s brow furrows, he removes his hand from my back, placing it in his lap. “I’ll talk to the others, but you might have to remind us.” He eyes are facing forward and his tone is a little flat.
I don’t like how what I just said resulted in him pulling away from me. Reaching over I start to put my hand on his leg, but think better, and place it over his forearm. His eyes jerk to mine. “I don’t think you understand.” I beg him with my eyes to see what I’m feeling. “I don’t know how to say this.”
Ares turns his body so he’s angled toward me, his hand finds its way to the back of my neck. Searching his eyes, I open my mouth to tell him how his simple touches affect me, how I never want him to stop, but a knock on the door, followed by someone trying to turn the knob, makes the words on my lips turn to dust.
Ares makes a growling noise from the back of his throat. “I’ll kill them,” he mutters. He storms over to the door, shouting, “What?” before jerking it open. A soft gasp of surprise has me frozen on the bed. Dante promised me she wouldn’t come here.
Searching the empty room, I finally find the only place I’ll be able to hide. I slink to the floor and crawl to the other side of the bed, flattening myself to the carpet. My heart is beating fast, my breaths coming out in a pant. Now I can only pray that Ares keeps her out of the room. A hot shot of anger filters through my blood just thinking of her in this room. But I’m the one who shouldn’t be here. I’m feeling the emotions she’s entitled too.
“Sorry, I thought you were one of the guys. Did you need something?” Ares’s voice is tight, will she know he’s hiding something?
A soft tinkling laugh fills the room. “With that reception I’m glad I wasn’t, are you already tired of being home?” Her words soften at the end, like she’s truly concerned he might be.
“No, no, nothing like that. I just have a lot on my mind.” Ares’s words ring true.
“Do you want to talk about it? I may not have been born into your world, but I’ve been with you for years, I understand all the pressure you put on yourself.” I want so badly to peek over the bed to see them. Is she touching him?
“Thank you for the offer, but I think I need a little more time with this on my own. Good night Mia.” The door clicks closed seconds after his words are uttered. Silence fills the space. If I didn’t hear his dismissal of her myself, I would think I was alone in the room it’s so quiet.
“Laura?” Ares’s voice is urgent, the one word somehow more animated than anything he had said to her.
I poke my head up from floor. Ares freezes when his eyes land on me. “What the hell are you doing?” he accuses, rushing over.
Flipping over on my butt, I scoot until my back hits the wall as he quickly approaches me. Ares’s posture stiffens before he resumes walking much slower. “I hid. I don’t think she saw me. I didn’t see her.” My words are rushed. My head tells me I should be feeling guilty, I’m alone in his room with him, but the rest of me is angry that she even knocked on his door, daring to interrupt us.
Ares extends his hand down to me; his brows raised in challenge when I don’t immediately reach for him. Huffing, I let him pull me up from the floor. “I didn’t expect you to hide Laura,” he says it like he’s talking to a child.
“Well how am I supposed to know? Dante just told her he was taking me home.” My voice is rises in agitation. Pulling my hand from his, I brush my shirt down. Ares doesn’t step back after releasing me. My hands go to my hips and I glare up at him, mad at him for all the wrong reasons. “Dante told me she wouldn’t be back here tonight, why was she snooping around?”
Ares crosses his arms over his chest, the left side of his lips tip up in a smug grin. “She was check
ing on me, I’m obviously in a delicate state.”
An unladylike snort erupts from me. “Delicate my rump.” Ares angles his head around, making it look like he’s checking out my butt. “Why was she really here, I know it’s not because she knows about me being in your Infinity. Dante, Milo, and Ollie made it pretty clear tonight I’m nothing but an obligation.”
Ares drops his arms to his sides. “You’re not an obligation Laura.”
“Yeah, and you guys hiding me like some dirty secret is super telling about where I stand with all of you.” I can’t keep the bite from my words.
“Do you think we want to hide you?” Ares snaps back at me.
“Obviously, you do.” Throwing my hands in the air, I turn my back to him. I don’t want to look at him right now. “I’m used to being ignored, that I can handle. But I can’t deal with this up and down crap. I have no idea what I’m doing.”
I feel the heat of Ares’s hands land on my shoulders. “You belong with us.” His words are edged with conviction, but there’s still so much doubt. I have to make him understand that the connection I’m feeling is more than just a familial bond. Even now I want to lean back into him.
“It’s not the same for me.” I lower my head but don’t step away from him.
“What’s not the same?” He presses closer, the heat of him drawing me in.
“You guys, you’re like a family. I’ve heard you call them your bothers. I don’t feel that way, like you’re my brothers.”
Ares uses his hands on my shoulders to spin me around to face him. “What do you feel?” His voice is pitched low, there’s an urgency behind his words as his eyes search my face.
“It feels like more, like I want more from you, but not just you.” I drop my eyes, ready for him to push me away.
Ares’s fingers graze up my neck and he applies pressure under my chin, encouraging me to look back up at him. I let him direct me but close my eyes.
“Laura,” he whispers, his lips almost on mine. Why is he doing this, I just told him how I feel. Ares’s ghosts his lips over my cheek, stopping when his mouth is at my ear. “I never want you to feel like my sister.” His words are spoken with a soft growl as his arms wrap around my back. “When I kissed you earlier, do you remember me kissing you?” I nod, my throat dry. “I couldn’t help myself.”
“You feel the pull too?”
“It’s not just a pull, it’s so much more than that. It’s like finding a part you didn’t know was missing. Every second I’m with you, this is where I want you.” He tightens his embrace, dragging me closer.
“But you said this was bad, that the others would be mad.” I have a second of warning before he lifts me, bringing me up so we’re eye level.
“I might have said something like that, but I didn’t mean it the way you’re taking it. We agreed not to push you too far too fast.”
I push Ares’s shoulders so he’ll let me go. I need a little space, this is all so much to take in. “So, what are you saying, that this part is normal? The way I feel about you, about them? Because it doesn’t feel normal to me. I mean, I barely know you guys, but I feel like I do.”
Ares runs a hand through the front of his hair “Yes, this is what I was trying to talk to you about last night. When I said the Infinity was together, this is what I meant.”
I feel the color drain from my face, having a crush on a couple guys is one thing, but the reality of having a real relationship with all of them is so beyond what I can comprehend, that I can’t even pretend to grasp how it would work.
“Laura, this is why we didn’t tell you.” Ares walks over to the bed and sits on the end, his hands in his lap, the picture of patience.
I, on the other hand, begin to pace from wall to wall, thank goodness his room is so empty. I’d probably be going crazy right now if I had to sit still. “Wait… you’re saying that… all of us. That all of you will be…” I can’t look at him, I can’t even say the words out loud. Ares doesn’t fill in the blanks like I’d hoped he would. He’s waiting for me to spell it out. Finally, I settle on a word that doesn’t seem so intimidating, one that doesn’t mean forever, like they’ve been saying from the beginning. “My… boyfriends?” Even that comes out as a stutter.
When Ares doesn’t respond I look over at him. He meets my eyes, but the slight tilt of his head and the arch of his brow challenges me. I go rigid; I need some time to wrap my head around everything this implies.
He closes his eyes on a slow blink. “Yes, something like that.” I know that’s not really want he wanted to say, that he’s giving me time.
I nod and resume pacing. Thoughts of all four of them fill my head, how could it be possible? Milo doesn’t even particularity like me. But that doesn’t really seem true either, because at the beginning he was almost kinda flirty with me, not as overt as Ollie, but still. And in the car, I swear he was going to kiss me, so could he be upset at me for another reason? His words last night about Ollie hanging on me take on new meaning. I’d assumed that even though they didn’t really admit to being together, that they had more going on between them than friendship. Could I have been wrong, was he jealous of Ollie?
That though spins my mind in another direction. If they have to share me, will I have to share them? Thoughts of Mia coming to Ares’s room earlier enter my mind. I turn to glare at him, not ready to voice how I feel about any of them with someone else.
There’s a quick rapping on the door before it opens, revealing Dante and Milo, with Ollie trailing behind them. Dante’s brows pinch together. “What did you do now?” he says accusingly to his brother after getting one look at me.
Ares stands, meeting his Dante as he enters the room. “Looks like she wants to clobber me, huh?” He gives an elegant shrug of his shoulders before wrapping his arm over Milo and Ollie’s necks. They’re all standing across from me in a unified front. My brain short circuits— how can what Ares said be true? I fidget, was he just having a go with me? I feel a sharp pang of sadness at the thought, no matter how abnormal this is, there’s some part of me that likes the idea of us all being together.
“So, what gives Laura, what did Ares do?” Ollie questions, while looking between the two of us.
My cheeks heat, but I can’t even mutter the words. If he is making fun of me I really will clobber him, and if he wasn’t…?
“She knows,” Ares states, like he’s informing them about the weather, his tone level and even.
“Knows what?” Milo asks.
“Knows, knows,” Ares confirms.
Dante bites his lip. “You mean you told her about… us, about a real Infinity?” My heart rate speeds up with his words, could Ares have been telling the truth? My mind thinks back to the conversation last night, the way Ares kept saying we would all be together, and how they’ve admitted our Infinity is different than all the others.
“It’s true?” I whisper.
Ollie looks over at Ares. “Is that way she was mad?” He sounds reluctant, like he doesn’t want to know the answer.
Ares tilts his head. “Something definitely got her all fired up, but you’ll have to ask her what it is.”
I blanch again, I can’t answer that question. Not yet. “I’m just surprised is all,” I deflect, hoping it’s enough of the truth to appease them.
Twenty Two
Ollie breaks away from the others, coming to stand before me. “Does it freak you out?” He winces, waiting for my response. I reach my out hand to touch his forearm, not liking how unsure he looks.
“I don’t know what to think, I don’t understand how it would even be possible.”
He covers my hand with his own, holding me to him. “It’s what we’ve always known. I have two dads, Ares and Dante have two dads, Milo is one of the only sons who has three.”
“Oh my god.” I look over at Ares. “You did tell me you had two dads. I just didn’t… I mean it didn’t even register what you meant.” I pull my hand back from Ollie and cover my eyes—is this reall
y even happening?
“Yes.” Dante answers the question I hadn’t realized I’d spoken out loud.
“But… you’re okay with that, sharing? I don’t think I can do that.” My words come out soft.
Milo shuffles his feet and pushes his long sleeves up his arms to the elbows. “You don’t like us like that?”
“It’s not about me liking you, it’s about me liking you too much. I mean, how would it even work, we make schedules for dates?” Because dating is about as far as my mind can take this idea right now.
Ollie shrugs. “Maybe, if we need to.”
“What if I’m out with you and we run into Ares and Mia? I couldn’t, I mean, I won’t do that.” I shake my head emphatically, angry at just the thought.
A dark chuckle resonates through the room and I glare over at Ares with my eyes narrowed. I really do want to smack him. “Oh Cara,” there’s a gleam in his eyes that hollows out my stomach, “that would never happen.”
Crossing my arms over my chest and cocking my hip out I ask, “How are you so sure?” I mentally added Loverboy at the end.
“I have to say I like the reaction.” Darkness invades Ares’s eyes as he peers at me. A look of hunger on his face. What, he likes that I’m mad? I’m so confused I drop my arms, looking around between them. Milo is rubbing the back of his neck, neither Dante or Ollie will meet my eyes.
“Ares you’re not helping.” Dante sounds fluster as he approaches. “That isn’t going to be a problem Laura.” I stare up into his face, wondering what else they aren’t telling me.
Infinity Chronicles Book One: A Paranormal Reverse Harem Series Page 22