“We should leave.” Those three words were the hardest ones he had ever had to say.
She leaned towards him and settled her hands on his forearms.
He shivered, instantly hot where she touched, and the sense of urgency that had rode him a second before disappeared.
“You can take me away later,” she whispered, her dark eyes falling to his lips. They parted for her, his breathing coming faster as his heart began to race with anticipation. “I need to kiss you again first. I need you to kiss me again.”
Ares needed that too, but now wasn’t the time. They had to leave.
He opened his mouth to utter a protest but she covered it with hers and it came out as a deep moan instead as her lips brushed his, teasing him into submission. He had kissed her twice, but this was the first time she had kissed him, and gods, he loved it.
The soft caress of her lips over his, the gentle sweep of her moist warm tongue, each puff of breath against his skin, all of it thrilled him and made him tremble for more. He angled his head and deepened the kiss, needing more of her, wanting to brand his name on her soul in the same way she was branding hers on his, an indelible mark that would last forever.
He would always be hers.
She pressed her forehead and nose against his, her hands easing up his arms, fingers scalding him as she traced each curve of his muscles.
His mouth turned dry, body quaking under her touch as it overloaded his senses. He couldn’t take it. Even the barest or most innocent of caresses drove him right to the edge, until he balanced there, ready to give up the fight and fall into her arms.
Her hands skimmed over his shoulders and then up his neck, coming to rest against his cheeks. She pulled back and stared deep into his eyes, and it was game over when she spoke.
“Make love to me.”
CHAPTER 17
Ares captured her lips again, drinking deep of them and buying himself time to rein his hunger back in so when they finally made love, he wouldn’t end up embarrassing himself. His heart thumped against his ribs, hard and heavy, a beat that turned his stomach and set it alight with nerves. His hands trembled so he grasped the bedclothes on either side of her hips, bunching them into his fingers.
He didn’t want Megan to feel how badly this was affecting him.
He wanted to make love to her, just as she had asked of him.
He wanted it to be perfect, and if she realised he was already on the verge of coming undone, it would be anything but that.
She snaked her arms around his shoulders and drew him closer to her. Her hot core pressed against his groin again and he eased back, unable to bear it. Whenever she was against him, he wanted to tear her clothes off and lose himself in her. If he did that, she would think she had been right about him and he only wanted her for one thing.
His trembling subsided and he risked touching her. It instantly started right back up and his fingers shook against her sides, fluttering there and probably betraying his nerves. If they did, and if she noticed, she didn’t say anything. She continued kissing him, her lips dancing over his, as though she couldn’t get enough of his taste and wanted more. He wanted to drown in her, wanted to kiss her until neither of them could breathe and they had to break apart.
He swallowed, dragged his courage up, and slipped his hands beneath the hem of her red top.
Gods.
She was warm and soft.
He settled his hands around her waist, absorbing how good she felt beneath his fingers and that he was touching her. He still had trouble believing that. Whenever he touched her, it felt as though he was dreaming and any moment now, he would end up hurting her.
Her fingers moved to the front of his black shirt and he slowed his kisses as she began to slide each button free of their holes, his focus shifting there. He wanted to feel her hands on him.
Would die for it.
He realised he had stopped kissing her when she moved back, her face a picture of concentration laced with desire and excitement. She slid the last button free and parted the two sides of his shirt, her eyes lighting up as they roamed over his bare torso.
Even that burned him, heat following her gaze, ramping his desire up another notch.
She reached out and he tensed in anticipation of her touch, and every muscle on his torso tautened. She groaned, a low murmur of appreciation that set his blood on fire, and lightly ran her fingertips down his chest.
Ares sank his teeth into his lower lip and closed his eyes, hissing out his pleasure as her fingers traced his muscles and roamed over his body. The slow pace of her exploration drove him crazy, until he was on the verge of begging her for more. She skimmed her palms over his pectorals, then raked nails over his abdomen, each mark blazing like wildfire, and finally settled her hands on his hips.
He tensed again and swallowed to wet his throat. It was drier than a desert and his heart skipped a beat. Anticipation coiled tight in his stomach, threatening to explode at any moment.
He couldn’t take it.
He stared into her eyes, silently begging her to put him out of his misery. She knew where he needed her to touch him, wanted to touch him there too, and he couldn’t bear this torture any longer.
She bit her lip, white teeth teasing it and making him want to kiss her again. He lowered his hands to her hips, running them over her thighs and then onto her arms, caught hold of her wrists and made her move her hands, a gentle nudge in the right direction. She smiled wickedly, eyes bright with her amusement, as though she had been waiting for him to make her do something.
Had she been trying to see how long he could bear to have her hands on him, so close to where he needed her most of all?
He growled low in his throat, the thought of her teasing him pushing him firmly over the edge, and turned the tables on her.
Before she could move her hands, he caught the hem of her red top and pulled it up, revealing the smooth plane of her stomach. Her hands left him, arms rising, allowing him to pull her top off over her head.
Ares groaned.
Teal underwear.
“You’re like candy... all colourful... all shades of delicious and tempting. I want to devour you,” he husked and her cheeks darkened, her teeth nibbling on her lower lip again.
He loved to make her blush, liked seeing how much he affected her with only a handful of words.
She giggled. “I like colour. It makes me feel good.”
He smiled and his heart skipped another beat when he cupped her bra-clad breasts, feeling the weight of them in his palms and wishing he had already stripped away her colourful wrapper so he could come good on his words and devour her.
“You should wear colourful tops too then,” he said and her face fell.
“I don’t wear it on the outside.” Her voice lost its playfulness and he frowned. “I don’t like to draw attention to myself.”
“You’re beautiful,” he murmured and she blushed again. “That will always draw attention.”
She looked down at her knees and he gently caught her cheek and lifted her head.
“Why don’t you like people noticing you?” he whispered and searched her eyes, trying to see the reason in them.
She shrugged and looked away, staring over his shoulder. He stroked her cheek with his thumb, giving her time to find her voice.
Megan looked back into his eyes. “I feel like a freak... like if people notice me on the street, they’ll see my power somehow or that I’m different to them.”
His heart went out to her and he pressed his lips to hers and slowly kissed her, needing to reassure her with some form of physical contact as well as with words.
“There’s no reason for you to be ashamed or scared because of your power.” He smoothed his palm over her cheek and traced the line of her jaw with his fingers. “It’s a good thing, Megan. I know you’ve felt alone in this world, but you’re not alone anymore. I’m right here with you.”
Tears lined her lashes and he kissed them away. He hadn’t meant to upset her.
He had only wanted to make her feel that she wasn’t alone now and she had no reason to be afraid or to feel as though she didn’t belong in this world. It was as much her world as it was anyone else’s.
He had been without physical contact for a long time, but he had never been alone, not like Megan had. His parents had raised him well, and his brothers too, making them all comfortable with their powers, making them feel as though it was normal. He had grown up surrounded by others like him, but she had never had anyone to talk to about what had happened to her.
She had wandered the world, searching for someone like her, and now she had found them—him.
She might be mortal and he might be a god, but they both wielded powers. They weren’t so different after all.
Megan scrubbed the heel of her hand across her eyes and then kissed him again, harder this time. He wrapped his arms around her waist, settling one hand in the small of her back and the other between her shoulder blades, and pulled her closer to him, until her body was flush against his, and held her there as he kissed her, wanting to take away her fear and all the pain in her past with it.
The way her mouth moved against his, and her soft breath fanned his face, was bliss.
His fingers tightened against her back, pressing into her soft flesh, and he struggled to breathe as he kissed her, losing himself in her and the moment.
When he was about to deepen the kiss, she took them down a different path.
She slowed the kiss and it lightened to bare sweeps of their lips against each other, soft caresses that stirred his insides, making them flip and flutter.
He had never kissed like this before.
It heightened everything, his emotions and arousal, until he was hyper-aware of every brush of her body against his, every shift of her fingers against the nape of his neck, and every sweep of her lips over his.
He drowned in her, losing awareness of the world.
She filled his senses and his focus, and everything else fell away, leaving only her and this beautiful moment.
“Come,” she whispered against his lips and shuffled backwards, out of his reach.
He swallowed and watched her with hooded eyes, fear rising within him again as she moved up the bed, her shy smile and glittering eyes tempting him to follow her. He couldn’t move though. As much as he wanted to mount the bed and join her, he couldn’t convince his body to do what his head and heart were screaming at it to do.
He kneeled at the end of the bed, gaze fixed on her, struggling to overcome the debilitating bout of nerves that were no doubt making him look like a fool to the beautiful woman waiting for him.
Her smile widened and softened, her eyes filling with warmth and understanding. She kneeled on the bed and crawled back to him, giving him a glorious view of her breasts in her teal bra. When she reached him, she stroked his cheek and stared deep into his eyes.
She gently kissed him and ran her hands over his shoulders. “It’s okay.”
He closed his eyes and let out his breath, relaxing a notch as she pushed his shirt off his shoulders and he removed it, letting it fall onto the worn carpet. She kneaded his shoulders, palms warm against his skin, working out the rest of his tension, and then trailed her fingers to his upper arms.
A smile curved her kiss-swollen lips as she traced the spikes of his favour mark on his left deltoid, her touch so light it tickled and made him want to close his eyes, and then ran her hands down his arms to his. She curled her fingers around to brush his palms and sat back.
He stood, obeying her silent command.
Her gaze dropped to the front of his jeans and she released his hands.
He trembled like an idiot again, gaze tracking her hands as she brought them forwards, towards him. She slowly undid his belt and the top button of his jeans followed it. She eased each button free of its hole, working her way downwards, each one ratcheting up his tension another degree. By the time she had reached the final button, he was shaking right down to his boots.
She slipped her hands inside, skimming them over his hips, and slowly pushed his black jeans down. He cursed himself for being so weak in front of her. He had been naked around her once already. He should have gotten over it then. It had been different though. In the bathroom, he had sworn he would only kiss her.
Now she wanted to take things further. She wanted to make love.
He groaned and tilted his head back when she caught the waist of his black trunks and pushed them down to his knees. The first brush of her fingers over the sensitive head of his shaft had his knees threatening to buckle beneath him but he stood firm, every muscle tensing to keep him upright.
She moaned low in her throat, a hum that satisfied him and made him feel that she liked what she was touching, and she liked it a lot. She gently circled the head with her fingers, teasing him, and even that simple touch was almost too much for him. He jerked his hips backwards, placing himself out of her reach, needing a moment to claw back some control.
“There’s no rush,” she said and he cracked his eyes open and looked down the length of his body at her. The sight of her so close to him, eyelevel with his hard length, tore a groan from his lips. “We can start out slow.”
That floored him. He couldn’t believe how incredible she was, how she accepted this side of him and embraced it, rather than thinking he was weak because of it.
“I’m touched that you’re not hiding from me,” she whispered and he knew what she meant.
He hated appearing weak but he couldn’t hide how weak she made him and how much he needed her, and he could see in her dark eyes that she was telling the truth. It pleased her that he was so unguarded around her, allowing her to see everything in his heart, all his fears and his flaws.
She lightly ran her fingers down the length of his shaft and he swallowed as she leaned closer, the silken threads of her hair grazing his erection, and kissed his stomach. He groaned and she looked up at him through her long dark lashes, working her way upwards towards his chest. Her hands settled on his hips and she flicked her tongue over his left nipple, eliciting another low rumbling moan from him, and then pressed soft kisses over his chest.
He arched into her lips, needing more from her and unable to stop himself from seeking it.
“It takes a strong heart to show weakness,” she whispered against his skin and placed a kiss on the spot over his heart. “You’re not alone, Ares. I’m weak too... trembling inside for you... I haven’t been with a man in a long time, since I discovered my power over a decade ago.”
He growled low in his throat at that.
It did him in, cranking up his protective and possessive side until he wanted to lay some sort of claim on her and make her belong to him forever. He wanted her to be his and his alone.
He caught her around the nape of her neck and kissed her hard, bending her body into his. She moaned into his mouth, the breathy sound driving him on, and he stepped into her.
The heat of her stomach against his cock tore another groan from his throat and she turned up the heat by wrapping one hand around his hard shaft. He thrust into the ring of her fingers, unable to hold back, and kissed her deeper, pouring out his passion and drinking hers.
She giggled and broke free of his lips, peppering his jaw with kisses. “Your stubble is scratchy.”
“Sorry,” he said and then groaned when she giggled again and spoke.
“Don’t be. I love the rasp of it against my skin.”
Gods, he couldn’t take it.
He shifted his head and recaptured her lips, kissing her breathless as he skimmed his hands down her back, clutched her bottom and tugged her against him, trapping her hand and his erection between them. She moaned and nibbled his lower lip, and he tried to do the same to her but she evaded him and kissed down his neck.
He tilted his head back again and released his breath in a sigh as she worked her way downwards, lavishing his chest with kisses and playfully nipping at his stomach. She swirled her tongue around his navel an
d her hand left his cock. He held his breath again, waiting, trying to steady his body so he didn’t make a fool of himself when she touched him again.
She didn’t use her fingers.
The feel of her soft warm lips brushing his length ripped a deep groan from him and he jerked his hips forwards, thrusting towards her. She flicked her tongue over the sensitive head, teasing him until he was delirious and close to begging for more, and then wrapped her lips around him and took him into her mouth.
Gods, he really couldn’t take it.
He grasped her shoulders and tried not to squeeze her too hard, but the delicious feel of her hot wet mouth sliding up and down his length, sucking at him, pushed him to tighten his grip. He tried to relax. Should have been easy but he couldn’t manage it. Every muscle went taut as a bowstring and he arched backwards, thrusting his hips towards her. She moaned and wrapped her fingers around his shaft, moving her hand in time with her mouth.
Too good.
Too damn good.
He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, gritted his teeth and fought back the tide rising within him, threatening to sweep him away. She moaned again, pressed her tongue in hard along the underside of his shaft, and squeezed him with her hand.
He bucked forwards, couldn’t have stopped himself even if he had tried, and slowly pumped in time with her movements, losing himself all over again, flushed with heat and arousal that steadily built towards a crescendo. His balls drew up and shaft tightened, rigid with need.
“Close,” he muttered and clutched her shoulders, groaned when she responded by sucking him harder and faster.
She wanted him to explode in her.
Gods.
Just the thought catapulted him over the edge. Heat rushed through him, a simmer that quickly became a boil, spreading wildfire through his veins. He jerked forwards, thrusting his length deep into the welcoming warmth of her mouth, and cried out as he came, a shockwave of electricity lighting up every inch of him as he spilled.
She moaned and lapped at him, and he watched her, breathing hard and trying to take in what had just happened. She knelt on the bed before him, her mouth wrapped around his flesh, one hand on his hip and the other on his length.
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