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Chapter 13
Elyse
When someone knocked on my door on Saturday evening, I groaned. I suspected Oliver, as he’d always popped over at this time before my life had morphed into a mess, but I didn’t need company. I yearned to be alone, to deal with Catina’s disappearance in peace without talking about it with anyone.
After I visited Hades the other night, a sense of calm had come over me because I’d started to understand him better, to see he held on to so much anger because he was afraid. And nothing I said could change him, but I’d be there for him, understand him, let him know he wasn’t alone. For that reason, I spent the next few hours drinking coffee with him and chatting about the galaxy, the constellations, anything that didn’t deal with either of our problems. But after coming home, the reality of Catina’s predicament had crashed through me, and I’d moped in my apartment ever since.
I wiped my wet eyes and tightened my hold on my knees in the corner of the couch.
Oliver knew about the missing persons case I’d opened. He found out about it when he’d went to visit Catina at work. I wasn’t sure why he’d been looking for her. Maybe, under different circumstances, I’d have been happy about the progression of whatever was happening between them. But her kidnapping was my fault, and it seemed everything I touched I fucked up. Like poor Oliver finding me dead in my apartment and Heracles needing to wipe his mind clean. Now because of me, my best friend was at the mercy of a psychotic monster, and Oliver worried for her. They were all better off without me in their lives.
If Catina liked Oliver, I wanted her to be with him. I wished for them to be happy and for them to have a long future together.
Right now, I just prayed she was still alive.
A second knock sounded at the door, and I ignored it. The gods just appeared in my living room, so it wasn’t one of them.
I yearned to be alone, because I felt lost and pathetic that I hadn’t been able to help Catina.
A moment later, the air in front of me rippled and Ares appeared in my living room, larger than life in front of me where I sat on the couch. He wore jeans and a red tee that pulled taut across his strong chest.
“Don’t you answer your door?” he asked, gripping his hips.
“Since when do you knock?” I grinned, glad it was him. Of all the gods, he was the one I needed to see. Not because I favored him above the others or anything, but because his goofy attitude, the way nothing was ever super serious with him, was exactly what I needed. Plus, he didn’t sit around and grieve with me but rather tried to remind me all wasn’t lost, so I thanked the stars it wasn’t Oliver at the door.
“Is there a reason you’re ignoring the world?” He flopped down next to me then stretched his arm up and put it around my back as if it’d landed there after the stretch. It was a classic jock move and endearing.
I giggled, leaning into him, pressing myself up against him. His body was hot, the heat thawing me where I’d felt cold and forgotten.
“I can’t find her,” I admitted. “And I feel horrible about it.”
Ares hesitated. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but he kept silent. His breathing picked up and he was definitely keeping something from me.
“What is it?” I asked.
The muscles in his neck corded. “I just wish I could do more,” he finally said.
I sighed. “You’re doing so much already. We’ll figure this out, I guess. Or we won’t.” I scrubbed my face with my hands. “God, I don’t know anymore. Before, my mission was simple. Eradicate the monsters, get rid of X. Now I feel as if I’m swimming through a black hole, unsure which direction to go.”
Ares put his hand on my cheek. He turned my face toward him so I looked him in the eyes. They were seafoam green, lighter than usual, but no less intense, and I couldn’t ignore his handsome features, the strong jawline, the parted lips I wanted against mine.
For a moment, he looked at me with adoration. But it very quickly changed into something deeper. Something hotter. And I responded to the heat that flowed from his body to mine, the way his eyes dragged down to my lips and his fingers curled in my hair, telling me what he wanted without saying a word.
I desired it, too. To escape, to experience a release—and Ares would give me exactly that. I knew he would.
He kissed me, closing the distance between us, pressing his lips against mine. His mouth and cheeks were as hot as the rest of him. It was as if he burned up, but it wasn’t anything like that. Rather, it was the fever of his lust.
Or maybe it wasn’t just lust. It seemed more than that. This was different than the first time we’d slept together. When he studied me, I saw his affection for me in his eyes. How had we moved from something that was a giant question mark to something so solid in only a matter of days? He’d been my rock in a time of devastation, turning out to be a different man from whom I’d first met.
But I imagined Ares was like this in every sense. With him, it was all or nothing.
His tongue slid over my lips, and I moaned softly as he tasted me, explored my mouth. His hand slid down my neck, over my collarbone and onto my chest. I expected him to touch my breasts, but he didn’t. He stayed just above them, making me ache for his touch without going any farther.
I put my hands on his chest. His pectoral muscles were chiseled, every inch of him was ready for war, and his body was solid under my palms.
Slowly, he drove me down, gently, until I was on my back on the couch. His body hovered above mine. He leaned over me, but he didn’t put his weight on me. Even though I could handle it now.
While he kissed me—slowly, sensually, making out—he pressed his hand under my tank top. He ran his hand over my stomach, his rough palm brushing across my skin, and I shivered. But he didn’t move to my breast. He didn’t touch the skin on fire for him, he didn’t tweak my already hard nipples. He caressed me as if merely touching me was enough for him.
