Page 11 of Dancing with Daggers

Fear and anger dumped adrenaline through Zia's veins. She punched her fists into Ares's ribs before driving her palm into his sternum. He pulled his mouth from her neck and tossed her. Zia twisted mid-air and landed on the polished floor of the foyer on her feet like a cat.

She grabbed the vase of flowers and threw it at him. Ares blocked it with his forearms, and the porcelain shattered, sending flowers and water everywhere.

"Fuck you, Ares!" Zia snarled, bringing her hands up in a defensive stance. "You want to kill me? Let's make it a fair fight. I have to admit, you were my favorite murder attempt so far with the illusions."

"I wasn't trying to kill you. I was trying to get you to leave for your own safety." Ares stalked toward her, and she shifted, keeping the polished round table between them. "But now I'm reassessing whether to kill you after all."

"Come at me. I can handle you."

"I very much doubt that." Ares's smile was streaked in her blood. He licked the scarlet from his lips, and his eyes widened. "Your blood… You're not a fucking Volso. You don't have a drop of Corven's blood. Who the fuck are you?"

Oh, shitty fuck damn. Zia didn't lower her guard. "No shit. I'm adopted. Corven knows and doesn't care."

"Maybe not, but the other siblings will. No way in fuck will they let someone who doesn't even have his blood rule the family."

Zia smirked. "Maybe. But maybe they will be more upset when they learn that their brother, Ares, has magic. How many times have you glamored them to get your own way?"

Ares launched himself across the table in one powerful move and tackled her to the shiny floor. They tumbled, and Zia lashed out at his neck and face.

He hissed, and she brought her knees up and kicked off his chest, breaking free from his hold and sending him careening back onto the table. It broke under his weight, but he was on his feet in a blink. She blocked his kick before aiming one of her own at his knee. He turned at the last second and absorbed the blow with his thigh.

Zia tried to block his return strike but wasn't watching his other hand. She hit the wall, his hand around her throat, pinning her in place. They were both sweating and panting. One of her singlet straps was torn in two and his neck was scratched up from her nails. Her heart was beating too fast, and his huge body was radiating heat and rage.

"I fucking hate you and your stupid fucking ponytail," he snarled in her face.

Lie, her magic tickled her. He looked like the raging war god he was named after. His perfectly ordered appearance was disheveled to hell, and he'd never looked so fucking gorgeous.

It made Zia hate him even more. She beamed at him because she was choosing violence.

"Good. I'm glad you hate me. I hope I haunt your fucking nightmares. I hope you stay awake at night thinking about the backwards village girl who knows about your magic. So much time teaching yourself in secret and hiding it, and all for nothing."

His grip tightened. "How do you know that?"

"I saw it when I tore your shitty illusions apart. Maybe you didn't read about it in your books, but an adept magic user can learn your training origins within your power." And just because he looked genuinely shocked, she added, "You dumbass."

Ares roared and bit her again. Zia lashed out at his chest, ripping his silk shirt. Her fangs were in him before she could think about it. Ares snarled, his mouth pulling free from her.

Gods, he tasted so good, like spice and sin and fuck so much power. Zia realized he wasn't moving or fighting her, and she let him go. He had her caged in, his forearms resting on the wall on either side of her.

"How… How do you feel about hate sex?" she panted because the blood had made her insane. Ares's green eyes went black, and her pussy clenched. Oh, fuck, she really was going to die.

"I'm good with it," he said, and his mouth crashed down on hers.

Zia startled in surprise before her lips parted and his tongue swept inside her mouth. She could taste blood and bergamot, her senses flooding with the heated scent of his skin.

Ares's hand gripped her hips to him, and he ground his already hard dick against her pussy. A sound she wasn't proud of came out of her. He was a big guy, and she was going to have a hell of a good time getting him inside of her. Ares dragged off her sleep shorts and dropped to his knees.

"I bet your pussy tastes even better than your blood," he said, looking up at her.

Zia smirked because she enjoyed seeing him on his knees before her. "Only one way to find out, isn't there? My clit isn't going to lick itself."

Ares's expression darkened, and he buried his face into her lace covered pussy. Zia grabbed his head to keep herself from tipping sideways. There was the feel of fangs against her, and Ares tore the crotch of her panties in half with his teeth.

"Sweet black Jesus," she whimpered.

Ares chuckled. "Wrong god." And then his tongue was on her clit, and she was rising on her tiptoes as her soul tried to leave her body.

"You do taste good everywhere," Ares growled against her, grabbed her hip with one hand and held her to him. He must have had the ability to breathe through his ears, because Zia didn't think he came up once for a breath. Not that she was about to complain.

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