Page 117 of God of War (Legacy of Gods)

I walk away, but I hear her whisper, “She’ll hurt you, you know.”

“Good thing I’m the Tin Man,” I say over my shoulder and catch a glimpse of Cecily’s downward, sad smile.

She probably recalls that time during Remi’s birthday party a couple of years ago when Ava got drunk, which wasn’t novel at that point in her life.

Once she had enough liquid courage, she stumbled toward me and jut a finger in my chest. “I hate you, Tin Man.”

Then she nearly fell and would’ve drowned in the pool if Cecily hadn’t dragged her away.

I wish I was still at that point where I mildly noticed her and only found her slightly annoying.

Right now, however, I have a horrible feeling that if she cries again, I’ll be prepared to do anything to stop the tears.

On my way to the car, Henderson appears by the driver’s seat, his brows pinched together. He has a rather distinct disregard for the US in general, and New York in particular, so he hasn’t been especially thrilled about this business trip.

“There’s no need to sulk like a snobbish Victorian, Henderson. We’re leaving in a couple of hours.”

“It’s not that,” he starts in a strange, careful tone. “Sam and I didn’t wish to bother you until we’d done our due diligence and checked the facts.”

“What facts?”

He hesitates for a beat. Henderson never hesitates. “Mrs. King is missing.”

“She’swhat?” While my voice is calm, the roar of emotions rattle around me with the discrepancy of violence.

“After the recital, she sent Sam home and said she was having dinner with your and her parents, then spending the night at her parents' house. Sam saw them go to the restaurant together. The CCTV footage shows that she left the restaurant with them and got into her father’s car. Sam checked with the butler of Mr. and Mrs. Nash, but he reported that Mrs. King did not, in fact, arrive home with her parents.”

“Then where the fuck is she?”

“We’re not sure. Sam thinks she told her parents to give her a lift somewhere, and since they did, that means they thought she was safe. Sam didn’t want to alert them until we consulted with you.”

My fist clenches and unclenches. She couldn’t have already moved out like she threatened. Not without luggage, anddefinitely not without any of her precious cellos and her flamboyant pink car.

Or did she?

Cecily’s words from earlier about how unpredictable Ava gets during her episodes strike me in the marrow of my bones.

She couldn’t have gotten worse.

I stayed away so she wouldn’t get worse. It was torture to peel myself from her inviting body and that satisfied look in her eyes after I wrenched that orgasm out of her.

But the momentary blankness proved that I was wrong to touch her.Again.

That my inability to control my impulsive feral needs whenever I see her will prove to be the end of everything I’ve built during these years.

Sometimes, she’ll walk around in barely-there seductive clothes, and I’ll hear the tick of my control slipping away.

She’ll smile in her signature sunny, bubbly way, and I’ll resist the urge to shield my eyes from the brightness.

Truth is, I couldn’t have controlled myself for long, not when I’ve yearned to own her, shove her down and tie her up, eat her pussy, and then pound into her. Not when I’ve fantasized about watching her cunt stretch to accommodate me as she releases those panting moans.

Truth is, I’ve craved her, so much that it hurts to look at her at times.

If someone had told me I’d come to want Ava in this absurdly carnal manner, I would’ve chucked them into the river like stale goods.

But here we are, years after she softly and courageously confessed her feelings to a cruel monster, knowing I’d hurt her, and now I think about nothing but that infuriating woman.

“How about the tracker on her phone?” I ask.

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