Page 76 of God of War

“And one night, I laid you down on this very bed and I touched you.”

He twists his fingers. Moves them through the warm, wet place between my thighs. Back and forth. Back and forth.

“Made you come,” he says, “made you cry it felt so fucking right. And then when I was finally inside you…”

He pushes inside. Two thick, slick fingers. I cant my hips, a gasp caught in my throat.

“…You told me you loved me.”

I gulp. “And what… what did you say?”

“I love you too, Delaney.”

I take him by the back of the neck and drag him close. His mouth against mine, his fingers inside me, we move together, steady movements becoming more and more desperate, and when I come, I do it screaming his name.

Cameron.

28

Delaney

We lie in the darkness, my head on Ares’ chest. I rise and fall with his steady breathing. My palm rests on his abs, his skin soft under my fingertips.

“How are you so calm? You didn’t even…”

“You think coming is the only thing that relaxes me?” he asks, his words rumbling through my cheek. “I’m lying here with you.”

“I relax you?” I ask, rolling my head a little to meet his eyes. “I thought I infuriated you? Drove you absolutely fucking crazy with rage?”

“When you try and get yourself killed, yeah,” he agrees, grinning. “But right now?” His hand cups my face. Tucks a tendril of hair behind my ear. “Yeah, I’m relaxed.”

My body is limp and boneless. I don’t think I’ve ever felt safer. Of course, that’s when reality starts to seep in, like waste water from a broken pipe.

“He needs to die, Ares. You know he’s never going to stop any other way. And once he finds out about Aaron, he’ll use it somehow — pin it on you, leave it hanging over my head. I’ll never be able to keep Lilly safe.”

“You’re right.”

I sit up and stare at him in surprise. “Okay, who are you and what have you done with Ares?”

Something buzzes against my hip. Ares closes his eyes and puffs out his cheeks, like he was anticipating this. Dreading it, even. He takes his phone from his pocket and his face glows in the light of it as he checks the screen. I’m not in the right position to read the text. He clicks the screen off and sits up.

“Come on. I have to show you something.”

***

I step up onto Ares’ front porch on shaky legs. The last time I was this close to Ares’ house, I was running away, scampering in the dark and crawling through bushes to make it back to my bed before Dad could catch me.

There are lights on inside, a warm yellow glow emanating from the curtained windows. A shadow moves past the window and I jolt in fear, digging my nails into Ares’ forearm.

“There’s someone in there,” I hiss. But Ares doesn’t look surprise. He touches my lower back.

“Come on,” he says, urging my forward.

The front door is unlocked. Inside, the house feels the same, like it was only yesterday I was in here asking this big, bad biker to be my personal assassin. There’s movement in the living room, to my left, and even though I’m expecting someone, nothing prepares me for what I see.

There’s a man tied to a chair, his mouth duct taped over, dripping with sweat and a trail of blood from a gash over one eye. When he sees me, his eyes go wide and he grunts against the tape, tugging desperately at his binds. Reaper, the tall, long-haired biker that showed up to the clearing, whacks the butt of his gun against my Dad’s skull. Dad groans, his eyes shuddering closed for a second.

My mouth is sandpaper dry. I try to talk, to scream, but all that comes out is a ragged gasp. Ares walks past me and nods to Reaper who steps aside. Ares bounces down on his heels. He and Dad are face-to-face, but it’s clear that Ares holds all the power here. Some of it flows back to me, emboldening me to step forward, shoulders tight.

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