Page 58 of Blood Descendants
And that is the reason why seeing blood didn’t affect me for the first time since my mother and sister were killed.
Ares was protecting me. And I knew it with every bone in my body.
“Lana,” Ares says, my name coming across his lips like a prayer of agony. His hazel eyes are fixed on my own, and I can tell something big is coming. “I can’t do this anymore.”
Everything in my chest drops out into nothingness. Instantly, I feel cold.
“Ares,” I say, the name coming out hurt.
He shakes his head and takes another step into the room. “I can’t do this anymore, Vengeance. I can’t pretend anymore. I want you for real, Lana Kincade. Every touch, every kiss, everyglance, every night, every shower, every dinner. Real. Lana and Ares.”
The breath catches in my chest with every word he speaks. I feel something building inside me. Rising with the force of an oncoming tsunami.
I turn to fully face Ares. His chest is rising and falling hard, but the look in his eyes screams absolute confidence and conviction.
“I’m done pretending, Lana,” Ares says, his voice low, intimate. “I’m all fucking in.”
I cross the bedroom in four long strides, and I don’t slow as my body collides with Ares’. My hands come to either side of his face, and my lips find their home. Devouring. Claiming. Branding. This kiss, with no witnesses around, is searing. Ares’ lips cave to mine, moving in time with my own. His tongue greedily seeks out mine, and I am all too anxious to dance.
Finally. It’s the word that my entire body sighs as I sag into Ares’ embrace. As his hands circle my waist, pulling me tighter, holding me close.Finally.And I realize that I never stood a chance. I might have walked into this agreement with caution, with a chip on my shoulder. But Ares is my match. The equal to my bitterness. The perfect counter to my own hurt.
“I want you, Ares,” I say against his lips. A feral growl of approval rumbles in his chest as he moves his lips to my neck. And my entire body feels electric. Alive. Godlike. I realize how dangerous this is. This man has fangs, this man could drain the life-force from me in less than a minute. And his lips are latched to my neck.
But I trust him.
As a sigh escapes my throat and I tilt my head back, I absolutely trust him.
Closer. I need closer. Even though his hands are wrapped around me, I need so much damn closer.
I lift my right leg, rising myself up onto my toes of the left. Ares’ hands slide down over my ass to my thighs to hoist me up. But my dress falls all too in the way. With an annoyed growl, Ares gives a swift yank, splitting the dress from the bottom, up to my thighs. A wicked smile pulls on my lips as he tries once more, his hands hooking behind my legs. And this time, it’s successful. My legs wrap around his waist.
Ares spins, planting my back against the wall. And the contact between my legs makes my entire body spark. Ares pins me to the wall with his hips ground into mine. He looks into my eyes for one hot, heated moment. There are red embers ignited there, his hunger a threat to the entire world.
Greedily, I take his lips again, devouring the man’s soul.
“Tell me what you want, Vengeance,” Ares says against my lips, his hands gripping my hips with the most delicious possessiveness.
My fingers lace into his hair, and he leans into my touch, his eyes blazing as he looks into my own eyes. “I want you. All of you. Right the fuck now.”
“Fuck yes,” he growls, the sound rumbling through his entire body, which I feel… everywhere.
He releases me, my body sliding down the wall till my feet hit the ground. And with another sharp yank, Ares rips the rest of the dress clean in half. The tattered fabric falls to a pile at my feet as a gasp rips from my throat.
The wicked grin that pulls on his lips is enough to melt me through.
“Like what you see, Venom?” I ask as I step forward, pushing him back a step.
He seems to have lost his words for the moment. He simply nods.
And it’s my turn. My eyes scan down the length of his body. Too many clothes. My hands find the hem of his shirt, and I hoist up, yanking the fabric up and over his head. Finally, it clears his head, a bit of a challenge considering our height difference. His shirt falls to the floor in a soft cascade.
I take a moment to take him in. My eyes scan from the waist band of his pants, up the defined muscles of his stomach, over the rise of his chest. Shit. This man’s body is perfection. I’ve been around a lot of incredible physiques throughout my life. Growing up in a combat sports gym, I’ve seen a few well-defined guys.
But none of them hold a candle to Ares Hunt.
And every inch of his skin is tattooed.
Gargoyles. Skulls. Crows. Moons. Patterns. Runes. Ares’ body is the most beautiful tapestry of art I’ve ever seen.
