Page 31 of Rejected Mate

I managed to bob my head.

Ares stepped closer. “Let me help.”

As much as I wanted to tell him to keep the hell away from me, I needed the pain and spinning in my head to stop. If it wasn’t poison, what could it hurt? I couldn’t possibly get any worse. I opened my mouth.

He leaned in, one hand on my cheek as the other brought the cup to my lips. Gentle fingers kept my head steady. Carefully, he tilted it back, letting drop after drop of sweet liquid slide over my tongue. If it was toxic, it was the sweetest poison to ever exist.

Some liquid slipped from the corner of my mouth and trailed down my chin. His thumb brushed my skin, wiping it clean. So gentle and yet, why did I have the feeling he wanted to touch more of me?

“There,” he whispered, staring a moment longer. “All better.” He stepped back and regarded me.

He wasn’t lying. As the liquid flowed through me, my head began to clear. Wiggling fingers and toes was first on my agenda. Then I pushed off the bed…

And nearly fell on my face.

“Woah,” he said, catching me before I hit the floor. Strong hands held me up. “You moved a little fast. How about a chair?” Carefully, he lowered me into a chair beside the bed and then stood opposite, his large frame filling the space as he watched me carefully.

“Don’t try to kick my ass just yet,” he said with the smallest hint of a smile. “I’ll let you know when you’re up to it.”

“Joking?” I said as the anger flared. “What’s funny about an abduction within an abduction?”

“I wasn’t trying to abduct you. I was trying to… Mmm.” He made a strange noise, as if the words he wanted were out of reach. “What if I told you I wanted you alone?”

“I’d reply that if you need to abduct girls and drag them to dusty basements to get them to like you, you might want to reconsider your love life.”

Did my legs work? Could I run? It seemed not yet.

“Mmm, yes. Good advice.” He walked to the dusty bureau where the candle flickered and picked it up. Then he set about lighting torches on either side of the room. The light revealed more dust, the old four-poster bed, more heavy wooden furniture that appeared to be a few centuries old, and an even older tapestry hanging from the ceiling to the floor. The room felt cave-like compared to the sprawling apartment Violet and I shared.

“Where are we?”

He glanced around, as if seeing it from my perspective. “My room.”

“This is your room?”

“Yes, it was. Once. I have reclaimed it.” He walked to a table and lifted a decanter, which he used to fill two patinaed goblets with his blood-red wine. Ares offered one to me.

“Will that help me kick your ass sooner?” I nodded at the glass.

He chuckled. “Sadly for you, no. But it might help your attitude.”

I glared at him. “I like my attitude exactly as it is.”

He lifted an eyebrow and a mischievous expression spread over his face. He was enjoying this. “Then more for me.”

As I watched, he drained my entire glass, leaving only a drop of red on his lips. I watched as he licked it away with a flick of his tongue. He seemed to have lost his tux jacket and tie somewhere, and his shirt was unbuttoned, showing off his smooth, firm chest.

I refused to find that sexy as hell.

“How long until I can move?” I asked, testing my legs, which still felt like jelly.

He tilted his head, considering. “About ten minutes.”

“Well, then you have ten minutes until I rearrange your face, Ares Raith. Use them wisely.” I shot him a hard glance, as if daring him to try to touch me.

Instead of coming toward me, Ares reclined on the bed. Long legs spread out as he propped himself up lazily on his elbows. “Surprisingly, I brought you here for conversation. Though I might be regretting my choices at the moment.”

“You’ll be regretting them more in about nine and a half minutes.”

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