Page 32 of Rejected Mate

He laughed as he put one hand behind his head. The sexy pose wasnotdistracting. I was focused on getting my legs to work and not on the powerful thighs revealed when his pants tightened around him. I didnotwant to straddle him. I didnotwant to run my hands under that dress shirt.

But I was also curious about his actions. All of this still seemed like a lot of trouble for the prince of vampires. Unless he got off on it.

“Why not just wait and ask me out on a date? Why drug me and drag me into the darkest part of the castle?” I asked.

He grimaced. “Let’s just say I wanted to speak to you without all the listening ears. Here, I know no one is spying on us.”

“Spying on us? Do you mean the cameras?”

He took another swig of wine. “Something like that, yes.”

Yet, something in his tone made me think there was more he wasn’t telling me.

“So, nine minutes,” Ares said, “what can I do with you for nine minutes? How about a game?”

I gave a mirthless laugh. “I hate to break it to you, but my hands don’t work, so Parcheesi is off the table.”

“Truth or dare.” He sat up and faced me.

“I’ll go first,” I said. “I dare you to let me go.”

“Oh, I will. In nine minutes.”

“Eight,” I said, wiggling my feet.

He raised an eyebrow.

“Fine. Truth,” I said, just trying to keep him talking. I had no doubt he would try to stop me once I made a motion to leave. But surprise would be on my side if I lunged before the time had elapsed. Plus, maybe I could learn a thing or two while I was here.

“Go ahead. Ask.” Ares looked amused and slightly drunk. His posture was loose, his tone boyish. It was the first time I’d seen him act in any way other than in complete control.

So many important questions swirled in my head. I wanted to ask the best way to escape the castle. I wanted to ask why he’d really brought me here—it couldn’t only be for conversation. I wanted to know if I could go home and see my grandfather. Yet, none of those seemed like the right question to ask first. I needed to play this carefully.

“Hmm. Okay. Who is William?”

The smile faded from his face. “William is… he’s my mentor.”

“Lie. Callan called him your father, and you look alike.”

Ares’s brow furrowed at the mention of Callan. “Vampires don’t exactly have fathers, do they? Or we did as humans, but those are lost to us after we transition. In this form, we are made, not born. William… made me. He turned me into a vampire, so I’m more like his protégé than his son.”

“Oh.”

“While William was alive,” he went on, “he never had children. I was a distant relative of his, and I think he picked mebecausewe resembled each other. Like the son he never had.” But there was no love in his voice. No warm familial affection for the one that acted like his father.

So William was it? Ares didn’t have any other family anymore? On some level, I knew that, but to hear the clinical way Ares was speaking of the man who was supposed to be his father figure made me think of my loved ones. The mere thought of them had me aching with loneliness. They were my refuge even if we fought all the damn time.

What would I be without my parents? My cousins? Without my grandfather?

Grandfather. I couldn’t forget my whole purpose for tonight. I needed to focus in order to find the right way to be allowed to see him.

“My turn,” Ares said, quickly changing the subject. “Truth or dare.”

I wiggled my fingers and shot him a “duh” expression.

“Truth then. Who’s the better kisser, Callan…” he paused and sat up straighter, leaning toward me, “or me?”

He stared into my eyes intently, the playfulness gone from his face. My ploy had worked then. Ares was jealous. I couldn’t tell if it was because of his hatred of Callan or his interest in me.

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