Page 9 of Aries Mated

My heart sunk; it seemed like he wasn’t done with Jason after all. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. We don’t know what’s going on there. Plus, it might be safer for you to get home after everything you’ve been through.”

“Don’t be like that,” Sol snapped sullenly. “You promised me that we could do this today. You promised me.”

My spine stiffened defensively. “I know, but I didn’t know all of this was going to happen, did I?”

Sol rolled his eyes. “Mom, I want to meet Jason. This isn’t fair. I just told you that I’m fine, and Kai said I am too.” We both looked at Kai, who nodded brazenly, not really sensing what was happening here. “See? Just let me enjoy myself already, will you?”

Before I could say another word, Sol took off. He wasn’t quite running, but he went much too quickly for me to really catch up with him. I muttered a string of curse words before I took off too. Unfortunately, in my haste to catch up to Sol before he got himself in the middle of whatever was going on in that hall, I forgot to thank Kai again. I could only hope he would show up at Pleasures so I could repay him. It would never be enough, but it was something.

My ears pricked up at the sound of my son laughing. It would have been easy for me to assume that wasn’t really Sol because it had been such a long time since I’d heard him be joyful and playful like that. But I knew it was him. At least someone had been able to cheer him up after this shit storm of a day. If I thought I was tired and needed to rest before, it was nothing compared to now.

“Have you lost something?” That deep, throaty voice sent a shudder down my spine. I knew it all too well. “Anything I can help you with?”

It was Atlas. I knew he was going to be here, but that didn’t make it any less of a shock to come face to face with him. Especially since he was with Sol. Did he even know this was his friend’s child? The one that he was asking me about last night? It didn’t seem like it, because the realization seemed to hit him hard as he dragged his eyes upward to see me. The pieces took a couple of seconds to fall into place, but eventually they did.

“Wait, you’re Sol?”

My son nodded, overjoyed to be known.

“Wow, that’s amazing. Hey, let me give you a signed picture of me.” He dug one out of his bag and handed it to my very excited son. “Here you are, buddy. Hope you like it.”

“Oh my God, Iloveit!” Sol exclaimed. “You’re my second favorite out of all the competitors.”

I winced, embarrassment flooding me on Atlas’s behalf, but he just chuckled, completely taking it in stride. I was impressed by how unfazed he seemed. My heart actually pounded in my throat as I admired him. Safe to say he was a very impressive man. I cocked my head to one side and just watched the interaction for a couple of moments, my breathing ragged, until Sol caught my eye and flushed with what appeared to be humiliation. I hoped he realized he couldn’t behave like that any longer. I couldn’t see any reason for him to talk to me the way he did just because he wasn’t getting his way.

“I just got a picture from Atlas, Mom,” he told me a little quietly. “But I still want to see Jason…”

I glanced through the double doors into the arena hall, almost relieved to see that not only had the commotion stopped, but Jason was also gone. I really didn’t want to go back in there since that room hadn’t exactly done well for me today.

“Jason isn’t in there anymore. We might have to see him another day.”

There was a weird tension in my chest as I waited for Sol to respond. I didn’t know if I had it in me to deal with another tantrum. I was trying to be understanding, I really was, but this was getting to be too damn much. Thankfully, he simply nodded and stared down at his picture from Atlas as if it was the best thing in the world. Relief washed over me. It had been one hell of a morning for me and I needed to rest. I was already thinking about my bed and how good it would feel to climb in it and close my heavy eyes.

“Thank you,” I mouthed to Atlas as I reached over to grab Sol’s hand. The smile I got back from Atlas had my heart fluttering. God, did he have to have such a heart-stopping grin? It was too much. Made worse by tuning to see Kai and TJ standing by the door, looking so gorgeous I had to swallow down the thick ball of desire burning in my throat. The fact that they were so different, but so equally hot and sweet was insane. I mouthed, “Thank you,” to them as well because they had been a great help. Without them I wasn’t sure what I would have done. It was magical to also find Matt watching us leave, and heat seared through me. Damn, he was also someone I needed to thank.

They were all checking me out, I was pretty sure of it. That wasn’t me being big headed, but working in bar meant I knew what it felt like to be checked out, and they were all shamelessly eyeing me. It should have irritated me—I usually found it very annoying to be looked at without my consent—but this was different. I actually liked it. Especially since I was pretty sure I looked like I’d been run over by a truck. The fact that they wanted to devour me with their eyes was thrilling. It sent a shudder down my spine.

When we got to the doors, I turned back, and as if a magnet had tugged them together, all the men were standing in a group, eyeing me up like they wanted to eat me for breakfast. It had been overwhelming enough to have them looking at me individually, but all at once…I could hardly take it. There was almost a magical quality to this feeling. What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I enjoying all this attention? It was a bit like a fantasy, one of those sexy little thoughts that would come to me in the middle of the night and get me all fired up. Just because I didn’t have time for romance, didn’t mean I didn’t have time for self-care. I already knew this thought was going to stick with me for a long time.

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