Page 21 of Aries Mated

MAEVE

Ishould have just stayed on the call with Tex. Hanging up was my first mistake, but at the time, I was panicking and didn’t know what else to do. I saw Sly kidnapping the princess and had to find out what was going on. I didn’t want to get caught and have Sly take me as well, so I made a snap decision. I ended the call and that was that. Then I followed Sly from a safe distance. I wanted to snatch Princess Azariyah away from him so he couldn’t do…well, whatever he was planning, but I knew Sly would likely be able to overpower me.

I followed Sly for as long as I could through these woods, but I didn’t get very far at all. I was now stuck, like an idiot, between two tree trunks. It didn’t matter which way I twisted and turned, I couldn’t move, and I was too high up to really get my feet on the ground to get any leverage. I had tried to fire off a text to the guys, hoping they would be able to find me using the directions I gave them to save me. Only I didn’t even manage to do that right. A damn bird swooped out the sky and scared the living hell out of me. I dropped the phone, unsure if I’d managed to send anything. The only thing giving me a little bit of hope was the flurry of phone calls and texts that followed. I couldn’t see who they were from, but I could only that it was the guys. I prayed they would be able to track my phone and find me here. Otherwise, I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do.

I didn’t cry out for help at first because I didn’t want to draw Sly back toward me. Him finding me would put me in a worse predicament than the one I was in right now. But I thought enough time had passed, I needed someone to find me. I was starting to get a bit freaked out that I would end up here all night. How would I cope with that shit? Worse than that, what would Sol think? He was going to assume that I just abandoned him for work.

“Help!” I yelled loudly, my voice raspy with stress. “Help, someone, please.”

No one came. I should have expected that since this was far off from the arena. Sly had chosen this path for a reason. But I wasn’t going to let that defeat me. I continued to call out over and over again. I wasn’t sure how much longer it took, I’d kind of lost the concept of time, but finally I started to hear what I could only assume was footsteps cracking through the woodland area, and a voice. A real voice? Was I saved? I sucked in a shaky breath and screamed for help even louder.

“It’s Atlas,” the voice cried back, causing relief to wash over me. “I’m coming.”

I could have cried, it was such a relief to know that I wasn’t going to be stuck in this damn tree all night. Seeing him flooded me with such warmth that I let out a little yelp of joy. “Atlas, oh my goodness…”

He held on to me immediately, seeming as relieved to have found me as I was to be found. He held me as close as he could considering my predicament before he finally freed me from the trees, only scratching me a little bit.

Once I was out, we clung to one another. My chest tightened at the intense, overwhelming look in his eyes. I could almost sense that he wanted to kiss me, desire danced behind his gaze, and damn it, I wanted him to cave to that temptation. I would have loved nothing more than to have his lips brushing against mine. Despite all the reasons why we definitely shouldn’t ever be kissing.

“Oh my God, Maeve, what are you doing here?” he gushed at me. “Are you okay?” His caring words burst like electricity over my skin.

“Yeah, I think so.” I tried to laugh but the sound was weird. “Just dirty. I think I need a long, hot bath.”

“Well, that is something we can definitely do,” Atlas said with a laugh. “We just need to get you out of here.”

“Wait, no.” I darted my eyes back toward the woods. “I’m out here because I was following Sly. He kidnapped the princess!”

Atlas surprised me by nodding. “Yeah, I know, I saw it on the security footage. Which is how I ended up finding you. I left the footage for the police, so Tex will have everything under now.”

I swallowed hard. “You think that we can trust Tex to take care of this? You don’t think we should look?”

“The police will take the kidnapping of the princess very seriously,” Atlas reassured me. “You have already done enough, don’t worry. The police know where to go because of you.”

It didn’t feel like enough, but I wasn’t sure what else I could do. So I ended up nodding in agreement. Truth be told, I really did want to get back home and see Sol.

Atlas grabbed my phone off the floor and handed it to me. I didn’t feel like I needed to search through it all anymore. I had been rescued, so I could deal with all the messages later. Atlas fired off a quick text, though, before he looped his arm around my shoulders and we started to walk back.

“Kai and Matt are at your place now,” Atlas said. “Oh, and TJ too, he just messaged to say he’s on his way there. We were all really worried about you.”

Was it weird that that made my heart feel all funny? But in a really good way? I liked the new warmth coursing through my veins. I forgot how nice it felt to be cared for by someone…or multiple someones, in this case. It made me feel really happy. I laced my fingers through Atlas’s and took his support as we walked toward my home. I was a little sad that I hadn’t managed to rescue the princess, but at least I knew she wouldn’t be left there too long.

As soon as the door to my place opened, I was rushed by everyone. TJ took me into his arms first, swinging me around and holding onto me happily. Matt took me next. I could feel a calming effect from him, almost as if it was a super power of his to calm those he cared about. He was so zen that it actually affected everyone. I wanted to apologize to him for missing most of the parkour challenge, which I knew he was very excited about, but he didn’t seem to mind. Kai took me last, and I had to admit that I was surprised by the gentlest hug from the biggest lumberjack of a man.

“Where is Sol?” I asked Viola as soon as I was released from the men. “Is he okay?”

“He wore himself out and fell asleep,” she told me apologetically. “But he didn’t know that you were in any kind of danger. He just thought you were at work.”

Much as he was going to hate me for that, I was grateful. The last thing I wanted was for him to worry about me. Especially when I was the one who put myself in danger. “Thank you, Viola. I’m not going to work tonight, so you can go if you want.”

I could tell she was exhausted, and I also knew that Marco and his team had everything under control. I could take the night off to recover from the day as well. I said goodbye to Viola, then sent a text to Marco to let him know I wouldn’t be in. After that, I quickly headed to Sol’s bedroom to check on him. There he was, sleeping soundly, looking like an absolute angel. I hoped he had enjoyed his day.

“Hey, you okay?” I didn’t leave Sol’s room until TJ came for me. He slipped his hands in mine and led me toward my bedroom. I was so locked in on his eyes that I didn’t even think to ask how he knew where my room was. The smell of bath salts and lavender candles reached my nose as we got closer to my bathroom. There I found Matt dipping his hand in the water, testing the temperature for me. I was stunned by how his shock of blond hair looked deep brown in the candle light.

“Perfect,” he muttered with a smile. “Atlas said a hot bath was all you needed right now. We want you to relax while he fills us in on everything that happened.”

Thank God for Atlas, I didn’t want to relive it all again. “Thank you, that means a lot to me.”

“Take all the time you need,” TJ insisted as they exited the room. “We will take care of anything and everything.”

I stripped off as soon as they were gone, so grateful for the chance to get in a hot bubble bath that wasn’t poured by me. I never had anyone do anything for me, and I had to admit it felt really nice. I hadn’t received such gentle attention in a long time. While many guys had flirted with me, most of them just wanted to take me to bed, nothing more. That was typical in the bar scene. But these guys were different. They were unique and sweet in their own ways, which was why I couldn’t stop thinking about them all. Atlas’s caring nature, Matt’s relaxed aura, TJ’s wittiness, and Kai’s stoic attitude.My own little harem.That was a fun little fantasy for me to have as I soaked in the water. Although I held on to the possibility more than perhaps I should have. I really wondered if I could actually go there.

I’d seen harems before, one of my bar tenders had been in a very successful one for years, so I knew how they worked. Everyone had to be on the same page or it just wouldn’t work. With Atlas, TJ, Kai, and Matt, I had a feeling it would be easy for us all to get on the same page. Maybe we were already there. I didn’t have a preference, I adored them all equally, and they seemed to shower me with equal attention too.

I could really start to imagine this as the start of my own little harem if it hadn’t been for the Astro Games. These men were in a competition to marry the princess. I didn’t stand a chance.

With that one sad thought, I gave up on daydreaming in the bath. Much as this had invigorated me, there was still so much to do. The police would want to speak to me soon, hopefully after they rescued Princess Azariyah.

I got out of the tub and draped a towel loosely around me. I opened the door into my room, and much to my surprise, I wasn’t alone.Kai.He was there too, shirtless, his belt loose, his briefs visible. I didn’t know what to do. Logically, I should have screamed and looked away, but I couldn’t seem to do so. Instead, my hungry eyes devoured his body slowly. I was unable to look away from the V-shape that dipped into his briefs, forcing me to look at the outline of his very visible, rock hard cock. All for me.

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