Ares (Contemporary Mythos Book 3)

“Why do you have that look on your face?” Mars asked.

Not tearing my eyes from Fiona, I pointed.

He followed my gaze, and his once neutral expression turned deadly. I slipped a hand over his forearm, knowing his first instinct might be to rip the spine from Fiona’s body.

“I’ll handle it. Sign me up for a fight with her,” I said, trying to control my breathing.

“Anything goes here, Harm.”

“Even better. A rare chance to cut loose.”

There was a twinkle in his eye before he brushed past me to flag down the bookie.

I circled toward the back of the crowds surrounding the cage. She leaned against the metal grating with such smugness—as if her shit smelled like lilacs. It only infuriated me more.

“Is there no one to challenge her?” The announcer yelled.

Fiona pushed off the cage, waving her arms, exciting the hordes of people into hysteria.

As he brushed his lips over my ear, Mars pressed a hand between my shoulder blades. “You’re up, Amazon.”

“Is there anything you can do? A way to make me not hesitate?”

I had no idea what power he possessed, but it was the first of a string of questions I had.

He cocked his head to one side. “What I can give, you already have so much inside you. It’s like fire. If it gets out of control, it can consume you. But if used correctly, it has the capability of transforming you.”

My gaze fell to the plumpness of his lips.

“What I can give you, Harmony is a bit of your spirit back.” He drew a line with his finger from the center of my forehead to the tip of my nose.

A sensation trickled over every inch of my skin like static raindrops. I thought I’d felt courage before—conviction. But a new sense of fearlessness swirled through my chest like a hurricane. His gruff touch slid over my hands as he wound tape over my knuckles.

A crimson glow pulsed in his eyes. “Go get your victory. And make sure she, nor anyone else she knows, threatens you ever again.”

I gave a curt nod before shoving my way through the sea of bodies.

“Looks like we have our challenger. And what a treat! Harm ‘The Amazon’ Makos,” the announcer boomed.

Fiona’s confidant swagger flittered away. Her eyes frantically searched the crowd as I slipped into the ring behind her. The roars of applause were but crickets on a calm night to me. My focus played on her—beating her, getting justice but not revenge.

“You’ve got a lot of balls coming here,” she muttered.

I clenched my hands, making the tape creak. “A lot has happened since we last fought. Did your goon need reconstructive surgery?”

She ground her teeth, glaring at me from across the cage.

“Alright, ladies. You know the rules. There are none. Fight!” The announcer threw his hand down between us.

I slid forward and slammed my elbow into her nose. She shrieked and clamped a hand over her face, blood already staining the top of her sports bra.

“You bitch,” she screamed.

“Your words are as empty as your threats.”

She screeched like a banshee and stormed at me. My vision delved into slow motion, watching her act on impulse. A simple sidestep was all it took to avoid her desperate swings. I swiveled on my heel and threw my forearm at the back of her head, sending her stumbling. I slid in front of her, kneeing her in the face.

She groaned, gurgled, and collapsed on her side. Dozens of fists flew in the air from the audience.

I crouched beside her and grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her face toward mine. “If you ever threaten me again, I will burn you. If I catch your face anywhere near the MMA, I will destroy you. Do you understand me?”

She whimpered in defeat, batting my hands away with frightened eyes. I let her slump back to the floor and stood, spotting Mars in the crowd. Despite hundreds of people, I zeroed in on him like a circling falcon.

He stood still, a predatory grin playing over his lips—the God of War, standing amidst a pool of mortals. The announcer grabbed my hand and hoisted it in the air, but I didn’t dare take my eyes off Mars. Ares.

“As if this night couldn’t get any better, folks. Our next fighter needs no introduction. Put it together for Mars!”

Our gazes fixed on each other as I left the cage, and he moved toward it. I paused at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for him to walk past me, yearning to feel his touch. He didn’t disappoint. As he passed, he gripped my hip, grazed my cheek with his, and gave a quick nip at my earlobe.

I took a sharp breath as his hand slipped away, and he walked into the ring. My cheeks flushed, and I kneaded one hand against the palm of the other. Backing up, I situated myself behind the lines drawn on the floor with duct tape.

Mars peeled off his shirt, tossing it to me. I caught it and as his scent filled the air in front of me, my insides clenched. His poor opponent did not know the man he agreed to fight—the man who was a god. Mars cracked his neck as he swung his arms back and forth, tensing his muscles and giving the full-sleeve tattoo shadows and depth.

Mars’s opponent launched forward with both fists. Mars caught them, glaring down at him. The man panicked and head-butted him in the chest. It sounded like bone hitting against metal. Mars twisted the man’s arms, making him cry out in pain. Mars kneed him in the side, reached an arm over the man’s shoulder, and whipped him over his head. Both men landed on their backs, with Mars leaping to his feet in one jump. The fiery intensity built in his eyes, gaze darkening.

Mars open-hand punched the man across the face, followed by a left hook, sending his opponent’s face flying into the cage. The ancient horns blasted in my head. Familiar. I welcomed them—let them resonate in my chest. His opponent crawled like a coward to the opposite side of the ring. The sight made Mars sneer.

“Get up,” Mars bellowed, taking calculated movements around the cage. Each step felt like an earthquake beneath my feet.

The man scrambled, striking his palm at Mars’s ear. He caught his arm and twisted it with a snarl. His opponent shrieked, holding his shoulder with the free hand. Mars threw his arms out at his sides, letting his opponent go. Staggered whispers, swords clanging, and dozens of hooves galloping over dirt whooshed past me.

Mars grabbed his opponent by the back of the shirt and threw him against the cage, holding him there. He let out a ferocious growl and ran the perimeter, dragging the man along with him like a sack of flour. When he threw him to the ground, plumes of red smoke and black sand shot up from the ground. Mars stepped over him, his menacing form slipping through the smoke like a mirage.

My heart thudded against my chest like a Warhammer. Every cell in my body screamed for him. Us coming here was never about the victories. It was to prove ourselves to the other. That we were worthy of each other. Mars slammed his boot into the cage door, stalking down the stairs and standing in front of me with such a feverish intensity it could’ve singed my eyelashes.

“Ares,” I whispered.

His eyes closed, and he winced as if I’d slapped him. “Say it again.”

Touching his chest, I rose, and with a feathered touch, pressed my lips to his ear. “Ares.”

With a growl, he took my hand, pulling me through the crowd. When we reached a back area devoid of people, he shoved me against the wall and pressed his hand on it above my head.

“I never thought I’d ever call something sweet, but my name, my real name on your lips…is one of the sweetest damn things I’ve ever heard.” His bare chest heaved.

“Ares, the God of War,” I purred, knowing I was only playing with fire, but I wanted to burn.

He squinted and pressed his lips to mine, his tongue darting in, not bothering for an invitation. He moaned against my mouth, pushing his hardness against my stomach. The wall disappeared, and my hair flew over my shoulders as he warped us to the hotel room.

I blinked and pushed him away, dragging a fingertip over my self-inflicted abandoned lips.

He stood across from me, his arms at his sides, hands opened. Both of us panted, and my insides clenched so tightly I thought I’d burst.

“I know you want this as much as me, Harm. Why don’t you take it?”

I wanted nothing more than to pounce on him like a lioness in heat. He’d diminished my armor until only the piece over my chest remained. It was the most crucial piece of all—the shield over my heart.

“Because it would mean something.”

He licked his lower lip. “You’re always so guarded when you don’t have to be.”

“You’re one to talk. When’s the last time you let someone get close to you? Truly get close to you and not want to kick their ass?”

He snarled and closed the gap between us with two strides. He curled his hand around the back of my neck, our faces close enough to feel his breath over my cheeks. “You, Harmony. You.”

Our lips crashed together before my heart had a chance to catch up to my brain. The armor melted away like it was in a vat of molten lava. His grip on my neck traveled to the back of my head, tangling my hair with his fingers. I grabbed the rubber band holding the bun in place at the base of his neck and tugged it free, greedily running my hand over his abs, teasing the brim of his pants with a single finger. The feel of his treasure trail of hair brushing against my knuckles made me shiver.

He slid his hands under my shirt while still kissing, licking, and nipping at my lips. His fingertips brushed my ribs. As they dragged over the side of my breasts, I ground my hips against him, relishing the feel of his grin against my mouth. I raised my arms for him, and he lifted the shirt, bunching it at my wrists and holding my hands hostage above my head.

He peeled away from the kiss, gazing down at me, captive in his grasp. He cupped my chin before starting a tantalizing trail down my body. He paused at my cleavage, dipping his finger from one breast to the other before caressing my stomach.

I moaned, relishing the tease but craving him inside me. He undid the button of my jeans with a flick, playing a gaze both sultry and demanding over my body. Loosening his grip on my shirt, he freed my hands and undid the zipper on my pants. He chewed on his bottom lip and curled his fingers into each side of the hem. With one swift motion, they were in a pile around my ankles, and I stepped out of them, one foot at a time.

He dragged a hand through his hair as he watched me, consuming me with his stare. I reached behind me and undid the clasp of my bra, tossing it to the side once the straps dropped from my shoulders. My nipples puckered from the cold in the air mixed with the sight of him peering at me like I, too, was a god—a goddess.

I pressed my lips to his, gripping his long hair between my fingers, tugging it. He backed me toward the bed, but with a jerk of his hair, I whipped us around. We opened our eyes long enough to challenge each other. A flash of red pulsed in his gaze, and he took a grip on my hair, deepening the kiss to the point of devouring me.

“Se thélo,” he whispered, biting the air in front of me.

The impulse to take control, to not lose control, had me fighting for it with every breath. We neared the bed, and he grabbed my hip, spinning me so my back was to it again. I bit my lip, pretending to succumb to his power, skirting my knee up his thigh until his clothed girth brushed against me. He groaned, and I gripped his shoulders, turning him and pushing him against the bedframe.

His pants disappeared from my grasp, and he stood in front of me naked and glorious. I explored the manly hair scattering on his chest, his stomach, trailing to his girth that already lived up to my every expectation and dirty thought. I wrapped my hand around him, stroking as I coaxed him onto the bed.

“You win. For now, gatáki.” He gave a knowing grin, obliging my command and laying on his back.

The God of War let me take control of him—became willingly vulnerable within my grasp. It was a sense of trust that had me beaming.

I straddled him, lowering my lips near his cheek, caressing the side of my face with his beard. He snarled against my neck, stiffening further within my grasp. Pressing my knees against his hips, I focused for a moment on the feel of the man beneath me—hardened muscle, a body built for war and chaos, yet still so capable of softness. Whether it’d been by words or actions, with the right person, the right woman, he could show gentleness. He plucked two fingers against my lace underwear, snapping them away without so much as a sting, holding up the tattered remains with a wicked smile before tossing them to the floor.

I bent forward, allowing my breasts to dip against his stomach. Lowering my lips, I kissed his ribs and dragged my tongue up to his chest, giving his right nipple a scrape with my teeth. His eyes flashed red, and he hissed, gripping my waist. I sat back, positioning over him, and ever so slowly lowered myself. Inch by inch, he filled me, and I bent backward once our hips met. He groaned and grabbed my hips, arching his head back into the pillows.

Pressing my palms against his chest, I rocked back and forth, gasping with every other thrust. His fingers moved to my ass, guiding me as we fell into a perfect rhythm. I clenched as the euphoric build-up swirled in my abdomen. Closing my eyes, I slid one hand into my hair, gripping the back of my neck with the other. As the climax overtook me, I sighed out in pleasure, sweat beading across my forehead and chest.

When I opened my eyes, Ares sat up, gliding a hand to my back. He claimed my mouth with his as he thrust into me. Pulling his lips away, he kept a steady roll of his hips and pressed our foreheads together.

“Have you ever given a man control?” His voice was husky and deep.

“No.”

His girth throbbed within me. “Let me. Who knows, you might even enjoy it.” His beard scraped against my cheek as he moved his lips to the corner of my brow.

Dragging my nails over his shoulders, I sucked on his earlobe. “Conquer me.”

A masculine, guttural growl vibrated in the back of his throat. He grabbed my ass and hoisted me forward, making me flop onto my back. His hands gripped the backs of my knees, pushing them back, forcing me to open further for him. Sitting on his haunches, he plunged into me over and over again.

I’d given him the reins, and now my body longed for resolution. To feel owned by him, knowing he was equally mine—an answer to the anger, the frustration, and the constant need to take on the world by myself. No one could ever own me like one would possess a motorcycle, but on the sheets, behind closed doors, we’d give ourselves to each other in much the same manner.

He hoisted me up with my legs locked around his waist, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. My back hit the wall, his ferocious thrusts following. He held me up with his hands cupping my ass, plunging into me with the ferocity of a seasoned warrior.

My head bumped against the wall behind me as I arched backward. He kissed my neck, swirling his tongue in circles over my skin—flashes of my dream on the battlefield coursed through my mind, bleeding into my veins. We may not have fought side-by-side in the ring, but the same admiration for the other arose—two warriors united by a cosmic force to fight together. Ascend together. Fuck together.

He peeled me away from the wall, carrying me over to the desk. Pulling out, he rested me on the ground, his bronzed chest heaving. His eyes burst with the flames of his godly form as he stared at me.

“Are you mine, Amazon?”

His voice had gone so deep I could feel the vibration in my toes.

I was his. He’d owned me from the time our gazes locked for the first time in the arena. Claimed me from the moment he’d stormed into that bathroom, ready to raise hell. Consumed me since the act of him feeding me that damn bagel told us both what we were to each other.

“Yes,” I whispered.

The flames snuffed out, and he grabbed my hair, yanking my head back to claim me first with his mouth. Every inch became his with several laps of his tongue. His hand trailed over my stomach, and a finger dipped between my folds. I moaned into his mouth, spreading my legs for him.

He pulled away, sucking on my bottom lip and letting it slide between his teeth. His eyes turned blood red, and he grabbed my hips, turning me around. His hand pressed to the middle of my back, bending me over the desk. As he drove into me from behind, I gasped, gripping the edges of the desk as my head flew back. He dug his fingers into my hips, plunging into me over and over. A tingle started at the base of my neck, shot down my spine, and burst through my core.

Ares paused for a split second as if he’d felt it too, his grip tightening on my hips. He bent over me, kissing up my spine until he reached my shoulder. Snarling, he bit me. A sweet pain that didn’t break the skin. The tingling sensation swirled in my brain, flashing images I’d never seen before—battles throughout the ages, explosions, swords, axes, raids, and through it all, us fighting side-by-side.

I pushed onto my elbows, arching my back and presenting myself further for him. I’d never given up control—never like this. But he was mine as much as I was his, and I wanted all of it. All of him.

His fists slammed on the desk, and he wrapped a hand over one of my shoulders, grasping my waist with the other. Reaching a hand back, I explored his corded thigh muscle with my fingers. My insides clenched with every flex he made. I flipped myself around, spreading for him with my back on the table. He moved forward, ready to retake me, but I stopped him with my foot.

“Are you mine, God of War?”

His eyelids grew heavy, and he bent over me, easily pushing my foot to the side and dragging his hand up my inner thigh. His face lowered over mine, the wavy tendrils of his dark hair tickling my cheeks. “Say it.”

“Are you mine, Ares?”

Red smoke mixed with flashes of light formed around us. The faint sounds of ancient battle overlapped with the music of Greece fluttered across my ears. He touched the tip of my nose with his.

“I’d start a war for you,” he declared, driving into me.

My breasts pressed into his chest, his arms flexing on either side of my head as he triumphed over me. He was my surrender. No one or nothing else could vanquish me. We didn’t look away from one another as our bodies cemented the unspoken bond. I’d said the same mold formed us. Now we melded together.

His thrusts increased, and his beard skimmed my chin as he kissed my lips. A passion pulsed through me, starting at the base of my skull and traveling over my shoulders—a passion driving from him into me—the spirit of battle itself. My back arched off the desk, hips bucking against him as I cried out. My nails dug into his back, and he grunted. As my body shivered, coming down from its volcanic release, Ares groaned into my hair, thrusting through his own release.

The smoke, lights, and sounds faded away. I pulsed around him, unsure of where the ground was anymore, not to mention the ceiling. It felt like I could float straight into the clouds.

He secured his hair over one ear and rested a hand on my thigh.

“I’m not complaining in the slightest, but what was that?”

His dark gaze wavered as if in relief. “You felt it too?”

I nodded.

He closed his eyes and rubbed my cheek with his. “I’ve heard of it before but never thought there was someone out there for me.”

“What are you saying?”

He leaned back and cupped my chin. “A fated bond.”

My heart hummed at the words whispering from his lips like a caress.

I sat up, scooting to the edge of the table and pushing the bridge of my nose between his pecs. “Did you mean what you said?”

He rested his hands on my back, kissing the top of my head. “Which part, gatáki?”

“About starting a war for me.” I lifted my head, resting my chin against him.

He dragged the back of his finger over my cheek and then traced his fingertip down my nose. “Yes.”

“Keep talking like that, and I’m going to pounce on you again.” His scent had me writhing inside before, but now it twisted and pulled, urging me to be with him and never look back.

He slipped his fingers through my hair and rested his palms against both of my cheeks. “I don’t know how, but you’re a warrior at heart, Harmony. And that screams to me as the God of War.”

A grin pulled at my lips as I walked my fingers up his legs, landing on his ass and grabbing it. “And as a war god, you should finish what you started.”

“Oh?” He curled his hands behind my knees and pulled me toward him until I teetered on the edge of the desk. “Is there still more land to plunder?”

I wrapped my hand in his hair, tugging it. “And don’t stop until it’s ash.”

Cupping the back of my head, he growled before thrusting his tongue into my mouth. “You were made for me.”

He lived up to his title and pillaged every valley and peak I owned.