I pull away and tilt her chin up to mine. “You will always be mine, Pet—”
“And Athena? Israel? Did you tell them that too?”
I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. I’m not having this conversation. I walk away and turn on the faucet. “Come, little one. I need a shower, and so does my dirty girl.”
Her cheeks flush. She bows her head and takes a step toward me, but she stops in her tracks before the shower recess.
“No, Sir.” Her words are barely a whisper, but I hear them, hear the obstinance in them, and I don’t like it one fucking bit.
I glare at her. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“No, Sir.” She’s louder now, as if her courage is growing by the second.We can’t have that, Pet. We can’t have that at all.“Not until I get some answers.”
I quirk a brow, detecting the quaver in her voice though she’s trying hard to be brave. My laughter is dark, and condescending. Too loud in the acoustics of the bathroom. My Pet flinches. “Tell me, little one, what makes you think you can demand anything from me?”
“Please, Ares. I have to know. I have to . . .”
“Have to what?” I sneer.
“I have to prepare myself for the possibility of being thrown away again.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.” Full of so much violence and rage, I fist my hand in her hair and yank her toward me. She screams. I turn her so that we’re facing the mirror, my front at her back and my eyes boring into hers. “Listen good, Pet, because I’m only going to say this once. You’re mine. You’ll always fucking be mine. And if I thought there was any other way to bring my sister back, I’d take it. But I’m not letting you go. I’m not throwing you away. I’m not capable of love, Pet, not the way you are, but if I weren’t fucked up and broken, you’d have it. For now, you have whatever I can give.”
Tears stream down her pretty face, and I loosen my hold in her hair. She turns in my arms and wraps hers around me, squeezing me hard.
For a beat, I don’t know what to do. Her tears wet my naked chest, and I cave. I wrap my arms around her just as tightly, because I’m helpless. I’m weak where she is concerned, and I loathe both of us for it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Pet
It’s midday beforemy stomach begins growling, and I slide out from underneath a sleeping Ares and go in search of food.
In the kitchen, the housekeeper, Rosa, is preparing lunch. I stand at the edge of the stairs, and I’m not sure what to do. I don’t want to just barge in, and from my previous exchanges with her, I know she doesn’t really speak English.
“Hola,” I say, as it’s one of the few words I do know.