Rose shook her head. ‘She’s not. She was bought at the same time I was. I came to the compound with her.’
Ares had to admit to a certain shock.
He hadn’t known that about Athena. His mother-in-law had been devastated after Naya’s death, and after Ares had been discharged from the hospital and before he’d gone into the Legion, he’d visited both her and Ivan. But she’d taken one look at him and had fled the room. The burns, the reminder of what happened to her daughter, had been too much for her.
She never came when he visited Ivan, and when he’d heard that they’d adopted a child, he hadn’t enquired further. He had his own grief to deal with.
Except it appeared she’d hadn’t been adopted, after all. Athena was a trafficked child and Ivan must have bought her for his wife, that was the only explanation.
You should have known this. You should have known exactly what Ivan was doing, but you wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. For Naya’s sake.
Ares looked down at the champagne glass he held in his hand, the ember in his chest that despite his best efforts to ignore it hadn’t gone out, a constant burning pain.
It was clear he had to do something about this. Ivan had always been...shady in his business dealings, but those first few years, he’d been consumed with grief as well as recovering from his injuries, and he hadn’t noticed anything untoward at the compound. Then he’d gone into the Legion and when he’d come out again he’d been shaped into something much harder, all his weaknesses—his pride and all the other, useless emotions that went along with it—shorn away.
Naya’s memory was his conscience, his guide as to what was right, and she had loved her father, despite his numerous flaws. So, Ares had ignored his doubts about Ivan, continuing with his visits, doing his duty to Naya.
Perhaps you didn’t do anything because you didn’t want to. Because you prefer not caring. Because it keeps you safe.
Ares shoved that particular thought away.
‘Ivan will not let Athena go,’ he said after a moment, still staring into his champagne. ‘Not if his wife has any say about it.’
‘That doesn’t mean I can’t try,’ Rose insisted. ‘She helped me. She protected me. I can’t leave her there.’
Ares looked up to find Rose’s direct golden gaze staring straight into his. And she didn’t look away. There was a steely determination in it, as if nothing and no one would dissuade her from her path, let alone him.
She cares about her friend.
He found that unsettling, even as the fierce look on her face appealed to the warrior in him, sending a flicker of intense heat straight to his groin. It made him want to match her, test her, conquer her. She was even more attractive to him now, all fire and spirit, and iron at her heart.
He didn’t look away either. ‘So, what are you asking me, Rose?’
‘Isn’t it obvious? I want you to get Athena out.’
‘And I assume you will want to pay me for my assistance?’
‘Of course.’ She held out her arms. ‘If you help me, you can have me. Whenever and however you want.’
Ares’s silver-green gaze betrayed nothing. He lounged opposite her at the table, long, powerful legs stretched out, his champagne glass held casually in one hand. Unlike her, he hadn’t changed for dinner, still wearing that pristine white shirt and the suit trousers that emphasised his muscular thighs.
The candlelight cast flickering shadows across his ruined face, turning his scars into a horrifying kind of architecture. Part beauty, part nightmare, and unsettling.
This is a stupid idea. He’s already said no to you twice. What makes you think he’ll agree now?
Well, she didn’t know if he’d agree. But she hoped. And this was different. She wasn’t a prisoner now and after three months in the outside world she knew more than she had. She wasn’t a powerless victim with nothing but her body to bargain with.
And apart from anything else, he wanted her.
Nervous tension coiled inside her. She hadn’t expected to put forward her offer so early on in the evening, but not only was he not stupid, he was also very direct. He’d guessed straight away that she’d wanted something from him. Which was fine. She liked his directness, but it didn’t leave her with much negotiation room.
‘But I’ve already refused your generous offer,’ he pointed out. Irritatingly. ‘Twice. What makes you think I’ll accept it now?’
Rose grabbed her champagne glass and took a sip. It was very dry and very cold, and she liked it. ‘Because you want me.’ She glared at him over the rim of her glass. ‘I can see it in your eyes.’
His expression was enigmatic, his gaze opaque. ‘But you do not want me, Rose. That is the issue.’
Unexpectedly a little thrill pulsed through her. He hadn’t denied it. Hedidwant her. But as for her not wanting him, well, that was a lie. Sex sounded uncomfortable, yet she wouldn’t mind if she had to do it with him. He wouldn’t hurt her, she didn’t think.