But his grip only tightened, keeping her right where she was.
Then his mouth was near her ear, his warm breath on her skin, making her whole body burn with that desire, a heat that was always smouldering, ready to burst into flames at any moment.
‘Listen to me,’ he murmured. ‘You were a child. You did not deserve to be abducted from the street and sold to the highest bidder. No child deserves that. Nopersondeserves that.Noneof what happened to you was your fault.’
Rose closed her eyes, feeling tears start in them, which was silly. She didn’t know why she was crying. She didn’t know why what he said hurt, because it did hurt. ‘Then why did it happen?’ She sounded like a wounded bird, desperate and afraid, and she hated it, yet she couldn’t seem to keep herself from speaking. ‘Why did it happen to me?’
‘Because it did.’ His voice was harsh, a note of ferocity in it. ‘Because sometimes bad things happen to people who do not deserve them. That’s life. But that’s not the end of the story, Rose, and that’snotthe end of yours. It’s what you do after that matters. That’s the only thing that matters. You endured and you survived, and you got out, and you did that all on your own.’
‘No, I had you—’
‘But you had to ask me first. You had to find the courage to ask a man you’d never met, a man with the most terrible scars, for help in a place where no one was your friend. Where even saying the words could get you a terrible punishment. And you found that courage, little maid. You took it in both hands, and you looked me in the eye, and you asked me.’ His fingers tightened on her upper arms, just on the edge of pain. ‘That’s why I called you a warrior. Because it was a warrior I saw that day. Not a victim. Not a servant. Not a girl someone left behind, a person that no one wanted. A woman who knew her own worth and refused to play the hand life had dealt her. A woman who was going to play her own game, with her own rules.’
There was no hesitation in his voice. Only certainty. As if he was stating facts and nothing more, and it made her throat ache, made tears slide gently down her face.
‘I don’t want you to think that I’m weak,’ she said hoarsely. ‘I don’t want you to think I’m a victim. You’re so strong and I—’
‘And you are too. I told you that.’ Then, shockingly, his teeth closed around one of the cords of her neck, the gentle bite sending a shock wave of sensation through her. ‘So why don’t you show me? Show me how strong you are, little maid. Right here, right now.’
And he bit her again.
Rose shuddered, the heat already beginning to build inside her, and that was better than this other feeling, this intense, powerful, dizzying feeling that was coiling in her heart. That had felt every single word he’d said and had carved them into her soul. So she wouldn’t forget. Because if he saw that in her, then it must be true.
Shewasthat warrior. And maybe it was time for her to own it.
Except Ares let her go, the heat of his body at her back vanishing, and she spun round in surprise.
He’d taken a couple of steps back and was staring at her challengingly. Then he arched a brow. So, she came at him, one fist flying out. His fingers closed around her wrist yet again, but this time he pulled her into him, his other hand grabbing her ponytail and holding onto it as he took her mouth like the conqueror he was.
He was not holding back, she knew that immediately. Also, that he was expecting her to give as good as she got, so she did, kissing him back as if she owned him, as if he was hers and always had been.
Her teeth sunk into his bottom lip, and she bit him hard. He made a growling sound deep in his chest and then they were down on the mat, her on her back with him on top of her, a heavy weight pressing her down.
She loved the feeling, loved how he surrounded her and anchored her, making her feel safe and protected. Yet today she didn’t need anchoring or protecting, today she wanted to be his match in every way, so she growled at him and shoved, and then they were turning over, with her on top and held astride him.
He sat up, pulling off her black sports bra with ease, while she clawed at the black T-shirt he wore. Then she pushed him onto his back again, her hands going to the athletic shorts he wore, trying to pull them down. He murmured a curse, and they were rolling over once more, him on top, his hands firm and strong as he tugged down her yoga pants and underwear.
She panted, writhing naked beneath him, his hands stroking and pinching and caressing, while she bit his shoulder and pulled at the waistband of his shorts. There was another curse and they rolled yet again, him on his back, her above, and the rest of his clothing gone. He was naked as she was, and her hands found the long, thick length of him. He was smooth and velvety and iron hard, and when she stroked him, he cursed yet again. She wanted to drive him as insane as he drove her, except she had no patience for that, not today. Instead, she gripped him and shifted her hips, letting him push inside her, the long, sweet slide of him making her shudder and shake.
Then his hands settled like brands on her skin, gripping her tight, showing her how to move with him, how to ride him to bring them both the greatest pleasure.
It was intoxicating, heady, to be astride this powerful man, to brace herself on his broad scarred chest, watch the flex and release of all those hard, carved muscles. Erotic too, to know that those muscles honed by violence could yet bring her the most intense pleasure.
His eyes were bright silver as they stared up at her, his face tense with hunger. The push and pull of him inside her was too much, too intense, and yet not enough.
‘Ares,’ she groaned, shaking. ‘More.’
Again, they rolled, and then she was being pressed down hard into the mat as he lifted her legs up and around his waist, driving himself inside her, over and over again until the whole world was fire.
And she was exploding, melting, coming apart.
Until she was nothing but sparks drifting slowly in the air.
For a moment they lay like that together as they both caught their breath, and then Ares rolled them one last time, onto their sides, with her caught fast in his arms and held against his powerful body. Then he pressed a kiss into her hair. ‘We can start searching for where you came from today,’ he said. ‘We don’t have to wait.’
But Rose’s chest clenched tight. It was good lying in his arms. Good just being with him and she wanted to enjoy it. They only had another week, and she didn’t want to think about anything else.
‘Can we do it later?’ she asked him. ‘I want to have this last week with only you.’