Love and War

Chapter Ten

         Throughout my day I worry for Ares. When he dropped me off at work he promised to see me again tonight and to bring Max along, but he was so desolate and sad the other night that I don't know how to help him. Will he drop off the face of the Earth again and if so, do I have it in me to go after him a second time?
        When six o'clock rolls around, I push all worrisome thoughts from my head and fix my bun, making sure it is appropriately messy and pull my side bangs out to frame my face. Since Ares didn't specify the sort of night we'd be having I wear grey shorts and a white tank top. Max waits eagerly by the door, sensing that he too is going out tonight and that he doesn't want to be late. 
        Soon there is a knock and when I open the door, every single doubt leaves my head as I look up at Ares. He wears jeans and a white t-shirt, his leather jacket nowhere to be seen. He won't be needing it considering we won't be on the bike today, not with Max coming with us. He smiles when he sees me and all the tension and sadness from last night seem to have vanished from him completely, as though it never even existed. 
        "Hey," I breathe, my cool and collected demeanor having escaped me since last night, all walls demolished by his battering ram of a personality. 
        "Hello, gorgeous." His amber brown eyes slide over my small amount of cleavage all the way down to the expanse of my legs. 
        With the way he looks at me, my demeanor changes into something to match his. "If you would quit undressing me with your eyes, we could get this date moving along," I say, quirking an eyebrow and crossing my arms to expose myself more to him.
        His eyes flare and he growls as he grabs my arm and pulls me to him, burying his face in my neck, lips brushing along my sensitive, hyper-aware skin. "Come along, little seductress, there will be plenty of time for play later tonight." The rumble of his voice vibrates through my body and straight to my core, causing my toes to curl and breath to hitch. 
        "Why play later when we can play now?" I grind into him, fisting his shirt in my hands. 
        His breath hisses with the contact and he smacks my back side. "Enough, temptress. We have plans." Ares releases me and I glare at him, my bottom tingling from the dominant smack. For a moment my thoughts wander to me bent over his knee and his hand connecting with bare skin, so loud it rings throughout his apartment. 
        Grinding my teeth, I set about clicking Max's leash into place and banishing all thoughts of sexual punishment from my mind and all the ways I can coax him into giving me just what I want. As we walk, my mind keeps going back to all the indecent ways I can get him to smack me again. 
        "Get your mind out of the gutter, sweet dove. All your dirty thoughts are displayed all over that sinful body, maybe if you're a good little girl tonight I may revisit these fantasies of yours." I jump at the suddenness of his voice, jarring me from my thoughts. His breath caresses the shell of my ear, trailing a fingertip down my spine.
        Trying to even my breathing and clear my mind, I turn my face towards him as we walk towards his car. "I am glad you are better today," I say, attempting to erase all other thoughts from my mind. 
        He opens the back door and I help Max, who really doesn't appreciate my help, into the back seat and once shut he opens my door and I pause in front of it. Ares reaches up and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, sliding his thumb across my cheek. "Thank you," he whispers, eyes watching me with so much gratitude, I reach up, sexual mood nowhere to be seen, and smooth my hands over his chest and touch his smooth jaw. 
        "What did I do?" I ask, besides storming into his house and accusing him of leading me on? 
        He smiles as if I should already know. "Being there for me when I needed you, that's not something I will forget." 
        My heart flutters and he presses a quick kiss to my forehead. "Get in, I was serious about those plans." He grins and I slip into the car, holding his hand while he drives the few blocks towards his own apartment.
        His apartment is fixed from its previous state of wreck, the blankets that were on the roof are on the floor here, lights hang, framing the curtains and hang from the ceiling, twinkling against the glass, looking like stars, candles are spread on the outskirts of the room and a cute dog bed is tucked into a corner. Max immediately makes his way to the place made for him and Ares turns on the stereo which plays soul deep violin and piano music. 
        A glass bowl sits on the low lying table, water lilies floating in water, the place smells fresh and almost floral. When I face Ares, he smiles, satisfied with what he has done with his place, which he should be, it looks straight from a romance movie, yet there is one thing a romance movie doesn't have, and that's him. 
        Without a word, I slip my arms around his waist and press my lips against his. All humor and sass and teasing fall away around us and suddenly it's only us. There's no God's waiting to see us at the meeting coming up sooner than I want, nothing just... us. Gently, his hands come up to frame my face and I press myself against his sturdy frame, pressing my palms against his back, grounding myself to him. 
        With care, his mouth parts mine and his lips move in time with mine, sucking gently and his tongue slips into my mouth, sliding against mine, his hands gliding into my hair, freeing it from its loose bun, cupping the back of my head, tipping it up so he can delve deeper into my mouth. His body presses flush against mine and I dig my fingertips into his back, somehow unable to get close enough to the tenderness radiating from him. One thumb strokes along my jaw, up towards my cheekbone. 
        I shiver, sucking his lower lip and teasing his tongue in my mouth, slipping my hands under his shirt to slide my hands over his soft skin, arching against him. 
        When he pulls away, both of our chests heave with heavy breaths and he brushes his nose over mine, stroking the back of my neck. "I ordered pizza," he whispers, thumbs swiping up and down behind my ears in a relaxing motion that has my eyes falling closed. 
        "I like pizza," my voice sounds husky and at ease. 
        Ares presses a small kiss to my lips. "It should be here soon. Would you like to sit?" 
        I shake my head humming as he continues his ministrations behind my ears. "I want you to hold me." I don't know why I say it, but I do. 
        A smile creeps into his voice. "I can do that." He presses against me, lips pressed against my hairline, occasionally leaving a kiss there, and slowly he starts to sway us as if we were dancing. My head falls to his shoulder and his arms come around me, stroking up and down my back. 
        All tensions leave my body, causing me to feel languid and relaxed. His scent of cucumber wash and soap fill my nose and I note that for the God of War he smells oddly clean, and I don't mind it. He hums in my ear, his cheek resting against my temple as he sways us in place, the lights reflecting in the glass along with a silhouette of our bodies. 
        Two lovers.
        The thought crosses my mind before I can stop it. Are we? What are we? I told him I didn't want to be anything outside of sex. Then we actually had sex and I told him we were something and this... this definitely is in the realm of something, but what? I don't ask because I am scared to hear his answer. I am scared to hear this is temporary. I am scared to hear he could love me. I am scared to look deeper into my own feelings. 
        All these years of never having a lover. All these years of not even considering someone in such a way and then this man slid into my life as though there was no gate separating me from everyone else. Even more shocking, I let him. 
        Sure I made jokes and teased him, but I didn't really do anything to stop him. I never made any real attempts to push him away. Even in the bar. I could have turned him away for a dance, yet what did I do? I draped myself over him and let a wild side of myself take over. 
        His words ring back to me from our day in the country, "You're free. You can fly. You are a bird, Aphrodite." 
        Free. And that wild, free bird took over the other night when I kissed him. Free is exactly what I have felt each and every time we have been together.  
        His arms tighten around me and I allow myself to be wrapped up in his warm cocoon. 
        The night drags by and we eat pizza, sing until our lungs hurt, laugh until our eyes water and kiss. Lots of kissing, not exactly the kiss we had earlier, but small kisses. By the end of the night I am wrapped up in his arms, his body warm against my back and breath tickling my neck. Only the dim lights fill the room with a soft glow, our legs entwined together and my mind drifts back to the subconscious thought I had, two lovers. Somehow though it seems absurd, it feels right.