IF YOU DESIRE| On Going

"YOU'RE MINE," he stated, his fingers wrapping around the back of my neck as he drew me closer to him, until our lips were almost touching.

"You don't own me," I told him, staring straight into his dark eyes.

He let out a low, humorless laugh, the kind that made my entire body tense. His grip wasn't painful, but it was firm; it was possessive, and it left me with nowhere to go. He was so close I could see every fleck of anger in his eyes, could feel the heat coming off his skin.

"You think you get to walk in here, turn my entire world fucking upside down, and then pretend you don't belong to me?" His voice was low and rough, like he was trying to keep his temper on a leash and failing. "From the moment you walked through that door, you have been mine."

My heart was pounding so loud I was sure he could hear it. I should have pushed him away. I should have slapped him. But I just stood there, trapped in his gaze, my breath caught somewhere in my throat.

"I am not yours," I whispered, but my voice betrayed me. It shook.

"Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart," he murmured, his eyes dropping to my lips for a second before snapping back up. "It won't make it any less true."

_____________

Ares Salvatore's world was a castle of ice-cold, unbreakable, a fortress where no one dared to trespass. But then Petra Ramirez burst into his life like a violent storm, smashing through his defenses and shattering his icy throne. She became the key to the one secret he'd sworn to keep locked away: his bleeding, vulnerable HEART.