“Can I use your bathroom?”
You can use me, handsome, I respond in my head.
Raquel, control!
I just nod as my restless eyes wander down to his boxers and notice that he’s hard.
“God.” I blush, looking away. Ares laughs.
“It’s just the morning wood, relax.”
My mouth dries up. “Okay.”
“Why are you blushing?”
“Are you really asking me that?”
I look at him, careful to keep my eyes on his face. He shrugs.
“Yes, you’ve seen it before; you’ve felt it inside you.”
I run out of saliva from swallowing so much.
“Ares, don’t start with that.”
He grins. “Why? Does it turn you on when I talk to you like that?”
Yes.
“Of course not, it’s . . . inappropriate.” His fingers play with the elastic band of his boxers.
“Inappropriate?” He licks his lower lip. “Inappropriate is what I want to do to you, I miss hearing you moan my name.”
“Ares!” He raises his hands in a sign of peace.
“Okay, I’m going to the bathroom.”
When he finally walks into the bathroom and closes the door, I can breathe. After using the hall bathroom and trying to sort out the mess my hair became during the night, I return to my room with Ares’s dry clothes in my hands to find him sitting on my bed. I hand him his clothes and try not to look at him while he dresses, but when he puts on his pants, I see that ass of his and bite my bottom lip.
“I like making you blush. You look cute,” he says, and I blush even more.
“I’m still amazed at how changeable you are.”
“Changeable?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“And may I ask what I have done today to make you call me that?”
I list them with my fingers: “Last night: romantic. This morning: sexual, tempting. Now: sweet.”
He laughs and sits on the bed to put on his shoes.
“I see your point, but it’s your fault,” he says. “You make me feel too many things at once. So, I react differently every time, you make me this way.”
I raise an eyebrow, pointing at myself.
“As usual, blaming me.” He finishes with his shoes and gets up.
“Do you have plans today?”
“Let me check my schedule. For real, I’m a very busy girl.” More like a not-grounded-anymore girl, but he doesn’t need to know that. I glance at the calendar on the wall to confirm that my prison days have come to an end. He walks toward me, and I back away.
“Oh yeah?” he asks.
“Yes.” He slips his arm around my back and pulls me into his body, his scent enveloping me.
“I’m not going to take no for an answer. If you say no, I’ll seduce you right here, and we’ll end up there.” He points to the bed.
“You’re so arrogant. You trust your seduction skills way too much.”
“No, I just know that you want me as much as I want you.”
I wet my lips. “Whatever. Let me go, I have no plans.”
Satisfied with my answer, he releases me.
“I’ll pick you up in the evening.” He kisses me on the forehead and turns away.
I let out a big sigh, watching him leave through my window.
A date with Ares . . .
Romantic dinner, movies, and a good-bye kiss.
I think it’s normal to expect that from a first date. That’s how they always are on TV and what Dani, my first dating source, has told me. So I’m surprised when Ares stops his car in the hospital parking lot. I watch him take off his seat belt, and I do the same.
The hospital?
My first date will be in a hospital? How romantic, Greek God.
I sit still, watching as Ares hesitates over what to say. He’s wearing a black shirt. I love the way he looks in black, or white, or really any color. He always looks so handsome without even trying. Ares licks his lips before turning his blue gaze on me.
“I . . . had reservations at a nice restaurant, movie tickets, and a delicious ice cream place in mind,” he says, pausing for my reply. I say nothing, so he continues. “But when I left the house, I got a call: my grandfather woke up. I didn’t want to keep you waiting or cancel the date. I didn’t want to screw up again, so I brought you here with me. I know it’s not perfect, and it’s terribly unromantic, but—”
I place my finger on his lips.
“Shut up.” I give him an honest smile. “Nothing has ever been conventional between us, so this is perfect.” His eyes soften, charged with emotion.