Page 37 of The NemeSis
“Perfect timing.” Ares walks up to me from behind some of the crates. “Let’s get your bag dropped off in my office and then I’ll show you what we’ve been working on.” He smiles and leads the way down the hall.
We pass by a large conference room and a couple of closed doors before entering his corner office. There’s a large L-shaped desk along the wall, bookcases line the opposite wall, full of books. A brown leather sofa faces the window. The further I walk into his office the more I realize it smells like him. It makes more sense now. The cedar furniture. The leather-bound books.
I want to roll around in his scent, marking him all over my body.
Where did that thought come from?
“You can leave your bag wherever. Have you eaten lunch? There’s a great sandwich place down the street. I was going to get something delivered.” Ares leans against the edge of his desk and crosses his arms.
My eyes scan down and back up his body. The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up to his elbows and I take my time looking over his sexy tattoo covered arms and then to his hands. His hand flexes and I think about how good those hands felt on me.
“Kyra?” My eyes snap up to his and he doesn’t even try to hide the grin on his face.
I’ve been caught eyeing him up. “Food, yes.” I shake my head. “I mean, lunch sounds great. No, I haven’t eaten.” I exhale a quick breath and smile.
“Turkey and pepper jack, lettuce only?” He raises a brow and I nod. “They’ve got this spicy mayonnaise I’ll have them put on the side. I think you would like it if you tried it.”
“Okay.” I nod again, still shocked he would remember how I like a sandwich. It’s been years since we’d make sandwiches to take to the beach, we were just kids then.
“They normally deliver in about twenty minutes.” He motions to his desk and the couch. “Like I said, put your bag wherever.”
I slide my book bag off my shoulder and walk over to the couch and sit it down near the armrest. “You said you had something to show me?” I spin around to see his eyes trailing up my body, as if he’s committing every inch to memory.
Ares rubs at the back of his neck. “Yeah. We just had a delivery. There’s a few pieces that are already creating buzz for the next auction, most of it will be at the museum though.”
We walk out of his office and back down the hall to a few of the crates that have been cracked open. Ares carefully lifts one of the boxes to show an assortment of coins.
“The coins are more common than you would think, the museum has a nice collection, but private collectors also love these.” He moves the box to the side and lifts another lid. “This though.” His hands reach out and he picks up a sculpted head.
“Aphrodite.” I step closer. My fingers itch to touch it. “Can I?”
“Just be careful.” He passes it to me.
I carefully hold it. It’s smoother than I’d imagined, also heavier. “Wow.” I hold it steadily in my hand for a moment before passing it back to him.
Ares places the sculpture back in the box. “Wait until you see what else.” He takes my hand and leads me farther down to where a table is set up. He grabs a pair of gloves and passes them to me before grabbing a pair and putting them on himself.
My eyes scan over the cloth-covered table to the jewelry spread out. There are gold bracelets and armbands. “Wow.” I put on the gloves and reach out to touch one and pause. “Are you sure?”
“Kyra, I know you’ll be careful. It’s also why I handed you the gloves.” Ares’ eyes twinkle. “I trust you. This,” he pauses as he glances down at the table then back up to my face. “This is the kind of stuff you can’t touch in history class or a summer program.”
I act without thinking. I’m up on my toes and placing a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you.” I pull back slowly. His eyes darken then just as suddenly as the lust filled them, he shakes it off with a nod.
My eyes scan over the pieces. “How can you tell how old these are?”
Ares steps up next to me and starts pointing out features of the pieces. “The Hellenistic Period is when gold became plentiful in Greece again. You can see the influence on the pieces when Alexander the Great got involved. Egypt changed the Greek world.”
“I was reading about Queen Cleopatra recently,” I start as I pick up one of the bracelets and look it over. “The drama when she was involved with Julius Caesar.” I place the bracelet down and look at Ares. “I don’t think it was love. It was about power and lust.”
“She married Mark Antony. Do you think that was just power and lust too?” He chuckles.
“No. The way the stories sound, it sounds real. Times were just different.” I pick up one of the gold arm bands. It feels solid in my hand, and it takes my breath away. “Can you imagine who might’ve worn this? The process that went into making it.”
Ares laughs next to me. “Those are the kinds of things I think about every time we get a delivery. Why do you think it takes so long between auctions?”
I carefully sit the armband down. “I could get lost in a place like this.” I glance around at all the crates. “How can you stand it? To be so close to something that begs for all of your attention?”
“It’s not without difficulty.” I look up at him to see him staring at me, heat in his gaze once again. “Lunch should be here soon.”
