Page 434 of Tease Me

Fucking hell, Cary.

“Now you truly made her bawl her eyes out,” Mom interjected, worry lacing with a look of adoration when she checked the sobbing pile of lump in the passenger seat.

Cary shrugged, as if it was the most normal thing he’d ever said. Then he kissed my Mom, without tongue this time, which I was extremely grateful for. “I’ll be home soon. I need to have a word with my son.”

31

ARES

Dita was done.

She’d been gone before I could make her understand what we were really made of. She and I, we exploded like zillion stars colliding when we were together.

But she stopped and halted me when I turned and set one foot in front of me.

Don’t come after me.

She’d vanished inside, to the one person I tried to keep her from. Cary deserved her more than I did.

Huh, that knowledge hit harder than a bullet.

I’d gotten stuck in the past. I’d damaged more than I’d intended to gain.

Was that why the old Cary had gotten himself so wasted? Because he didn’t find a way out? Too desperate to crawl out of the tunnel vision caused by the drugs? Gasping for breath, only to find your chest pressed closed tight?

My name suited me. A god of war, of conflict, of pursuing a love so strong. Except the Greek god had seduced the love of his life to a certain extent. I, on the other hand, was left without the tiniest piece of her heart.

My knife had been sharp enough to cut through flesh and bone, yet too blunt to carve out what mattered. No weapon of mine had been strong enough to find a sliver of peace, a sliver of love. Only a bloody trail leading to a bunch of corpses.

Raring for bad blood had left a path of destruction, barricading the Panglossian road I’d taken on with Dita.

I closed my eyes, marinating in defeat. I was never meant to have and hold a woman like her; strong, compassionate, gorgeous as fuck, and never taking any of my bullshit.

It hurt like a motherfucker.

A warm hand descended on my shoulder and without turning around, I was aware of my father’s presence. To my surprise, he didn’t poke the subject.

Well, today I wasn’t so sure anymore of the person he was. Between the two of us, he’d proven to be the better man.

“If you’re here to tell me I fucked up… Don’t bother.”

His fingers curled into my shoulder, urging me to turn around and face him. Eye to eye, I regretted my giant ego. I hung my head before I clashed my stormy clouds with his again. This mistake—losing Dita—I owned. She left because of me.

Cary’s grin displayed empathy, despite being a tad smug. “Never backing down, are you?”

“Goddamn right, I’m not.”

He contemplated that for a long time, twisting his mouth as if he could taste unspoken words around his tongue. He grabbed me by the nape to force me into some sort of awkward hug. His lips uttered a gruff warning against the shell of my ear. “I’m sure we can agree on staying away from her now.”

I opened my mouth, ready to argue, when he pushed me back and ambled inside. I staggered on my unsteady legs, unfamiliar with this crowning level of defeat. The foundation of my imaginary throne existing out of anger and resentment, wobbled. It was time to abdicate from the imperial chair. I’d held my head too high to notice what was going on right in front of me. I’d missed the smell of omission like the immortal son of a bitch I was.

Taking a step back was not in my nature. How in the fuck was I going to lie low when all I wanted to do was jump into my car and get to her?

“Ares,” Cary turned around and added, “I’m just asking for you to give her time. For now. Stay away from her for now.”

Setting my jaw, I glared at his back and rolled my eyes when he bent two fingers over his shoulders, beckoning me to follow. “You coming, or what? Daddy needs a drink.”

He faltered in his steps.

---