Page 54 of Infinity Chronicles 1
“How?” I peer at him sideways. Ares jerks his head toward the bathroom door. “You want me to go in there?” I freeze. What if he’s telling the truth? Do I want to know? No, I don’t want to know, Ineedto know. Still watching him, I shuffle over to the open doorway. Using one arm I swipe the wall looking for the light.
“Here.” Ares pulls my bundle from my arm before I can protest and drops it carelessly on the floor. He ushers me into the room with his body. I back up enough that my hip hits the counter. My eyes are wide as I stare up to his face, and Ares wets his bottom lip, boxing me in so I’m pinned against him. Meeting my eyes, he calls out, “Do you have a small mirror in here, a shaving mirror?”
Shuffling footsteps alert me to the others’ presence. Glancing away from Ares, I see all three of them hovering around the open doorway. It’s Dante that answers, “Nah, I don’t think so. It’ll be over at the pad.” Ares steps back from me, flashing his eyes around the room, finally settling on the big mirror behind me above the sink. Taking a cue from him I turn, so I’m facing the large mirror as well. I watch as he moves in closer over my shoulder, his frame much larger than mine his eyes, like smoldering flames, have me so captivated I can’t look away.
Leaning down so his lips are near my ear he softly says, “I’m going to show you, but I’ll have to pick you up, so you can use the mirror.” My throat goes dry and I watch as my reflection nods her head. I wonder briefly why he can’t just tell me where to look, but the thought evaporates when Ares’s hands go to my shoulders. His long fingers spread wide, reaching my collarbones. He applies a slight bit of pressure, turning me to face him, and my brow furrows in confusion that he’s turning me away from the sink.
Ares bends his knees, his face coming closer to mine, and I hold my breath. His arm bands around my lower back as he tugs my body flush with his.
“Ah… what are you…” Milo’s question dies on his tongue as Ares hoists me up. If I thought our bodies were close before it was nothing compared to the crush I’m feeling now. My breath leaves me in a heavy whoosh as my hands fly up to his shoulders. Our faces are lined up perfectly. The black of his pupil begins to spread, and I swear the room goes a little fuzzy at the edges, the shadows chasing away the bright light of the recessed bulbs in the ceiling.
Ares’s eyes close heavily, and when they reopen it’s on a slow blink, his lashes lifting to reveal that the whites of his eyes are completely obscured by inky blackness. In the depths I see myself, mouth faintly parted, my eyes torn wide as I gaze back at him.
Ares gives a barely discernable shake of his head, squeezing his eyes closed. Dante steps forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You were going to show us her mark,” Dante reminds Ares and me. I’ve been so lost in the last several moments it was easy to forget how I ended up in his arms in the first place.
With his eyes still closed and his teeth grinding, Ares grates, “Back of the thigh… high up.” Assuming my weight is causing the discomfort, I push off his shoulder with my hands and wiggle a bit, so he knows to set me down. The arm around my back tightens and my breath leaves in a wheeze. “Just look, please,” Ares demands.
Turning my head, I peer backwards at the mirror. I squeak and reach for the hem of the shirt, trying to pull it down when I realize the bottom of my butt cheek is visible, but I freeze. There, just below the swell, is a messy dark blot. I run my fingers over the marking, expecting to feel some difference, a rough texture or a slight raise, but it’s as smooth as the rest of my thigh.
I rub harder, imagining the color will smear away. I certainly don’t expect for Dante to grab my wrist, freezing me. I look down at him, he’s bent down low, examining the mark closely.
“When did you see this?” his fingers reach out to touch the spot he just stopped me from touching. When his hand makes contact, it elicits a completely different feeling. My body melts and until that moment I hadn’t realized how rigid I was in Ares’s hold. My head drops to his shoulder, and his other hand comes up to my head, cradling me into his neck.
“After the shower, I caught a glimpse when she was putting her clothes on the chair.” Ares’s voice is soft, completely different from the tight words a few moments ago. I’m scarcely aware of the others surrounding us. The feeling of comfort is unfamiliar, but not unwelcome. I feel like I just luxuriated in a warm bath, then had the best nap of my life. There’s no doubt or worry in the moment. I grab on with both hands and pull the feeling of contentment into my center. A tug on the bottom of the shirt reminds me I was a little more exposed than I’m used to, probably about the same amount most girls let hang out in a short pair of cut-offs, but still not usual from me. I’m still not bothered enough to unwrap myself from Ares, as a matter of fact my legs start to lift so I can wrap those around him too. He grunts removing his hand from my head to push my knee down. My feet hit the ground in the same second.
Ares releases my back, but holds on to the top of my shoulders, good thing too, I’m feeling a little unsteady. “Cara?” I blink at him lazily, listing toward Dante.
“I think I’m like Ollie.” My voice is slow and low, the words barely a breath. Ollie’s head peeks over Dante’s shoulder, his nose wrinkled. “I feel like a gummy bear.” I try to shake out my hands, but they barely wiggle. Milo shoulders his way past the others, his face close to mine like he’s inspecting me for something.
I’m not sure if he found what he was looking for, but one hand goes around my back as he leans down and scoops me up bridal style. I let my head lull on his shoulder taking a deep inhale, he smells good, a light sugary cologne. The protest I was building dies when he stalks out of the bathroom and deposits me gently on the bed, tugging the covers over me. My lips curve up. “You don’t hate me.”
Milo sits on the bed, his hip hitting mine. “Of course I don’t hate you.” His fingers brush some of the hair away from my face.
I turn on my left side. “I’m glad, you smell really good.”
Twenty
Ahand on my back has me jerking upright. “I’m awake,” I blurt out, thinking I slept through my alarm. My head is a little foggy as I look around, my eyes still squinted with sleep. There’s a figure next to me, but it’s still gloomy and I can’t make out who it is. As my brain catches up with my body I realize I’m not at home, I’m in Dante and Ares’s house, in the yellow room.
“Sorry,” I whisper much more quietly. “I’m up.”
Ollie’s voice comes from the darkness. “It’s okay Laura, we just have school, we know you need to get your bag from Maggie’s so it’s still really early.”
I nod, licking my lips. My mouth is thick. I would give about ten dollars for a toothbrush right now. I haven’t had such horrible dental hygiene in… well ever that I know of.
With my palm over my mouth I ask, “Can I use the bathroom?”
“Dante put some stuff in there for you last night, take your time.”
I pull my legs free from the blankets, straightening the t-shirt before climbing off the bed. “Thank you, I won’t be long.” The door snaps closed behind me. There’s a new toothbrush still in its packaging, and a tube of partially used toothpaste on top of a folded washcloth. Glancing at the shower I see a single bottle of shampoo. My heart warms at their consideration. Picking up the blue toothbrush, I run my fingers over the casing. It’s something so simple, a nice toothbrush, I usually pick mine up at the dollar store a few at a time so the color doesn’t mean anything to me, except for the fact that it was probably one of theirs and a they gave it up for me.
“Ollie?” I call through the door.
“Yeah?” His reply is fast, from just the other side of the door.
“This is for me to use? I can open it?” My voice is unsure, it’s reasonable to assume it is, but I can’t bring myself to open the package without confirmation.
“What, the toothbrush?” Ollie sounds skeptical, like he thinks there might be something else in here I’m talking about.
