Page 9 of Infinity Chronicles 2
“Oliver, we don’t need another television in here. One is more than I wanted, you aren’t getting two.” Ares is firm, he hates the TV. It’s obvious he’d rather not have anything but a bed in his room, like it was when we first slept here.
“Why do you even care, it’s just a TV? I’ll keep the sound muted,” he offers in consultation. Ares’shead falls back, and he lets out a heavy exhale, his whole body expanding with the movement.
“Fine, fine. You know what. Take the whole damn room.” Ares turns, angling his body toward mine. I haven’t gotten my jammies on yet, I’m waiting for my turn in the bathroom. At this rate, I really don’t know why we bothered coming over to the main house at all. We’d have more room in the apartment over the garage.
“Laura,” Ares barks my name, his voice full of frustration. I jump, not expecting him to address me.
“Yeah?” I stand up, waiting for his instructions. When he gets like this, it’s all I can do not to either yell back, or salute him.
“Come on.” He beckons me, rolling his hand like I need to hurry.
My mouth falls open. “Where to Mr. Costa?” I ask, already walking in his direction even though he’s being a bossy Ares.
His nostrils flare, “Ijustwantsomesleep, I was up half the night and away from you the rest of the day.” The wordsare gritted out though his clenched teeth, but the sentiment is there. He’s crabby and tired. That I can relate too.
“Okay.” I soften my tone. Ares takes my hand and his hold is gentle.
“Hey, we want her too,” Ollie adds, passing off a wide television screen to Milo.
“We’re going up to her room, come get us when you guys are ready for bed. I needsleep.” Ares doesn’t wait foranyone’sreply. He tows me along behind him and I give Milo and Ollie a quick wave as he hustles us out the door.
On quiet steps, Ares treads up the stairs to the yellow room I stayed in my first night here. He places his finger over his lips and makes a soft shushing noise. Mia’s room is at the other end of the hall, if she were to come out now, there would be no hiding. I kinda wish she would. I don’t get why she’s even still here.
Thoughts of her remind me that I want to ask Ares what they were up to last night, and maybe get an answer out of him about when she’s leaving. If she wasn’t here, we’d be free to hang out in the living room. As it is now, they keep making excuses why I’m eating over all the time when she catches us. Then we have the big ordeal of one of them pretending to drive me home. It’s a waste of time and energy.
The door opens with a barely audible click. He ushers me inside and follows quickly behind. The click of the lock engaging is louder than it should be, or maybe I’m overly sensitized since I’m locked in a room with alone Ares. The atmosphere shifts, I can feel the momenthe has the same realizationI do.
“Come on.” His tone so much softer than the one he used before, even though he’s using the same words. Ares pulls me toward the center of the room, leading me to the bed. “I should have thought this through. Youdon’t have any clothes up here.”
“It’s okay, I’m fine. I’ll change when we go downstairs.” I’m not sure I’ll be sleeping anyway. My body feels way too keyed up for sleep right now.
Releasing me, he steps back, and the light coming through the curtain is enough to let me see him reaching his hand back behind his head. He pulls the t-shirt off and extends it out to me. I reach for it, gathering the fabric up to my chest.
“There, you can wear that. It will be more comfortable.” Ares's voice has gone thicker, like the words are rumbling out.
I flee to the bathroom, leaving a tiny crack in the door so it doesn’t make a sound. The last thing I want now is Mia coming to investigate the noise. Ares would leave me in here alone while he had to go play knight again.
With my heart beating a heavy rhythm in my chest, I strip out of my jeans, placing them on the counter. Biting my lip, I slip my shirt over my head and slide his on in one movement. It falls to mid-thigh, it’s actually a little longer than the shorts I usually wear to sleep in. Killing time, I wash my hands and stare into the mirror. I can’t really see much with the lights off, but I look anyway.
Gathering my folded clothes, I finally step into the room. It’s darker than it was a few minutes ago. Ares is obviously at work on the shadows, or maybe it’s just something mundane like he closed the shades. Reaching my arm out in front of me, I find the vanity to set my bundle on. Turning toward the bed, I rub the top of my foot with the bottom of my other one. I feel funny, like Ishould wait for him to say something, but hesaid he was tired, maybe he’s already asleep?
The seconds tick by and I’m still stalling. “Are yougoing to stand there all night?” Ares's gruff voice emanates from the darkness.
“I can’t see in the dark the way you can. What if I trip?” I’m being silly, we both know it’s not the thought of falling that has me hesitating.
“Close your eyes.” Shaking out my shoulders I do as he says. “Now think about the room last time you were here, where was the bed, the chair?” Remembering the first day Ollie brought me up here, I think of the bright cheery bedspread, the soft billowy curtains on the tall windows.
His voice softer now as he commands, “Now listen to my voice, think about where I am and how you will get to me.” In my mind’s eye I imagine Ares lying back on the pillows. His arms folded behind his head. The blankets are pulled up to his chest, but his upper torso is bare. His dark hair is a little messy, and the scruff on his jaw is darker, he hasn’t shaved today. I feel the pull to be beside him, to feel the warmth his skin would offer, the weight of his arm over my waist as he holds me.
“Laura!” Ares barks my name, his words frantic. I’m startled from my musings and my eyes pop open to find Ares standing right in front of me, reaching out to grab both of my upper arms. “What the fuck?” Ares breaths, wrapping his arms around me. He runs his hands up and down my back like I might disappear any second.
“What’s wrong?” I whisper, his reaction is scaring me. He gathers me closer, almost surrounding me with his body. It’s then I notice his shirt is gone and my face is plastered to his bare chest. Running my fingers around his side and down to his waist I let the tips of my fingernails tickle along his spine.
I feel this edge of his power pulling me, it’s not the same heat that dares me to take from Ollie, but more of a dark promise of something urging me to take the tendrils of shadow into myself.
“I couldn’t see you,” Ares confesses, pulling his face back to look down at me. My hands trail around to his front. I open my eyes and am surprised how clear I can see him. I watch my fingers trace over his skin, fascinated with the inky tendrils I see reaching for me. A thick band coils up my finger and around my wrist.
I can actually see his ability, it doesn’t manifest the way Ollie’s does with fire, but in actual shadows. How come I’ve never seen this before? I expect a light show of sparks to begin any second as I beginto feel his power running over my skin.
