Eternal Rider - Larissa Ione [58]
Violence excites me.
What a fucking stupid thing to say. Mainly because it was true. There was a reason for the term “bloodlust.” Hell, it was Ares’s middle name.
Not that he got all worked up from watching senseless violence. But being in the thick of battle, with the adrenaline pumping, the testosterone raging… nothing beat that rush.
Nothing except being chest to chest with Cara.
Shit, he’d wanted inside her. But then something extremely fucked up had happened. He’d felt as though his heart was connected via a pipeline to the agimortus on her chest. The sensation had been mildly erotic… until his heart had made like a gas pump, delivering fuel from his body to hers. Before his eyes, her skin developed a rosy glow, and though he could write some of it off to anger, and maybe a little arousal, he’d felt strength rising in her. She’d begun to emanate power like a damned nuclear power plant, and all the while, he’d felt himself draining.
Maybe not draining, exactly, because it hadn’t been painful. Just… freaky. He’d lost his ability to sense conflict. And worse, his thoughts had gone linear, so single-minded he doubted he could strategize his way out of a shopping mall.
Footsteps approached, and he knew by the cadence that it was Thanatos. Knew by the heavy strikes that his brother was armored up.
“I visited Lilith’s temple and there was no sign of Tristelle… and what the hell are you doing?”
Ares cursed, long and loud. “I’m an idiot.”
“Duh.” Than grinned, because yeah, he was a real barrel of laughs. “But what are you doing?”
“Fucked up. This is so fucked up.” Ares slammed his fist into the wall and hissed through the pain. He never did shit like that, because if you ruined yourself, you couldn’t fight. Sure, the bones he’d just broken would be healed in an hour, but still. “She beat me.”
“Did you like it?”
“You’re still not funny.” Ares’s jaw was clenched so tight he could barely understand his own words. “She knows how important she is, and she called me on it.” Man, she’d shocked the shit out of him. Up until now, she’d been as timid as a mouse, afraid of someone saying boo to her, and suddenly, she’d sprouted some teeth.
Probably because the agimortus had ripped his balls out and transplanted them into her.
Thanatos laughed, and speaking of teeth, Ares wanted to knock his brother’s out of his head. “It’s about time someone got one up on you. And a female human at that.”
“Fuck you.”
“I can’t have sex.”
“This isn’t a joke, brother.” Every one of Ares’s muscles twitched. “I want her.”
Than arched a tawny eyebrow, the silver piercing catching the light. “Then take her.”
“It isn’t that simple. She can’t stand me.” Ares kept pacing, his gut churning, his dick aching. “But then she looks at me with…” Lust? Too strong a word. Longing? Too wimpy. But shit, he could smell her desire, and the way her body would curve into his…
Thanatos laughed again, and Ares’s hands curled into fists. “You can have any demon female in the underworld just by crooking your finger, and now you want a human, but you don’t know how to have her. This is good.” He cocked his head and studied Ares for a second. “Do you think you want her because she’s human? Is that the draw?”
It was a valid question. Ares hadn’t been with a human woman since before he was cursed, had been forced to sate his lusts with demons who appeared human. Halfbreeds were best; at least they were only part demon.
“Does it matter?”
Than’s eyes narrowed, and he sobered. “This isn’t a simple case of being horny, is it? You’re juiced.”
“Yeah.” Between the arousal, the vibes of world violence that were slamming into him, and the anger at the way his body and equipment were failing him in Cara’s presence… he was ready to blow. And not in the fun way.
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
Than braced one shoulder against the wall, his rangy body slipping into a deceptively relaxed pose. “You