Cruel War (The Gilded Sovereign 1)

A growl vibrates through his chest into mine. As much as he’s taking from me, I’m stealing from him. A thief in the night, a vandal breaking down my walls, and I can’t help but whimper his name.

When Ares finally pulls away, he’s breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling against mine. My nipples are hard against him, and I wonder if he can feel what he does to me.

“If I slip my hand inside those panties right now,” he hisses through clenched teeth. “Will you tell me to stop?”

I shake my head, unable to form words. The corner of his mouth tilts up as his hand snakes between us, his fingers finding my core over the tight yoga pants I’m wearing. He can feel my heat, how wet I am, and he can see the pleasure etched on my face when he presses against my clit.

“Ares.”

“God, little flower, if you keep saying my name like that, I’ll kidnap you and never come back,” he promises, and for a moment, I want to ask him to do it. I want to beg him to steal me away and never return to this town where secrets and violence lie rampant among the shadowed streets.

“Take me to him,” I finally mutter. “Take me to your father and let’s finish this.”

He stares at me for a long while before saying, “I can’t promise he’s not going to do something stupid.”

“You’ll be there.” Ares nods. “I trust you.”

“How can you?” He questions slowly, shaking his head. “What if I am lying? What if I’m using this”—he gestures between us, referencing our physical connection—“to worm my way into your heart and mind.”

“I may be young, and I may not know much about your family, but there’s one thing that’s painfully clear,” I tell him, feeling his fingers still on my ass, digging into the flesh. He’s holding me so tightly against him, I’m sure if I move, he’ll groan from the friction on his crotch.

“And what’s that, little flower?” he whispers along my cheek.

“The way our bodies fit, how you react to me, there’s no way you can hurt me or have someone else hurt me.” I half expect him to kiss me, to assure me I’m right because this can’t be a game. Can it?

“You should never underestimate me,” he promises before he releases one hand, keeping me in place with the other. He moves swiftly, reaching behind his back, and within a second, before I can fight him off, he brings a cloth to my face.

A squeal escapes my lips, and even though I manage to claw his neck with my right hand, my body slowly loses the fight. I’ve made a mistake, I think before my eyelids flutter closed.

24

Ares

I move quickly. I shouldn’t have done it this way, but I have no other choice. If I take her to my father, he’ll most certainly hurt her; I have no doubt about that. Lifting Dahlia in my arms, I move toward my car. Headlights meet me when I click the fob and unlock the vehicle.

Etienne and Tarian are quick to help me with her, slipping her into the passenger seat. Once she’s secured with the seatbelt, I turn to my two best friends.

“This cannot get back to Abner or the Sovereign.”

“Are you sure you want to put everything on the line for a girl?” This is Tarian, the levelheaded of our trio. He’s more analytical with his thoughts, whereas I go on the passion that burns through me.

“I have to. I can’t take her to the lake house, he’ll kill her,” I inform them both. The idea was to have her sleep through the short trip. Thankfully, when I called on my brothers, they were there for me, just like the Crowns should be.

“Will she be safe?” Etienne questions, and I nod.

“He’s someone I trust. An old family contact that hates my father. He was a friend of my mother when she was still alive. I need time to figure out how to bring my father down. Billy will look after my girl.”

“Your girl?” Etienne raises a brow at me, a knowing smirk playing on his lips. He called it the moment I laid eyes on her.

“I no longer have a choice.”

“Then consider her a Crown.” Both of them smile, gripping my shoulder and offering a reassuring squeeze. “You better get out of here, or he’ll find out about this plan before you reach the next town, if you need the plane, it is on standby.”

“Once I get to Billy’s I’ll decide if we fly out of town, or we stay put. I need to wait until Dahlia wakes up. I want to finish this, my father needs to pay, but if she wants to run, I’ll go with her.”

Both men look at me and nod. We’re no longer the teenagers that started out as friends, we’re men who have become a brotherhood, and I would do anything for them, and I know they’d do anything for me.