Page 88 of Mafia Obsession

My body reacts before my mind can wrap around what is happening. Immediately, I think Ares left his phone here the whole time. I freeze mid-step, my phone still pressed to my ear as the ringing continues.

Then suddenly, the call disconnects.

Blaring silence floods the room. I don’t even hear the rain thrashing the windows anymore.

A brilliant flash of lightning illuminates the room, and a sliver of terror rises within me at the figure sitting in the upholstered chair near the closet.

My pulse throbs in my neck. “Ares…”

But he’s once again lost in the sudden shadow. I step closerand see he’s just sitting there, elbows resting loosely on his knees, one hand clasped to his phone, watching me.

“I’m here.” A lamp clicks on at his side, warm unnatural light spilling across his long legs.

“When did you get back?” I ask, my voice thinner than I would like.

The storm answers for him with another violent tremor of thunder until he rises to his full height. The shadows carve around him as he steps forward.

“A few hours ago,” he finally replies, slowly closing the distance between us like he’s not sure he’ll be gentle once he touches me. “You were asleep. I didn’t want to disturb you. You haven’t been sleeping well.”

His restraint settles heavily in my chest. “How would you know?”

“Elani told me.” The words strike sharper than the pulse of the thunder.

He’s been calling her. Not me. To check on me like I don’t have my own voice.

“Is that how you keep your feelings contained?” I ask, annoyance in my tone. “By speaking to everyone around me, but not me?”

He stares at me, eyes fluttering like I nailed him in one sentence. “Contained in the heart, yes. But not my body.”

The rain lashes harder, pounding the glass in chaotic rivulets.

“It’s…insane out there,” I murmur. “I heard the airspace around the island was closing.”

“They grounded air traffic hours ago.” He takes a step again. “I flew in anyway.”

There’s no arrogance in the statement, only fact.

“Why?” My voice cracks, unable to hold back.

His gaze darkens. His hand comes up, and deliberate, warm fingers wrap around the column of my throat. He doesn’t squeeze hard enough to hurt, but it’s firm enough that I feel the power of his claim on me.

“Why?” His thumb presses lightly against my pulse as though he’s measuring what his presence does to me. “Nothingwill keep me away from you.”

“Ares…” My breath catches, my body betraying me.

I lean into his frame, needing warmth, needing contact, needing to feel the hard length that controls him when he’s like this. This is so damn messy, but I want him anyway.

“Why did you call me just now?” His thumb traces the frantic rhythm beneath my skin. “After five damn days. Tell me why now?”

“I couldn’t sleep. The storm.”

“Liar.”

Lightning flares again, illuminating the tension in his jaw. This barely leashed intensity makes him feel less like a man and more like a primal beast ready to strike.

“Say it,” he murmurs.

I swallow against his hand. “I?—”