Page 56 of Mafia Obsession

“For how long?” I squeak in a shaky breath.

“However long it takes.” Ares steers me back through the apartment, down the stairs, and into his warm, idling Bentley.

I’ll come back for the boxes…

“Do you know where he is?” I clear my throat. “Where David is.”

“Hiding. He came to my club tonight with a woman,” Ares says, sounding furious. “He made a scene. I punish people who make scenes in my club.”

“Did you know those men would come for me?” I ask.

“David made the mistake of telling me you were marked for abduction. Something he orchestrated for financial gain.Because money is involved, he’ll continue to look for you, but he won’t find you.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m going to find him first.”

We drive off, moving fast as I process his words. Ares plans to kill my husband. I should be horrified.

Yet, I feel relieved.

“Why are you doing this, Ares?” I voice the question screaming in my head. “All of it. The job, the money, killing men for me?”

Ares pins me with a stare. Streetlights shine on his face in seconds-long intervals. “Lourdes, I don’t want to add insult to your injuries, but you can’t be that obtuse.”

“You want something from David?” I ask, my voice pitching up.

“I most certainly want something from David.”

Silence lingers between us. “Please spit it out, Ares. As you might have noticed, I’m having a tough night.”

“I wantyou, Lourdes.” He stares at me, his confession rattling something inside me. “The way a manwantsa woman. From the moment I saw you at Winterhall, I wanted you. Not as an assistant. Asmine. Is that clear enough for you?”

I saw how he looked at me and suspected maybe there was an ulterior motive. I couldn’t let myself hope it was more. Plus, I couldn’t lead him on. I was married and planned to leave town once I had enough money.

“Why me?” I swallow painfully, ignoring the soothing heat of his skin and the sweet smell of his cologne. “You can have anyone.”

Ares Zervas doesn’t appear to be a man who wants to complicate his life with a woman from a messy marriage.

“I know I can. I want you.” He gently touches my face. “Do you want me the same way?”

I assume he means for some temporary purpose because all I’ve heard is that he doesn’t do relationships. I have a sister who needs me. If people want me dead or for something else, I have to wait this out before I attempt to get Sandrine out of Chicago.

“I do want you,” I say because it’s the truth.

His penetrating gaze shows no signs of weakness or loss of control of this situation.

Ares takes my hand gently and kisses it. “And now you can stop pretending you don’t get wet when you look at me. That you haven’t thought about my lips on every inch of your skin. My cock buried deep inside your pussy while you writhe beneath me and call out my name.”

The growl in his voice worries me that maybe he doesn’t mean temporary.

“I need to tell you, I’m notthateasy,” I say with the last of my strength.

He barks a laugh, full and throaty. “I hope you don’t make it easy for me.”

That answer unsettles me more than anything else.

“Lean forward, please,” Ares says gently.