Their Wife: Book 2

Six (Part 2)

A loud crash jerked me from a rare, dreamless, deep sleep. My heart raced as my chest rapidly rose and fell from the panic and confusion of being awoken so suddenly.

A pained groan drew my groggy attention to a shirtless figure sprawled out on the floor, the legs still propped on the bed that held an agitated man.

Ares ran a hand roughly through his hair and he sat up, propping an elbow up onto his knee. His hair was a tossed mess from sleep and a thin sprinkling of course hair could be seen beginning to coat his unshaven jaw. He had gone to sleep wearing the same clothes that he had changed into to go to the tavern. To be fair, so had I.

Another pained groan sounded from the body on the hard wooden floor as it propped its upper body up using its elbows. "What the hell, man? I thought you big scary guys were supposed to turn out to be big cuddly teddy bears?"

Ares cut his eyes towards Ryder, locks of his hair falling into his eyes. With a hard shove of his foot, he pushed Ryder's legs off the edge of the bed, making me wince as another loud sound assaulted my freshly awoken ears.

"There are no cuddly teddy bears here. Go find one elsewhere," Ares gruffly said.

He swung his already booted feet off the bed and onto the ground. Ryder had to quickly roll out of the way before he got stomped on by a heavy boot. The fox-eared man rose to his feet, stretching his arms out in front of him while Ares strode his way to the bathroom, grabbing his bag on the way.

When the door shut behind his, louder than needed, Ryder focused his dark eyes on me. With a... seductive smirk? He made his way towards me. The ease of practice in his movements gave away well-practiced and used they were, taking away any charm or the desired effect that he was going for. Instead of swooning at his smouldering attention, I found myself holding back a laugh. The confidence that he was exuding just made it harder to take him seriously.

The man's playful antics could lull my sleep-hazed mind to feel comfortable, but the memory of his hand over mouth from last night had my body tensing when he plopped himself down on the edge of my cot. Although Ares seemed to be convinced he poised no threat, evident in the fact that he had left me alone with him considering how he had kept himself between us as a barrier last night, I wasn't going to let his behaviour let me forget the threat he had already proven to be.

"Good morning, sweetheart," he said in a drawling voice as he lounged back on the palms of this hands, caging my legs between his hands and his body.

It was glaringly obvious that Ares had failed in his attempt to get rid of the man last night. I had fallen asleep when we had returned, unable to keep my eyes open when my head hit the pillow while Ryder was pleading his case for why he should accompany us on our travels. It seemed his plans on kidnapping me from Ares company had been thrown out the window now that Ares was aware of his presence and his apparent relationship to me, a relationship that was yet to be explained.

Wouldn't want to accidentally kill your friend, now would you?

Ryder's taunting words to Ares replayed in my mind. There was no doubt that he was talking about me when he was referring to Ares's friend, it was only made more evident when Ares had focused his attention on me after. I don't know what made Ares care so much about my well-being, but the concern that crossed his eyes at the time had been enough to make me concerned for my well-being.

The talk of my death being thrown out there by a stranger I had just met for some reason, coupled with the fear that Ares concern had brought out, caused something in me to flip. I didn't know what it was that affected me so much in his words, but him speaking of me being killed with such ease clawed at the insides of my ribcage. It caused the flickering flame inside to roar to life with inexplicable pain and fury. The complicit voice that always told me to rest my head and wait for fate to finish taking its horrifying course was instead roaring and demanding a fight, fueled further by the chance of a normal life that Ares offered. The potential of a future I had failed to see when Ares had offered his proposal now hit me full force.