Chapter 9

Ares stared at the spreadsheets spread across his two monitors and tried to focus on the discrepancies he had been finding everywhere lately. He was still wired from drinking so much blood from Zia the night before and from everything that had happened after. That one taste had taken him from hating her to wanting to fuck her so hard, she broke.

It had also taken him a full hour to straighten out his apartment, and he hadn"t dared look at his filing cabinet.

Zia"s not related to you, so who is she?It was one of many thoughts that kept churning about in his brain. That and how much he liked the sound of his name on her soft lips when she came.

Zia"s blood hadn"t given him clues about who she was either. He only knew that it tasted like ambrosia and made him so hard that his control had been shredded to pieces.

Ares idly rubbed at the bruise on his chest where she had bitten him back. The audacity of her to dare to bite him at all. His lips started to stretch into a smile, and he immediately stopped it. What had she done to him?

Ares had fucked her until she was boneless, and she still had the fire to give him shit afterward. Those big brown eyes were so pretty when they were hazy with lust. The way she had looked up at him... Ares shook his head, but it was too late. The numbers swam on the screen, and he got lost in fantasies of what he would do to every part of her. His dick throbbed against the zipper of his pants.

"Fuck. Not again," he cursed and walked into the bathroom attached to his office. He locked the door and pulled his dick free. He had to get himself off in the shower that morning too. What had she done to him? Was it because her blood was still in his veins? He had no idea, but he was insatiable.

Ares stroked himself harder, imagining the way Zia"s soaked pussy had tasted on his tongue, the way it had gripped him so tight. She had been like a debauched goddess spread out on the floor just for him. They hadn"t been gentle with each other. Whatever he had thrown at her, Zia had given back in a double dose. Her dark streak ran deep, and he wanted to plunge into those depths and drown in them.

"Fuckkk," Ares hissed through his teeth, and he came so hard he was shaking afterward. He cleaned himself up, cursing Zia and whoever the fuck had really sired her.

He needed answers because she wouldn"t give them to him. He needed something to hold over her in case she decided to rat him out for having magic. He gripped the marble bathroom counter and fought the urge to punch something. He could tell the others that she didn"t have Corven"s blood, but if Corven already knew, then it carried no actual weight.

Only one other person had ever known Ares had magic, and he hadn"t heard a whisper from his piece-of-shit brother in decades. He hoped Mars was dead. If he wasn"t, he had been smart enough to stay the fuck away from Ares.

Ares splashed his face with cold water and thought about Zia"s childhood instead of his own. She had freaked out at the auction in front of the abstract that looked like a slaughterhouse floor.

His hands clenched when he thought of the maul marks on her back. Someone had gotten into her so severely, it had left scars. Dhampir were rarely scarred, and the damage had to be significant to leave them. Had a kid in foster care really done that to her?It was a thin lead, but it was worth following up on.

Ares dried his hands and took his phone from his pocket. He hit the contact number for a private investigator he used occasionally.

"Mr. Volso, this is a surprise," Samuel answered. "What can I do for you, boss?"

"I need you to find someone for me. Name is Paulo Anastides, who was in foster care as a kid."

"Anything else? That"s not a huge amount to go on," Samuel replied. He made a sucking sound when taking the lollipop from his mouth. He had given up smoking a year ago and had developed a lollipop addiction instead. Ares wasn"t sure which was worse.

"The foster home might have been on Crete. It was here in Greece. He"s a dhampir and was violent. Abused other kids in the home," Ares said before adding. "There was one particular girl he mauled badly."

"Okay, how long do I have on this?"

"As soon as possible. If you find him in the next twenty-four hours, I"ll triple your fee."

Samuel"s bright laughter echoed through the phone. "She must be quite the girl."

"She is a pain in the ass." Ares pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just find the fucker for me."

"Will do, boss. Anything else?"

"No. Yes." Ares exhaled and repeated, "Yes. I need you to start looking for my brother again."

Samuel let out a low whistle. "I"ll try, boss. I have a few contacts I didn"t have when we tried last time. I"ll give them a tap and see what they can come up with."

"Thanks, Samuel." They rang off, and Ares felt fractionally better. He just needed to be proactive, and everything would work out. He straightened his hair and tie.

Focus on finding where the money is missing from, he told his reflection. That was his only priority. Not Zia and how she would look painted with his come. Ares groaned. He needed to get a grip. Zia wasn"t for him. After last night, it wasn"t like she would let him touch her again. He had made sure of that.

Good one, dickhead, his reflection seemed to say.

For the first time in years, Ares had panicked. He had been so shocked by what had happened between him and Zia and so blinded by the smile on her face that was just for him... Ares looked at his reflection again and wanted to punch himself in the face.

Corven just needed to pick an heir, and everything would be okay. He needed to find the money leak, and most of all, he needed to stay the fuck away from Zia.