Ares came out of the bathroom to find Eliza left in her underwear and Mae wearing her clothes. He couldn’t help staring at her. Her legs were long and looked smooth to the touch. Her underwear let a small section of her butt cheeks peek out from under the lace fabric. He could see where her waist came in, the soft skin there, and farther up he saw where her bra clasped together. Her hair wasn’t hidden by a wig anymore and fell over one shoulder.

He finally shut his eyes and cleared his throat, making Eliza jump around. He opened one eye, saw she didn’t bother covering up her chest that looked perfectly round in her bra. He closed his eye again. “Uh, mind warning a guy?”

“Just hand me the robe in the bathroom.”

He did, still keeping his eyes shut until she said she was covered. Ares sat down on the chair, hoping to hide his obvious arousal by crossing his leg over the other. Something about the way Eliza smirked did not help his situation.

“We should have a chance to get her out of here if she’s dressed like me.” Eliza pulled the fake nose ring off her and put it on Mae, followed by the other accessories she had on. “I’ll follow because I’m worried, finding Sam unconscious in your arms when you came running out of your room. Memorize the number on the card just in case.”

“You’re going down there like that?”

“What? Do you have a problem with it?”

He took in the silk robe that barely covered her very cute butt and met her stare. “It doesn’t leave much to imagine, Lizzy.”

“It’s a good thing I’m going home with you then, huh?”

His pants were getting a little too uncomfortable. “Okay, sure. Hurry up then.”

Eliza’s eyes lingered on his face then angled down before she smirked. “You sure you don’t need a minute?”

“Just get that woman dressed so we can get out of here.” His voice strained and a little irritated.

As usual, Eliza’s plan of escape was flawless. Donovan met them outside Olympus City to take Mae and bring her to Earth. The plan was to keep both her and Terence oblivious to each other’s presence so they could be questioned. If they thought the other was in danger, then they could spill information. Sure, the relationship was fake and driven by sex, but Ezra Logan had a reason to put them together. Teel wouldn’t want to disappoint his father.

Mac stared at Eliza’s lack of clothes, eyebrow raised. She was going to explain, but he shook his head. He didn’t want to know.

Ares, in all his goodness, took off his jacket and had her tie it around her waist. At least she was covered a little better than before. Eliza rolled her eyes before wishing Mac a safe trip and climbing into Ares’ ship. He had to resist watching her climb in or he would have seen more than he intended.

“Get her into something decent please,” Mac told Ares, waving to the man before getting into his own ship.

He was going to, but flashes of her in practically nothing kept appearing in his mind. It was going to be difficult living with her for a bit. The dress she wore on their first hunt together still managed to reenter his mind more than he’d like to admit. Seeing more of her soft curves was not going to help him think straight around her

“Come on! I’m getting cold!” she called out from the ship.

Ares sighed and climbed in, more than happy to get her home into appropriate clothing. He was a man who enjoyed looking at an attractive woman, but his mom would skin his ass if she knew how long he stared at Eliza. It took everything in him to avoid looking back at her.

When they got back to their apartment, Ares waited for Eliza to go inside before he got up and followed her in. He wanted to make sure she was out of his sight before coming inside. It was for her sake, not his. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if she kept sporting that silk robe. It was too much. And the way her voice lost all strength when he kissed her throat... – they had more power over each other than they could possibly imagine.

He rubbed his face and went into his room to change. He’d keep the scruff for a little while longer. It felt nice having a beard again.

Eliza walked out of her room, sporting some pajama shorts and the sweater Ares dressed her in when she came home drunk. She let it hang off one shoulder and hid her hands inside of the sleeves. She walked into the kitchen with tea on her mind.

The sun would come up in a few hours and she didn’t feel tired enough to go to bed. Her solution was to drink tea to knock out the alcohol left in her body. She needed to stop drinking so much. Drunk Eliza was stupid Eliza. Her face warmed at the memory of her panic. How dumb did she have to be to let logic leave her? She felt her stomach twist, pulling a deep thread with it that made her bite her lower lip. That kiss in the hall was hot. Yeah, they were trying to be discreet but the way his lips focused on the skin around her neck and jaw was incredible.

“Are you okay?”

Eliza jumped and almost knocked her mug of steeping tea over. She clutched at her heart and stared at Ares. His eyes searched hers, looking for anything out of the ordinary. She usually would have scowled and turned away from him. That time, she wanted to let him look her over while she stared back. Something was very wrong with her and she wanted it to stop.

Ares reached out to pull the sweater over her bare shoulder. He looked embarrassed. “I’m sorry, but I need you to be covered up more… for my sake.”

The entire feeling in the room shifted, her tea was forgotten on the counter. Eliza’s eyes looked deep into his eyes, searching for something; she didn’t know what.

He tucked his hands into his hoodie pocket. “Seeing you in… in so little has taken a toll on me, Lizzy. I just need to catch my breath, okay?”

She felt self-conscious and tugged at the end of her shorts like that would cover up her legs. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I should have told you I was coming out of the bathroom.” Ares leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead, one hand gently cupping the back of her head. “Get some sleep.”

In an act of bravery, Eliza grabbed Ares’ hand before he could leave her alone. She placed herself in his arms, resting her ear against his heart. It raced as she expected, so she squeezed her arms around his middle once and closed her eyes.

“You’re a better person than Luke ever was, Ares,” she said. “There’s a lot about you that he wouldn’t… couldn’t match up to if he were still here. Thank you for showing me those things.”

Ares ran his fingers through her hair, staring down at the top of her head. “You don’t have to say that. You loved him, love him as he was. He is special to you.”

“Yeah… but I think you’re special to me, too.”

“Lizzy.” His voice was quiet and full of emotion.

She stepped away from him, clasping her hands in front of her. “Sorry, I’ll let you breathe for a little bit.”

Ares groaned in frustration and pulled her back to him. “I won’t let myself do anything but this right now but know that if I was in a better state of mind, I’d be kissing the hell out of you.”

Eliza blushed at his confession, listening to his heart again. Every instinct she’d built up told her to push him away, to run and hide from him. The craving she had earlier for affection held strong and kept her rooted against him. Did the barrier between them finally crumble without her noticing? Did she want that? Where did they stand after everything?

It was Ares who let go first. Silently, he smiled at her, caressed her face, and then left her standing alone in the kitchen. She slid down the cabinet and to the floor, taking deep breaths to calm whatever storm was brewing inside her. Was Luke fading from her memories while she made new ones with Ares? Was she finally freed from a dead man’s hold on her? Could she be herself again?

Her eyes lifted to stare at Ares’ door, watching the light go out from under it. Everything he did for her from the start outshined any good thing Luke did. Luke didn’t do a lot of good once the drugs and power consumed him. She never hated him for anything he did no matter how broken their relationship was by the end. Ares didn’t seem to have a bad bone in him. He turned her away because he began feeling something carnal toward her and didn’t want to act on it. Not once did Luke do something like that. Ares pulled her from the dark depths of herself and let her be her again. Her partner was more than the man who helped her catch criminals. Ares supported her and sought out everything good for her to keep her happy, sane. Luke looked like scum compared to Ares’ kindness.

Eliza stood and neared his door. She didn’t want to go in, still haunted by it, but she wanted to place her hand on the door. Her palm laid flat and she closed her eyes. Ares was much more than she gave him credit. She didn’t deserve him, but she had no intention of giving him up. If it meant that their friendship had to change into something different, then she’d accept it. Her life was dependent on Ares Matthews and she wanted to keep it that way.