Everything? Now that's a lot to lay on the table. I open my mouth like a fish and close it again trying to figure out the best way to approach this, "No."

That wasn't the way to do it.

"No?" He mumbles back, and I try to save myself by turning it back on him.

"How about you? I would like to learn why the Ares Gray asked me out to dinner when he could have much more suitable women in his tax bracket."

The brindle beauty takes a moment to laugh, a small smile gracing his face, "My tax bracket? Such a way with words darling. But if I must be frank, I don't much care for other women. You are who I enjoy, and that is that. There isn't much to it."

"Not much to it? I am a random-"

"Madam, sir, I have your meals." The waiter breaks my sentence setting our large platters in front of us. I try to keep to myself and not judge the way he distributes the food, server to server of course, "Anything else I can get you?"

Ares looks at me first to which I shake my head, "No, that will be all."

I take another sip of wine evading his gaze that stares almost into my soul. I keep to myself pushing the pasta around, while it smells nice I don't know how to eat in a place like this. While James was rich and controlled my ever living breath, he never took me out for fancy dinners. Even at the balls we would avoid the food since I was classically trained how to eat, and he refused to teach me in the moment.

"Is your food not to your liking? I can have it sent back and something else prepared."

I set the fork down, "Oh no, it's great. Just hyping myself up."

He hums again, eyes turning gold once more. I watch his iris shift back in color. Eyes shouldn't be able to do that. I shouldn't be able to watch his eye color change so drastically, him and that guy at the restaurant today.

"I know what I like, and I know I like you. I wouldn't look into it very much."

"You've known me for maybe a total of two hours."

"And people have fallen in love at first sight." He remarks cutting into his lobster tail.

"That isn't real love, real love takes time and commitment." I lower my brows in confusion tossing my napkin on the table that was laid across my lap.

"Both of which I plan to give you."

Too much, too fast. Another fucking James that wants to control a woman. "This isn't going to work, I'm leaving."

I stand to walk away and feel his hand wrap around my wrist, I turn to him keeping my calm, "You will let me go, and I am going to leave." No one will control me again.

"Veronica- I won't be able to leave you."

"I don't give a damn what you want from me, I only want peace for myself. Leave me alone with your freakish overbearing emotions. Last time I took the bait, I was gutted alive."

"Ma-Veronica."

"Can't even remember my name? Get off me." I pull my hand from his, but I could tell he allowed me to. Some deep part of me knows that I wouldn't have been able to get away from him if he truly wanted me to stay near.

He doesn't follow me like I expected him to and my heart unexpectedly aches from it. The restaurant lets me out easily with no one breaking my path. When I finally get outside I am calling a cab almost to tears.

So pitiful. His proclamation of giving me the world, his care for me, the commit and time, even the discussion of love at first sight... all those flags aligned with my ex and how he ruled my life with sweet nothings that I played into. Do I just attract these men? Do I wear a sign across my back that says 'please take my will to live and feed me chocolate?'

The cab pulls up and I grab the handle, I feel a prickle at the back of my neck, Ares coming up from behind, "Veronica!"

I turn to look at him as I sit down into the car, his eyes are bright, glowing in the night. Slamming the door shut I ask the man to step on it, the man left in the night as we drive off. I let my curiosity peak craning my head to watch the male run his hands through his hair yanking at the roots, chest heaving up and down. His eyes glow gold staring at the car as we get farther into the distance, almost like a wolf.