Cole

Ares walked to where my dad was waiting and said, "I would like to personally handle the security upgrades for your café."

How could Ares be so commanding all the time? And was it something he could teach me to do? His tone and words were full of respect, but it was obvious from his expressions that he never doubted he would get what he wanted. I tried to imagine walking up to his parents and inserting myself into their business. It was impossible.

Then again, there was no world where my specialization - baking - would be needed in the way his security expertise was.

And... it did make me feel warm and cared for that Ares was so determined to keep me safe.

"I already have a company on the way," Dad said, looking uncomfortable.

"Cancel them. I have equipment no human company could dream of."

Dad still looked hesitant, and I aimed pleading eyes his way on the off chance he glanced my way.

Ares pressed, "Cole must be kept safe."

Dad did glance at me now, and I saw the moment he folded. He rubbed his hands over his face and sagged against the wall. "I can't believe this happened. It should have been safe even without all these extra measures."

We weren't usually touchy-feely, but after a few seconds of debate, I rested a hand on his arm. His hand came down on top of mine and squeezed. "The problem is that I want everything installed immediately. When could your company do it? And do you have cost estimates? We do okay for ourselves, but we're not exactly raking it in."

Ares scowled. "I will not take your money, and I can have everything installed and ready within hours."

I could see that Dad was about to argue with him, but I already knew he wouldn't change Ares' mind. "Dad, it's okay. He's my mate."

That was enough to make him cave.

So now, I was back at the café with Ares. I had expected to feel something being back here again, but between the daylight and having Ares at my back, I felt surprisingly okay walking back inside.

"Are people coming from your company to install everything, or are you going to handle that?" I asked curiously.

"I have a team on their way now."

"Are they all demons like you?" I couldn't help asking.

Ares nodded. "Our people tend to be insular. We associate with other species as needed, but we do not work with them."

"Do you ever think maybe you should?" I asked. It seemed like such a waste to stick only with people like yourself. The variety of people and species out there was fascinating, and I bet there were things his company could learn from others that would make them do their jobs better.

Ares had a little smile on his face as he looked down at me. I couldn't read the thoughts behind it. "I'm thinking about it now."

I smiled at that.

"I'm going to take a closer look at the building. Will you be alright here?" Ares asked.

I wondered why he'd ask that for a moment before I realized I was standing a couple feet away from where I had been held at knifepoint just yesterday. It was crazy how safe I felt, and I knew it was because Ares was here. "Thanks, but I'll be fine. Will I be in the way if I do some baking? Dad's planning to open back up tomorrow and it would be good to get a head start."

If I got enough done now, I wouldn't have to wake up early to do the baking... and maybe I'd get some extra time with Ares because of it.

"That won't be a problem."

I nodded and started moving toward the pantry, only to be pulled back into Ares' chest. He gently spun me around and tipped my chin up so he could kiss me. I felt the touch like lightning. It flashed through me so that I felt it everywhere. I licked at his lips and groaned when they opened. I twined my fingers through his hair as our tongues danced and gasped when Ares lifted me up and set me on the nearest countertop.

Oh, fuck.

The counter was the perfect height. When I wrapped my legs around his waist, my aching length pressed against his, and when I rolled my hips - not easy from this position, but worth it - Ares was the one who groaned.

He started helping me, rhythmically grinding against me as heat built up in my core, desperate to be released. I was getting perilously close, throbbing and aching for him, when suddenly Ares pulled away.

I tried to pull him back, but his arms rigidly held me in place at my waist. "Kah," a female voice said from behind him. I jolted and felt a cold fear spread through my body like water. When had someone come in? How had someone come in? I had triple-checked that all the doors were locked.

My brain caught up to the situation before I could start properly panicking. How had I forgotten Ares was waiting for his team? I unwrapped myself from Ares, and his hands loosened their hold on me. He tidied his own hair before gently brushing mine off my forehead, then turned around. I stayed behind Ares in case the person was a threat, but leaned to the side so I could see them.

There was a gorgeous woman there, facing him with a stoic expression. Her eyes were serene, and she had one arm across her chest with the hand fisted. It looked like some kind of greeting, since Ares returned the gesture. Then, her eyes flicked to me and she gracefully dipped into a perfect, deep bow from the waist, far enough that I could see the back of her neck when her hair slid off it.

"Kahlen," she said, her tone restrained and respectful.

I glanced at Ares in confusion, but it didn't help since he was still facing away from me... at least, until he stepped to the side so he could face both of us.

"Um, my name is Cole," I said uncertainly.

The woman straightened and looked like she wanted to laugh. Ares explained, "Kahlen is a title of respect in my culture. This is my assistant, Evie. Evie, meet my mate, Cole."

It seemed she had been waiting for an introduction, because now she smiled broadly at me, her eyes alight with happiness. "I wondered when I'd get to meet you. I am honored."

I shook my head, still confused. Meeting her boss' mate couldn't be all that exciting... unless they were more than just coworkers? I glanced at Ares again, and one side of his mouth tipped up in that crooked smile I was starting to love.

"Evie is also my oldest and dearest friend," he said.

I saw her eyes soften at that, and now I smiled at her for real. "I'm sorry, Evie. I still have a lot to learn about Ares' life. I'm happy to meet you, too."

I caught a look Evie and Ares shared and wondered what it was about. It was probably about the security setup for the café, since that's what they started discussing. Ares kissed the top of my head and they started walking around. I mostly tuned out their words - putting such and such system here, installing cameras there, yadda yadda. I trusted Ares' judgment. He knew more than I did about all this, and I knew he was serious about my safety.

After a while, they were joined by a few other people who appeared inside the café, two men and a woman. Each of them bowed deeply to me and called me Kahlen. I smiled in acknowledgment, though I felt too awkward to actually say anything. If I hadn't been in the middle of whisking, I would have bowed back or something, but I was happy to have the excuse not to figure out an appropriate response.

They worked efficiently, but it still took hours before Ares sent everyone home and joined me. I was sitting on a stool, scrolling through my phone while I waited for my last bake to finish - white chocolate cherry cookies. They smelled amazing, especially since I was getting really hungry.

"You're all set. We'll need to meet your father here in the morning so I can help him set up the codes to get in, and there's an app each of you can download on your phones to see videos."

"Thank you," I said. Had I thanked him yet? I didn't think so.

He waved that off and as a silence fell around us, I wondered what was supposed to happen next. For the first time, there was no clear next step. He had claimed he wasn't letting me out of his sight for a while since last night's attack. How long would that go on? And he had set up a closet for me in his home, but hadn't said anything about me moving in. What was he thinking about that?

Did I even want to move in with Ares so soon? We were still getting to know each other.

Okay, that was a stupid question to even wonder about. I hadn't forgotten how hard it had been to sleep without Ares. Not to mention the other benefits that came from having him to myself.

"What are you thinking so hard about?"

I looked up at Ares and found him leaning back against the metal countertop in a way that beautifully displayed the toned muscles of his arms and chest. How could he look so effortlessly attractive? I glanced wistfully at one of the new security cameras that was recording this room. I wanted so much to pick up where we'd left off earlier, before Evie interrupted us.

I licked my suddenly-dry lips and let my eyes sweep down Ares' body before meeting his gaze. I should have asked him about our living situation and how he saw our relationship working, but instead I answered, "I'm thinking about going back to your place."

Ares' expression turned heated, his eyes practically smoldering. He reached for me, and the room shifted before my eyes. One second, we were in the kitchen and the next, we were in Ares' bedroom.

I stared at him, wide-eyed, and he laughed. "My cookies," I said. As much as I wanted to take advantage of our sudden privacy, I didn't want to burn them or start a fire in the café.

"They had five minutes left on the timer," Ares answered, reaching a hand down to cup me. I jerked and knew he could feel me getting harder under his hand.

"Five minutes," I muttered. That was enough time for... something, right?

Ares pulled his phone out and continued to massage me through my pants as he set a timer for five minutes and set the phone down on his nightstand. "Should be an interesting challenge, don't you think?"

My eyes were glued on the timer counting down. "Uh, what?"

He chuckled and gently took my chin in his hand, adjusting my head so I was facing him. "I'm going to take care of this," he said, squeezing me, "before your cookies are done. An appetizer, if you will. And after they're out of the oven, we'll come back for the main course."

I nodded vigorously. "Yes." Yes, yes, yes.

He made quick work of stripping me of my pants and underwear, but left my shirt on. It somehow felt more intimate than full nudity. Then, he licked a line up my cock, followed by blowing a stream of cool air on me. It made me shiver, and I could feel my nipples perking up. They weren't something I usually thought much about during sex, but now they ached for sensation.

Ares swirled his tongue over the tip, then engulfed me completely. Did he not have a gag reflex? How could he take me so deep, so fast? And without any kind of warm-up? My legs trembled as he skillfully worked me with his tongue and lips, bobbing with an uneven rhythm whose unpredictability brought me dangerously close to the edge.

Ares' eyes met mine, glinting with satisfaction. He looked like he was enjoying having my cock in his mouth. A tremor ran through me and I was close, so close. His tongue teased the sensitive area just under the head and I distantly realized my breath was coming in short, needy pants.

"Ares," I said breathlessly. "Ares!"

He was relentless, and I felt my climax building, but still I ached. I wanted... I needed...

My hands reached up to tweak my nipples over my shirt, twisting and pulling at them. Ares' pupils blew up as he watched me, and he groaned. It sent a vibration running through my cock, and I reflexively pinched my nipples harder. It pushed me over the edge - shoved me, really - and I came so hard my vision went dark. I knew I babbled an incoherent mix of Ares' name and "oh my god" and "fuck" but couldn't seem to pull the words back.

My hands dropped to my sides and my legs threatened to give out, so I let myself fall back onto the bed. "Fuck," I repeated. "That was..."

"Hot," Ares finished. He stood up and pressed a kiss to each nipple, still through my stupid shirt that I really should have taken off. "We're going to need to explore those later."

I could feel myself blushing hard. How embarrassing was it that I played with my own nipples? Only... Ares seemed to really like it. And it had felt really good. So maybe...

The timer went off before my thoughts turned coherent again. "Fuck," I repeated.

Ares laughed and helped me back into my boxers and pants. "Come on, this won't take long."

Once I was decent, Ares wrapped his arms around me and took us back to the café. Held so snugly in his arms, I could feel his hard length pressing against me. I couldn't wait to get back to his place to take care of it. There was a throbbing need in my core I didn't think would go away until I had him inside me again. I couldn't help rubbing on him a little bit, but then the oven timer went off and I sighed.

The cookies were on the edge of overcooked and I knew the timer must have been going off intermittently for a couple of minutes before we made it over. But though the bottoms were a shade darker than I preferred, they would still be good. I got them off the tray just in time.

"We'll have to try that again sometime," Ares said. "I like the timer."

I almost dropped the tray at the idea. I'd completely forgotten we even had a timer the instant his mouth was on me. But, yeah... it sounded fun. "Sure."

Before I could forget, I texted my dad to let him know the security system was in place and not to expect me home tonight. Then, I grabbed a couple of cookies to go and stepped into my mate's waiting arms. I'd make sure to come back later to pack the rest of the cookies away once they were cool. For now, I had something - someone - better to do.