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Ares

Luna West wanted to corrupt me.

I loved the sound of the idea. It was thrilling and turned me on knowing that Luna had the guts to believe that she could even come slightest bit close to succeeding.

I didn't want to say I had butterflies, but that's what the light feeling in my stomach felt like-- a million butterflies.

Luna West was a challenge, I knew that but she was proving herself to be incredibly hard to tame and that made me even more determined to have her.

Little Luna West will be conquered soon.

I shot a glance at the girls sitting and chatting in the bleachers, ready and waiting to give the guys on the court some attention after practice. I wanted Luna to be one of those girls. Anyone of them.

Desperate and shallow.

Only, she was nothing like them. She was different.

Tonight wouldn't be special because it would officially make me and Chase shareholders of racing line, but because I was finally setting my plan into motion.

It was time to creep my place into Luna's body and soul. I was making her mine.

Shooting the ball over to Chase, I jogged to the end of the field with everyone else, twenty sets of sneakers chased after the ball. Trying to score a goal.

It came over to me two times before I finally kicked it with all my energy and just before it could hit the net, Axel barged in and defended his goal net.

I clenched my jaw as it went over to Axel. He grinned, running back down to the other end of the field, satisfied in my failure. Anger sat like a brick in my stomach, but I kept quiet. I shouldn't have missed that.

I was thinking about her again. She was starting to distract me.

Axel moved light and quick, keeping one eye on the ball as he cast me a glance, smiling.

"Tonight is going to be fucking wild," Chase jogged over to me. "I can tell. I was waiting for that bitch to sign those papers for so long." He referred to our deal with the master of illegal racing, Ruth. "It'll be fun to race under my own rules."

"You cannot race under your own rules. We don't want biased shit to pour in."

"Who gives a fuck?" He cocked his eyebrow at me. "I am more than ready to let go of it all. My rough edges are itching to get out and with your little friend there, it'll be a hell lot more wild."

I liked toying with Luna, but Chase went a step more ballistic when it concerned her. He wanted nothing more than to wring her neck.

"You're just going to be a keen observer, Chase," I reminded him. "I don't want you anywhere near her. Not yet." Or ever.

Instead of anticipating all the ways I was going to get my hands dirty tonight, I was obsessing over her and whether or not I should bring her to Chase' war zone.

"She's not yours to protect." Chase' tone became rough. "You're going to have to break her will, Ares. You'll complicate things if you grow feelings for her. She's a cunt."

I wanted to argue and tell him that she indeed was mine to protest and mine to...break. He didn't make decisions for me. I did.

"Bickering again, love birds?" Axel nudged my arm. I glanced at him, trying to look like I wasn't minutes away from punching Chase, when he tipped his chin, gesturing to my right. "Your father and..." He turned his head to Chase. "Future father in law is here," he gritted.

I turned my head, keeping my scowl but straightening, nonetheless. My father stood on the edge of the field, staring at me with his arms crossed over his chest, in his sharp black suit.

"Whatever." Chase rolled his eyes. "Won't you greet your uncle, Axel? Or are you only interested in fucking his bastard?"

Before Axel could jump on Chase, I stepped in between them and pushed Axel away.

"Take your position on the field, Axel." I used my authoritative voice which worked on him since we were kids playing in dirt. "Now." His gaze drifted from Chase to me and then he finally listened.

I turned to face Chase who had a sardonic smile plastered on his face.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Stop egging him on for fuck's sake. You both are frustrating."

"I love how he has little to no restraint over his emotions. He's so easy to manipulate."

"He's going to kick your ass during practice."

"Let him. Then maybe I'll consider giving him my sloppy seconds."

With that he jogged back to the field, ready to take whatever Axel would throw at him. I shook my head at those two and without asking for permission to leave practice, I jogged toward my father.

His brown hair--same as mine--perfectly combed back and was just the way I'd seen in the morning. His blue eyes leveled on me. The only thing I did not share with my father was his eyes and nature.

My father was extremely meticulous, calm and unreadable. He never made decisions out of desire or selfishness. All his actions were methodically carried out over every detail of every movement he made every day.

Only time the guy screwed up was because of having a moment of weakness which resulted in my bastard sister.

He was raised to be perfect and expected his son to turn out just like him. Only, I was the opposite of him.

"Dad," I said, grabbing my towel off the bottom bleacher and wiping my face.

He didn't say anything instead chose to stare at me. I hated when he looked down at me. I was someone prone to make stupid decision in his eyes. He never took me seriously.

"I'll remain busy for a few days," I said. "I may not be home as often."

"I know." Sedric Torrance' expression remained stoic. "But I would prefer if you'd adjust your schedule. Your mom misses having you home. We barely get to see you."

Unable to meet his gaze, I sighed. "I talk to mom as often as I can. I'm going to be off to college soon. She might as well get used to it."

He remained still, not arguing or moving. I was used to his passive demeanor. Man of few words, it was better not to engage him in much conversation. He would just try to mask his disappointment in me.

"I will try, okay?" I finally met his eyes, but it didn't make the feel of his disappointment in me fade. "But no promises."

"I hope you make better choices in your life, Ares," he spoke. "That's all I want." He gripped my neck in his palm and made me stare directly into his eyes. "You're my boy and my pride. If anything happens to you, I'll tear the world apart, but if you don't gear up to make the right decisions then be ready to face the consequences."

My father never stopped me from doing anything, but he wasn't stupid. He knew exactly what I was up to most of the time.

I couldn't help it. I smiled. "I never make mistakes," I stated.

"For your mother's sake, I hope you won't ever." He eased his grip from my neck and inspected me from top to bottom. "When is your next game?" he asked.

"Day after tomorrow," I replied.

"Practice hard and don't let your foolish cousin lose his temper again. He's one step away from being sent to boarding school."

"As if it's going to make him act in accordance."

"A military boarding school," he added. "It won't do him any good, but his parents are delusional to think that it might help him."

We all knew why Axel went from being a part time terror to a ticking time bomb. It was a taboo topic in my household and it's better left unsaid.

"If Ava was not your mother's sister, I would've considered giving Charlotte to her family. Axel and her were good together."

My jaw ticked. "Charlotte is my sister, dad. Even if she's a bastard, I won't ever let her marry my cousin."

"Charlotte and Axel are not related, son. That's just semantics."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Then we won't."

And as much as I knew he wanted to say more, he nodded, letting it go with a barely visible smile on his face.

"Try to be home for dinner."

"We can have an early dinner? It will suit me."

"Sure. Why not." He smiled, satisfied. He got what he wanted and it never ceases to amaze me how he managed to get his way every time.

I backed away, running back to the field and getting ready for another round of ass kicking. This time, I'll kick Chase' ass.

After practice I headed toward the locker room. The laughter and energy grew louder as everyone picked up their bags, and I heard the locker room door swing open and closed several times.

"Hold up, you shit." Axel ran up next to me, sweat soaking through his T-shirt and covering his neck. "What did Uncle Sedric want?"

"Nothing that should concern you," I replied in a stern voice.

"You're a piece of shit sometimes." He grunted, and I followed as he pushed through the locker room door.

After I undressed and showered, I walked down the row of lockers, the room suddenly so noisy I could barely think. I was ready for tonight. I was going to see her tonight.

I opened my locker and started pulling out my clothes.

"I will manage the crew tonight," Chase said, fixing his hair in front of the mirror in his locker. "I want to monitor every sign up thoroughly. We're not letting any newbie on the track."

"Newbies run the scene, dude," Axel pointed out. "That will be a grave mistake not to let them race. They bring free money."

"No." Chase didn't bother with another syllable.

"Ares," Axel called out. "Tell him, bro. That's a mistake."

"He won't listen to you." Chase tightened the towel around his waist. "And I don't need advice from you."

"Stop acting like dick. If you could make a group of newbies race and then pick the best among them then maybe you could get your hands on someone special."

It was not a bad idea, but I was not a 100% sold on it.

"We'll think about it," I assured him. "Just not now, but we will."

"You better," he said. "Cause these ideas don't just pop daily in my head."

"Do they ever?" Chase rolled his eyes. "You need to get your dick sucked sooner rather than later. One hot, wet mouth is all you need."

Axel grinned. "Are you insinuating something carnal? One hot, wet mouth would do the trick, regardless of the gender."

Just as the words left Axel's mouth, two of our teammates suddenly vacated the room in a hurry, slamming the door behind them.

Chase bursted into a fit of laughter, shaking uncontrollably.

Axel shouted behind them,"Anyone's mouth would do the trick. Where are y'all running off to?" Smiling, Axel shook his head, and raised his hands in the air, he met Chase' palms in a high-five.

"Alright, I'm off to the gym now," I spoke up. "See you two losers tonight." I zipped up my bag and swung it over my head.

"The goody-two-shoes coming?" Axel called out in the background.

"She'll be coming alright."

***

I waited for her to open the door. I arrived to her place at sharp nine at her place and I'll remain true to my words, if she doesn't show herself inside my car then I'll have her dragged by her hair.

The door was opened, revealing Luna with a huge grin on her face.

Whatever I wanted to say slipped right out of my head as I stared at her. She looked breathtaking. She had worn a lovely white dress that exposed most of her thighs, her breast appeared prominent and I resisted the urge to squeeze them, it hugged every curve like a second skin, I realized that she was something else. Sexy. Unbelievably sexy.

I suddenly had the strangest desire to touch her, to run my thumb along the faint blush of red coloring her cheek. It didn't have anything to do with my plan to charm, but I just wanted to touch her and keep her close.

"Beautiful," I whispered. My fingers caressed her jaw and trailed their way to her plump lips then went were lowered slowly to her long, elegant neck and then to finally cup her cheek.

The self-satisfied smirk plastered on her face was beautiful. Instead of recoiling, I found myself wanting to capture this moment. Until she opened her mouth.

"Are you giving me your love eyes, now?" Her words were dipped with sass. "Because the last thing you should want is for me to change your game. That will just be sad."

I shifted my hand down to capture her sleek nape while my free hand pulled her body closer to mine.

"You got a smart mouth on you." My face mere inches away from hers. "Learn to keep it shut."

She cocked her eyebrow at me. "Afraid it's working, right?"

My gaze fixated to hers, and time stood still as we watched each other, momentarily, my cruel intentions forgotten. Her hair danced around her body, the bright color remained the only source of light in our heated moment.

I needed to get a grip around her. I needed to get control over this shit. If I weren't careful, the little bitch would have her way.

Her arms shook a little, and her breaths, although steady, were deep. She was nervous as hell. A small smile formed on my lips as I looked past the facade she was putting up; to appear strong.

She was trying to keep up with my pace.

I'd spent so much of my time just observing her from afar. Waiting for the right moment to pounce on her and when I found out that Chase had some one sided bad blood for her too, everything just settled into motion.

The timing was perfect and now I needed myself to stay within the boundary line I'd drawn up. I didn't want to screw this up.

But, it was impossible to keep my desires in check when she tried so hard not to be a docile, meek, submissive girl. I had to give it to her; she was proving herself to be a fearless person.

And I was captivated by her cerulean eyes. Everything was forgotten when it was just us, alone together. There was peace and tranquillity.

"Luna Lisa West!" Her aunt called out from inside the house and we both jumped back to reality. Lucille walked towards us and handed Luna her jacket. "She always forgets her things at home," she explained and flashed me a huge grin.

From the inquisitive look in her eyes, I understood she purposely went out of her way to give Luna her jacket. She was nosy.

My eyes hadn't left Luna's, but the trance was broken and I was finally able to let out a breath.

"You kids have fun." She gave Luna a half hug and me a pointed look. "I want her home back at ten."

"Aunt Lucille," Luna groaned. "It's already nine right now. How are we supposed to be back so soon?"

"Ten-thirty, then." Luna began to protest. "Not a second later. I mean it."

"Not a problem, Ms. Monroe. I'll have your niece back by ten-thirty."

Lucille smiled at both of us and waved goodbye when we walked out of her property.

"I'm sorry. She's weird sometimes," Luna told as soon as we were tucked inside my BMW i8. "She was more excited for this date than anyone."

Date? The word sounded foreign to my years.

"Are we on a date?" I asked Luna, wanting her to feel a little uneasy in my presence.

Her eyes flashed to mine. "Are we not?"

"We are," I clarified. "But is it a date to you?" The engine revved as I waited for her to answer.

She blushed, making her cheeks appear crimson in color. "I guess, we are on a date."

"Is it your first date?" My palm rested on her nape. I already knew the answer, but I wanted to hear them from her lips.

"Yes," she mumbled in the purest little voice and I smiled in return.

"Then I'll make sure your first date leaves a lasting impression on you."

***