Ares Patience

6: Hesitation

The flight from Brazil to America is eight, almost nine hours long. The first two hours are spent with me and Boo enjoying the spray of hot water on our skin after years of consistently cold showers. I can't help but giggle when she squeals with excitement, and stands under the shower head to soak her entire head. She likes it and because the water back in Brazil usually staggered between temperatures of freezing cold and lukewarm, Boo finally gets a real taste of heaven.

"It feels good doesn't it?" I ask my daughter, cupping my hands together to catch the water in my palms. I toss it back in my face, hiding my grimace when the gash above my brow begins to sting. "Make sure you clean behind your ears."

Boo nods her head, smiling so hard her eyes are pinched shut adorably. She's also free of her binky so I can see her snaggletooth grin and deep dimples. "I love hot showers too." She speaks, and yet it sounds like something close to a faint whisper.

I smile, because it's nice to hear her voice every so often.

When our shower is over, I pull her hair up into a ponytail and check my stitches. Luckily they didn't tear, instead the wound is tender while purple surrounds the yellowish bruise that has formed around the string. With extra care and some antibiotics I determined that the cut would heal finely.

Ares, being a decent human being allowed for me to put Boo down to sleep in the cabin in the far back of his private jet. I wanted to change into some pajamas and lie down with her until the flight was over but I quickly determined that business came first. If me and Ares wanted to take down Marcel, we needed a well thought out plan to lure him from the shadows.

After slipping into a gray pullover and some tights I pad out of the cabin and plant my ass in a cream colored leather chair. It's uncomfortable and rather stiff for my liking but I make do with it.

Across from me Ares remains stagnant in the same clothes from hours ago. He doesn't bother to glance up at me, instead he types away on his phone, handling what I assume is business. I watch him for a moment taking his handsome features.

I couldn't deny the fact that the man before me was unlike anyone I had ever seen. Sea foam, ocean blue eyes, dirty blonde hair and and a low cut beard that frames the sharp edges of his annoyingly perfect face. His teeth are naturally bright white and his lips are plush and pink with a twinge of brown around the edges.

In the bar I figured him to be a clean cut, immaculate man without a wrinkle in sight and now he looks brutish and massive in his combat gear.

My eyes linger on his lips for a moment and for some reason not finding a flaw on his face annoys me. That and the fact that he wanted my help but has been nothing more than a pain in my ass for the last four hours doesn't help.

In just a little under four hours I had learned quickly that I ended up signing a deal with the devil. A smart ass, know it all, arrogant devil.

Finally those blue ceruleans slowly move from his phone and up to me. His eyes never leave mine and I can't help but notice that displeased look that takes over the planes of his naturally hardened features. I give him the same look back, crossing my arms over my chest and curl my legs under my bottom to get comfortable. If Ares planned to be a dick to me for the entirety of this delegation I would be more than happy to give him the same energy back.

"Why are you staring?" He questions, finally taking in my pullover and tights. He sounds annoyed that I'm even in his presence, probably suspecting me to remain in the cabin with my daughter.

"I want my ring back." I tell him with an impatience in my voice. He took it off my finger and I cannot for the life of me determine when he did it. Maybe it was when he slammed me on my back or maybe it was when our knives were clashing with one another. Still, I couldn't seem to get the details to add up. I probably had a concussion after the fight with Keith, light, but just enough to scramble tiny bits of my memory temporarily. I should have notice it's disappearance but the only thoughts I've had on my mind between packing, the drive and boarding his jet was my daughters safety.