Ares' Temptation Read Free

person he touched? Then he wouldn’t touch anyone, not until he could find some manner of ridding himself of this evil. All he needed to do was travel back to Mount Olympus and find someone who could break the curse. Then he could avoid the whole part about falling in love. He had no time for such foolery.
    Ares turned to leave when a sweet voice behind him said, “There you are. They’re serving the main course. Pan and Syrinx came looking for you at our table.”
    He turned back toward the foyer. The mortal known as Kaye strode from the hallway toward the remnants of the vase. “What the hell happened here?”
    In an instant, a bump formed in the Persian rug, and Kaye stumbled. Flailing her arms, she tumbled forward. With the five-inch heels she was wearing, she could break her neck or land on a sharp piece of vase, cutting her throat open. Mortals were so fragile.
    Ares dove forward and caught her, inhaling the scent of wild strawberries as he cradled her head in the crook of his arm. Her skin felt soft and sweet against his. She gazed up at him, and their eyes locked. Electricity sizzled between them, and Ares’ knees weakened. He struggled to hold her up. Did her effect on him make him weak?
    No, it was worse than that. He was done for.
    His powers were gone.

Chapter Two
    All-Star Catch
    “Um…thanks.” Kaye pulled herself from Ares’ arms. Saving her from smacking her head on the floor was the last thing she had thought this arrogant macho god would do. Apparently, from the stunned look on his ruggedly handsome face, it was the last thing he thought he’d do as well.
    She smoothed over the front of her dress. One of her heels had flung across the room and hit the wall. Stupid, clumsy me. Why she’d chosen five-inch heels for this occasion was beyond her. But she’d seen them in the display in Macy’s, glittering like Dorothy’s ruby slippers, and when she’d tried them on, they made her tall as a goddess herself. She couldn’t resist. If only she’d known they would ultimately strip all her confidence away in a mortifying plunge. Embarrassment ate its way up her neck as she scurried over, grabbed the shoe, and slipped it on.
    Ares picked up a piece of the vase. A slender woman’s leg kicked across the front, detached from its owner. “It is the vile witch’s doing.”
    Still suffering from the shock of falling, along with the amazing feeling of being held by a gorgeous god, Kaye couldn’t make sense of his words. “What?”
    “Hekate. She raised the carpet and forced you to fall.”
    “You mean old Crowfeathers?”
    He lifted an eyebrow at the name, then nodded.
    Her veins turned to ice just thinking about how the woman had stared at Ares with such loathing and vengeance. “How do you know?”
    “She was here before you came in. I thought she’d rid me of her vile presence. But I saw the carpet bunch up of its own accord.”
    Kaye hugged her stomach. “Why? What did I ever do to her?”
    Ares glanced away as if mentioning the witch had been a mistake. “It is not your concern.”
    Anger ripped through her. “Of course it’s my concern. What if she comes back?”
    “She will not return this eve.”
    Kaye narrowed her eyes. There was a bigger picture here. He was hiding something. “How do you know?”
    He sighed as if giving in. Something about him had changed. He wasn’t as confident, and his breastplate didn’t gleam quite as brightly as before. His broad shoulders slumped slightly within the confines of the armor. “She meant you no harm. I was her intended target.”
    The witch wanted him to trip on the floor? Really? That would do little more than annoy him. By the looks of Crowfeather’s stare and given that Ares had beheaded her brother, she was out to do much worse. Kaye scratched her chin. Something smelled fishy, and it wasn’t the main course.
    “Good thing I was the one who fell, then.” She laughed, seeing if he’d take the bait. He looked so sullen, she had the urge