Dreams Outgrow Rooms Built From Other Peoples Fears by Niro Mason 35

35 Taunting The Devil 

I’ll teach him not to shun me like that, I’ll show him just what it means to taunt, and be left 

starving. 

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The only thing I needed was the courage to pull this off. So I chanted my mantra to infuse myself with as many as I could. 

I tied up my hair in a high ponytail and adjusted my glasses, satisfied with my look. 

“Perfect!” I stepped out, checking the time on the way to the gym. 

Ares never misses a workout, and my timing was just right. 

I took deep breaths and made a turn, pushing open the glass doors, almost stumbling at the sight of Ares lifting himself against the pull–up bar, faint growls and groans leaking from him. 

12:07 

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35 Taunting The Dovil 

I came here to taunt him, but it seems like he caught me in the chase. 

The heat between my legs pulsed as I eyed every flex of his back muscles, clenching and unclenching with every up and down. His biceps bulged, and the veins covered them. Broad shoulder I wanted to hold and run my hands through as he pinned me against the— 

CATHERINE! 

I released strained air, trying to breathe and not pass out. I need to get my act together; this won’t work if I keep drooling at him like a lost puppy. 

I cleared my throat, and Ares came down from the bar, grabbing his towel to wipe his neck, but paused when he took in my appearance. 

“Good morning,” I said, and his eyes tracked my movement just like I expected. 

I could feel a chill down my spine when I noticed his cold gaze on my ass, and I knew then I had 

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35 Taunting The Devil 

chosen the right outfit. 

I took out the yoga mat and set it just a few paces from him, directly bending and looking over my shoulder. 

“Don’t mind me,” I said with a sly smile. 

In a heartbeat, Ares came to me, but walked past me to the rack to grab a dumbbell. 

I followed his movement until he was back at that 

same spot, sat on the bench, and began lifting, eyes daring me to do my worst. 

I’m just getting started, devil. 

I put on my headset and switched to yoga lessons. 

began my stretch, starting with a mountain pose, backing him and taking my time, releasing slow breaths that mingle with his, letting myself be taken over so that I don’t focus too much on 

him. 

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35 Taunting The Devil 

I proceeded to the forward fold, bending my body forward until my palms touched the mat. I moved 

neck to see him from the corner of my eyes. 

my 

He was looking at me with so much vehemence that I almost lost my balance. But I snappily straightened my spine and started another pose. 

With my back still facing him, I set my foot in place and did a one–legged pose, bending my lower body under my hands, and one leg in the 

air. 

Everything behind me was silent. Gulping, I changed pose to a downward dog, letting my lower body go down and my hip lifted high, head 

between my arms. 

From this angle, I couldn’t see him, not even his shadow. Where did he go? 

I rose, but stilled when I felt my ass brushing against a wall, not a wall, but Ares was suddenly behind me. 

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35 Taunting The Devil 

Straightening my spine, I could feel him; there was no cold, only a heat. 

I waited for him to touch me, but he didn’t, dawdling like a wall with eyes. 

“Is there a problem, Mr. King?” I asked, breaking the hot silence. 

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“You’re my problem.” 

I pressed the back of my head on his solid chest and lifted my chin so that my eyes could connect with his. 

“Was I being bad?” 

His hand wrapped around my throat. He said nothing, just watching me with those eyes that could freeze over Midnight’s river. 

When I felt his hand loosen on my neck, I spun to him. 

“Behave.” 

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35 Taunting The Devil 

“What if I don’t want to?” 

“Then don’t blame me for what happens next.” 

I want to push him. 

I was desperate to see what makes such a calm, calculating man tick and come undone. 

“That’s too bad.” I turned to leave, but his hand grasped my neck and forced me back to him. 

Our noses touched, and my breath came sharper 

than his. Just this moment of closeness felt like my body would give out. I didn’t know when it started, just being around him was like a war between my mind and body, and I’m losing. 

Ares grazed his lips to the corner of my mouth, and they came apart when pleasing sensations clasped me. 

“Gagging you would be ideal.” His grip tightened on my throat as he eyed my mouth in ways he could use it. “Maybe then that will keep your 

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35 Taunting The Devil 

mouth in check.” 

This shouldn’t turn me on, but it did more than I could ever imagine, and I lost this game when I leaned into his touch. 

“You would like that, wouldn’t you?” He taunts, drawing me closer until there isn’t an atom of space between us. 

I chewed the inside of my mouth, unwilling to reply. Ares smiled, and goosebumps prickled my skin 

“Say it.” He pressed his lips against mine, but he still didn’t kiss me. 

Having had enough of this push and pull, I went on my tiptoes and our mouths finally united in a savory lock. I moaned at the first taste of salt from his sweat. 

Suddenly he pulled my head back with my ponytail, and I hissed, eyeing him with both 

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35 Taunting The Devil 

hunger and a glare. 

“Our chemistry is on another level now. The public will be pleased.” 

W–What? 

Ares released me, grinning. 

Was this all some act? His attraction to me? 

He pulled the strands of my hair behind my ear and said coolly. “We really work, Ms. Lane.” 

I rasped, stepping away from his touch, suddenly cold and bitter. 

Had I been wrong all along?