Chapter 18: Beneath The Table At first, I thought it was a mistake, but when he lingered, I realized it was not. Stiffly, I turned my neck, eyeing him, but he kept his focus on the projection. What is he doing? I remained silent, not knowing what to do, tensing when his hand stroked up and down, gently. I cleared my throat, adjusting in my seat, not drawing too much attention but enough to show I was fully aware of what he was doing. But my action only made it worse for me. His hand slipped beneath my skirt. I tried my best to focus, but it felt like I was having a war with myself. His hand was big and cold, feeling like ice had been dropped right on my thigh. I should have stopped him, but I didn’t. I had no idea why I kept my hands rooted at my sides. I had all the power to slap his hand away and tell him to go fuck himself, but here I was yielding to whatever the heck was going on. Ares threw a question at Theo, speaking with authority, calm and collected, while his strokes got bolder. I almost jumped out of my chair when his hand went deeper. I shivered heavily, trying to breathe through my nose and not make a sound. For a moment, I flickered my eyes to Ares’ side profile, but he didn’t acknowledge me. I forced my gaze ahead, trying to concentrate and pretend that he didn’t exist, but it only got far too impossible when his finger played with my lace thigh garter. I gulped when it ran through smoothly, and when he paused for a minute, his hand drove closer to my heat. I gripped the ends of the seat like my life depended on it, eyes flashing to him once again. How could he look so calm? Ares spoke to Theo again, fluent and composed, while his hand neared my—! I closed my legs, trapping his hand there, and my chair shifted, creating a noise. Thank God, the presentation video was now playing. "What are you doing?" I whispered. "We’re in public, as stated in the contract there are no restrictions on physical touch." "O-Okay, but this is inappropriate." "Then why haven’t you taken my hand off?" His cold blue eyes locked on me. My lips came apart as the words to say hung in my throat. His eyes dipped slowly to my nose, lips, and my chest, observing as it rose and fell. He looked fascinated. Tilting his hand, my legs came apart, and I gulped. "Ares." "Shhh..." He veered his eyes back to the video. "Concentrate, I expect a recount after this." What? My body tightened when his fingers grazed my panties. He’s not going to... But I was proved wrong when he pushed the lace aside and caressed my folds. I chewed the inside of my mouth, heart pounding in my chest, knowing he felt how wet I was. Oh no! Ares smiled, too wide, too genuine, which made dimples I didn’t know he had carved into his cheek. I rasped when he freed that area, bringing his fingers to his nose and taking a whiff, eyes closing. I almost tripped off my chair when he rubbed those same fingers on his lips and licked. Oh my—! Our eyes connected, and for the first time since I had known Ares, there was a flicker of desire merging beautifully with those blue hues. But as quickly as it came, it was gone, like I had imagined it. Was anything even real at this point? We were acting right now, right? "So, Mr. King, was I able to convince you?" The smart curtains opened, and the lights flickered bright, snapping me out of it. Ares checked his Rolex, yet to give a reply. It created a tension in the air, and Theo appeared more nervous. I tried giving him a smile to ease him, and he returned it. "I’ll think about it." Damn! "This was five hours of nonstop presentation. I basically combed the entire thing, and more," Theo said, trying not to dive into frustration. "Given my calculations, I anticipated a yes or no." I admired how he could keep his cool amid this. He had every right to lose his shit. Even though I wasn’t that much immersed because of Ares’s advances, I knew without a doubt he poured his all into it. With one look from Ares, Theo leveled his gaze, retreating like prey who knew it was within the jaws of a predator. "Of course, I’ll wait. I hope your final decision favors me, Mr. King." He looked to his people, clearly not happy about how this played out. "Let’s go." They rose to their feet and quietly left the conference room. The silence killed me to no end, and I went ahead to speak. "I-I think you should pick them. They held a good backup." "Are you saying that because your friend has a way with words?" I didn’t miss the shifty undertone in his voice. "Friend? We only just met." "But drinks were considered." Did he hear that? "I was going to decline politely. He’s sweet, but he’s not my type." He pinned me with those cold eyes, and I felt like I had said something wrong. "It’s a compliment, Mr. King." "What’s your type then, Ms. Lane?" "That’s a... personal question." His finger ran through my lace thigh garter, pulling on it hard. When did his hand get there again? "I-I need to go somewhere, can we postpone our date? It’s important." He didn’t even need to ask, one look and I’m already explaining myself. "I need to see my friend, Tori. She has been worried about me." I’m not saying more than that. He released the lace, and I flinched when the band slapped my skin, the sound echoing in the conference room. Ow! I shot him a glare, and he just casually removed his hand. "Reed will escort you. Be back in time for dinner. We still need to convince the public we’re a legit couple." Right... the date was for the public. I pushed to my feet, suddenly frustrated. "Yes, sir!" I bit back, storming out of the room.