Persuasion

Ares POV

The moment Samantha entered my office, my breath caught in my chest. She is even more stunning than the last time I saw her up close. She has a faint floral scent. And even with that look of absolute loathing, she is the most gorgeous creature alive.

Not that I don't deserve that look from her. It's to be expected. But I would kill for her to just smile at me once. The last time she smiled at me was when she was at her 10th birthday party and shared a piece of her cake with me.

It was then I knew I was in deep trouble. I didn't want to hurt her and push her away the way I did... But I knew if I touched her... let's just say I didn't have a death wish, and Ben isn't a small guy.

"Samantha... I... It's been a long time," I mumble.

It had been years since I'd seen her face to face. She left me here. And I know she did it on purpose. She moved as far as she could... Well, not exactly as far as she could. That would probably be the far reaches of Alaska. She only moved to New Jersey. But it still wasn't New York where she belonged.

It's not like I was stalking her or anything... Okay, so I was stalking her. I needed to make sure no man touched what belonged to me. I watched every male who came close to her, and made sure to send them away with threats. I had to do it in high school too. Sam is hot! NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO TOUCH HER BUT ME!

I watched her over the years while she was in school. She's brilliant! And at the moment completely desperate, which is my only hope for getting her to see reason. She needs me whether or not she wants to admit it. I could save her. But knowing her, she'd just throw it in my face. Not that I would blame her... she just doesn't know the whole truth about... things.

"Why am I here, Ares? You hate me!" she growls with so much pain, I know she believes it. The thought makes me sick. I never wanted her to think I hated her! I was just trying to keep her away from me.

I'm gonna panic. This is not the way I wanted to start this off. I'm gonna have to come clean... Well, a little bit. I can't tell her everything... Not yet. I need her to trust me first.

"Samantha, I never hated you. Look, I'm sorry I was an ass in high school. Okay, I've grown up, and I would really like you to work for me," I manage a partial truth.

I don't think I will ever be able to manage the whole truth. What would she do if I ever told her how I really felt about her? Would she understand that it was for the best that I was pushing her away? Or would she just call me a bastard and yell at me for all the unnecessary pain I caused her?

But that isn't the point of this meeting. She'll probably do that by the end of the morning anyway. I know what her financial situation is... Like I said, I've been stalking her and... well, I have my ways of not getting caught. I knew she was coming home even before her own family knew.

If Ben hadn't been in here, I would've pulled her into my arms and kissed her... even knowing she would try to push me away. I want know of those lush lips are as soft as they look. I want to taste the inside of her mouth and see it it's as hot as her temper. I want to feel her pressed against me and see if I can rock her world like she does mine.

I watch her as she sits down in that little black dress she thinks is 'office attire' and she has no idea how much it turns me on. It's not even revealing! It comes down to her knees and the sleeves go 3/4 length... Even most of her chest is covered... Which only leads my mind to think about her soft mounds underneath.

I push the thoughts aside... for now. I'll get to that later. I'll make her mine... But first I need to persuade her to give me a chance... or at least work with me.