Ares by Edlyn Reynolds Page A

wandering over the lands and we can enjoy ourselves as much as we want. We will always have a place to call home, no matter where we are, right?”
    “Absolutely,” he smiled. “And no need for a passport ever again. When traveling 'Greek Gods Air' you get where you need to go with a minimum of fuss.” He kissed her once more before sitting her upright again. “Let’s eat before everything gets chilled or, in some cases, warm and icky.”
    “Sounds good.” She reached for the first plate of cheeses, inhaling the scents of the various slices and felt her belly grumble. “These smell so good. I hope the goat is good too or else you are going to be popping me some KFC in,” she teased.
    “It’s good,” he said rolling his eyes at her. He moved her onto the blanket and began to pull everything out of the bags. He dug out the wine and pulled the cork with a flick of his wrist. Another flick of his wrist brought two wine glasses into his hand and he poured. “Here you are,” he passed her one as he set the bottle to the side.
    “You are good,” Ava said with delighted glee. “I happen to adore that about you. You’re smooth and you make me smile. Those are both very good things in my humble opinion,” she said happily. “For now though, we should toast. What do you want to toast to Ares?”
    He frowned and chewed on his lip for a moment before looking to her. Smiling, he shrugged, “It has been said the universe works in mysterious ways. I can truly attest to this. If it didn’t, I may not have been where I was when I ran into you. To the universe and all the machinations behind the scenes that put us where we are meant to be, and to us. I am truly blessed to have met you, Ava Von Maur,” he said softly.
    That had Ava smiling. She couldn’t agree more. She felt the exact same way. “I agree fully and completely. If not for how the universe worked we may never have met one another. I am very, very thankful to have met you,” she said softly. “So whatever it is that led you into my path and me into yours, I am very happy.” She tapped her glass to his and simply smiled happily.
    “Cheers,” he tipped his glass slightly. Lifting it, he took a slow drink and watched her over the rim. Setting his glass aside, he flicked his wrist again and got plates, napkins, and cutlery. “Alright, time to eat.” Handing over a plate and utensils, Ares pulled off lids and spread everything out so they could both reach the dishes.
    She looked at the food in question after taking a sip of her wine and nodded, “It looks utterly delicious. I really hope it tastes just as good.” She was worried the goat wouldn’t be nearly as good as what he was making it out to be. She was very hopeful that it was though.
    He rolled his eyes at her and reached for the container of goat. He stuck in his fork and then held it out to her, a bite-sized piece on the tines. “Try it, and if you hate it, I will happily eat it all myself. This is really good, it will melt in your mouth and while it’s spicy, it won’t take your head off. I got some rice and sauce to go with it.”
    She looked at the fork he held out and opened her mouth, “Come on,” she said with a grin. “Give me a bite if you would please.” She grinned happily as she asked for the bite from him. “From you though, only you, please.”
    “You’d better not be eating from any other man’s fork.” He grinned and moved the morsel into her mouth. “Bite,” he ordered. Ares pulled back and then sat watching her as she slowly chewed. “Well, is it as good as I said it was?”
    She took her time and then finally licked her lips. “Very good,” she watched him and licked her lips again. “That’s very good. Don’t worry, yours is the only fork I will eat off. You are the one that I want. No one else but you.” She leaned in closer to him and touched her hands to his. “Perfect. Thank you for suggesting this instead of lamb.”
    “You are most welcome,” he