Bliss (6 page)

And she most certainly didn’t want that
combination in any man in her life, let alone one with whom she was forced to stay in close proximity until she found a way to escape. And escape she would. If there was thing Kassandra was good at it was strategizing.

Saad’s hand moved to her arm to
help propel her towards the large staircase.

“Sa
ad, she’s with me,” said Darius, yanking Kassandra’s arm out of Saad’s hold.

Well at least he’s no longer with the
little beauty that had been dangling at his side.
If she wasn’t so happy he had ditched the bitch she would have karate chopped him when his next words sank in.

“She’s mine, Saad. Don’t forget that.”

No one within the room could mistake
that
authoritative voice. A part within Kassandra was preening with his possessiveness, but another equally loud part within her was screaming—
like hell, buddy!

However, Darius liked to play dirty. The minute
he pulled her body in tight to his, heat radiated like an arrow straight to her core. Yes, Kassandra thought, she was going to add humming to her list of hates, because boy did she hate how much he made her body hum for more... much more of him.

Leaning in even closer to her sensitive ear he whispered, “Don’t fight me on this one, or you’ll be sorry.”

Before she could wonder what he meant by
that
, he claimed her open mouth with a kiss that left nothing to the imagination as he pulled her body closer, cupping her ass with his large hands to mold her perfectly to his very aroused state.

Applause was the last thing she’d been expecting, but within the last few hours she’d given up expecting normalcy.

“As you say, Prince,” said Saad.

Kassandra knew sarcasm when she heard it
—after all it was her own favorite way of speaking, but why did Darius choose to ignore it? The possibilities sent shivers up her spine.

Or maybe
it was because his action, that one kiss, stole all her rational thought. She’d liked it way too much. Kassandra resisted the urge to scream “he’s mine,” to the exotic beauty who was sauntering away with Saad, not looking one bit pleased with the situation.

“We meet at half-tide,” said Saad
as he left the room, “And in case you need more, Fiona is at your disposable.”

The double-entrée did not go unnoticed by Darius
. He chuckled and drew her even tighter against him.

“You are such a brute. A big
, boorish he-man.” She pushed at him madly, trying to force him to move even a fraction of an inch.

“I know,” he said, winking at her with one of those very male I
-know-you-like-it looks. She most definitely was going to add that look and wink to her hate list.

“What the hell was that for?” she asked.

Kassandra attempted to move
away from him, but not before she heard him saying, “Just setting the rules.”

“Rules! What rules? And where are you going?” she asked, curious to note
he knew his way around the spacious mansion. “Have you been here before?”

“No. Never. But
I just so happen to know where our room is,” he replied, striding up the long black marble stairs and taking a left on the top landing.

Hating
that she had to jog to keep up with him, she replied sarcastically, “I just bet you do.”

Holding a large door open for her
, he ushered her in. “Yes, sweetlips, here is our room. In you go.”

“
Our
room?” Kassandra stepped in and was once again overcome by the breathtaking splendor. A half second later, she heard a loud click. She couldn’t believe it.
That bastard. He actually locked me in. Boy is he going to pay for that.

It had taken a lot of telepathic talking to get Saad to agree to give him the top floor. Darius had insisted Kassandra liked heights, even though he knew Saad didn’t believe a word of it. It also went against all he had been taught. It was traditionally the Titan way to offer a guest the best accommodations, and being on the first floor would have made a quick exit easier if a quick exit became necessary.

As he made his way to Saad’s office on the first floor he couldn’t help
but be annoyed. What right did Saad have reading Kassandra’s mind? He had been taught better manners.

While in battle reading the opponents mind was
accepted—expected, even—but never once in all his years had he invaded another being’s consciousness without first obtaining his or her consent. The fact Saad had done it without asking and the fact he had actually seen inside Kassandra’s mind and shared something intimate with her when Darius himself had not caused the length of his strides to increase.

But h
e knew anger was not his ally, so he took a calming breathe as he reached Saad’s office.

Plus, when he was really angry
, his eyesight got even worse and the searing brand of the sea dragon burned his skin. Not that he dared complain. The sea dragon had done more for him than he could have ever asked. Without the sea dragon’s special gift he’d have been the first blind Titan in history. That was one notoriety he’d rather be dead than have recorded.

Using his telepathic link, Darius
let Saad know he was coming in. Funny how his telepathic link worked with Saad but he still couldn’t reach his brother or any one from his
mardom
. Knowing the plague was running rampant in his kingdom made him worry. He felt like time was playing a fast-forward game with him and he was the one always trying to stay caught up.

When the door opened
, he knew it was time to put on his game face.

“Done
already with your human? I had heard they couldn’t compete with one of ours, but she looked so pretty,” said Saad, sitting regally in a large brown, leather chair behind a long marble table.

“Look, Saad,
first of all, forget about her. Second, cut the prince act, and third, what’s with you?”

In a blink Saad was inches from Darius’ face.

“You are what’s with me, Prince. Where have you been for the last ten years while your
mardom
has suffered? Where have you been that now, only now, you show up? I promised my father I would help you, but I don’t like it. By Hades, I don’t like any of you. Because of you, because of that stupid plague out there destroying our people, I can’t go home.”

Ahh
, the crux of the thing.
Darius fought to rein in his temper. “Where I have been isn’t your concern, but trust me when I tell you I didn’t abandon my people of my own free will.”

Darius
slammed the sacred book down in one fluid motion, causing the table to shake. “I’m here now, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to save my
mardom
. You got a problem with that.” It wasn’t a question. In spite of his tight control, Darius felt the taut leash of his temper fray.

“You found the ancient Text of Ashimori, Prince.” Awe replaced anger
in Saad’s voice, and for once Darius liked it. Saad reached out to touch the sacred book.

“Not so fast, Saad. The book has to stay with me. I’m here because I need to get to the Court of Cabiri,” said Darius, securing the book back in his arms. There was something unsettling about Saad’s reaction to the ancient text
.

Saad sat back down. “You know the Court is at Miradith.”

“Yes.”

“Do you plan on taking the human with you?” Bright blue
eyes stared at him.

Not if I can help it.
Darius maintained his shields so Saad couldn’t read his mind. “Yes,” he replied, running a hand through his hair.

“She will not make it.”

“Oh yes she will.”

“No, she will not. No humans are allowed on Miradith
, and well you know that. Why not leave her here with me while you meet with the Court? Or don’t you trust me, Prince?” asked Saad.

Trust? Hell, about as much as I’d trust Aphrodite to march in h
ere and say she no longer wants me as her Titan sex slave. Yeah, I’m big in the trust department.
Darius narrowed his eyes in disgust.

“You leave the woman to me. I’m assuming I was sent here by your father so that you could help,” said Darius.

“Fine. I can provide you with a boat and the coordinates to Miradith. But, Prince, as you know, I can’t guarantee she’s still there,” replied Saad, a little too sweetly for Darius’ liking.

“When?” asked Darius, thinking he’d like nothing better than to leave right away.

“Tomorrow morning,” replied Saad leaning back into the leather chair.

Darius didn’t
want to stay under this Titan’s roof for one night. Let alone a night with Kassandra, who would be madder than a crazed octopus about now. “Don’t you have even one boat that we could use tonight?”

“The only boat I have is currently getting its motor fixed.
” Saad smirked at him. “I sense your disbelief. You have my permission to go to the wharf and check with my mechanic if that would make you feel better. Or, Prince, you may read my mind.”

Standing at his full height
, Darius glared daggers at Saad and was pleased to see the unspoken insult did not go unnoticed by him. “Fine. In the morning,” he said, turning to leave. “Oh, one more thing, Saad. Stop reading her mind. Now,” he said knowing his telepathic brush past Saad’s barriers would give his host one hell of a headache. That almost caused him to grin.

From now on Darius would have to keep Kassandra’s thoughts shielded as well as his own.
The thought of Saad reading her mind caused the beast within him to growl in a low and menacing voice. He didn’t like that either.

Right now
, there wasn’t a thing he liked. Okay, maybe a little thing, he mused, looking forward to confronting the feisty woman upstairs.

“I’m back,” he said unlocking the door.

Nothing. No pillows thrown in his face. No ugly words screamed at him. Only silence.

Just where was she?
Darius moved fully into the spacious bedroom. Then he heard it. Soft moans of pleasure that caused his blood to boil.

“Ahh, yes, that’s right.
God that feels sooo good,” drawled Kassandra, her voice a low husky rumble cascading through all of his senses, making him feel as if he was swimming for the first time in a dark kelp forest.

Darius knew his mouth was hanging open
. If he’d been a sea lion, the beast within him would have been charging and barking its head off. The scene before him caused him to see red. He gasped as the brand on his skin burned bright and his eyesight turned.

His vision
shifted from that of a Titan to that of a sea dragon. He blinked as his infrared eyesight caused him to see hues of colors streaming around him. The bedroom was blue but the heat coming off the two people in front of him was purple with streaking hues of orange.

Shaking his head, he fought to clear the angry haze. His head ached with the supreme effort
, but he managed to calm down enough to focus. The burning pain from the brand dissipated, and his sight turned back to its fuzzy focus.

By the
Gods, how he hated that his body hadn’t healed properly from the poisonous black tar that had been absorbed by his cells when Princess Asta, a former lover of his, and co-ruler of the south seas, had tried to overtake his kingdom. He knew he should be thankful to be alive, but a part of him resented the help he’d received from the infamous Ryuseikan. Why the mighty she dragon had sought him out to heal his body remained a mystery to him. When he had tried to question the sea dragon, she simply turned and slunk away before she could be detected in the healing waters.

Part of Darius knew she had done it to thank him for healing her infertility cris
is. Using his healing powers, he had removed the blockage within her tubes allowing her to lay her eggs. Since a male Ryuseikan hadn’t been spotted in over five hundred years, he highly doubted she’d be able to find a mate to help her fertilize those eggs. In truth he’d always felt as if he had cheated her.

A moan from Kassandra caused his heart t
o race and his thoughts to erotically scatter to what he’d really like to be doing with her.

In front of him
, lying naked with every glorious speck of her body on display, was the woman who had been giving him a raging hard-on for the past twelve hours. She was on her back as a
freshling
, who had to be one of Saad’s many servants, administered a scented oil all over her body.

An oil he was all too familiar with. The
a’lamash
was an ancient aphrodisiac made from the seaweed that grew deep within cold the Atlantic Ocean. His nostrils flared as he caught the sweet scent of the oil and watched its effects on Kassandra. He could smell her warm, salty essence as it started to wet her opening, arousing all of her sensitive erogenous zones. Her arousal beckoned to him like a warm tide. A shiver ran through his body while his rock hard erection throbbed even more.

What by Hades is she doing?
When the
freshling
went to massage the oil all over her back, from the small dip of her backside, to her round plumb ass to the top of her neck, the Titan within him lashed out, claiming what was his.

“Get out,” he barked, moving so fast across the room
that the young Titan didn’t stand a chance. In one fluid movement, he dangled the servant by his arm while dragging him out the door. Darius knew by the crunching sound he’d broken the
freshling’s
wrist but Saad’s servant could count himself lucky he hadn’t been smashed to smithereens.

Shutting the door he locked it again and then turned his attention to Kassandra.

* * * * *

“What are you doing?” she asked, disoriented as she attempted to grab the discarded sheet lying on the floor.

Kassandra’s eyes widened. He moved toward her like a wild beast. A twinge of fear spiraled through her entire body. There was something fierce and untamed about him as he advanced. She tried again to grab the sheet but before her fingers could make contact with it, he yanked it out of her grasp.

“You won’t be needing that,” he growled, pouring some of the sweet scented oil from the vial into the palms of his hand.

She tensed. Her body ready to fight and flee. When his fingers gently took her foot in his hand she knew she was going to pay for taunting him.

He
was treating her like a child and that made her even angrier. Barely speaking to her on the long drive, avoiding answering her questions like the plague. Ignorance was not bliss.

The last straw was being locked in a room. She had
had to fight not to give into a full-fledged tantrum and refrain from stomping her feet. She was an educated woman caught up in a weird situation. That was it, she told herself.

So, when help came knocking at her door, she didn’t hesitate to accept the gift. She
’d simply lied, claiming she’d accidentally locked herself in the bedroom. She could hardly believe it when the other person had immediately opened the door, and she was astonished to find another equally handsome person at that. Didn’t Saad employee at least one ugly human being?

He had introduced himself as
a member of Saad’s staff. His name had long ago left her memory. But she remembered he had long, black hair that flowed down his back, and while he wasn’t nearly as tall as Darius he was still imposing. Blue eyes framed an intense face. His offer of a massage for her neck cramp was her ticket. On a whim, she had vowed to get her revenge on Darius. His, was she? She’d show him.

But, somewhere in the scheme of her plan something had gone wrong.
The scented oil seemed to dull her brain functions. Besides, she hadn’t quite expected Darius to become this enraged, and instead of worrying about her safety, all she could think about was how amazing his body would feel deep within her. And that wasn’t good. Not good at all. Kassandra closed her eyes in pleasure as his hand moved up from her foot to her thigh.

The gentle caress on the inside of her leg caused her to instinctively move her legs apart.
She gritted her teeth at his soft chuckle.

“Now, now, sweetlips. A tad impatient
, aren’t we?” he said, just before his tongue gave a long, leisurely lick to the inside of her calf. It was so erotic, the rough feel of his tongue on her sensitive skin, that she bit the inside of her mouth so as not to give into the moan struggling to escape. The tangy, bitter taste of her own blood brought a semblance of rational thought back to her.

“Stop that. I need to get up,” she snapped, attempting to push him away. Since that accomplished nothing, except to cause him to chuckle more, she got even madder.

“I said stop that,” she said, attempting to kick him with her dangling foot.