Bliss (7 page)

Before she could react
, he flipped her body over onto her back, so that her legs were left dangling down the sides of the massage table. Her front and everything else was dangerously exposed. Sunlight streamed in through the large wall-to-wall windows, and she knew her face was flaming red with embarrassment.

She felt raw, vulnerable and wanton. Most of all, she was afraid of what she’d unleashed by pushing Darius. In the last twelve hours while she
hadn’t gleened very much information from him, one thing had stood out – he was a man you didn’t mess with. And mess with him she had.

“Nice and wet. That’s how I like you,” he said.

His words caused her heart to accelerate as his large body moved to stand between her legs. She tried clamping her legs shut but his hand cupped her womanhood so hard she knew it was futile.

“Now, now. None of that. I’m going to let you play with a man for a change since you seem so interested,” he said, backing away
. She heard movement and turned her head to the side to watch him shuck off his t-shirt.

Kassandra ached to close her eyes. But then she heard him unzip his pants, and she gulped.

“Open your eyes, Kassandra. Take a good long look, sweetlips. I dare you?”

“Look Darius it’s not like you think...that guy was just...”

“I know what that guy was just thinking, and trust me, he won’t ever think it about you again,” he said, slipping his jeans down low so they rested on his hips. Dark, curly hair peeked out of the top as she wetted her lips in anticipation.

“That’s right, sweetlips. You want to see it,” he said,
his voice a husky whisper of its former self.

Acting
braver than she felt, she rose to his challenge. “You know I’ve seen lots of guys before you.”

“I just bet you have,” he replied, giving her another smoldering look as if he knew she was lying and that she wanted so very much to see all of him.

Kassandra willed herself to not look at the sheet lying on the floor, a sheet she desperately wished was covering her up. Instead, she tried hard not to gape as the man stepped out of his jeans. That was it. No underwear, no socks, nothing else to look at except…all of him. She had seen him before when he’d come out of the shower, but nothing like this. He was fully aroused and massive. A long, hard thick penis jutted at full attention just for her and her eyes couldn’t take in enough of him.

“I’m going to make you beg again and again because...” he said, leaning in closer so that the hot, tantalizing feel of his rock hard erection now rested between her legs as she tried to shuffle further back up the table, “I know you want it,” he said, shamelessly taking his cock in his hand to rub it against her wet opening.

His skin was the color of bronze everywhere and his erection was most definitely something to be proud of. It was sleek, huge and thick, and she wanted more than anything to clamp her legs around his waist, and let him continue to rub her sensitized nub over and over again. It felt so damned good.

Then she shook her head. This was something she’d dreamt about in the dark as her own fingers tried hard to fulfill her sexual fantasy. Now, however, it seemed that fantasy was about to be fulfilled and she knew her fingers were nothing compared to the massive action
-packed rocket that was fueling her own imagination.

“That’s it, sweetlips. Give in
to your womanly passion. Let me make you come. Let me make you scream.” No one had ever spoken to Kassandra like he did before. Erotically commanding. She squirmed on the table. He leaned in closer, nudging her legs further apart, and pulled her bottom down closer to the edge of the table so that they were more perfectly aligned.

“Darius I...”

“Shh. Let it happen.” Again, his breath was hot and heavy just inches from her lips.

Why isn’t he kissing me?
She tried to sit up so that her head was closer to his, willing his lips to connect with hers.

He understood immediately.
“Ahh, darling, if I kiss you, I’ll fuck you like I want, rough and wild, and I can’t do that to you. So I’m giving you a bit of heaven instead.”

“Oh,” was all Kassandra could think to say.
Or rather squeak. Just his confident voice almost made her come. He grinned down at her like he knew exactly what she’d been thinking and it all had to do with wondering what a good rough fuck would feel like.

“Stop that,” said Darius.

“Stop what?” asked Kassandra.

“Looking at me like you’d like me to take you my way and sweetlips
, I’m no saint.”

“No, that’s right. You’re a Greek
god.”

Darius chuckled. “Kas, I’m not Greek and thankfully not a
god.”

Kassandra had no comeback because he moved his finger to her
drenched pussy and started to explore her as if he had all the time in the world. This was so beyond what she’d experience with her ex-boyfriend it made her smile.

“You
’re beautiful when you smile, and I know you’re going to glow when I make you come.”

If he kept speaking to her like that
, she’d come in ten seconds.

When Darius brought his cock back to her pussy, she
moaned from the sheer delight of how it felt. Kassandra urged him closer, wanting his cock deep inside of her. Instead, he rose up on his arms and stared at her.

“What are you doing?”
she asked.

“Playing with you.”

His rumbling voice and heated look caused her insides to quiver. She tried hard to think of a smart comeback but Darius choose that moment to slide two fingers deep into her wet opening. She moaned with pleasure as he strummed her. The soundless tune he played soon had her careening toward a cliff she longed to fly over. Her body arched off the bed. And, then as quickly as their passion escalated, he stilled, but the grin on his face told her he wasn’t done teasing. He pulled out his fingers leaving her body feeling bereft, but then he leaned down and kissed her lips. Only when he was done with her lips did he lick his fingers that glistened with her dew.

“You taste divine, but I need more,” he said, staring
into her eyes. It was such a dominant look. Knowing her essence was on his fingers and that he’d just tasted her left her feeling wanton.

He skimmed down her body, trailing kisses that left her edgy. Her legs shook with need.
She tried to control her body, but it did no good. Her senses were on fire. Never had Tom done anything like this to her. Even though she had known oral sex could be pleasurable, something all of her girlfriends had told her over and over again, the idea of it had simply been that – an idea. Now, it was reality. And it was pulsing hot. So much so she throbbed. Her body hummed in sweet anticipation of something just beyond her grasp.

He pushed her legs apart
, and they felt like jelly.

“I’m going to taste all of you, sweetlips
, and make you scream my name.”

Oh, she’d scream anything if he just let her fall over that precept.

“Your pussy is so swollen and wet I could make you come just by tapping this,” he said, giving her pulsing clit a light tap.

“Oh my
god,”

“No
gods, just me, and I’m just starting. This is payback time.”

“Payback,” she said through pants as he tweaked her clit again and again.

“Oh, yeah, I’ve been hard since the first time I saw you and trust me, that hasn’t been fun.”

She smiled.

“Well if you can smile you can take this.” Darius sank his mouth fully onto her pussy and licked her for all she was worth.

“
That’s it, sweetlips, let it happen,” he said, gently nipping at her sensitized nub.

The pain and pleasure of it caused her to groan and moan at once. Then he slid his tongue deep within her opening and made circular sweep
s so deep inside of her, she all but screamed.

“Open your eyes, Kassandra. Watch what I am doing to you. Watch as I make you come,” he demanded.

The sight that she took in caused her body to squirm. It was the most erotic thing that had ever happened to her. In broad daylight, she was naked and her Greek warrior had his head between her legs working her cunt with his tongue.

“You like?” he asked, g
racing her with a sly, I-know-you-like look, that she wished at that moment to hate, but for the life of her she couldn’t. Then, with another one of his infamous winks, he slid not one but two of his fingers back into her drenched opening as his mouth moved to suck on her nub. She arched her back and actually felt her legs open wider.

“That’s it. Spread your legs wide
r for me, Kassandra. I want to look at all of you, especially that wet pussy. Nothing turns me on more than knowing you want me.”

His words almost sent her over the edge. He was sinfully sexy and
he knew just which buttons to push.

She complied, hating herself for the sheer pleasure of what he was doing to her body.

Then she heard him curse and within seconds she felt him still, stiffen and run from her like there was no tomorrow.

What did I do?
Fighting the tears that instantly threatened to swamp her, she forced her body to cool and her breathing to return to normal as she moved off the massage table.

Kassandra wanted nothing more at that moment than to kill Darius. Then she’d beat her own traitorous body. No a
mount of self-inflicted bruises would make her feel better. In fact, the thought only made her feel worse. Deep down, she hated admitting she had really liked what he’d been doing to her and that she wanted more. And, like a lesson learned the hard way, she knew her heart couldn’t stand to want Darius. Men, as she knew from experience, only thought about themselves. Next time she’d make sure things were different. There would be no more of what her body craved for. No more silly, frivolous dreams. No, the only thing she had to concern herself about was how on earth she was going to escape Darius’ clutches without losing her heart.

Darius only had a minute before the words flashed bright inside his head.

Help me, Uncle.

The haunting sound
of his nephew floored him into action.

He only spared a moment to look at Kassandra. While the beast within him was urging him to give into his
Titan nature and claim her, he knew he couldn’t. Seeing pleasure ripple across her face had been rewarding enough in itself he tried to tell himself. Leaving her like that, aching and teetering on the blink of climaxing was cruel, but it couldn’t be helped. Family had to come first. There was no way he could ignore the summons.

“Darius, another
Titan comes near,” said Saad, already on the beach and getting ready to walk into the welcoming surf.

“Stay here
, Saad, I’ll handle this.”

Saad’s hand on
his arm stilled him. “You can’t. There are sharks in the harbor.”

“I’m not afraid of sharks. I suggest you get your hand off my arm bef
ore I permanently remove it.” He attempted to move forward but Saad’s grip only tightened.

“These aren’t ordinary sharks, Prince. They have been enhanced.”

The last word was said so softly that at first Darius thought he might have misheard him. But the look in Saad’s eyes told him that was not the case. “You and I are going to have a long chat when I get back,” he said, the threat clear in his voice. “For now, I’m going in after him.”

Saad moved as fast as any
Titan could to block Darius’ path, but with years of warrior training inherent in his genes, Darius side-stepped him easily.

“You won’t last five seconds. Can he shift?”

“No...I don’t know. Now get out of my way.” He pushed Saad and watched with relish as his host fell backwards into the cold surf.

Just as Darius’ feet touched the water pain sliced through him.
By Zeus, I can’t go to him. I’m still bound to Kassandra and that blasted book. What by Tethys am I going to do?

Panic caus
ed him to bellow in rage. He had never felt so useless in his entire life. He knew, Reece, his nephew needed him, but he was incapable of helping. He wanted more than anything to kill Rylan for getting him into this situation.

Before he could ponder his next course of action, his eyes caught the slight change in the water’s surface. In the n
ext instant Reece burst forth from the surf looking dazed. He’d raptured into his human form and his skin looked to be molting.

Reece took a stumbling step forward on unfamiliar legs and fell into the swell of the surf which propelled him forward. He
croaked out only one word, and it was enough to force Darius to ignore the burning pain as he stepped out of the space that bound him to the woman and the book.

“Uncle.”

“I’m here, Reece. Everything will be okay. I promise you.” He reached the young Titan before Reece collapsed face first into the sea.

Cradling his nephew in his arms, Darius made his way back to Saad’s house. He knew Saad was mumbling a bunch of nonsense over and over again
. All that Darius wanted was for him to stop speaking so he could finally enjoy the true pleasure of seeing his nephew in the flesh.

“Darius, how could he have survived those sharks? They’re designed to attack anything within two hundred feet of my beach. Hell, they’ve even tried to attack me, and I’m the one that rearranged their instinct protocols. I’m not sure how he made it, but by Zeus he did. Too bad you’re going to have to return him to the sea.”

That stopped Darius cold. “What are you talking about, Saad? This is my nephew. He needs my help, and help him I will. ” He picked up his pace and moved with determined steps while he cradled his now-unconscious nephew in his arms.

Darius marveled at how much Reece had grown. Long, dangly legs gave way to a thin frame. He was blessed with the long black curly hair from his mother, Jamie. Everything else was pure Seth, right down to the shade of his eyes.

“You can’t bring that
freshling
into my house. He has the plague,” stated Saad, once again moving to intercept Darius.

Darius eyes had noted the pallor of Reece’s skin and how some of it seemed to be flaking, but the thought of returning his nephew to the sea was t
oo painful to comprehend.

“What’s going on?” yelled Kassandra, as she ran down the beach towards them.

Darius had no idea why her sudden appearance gladdened his heart.

“Oh my
god, what happened to this child?” she asked.

Darius noted that she had put her clothing back on, and that she walked with her hips swaying from one side to the other as her bare feet attempted to find their balance over the beach pebbles
lining Saad’s beach. She was an intoxicating sight. A breath of fresh sea water. His heart sped up.

“Darius
…”

Don’t you say
another word, Saad. I mean it,
said Darius telepathically as he pushed past Saad’s defenses. He was angrier than a crazed Tartahound. Just how the hell was he going to explain a naked, unconscious child to Kassandra?

“What are you two waiting
for? Bring him inside, now!” commanded Kassandra, ushering them into movement.

Bless the woman.
That was twice now she had surprised him and that wasn’t easy. First with stitching him up without questioning his desire to not go to a hospital and now with this, ushering them forward which gave him the chance to completely ignore Saad.

But, deep down Saad’s thoughts unsettled him. As if he heard Darius’ private inner conversation, Saad pushed past Darius’ own natural shield to have the f
inal word.

If he has the plague you will not be able to save your mardom. And you will have condemned both
of us to a living hell, Prince.

He wanted to tell Saad to shut
up; instead he ignored him.

Kassandra
, on the other hand, seemed to be in her element. “Here bring him in here.” She gestured to the room they had shared.

He gently laid his nephew on the large bed, silently wishing it
was the traditional scallop shape he knew Reece would be accustomed too. Then he stood back and watched the woman who was more of an enigma take control. His heart beat fast with pride as she commanded Saad’s servants to do her biding. She was polite but firm with a smile and a thank you always on those luscious lips of hers.

“His pulse is strong and steady. I think he’s just exhausted,” she said, removing her hand from Reece’s wrist. Tenderly, she tucked the blankets in tighter around his nephew. Why that touched a
chord deep within him that swelled to the point of almost bursting he couldn’t say. For a moment he wished it was him lying there helpless in the bed so Kassandra’s fingers could comfort him.

His eyes missed nothing. High-tide was ebbing, dusk was setting quickly and the black of the ni
ght would soon be upon them. Kassandra ran a tired, shaky hand through her long hair. He knew without a doubt that this had to be the strangest day in her life. How many women woke up to a living legend, only to find out they were bound to an ancient book, then ushered into a car to confront what must have looked like a walking zombie, and now this?

“He needs to rest. I think it would be best if one of us stays with him in case he wakes
up, but by his breathing I’d say he’ll be out for a while. Long enough for the two of you to explain what happened and how you happened to come across a naked child on the beach.” Kassandra’s eyes were intense. Her arms were crossed and she stood at full attention, demanding a reply.

“I will leave that for you, Prince,” said the mocking voice of Saad, as he bowed to Kassandra and backed out of the room.

Coward
, thought Darius, eyeing Saad’s retreating form.

“Prince? That’s the second time he’s called you that,” she stated, maintaining her pose, her foot tapping away impatiently
as she looked more and more pissed off.

Darius reached out and wiped a stray lock off Reece’s forehead. His voice was filled with need. “It’s nothing. Just a nickname. As much as I’d like to tell you all about him, I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?” asked Kassandra.

Ever the perceptive one
.
Darius took Reece’s hand in his own. “Can’t.” The word was torn from him. “I can handle this Kassandra. Why don’t you go...?”

“Go where exactly, Darius? The last time you left me
, pain consumed me. I felt like I was on fire. If you think for one minute,” she said, moving closer to the bed, “that I want to stay with you....you are sorely mistaken. If I could, I’d have walked away a long time ago.”

Grabbing her before
she could take a second breath, Darius growled the words out low and throaty, his body shaking with unleashed desire. “You will leave only when I tell you to. Do you understand?” The scent of her was driving him insane. He tried to leash the beast that ached to claim all of her.

Kassandra’
s eyes burned into his soul. She wet her lips in a move that was innocent and sexy at once. He had one moment of satisfaction noting that she was not immune to him as her sweet, feminine scent flowed through every pore of his body. Instantly he hardened, not caring that his rock hard erection jumped to attention only to settle poking into her belly. He felt her indrawn breath. Her heart beat sped up, and Darius growled low in his throat.

Pushing her away
, he forced his attention back to his nephew. Out of the corner of his eye he caught her rubbing her arms. It was then that he noticed the burns.

Once again
, he moved with supernatural speed to push her sleeves up. “What happened?”

She yanked her sleeves down and
tried to step away. “You happened.” She snapped and turned her head, so he wouldn’t catch the telltale trace of tears that were thickening in the corners of her eyes.

Without hesitating he focused his thoughts, his hands tight as he held both of her wrists in compliance. His eyes closed in satisfaction as he healed her, attempting to right the wrong. Because he knew without a doubt
that the only reason she’d come to the beach looking for him was because the pain of being separated from him had been too much for her.

The
burn marks were an indication she’d held out as long as she could. Guilt washed over him in long, shallow waves. It wasn’t an emotion he was comfortable with, and he wanted more than anything to try to ignore it. Instead, he did the honorable thing and used his powers to heal her.

“Just what are you?” she breathed the words out, fright causing her heart to beat irregularly.

Darius watched as she rubbed her arms, marveling that they were now healed.

“Can you heal him?”

The words resonated deep within his soul.
Why didn’t I think of that?
Without a word he turned his full attention back to Reece. He placed one hand on his nephew’s forehead and the other over his heart. He didn’t care that Kassandra was in the room to witness what he was about to do. All he cared about was healing Reece.

His palms itched and then burned as he fought past Reece’s natural shields which were surprisingly strong for a
freshling
. He felt the sea dragon brand sear his skin and fought hard to keep the infrared vision from taking over. He heard Kassandra’s gasp as a blue haze outlined the child’s weary body. Sweat trickled down his forehead but still he pushed past his limit, seeking the source of his nephew’s infection, attempting to make Reece whole again.

He knew his form was shimmering but still he pushed on
, trying to find the cause of the illness. His breathing was becoming ragged. He knew he had nothing left to give. For the first time, he doubted his abilities. The soft touch of Kassandra’s hand on his shoulder broke the spell. He felt a cool washcloth on his forehead as she wiped away the sweat without comment.

Then the child-like voice of his nephew cut straight to his heart, just as the full force of his words penetrated his exhausted brain.

“Uncle, I don’t have the plague. Mother sent me to find you. I turn a decade tomorrow at full-tide.”

Darius knew what he’d see if he looked into Reece’s eyes – fear.

Kassandra
looked at the child and then at Darius.
Uncle?
Her brain screamed the word over and over again. She noted the same thick, black hair, the almost identical emerald-green eyes and square chin. She must have been blind not to see it but, hell, it wasn’t like she’d
expected
the child to be related to her Greek warrior.
My Greek warrior?
The very thought caused her cheeks to blush—she didn’t even want to think about why. Things only got weirder with each passing moment around Darius. She’d like to think the kid was delusional but she knew from the tender look in Darius’ eyes that he was not.

Darius gently swiped a stray lock off the child’s forehead.
She heard his voice drop low. He spoke in calm, reassuring tones to the frightened child whose eyes were now as big as saucers as he took in his surroundings. She knew exactly how he felt.