Bliss (9 page)

“This,” he said, his finger pebbling her nipple into a tight point, “and this,” he said, his hand moving between the v of her jeans as his thumb pressed on her damp invitation, “are mine. I intend to claim them very soon, but for now, you will obey my wishes and not interfere. I will mark you like you’ve never been before. I plan to worship your body like there is no tomorrow. And I promise you will enjoy every long mome
nt, and beg for more,” he said.

To emphasize his point
, his hand at the junction of her legs began to rub her as it moved up and down, causing her to squirm and reach for more. Pleasure streamed through her. His words were a hot, erotic promise. It did more too fuel her desire than she thought possible.

“Darius, I...”

His mouth clamped over hers once again, forcing thoughts to scatter. She felt her back arch all on its own when his mouth finally claimed her peaked nipple. Through her shirt he suckled hard. His tongue deftly flicked her nipple and then he gave it a small nip. All the while his hand continued to shamelessly rub her, causing her nub of pleasure to harden, and her panties to become slick with need.

“Stay here. I will come back.”

The order rocketed through her crazed desire-stricken brain, and she once again wanted to scream. Speechless, he walked away from her, but not before turning his head to give her one last penetrating, heated look. Then he locked the door.

Damn you!

Kassandra knew he’d used her aching need to force her compliance. Her body couldn’t do anything. Looking down she noticed the wet stain on her shirt from Darius’ mouth, and then his words came back to haunt her. Without a doubt she was in well over her head, because when he came back she knew she’d get what she desired, wanted and ached for, and that scared her even more than being, once again, locked in a room.

His body was taut with unleashed desire and his breathing sounded irregular to his own highly trained ears. It took every ounce of control not to stake his claim. Not to give into his sexual Titan nature and brand the woman his. The beast within him growled for gratification and more. It was the more that scared him.

The whimper from his nephew turned his blood cold. This was his
awakening
year. The first decade of passing, the first molting of his skin, the first Titan memories he would accumulate, passed down from one generation to the next. By rights, his awakening time should take place deep within the safety of the healing waters, but that was impossible now. Darius pinched the bridge of his nose, deep in thought. He’d never known a Titan to go through the transformation in human form and that worried him. He could still recall his own first awakening.

He’d been terrified
. Deep within the healing waters’ sea caves, his father had bound his body and arms together, saying it was for his own good. Wave after wave of searing pain had crashed through his body, but the worst part was the burning sensation. He’d actually thought at one point that his skin was on fire, only to writhe in agony when he began to transform. He’d watched horrified as his skin flaked off of him. Bound, he’d been unable to scratch. But even bound, he’d felt vulnerable like never before.

Then Kassandra’s words came back to haunt him.
Some family I’ve got.
He
realized he hadn’t been alone during that first painful time. His twin brother, Seth, bound in a similar fashion in a nearby cave had sought him out. Gifted telepathically they also shared a unique twin bond. He remembered the first wisps of his brother’s thoughts – they had been calming, reassuring him that all would be well, even though he had known his brother was going through the exact same painful process. Shaking his head he realized what he needed to do. To hell with tradition. Opening the bedroom door he finally gave into what his heart demanded.

Kassandra had no idea how long she’d been in the room but she’d obviously slept through the night. How that could be, she couldn’t fathom. The click of the lock opening woke her. A servant casually walked in and set a breakfast tray down for her. Her first thought was thank god there was coffee; her second one went to the child. Downing two gulps, she ran her hands through her messed up hair, straightened her disheveled clothing and marched out of the room.

At the adjacent bedroom
, she hesitated. She heard nothing when she put her ear to the door. Drawing in a breath for courage she turned the doorknob and stepped inside.

She blinked, thinking at first she must have made a mistake with the rooms. Then her eyes caught sight of Darius, his body slouched over the figure in the bed. The pink t-shirt with the words “Honk if You’re
Horny” still blazed across his back.

“He will be okay.”

The husky, timbre of the voice caused her to stare. Gone was the child. In his place was a man whose chiseled chest and long thick black hair made him resemble Darius so much that a lump formed in her throat.

“What the...who are
you?” she said, backing toward the door.

In
one fluid motion, Darius awoke. He moved lithely away from where he had been, his body tense and ready for action. He looked at her and took a second look at the man now lying in the bed, only to shake his head.

“What the...?”
he sputtered.

Good to know I’m not the only one with questions
. Kassandra watched Darius take in the scene.

“It’s okay, Uncle. It’s me, Reece,” said the man as he attempted to slide his long, muscular legs over the side of the bed.

In a movement so quick it almost didn’t register, Darius moved to intercept him. “Reece, what happened?”

“I’m not sure. I felt you lending me your strength throughout the night as the pain took hold of my body, but as for the rest
, I’m not sure. All my life I’ve heard stories of the awakening year. How the first time it tears through your body and the memories get burned into you. But Darius, I have all the memories. All of them. And my body. Somehow, I don’t think this...”

Kassandra watched as he took a good long look at himself.

“... is what mother had in mind for me when she said I would have a growth spurt. Is this my final form, well okay, final human form, that is?” he asked, as a smile lit up his face, his eyes wide still with that innocent child-like stare.

“Your mother is going to kill me. Okay, let me rephrase that. My brother is first going to kill me and then
, knowing your mother, she’s going to do it all over again,” Darius said, as he stretched his body.

Kassandra was reminded of a large, wild tiger as he lazily stretched his arms above his head and flexed on the balls of his bare feet.

“Hello guys, I hate to interrupt but dare I ask what went on here last night?” asked Kassandra, finally finding the courage to move away from the door.

“Who let you out of that room?” de
manded Darius, advancing toward her, his eyes blazing at her.

“Good morning to you
, too, Darius,” smirked Kassandra, vowing to not move an inch.

“Uncle, this is...
?”asked Reece, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

That stopped Darius cold. Kassandra watched as he ran his hands through his long hair
. Part of her envied those long fingers of his. With a chagrined expression on his face, Darius finally introduced her.

“Reece, this is Kassandra. Kassandra, my nephew, Reece.”

Reece cocked his head to the side like he was listening to someone. Again, she felt as if there was a private conversation taking place between Darius and Reece, but that was impossible. Wasn’t it?

Darius grabbed the blankets to keep Reece covered. “Do you think this could be a reaction to the sickness?” Darius asked the question
as if he expected a response, but in reality, Kassandra knew he was just thinking out loud.

“This might be the reason mother sent me to find you. She and um...your mother
…were unusually worried about my awakening year. Now I know why. I must say I’m happy to have that done with. At least I won’t have to repeat that anymore,” he said, his voice breaking out with a laugh that did more to rejuvenate Darius than anything.

“Is everything
okay with Seth?” asked Darius.

“When I left he said he was okay but honestly
, he didn’t seem to be his usual bossy self,” said Reece, finally gaining enough strength to stand. “And where have you been?”

“That’s very complicated and a story for another time. Let me assure you I didn’t leave you on purpose. I hope Seth and your mother know that.”

“My father has been searching for you for years but it was Auntie Mercka who told us not to worry and that you would appear when we needed you most. And that took the worry off, because everyone knows Auntie can see the future. Mercka was also the one who told me where to find you. She sends her greetings.”

Darius grasped the man arm to arm, kissing first one cheek then the other and finally a kiss on the forehead. The scene brought a tear to
Kassandra’s eye.

“Well, I’m glad to see you two are fine
,” she said, her voice a little husky. “As for me, I think I’ll just leave you in peace because I know my questions will get no answers. So with that, adieu.”

Darius turned toward
her. “Kassandra.”

The way he said her name caused
goose bumps to break out over her entire body.

“Um, Uncle
, you wouldn’t happen to have some spare clothing I could wear?” said Reece, still clutching the blanket tight to his frame.

Kassandra giggled as Darius noticed what she did. Reece was on
e fine specimen of a man. She laughed harder when Darius placed his body in front of Reece’s to block her view and grabbed another blanket to throw across his nephew’s head.

“I’ll get Saad to bring you some clothing and food. And after breakfast you and I are going to have a long talk about things....
everything,” he said, turning his attention once again to Kassandra.

As if on cue
, in walked Saad with an entourage of servants, some bearing clothing and others with breakfast. Darius made swift introductions. Kassandra watched Reece exchange what must be the formal greeting with Saad and then back up, like he was thinking something was off. Tension filled the air. It was Darius who broke the silence this time.

“Kassand
ra, have breakfast with me,” ordered Darius.

Part of her wanted to inform him she didn’t care to be ordered around, but the other
, more traitorous part of her, yearned to be near him. He looked happy for a change, and it filled her heart with something she wasn’t keen to discern.

“Sure, why not
?” She said a final goodbye to Reece who was eyeing the pretty girl that was serving his breakfast.

“You might want to have a talk with him about the birds and the bees,” she stated not missing the look of sexual interest Reece seemed to have for the young serving girl.

“Birds and the bees. What are you talking about?” asked Darius, moving towards a patio off the dining room.

Kassandra stopped walking. “You know...” she eyed him, looking for recognition of what she was talking about.

“No I don’t, just spit it out,” he said, forcing her to move again.

She gulped, and wetted her lips. “Sex.”

“What about it?” he asked casually, his eyes gleaming with the mere mention of the word.

“I don’t get you. Last night there was a kid
writhing in agony in that bed and now, this morning, he’s a full grown man, eyeing that pretty little serving girl. I’m thinking he might need a bit of guidance now, that’s it. You might want to have the sex talk with him. And I hope that’s all the paranormal stuff I have to deal with,” she stated, feeling the blush move from her face to her chest.

Laughter was the last thing she expected from him. It softened his features
and made him look more approachable, which wasn’t good. “Reece will be fine. You don’t need to be concerned. Let’s enjoy our breakfast and get to know each other for a little bit before the next crisis falls in our laps,” he said.

Sarcasm and laughter. Two traits she would have sworn he didn’t possess yesterday.

“After you, my lady,” he said, gallantly holding open the patio door for her to step through. She almost felt like she was stepping into another world. Clad in his tight fitting jeans that hugged his hips, with his bright pink t-shirt on, he looked like an old-fashioned gentleman as he ushered her onto the patio.

Servants followed with trays of fruit
, salted cod, and kippers. The smell of hickory coffee wafting on the light breeze caused her to give a slight shiver.

“Are you cold?”
Genuine concern filled his voice.

Hugging her arms for warmth and safety, she replied “No
.” She didn’t want anything to interrupt the mood.

He eyed her like he wanted to say something but then smiled charmingly, like he had a secret. More
goose bumps formed over her skin. He pulled the chair out for her and motioned for her to sit. Then he picked a lush strawberry from the pile and brought it to her lips.

She had to tilt her head back and the
effect was more than she bargained for. His towering body stood over her, his hand holding the berry just inches from her mouth as his emerald-green eyes blazed with hot desire. She couldn’t help but wet her lips as he brought the red, ripe berry to her mouth. She bit into it, causing juice to spill down her chin. Immediately, his fingers were there, wiping away the excess from the berry. In a world of her own she watched as he brought his fingers to his lips and suckled. The erotic image caused her nipples ache. Hot desire flooded her body.

Oh, how she hated him, she reminded herself. Shaking her head slightly she cleared her thoughts. Today was going to be the day she figured out how to escape without getting herself killed.

She turned her head towards the smell of the hot coffee. Anything to distract her from her own passion and desire that wanted nothing more than to rip all of Darius’ clothing off of him and bring him to his knees.

As if he could read her mind, he grinned and took a seat, gulping down half a dozen
kippers and half a honeydew melon before he raised his all-knowing eyes to hers.

“So, what do you think of our little adventure, so far?” he asked, eyeing the hot steaming brew that sat next to him.

“Well, let me see. First I get you...and I’m not really sure what you are...and then I’m forced—did I mention I hate to be forced to do anything?—into a car for a wild adventure ride only to run into a Michael Jackson zombie look alike. Then we end up here, with our host Saad, and his exotic female pets, and to top it off you come back from what I can only assume was a leisurely call to walk the beach with your nephew, who just happened to be skinny dipping without his parents. I’m thinking I wish I was on some medication of some sort. There is no way anyone...okay maybe Melissa and just maybe Sarah would believe me, but hell, I’m not even sure I believe myself.” Her heart beat wickedly while he stared at her like there was no tomorrow. And for all she knew, with him, that could very well be true.