IMMORTAL MATCHMAKERS, INC. (20 page)

“Do you not mean, ‘oh demigod’?” Andrus slid his finger inside her, groaning as he found her wet and ready. He slid another in and then pressed his thumb on her c-spot.

She felt her body cave to the need and let go, releasing the euphoric tension. She moaned and tossed and turned her head as he massaged and pushed and withdrew every sinful pulse of pleasure from her core, spurring repeated contractions with tiny flicks of his soft, wet tongue over her bud.

After what felt like ten minutes of solid orgasmic pleasure that left her speechless and breathless, she reopened her eyes and gazed at a smugly triumphant Andrus.

“That was only one orgasm. I have five more to deliver,” he said.

Okee dokee!
“Do you really think you can?” she said coyly. Of course a man like him could, but challenging him seemed like the optimal way to get him to try just a little bit harder.

“Oh yeah. I most certainly can.” He looked down at his twitching erection and gripped it just below the head.

Her entire portfolio of sexual images could not compete with this.

In a deep, slow, gravelly voice, he said, “I’m going to fuck you so hard that every part of your body will taste my cum.”

Oh, yeah. He must be reading my mind. Except that…

“Wait,” she said. “Did you bring a condom?”

He flashed the classic “deer in headlights” expression. “No. Did you?”

“No.”

“Well, why the hell not? You’re the female.”

What the…?
“Meaning?”

“It’s your responsibility to care for your body.”

Oh my gods! Really?
“So you have zero responsibility in the matter?” she fumed.

“I am a male. We are genetically predisposed to spread our seed to as many females as possible—not that I have, but it does cement the roles and responsibilities question.”

She wanted to kill him. Kill. Him. “Andrus, while I completely get that you are from another time, you also weren’t born under a rock. It takes two to tango, and the last time I checked, we are both adults.”

“Yes, you being the one with the…” he flicked his hand in the direction of her womb, “with the field. While I come equipped with the plow.”

“What the hell does that mean?” she seethed.

“It means that if I were a farmer, I’d carry a shotgun and gun down anyone who tried to sow my field without my permission.”

She blew out an angry breath. “Get out.”

“What?”

“Get. Out.”

“Are you saying you should not care for your field?” he asked.

“I’m saying….get out!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, covering her naked body with a sheet.

“Fine. I will.”

“Fine!” She watched him gather his pants and head for the door, that muscular, smooth bare ass taunting her as he left.

“What the fuck!” Andrus said, stopping in the doorway, his palms flat against something invisible. “Godsdammit. Minky, have you been here the entire time?”

Who the hell was Andrus talking to? There was no one there.

“Where’s Cimil?” he added.

“You rang, baby?” A redheaded woman pushed her way past Andrus inside the room and looked right at Sadie sitting up on the bed, wrapped in a sheet. “Please dear lords of all things holy and garage-sale related, tell me you did not sleep together.”

Bob looks so different as a woman
.

“No, but what business is it of yours?” Sadie asked, before remembering she was speaking to a real live deity.

“Yes, Cimil,” Andrus said, holding his pants over his groin. “What business is it of yours?”

Cimil, who wore black leather shorts and a white tank with a man’s six-pack printed on it, shook her head with frustration, squeezing shut her bright turquoise eyes. “Gods, what did I do to so deserve this from the Universe?”

“Cimiiil?” Andrus growled.

She threw down her hands. “You can’t be with her, Andrus. This isn’t a trick from the old Cimil fun factory of evil delights, okay?” She then pointed right at Sadie. “And you, young lady, cannot fall in love with him. He is not your destiny.”

Sadie slid from the bed, holding the sheet around her body. “I’m sorry. I get that you are a very ancient and divine creature, but nobody tells me who to fall in love with.”

“I do!” Cimil barked. “I do. Because Zac and I are stuck in the mortal world until we’ve paid our dues! And we need every mate-match we can get before Zac goes psycho. Also, it is the Universe’s will to have you love another, Sadie.”

The part about their paying dues made no sense, just like her statement regarding who she was supposed to love.

“Love another? Like who?” Sadie asked. “Another loser like Tim, who’ll attack me and make me forget? Or that other guy who stalked me for two months until he disappeared? Andrus is the only man I’ve ever met worth loving, so don’t tell me what I’m allowed to do.”

Cimil shrugged. “We can’t all have happy endings. But Andrus is destined to have his. With another woman. And you, little Sippy, cannot get in his way.”

“She doesn’t even want him. How does that make any sense?” Sadie argued.

“Cimil,” Andrus stepped in, “leave us for a moment.”

It then dawned on Sadie what she’d just been saying.
Oh my God. I am falling in love with him.

Cimil huffed. “Fine!” She threw up her hands. “Don’t listen to the goddess who’s been in existence for seventy thousand years and has single-handedly brought the world to the brink of extinction and back more times than she can remember. Wait. That didn’t sound right. What I meant was—”

“Out!” Andrus barked.

Cimil turned and stomped out of the room, closing the door behind her. “Asshole.”

“I heard that!” Andrus barked.

“Good!” Cimil yelled back.

Andrus looked at Sadie. He didn’t at all seem to mind or notice the fact his bare ass was hanging out. Of course, this was the man who’d proudly showed her his junk the second time they’d met.

“Did you mean what you said?” he asked.

Sadie sat on the edge of the bed facing him. “I don’t know.”

He sat next to her, still holding his wadded pants to his groin. “I like you very much, too.”

Her heart melted. “You do?”

He turned his head and looked down at her with his shimmering turquoise eyes. “Yes. Which is why I am going to leave before this goes any farther. I was kidding myself thinking we could have sex and it not mean anything. And I find myself wanting you more and more with every second that passes.”

“At least you’ll get over it once you meet Mrs. Wonderful,” Sadie pointed out.

“Perhaps. But right now, the only thing I’m thinking about is you and that you do not deserve to be hurt. Falling in love with someone who is taken is torture.”

“I just don’t understand how a free man isn’t free to decide who he wants to be with.”

“Maybe you have a point…Maybe I should not go,” Andrus mumbled, as if thinking aloud.

“You mean, not go to meet her?” Sadie asked.

He glanced at her with a nod.

But that wouldn’t work. If that woman was somewhere out there, who was to say that Andrus wouldn’t bump into her two years from now? Ten years from now?

“I don’t want to give you my heart, Andrus, and then get tossed aside one day because you meet this woman some other way. I mean, what if we had children and were married. That would break my heart.”

“You wish to marry me? And have children?” he asked, completely astonished.

She shrugged pathetically. “I want them with the man I fall in love with. So why wouldn’t I want them with you if we were in love?” She looked into his eyes, where little wells of tears had formed. “Are you…crying?”

“No. Men like me do not cry,” he said defensively and stood.

“Where are you going?”

“You’re right. You’re absolutely right.” He looked devastated. “This home has been leased for one full year. I would have purchased it for you, but I suspected you would not enjoy living amongst a community of paranoid elitists. I much more imagined you living in a house near the beach or where the atmosphere is lively and youthful—like you.”

He’d rented this place for her for an entire year? “So you’re going?”

“It is for the best. For both of us,” he said.

Her heart sank. “I don’t want you to go.”

“What other option is there? As you pointed out, there is no path forward for us when
she
will always be out there. And if I stay, I’m merely prolonging the inevitable.”

“I guess…” This was hard for her to say. “I’d hoped that you’d meet her and still choose me, as crazy as that sounds.”

The look on his face matched the heartbreak she felt inside. “If only such a thing were possible.”

She blew out a breath and then smiled at him. “Don’t feel bad. At least we’re ending it before anything really happened. It’s better to be left wondering what might’ve been than to find something special and have to give it up because of some cosmic arranged marriage.”

“That’s absolutely right!” Cimil screamed from the other room.

Andrus shook his head. “I will leave you now.”

“Wait. No. I can’t stay here,” Sadie said.

“Of course you can. I rented the home so you’d be safer.”

“I can’t take your charity, Andrus. And I will be just fine at my apartment.”

“Just because Tim is dead doesn’t mean you are safe. The attack at the bar happened after he drowned.”

“What? Did you just say that Tim is…dead?”

“Oh.” He suddenly looked guilty. “Did I forget to mention that?”

“Uh. Yeah. When did you find this out?”

“Earlier today.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” she asked, feeling thoroughly peeved.

“Well, I…”

“What? You what?” she prodded.

“I saw you in that dress and thought it could wait.”

“You’re telling me you forgot because you were too busy thinking about getting into my pants?”

“No. Absolutely not—all right. Perhaps, yes.”

“Andrus, how could you?”

“Well, I didn’t think you cared about him. So what harm would there be in waiting to tell you?”

“The harm is that you knew my creepy ex-boyfriend is dead—poor guy—and that there’s something else out there attacking me.”

“Which is why you must stay here until the person is found. I will ask Cimil to call in one of her Uchben.”

“What the hell is an Uchben?” she asked.

“They are badass immortal soldiers who actually listen to what they are told, unlike some other people I know!” Cimil screamed from the other room. “And Brutus is already on his way. He’ll be here in five minutes.”

Andrus nodded his head with a stoic expression. “Ah. It seems everything is already settled, then.” He dipped his head. “Goodbye, Sadie. It has been a pleasure.”

He turned and walked from the room, his bare ass now looking like a target for kicking. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry or scream.

In the space of ten minutes, he’d made her experience every emotion under the sun, including anger because he’d withheld some pretty serious news. But all of that paled in comparison to the fact that he’d just said goodbye.

~~~

Andrus had never experienced such a roller coaster of emotions in his entire life. In the space of a few minutes, Sadie had made his heart soar, while the situation managed to crush it. She’d actually wanted him. Wanted him. Not just for sex, but because she thought he was the sort of man she could love and have a life with. It was the first time in his three hundred years any woman had felt that way about him.

During his human years, they wanted him for his money or title. His mate had loved him, but loved herself more and betrayed him. Helena had never thought of him as more than just extended family. But Sadie had real feelings for him all on her own without any cosmic intervention. And the thought of hurting her made him realize that he shared those feelings.

However, the moment she pointed out that she’d hoped he might choose her over his mate, he knew what he had to do: cut ties. It would be cruel of him to allow her to hope for the impossible. He knew damned well how painful it felt to wish for things to be different when they couldn’t be. Loving Helena had taught him that lesson.

Yes, Sadie’s words had been like a hard slap across his face in a moment when he’d felt blinded by his emotions and desire for Sadie. If he truly cared, he would let her go and hope that Cimil was right: Sadie was destined to love another. He wanted that for her. He wanted her to be happy.

As he packed up his duffle bag, he took a look at Matty’s photo. That fangy little grin on her face always warmed his cold heart. It was also yet another reminder of why he could not be with Sadie.

“It seems our destinies have already been decided for us all.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

It had been three entire days since Andrus left, and Sadie felt worse with every passing minute. She didn’t want to stay in the house, she wanted to move on with her life and try to put it all behind her.

Unfortunately, Cimil had called and told her that there were no leads on this creature, which made her think: What if they never found this monster? She wasn’t going to stay in this big house forever or give up the right to live her life—no matter how short that might be.

On the other hand, she wasn’t so stupid that she’d ignore the threat.
Time to retreat and regroup.
She would head home to Cleveland for a few weeks and figure out what to do from there.

As for her apartment, she’d learned that Andrus had taken the liberty of paying her back rent so she wouldn’t owe the landlord, but that he’d also arranged to have her things moved into storage in a few days. Yeah, he’d planned to move her out of her apartment without her permission. She didn’t know whether to be pissed or grateful. It was such an Andrus sort of thing to do. That man’s heart was in the right spot, but his way of forcing his charity on her was so…archaic. And sweet. In the end, she’d decided to laugh. What else could she do? Her apartment issue was the least of her concerns. There was some weird creature feeding off her, and the man she’d fallen in love with—completely by surprise—was going to meet his soul mate tonight. Another reason to leave L.A. Ironic, because she finally had the money to stay.