Dark Choices The Accord (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance Series Book 43)

by I. T. Lucas

  What if instead of shagging the witch, he wanted to kill her?

  Stop being paranoid.

  Striking a pose in front of the mirror, Eleanor narrowed her eyes, this time trying to look scary. If Greggory was looking for a dominatrix, he was going to like her outfit. Going for the rock chick look, she’d put on a bustier, tight pants, and high-heeled boots. Except, that was false advertisement because she was no dominatrix and didn’t even know how to pretend to be one. She didn’t have a whip or a crop or any other instruments of pain, and even if she did, she wouldn’t know how to use them.

  As long as it wasn’t too weird, she would do her best to satisfy Greggory, but even though she was willing to go to great lengths to gain access to that mansion, she had her limits.

  Eleanor adjusted her bustier, cleaned up a smudge of makeup from under her right eye, and headed to the kitchen to check on her roast. She wasn’t a great cook, but there were a few recipes she’d perfected over the years, and the roast was one of them. After Greggory was full and relaxed, he would be easier to compel without her having to use too much force or being too obvious about it.

  When a knock sounded on her door, Eleanor took a deep breath, pushed her breasts up in the bustier, and plastered a smile on her face before opening it.

  “Good evening, Greggory.”

  She’d remembered him being tall and muscular and a little rough around the edges, but the man standing in her doorway in a pair of slacks and a button-down shirt was devastatingly handsome. He’d even shaved, which made him look too damn young for her.

  She was a cradle robber.

  He couldn’t be more than twenty-five. What the hell did he see in her?

  A lascivious grin spreading over his face, Greggory sniffed the air. “Good evening. It smells delicious in here, and you look good enough to eat.”

  Damn.

  “Thank you.” She took the wine bottle he handed her. “You cleaned up well yourself.”

  “I did, didn’t I?” He smoothed his hands over his slacks. “I don’t dress like this often.”

  “Did you do it for me?” She motioned for him to follow her into the dining room.

  “Of course, and I’m glad that I did. You look sexy as hell.”

  Damn. No one had ever called her sexy. Maybe she should keep the rock chick look.

  She put the wine on the table. “I hope you like beef roast. It’s my favorite recipe.”

  “If it tastes as good as it smells, I’m sure that I’m going to like it. Do you need help carrying things out?”

  That was nice of him to offer.

  “I got it. But you can uncork the wine and pour it into the glasses.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He saluted.

  Once the meal was served, they chitchatted about trivial things like her fake work in the restaurant, and whether she lived with roommates, which was the perfect opening to ask about the men he was sharing a house with.

  “Doesn’t it feel strange to live in a sort of a fraternity? I would hate sharing a house with a bunch of women.” She gave him a once-over. “But then you are a young guy, so maybe fraternity style housing suits you.”

  He chuckled. “I’m not as young as I look.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Forty-two.”

  She hadn’t started using her compulsion yet, and it was obviously a lie. The guy was too polite to ask how old she was, but given the age he’d made up, his guess had been spot on.

  How disappointing. With all that makeup on, Eleanor had thought that she could pass for a thirty-something.

  “You’re just saying that, so I won’t feel like a cradle robber.”

  He smirked. “You can rob this cradle anytime you want.”

  Picking up her fork, she stabbed it into a piece of beef. “You can’t be forty-two.” This was a good time to start priming him for compulsion. “Tell me the truth, Greggory. How old are you, really?”

  He smiled. “I’m over three hundred years old.”

  Naturally, he was joking, which was a loophole. He wasn’t lying, but he wasn’t telling her the truth either.

  “Ha-ha. Very funny. Now, tell me how old you really are. If you don’t mind that I’m older than you, I definitely don’t mind you being younger than me.”

  “I’m really forty-two. I’ve always had a baby face, which was a pain when I was younger, but now it works in my favor.”

  The guy didn’t have a single wrinkle, not one gray hair or a spot where his hair was thinning, and his skin was perfectly smooth with no sunspots even though he was tanned.

  Greggory was lying, which meant that he was immune to her compulsion, and that was bad. She’d assumed he’d told her all those things over the phone because he’d been responding to her commands, but evidently, he’d volunteered the information.

  If he was so easy to coax, though, perhaps she could get him to talk without the need for compulsion. And if she played her cards right, they could start dating, and she might get invited to the mansion and meet his boss.

  9

  Rufsur

  “Hello, beautiful.” Rufsur smiled. “I was planning on ringing you later, but you beat me to it.”

  “Is it too early? Are you still working?”

  He lifted the phone so Edna could see he was in his room. “You caught me right as I came in, and now I’m going to kick my shoes off, lie down on my bed, and talk dirty to you.”

  She laughed. “Hold on to that thought. I want to tell you about my conversation with Turner first. I was right to consult with him. The guy is a genius, and his ideas are beautifully simple.”

  Rufsur let himself feel a tiny surge of hope. They’d discussed so many ideas already, but none offered a solution that would appeal to both of their bosses.

  “I would love to hear that.”

  “There are two parts to it. The first addresses Kalugal’s privacy concerns. The solution is for him to have an office in the city where he can continue using his private communication network. When he and his men go home in the evenings, they will leave their devices at work and switch to clan-issued ones. Problem solved.”

  For a long moment, Rufsur was speechless. “I’ll be damned. We were coming up with all those complicated solutions like having two separate encrypted networks when this should have been the first thing we thought of.”

  “That was my reaction as well.”

  “Except, an office in the city might solve Kalugal’s problem, but it doesn’t address Kian’s concerns. He is still afraid of Kalugal’s compulsion ability.”

  “That’s the second part of Turner’s solution. After he suggested the city office, I said that I wished Kalugal could take a binding oath never to use his ability against the clan, and that gave him his second brilliant idea. If Kalugal agrees to vow never to do that, Annani can compel his compliance. That should take care of Kian’s fears.”

  “I love it. The question is whether Kalugal will. Knowing my boss, he will think it’s a trap and that Annani will get him to reveal his secrets.”

  “Your boss is a rational man, and that fear is irrational. If Annani wanted to force him to reveal his secrets, she could have done it already, and she could still do that during the wedding. But she won’t. The Clan Mother doesn’t like to use her compulsion power. As far as I know, before Richard’s ceremony, she’d used it only twice. One was to compel Dalhu’s team to forget what they knew about Amanda. That was done without their knowledge, but justified because it was a safety concern. The other time was to compel Syssi and Andrew’s parents to keep their knowledge of the clan secret, and that was with their full consent.”

  “The goddess might view Kalugal as a safety concern and use it as a justification.”

  “I don’t think she considers him a threat. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have pushed to have the wedding in the village and invited all of his men.”

  “Nevertheless, he won’t trust her.”

  “If he doesn’t, there is a solution for that as well, and
it incorporates what Jacki suggested. He can take the oath via teleconferencing, and if Annani tries to compel him to do anything other than upholding his vow, Jacki can terminate the communication.”

  If Rufsur didn’t have to hold up his phone, he would have clapped his hands. “That’s an almost foolproof plan.”

  “Why almost?”

  “Because as you said, Annani can compel him anytime she wants. What will stop her from doing that after Kalugal moves into the village?”

  “There is also a solution for that. Kian will vow in Annani’s name that she will not do that, and Kalugal will compel his compliance. This will also get done via teleconferencing, with Turner acting as the turn-off switch in case Kalugal tries something he shouldn’t.”

  “The question is who will go first?”

  “I think it needs to be Kian. Turner is going to work on the precise phrasing of the vows, so they will cover all the bases and satisfy both Kian and Kalugal.”

  “I don’t think that you should leave it up to Turner. The guy is smart, but he is not a legal expert, you are. You know how to close loopholes.”

  “That might be true, but in this regard, Kian will trust Turner more than me. I have an ulterior motive, while Turner is objective. In my opinion, it is best for Turner to present the case.”

  “I’m not sure about that. After all, you are a member of Kian’s advisory council, and he has trusted your opinion for many years. You should be the one to present the idea, but have Turner there to give his stamp of approval. Naturally, while you are working on it, you should show Turner your drafts and get his input as the security expert.”

  Edna sighed. “Maybe before we go to all that trouble, we should first show Kian and Kalugal a general working plan?”

  “Not a good idea. It’s like showing a potential buyer a house that is still in framing compared to a finished one that is beautifully staged. Which one do you think is easier to sell?”

  “Hmm. Fully staged.” Edna pursed her lips. “That gives me an idea. I can prepare a PowerPoint presentation with renderings and scenarios of a utopian future. Perhaps Dalhu could make a few sketches for me.”

  “Good thinking. You should use selling phrases like imagine the possibilities, bright future, next generation, prosperity, etc.”

  “I like it. Perhaps I can ask Dalhu to also make sketches of couples strolling through the village with baby carriages, and a playground full of little kids.”

  “I love it. You can also include pictures of weddings and dance parties.”

  She laughed. “Why limit ourselves to a static presentation? I can solicit Brandon’s help to produce an animated movie, and I’ll get Amanda to be the narrator.”

  “If you want to use the same footage to convince Kalugal, perhaps we should include a few words from Jacki in it. We could shoot it here in secret.”

  “If our bosses are monitoring our communications, none of this is a secret anymore. Besides, Turner met with Kian this afternoon, and he probably brought our conversation up.”

  “Didn’t you ask him to keep it under wraps until he has something ready?”

  She closed her eyes. “I couldn’t. The last thing I need is for this to become a conspiracy. I didn’t ask William to keep quiet about it either. I have to leave it up to them.”

  Edna had a point. The ideas they were bouncing between the two of them were a private matter. But as soon as they got others involved, things became somewhat murky. Their intentions were good, and all they wanted was to build a solid case for unification before presenting it to their bosses, but Kian as well as Kalugal might view it differently.

  “Let’s leave it up to your Fates then. If our plan is meant to be revealed before it’s ready, then it’s probably better that way.”

  Edna nodded. “I’ve always believed in helping the Fates along. I’ll call Turner and William tomorrow and ask them what they think the best approach is. Hopefully, they will come to the same conclusion on their own and decide to keep quiet about the plan until it’s ready for presentation.”

  “You are not only clever but also devious.”

  “Thank you. Still, our bosses might be watching and listening as we speak, so there is that.”

  Rufsur smirked. “In that case, let’s give them a show worth watching, my lady exhibitionist.”

  “Your wish is my command.” With a smile, Edna propped the phone on the pillow, turned around so he could see her, and pulled her sleep shirt over her head.

  His eyes riveted to her puckered nipples, Rufsur wiped a hand over his mouth. “That’s definitely a picture worth watching.”

  She cupped her breasts and thumbed those sweet turgid peaks. “How about now?”

  10

  Eleanor

  It was a stroke of bad luck to land an immune, but since they were rare, Greggory’s friends would most likely be susceptible to her compulsion. And as he was her ticket inside that house, Eleanor had to do her best to tempt him with her other skills.

  Except, she had none.

  Not only was she out of practice, but she’d never been good at seducing men and even worse at keeping them.

  Putting on what she thought was her most alluring expression, Eleanor smiled suggestively. “I guess that I’m lucky. I can enjoy a man who looks a decade younger than I am but isn’t.”

  “You don’t look older than me.” Greggory waved a hand at her face. “It’s that makeup. Although I have to say that I dig the goth style.” His eyes wandered lower to where the bustier was pushing up her breasts. “You’re not wearing a bra, and your breasts are firm and perky.”

  Now Eleanor finally understood how she’d landed a date with a hunk like Greggory. If that was an example of his come-on lines, he couldn’t have been doing too well on the dating market.

  She laughed. “That’s one of the oddest compliments I’ve ever gotten.”

  Greggory looked offended. “Did I say something inappropriate?” He let out a breath. “It’s so damn hard to talk to women these days. I should stick to what I’m good at, which is keeping my mouth shut and letting you do all the talking.”

  The comment seemed more appropriate for a guy in his forties than for someone in his twenties. Maybe he’d been telling her the truth after all?

  Perhaps he wasn’t immune?

  That would be the best news of the evening.

  Also, the fact that Greggory was out of practice could mean that he was recently divorced, and if he was new on the dating scene, he wouldn’t know that she was just as inept at it as he was.

  Pushing away from the table, Eleanor walked up to him and sat in his lap. “Tell me what you are really good at, Greggory.”

  He smiled. “I’m an exceptional lover.”

  “And so modest.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.

  Did he really think that he was so good?

  Or maybe it was another loophole, and boasting also didn’t count as a lie?

  Damn, it was difficult to ascertain whether he was immune or not. She would have to ask him something that he wouldn’t normally answer or command him to do something he didn’t want to.

  “You asked me what’s my best talent, and I gave you an honest answer. Modesty has nothing to do with it.” He pushed up with her in his arms as if she weighed nothing.

  “What are you doing? Put me down.”

  Being carried in Greggory’s strong arms was exciting, and Eleanor didn’t mind him doing that, but she needed to find out once and for all whether he was immune to her compulsion or not.

  He kept on walking. “If you don’t want to have sex with me, just say so. Otherwise, I’m taking you to bed.”

  Well, she’d gotten her answer, but she still wanted him.

  Except, now Eleanor didn’t feel safe. “What would you do if I said that I don’t want to have sex with you?”

  He entered her bedroom and sat on her bed. “I would put you down, thank you for a lovely dinner, and leave.”

  “What, no cuddling on the couc
h?”

  Greggory frowned. “Is that what you want?”

  “No. Just kidding. I want to have sex with you.”

  “I promise that you won’t regret it.” He dipped his head and kissed her.

  Oh, boy. The guy really knew how to kiss. Maybe he hadn’t been boasting, and lovemaking was his paranormal talent.

  Could she be that lucky?

  Eleanor was just getting into the kiss when he pulled back. “Would you mind if I blindfold you?”

  And just like that, her excitement was gone and panic set in. “No way!”

  “Why not? When you can’t see, all the sensations get magnified.”

  “I don’t know you.”

  “And yet here we are. It’s just a harmless sex game that is most enjoyable. If I wanted to hurt you, Gina, I could have done it with or without a blindfold, here in your bedroom or in your dining room. You are freaking out for nothing.”

  She still wasn’t convinced. “But you’re not going to tie me up, right? I won’t have that.”

  Maybe he wanted to blindfold her because he had a deformity or a wound that he was ashamed of. Many ex-soldiers and cops became bodyguards when they retired, and if Greggory had been one, he could have gotten hurt in the line of duty.

  He shook his head. “Only a blindfold. And just so you feel safe with me, call or text a friend and tell her that you have a guy in the house and that you are about to have sex with him. You can give her my name, my description, and my address.”

  That would have been solid advice provided that she had a friend who she could call or text, but Eleanor had no one. Then again, she could pretend to do that, and Greggory wouldn’t be any the wiser.

  “I’ll do that.” She pushed out of his arms. “But I left my phone in the living room.”

  “While you make the call, I’ll get comfortable.” He started undoing buttons.

  Eleanor couldn’t bring herself to leave. “I want to watch you undress.”

  After he put a blindfold on her, she wouldn’t be able to see his gorgeous body.