Pyramids and Promises (Omega Mu Alpha Brothers Book 2)

by Loth, Kimberly

  “Is our deal still on?”

  He meant the kiss. Of course he did. The very thing that Jessica herself had practically been begging for back in her apartment. She wanted it. Had wanted it all week. But now, out here in the dark and the partial moonlight, after he went to this effort, she felt unbelievably shy.

  “Well?” he prompted. “I wouldn’t even ask after how mad you were that I didn’t kiss you earlier, but I want to make sure.”

  Octo snorted. He’d gone up two levels and was tired of waiting. Jessica climbed up one more without answering Conner, but his arms slipped around her from behind before she made it up the following step.

  “It’s polite to answer questions,” he teased. His hand grazed her skin where her t-shirt had raised up a little.

  “The one about our deal?” she asked innocently and felt him nod. “You’ll have to get to the top and see.”

  He chuckled softly and released her.

  “Then let’s get to the top,” he said and climbed the next set of bricks with Octo.

  Breathless with anticipation, Jessica followed him.

  Jessica’s mercurial moods gave him whiplash. One moment she was angry he wasn’t kissing her, the next she was all bashful when he said that he was going to soon. It was a delight to find out how she would respond next. He couldn’t wait to get to the top.

  Octo made it there first. He was having the time of his little doggy life. Bringing him along had been a good decision. Conner hadn’t spent enough time with him lately, and since Jessica seemed to like him, maybe they could do more with him.

  Conner climbed up next and reached down to help Jessica. She, however, was enthralled by something.

  “Do you have a flashlight?” she asked.

  “No, why?”

  “There’s something engraved in these top bricks.”

  He knelt and laid his hands down next to hers. She took his fingers and ran them over the ancient stone. Just as she said, there were carvings in the rocks.

  “Must be hieroglyphs,” said Conner.

  “I bet they are touting this crowning achievement.” The wonder in Jessica’s voice made him smile. He wished he could see her blue eyes shining bright like he knew they were.

  “Or maybe they just have the name of whatever dude they buried here,” he said, knowing full well it was Khufu and that she’d know too.

  She laughed and grabbed his arm. He pulled her up to join him and Octo at the summit. This was better than climbing a mountain, at the least, less snow. Conner kept his arm around her as they looked back toward Cairo. He wasn’t about to let her get too far away from him now.

  This city went on for miles in every direction. The lights of Cairo were so bright they almost outshined the moon, and they definitely dimmed the stars. It was impressive.

  “It’s beautiful,” Jessica whispered reverently.

  “It is.” He drew her closer to him. Even Octo recognized how special the moment was. He sat and stared at all the brightness.

  Conner had never actually made this climb before. He’d thought it was impossible, but when he went around asking what it would take to climb it, he was told he’d have to do it in the middle of the night and be prepared to pay several thousand pounds. He gladly paid it. It was worth it for the view alone.

  Making Jessica happy was a huge bonus. He met her eyes, and he knew this was the moment.

  “You sure you want this?” he asked in a husky voice.

  Jessica nodded.

  “I am,” she said, her bashfulness gone.

  He leaned down and gently placed his lips on hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. He didn’t want to let her go, but he didn’t want to push her further than she was comfortable with, but she was soft and eager. She teased the edge of his lips with her tongue, and he forgot all about taking things slow.

  It took longer to get down then it did to get up. Conner couldn’t keep his hands off of Jessica, and she was happy to oblige him. He brought her close for a kiss. Sunk his hands into her beautiful blonde hair and lost himself until Octo barked for them to hurry up. When they finally reached the bottom, Jessica was giggly and giddy.

  “You seem pretty pleased with yourself,” he said as they climbed into the car.

  “It’s past four a.m. I got no sleep tonight. Plus, I just had the best first kiss of my life. I am not responsible for how much I giggle.”

  Octo jumped into the back of the car with them. Jessica scooted closer to him to make room for the dog. Octo barked and licked her ear. She dissolved into a fit of giggles again, and Conner put his arm around her.

  “Well, then I guess we need to go put you to bed.”

  Octo sat against her and sighed contentedly.

  “You know, I don’t know how to do this.” Jessica dropped her head back on the seat as they drove into the sea of Cairo lights.

  “Do what?”

  “Relationships.” She grinned at Conner. “I don’t exactly have a great history.”

  He chuckled. “I’m not so good at them myself, so I guess we’ll just figure it out together.”

  She yawned and rested her head on his shoulder. He played with her hair, and in less than thirty seconds he noticed her breathing had changed, and she was fast asleep.

  They arrived back at her apartment, and he fished her key out of her pocket. Octo had his head in her lap, and he watched Conner like he was protecting a new bone.

  “What? She belong to you now?” he whispered and handed the key to Ahmed. Octo stood. He jumped over both Conner and Jessica to get out into the fresh air. Conner shook his head and slid his arm under her knees.

  He carried Jessica into her building, and she never even fluttered an eyelash. Ahmed held the door, and Octo bounded in ahead of them.

  “Should I wait for you after I check the apartment?” Ahmed asked in the elevator. Conner shrugged one shoulder. He hadn’t given it much thought. He didn’t know what to expect after the pyramid.

  Ahmed unlocked Jessica’s door and checked over her apartment. Octo went with him like he was a security dog instead of one of the most spoiled creatures ever.

  “Ya, Mister, it is safe.” Ahmed returned. Octo did not. He must have found a place to sleep. Lazy beast.

  “I’ll be waiting in the car.” Ahmed let himself out and locked the door.

  Conner carried Jessica into her room. Sure enough Octo was smack in the middle of her bed, looking quite comfortable.

  “Really?” Conner chuckled. “We should go home, you know.”

  Not that he wanted to.

  He laid Jessica down and slipped off her sneakers. He stood back and considered helping her out of her jeans, but that would be torture for him, and he wouldn’t take advantage of her like that. So she was sleeping in her dusty clothes tonight. He pulled the blankets over her. Once he tucked her in, Octo leaned against her and rested his head on her hip.

  Ahmed had dropped Conner’s gym bag on the floor. He grabbed it. She might be sleeping covered in sand and pyramid dust, but he didn’t have to.

  He took a long shower and threw on the clean shorts and shirt that were in his bag. Jessica and Octo were both sleeping soundly when he finished. Conner was about to make his way back out to the couch, but changed his mind. There was plenty of space for him on the other side of Octo, and he was going to take the chance that Jessica wouldn’t be too mad in the morning.

  Jessica woke up hot and sweaty, with her hair trapped under her arm. She tried to move, but couldn’t. Something heavy was holding her in place. She cracked her eyes open. Bright sunlight filled her room and shone all over the large black dog lying on her chest.

  Memories from last night came rushing back to her. The pyramid. Kissing Conner. Finally.

  “Octo.” She smiled and scratched between his ears. Her pillows had been flung all over the place, her blankets too. Octo had made himself quite the comfy nest in the night. He’d taken up most of the bed too. If nothing else he slept well.

/>   She frowned. One thing she didn’t remember from last night, coming home. Or going to bed. She kicked off her sheets. She was still fully dressed and covered in sand. So he just plopped her in bed all dirty and dusty without at least waking her up to take a shower. Or worse yet, he had Ahmed do it.

  She sucked in a deep breath. Maybe not. Best to check before she blew up at him. She grabbed for her phone that he must have tossed on her bedside table. It was well past noon and not a single message.

  “Your daddy better be asleep on the couch.” She set down her phone and kicked completely free of both the dog and the bed.

  She was halfway across the room before she heard him.

  “No, but he was sleeping very well right here.”

  Jessica stopped in her tracks and spun around. Conner stretched out on the far side of her bed, on his back, one well-chiseled arm thrown across his eyes. He’d obviously made sure he showered and changed before he crashed in her bed!

  “What are you doing?” she sputtered.

  He peeked out from under his arm. His green eyes heavy with sleep.

  “Don’t tell me you’re mad?” He grinned. “Octo was like a wall protecting you from unwanted advances all night. You were very safe.”

  “But…but…” Words were failing her completely. He’d actually slept in her bed. “But you showered.”

  He flopped over on his stomach. His hair stuck out in a million different directions.

  “Yes, did you want me to wake you?”

  Octo stood in the middle of the bed and stretched. He let out a loud yawn. It was all pretty innocent, and, obviously, not a greasy hair on her head had been disturbed, so she couldn’t say he’d taken advantage of the situation.

  “Well, I guess not.” She sighed. “But I need to get one now.”

  “By all means. But would you put on some coffee first?” Conner mumbled.

  Speechless, Jessica did as he asked. She checked her email while waiting for the coffee to brew. A shower called her name, but she hoped the smell of fresh brew would lure him out of her room. There was no way she could shower in peace knowing he was in bed not far from her.

  There were only two new messages. The first was from the Housing Authority. They wouldn’t be able to change the locks until next week. She frowned. She’d told them her boab was getting into her apartment. They took her safety so seriously. Very efficient. She rolled her eyes. Melinda had explained to her that boabs came in two types. Some were good at keeping away unwanted guests and maintaining the buildings, and others were worse than those they were trying to keep out. So far she hadn’t had much interaction with hers, but Marcy had said he was decent. It didn’t matter anyway. The lie to the Housing Authority was necessary to avoid mentioning Rick.

  The second message was from the asshole himself. Jessica stared at it hard for a long time before clicking open. She should have just deleted the message and gone on about her life. This wasn’t the first. Nor would this one be the last, but it was time to stop torturing herself by reading his emails. She knew these things and still clicked open anyway. She read a rambling tirade about the Facebook pictures.

  Jessica was seething by the time she finished. Rick had no right to say who she could and couldn’t post pictures with, let alone take pictures with. She forwarded it on to her lawyer and deleted it.

  Octo and Conner shuffled into the kitchen. Jessica jumped at her chance to shower.

  “You know where the mugs are.”

  She ran off to her room.

  The hot water washed away the grime and relaxed all of her sore muscles from climbing the pyramid. The longer she was in there, though, the more doubt set in. In the last couple of days, she’d told Conner everything about her. The mess with Rick. He must think she was a needy, helpless little girl who did whatever she was told. She’d done exactly what he’d told her to do with getting the locks changed and allowing Ahmed to follow her around everywhere. And worse yet, he knew that Rick was the only man she’d ever been with.

  She turned off the water and wrapped herself in a fluffy towel. Why had she opened her big mouth and told him so much? If she could have pulled herself together the night she got the picture and the flowers, and not involved Conner at all, then he’d never have seen all the crazy in her life.

  No. Conner had cared enough to be concerned, and he went to all of that trouble to take her to the very top of the pyramid.

  Suddenly eager to see him again, she threw on a pair of shorts and a V-neck tee. She let her hair hang loose down her back. The heat would dry it naturally.

  Conner thrust a mug of coffee at her without looking up from his phone as soon as she walked back into the kitchen.

  “I don’t know about you,” he said. “But I’m kinda wiped today. How about we go back to my place and…”

  He looked up and stopped mid-sentence.

  “What?” she asked and sipped her coffee to hide her smile. She knew she looked good. Her shorts showed off her legs, and her shirt was a bit tight.

  He whistled.

  “What were you going to say?” she asked innocently.

  He turned to her with a wicked grin. “I was going to suggest we have a chill day. Go to my place, watch a movie or two, maybe swim. Now though, I’m thinking that might not be a good idea.”

  “Why not?” She was playing with fire here. The way he was looking at her, the heat in his gaze told her what he’d rather be doing today, and it had nothing to do with watching a movie.

  “You know, I’ve always hated shirts like that,” he said instead of answering her question.

  “Really? Why?” She frowned down at her shirt. It was sunny yellow and made her skin glow. She thought it looked great.

  He hooked his finger at the edge of the V and leaned down to kiss her just above his knuckle. His warm lips elicited a surprised gasp from her.

  “Yeah, they are so very unfair to guys.”

  He kissed her neck, her jaw, and then he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her tight against him for a proper good morning kiss.

  Jessica yelped and jumped as something cold and wet ran along the back of her legs. Conner held her close and laughed.

  “I don’t suppose you have any dog food.” His beautiful eyes sparkled at her.

  “No, but I have some sandwich ham.” She giggled.

  “That’ll work. He’s not picky.” He gave her a quick kiss and let her go. “So what do you say, movies at my place? You, me, and Rover, here?”

  Octo ate the ham Jessica offered him in two bites.

  “Sure.” She smiled. It would be nice to finally see his place. So far he’d always come to hers. Maybe this was the beginning of him opening up a little, showing her what made him tick. She was quite excited.

  “Perfect.”

  He grabbed a beat up old gym bag while she put on her sandals. Not even five minutes later he was pulling her out the door. Ahmed waited downstairs to drive them across town. He handed Jessica a bag with bagels and bananas. She smiled and thanked him.

  Conner lived on the top floor of a small building. His apartment was immaculate and modern. All clean lines and glass. It looked like something you’d see in Manhattan, not the middle of Cairo. Jessica knew he had money, but this screamed it in every possible way.

  Conner dropped his bag on the counter, and Octo ran off to presumably find his bowl.

  “Do you mind if I shower first? Somehow I still feel grimy. Then we can eat upstairs.”

  “Upstairs?”

  “The roof. I have a table and things up there.”

  Jessica nodded. “Okay.”

  “Feel free to look around. Snoop into anything.” He kissed her on the cheek and disappeared into a bedroom. What would he do if she snuck in there with him? She flushed. Surprised that thought even went through her head. Instead, she explored the apartment, curious about him, hopeful to learn a little more.

  Conner had more than one reason for escaping into the shower. He turned the water to cold to hel
p himself calm down. She drove him crazy, and he knew he had to take things slow with her.

  He scrubbed all the dust off him and washed his hair. There was still grit in his hair and sand under his fingernails from the pyramid.

  After stepping out of the shower he tugged on a pair of boxers and basketball shorts then grabbed a t-shirt and caught sight of himself in the mirror before he put it on. He worked out on a regular basis and swam quite often, so his upper body was nicely built. He decided to take a chance and see if he could elicit the same response out of her that she got out of him this morning.

  He flung the t-shirt over his shoulder and sauntered out into the kitchen and living room, but she wasn’t there. Damn. He’d told her to explore, but he hadn’t expected her to. She wasn’t in any of the other bedrooms. He climbed up the stairs to the roof. She was sitting next to the pool with her feet hanging in.

  She twisted around when he opened the door and looked like she was about to say something, but then she dropped her eyes and turned back to the pool.

  He sat next to her. Her face was flushed crimson.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I just wasn’t expecting you to be shirtless.”

  “Now you know how I felt this morning.”

  “That is not even close, and you know it. I was fully dressed. I didn’t even show cleavage.”

  “The effect is the same, my dear.”

  “No, it’s not. Now if you expect me to eat breakfast with you, you need to go put a shirt on.”

  He’d left his shirt down in the kitchen. He wanted to watch her squirm.

  “Nope. I’m going shirtless today.”

  She met his eyes, but she wouldn’t look down. “Why?”

  “Because you like it.”

  “That’s why I told you to go put a shirt on.”

  “You know it’s okay for you to look.”

  She sighed and stared off into the distance. “Rick never worked out or anything. He wasn’t overweight, but he was soft. I’ve never been this close to anyone who has a body like yours.”

  He couldn’t help himself. He laughed and grabbed her hand and wove their fingers together. “I can’t have you not able to look at me. Come on.”