Dark Power Untamed (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance Book 50)

by I. T. Lucas

  But that didn’t make much sense either.

  Applying Occam’s razor, the simplest explanation was that Geraldine had Cassy as a teenager, and she’d been lucky enough to age well.

  He followed her inside. “Is Cassandra still working?”

  “You guessed it. She insists on creating a new design for each new monthly Surprise Box, says it keeps them fresh, but that means that she has to reinvent the wheel every month anew.”

  It was a very lucid insight from a woman who was supposedly a little off.

  He put the bags on the kitchen counter. “Cassandra knows what she’s doing. Kevin is lucky to have her.”

  “Onegus.” Cassandra flew down the stairs, her dress billowing around her hips, earrings dangling, and a bright smile on her gorgeous face.

  “Cassy.” He opened his arms, and she went right into them, wrapping her arms around his neck as if welcoming her mate returning from a long trip.

  It felt too right.

  Her enthusiastic welcome shouldn’t make him feel so damn happy.

  As he embraced her lightly and kissed her forehead out of respect for her mother, Geraldine cleared her throat.

  “Let’s eat before everything gets cold.”

  For some reason, Cassandra chuckled. “My mother seems uncomfortable with our display of affection. She’s a little old-fashioned.”

  Geraldine smiled sweetly. “It’s not that. I just can’t wait to dig into my orange chicken.” She took the bag and started putting boxes on the dining room table that was already set up for three.

  He leaned and whispered into Cassandra’s ear, “You look beautiful. Good enough to eat.” The last sentence was delivered in a tone an octave lower than the first, and he interpreted the answering gleam in Cassandra’s eyes as a yes, please.

  “Later,” he whispered.

  Her mother cleared her throat again. “Cassy, could you please bring sodas from the refrigerator?”

  “Of course.” She winked at him before letting go and heading into the kitchen.

  “I want to thank you,” Geraldine said.

  “You’re welcome, but it’s nothing.” He waved a hand at the takeout boxes. “I hope you enjoy it. The Golden Dragon is my favorite place for Chinese.”

  “I’m sure Cassy and I will love it. But what I really wanted to thank you for is making my daughter happy.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t hurt her.”

  The message was clear, and he didn’t doubt the potency of the unspoken ‘or else.’ The same energy he’d felt swirling inside Cassandra was also inside her mother, just at a much lower voltage.

  He wondered whether sensitive humans picked up on that the way he had and what they made of it. In days long passed, mother and daughter could have been accused of witchcraft. Thank the merciful Fates those days were over, hopefully never to return, but one never knew with humans.

  The us-versus-them chimp mentality was hardwired into the human race, as was blindly following their leaders, whether clergy, and or politicians. Nowadays there were also internet and social media influencers to follow. The twenty-first century was a brainwashing fest like no other, but the impetus hadn’t changed. It had always been about power and money, and it was still about leaving as little of it as possible in the hands of the masses.

  As long as it didn’t lead to wars, though, Onegus didn’t care. The problem was that at some point, someone always figured out that they could shift even more money and power from others to themselves by taking it forcefully.

  “What are you thinking about?” Cassandra smoothed a finger over his forehead. “You’re frowning.”

  He hadn’t noticed that she’d returned with a six-pack of sodas and wine glasses for the wine he’d brought.

  “Just random thoughts.” He smiled. “Thank you for sharing your home with me tonight. I’m honored.” He dipped his head to Geraldine.

  “It’s our pleasure.” Cassandra’s mother smiled sweetly as if she hadn’t threatened him just a moment ago.

  55

  Cassandra

  They were almost done with dinner, and so far Geraldine had behaved, but Cassandra had a feeling that her luck was about to run out when her mother smiled mysteriously, put her fork down, and pushed her plate away.

  “This was excellent, but not as good as the one I had in Washington while dating Cassy’s father.”

  Cassandra cleared her throat.

  Disregarding her, Geraldine continued. “He was an analyst for the Ethiopian embassy.”

  So today, her father had been just the analyst. The other day he’d been the ambassador himself, and other times he hadn’t been from Ethiopia but from Yemen or Senegal. And that was when he wasn’t a visiting professor, a surgeon, or an astronaut.

  As her mother lifted a paper napkin and dabbed it at her lips, Cassandra cast Onegus an apologetic sidelong glance.

  “He was a descendant of the legendary Queen of Sheba.” Her mother chuckled. “Or so he claimed.” Her eyes became dreamy. “He was certainly majestic enough. Tall, broad-shouldered, and his smile.” She fanned herself with her hand. “It was as beautiful as yours, Onegus.”

  Eager to interrupt the fantasy trip, Cassandra pushed to her feet. “Ready for coffee and dessert?”

  Onegus followed her up. “I’ll clear the table.”

  Geraldine remained seated for a moment longer, that dreamy expression still on her face. It would almost be a shame to bring her back to reality, but Cassandra feared that one of these days her mother would float away on the wings of her imagination and never come back.

  “Mom, isn’t Gwen supposed to pick you up at ten? It’s nine-fifty, and you still need to change into something warmer.”

  Her mother shook her head. “I’ll grab a sweater on my way out. It’s not like we are going anywhere. We are just going to watch a movie at Gwen’s.”

  “As you wish.”

  Geraldine pushed away from the table. “Do you need me to help clear the dishes?”

  “No. We are fine, Mom. Go have fun.”

  “Thank you.” She smiled at both of them. “It was a lovely dinner.”

  When Geraldine headed upstairs to get her sweater, Onegus smirked like a cat who had realized that the canary’s cage was open. “We will have the house to ourselves,” he said softly. “I feel like a teenager waiting for my girl’s parents to leave, so I can have my wicked way with her.”

  Cassandra filled the carafe with water from the filter. “I’m sorry about my mother’s stories about my father.” She poured it into the coffeemaker. “I don’t know if she makes them up because she can’t remember who he was, or because she enjoys the fantasy.” She smiled at Onegus. “For some reason, he’s never just a schoolteacher or a plumber, which would make her stories more believable.”

  Onegus glanced toward the stairs, but her mother wasn’t coming down yet. “As long as the fantasies don’t make her dangerous to herself or others, they are harmless. Geraldine sounds lucid most of the time, she is intelligent, friendly, and seems to have an active social life.”

  “Yeah, she belongs to a book club that meets twice a week, sometimes three. My mother has a much more active social life than I do.” Realizing how pathetic that sounded, Cassandra added, “But she doesn’t work eighty hours a week and has the time to be social.”

  Onegus sighed. “We are a lot alike, you and I. I have never taken a proper vacation. I consider traveling for business my time off.”

  Leaning against the counter, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Do you enjoy what you do?”

  “Very much so.” He cast a glance at the hissing coffeemaker, which was spewing dark brew into the clear carafe. “Sometimes I don’t even notice that I’ve been in the office for twelve hours straight.”

  “That’s why you don’t take a vacation,” Cassandra said. “You enjoy working more than you enjoy time off.”

  It was also a sign of loneliness.

  Cassandra hadn’t taken a vacation since she’d started wor
king for Kevin either. Neither of her two boyfriends had offered to take her on one, and going alone was just sad. After her high school friends had gone to college and she’d gone to work for Kevin, Cassandra had lost touch with them, so that wasn’t an option either. Besides, they were no doubt married by now and chasing gaggles of kids around.

  When the coffeemaker was done, she poured them both a cup. “Where would you go if you had someone to go with?”

  He was about to answer when her mother came down the stairs.

  “I’m off to Gwen’s.” She kissed Cassandra’s cheek and then did the same to Onegus. “I hope to see you again.” She tilted her head as if it was a question.

  “I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”

  Hopefully, that wasn’t a lie.

  “Good.” Geraldine beamed happily.

  Cassandra wondered if her mother was going to remember Onegus once he stopped coming over.

  Probably not, which would be a blessing.

  The guy was too good to be true, and something in his tone had told her that he wasn’t planning on sticking around for long despite what he’d told her mother.

  There were other indicators as well.

  If he was serious about her, he would want to show her off to his friends, not take her to a deserted building where no one could see them together. So yeah, he’d taken her to his cousin’s restaurant, and they’d even danced a little, but he hadn’t introduced her to his famous cousin or anyone else.

  Having her speak with his roommate on the phone didn’t count.

  If there was another date, she would insist that Onegus invite her to his house, the one he shared with the composer, or that he invite some of his friends to join them on an outing. If he tried to wiggle out of it, she would have proof that her hunch had been right, and she should end things before getting attached to him.

  It would still be hard as hell to say goodbye to Onegus, but she could at least save her dignity and avoid even more pain down the line.

  56

  Onegus

  As soon as the door closed behind Geraldine, Onegus pulled Cassandra into his arms. “Let’s skip coffee and dessert. I’d much rather snack on you.” He smacked his lips.

  Her smile was tense. “I still have work to do tonight.”

  “So do I, but there is always time for a quickie.” He dipped his head and kissed her softly. “I can either eat my dessert here, sprawled on the dining table, or on the couch, or you can take me to your bedroom.”

  She hesitated for a couple of seconds. “Let’s go to my room.” She took his hand and led him up the stairs.

  “That’s my mother’s room.” She pointed at the double doors leading to what was no doubt the master bedroom. “And this is mine.” She opened the next door and turned the lights on.

  The room was small, but like the rest of the house, it was uncluttered and beautifully done. A queen-sized bed with a wrought iron headboard took up most of the space. The bedding was cream-colored cotton with embroidered accents, and a colorful quilt was folded at the foot of the bed. There was space for only one nightstand and a dresser that was tall and narrow, and there were no knick-knacks or framed photos like in most females’ bedrooms. Cassandra also had no television or any other electronics in her room, not even a landline phone, and instead of pictures, an intricate quilt covered half the wall across from the bed.

  The room was designed to promote peaceful sleep and nothing else. He applauded her decorating approach. Living in a city that had suffered a number of powerful earthquakes, having nothing in her bedroom that could fall over and break was a smart decision.

  “You don’t work in here,” he stated the obvious.

  She chuckled. “I wouldn’t be able to sleep at all if I had my work stuff here. The next bedroom over is my study, but I use its closet to store half of my clothes. There is not enough room in this one.”

  She sounded a little nervous, so he ran his hands over her back in soothing circles. “You bought the house, and yet you gave your mother the master bedroom. How come?”

  She shrugged. “My mother worked very hard to raise me on her own. She deserves a little pampering from me. Besides, I only sleep in here, and I use the other bedroom as well.”

  He put his hands on her waist. “Under all your bluster, you are very sweet.”

  She scrunched her nose. “I am not sweet. I’m spicy.”

  He licked his lips. “Let’s put it to the test.”

  He gathered her dress until it was bunched around her middle. “Lift your arms.”

  Smiling seductively, she did, and he pulled the dress over her head.

  “Gorgeous.” He lifted her by the waist, laid her on the bed, and then stood at the foot of it and just feasted his eyes on her.

  “Get the lights, Onegus,” she whispered.

  “Are you being shy, Cassy?”

  “No, but it’s more romantic in the dark.”

  “If you say so.” He walked over to the light switch and flicked it off.

  Plenty of moonlight streamed through the open window, bathing Cassandra in a silvery light that made her skin glow like burnished copper.

  Her bra and panties were white satin, simple yet elegant, just as the gray set she’d worn the day before. The woman had impeccable taste, and she paid attention to the smallest of details.

  Even the bottle of moisturizer on the nightstand matched the color scheme of her room.

  It gave him an idea. “Turn around on your belly. I’m going to give you a massage.”

  She grinned. “With a happy ending?”

  “Of course.”

  As Cassandra turned over, he sucked in a breath. Her panties weren’t a thong, but they didn’t cover much either. The narrow triangle of satin barely covered the valley between her cheeks, and they were so enticing that he just had to kiss each one before sliding those panties down her long legs.

  “I love your ass.” He kissed each cheek again before reaching for the lotion.

  “Only my ass?” Reaching behind herself, Cassandra popped the clasp of her bra, pulled it off, and tossed it on the floor.

  “I love your breasts too, and your legs, and your arms.” He squeezed out a dollop, rubbed it between his hands, and smoothed them over the back of her thighs. “I also love those pouty lips of yours, and your eyes, especially when they sizzle with power.”

  Cassandra stiffened. “What do you mean?”

  “Your spunk, your energy.” He smoothed his hands over her perfect bottom and kneaded. “You are strong, determined, uncompromising, and I find it sexy as hell.”

  “Some would summarize it as bitchy,” she murmured.

  “Not me.” He slid a finger down her feminine folds, eliciting a throaty moan.

  “What would you call it?”

  He paused for a moment, thinking how to put into words the way he saw her. “I would call it majestic, my beautiful queen.”

  57

  Cassandra

  Cassandra laughed. “You are such a charmer, Onegus. But you are not original. I’ve been called a queen bitch before.”

  The smack landing on her bottom caught her by surprise. “What was that for?”

  It hadn’t been more than a love tap, and given how big and muscled Onegus was, he had barely touched her. Was it part of the foreplay?

  “I just couldn’t help myself.” Another one landed on her other cheek, and then he was kneading them with his strong fingers, spreading the heat around. “This ass is driving me crazy. Men would go to war over this perfection.”

  “You’re obsessed.” Smiling into the pillow, she wiggled her bottom.

  He smacked it again. “You’re damn right I am. Can you blame me? Have you looked at that ass in the mirror?”

  She laughed again. “I sure did.”

  Being playful in the bedroom was a novelty. The other men Cassandra had been with, the whole two of them, had taken sex way too seriously. She never would have expected to enjoy the banter with Onegus so much. />
  “Once or twice. But you promised me a massage, and all you’re doing is talking and playing with my butt.”

  “Apologies, my queen.”

  She heard him squirt another dollop, and then his hands were on her calves, massaging, kneading.

  Her toes curled as her muscles eased.

  After strutting in high heels all day, her calf muscles were tight, and having his strong fingers on them felt almost orgasmic, which she freely expressed with several delighted moans.

  He chuckled. “And here I thought that you would be hard to please.” He lifted her foot and massaged each toe separately.

  “If you promise to do this every night, I’ll marry you as soon as we can get to a chapel.” She regretted her words as soon as they’d left her mouth, and even more when his hands stopped massaging. “I’m just joking, Onegus. I have no intentions of marrying you or anyone else. I’m married to my job.”

  Liar.

  She loved her work, but that didn’t preclude having a man in her life, or even children—provided that she mastered her energy so it never acted out when it shouldn’t. Her mother would help her raise them, and she could hire a nanny to help her. Geraldine would be thrilled to have babies to take care of. And as for her long workdays, Cassandra could do most of the work from home.

  Kevin wouldn’t mind. In fact, he would probably be overjoyed. It would save him from having to manage all the complaints from the other creatives about her bitchy attitude and her so-called unreasonable demands for timely production.

  Yeah, dream on.

  Time wasn’t on her side as far as having children was concerned. If she didn’t find someone soon, as well as learn to control her power, that would remain just a dream.

  “I kind of liked the idea.” His hands moved back to her calves. “But regrettably, I’m in the same boat as you. And on top of that, I also travel for work. Not a lot, but enough to make my lifestyle unsuitable for marriage. Unless my hypothetical future wife worked with me in my office and came along on my business trips, she would be alone most of the time.”