Tessa looked at the two other people in the room and immediately felt like she was the butt of some joke. Anaise had a slight grin to her face as she stared at Torian. He shrugged gallantly, but said nothing. “You’re more than welcome to stay here,” Anaise offered, finally looking at her. “We’ve plenty of room.”
“Oh, that won’t be necessary. Maybe I should wait and see how long the storm lasts.” Another grumble boomed from the clouds, this time much closer. Tessa glanced out of the nearest window. A bolt of lightning flashed quickly as the wind noticeably picked up. “This is the weirdest storm I’ve ever seen,” she said, almost to herself. The rain came down suddenly in sheets until Tessa could no longer see anything but gray out of the window.
“Well, it certainly appears necessary to me,” Anaise said in an amused tone.
“Well, I don’t want to seem ungrateful.” Tessa conceded. She was tired, after all, and Rene was okay. A rest would do her good. She just needed to stay away from Torian, then she could rest peacefully and leave this evening, weather permitting.
“It’s settled then, Anaise,” came Torian’s rumbling voice. “Tessa will be staying. I’m sure she’ll be comfortable in the room next to mine.”
Chapter Two
What are you up to, Anubis? Hathor’s curious voice slid into his mind.
He couldn’t help but stare at Tessa. She was breathtaking and the more she stood there, the more interested he became. As she took the phone from Anaise, Anubis was entranced with the way those lips moved. How he wanted to kiss those lips. To get a kiss from her under compulsion was one thing, but to get a kiss because she desired him was another. He wanted her kisses compulsion-free.
As he watched her speak on the phone, he couldn’t help but think how she’d been resistant to Hathor’s compulsion and, to a degree, his as well. A strong human mind was indeed hard to find. He and the others like him never interfered with the will of humans, unless it was in their best interest. Once worshipped as Egyptian Gods, they now stood as secret guardians to the human race. Blending in with the humans could be taxing and as of late he had grown tired of existing the way he was. That was, until he met this human. Yes, Tessa would amuse him until he decided to… He dropped the thought. As Tessa snapped the phone shut and handed it to Hathor, he had already decided on a course of action.
“I’ll be leaving now,” she announced as she walked the short distance to her suitcase and picked it up. That’s what she thought, Anubis mused as Hathor tried to convince her to stay.
“It’s going to storm,” Anubis announced, already feeling the power generating through him. Everything dark was associated with him, for good reason. He began to darken the sky, being careful that his eyes did not take on their supernatural state as he used his abilities.
Tessa began to argue, but stopped as she stared out of the window at the gathering clouds. Anubis watched as confusion washed over her face. “But that’s impossible,” she breathed.
Anubis, shame on you. Anaise couldn’t keep the humor from her voice.
I’m not done with her yet.
Don’t harm her.
Have I ever harmed a hair on a human’s head?
No, but you have broken the hearts of many of the females.
She is different.
We shall see, old friend. We shall see.
Tessa looked from him to Hathor and he knew she sensed there was some sort of communication between them. “This is the weirdest storm I’ve ever seen.” Anubis wasn’t sure which of them she was addressing. Hathor chose to respond.
“Well, it certainly appears necessary to me.”
“Well, I don’t want to seem ungrateful.”
“It’s settled then, Anaise. Tessa will be staying. I’m sure she’ll be comfortable in the room next to mine,” he announced, gauging Tessa’s reaction. He saw her spine stiffen, and the uncomfortable shock that crossed her haunting features.
“So you’re staying as well,” Hathor directed at him.
“Yes.”
“You’re staying the night?” Tessa’s question was riddled with irritation.
“Most certainly.” Anubis walked took her before she could protest. “Did you not see the storm out there? It’s impossible to travel in. Besides, I am often a guest in this house, therefore I have room reserved just for me.” For the second time he held out his hand, indicating she should precede him. “I can show you to your room.”
“Is he kidding?” she asked Hathor.
“Torian is a very good friend of ours and, yes, he does reside here occasionally.”
“This house appears to be very big; surely there are other rooms I can stay in. You know, one that’s at least a wing away from him.”
“I am sorry, Dr. Michaels, but our house is going through some remodeling. I redecorate a lot and right now there aren’t any other rooms fit for a guest.”
“I apologize for being difficult,” Tessa said tiredly. “Any room is fine. Hopefully, I’ll be leaving tonight if the storm subsides. I’ll just take this opportunity to catch up on some sleep.”
“You plan on being holed up in your room all the day, then?” Anubis asked as she finally fell into step beside him.
“I know it’s early for you, but I’ve been traveling all night. I’m sure I could use the rest.”
“You don’t look tired to me.”
“You don’t know me well enough to ascertain when and if I’m tired,” she snapped. Anubis looked at her sideways, admiring the long lines of her body.
“I’m hoping to change that.”
“Not going to happen.”
Truly, he had angered her. Good. He liked a challenge. “How can you be so sure, after what went on just a few minutes ago?” There was no mistaking the attractive flush to her cheeks.
“What happened a few minutes ago ensures that it will never happen again.”
“Are you denying the obvious?”
She sniffed. “What would that be?”
“Desire.”
“Jetlag,” she countered.
Anubis stopped. A second later she stopped as well and turned on her heel slowly. “What?” She shifted her weight to one leg and tapped her foot. He was really becoming accustomed to that little habit of hers.
“Are you saying that you have no desire for me whatsoever?”
“I’m saying I have jetlag. That in and of itself means I can’t really judge anything with a clear head. However, I am willing to bet even after a good night’s sleep I’ll still find you incredibly annoying, but certainly not desirable.”
“Want to make a bet?”
“Why? I’m leaving this evening, if I’m lucky. There’s no way to actually activate the bet.”
“First of all, Dr. Tessa Michaels, never underestimate a determined suitor. Second, this is your room.” He lightly nodded towards the closed door. He watched with hungry eyes as she walked the distance back towards him and reached for her suitcase. The moment her smooth skin brushed against his, a fire flared inside him. Pure desire, undiluted, shot through him. It had been too long since anyone had captured his interest. This fiery creature had no idea the beast within him wouldn’t just let her slip away.
At the brief contact she seemed out of sorts, but quickly pulled herself together. “Thank you, Torian. You’re quite the, uh, something,” she finished wryly, entering her room without once looking back. But Torian knew she fought the impulse.
With the lightest of touches, he looked inside her mind to see that despite her interest in him, her reluctance to become involved was overwhelming. He pulled out of her mind, not wanting to intrude. Now his interest was piqued. Why a woman like this was insisting on living a solitary life was puzzling. His life was led in solitude through no choice of his own, but hers was self-inflicted.
He walked the whopping twelve feet to his own room and, without using the door, became a shade to phase into the room. The room, dimly lit because of the storm, posed no problem to his keen preternatural vision. With d
eliberate intent, he stopped right in front of the door that connected his room to Tessa’s and knocked. He could hear her bare feet on the carpet as she approached. He could hear her breathing on the other side. He knocked again, assuring her that she had indeed heard a knock at the door.
“Yes?” she said queried hesitantly.
“Torian.”
“What do you want?” There was no mistaking the annoyance in her voice, and a second later the door swung open. “Seriously, our rooms connect? You know, if I didn’t know any better I would swear you planned all this. If it wasn’t for the fact that you didn’t know I existed half an hour ago and that storm came out of nowhere, I would bet my life on it. What do you want, Torian?” she repeated.
He smiled, liking the way his name sounded on her lips, even if she was a little perturbed with him.
“You owe me.”
She squinted. “What?”
“I would stop doing that if I were you.”
“Doing what?”
“Asking questions.”
“Wh—” she began, then stopped. “Explain yourself.”
“We had an agreement. For every two questions you ask me, I get to ask you one. By my calculations, you owe me…” Anubis pretended to calculate. “You’ve asked me ten questions, which means you owe me five answers.”
Her brown eyes were hard as she looked at him without blinking. Tessa took a deep breath before she leaned against the doorframe. Her hand fluttered in the air, indicating he should start asking questions. Anubis smiled. “It’s not going to be that easy, Dr. Michaels. You see, in the short time we’ve known each other we have two deals in effect, the first one being the question arrangements and the second proving that you have no desire for me by the time morning comes.”
“Okay,” she said carefully. He knew she was trying to avoid asking him a question. “I’m very tired, Torian, and really am not good company. I honestly don’t feel like going anywhere and you’re not stepping foot in this room. So I do not understand how you propose to prove such a thing.”
“You should be hungry.” His statement took her by surprise. She nodded yes and Torian mentally asked Hathor to send up food and drink. “Good. I’ve asked Anaise to have some food brought up for you.”
He unfastened two of the buttons on his shirt and walked over to the desk in his room to drag the chair in front of the connecting door. “There’s one just like this in your room,” he informed her as he sat down.
“You don’t seri—” she began, then stopped. Without a word, she turned around and quickly scanned the room for the desk. Finding it, she dragged its chair back and sat down opposite him on her side of the doorway. “I’m assuming you’re ready to begin.”
“You’re getting a knack for this.”
“Seeing as I’m five questions in, I don’t need to go deeper into debt.”
“You should find your room quite comfortable. Anaise goes through a lot of trouble decorating.”
“The room is beautiful.”
“If you need something to sleep in, just ask Anaise. She loves to shop and I am sure she has plenty of clothing for a slew of women.”
“Thank you, I’ll do that.”
“The food should be here any minute, as I’m sure after all that traveling you are famished.”
“I am, actually. The last thing I ate was,” again, she stopped herself and grinned. “You’re good, Torian. You’ve managed the art of conversation without actually asking a question.” For just a moment, her smile was unguarded. He could see the smallest dimples and found them quite charming. Her eyes held a light to them before she apparently realized she had dropped her guard, and immediately lost the smile. A knock at the door from her room to the hallway made her jump.
“Please come in,” she said hoarsely. Torian remained quiet while the servants brought in the food. She kept her eyes on the servants, deftly avoiding his gaze. She wouldn’t be able to avoid him much longer. He was determined to find out as much as he could about this fascinating human. More than that, he was determined to bed her.
“Please set up a table right here,” He instructed the servants. Tessa’s eyebrow went up, but she kept her lips tightly shut. Tessa got up, making room for them to drag the small nightstand between her and Torian and set the food out rather attractively on top. Once they were done and closed the door behind them , Torian trained his gaze on her.
“I hope you find that meal to your liking.” She nodded as she speared a fork into the scrambled eggs. He watched as she chewed, even more closely as she swallowed. The simplest things she did piqued his interest. He couldn’t recall in his extremely long immortal life ever being so fascinated with a female as he was with Tessa.
“I’m assuming you’re going to stare at me until I’m done.” She looked at him, defiance overtaking the uncomfortable body language of just a moment before. “I’m also assuming you’ve already eaten.”
“It would seem you learn quickly, Tessa,” he said admiringly. “No, I am not going to stare at you until you’re done. I believe I will always stare at you, Tessa. You’re a very beautiful woman.” His compliment didn’t seem to have an impact on her. No doubt she had heard it a million times before. When he had called her beautiful, he noticed her face harden for just a moment. She obviously had a lot of painful secrets. “And, yes, I’ve already had sustenance.” Her posture relaxed a bit as he laced his words with the faintest hint of compulsion for her to relax.
She drank the last of the orange juice before she leaned back in her chair — and burped. “Excuse me.” She seemed not the least bit embarrassed, as most women would be. He was willing to bet she was hoping that bad manners would turn him off and make him leave. “I am hoping this won’t take long, I’m very tired.” She crossed her legs, and he wished the nightstand wasn’t between them so he could drink in the full length of those gorgeous legs.
“Then let us begin, Dr. Tessa Michaels. First question: how did he break your heart?”
She swallowed as her gaze locked with his. He wasn’t prepared for her abrupt reaction. She stood up quickly; her chair tumbled backwards, a dull thump on the carpeting.
“We’re done,” she bit out and attempted to push the nightstand into his side of the room to close the door. Torian moved faster, gripping the other side of it to prevent her from pushing it. He’d obviously struck a nerve.
“Quite the contrary. We’ve just started,” he answered, already on the other side of the nightstand and pulling her further into her room.
Chapter Three
“Get out,” she managed between clenched teeth. The nerve of him, asking such a personal question when she barely knew him. He stood less than three feet from her; those black eyes never faltered as he seemed to study her. “I said get out.” She brushed past him, hating that the contact sent hot shivers down her spine.
“I’ll withdraw the question for now.”
“I would like you to withdraw,” she snapped, fiddling with her suitcase on the bed. She just needed something to do until she got him out of her room. He was disturbing her in ways she hadn’t thought possible. It was absolutely none of his business what Roarden had done to her.
“I took you for a gentleman. When a lady asks you to leave, you should do so.” Without really taking in what she was doing, she began to idly move garments around in her suitcase.
“I’ve upset you. That was not my intention.”
“Well, the road to hell and all that,” Tessa snapped again, spinning around to face him. “Look, I’m sure you’re a nice enough guy and I’m equally sure women love the caveman mentality you have going on, but no respectable lady,” she began, pointing at him to punctuate her point, “would kiss and tell about a relationship with a man she just met.”
His very inviting lips turned into an even more inviting smile. His eyes were trained on … Her gaze dropped to the hand she’d pointed at him. Her pink thong still waved slightly to and fro from her finger. Mortified, she put it behind her back a
nd hoped the blush she was sure was staining her face wasn’t too bright — or noticeable. “Now, if you’ll just leave I can get some rest.” She used her most professional voice and hoped like hell she still had some dignity left.
His head tilted slightly to the side as he remained quiet a heartbeat longer. “I have some phone calls to make. I will give you respite from our agreement — for now. And for the record, I took you for a lady the moment my eyes laid on your divine form. I do, however, hope you are a lady of your word and will give me the opportunity to use the five questions you owe me.”
Tessa opened her mouth then closed it again. What did he think was going to happen between now and this evening? She had every intention of getting on a plane back to Arizona as planned. “I can only tell you this: I plan on getting on that plane tonight. So without bothering me while I sleep, I really don’t see—”
“Perhaps it would be better if I called the airline on your behalf and let them know you’ll be rescheduling your return flight.”
“Really, that’s not necessary. It can’t storm forever. I’ll just take a nap and when I wake up I’ll head towards the airport.”
“Storms in Cairo have been known to go on for days.” He walked over to the window and peered out. “You could be stuck here for quite a while.”
“Or not.”
He turned to her. He had a look on his face that suggested he knew something she didn’t and he definitely wasn’t sharing any information. “Very well, then. Let us see how the storm plays out and we’ll go from there. Meanwhile, you rest.” He sauntered over to the dividing door and, with little effort, returned the nightstand to its proper place. He bowed to her and she almost smiled at his Old World manners. He shut the door softly behind him and Tessa let out a breath. He was exhausting.
Caress The Dark God [Scions of the Ankh 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 2