She ran her fingers through her tangled curls in disgust. Exhausting or not, he was gorgeous. She had to remind herself that she was definitely not in the market for a relationship, let alone a one-night stand. She returned the offending thong back to her suitcase and shook her head. Could she have done something more embarrassing?
* * * *
It was so dark. She felt along the walls in fear. Where was she? Her eyes couldn’t make out anything in the uninterrupted darkness. The warm floor beneath her feet turned into a carpet of cool grass. It tickled her soles as she walked. Relief coursed through her as the stars above twinkled and the moon shone through the trees. She’d made it outside; from where, she didn’t know. A scurrying sound caught her attention. She turned, trying to make out what it was. It ran so fast her eyes barely registered the form. It looked like a large dog. Without realizing why, she began to follow it.
The creature came out of the trees; its coat was black and glossy. It was one of the most beautiful animals Tessa had ever seen. Jackal, whispered in her mind. She approached it slowly as it sat on its haunches. She held out a hand in a friendly gesture. Hello there, she said in her mind, for words didn’t seem natural coming out of her mouth. It stood up and slowly came towards her. She knelt slowly, still reaching for it. The nose of the jackal touched her hand lightly, sending a shiver through her. This creature was wild and yet it came to her. It licked her hand and she smiled. She leaned closer and began to caress the shiny, coarse coat. It came closer until its muzzle was in the crook of her neck. She sighed as it sniffed at her.
A strange energy began to circulate around her and she realized the jackal was changing form. Startled, she fell back and stared at it. Its canine features were turning into those of a man. Her eyes traveled the shape of the now half-formed being. Right before her eyes it morphed into a gloriously naked man with the most perfect body she’d ever seen. She raised her gaze and stared into the dark eyes. Those familiar dark, sensual eyes beckoned her. She stood then, afraid and curious. He wasn’t human, wasn’t natural. She backed up. Part of her wanted to go to him, part of her wanted to flee.
Don’t run, his thoughts came to her.
But she turned and ran, blindly. Deep inside, she wanted him to chase her. Run her to ground. Her feet barely felt the grass as she ran. She could hear him behind her, very close. A growl rent the air, then a howl. In seconds she felt his arms about her waist and she tumbled to the ground. He landed on the bottom, but quickly rolled until he was on top, his naked body hovering over her as he settled between her legs. His eyes spoke not a word, but she knew his intention. He grasped the base of his engorged cock and she could feel the tip against her—
“Dr. Michaels.” The woman’s voice jolted her awake. “Are you awake?”
Tessa groaned as her skin tingled from the dream. She felt hot and needy, very unsatisfied. The servant continued. “Mistress Anaise told me to wake you, as you wanted to be up this evening.” Tessa willed her wild heartbeat to calm down. Her mouth was dry and she found she’d been clutching the sheets.
“Uh, thank you,” Tessa rasped out. The servant nodded when she saw that Tessa was awake, and told her if she was hungry to just let her know. With a fully stocked kitchen, there wasn’t anything she couldn’t make. Tessa thanked the other woman again and waited for the tell-tale click of the door latch closing.
“Damn that man,” she muttered. She’d only known him a few hours and he was bothering the hell out of her. She winced again when she picked up the sound of the storm still raging outside. “Great, now I have to spend the night.” Tessa dragged herself out of the bed and went into the bathroom to splash water on her face.
When she came back into the room, she found the adjoining door was open, with Torian leaned deliciously against the doorframe, wearing nothing but a towel. “What do you think you’re doing?” The words were out before she thought about it. “Look, the deal is off about our whole question arrangement,” she stammered.
“You sound as if you won’t make good on the questions I clearly earned.” She had to think about his question, as she couldn’t help but stare at the glistening six-pack before her. Her eyes traveled down to the towel that bulged over his very manly parts. He looked exactly as he had in her dream, at least the parts she could see.
“Um, I plan to. Look, can you go put on something?” She was still aching from her dream, and he wasn’t exactly helping the desire to disappear.
“I don’t think I’ve ever known a doctor to be a prude.” His exotic accent was tinged with teasing.
“I’m not a prude.” She turned around and tried to smooth her wrinkled skirt. She just knew she had bed-head hair. No longer able to resist, she began to try to tame the unruly curls by smoothing her hand across them. “It’s just, I don’t know you, so you shouldn’t be half naked in my room with me.”
“I suppose a better arrangement would be you half naked in my room.” His tone seemed thoughtful, but Tessa could hear the teasing and the dare in his voice. “I take it you noticed the storm outside.”
“Yes,” Tessa sighed. “I need to call the airport. I’m sure everything is canceled anyway.”
“I called for you. I didn’t want to wake you. The officials will inform us as soon as flights are cleared.”
“That was very thoughtful of you.” Inwardly, Tessa rolled her eyes. Now he had to start being nice.
“This can’t be easy for you, being in a house with people you don’t know. If there’s anything I can do to make you feel more at home …”
“No, really, I’m a big girl. I’ve been in stranger spots than this.”
“You really came all this way to make sure Rene was all right?” He shook his head. “That’s admirable. I didn’t know the human race could still care about one another.”
“I know what you mean.” Tessa rubbed her arms, more for comfort than warmth. “But Rene and I are a lot alike. She keeps to herself, but she’s really sweet.”
“You seem fond of her. Besides being doctors, why do you believe you’re so much alike?”
Without thinking, Tessa answered. “We’re alone in this world. She doesn’t have any family and I don’t either. While she never knew hers, mine were killed in a stupid accident.” Tessa shook her head, trying to will away the memories of being seventeen and a disinterested cop telling her that her parents had been in a car with their friends on vacation. One of the friends had been drinking and killed them all by losing control of the vehicle. “It’s hard sometimes living every day without that special connection to family or anyone special.” The words were out before she caught them.
“But you thought you had that connection once, yes?”
“Yeah, once.” She looked out the window, desperate to change the subject. “I really could use a bath.” She couldn’t face him. She’d revealed a little more of herself than she’d intended.
“Very well. I’ll come for you later.” She barely heard his soft words as Roarden came to mind.
“Thank you,” she managed, the pain still too fresh. She closed her eyes, letting the tears that clouded her vision fall. Roarden had nearly destroyed her, but she’d fought tooth and nail and she would come out stronger. Right now she was too vulnerable, and that meant keeping Torian at arm’s length.
* * * *
A fresh shower, fresh clothes and makeup did wonders for Tessa’s mood. She pulled her hair through the elastic band and was satisfied with the ponytail. There was something about a well-worn pair of jeans and a favorite T-shirt that simply relaxed her. So maybe her plans were askew, but she could adapt. All she had to do was stay away from Torian and she could get out of this unscathed. The dream she’d had of him surfaced in her thoughts and a flush came over her entire body. Yes indeed, staying away from Torian was plan A, getting on the plane without getting hot and sweaty with him was plan B.
She opened the door to her room to find Torian waiting for her, a single perfect white rose in his hand. “I told you I would come
for you,” he reminded as he handed her the rose. He stood there in a dark tailored shirt. Plan A was going to be hard to implement. “Anaise has gone through the trouble of arranging the cooks, to make,” he paused, his accent sounding adorable as he continue, “fettuccine with Alfredo sauce, and mixed greens with tomato and Italian dressing. I’m sure you can smell the homemade banana pudding. Come, I’ll lead you to the dining area.”
“How in the world did Anaise know I loved those dishes?” Tessa found herself salivating at the thought of the meal waiting for her. “My goodness, it’s as if they were plucked right out of my head.” Her stomach rumbled and she looked at Torian sheepishly. “Sorry about that. I’m starving and the menu is making me ravenous.”
“I can certainly relate to certain dishes evoking immense desire.” His words, blatantly sexual, made her smile.
“You never stop, do you?”
“Going after what I desire? No. How else would I get everything I want?” he asked in mock seriousness.
“I assumed you to be the type that took what you wanted.” Tessa lifted the rose to her nose as she watched him, waiting for his response.
“You are right,” he said right before they were about to turn a corner. Without warning, Tessa found herself pushed against the wall. One of his long legs was planted between hers, an arm on either side of her face as he looked down at her. “How about I trade a question for a kiss?” he murmured. Tessa swallowed, trying to will her mouth to say no. He smiled. “You do realize no answer is as good as a yes?” Without giving her time to respond, his lips were on hers, soft but firm. Then his tongue gently probed her lips apart.
He was an excellent kisser. He made her knees turn into melted rubber. She felt him gently stroking her curls at the nape of her neck as he deepened the kiss. His tongue slid against hers, retreated and came back, teasing her, making her taste him back. She’d never known a man to taste like him. There was a wildness to him that quickly infused her desire. Her hands found his narrow hips as she pulled him closer. It felt so familiar, him practically between her legs. His body heat enveloped her, making her need for him rage so fast it astounded her.
Slowly he broke the kiss and she looked up into his eyes. For just a second she thought she saw black tornado funnels. She blinked and when she looked again his black eyes stared at her with undiluted lust. “Again I ask you, Dr. Tessa Michaels, will you still deny you desire me?”
Chapter Four
The beast in him came forth with unbridled desire. He broke the kiss, knowing his control was slipping fast. “Again I ask you, Dr. Tessa Michaels, will you still deny you desire me?”
Anubis could barely get the words past his raw throat. He wanted to turn her against the wall and rip the clothing from her body. He looked down at her, for the first time having to concentrate hard to ensure his eyes didn’t turn in front of her. His control slipped by an inch every time he saw her.
She put her hands against his chest and cast her eyes down. “I won’t deny there is a sexual spark between us,” she said softly. His satisfaction at her admission made him want to pursue her even harder. While he certainly couldn’t keep a storm raging in Cairo forever, he needed to devise a way to keep her here.
“Oh.” The exclamation came from Hathor as she rounded the corner and spotted them both in a very compromising situation. Reluctance hummed through him as he gathered his composure and stepped away from Tessa.
Hathor handed the cell phone to him. “Gale sounds just frantic. She said you left your cell phone at the office and she couldn’t reach you.”
“Yes, Gale.” He listened intently as his office manager began to explain. Anubis felt his mood go grim immediately. After Gale finished, he handed Hathor her phone. “I have to go.”
“Is everything all right?” Hathor asked in concern.
“A lot of patients are being admitted to the hospice.”
“I don’t understand. Isn’t that why it’s there?” Tessa asked, looking him in the eye for the first time since the kiss.
“They’re apparently being overflowed from the hospitals.” Something about the situation made him uneasy.
“The only time a hospital overflows …” Tessa’s voice trailed off. “Torian, is there a highly contagious disease flowing around Cairo?”
“Not that I was aware of. But apparently the patients are all coming in with the same symptoms, then dying soon after.”
“I see why they’re sending them to you.” Tessa began to look thoughtful. “Anaise, is it possible to get a plate of food to go?”
“Wait a minute,” Tessa said. “The weather is still disagreeable, you could get caught in it.”
Immediately, Anubis began to draw back the storm. If he traveled through the storm, she would insist on traveling through the storm to the airport.
“In case you forgot, I am a doctor. Don’t tell me my services won’t come in handy. How many doctors do you have on staff?”
Truth be known, only one, for appearance’s sake. Anubis himself saw to each and every patient. It was his job to lead the souls to the other side after they had been judged. Doctors had no place in his hospice.
“One.”
“Will that doctor be there tonight?”
Anubis looked at her and relented. He shook his head no, seeing as he made sure the doctor was always away on some conference. “Then you could use the help,” Tessa continued. “Anaise? Could I have a plate of food to go as well?”
“No problem.” Hathor immediately glided around the corner, leaving the two of them alone again.
“You don’t have to do this.”
“I know, but as a doctor I can’t sit here and not try to help unfurl a medical mystery.”
“Thank you.” Anubis smiled. The more he learned about Tessa, the more he liked her. “The storm looks like it has settled.”
“I’ll get my purse.”
“I’ll retrieve your food.” They nodded at one another, a little uncomfortably after what had recently transpired and so abruptly ended.
On his way to the kitchen, Anubis couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that had come over him as Gale explained what was happening at the hospice. Something was wrong. It didn’t make sense for so many humans to fall ill and go comatose. He would have to examine them himself, and then he could tell if there was interference from travelers like him. And that kind of interference never ended well, for the travelers or the humans.
* * * *
“I appreciate the help, Tessa.” Anubis broke the silence in the car. Tessa was sitting as far away from him as the seat would allow. He glanced at her. “I thought you were hungry. You haven’t even touched the meal Anaise had packaged for you.”
“It’s hard for me to retain an appetite when my mind is working overtime.”
“You let your work consume you?”
“I wouldn’t say consume.” Even in the darkness of the car, he could see her smile. “When something puzzles me it’s hard for me to concentrate on anything else. It’s just odd that so many people would get sick so quickly and die.”
“I agree. Let us hope it is something that can be brought under control quickly.”
“I wonder if this has spilled over into the States.”
“That is definitely something we need to find out,” Anubis agreed. Cairo was a city visited by many tourists, and tourists went home. It was well within reason to think that this thing, whatever it was, could have already spread worldwide.
As they pulled into the parking lot of his hospice, Anubis caught the faint scent of something vaguely familiar. He sniffed the air, concentrating, but the memory eluded him. Of course, the faint smell of death always surrounded him, but there was definitely something foreign mixed in with this scent. But then the thought nagged at him that it wasn’t foreign.
“Is something wrong?” Tessa asked, gripping a plate of food in each hand. She looked around nervously and it was then he realized she could pick up on his emotions. That fact astounded him.
* * * *
“The first wave came last night,” Gale explained, placing files in his outstretched hands. A small, mousy woman, Gale was a giant when it came to efficiency. “They all have the same classic symptoms.” He indicated that she give some of the files to Tessa. “So far they all have been dying within three hours of arriving.”
“Three hours?” Tessa asked incredulously.
“Yes,” Gale answered, looking Tessa up and down. Anubis was well aware of Gale’s feelings towards him and he had repeatedly sent compulsions to turn her attentions elsewhere. One thing Anubis had found was that compulsions had no power over obsessions. So he simply ignored the woman’s fixation on him, since she really wasn’t hurting anyone.
“They come in comatose, with fever, bleeding from the ears and eyes. Difficulty breathing, and this.” Gale took the opportunity to lean on Anubis and point out the picture of the skin lesions one of the patients. “They appear ten to fifteen minutes before death, right above the heart. It’s how we know when they’re about to die.”
Anubis looked at the lesion and his gut dropped. They weren’t exactly lesions, but tags. “Gale, from now on, don quarantine scrubs.” He scented her and was relieved she wasn’t infected. “Have this place scrubbed down. Tessa, follow me and don’t touch anything.”
“The symptoms don’t sound familiar,” Tessa said. “It seems to be a hodgepodge of different ailments.” Her long legs easily kept up with his strides. “Obviously, this is highly contagious. I would guess this was airborne as well as passed by touch. Hell, I believe any damn way one human can spread germs to another, this disease is transmitted. Question is, what is it and where did it come from?”
Caress The Dark God [Scions of the Ankh 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 3