To Fight A Fate

by Jane Cousins

  Riya chuffed a laugh. “And you’re overthinking things, Charming. Do the math. Naked, interested man, check. Wet, willing woman, double check. Now insert part A into slot B and we can move on to the engineering portion of our quiz today.”

  Marcus laughed and then groaned as Riya tilted her hips in invitation. “Oh, you’re killing me.”

  “If that’s what you think I’m doing then I’m sorry to tell you that you’ve been going about your past sexual encounters all wrong.” Riya surged up slightly, placing a hot, sweet kiss on his lips. “I don’t want declarations. I don’t even want foreplay. I just…” Arching into Marcus, rubbing against him in need. “…want you… to fuck me.”

  Marcus found himself clutching at her, savouring the feel of Riya’s silky beckoning warmth when he should be letting go… should be pushing her away. “Damn you.” He swooped down and kissed her, hard, thrusting his tongue into her mouth.

  Riya moaned, loving the taste of him. Revelling in the feel of Marcus’s large hands caressing her back, one hand moving to her butt. Yes, yes, but it was all taking too long. She shifted slightly, reaching between them to grasp his cock, surging forward, arching her back as the full, rigid length of him thrust deeply into her core. Oh, yes. Foreplay was so overrated when a Maat Warrior was in the mix.

  Riya was all things tight, hot and wet. Marcus groaned, it was heavenly, her body gripping his cock in a vice tight hold that was just the right side of painful. He began to thrust, harder, faster, deeper, and she met and matched him.

  Riya gasped, head thrown back as desire and need swamped her. Marcus took advantage of the moment, nuzzling the sensitive skin below her left ear. Liking the way it made her clutch at his back just as much as every deep seated thrust of his cock did.

  They rolled, Riya found herself seated on top of Marcus, staring down at him. Damn, he felt good inside her. She rocked up and down on the length of him, savouring his size and strength. And the sight of him splayed out beneath her was a treat for the eyes. All that hard, glimmering golden alabaster muscle, silky short black hair and gorgeous dark blue eyes. She couldn’t help but laugh between breathless pants. “And she is the queen of all she surveys.”

  “Which makes me king.” Marcus reached up, cupping those gorgeous bouncing breasts, rubbing his thumbs over pink tips.

  Riya arched her back. The man wasn’t just good with his cock, he was good with his hands. Heavens, wasn’t she a lucky girl. Arching in further still as Marcus sat up, pulling Riya in close to capture her right nipple in his mouth and suckle and tease the tip with his tongue and teeth.

  Oh, yes, Riya lifted and sank down on him, luxuriating in the heat, hardness and the maelstrom of sensations that buffeted her. That spark Marcus had ignited deep within her had taken hold and was bonfire level now. Riya’s heart racing. Blood pounding in her veins. Still, she craved more from him, she wanted to be consumed by the fire.

  Clinging to Marcus, Riya urged him on, thrilled as he rolled them over once more, surging into her with renewed vigour. Digging her nails into his back, matching his rhythm, Riya’s breath came in short, sharp pants. Dear Goddess in heaven, yes, yes. Yes!

  The orgasm swept through Riya like a tsunami of fire, picking her up, ravaging and consuming her, until all she could do was cry out Marcus’s name in praise.

  Marcus felt Riya go over the edge, her hot core spasming around him. By The Sands, that felt good, he thrust deeper into her. Craving that vice like grip. He was so close, then she called out his name and he joined her, his body racked by sudden release. Bloody hell. He had just enough presence of mind to collapse to the left, rolling on to his back.

  They lay there, together, staring at the green velvet canopy overhead, panting, sweaty, replete.

  “Are those cherubs mooning us?” Marcus enquired once he got his breath back.

  “I believe so.” Riya smiled, contemplating the nearest bed post. Hmm, she should probably say something right about now. As sexual encounters went, at least in her book, this had been pretty spectacular. Hot, a little rough and very, very satisfying. She was forgetting something… oh, right, the fact that it didn’t mean a damn thing. But, thanks for the sex sounded a little blunt.

  Damn, and now more than two minutes had passed since anyone had spoken and they were lying here naked, together… okay, the sex hadn’t been awkward but the afterglow was proving to be a little nerve wracking.

  Marcus wasn’t sure what to say. Thanks for the hot sex sounded like he should also be handing over a wad of hundred dollar bills. And it was too late to enquire if Riya was okay. They’d gotten a little rough and out of control there for a moment, but she hadn’t faked that orgasm or that million-watt dreamy smile on her face he glimpsed just before he collapsed beside her.

  So Marcus was assuming Riya wasn’t regretting the sex. He hoped not anyway, it had been… well, fantastic, but that was beside the point. She had been very clear and he agreed, they were short term, bang out all that sexual tension, one-night stand material, nothing more.

  Still, he should say something. Something savvy and cool. Only Marcus was coming up completely blank… saved by the emergency beep from his comms. Shit, the team. He lunged to the side of the bed, picking up his vest from the pile of hastily discarded clothes.

  It wasn’t until he’d lifted the vest onto his lap that he registered what the blinking green light meant. “Shit, the camera is back on.” Turning the vest away quickly, he rammed the earbud connected by a coiled wire to the vest into his ear, opening the channel. “Is everyone okay?”

  “Yes, we’re fine.” Drum acknowledged.

  “Are you naked?” Rafe queried over the line. “Why are you naked?”

  “Is Riya naked, too?” Flynn interrupted.

  “Have you two been making the beast with two backs while we’ve been running around stupid looking for you guys?” Dash enquired cheerfully.

  Marcus glanced at Riya, who was clutching the velvet bedspread to her chest, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, um, how was he supposed to respond to his brothers-in-arms. “Look, there was an Ice Demon…”

  Riya leaned over and spoke into the comms. “Marcus totally took one for the team. The Demon pretty much snap froze me and body heat was the quickest way to get my core temperature back up.”

  Marcus winced as Flynn and Dash made loud whooping noises down the line. Dash crowing. “Next time I wanna take one for the team.”

  Drum growled softly, the Flyboys instantly shut up. “We’ve tracked your signal and are right outside in the corridor with an axe but I’m guessing you guys are going to need a minute or two to get presentable?”

  “Make it ten.” Marcus made sure the camera was pointed at the floor before turning to look at Riya again. “We need to get dressed. The guys are going to start demolishing that wall in about ten minutes.”

  “Oh, right.” Riya smiled as Marcus got up, leaning over to sort through their clothes. Now if she had to be mooned by someone on a regular basis she knew her preference.

  They sat on either side of the bed, backs to one another, getting dressed, the silence stretching between them. Riya could stand it no longer. “So…”

  “So?” Marcus finished tying his boots and sat upright to pull on his top.

  “The sex… it was….” Riya took a breath but perhaps Marcus thought she was lost for words because both of them spoke together.

  “… a mistake.”

  “What?” They both looked back at one another in surprise.

  Riya’s hazel eyes narrowed as she attempted to finger brush her hair back into some semblance of order. She knew what she meant when she said the sex had been a mistake, but what did Marcus mean by it?

  Marcus pulled on his Kevlar vest, adjusting the straps. “We went through a high stress situation. Adrenaline levels were in the stratosphere. You had a near death experience and were obviously highly vulnerable-”

  Riya lifted her boot up onto the bed, tying the laces with quick hard jerky move
ments. “Hold it right there, Charming. You do not get to say I told you so. I don’t regret the sex.”

  “You don’t?” Marcus was surprised, but then he was forgetting that Riya’s reactions rarely jibed with his expectations.

  “No, I don’t. It was fun. You had fun, right?”

  Was this some sort of woman trap? “Yes?”

  “You’re asking me or telling me?” Riya couldn’t help but smile as she changed feet, doing up her other boot.

  “I’m telling you. Yes, I had fun.”

  “And it was good, right? On a scale of - yikes, so that just happened, all the way up to fireworks - I think we landed on the upper end of the scale.”

  Marcus ran a hand through his hair, the sex had been pretty fantastic, hot, a little rough and as they had both confirmed, a lot of fun. And very, very satisfying. “Agreed. Where are you going with this?”

  “I’m just double checking your definition of mistake, that’s all. I called it a mistake because, let’s face it, our hook up was just an aberration.”

  Aberration? He wasn’t sure he liked that word.

  Riya elaborated. “Meaningless. Fleeting. No take backs, but no future kind of thing. We both know we’d be completely terrible together…” Not counting their physical compatibility, they’d put paid to that question. “… outside of the bedroom, anyway. So, what did you mean by mistake?”

  “The same. Except I thought you also might be regretting acting so rashly. And for the record, I was not trying to say I told you so.”

  Riya chuffed a laugh, her gaze travelling down over his frame, Marcus was back in Warrior-mode. Suited up. The only evidence left of their little adventure between the sheets ever happening was his missing cap and the rumpled bedspread. “Help me fix the bed. There’s them knowing we were naked in here, versus them seeing the evidence with their own eyes.”

  A smile flirted at the edges of Marcus’s lips. It was surprising as they worked together to right the bed how this little act of domesticity made him feel weirdly happy and content. Damn, was Riya getting to him? No, no way. He was still basking in the afterglow, that was all. “So, we’re agreed. This…” He smoothed the bedspread one last time. “… was a mistake?”

  Riya nodded, flashing him a wicked grin. “One of my better ones, if I do say so myself.”

  Marcus found himself smiling back at her, damn, she was gorgeous. “Yes, as mistakes go, it would have to be one of my favourites.” He turned to the far right wall as an axe head suddenly appeared in the middle of it. “And the cavalry has arrived.”

  Riya felt relief surge through her. Her hormones were still sizzling. And while they’d been bantering she’d been seriously considering asking Marcus if he was up for making the same damn mistake again. Honestly, rein it in woman.

  The sex had been good, great, okay, bordering on the earth shattering. But she couldn’t duct tape Marcus’s mouth shut forever. As soon as they were out of the bedroom he would inevitably say something to piss her off. Dis-respecting her business or her magical powers.

  So having expectations, getting attached, where Marcus was concerned… such a bad idea. Anything more than a physical relationship and the two of them were doomed.

  Riya flinched slightly as a large booted foot suddenly appeared in the gaping hole in the middle of the wall, kicking a large piece of drywall away. The boot was removed and a light appeared. Followed by Drum’s deep voice. “Clear.”

  Rafe’s voice sounded next. “Better add that wall to the list, someone is not going to be happy with all the damage we’ve caused on this hunt.”

  “Wait until they see the bathroom.” Riya muttered under her breath.

  “And the tunnel I annihilated with my knives climbing up to the seventh floor. And the wall panelling you destroyed coming down that chute.” Marcus sighed. “Our insurance premiums are going to skyrocket.”

  Riya laughed, patting him on the back as she walked towards the roughly made exit in the wall. “But the real question is. Did the Para-X team triumph tonight? Were there ever any Imps in the mix, or did the Fire and Ice Demons lure us here to… what exactly?”

  Marcus breathed out a sigh. Riya was right. There was a much bigger mystery at play here than Miss Scarlet in the study with the dagger. “Hey, we never did solve who murdered Babyface Travers.”

  Riya glanced back at the room one last time, taking in the green velvet art deco bed, the over the top cavorting nymphs. This was not a man’s bedroom; it was a woman’s. “Haven’t you worked it out yet? Mrs Hard Mickey was the one having the affair with Rita Star. Babyface found out and was blackmailing her, so she killed him.”

  Marcus smiled, watching Riya duck through the hole in the wall. Smart, funny and deadly, super-strong, fireproof… scratch a layer and Riya only proved more fascinating by the moment. Of course it didn’t matter that he’d been… wrong about her. Damn, that was hard to acknowledge. But he was big enough to admit that there was a lot more to Riya than he’d originally surmised.

  Of course there was one undeniable thing that he wasn’t wrong about, she was a single mother. She had a kid who she obviously closely guarded, since she’d never brought them up in conversation. Who could blame her for being over-protective.

  But there it was. She was a mother. She came with baggage. A child. And a no-name loser ex, lurking in the background somewhere. Complications. Trouble. He shouldn’t have to keep reminding himself of what Riya represented…. But damn, Marcus took one last look at the bed before exiting the room, that had been one hell of a mistake.

  Chapter Twelve

  Riya’s head was swirling. It might be because of the one hundred and twenty-year-old scotch she was sipping, or simply weariness due to the very long hours spent filming her first official Para-Exterminators episode.

  Sitting at the humongous table located in the kitchen of the gorgeous brownstone in Soho that acted as the Warriors’ New York headquarters, Riya studied the Maat warriors going about their business. Rafe was standing off to the side, in front of a deceptive looking antique oak cabinet. It was currently wide open, revealing the hi-tech weapons storage set up inside. Rafe was in the process of cleaning and locking away all the weaponry that had been used earlier in the evening.

  Flynn was sitting across from her at the table, also sipping whisky and muttering to himself as he slowly pecked away at the small laptop in front of him. Writing up his report mission. Dash had already finished his report and was sitting beside Flynn, offering spelling advice as he read his brother’s efforts over his shoulder, leaning back on his chair, boots up on the table.

  Drum was standing with his back to her at the stove. Grilling steaks and vegetables. Nate was on the phone, sitting next to her at the table. Chatting to Daniel who had driven off the moment filming had wrapped to deliver the Imps back to their homestead located just north of Boston.

  Dimity Forrest was currently in her suite located on the second floor. She was under the impression the brownstone was an Airbnb place the Warriors had booked for the night. Dimity’s sullen reaction to Daniel’s speedy departure had been channelled by Riya into wary trepidation when she suggested the girl conduct a live Q & A session on the Para-X website.

  Her initial hesitation quickly forgotten after Pepsy streamed a fifteen second sneak peek of tonight’s footage and the fans, along with Dimity’s Followers, had gone ballistic. Clamouring for more information.

  Dimity was upstairs fielding questions under strict instructions not to give away any of the plot points for next week’s show. Of course since Dimity had been kept far from the action, there was very little she could give away except that the poltergeist had been very active and tricky.

  Marcus was seated at the far end of the table, tablet in front of him, multi-tasking. Keeping one eye on Dimity and the website chatter. Catching up on all the news from his hacker team. Reading reports. Double checking their insurance coverage. And researching Fire and Ice Demons. He only put the tablet away when Drum placed a plate pile
d high with food in front of him. Good, he was starving.

  Marcus looked up as the others quickly took their seats. “So tell me again what I missed after my comms went out?”

  Dash, who had already dived into his food, swallowed fast. “It was a cascade attack. Drum ended up somehow in the boiler room. Riya disappeared from the eighth floor. I found myself pushed into an old service elevator that kept bouncing around between floors. It was like the bloody doors were welded shut.”

  “The rest of us re-grouped, buddied up, and went looking for everyone.” Rafe contributed.

  Marcus nodded, frowning. “And the Imps?”

  Nate tucked his cell phone back in his trouser pocket and picked up his fork and steak knife. “Out of nowhere they just appeared en-masse, telling us how the Demons had kidnapped them and whisked them away to the Montague. Holding them hostage, insisting they cause mischief and mayhem.”

  “We can only surmise their game plan was to deliberately attract our attention.” Rafe mused out loud.

  “They wanted Maat’s Warriors here?” Flynn queried, cutting into his steak. “There’s no way those Demons could have taken us all on.”

  “That’s why they split us up.” Riya picked at her plate. “The Fire Demon said something about you…” she glanced at Marcus. “…being the right man.”

  “He spoke?”

  “You didn’t hear him?” Riya frowned.

  “All I heard was the occasional roar that sounded like a firestorm. Did it say anything else?”

  Riya nibbled on a piece of grilled aubergine. “I was kind of distracted, fighting for my life. I’ll let you know if I remember.”

  “We hear you totally kicked the Fire Demon’s butt.” Dash smiled Riya’s way, giving her a thumbs up.

  “Yeah, but then the Ice Demon served me humble pie. Thankfully, Marcus was there.”

  Marcus was man enough to admit it. “We made a good team. Speaking of which, it seems that it’s pretty rare for an Ice Demon and a Fire Demon to pair up. Except in the case of a well known team of assassins.”