EmbracedbyaWarrior

by Marisa Chenery

  “I’m just enjoying having you in my arms.”

  Brisa rolled to her other side so she faced him. “I have to admit I like being in yours as well.”

  “Have I made it up to you for last night?”

  She kissed his chin. “I’d say that was a good start.”

  “A start?”

  “Yes. You didn’t think I’d let you off that easy, did you? I have to make you work for it a little.”

  “I hope this doesn’t mean you’re going to be a hard woman to please,” Darius said with a grin.

  “I’m not hard, but I’m hoping you will be again very soon.” She glanced down pointedly at his cock.

  Darius laughed as he rolled to his back, taking Brisa with him so she ended up sprawled atop him. He shoved his fingers into her hair and brought their lips together. He kissed her long and thorough until his cock was well on its way to being hard.

  “Is this what you want?” he asked, voice rough with renewed arousal.

  Brisa rocked against him. “Mmm, very much so.”

  “Then I suggest you use it.”

  “Oh, I will.”

  She took his mouth this time, all teeth, lips and tongue. Brisa shifted a bit to the side and trailed her hand down his front until she reached his cock. She wrapped her fingers around it and pumped. Darius lifted his hips, pushing himself tighter into her grip. He grew harder, wanting to sink back inside the warm wetness between her legs, but he let Brisa keep the control.

  Letting go of her hair, he reached between them and covered her breast. The taut nipple pressed against his palm. He squeezed and plucked at the tight peak. Brisa moaned softly. The sound seemed to wrap around his cock, stroking him along with her hand.

  Brisa sucked on his tongue before she released his mouth and straddled him. She lifted onto her knees, still holding on to the base of his shaft. She impaled herself on his erection, taking him all the way inside her pussy. Darius had to fist his hands in the sheets beneath him to stop himself from taking hold of her hips and ramming up into her.

  Up and down she rode him, her inner walls squeezing around his cock, driving him mad with desire. Unable to lie still any longer, Darius surged up until he sat upright. He cupped one of Brisa’s breasts and dragged his tongue across her nipple before he sucked on it. She dug her nails into the tops of his shoulders, giving a little bit of pain to go along with his pleasure.

  Brisa set a faster pace, her moans filling his head, as she rocked against him. Darius released her nipple and left a trail of wet kisses over her chest as he reached between them and found her clit. He rubbed the little bundle of nerves with the tip of a finger. Brisa threw back her head and let out a whimpered moan as her pussy rhythmically clutched and released his cock while she came.

  Feeling the point of no return rushing up to meet him, Darius took hold of Brisa’s hips and moved her on and off him. He looked down and watched his shaft sliding in and out of her pussy. Just as he started to come, he felt the burning in his gums, the telltale sign that his eyeteeth had become longer, sharper. The urge to bite Brisa surged through him. He viciously fought it, clenching his teeth together so hard his jaw ached. He pushed up into her one final time, lifting her knees off the bed, his orgasm taking him over.

  Spent, Darius nuzzled the hollow of Brisa’s throat and wrapped his arms around her. She embraced him, stroking his back. That was the second time his teeth had changed, both instances when he’d been about to come. At least he’d been able to keep it from Brisa. But it was something he’d have to tell Anubis about.

  Chapter Six

  “Come on, Brisa. Nobody is going to see you.”

  She gave Darius a stare that said she wasn’t totally convinced. They were outside in his backyard in the late-afternoon sun. After they’d scrounged up some lunch in his kitchen that consisted of sandwiches, he’d suggested they come out here to take a dip in his hot tub. The first thing Brisa had said was that she didn’t have a bathing suit with her. Darius’ reply had been she didn’t need one.

  So now here she stood only wearing one of Darius’ t-shirts, which was miles too big, as he stood at the edge of the hot tub with just a towel around his waist to hide his nakedness.

  “Are you sure your neighbors can’t see into your backyard?” she asked.

  “Brisa, I have over an acre of land, and privacy fences surround the whole thing.”

  Darius turned away from her and dropped the towel to the concrete at the edge of the hot tub before climbing in. The man had no shame, but with a body like his, she figured he had no reason to have any. She didn’t have issues with hers, but that didn’t mean she liked to go running around outside butt naked.

  “Come on, Brisa,” Darius urged. “Just do it.” When she didn’t move so much as an inch to do as he suggested, he said, “Do you want me to strip you out of my shirt and throw you in?”

  Brisa sighed. She had a feeling he’d do that if she didn’t get in by herself. She walked closer to the hot tub. “Fine, I’ll do it, even though I’ll feel uncomfortable as all hell.” Before she could talk herself out of it, she whipped off the large t-shirt and quickly clambered into the hot tub next to Darius. “Happy now?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he said with a sexy smile. He pulled her down so she sat on his lap. “Now isn’t this nice?”

  Actually, it was. “All right, this was a good idea.” She wrapped her arms around Darius’ shoulders. “Just don’t expect me to go into the pool. It’ll be freezing after being in here.”

  “It just makes it refreshing.”

  “No, it makes it damn cold.”

  “You win. No pool, at least not for you.”

  With that said, Darius pushed her off his lap before he pulled himself up onto the side of the hot tub. In long strides, he reached the pool and dove into the deep end. Brisa watched as his head broke the surface of the water.

  “Cold?” she asked.

  He shook his hair out of his eyes. “No. It’s perfect.” Darius swam to the end, then started doing laps.

  Brisa followed him with her gaze. His muscular shoulders and arms flexed with each stroke he made. She sighed to herself. She was falling for Darius, and it was something she never expected to happen so fast. She had her share of infatuations, been in lust with more than a couple of men, but not like what she felt right now for the man in the pool.

  She knew she wasn’t doing herself any favors by letting her feelings get too involved in a start of a relationship, but knowing and doing were two different things. And she wouldn’t be telling Darius how she felt about him, either. Not right now, at least. She didn’t know him well enough yet to know if he was the type of guy who wouldn’t run for the hills when a woman told him how she truly felt about him.

  No, she was better off keeping that knowledge to herself. Brisa would just have to watch that she didn’t get her heart broken if she and Darius didn’t work out. For now, she’d enjoy just being with him.

  Darius hauled himself out of the pool and jumped into the hot tub. Before she knew what he intended, he scooped her up in his arms and got out of the warm water. Brisa struggled when he headed back to the pool.

  “Don’t you dare,” she said in her sternest tone.

  “You mean this?”

  He took a few running steps and jumped into the pool. Brisa held her breath as they went under, then kicked away from Darius. She came up screaming like a banshee.

  “That’s fricking cold,” she yelled.

  Darius bellowed with laughter. “You look pretty hot when you’re angry.”

  Using her palm, Brisa sent a wave of water in his face. He sent an even bigger one, making her sputter when she ended up with a mouthful. That started a water fight, which ended with Brisa surrendering and feeling as if she’d swallowed half the water in the pool.

  Back in the warmer water, she watched Darius climb in beside her. He pulled her close and kissed her slow and tender. Goose bumps rose on her skin, and not from being cold.

  On
ce he lifted his head, he said, “Thanks.”

  “For what?”

  “For giving me a chance to let loose and have some fun. My life hasn’t given me that opportunity in a very long time. I’d almost forgotten what it was like to not be so serious.”

  Brisa put her arms around Darius. “I’m glad I can give it to you, even though it was at my expense. You do realize that now I’ll have to think of something to get you back for dumping me in the pool?”

  “I guess that means I should keep an eye on you then.”

  He gave her a grin that did warm things to her body. Yup, she was in trouble. It wouldn’t take much for Darius to worm his way into her heart, and once there, she’d want to keep him forever.

  * * * * *

  Darius sat across from Brisa at the restaurant they’d picked to have dinner. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had such an enjoyable day. Most of it stemmed from the woman who was coming to mean more to him than she should.

  Since pledging himself to the god of the underworld, he’d only thought about the job he did for Anubis. Darius had never thought about doing anything beyond that. He realized now he’d basically been living half a life. He may be immortal, but that didn’t mean he had to keep himself distanced from mortals. Brisa had shown him that.

  “So what do you want to do for the rest of the weekend?” Brisa asked. Their waitress had already taken their orders and they were just waiting for the food to arrive.

  Darius reached across the table and captured her hand in his. “Get you naked in my bed and not let you out until Monday.” Brisa licked her lips, reminding him of what it felt like to have them wrapped around his cock. It jerked, pressing up against the zipper of his jeans.

  “I’m sure that can be arranged,” she said, her voice tinged with a seductive huskiness.

  He sucked in a big gulp of air and smelled the scent of Brisa’s arousal. His cock went hard. One sniff and he was raring to go. She enticed him like no other. The longer he spent with her, making love to her or just talking, he felt as if he never wanted to let her go. Even though they’d only known each other for a couple of days, he felt as if Brisa had been a part of his life for much longer.

  “Does that mean you’d be willing to get our food for takeout instead?” he asked.

  Brisa shook her head. “No way. I’m starving. You promised a meal out at a nice restaurant, and I’m holding you to it.”

  As if on cue, the waitress returned with their orders. Wearing a smile, Brisa picked up her fork and dug into her food with gusto. Darius settled for watching her eat. Even though she wasn’t doing anything overtly sexy, she was still turning him on. His gaze followed her tongue as she licked the melted butter off her fingers after dipping the crab she’d ordered into it. He got so caught up in Brisa, he ate without really tasting anything. The throbbing in his cock—and the person who caused it to be in that condition—demanded too much of his attention.

  Brisa held out a bit of her food. “Would you like some crab? It’s really good.”

  Drawn to her like a moth to a flame, Darius leaned forward over the table. He opened his mouth for the morsel she offered. She placed it on his tongue. He closed his lips around Brisa’s fingers before she could pull away and licked each one thoroughly clean, then released her.

  He didn’t miss how much faster she breathed. Her cheeks had a splash of color on them that hadn’t been there a few seconds ago. And her scent had become more potent, telling him he’d gotten to her.

  “Feed me something off your plate,” Brisa said.

  Darius selected a plump shrimp, using his fingers instead of his fork. It had been cooked in lemon butter, so he ran it through the extra sauce before he picked it up. Brisa leaned forward as he’d done and opened her mouth. Instead of waiting for him to give it to her, she took it from him, closing her lips around his digits.

  He had to hold back the moan of pleasure that threatened to break free when she pushed the shrimp to the side of her mouth, then sucked and licked his skin. She pulled back, scraping her teeth along his fingers. Too much more of that and he’d be making a mess in his jeans. Something he hadn’t done since he was a young teenager.

  “Give me another one,” Brisa said after finishing the mouthful, her eyes taking on a slumberous look.

  He shook his head and cleared his throat. “If I do, you’ll find yourself dragged outside, put up against the nearest wall away from prying eyes and have me between your thighs before you know what hit you.”

  “Oh my,” she breathed and waved a hand in front of her face. “Did it just suddenly get very hot in here?”

  It had, at least between him and Brisa. Darius was surprised not to see waves of heat rolling off them. Passion had flared to life in an instant, growing more intense by the second. He needed to get her out of the restaurant. His hunger for her was outdoing his need for food.

  “I suggest we hurry up and finish our meals,” Darius said. “Then we can have our own dessert back at my place, which doesn’t necessarily have food involved.”

  “Then what are you waiting for? Stop talking and eat.” Brisa attacked her plate, eating at a faster pace than she had before.

  The bill paid and the waitressed tipped, Darius walked Brisa out of the restaurant. It was now evening, the sky just starting to darken. They were halfway to his car—he’d managed to have the window fixed on the way to the restaurant, since Brisa refused to ride on his motorcycle—when he felt it, the familiar pull on him. Given how he wasn’t on the verge of a shift coming on, he figured the evil he sensed wasn’t in the middle of a criminal act. But that didn’t mean he could just drive away with Brisa and ignore it. Once an evildoer had been sensed he physically couldn’t walk away until he’d dealt with the individual.

  “What’s the matter?” Brisa asked as he slowed their steps.

  Fighting to not follow where the pulling would take him, Darius racked his brain to come up with a reasonable excuse as to why he had to leave her for a little while. Something that wouldn’t have her wanting to go with him. He’d never told a mortal about what he was, and hadn’t made up his mind if he wanted Brisa to know. For now, it had to remain his secret.

  “Nothing,” he said. “I just have to make a quick stop in the restaurant’s men’s room. Sorry. I’ll be quick.” They reached his vehicle. “I’ll let you in the car first.”

  Darius unlocked the passenger door and held it open as Brisa sat on the seat. The pulling sensation became stronger, and would the longer he ignored it. Once she brought her legs in, he shut her inside, then turned to head back to the restaurant.

  At the door, he looked behind him to see Brisa had turned her head to watch him through the window. He ducked inside the entrance, then waited until she looked away. Darius slipped outside and ran in the direction of the rear of the restaurant, where he was being led.

  After Darius disappeared through the restaurant’s door, Brisa looked down as she adjusted her purse on her lap. She looked in the direction Darius had gone again and could have sworn she saw him running around the corner of the building, heading toward the rear of it. But only having glimpsed the back of a male figure before it was out of sight, she wasn’t all that sure it had been him.

  When a couple of minutes ticked by and there was no sign of Darius walking out to the parking lot, Brisa felt her curiosity getting the better of her. Maybe that had been him running to the back of the building. More than likely wrong, that didn’t stop her from getting out of the car and heading in the direction she’d seen the man going.

  Brisa gave the entrance doors a quick look as she came closer just to make sure Darius still wasn’t there. Not seeing him, she continued on. It was getting darker and the alleyway she entered after rounding a corner was mostly in shadows. She was probably wasting her time, trudging around in the dark. She wouldn’t find anything and would end up going back to the car to find Darius waiting, wondering where she’d gone.

  She heard what sounded like a bit of a
scuffle at the opposite end of where she walked, a place where the light over the back entrance of the restaurant didn’t quite reach. Brisa squinted, trying to see into the darkness. She went closer, and figured she had to be seeing things. A very tall figure that looked half human and some kind of animal stood in front of a man.

  “Hello? Is anyone there?” she called.

  After blinking a couple of times, still not really having a clear picture of what she thought she saw, the beast thing disappeared, along with the man she thought she’d seen.

  Okay, she definitely was seeing things that weren’t there. Deciding Darius had to be at the car already, and that he hadn’t come back here, Brisa turned on her heel and walked the way she’d come. At the car, Darius still wasn’t there. She got inside. She’d give him another minute or so, then go look for him in the restaurant. He was taking too long for just having to use the toilet.

  A minute almost up, that’s when she saw Darius finally walk through the entrance doors and out into the parking lot. He hurried across it and got into the car once he reached it.

  “Sorry,” he said. “I had to wait my turn. I guess more than a few people needed to use the facilities at the same time I did.”

  “I was beginning to wonder what had happened to you. So you only went to use the men’s room and didn’t run outside to the back of the building?”

  He gave her a confused look. “No. Why?”

  Brisa shook her head. “Nothing. I just thought I saw something, but obviously I was mistaken.” She leaned across her seat and gave Darius a hard kiss. “Now didn’t you say something about getting some kind of dessert at your house?”

  He returned her kiss before he pulled away and put the key in the ignition. “You’re right. I did.” He started the car, then drove out of the parking lot.

  Darius snuck glances at Brisa from the corner of his eye as he drove toward his home. That had been too close for comfort. Not in a million years had he expected her to end up in that alley behind the restaurant. He’d just about shit bricks when he’d heard her calling out to see if anyone else was there. Only being well-practiced at hiding in the shadows had saved his ass from being caught. It hadn’t been hard to keep his prey quiet.