Dark Guardian Found

by I. T. Lucas

  He touched his thumb to her lips, running it along the seam. “I remembered your beauty quite vividly, but the memory didn’t do you justice.”

  She chuckled nervously before admitting in a near whisper, “I forgot how big you were, but not how handsome, or how perfect it was between us.”

  His other hand wrapped around the back of her neck, holding her in place as he dipped his head and kissed her. It was nothing like the gentle, hesitant kiss next to her car, this was how he’d kissed her over thirty years ago.

  Dominant, demanding, all male.

  He let go of her hand to wrap his muscular arm around her, holding her close, the fingers of his other hand digging into the soft skin of her neck almost painfully, his tongue plundering her mouth as if he owned it.

  Her muscles going lax and her knees buckling, Eva moaned, relying on Bhathian to hold her up in his steely grip.

  She could let go with him.

  That’s how she wanted sex with a man to be. But it wasn’t something she could’ve indulged in with any of her other lovers. Even if she could’ve trusted them enough to lower her guard, none had been strong enough to merit her submission, not even in pretense. She’d always been the strong one, the one in control, the one dominating the situation. None of her hookups had had what it took to dominate a woman like her, or had merited lowering her shields for.

  But, oh boy how she’d craved it.

  Was that the reason Bhathian had starred in most of her sexual fantasies? Because he was the only one she could imagine submitting to?

  Not that he deserved it. Not after rejecting her. But at least she could pretend with him. The idea of submitting to Bhathian wasn’t as ludicrous as choosing some random human to fulfill her darkest fantasies. He was so manly. A pillar of strength that unfortunately hadn’t been there for her when she’d needed him most.

  Still, it wasn’t only his masculinity that affected her. But what else could it be? What else could she even know about after only one night of passion?

  His child, that’s what.

  Eva had often wondered how much of her real father Nathalie had inherited. She was an amazing young woman, and God knew she didn’t get it all from Eva. Even Fernando had been a better influence on the girl than her own mother. All his other faults aside, Fernando had been an outstanding parent to Nathalie.

  Bhathian let go of her mouth, a frown riding his forehead as he loosened the grip on her neck. “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”

  Eva shook her head. “No. It was perfect.”

  “Was it?” He bent and swung her up in his arms. “In that case, there is plenty more from where that one came from.”

  Yes! She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her cheek against his hard chest.

  Taking the stairs two at a time, Bhathian didn’t even breathe hard as he reached her third-floor bedroom. Kicking the door shut behind him, he walked over to her bed and lowered her carefully on top of the white coverlet.

  For a long moment, his gaze roved over her body as if he was trying to memorize every inch of her. Would he undress her? Or did he expect her to do so herself?

  If he were any other man, she would’ve commanded him to strip first, but Bhathian was different, and she was at a loss as to what to do next.

  The skirt of her long, loose dress was hiked up over her knees, but nothing other than her legs was showing. They were tanned, the shade more bronze than her natural olive. Her legs were one of her best features, long and toned, their deep color contrasting with the white fabric of her dress.

  Bhathian smiled as he sat beside her. “I remember these mile-long legs.” His huge palm encircled one of her ankles, the warmth spreading as he ran it up over her calf and kept going under the bunched up fabric of her dress.

  He stopped an inch away from her panties, his palm resting on the fleshy part of her inner thigh, then repeated the same on her other leg. The result of his ministrations was that her dress was hiked up almost all the way to exposing her, but not quite there.

  It seemed that his intention was to torture her slowly. She could’ve ended it with one word, Bhathian would’ve done whatever she told him to, but Eva didn’t want to. She wasn’t bold enough to tell him what she needed, but hoped a man as experienced as Bhathian could read her body language right.

  She hadn’t asked him how old he was, but suspected Bhathian counted his age in centuries, not years. After that much practice, the man should be a master of sexual prowess.

  For a second or two, his eyes remained glued to where the fabric of her dress ended and her thighs began. He seemed to be fighting an inner battle for whether to continue the trajectory and bare her, or rather expose her underwear.

  She wished he would. There was a surprise waiting for him there.

  Her panties were white cotton, but there was nothing modest about them. A small triangle covered her mound, and a slightly larger one covered a tiny portion of her butt cheeks. The two were held together by three elastic strings on each side. The bra was of similar design. A little thing that had nothing to do with providing shape, as her breasts didn’t need uplifting and were large enough to forgo padding. Two small triangles covered little more than her nipples, and a small clasp at the front and an assortment of strings at the back comprised the rest.

  Eva had a weakness for expensive lingerie, and this French label was one of her favorite. Their interesting designs were done in soft, comfortable fabrics, steering away from skin-irritating lace and fake gems like some of the more well-known brands.

  Instead of continuing to expose her panties, Bhathian leaned forward and slipped the shoulders straps of her dress down her arms.

  A giggle escaped her throat. He had her dress all bunched up in the middle, hiding all her sexy bits while exposing everything else.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked.

  “I bet you unwrap your chocolate the same way. Remove everything and stop when you get to the tinfoil.”

  “Are you in a hurry?” He pretended to look behind his shoulder. “Are the kids due to arrive anytime soon?”

  “No. We still have a lot of time. Besides, it’s none of their business who I invite into my bed.”

  Chapter 26: Bhathian

  A growl bubbled up from somewhere deep in Bhathian’s gut. “Do you bring men home often?” It wasn’t that he thought Eva had abstained for all those years. As long as her hookups had been just that, one-night stands never to be seen again, it didn’t bother him. But inviting a guy to her home was different. He didn’t want any men hanging around Eva’s private space and interacting with the people close to her.

  It was difficult enough to think of her with Fernando, whom she’d been married to. How the hell could she have gone to bed with someone as unattractive? One day he would ask her about it, but not today. He hadn’t earned the right to ask her personal questions like that yet.

  Eva shook her head. “No, I never do. You’re the first.”

  “Except for Fernando.”

  She averted her eyes. “He was my husband. But I really don’t want to talk about him now. Way to spoil the mood.”

  “My bad.” He should’ve known better than bring up her ex during an intimate moment like that. What the hell had compelled him to open his big mouth?

  Jealousy.

  Up until that moment, Bhathian hadn’t acknowledged the jealousy he’d felt toward Fernando, not even to the therapist with her endless qeustions, but it had been lurking just beneath the surface. The guy had had years with Eva and Nathalie, years that should’ve been Bhathian’s. It was wrong and unjustified to feel that way about the guy on so many levels, and most of the time Bhathian managed to subdue his jealousy with feelings of gratitude. After all, Fernando had stepped in and raised Nathalie to the best of his abilities. Besides, who in his right mind could be jealous of a guy suffering from a horrible disease that was eating away at his brain.

  Eva sighed and reached for his hand. “Let’s start over. So where were we? Ca
ndy wrappers and delayed gratification, right?”

  He smiled. “Yes. I’m a master of self-denial. Most of the time it’s just my nasty attitude and self-loathing, but sometimes it’s about the pleasure. It’s more intense after a prolonged wait.”

  Eva narrowed her eyes. “Self-loathing? Why?”

  Damn. At the rate he was flapping his big mouth and spouting shit, they would never get to the sex.

  Bhathian hung his head. “I’ve never been an upbeat kind of guy. I don’t understand those cheerful sorts. What the hell is there to be so happy about? The world we live in is shit, humans are shitty, and so are most of the immortals. But it got worse after I lost you.”

  Rubbing his palm over his chest, he admitted, “It always felt as if something vital was missing from my life, from my soul. I was going on autopilot, doing my duty but not really living.”

  Baring his soul to Eva was a mistake of monumental proportions, and yet he couldn’t stop the self-destructive streak. Once he allowed a small crack in the wall he’d built around himself, more struggled to push through.

  “I’m not good with words, and I can’t explain the feeling. The best description I can think of is a gaping hole in my gut. It’s like a hunger for something I had and lost but needed to survive. Nathalie soothed some of that ache, but I believe that only you can heal it.”

  Eva’s stunned expression confirmed his fears. She wasn’t ready for his confession. The compassion in her eyes lasted no longer than a split second. He watched as her shields snapped back into place, turning her into the emotionless operative she’d become.

  “Darling,” she husked and pushed to her knees.

  Her dress fell around her hips, exposing her bra-covered breasts. “The only ache I can help sooth for you is the one down here.” She reached for his belt, unbuckling it with deft fingers. “As I said before, the time for talking is over.” She popped his jeans button and pulled down the zipper.

  He hissed as she freed him and her hand closed around his throbbing shaft.

  With a seductive smirk, she leaned toward Bhathian and caught his lower lips between her teeth, nipping and sucking on it while her hand caressed him in a slow up and down motion.

  Dear Fates, if she didn’t stop, he was going to explode like a horny teenager touched by a girl for the very first time.

  “Stop.” He took her hand off his dick.

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re still wearing too much.” He reached for her dress and yanked it over her head. Not very romantic, but then what did he know about romance? Nothing. He did know, however, a thing or two about fucking, and since it seemed that it was all Eva was interested in, he didn’t need to fumble like a fool trying to be something he wasn’t.

  Her bra was next. Popping the front clasp, he bared her firm breasts. From her kneeling position, Eva’s pebbled dark nipples were level with his mouth and he took one between his lips.

  Eva moaned, and her head dropped back on her neck. Bhathian wrapped his arm around her and brought her closer, holding her in place as he teased one peak and then the other, sucking and nipping then laving the little hurt away. When he was done, her nipples were so distended that they pointed out like two slim knobs.

  Lifting her head to look at him with hooded eyes, Eva smiled like a satisfied cat, then hooked her thumbs in the strings holding the two parts of her panties together and pushed down. After shimmying out of them, she tossed them over his head and lay back, propped on a big stack of white pillows, her dark wavy hair spilling like silk to frame her beautiful face.

  “You’re wearing too many clothes,” she threw his words back at him.

  Yes, he was.

  His light blue button-down was tailored for him like the few other dress shirts he owned. None of the store-bought stuff fit his muscular body. His everyday attire was comprised of T-shirts, which stretched to accommodate his bulk, but he wanted to look good tonight—show Eva that he cared.

  Far from graceful, he attacked the buttons and shrugged the dress shirt off, then kicked off his boots and got rid of his jeans and socks.

  During the entire fifteen seconds or so that it had taken him to get naked, Eva watched him like a hungry tigress, her amber eyes glowing from the inside and betraying her arousal. Not that he needed additional confirmation. The air in Eva’s bedroom was saturated with the combined scents of their mutual desire.

  “You must work out a lot,” she said as her eyes roved over his body.

  “You like?” Most females found him attractive, but some were not into big bulging muscles and preferred the slimmer types. He wondered which camp Eva belong to.

  “You’re magnificent. But then you probably know it and are fishing for compliments.”

  True, but he wasn’t going to admit it. Instead, he climbed on the bed and lay sideways, propping his head on his arm to admire the beauty before him.

  She looked at him questioningly, probably wondering what he had in mind. “You’re the one who’s magnificent.” He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her on top of him. At nearly three hundred pounds he was too heavy for her.

  Or maybe not.

  As an immortal female, Eva could probably take his weight, no problem. But he wasn’t sure.

  She smiled and kissed him, then nuzzled his neck. “You’re overthinking this.”

  Damn, the woman was perceptive. “I don’t know what’s okay and what’s not with an immortal woman. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  She seemed frustrated as she shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I’m very resilient.”

  He had a feeling he wasn’t reading her right. Hell, he was sure of it. Normally it wouldn’t have bothered him, Bhathian didn’t need to prove anything to the random females he picked up in bars, but he wanted to do it right for Eva.

  Problem was, he was no good at reading people, women in particular. Unless she told him what she needed, he would not have a clue.

  Chapter 27: Eva

  Disappointing.

  Eva had expected to be blown away. Having sex with the man she’d dreamed about for so long should’ve been passionate, combustive, a perfect coming together. Instead, they were both fumbling like a couple of greenhorns.

  Maybe it was time for that honesty they’d talked about. Except, what would she say? I dreamt about sex with you for three decades, but it was nothing like this?

  That would kill the mood completely.

  Or worse, he could ask her about those sexual fantasies, and she would rather die than tell him.

  It seemed she would have to resign herself to experiencing her fantasies only inside her head. Where was the confident and dominant man she remembered? Had she embellished the reality of their lovemaking? Transforming what had been good sex into phenomenal?

  Or perhaps it was Bhathian who had changed.

  It was obvious that guilt sat heavily on his shoulders, as it should, and it made him over-cautious. Bhathian was so desperate to do everything right this time around that he was overthinking every move.

  She wished he cared less.

  Heck, she wished he was only interested in sex with her and nothing more. Then he’d feel free to be who he was and not the diluted version he was presenting her with.

  Maybe she should call it off.

  But then what? Go to some club and pick up a lousy human?

  She was so sick of those once-a-month hookups. Maybe she could do without for longer, like once every three months. And then once every six months, and then none at all.

  But that was just sad.

  His arms closed around her, caging her as effectively as iron chains. “You need to tell me,” he said softly.

  “Tell you what?” Playing dumb was not her style, but she wasn’t herself with this man. All the rules she’d lived by for the past thirty years didn’t apply to him—to them—two immortals who barely knew each other and yet were connected by the life they had created together.

  Who was she kidding, the connection was there fro
m the first moment she’d laid eyes on Bhathian, and it had most likely been the same for him.

  “Tell me what you need,” he reiterated.

  Eva lifted her head and stared into his gray eyes. “I want you to stop worrying, to stop thinking, and just take me like you did the first time.” This was as far as she was willing to go with the truth. Hopefully it would be enough. If not, then so be it. It wouldn’t be the first dream of hers to go up in smoke. Unfortunately, disappointment was a familiar foe.

  Under her, Bhathian’s shaft twitched and got even harder. Looking into his eyes, she saw the uncertainty bleed out, that had dogged him ever since their reunion over a month ago, replaced by the steely determination she’d remembered from before. The change was quite startling.

  Moving faster than she thought possible, Bhathian flipped them around, pinning her underneath his huge body. God, he was heavy, and if not for the hard stuff immortal bodies were made of, he would’ve squashed all the air from her lungs. A split second later he grabbed her wrists, pulling her arms over her head, then caged them with one hand.

  The predatory smile on his face dared her to try to get free, and the wild thing inside her accepted the challenge. If Bhathian couldn’t hold her down, he wasn’t worthy of her.

  Animalistic thinking, no doubt about it, and for a moment Eva felt ashamed for letting her humanity slip. But then women did it all the time, just not physically. That’s why the nicest gals were sometimes absolutely bitchy to their boyfriends, challenging them to see whether they would fold under the verbal aggression or refuse to take it.

  Eva tried to pull her hands free, but even though he was holding her wrists loosely, she could move them only as far as the slack he allowed.

  She sighed and stopped struggling, a languid contentment overtaking the irritation and discomfort of a few moments ago.

  Finally.

  That’s what she wanted, what she needed, to be at the mercy of a man who she could trust to take care of her sexually. As far as life outside of bed, she had no such illusions. And frankly, no need. She didn’t need a man to take care of her financially or even emotionally, she was perfectly satisfied with her life as it was. Especially now that she had Nathalie and shortly a granddaughter to love.