Selene.
Unfuckin’ believable. The incoming storm was the Titan’s doing. The atmosphere wasn’t even safe when that witch was around.
Cold crept into my veins. Just great. Next, my legs were probably going to freeze together. Not to mention the fact that now I really did have to pee, and a toilet break was not an option while I was staring into the ghostly face of a dead Praetorian.
I rolled my eyes.
Marcus wasn’t fairing much better on the other side of the pavement, his shiny brown hair covered white with snow. The poor guy was probably close to turning into an iceberg. But I had to hand it to him, he kept going. He slid his backpack to the ground; crouched and withdrew a handful of the obsidian I’d given him.
I cleared my head, focused on the beast standing in front of me. I couldn’t believe he thought he could collect that fuck from me. “I owe you nothing. You killed my mother.”
“I did what I was destined to do. Now I’ve come for you, the second part of my destiny.”
If only I could believe that, but when it came to Selene and her warriors’ destinies, she had a knack for changing their fates on whim.
“The scarab isn’t yours.” I didn’t know how to make that clear to my antagonist.
He reached forward and touched me, dragged his ethereal finger from the center of my forehead, over my nose, my lips, my chin, even down the cleft between my breasts. Of all the times not to have zipped up my parker, it had to be tonight. At least I’d had the good sense to have tossed on a thick cable-knit sweater before coming to the clinic. But now I wished it wasn’t the green one with the plunging v-neck.
The miscreant ghost lingered between my boobs, his see-through finger stroking my bare flesh.
Big mistake.
Marcus was on the beast in a flash. And not with his fists, but with a handful of the obsidian stones thrown into the ghost’s core. The smooth black rocks levitated, floated through the Praetorian’s sheer body.
I stepped back and watched in awe as I’d never seen rocks float in air before.
The ghost grabbed for his chest, his clawing fingers clutching for my amulet. He gasped but no sound came from his mouth.
The heat in my clit subsided. Thank you, gods.
The beast exploded. His ghostly body scattered through the parking lot in the form of thin curls of blue smoke.
The air went dead.
Marcus pulled me forward. “Are you okay?” He patted me down from head to toe like a parent checking over a child.
“I’m fine, really.”
“You should have listened to me and stayed put.”
“Yeah, well, you know me. I’m not very good at taking orders.”
“You moaned.”
“Yeah, but at least I didn’t come.”
Marcus quirked an eyebrow. His brown irises went black. “What the hell does that mean?”
Oh, crap, here we go. The macho he-man was going to rise now. Keti, you never tell one of your three men how a fourth beast turned you on. “For the record, I wasn’t in control. I thought you knew.”
“I thought you had to pee.”
Note to self, add that ‘loss of sex drive’ spell to my mental cache.
A roar broke the silence.
I didn’t need to turn around to know the beast was back, the cold tingle licking my spine was proof enough.
Of course Marcus wasn’t having any of it. He scooted around me in a heartbeat, pushing me behind him in the process. Which only made me pivot and scoot back out.
And stare into the eyes of a Roman with a hell of a lot more substance than the ghost we’d dealt with seconds ago.
Aw fuck. Marcus and I should have known better. There was no killing the ghost, he was already dead. And to add to our problems, we’d somehow managed to toss the Praetorian a new dose of energy by the looks of his now more substantial body.
But ghost or no, the beast’s return didn’t change the fact I needed my scarab back.
I straightened, gathered my strength, tore off my gloves, and flexed my fingers. One way or another, I was getting my hands on the scarab around the Praetorian’s neck.
“Don’t even think of it, Keti,” Marcus said as if knowing my next move.
I wasn’t holding back. I couldn’t afford to, not with coming this close to claiming what was mine.
Stomping up to the Praetorian, and totally ignoring my guy, I socked the beast in the groin, but it didn’t seem to do any damage. Surprisingly, a punch to the balls didn’t work with resurrected Selenians. Who’d have thought?
The bastard lowered his head, peered at me with orbs that were now ice-white.
I shivered but refused to back down.
He cracked his neck, the snap of popping bones echoing. As he moved, my scarab swayed in the moonlight, but remained on the gold chain.
Marcus dove for the beast’s shins, hammered his legs with the hilt of his Gladius sword.
Personally, I would have used the weapon’s blade and just hacked him up, but Marcus had been a fighting machine a lot longer than I had been, so maybe he knew something I didn’t.
The Praetorian kicked back. Apparently being dead hadn’t interfered with his ability to fight, which had me thinking Selene hadn’t kept this guy underground long. She probably resuscitated him shortly after those spears had gone through him, then hid him away until she needed him, but made sure he continued to keep up his physique, even if it was only one of ghostly substance.
Marcus pummeled away at the bastard.
The Praetorian kicked once more, this time jarring the blade from Marcus’s hand.
The weapon shot across the parking lot, the scrape of metal against asphalt screeching through the air.
The ghost shifted form.
A huge phantom tiger now stood in the Praetorian’s place.
Marcus didn’t have time to shift, the big cat came at him in one leap, its pointed claws aiming for flesh.
I went for the beast’s back and straddled him, punched him in the temples. He bounded backward off Marcus and slammed me to the ground.
I lost my breath.
The tiger laughed as he flipped over and restrained me with his massive front limbs. “You can’t kill me, Keti. But I will kill you. That, I promise.” He swatted me with his enormous paw, his ghostly claws digging into my shoulder.
I bit my bottom lip to stifle a scream.
Despite the pain, I dragged my right arm out from under the tiger’s body and reached up. Grabbing for the gold chain, my fingers slid down and clutched the hunk of etched lapis. I tightened my grasp on the relic.
The tiger heaved his torso back but moved his right paw to press down on my neck.
An ethereal blade materialized between his teeth.
Aw hell. He was going to get my throat. Of all the deaths I could have died, I was going to get stuck with the sucky one of croaking in a parking lot in the middle of Manhattan. Of course I would have preferred not dying at all, but if I had to go, I would have rather dropped in the middle of say, a Prada boutique, or even while trying on a diamond at Tiffany’s.
Marcus snuck up behind the beast and struck him in the spine with an obsidian-bladed dagger.
A look of shock crossed the animal’s face. The weapon in his mouth dispersed. He roared and raised his head back, then vanished, as did my scarab.
Kepri’s beetles came scampering back through the lot and into the street to return to the sewer, though I knew that’s not where they lived. The underground drain was probably just an easy portal for them to travel into the Otherworld.
I sucked in a deep gulp of air, thankful for being able to breathe again. And for not dying.
Marcus helped me sit up, even though I was quite capable of doing so on my own, though I didn’t want to sound ungrateful, so kept my thoughts to myself. His chivalrous actions were appreciated. The man had a huge heart when it came to me.
“I don’t trust that son-of-a-bitch,” Marcus said, inching away and then wiping of
f his dagger with a white cloth.
“Nor do I.” I stood, glad to stretch my legs. “But at least he’s gone.”
“For now,” Marcus said. “Though I wouldn’t put it past him to come back for another round.” He sheathed the dagger then tossed it, along with the cleaning cloth, in to his backpack.
He paused, his brown eyes going almost black. “We should get home.”
I wanted nothing more, especially since I was aching to get between the sheets and just spend the rest of the night with my guys and not worry about what unearthly entity was stalking my back. Yet, at the same time, I couldn’t help but wonder what made the Praetorian return. Why now? Why here?
My legs growing cold shifted my attention. As I stared down at my snow-covered jeans, blood dripped from my hand.
Something dug into my palm.
Turning my wrist, I splayed my fingers and discovered a broken chunk of lapis protruding from my palm. A bead of blood ringed the point where it jabbed into my flesh.
My scarab.
The sacred amulet was falling apart and with it the future of the Cat’Hu. And while I didn’t know everything about the scarabs my mother had blessed, as some secrets she’d kept from me, I was aware that for the amulet to retain its full magickal powers, it needed to be whole. You couldn’t simply hack off a piece and automatically be able to shift and take on immortal armies like those belonging to Maahes and Selene.
I needed my mother’s powers more now than ever.
Wrapping my fingers around the broken lapis, I scooped my gloves and beret from the ground with my free hand and followed Marcus out of the parking lot.
The cold tingle at my nape, where the Praetorian had first touched me, remained.
4
Keti
Thank the gods our townhouse was only five blocks from the clinic or Marcus would have had to cart a completely frozen Keti into the vestibule. As it was, Selene’s arctic blast had my teeth chattering. Add that to the ghostly Praetorian’s unforgiving touch, and I was nearly an ice cube. Though I did fare better than that poor cheetah with the frozen blood. I shivered at the thought of what he must have suffered enduring a Selenian freeze.
I dashed into the house.
Marcus stomped up behind me, the scrape of his bootheels shuffling across the mat. “Someone needs to severely discipline that goddess.”
“As if they could.” Teaching Selene a lesson wasn’t even remotely possible. She had a damaged disposition, one that forced her to think only of herself. Most gods did. Narcissism being a common trait among the pantheons.
I scooted to the side so Marcus could lock up.
Two soft clicks echoed as he latched the decorative wrought iron security grate and then the door.
I knew no earthly barrier could keep out my supernatural enemies, especially bar a ghost, but psychologically the brass bolts made me feel secure.
A gust of wind rattled the vestibule’s arched windows.
Selene’s impromptu storm was growing worse and I had two other guardians still out for the night. I prayed they’d come home before the streets needed plowing.
Turning around, Marcus dropped his backpack on the bench underneath the peg rack. The clank of shifting glass vials rattled from inside the bag.
“I hope those aromatic oils are still intact,” I said, slipping off my hat. “Or you’re going to have one funky smelling backpack for years to come.”
I cracked a smile.
Marcus wasn’t as amused as he removed his scarf and coat and hung both on the peg rack. “Crap, I forgot about them.” He unzipped the bad and retrieved the alabaster container, then popped its lid. “We’re good.”
I nodded, my wet beret dripping snowflakes to the floor. I draped it over the radiator to dry. Next, I shucked my boots, my thermal socks doing a horrid job at keeping my toes warm. Guess thick cotton didn’t work on marble floors.
I trembled.
“You’re freezing,” Marcus said, helping me out of my down parker, before pushing up my sweater sleeves and rubbing my arms with his strong and slightly callused hands. He might have been born to privilege and enjoyed many perks back in the day as a Roman Praetorian, but he still trained with daggers and swords, daily.
“Selene’s Praetorian is going to pay for having kept you in the cold for so long.” Anger sparked in Marcus’s brown eyes.
I hated causing him and the guys so much angst. “I’m fine. Nothing a mug of hot chocolate can’t remedy.” I really didn’t want him worried.
Stepping away, I slid off my gloves, careful not to drop the jagged chunk of lapis resting in my palm. The scarab had been damaged enough. I didn’t need this segment of it going to pieces, too. I placed the fragment in the nearby alcove, next to a miniature statue of Bastet, for safekeeping.
“Where the hell did that come from?” Marcus asked.
“I snatched it from the Praetorian.”
“And you didn’t think to mention it? Babe, what’s up with you tonight?”
I shrugged. I didn’t know the answer to that question myself. “I just wish I could have gotten the whole scarab, but it wouldn’t come lose from the ghost’s neck. Do you think I’ve weakened it by breaking off a piece? I know it needs to be whole to retain all its powers, but nothing in my mother’s text refers to working with a partial one.”
“Do you feel any different?” The scent of Marcus’s spicy cologne lingered in my space as he peered over my shoulder, his hands on my hips.
“No. But I’m not really sure as I can barely feel my toes, I’m so cold.”
“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. But for now, you need warming up.” He spun me around and pressed his lips gently against mine before moving his mouth to my neck.
Reaching forward, I splayed my hands against his turtleneck. The muscled grooves of his ripped chest bulged under the cashmere, forced me to scrunch the fabric as I explored his every contour. The cat in me stirred, its energies snaking beneath my skin.
What the hell?
I hadn’t had so swift a reaction from that side of my soul since the day I’d fled Bubastis. Like the typical cat, Kitty usually needed a good half-hour or so of heavy petting before she decided to stretch and join the rest of the world. Not so tonight.
Marcus nibbled my earlobe.
Gods, but he always knew just the right thing to do to get me to melt.
Sliding his hands under my sweater, he popped the front clasp of my bra and then palmed my breasts.
My nipples puckered on the instant, the resolve I’d had at the clinic gone in a flash. I was so screwed when it came to my men.
I slid my hands down Marcus’s torso, to his waist and on to the front of his dress slacks. The hard length of him greeted my fingers through the fabric. One thing about immortal Cat’Hu was they were always up for the challenge when it came to sex. “We really should be focusing on Selene.”
He pulled back, then leaned his forehead against mine, his thumbs now drawing circles over my firm nipples. “If that’s where you’d rather I focus my attention...I can stop.” His fingers went still.
I moaned. “Well, I suppose a little break from the battle can’t hurt. My magickal energies are in need of a serious recharge.”
He drew his thumbs and fingers together, pinching my nipples.
I gasped. Then unzipped his pants and slipped my hands into his boxers and took him in my hands, teased the underside of his shaft with my fingers. He was big, the girth of him too thick for my fingers to meet when cupped around him.
I ached for him to be inside me.
I slid my hand up and down his cock. It twitched, grew more erect, though it never took much to get any of my guys hard, all three being powerful immortals each with a natural dose of accelerated hormones and a never ebbing libido.
But still, my maneuver earned me a victorious grunt. A guttural sound Marcus exclaimed through gritted teeth.
He slid his hands away from my breasts to undo my jeans and push the
m down. My lace panties didn’t fare as well, as my sexy immortal went a bit savage and ripped the fabric, stripping me of the garment in an instant.
He pushed me against the wall.
The cold surface of painted plaster smacked my bare ass and tail bone, giving the back of my sweater a good hike.
Marcus moved my hand away from his cock. He also kissed me again, this time with a deeper urgency.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers toying with the edge of his silky, brown hair. That was another thing about immortal Cat’Hu, most didn’t go gray, save for around the edges, and Marcus hadn’t lost his hair color at all. Not that that would have changed how I felt about him. Even bald, he’d still turn me on.
He wedged his knee between my legs and parted my thighs.
Tiny zaps of electricity flitted through my every nerve as cool air caressed the sacred vee between my legs, urged me to buck forward. I stepped out of the jeans pooled at my feet, and spread my thighs completely for Marcus.
He hoisted me. Having been born immortal, the man possessed strength the average human did not. Banging me against the wall was an easy feat as I needed no other support save for Marcus’s well-toned body.
Heat from his waist, now locked between my raised legs wrapped around him, veined through me. He slipped his hand between us and started stroking my clit.
I ground against him.
He delved his tongue deeper into my mouth.
A soft whimper escaped my throat.
I gave into him with complete abandonment, pushing myself against his hand, my clit eager for more while my slit pined for what it knew was still to come. It was always heated and urgent with Marcus. Right from the first time we’d fucked.
I crushed my pelvis against him. He didn’t need words to know what I’d wanted.
Obliging me, he moved his finger faster, the strokes against my nub now firm and slick, the scent of my juices rising between us.
I dug my nails into Marcus’s sweater-covered back as a purr vibrated against my vocal cords. Maybe there was something to possessing just a fragment of my scarab. The feline in me was coming to life and it had nothing to do with sexually recharging the rest of my preternatural powers. I’d done that enough times with my guys to know this was different. In the past when I’d shifted after having sex, it was more a human-in-feline-disguise thing. This was feral. A raw, animalistic sense that rivaled the human in me. This was the other half of my soul waking.
Realms and Rebels: A Paranormal and Fantasy Reverse Harem Collection Page 110