Dark Stranger Revealed

by I. T. Lucas

  It wasn't that Syssi condemned their promiscuity; they were big girls and could do as they pleased. She just wished they wouldn't do it while she waited awkwardly alone.

  Sighing, she glanced at the bar. Maybe she could join the guys. But they were gone. Turning to look at the dance floor, she spotted them not far from Amanda and Kri, watching the girls dance.

  Observing them, it struck her that there was a military flair to their demeanor. It manifested in the way they held their bodies and the alertness with which they were scanning the crowd. Come to think of it, Anandur and Brundar, and even Kri were the same.

  Bodyguards. It was so obvious she wondered how she could've missed it before.

  What kind of business was Kian in that it produced so much competition and animosity and required that level of protection?

  Mafia!… It had to be.

  Suddenly, she saw it all clearly; recent events creating a pattern and all the puzzle pieces fitting together to form one scary picture.

  All that money.

  The big family business…

  It hadn't been a group of zealots that Amanda and Kian had been running from that evening at the lab. They'd been ambushed by a hostile competitor. And the goons after them had belonged to another mafia. Unable to strike at their targets, they had returned at night and ransacked the lab to send a message.

  Probably turf wars…

  Was Amanda dealing drugs? On campus? Here at the club?

  The guards Kian had sent had mentioned she didn't like them showing up on her turf. Was that what she and Kri had been doing behind the curtain? Selling drugs to those guys? That would explain why their partners hadn't hung around, scurrying away quickly once the deed was done.

  Oh. My. God. I had sex with a mafia boss! Syssi inhaled sharply as panic threatened to cut off her air supply.

  Pushing her chair back, she grabbed her purse and was about to flee when Alex stuck his sleazy face in front of her, blocking her escape.

  "Where are you running off to, sweetheart?" He reached for her arm.

  Twisting away, she clutched her purse with both hands. "Ladies room? Can you point me towards one?"

  "There is one behind that curtain. I'll take you there." His eyes gleaming dangerously, he grabbed her bicep, digging his fingers into her flesh.

  "Let go of her! Before I rip off your goddamned arm!" came the hissed command from Kian.

  Relief and panic warred for dominance in Syssi's frantic mind. The Lion King was rescuing her from the clutches of the hyena. Unfortunately, he just looked like Mufasa but was really a Scar…

  "Come dance with me." Kian clasped her hand as soon as Alex dropped it, ignoring the jerk's resentful glare as the guy sauntered off.

  Afraid to say anything, Syssi let him pull her down the stairs and onto the dance floor. But at the same time, her mind was going a thousand miles per hour, calculating her options. If she could somehow get away, she could run to Andrew for protection. But then what? They knew where she lived, and she’d lose her job. Which was a big problem, as finding a decent one in this economy was next to impossible.

  Oh, well, there was always the option of joining her parents in Africa, but she really didn't want to do that. And anyway, as well guarded as Kian had her, her chances of escape were nil.

  She had to face facts. As long as Kian wanted her around, she was trapped. Like in the movies, the wife or mistress of the mafia boss was a captive—never allowed to leave… alive!

  Oh! My! God! What a mess.

  And yet, as he held her close she didn't resist—powerless against her need to cling to him. Burying her nose in the fabric of his shirt, she inhaled his unique scent, getting high on it like some junkie.

  The pathetic truth was that, on some irrational level, she felt safe in his arms despite who she believed he was and needed him so badly that it hurt.

  She was driving herself crazy; the feelings of trepidation and disappointment clashing with the intense longing, conflicting and augmenting each other and wreaking havoc on her mind.

  CHAPTER 39: KIAN

  Holding Syssi close as they swayed to the music, Kian had no trouble reading her emotions; even without his enhanced senses. Though for the life of him, he couldn't fathom what caused her such distress. Or how the hell could she be so afraid of him and at the same time cling to him like he was her lifeline.

  You'd think that he'd know a thing or two about women after almost two thousand years, but evidently, he still had a lot to learn.

  "Don't be upset, sweet girl, I meant what I said before. My jerky behavior had nothing to do with my opinion of you. I think you're a rare treasure, my sweet Syssi…" he whispered in her ear while rubbing gentle circles on her back.

  Syssi didn't respond and remained tense and rigid in his arms. Then, as he waited for what seemed like forever for her to say something, anything, it dawned on him that with her limited mortal hearing she hadn't gotten a word of what he had said over the excruciatingly loud music.

  Taking her hand, he pulled her behind him up the short flight of stairs and led her out the back door, where Okidu was waiting with the limo.

  Syssi didn't resist. Though he was painfully aware that she followed him with the enthusiasm of a prisoner led to her own execution.

  "I need to let Amanda know I've left with you,” Syssi whispered as Okidu pulled the limo out from the alley behind the club.

  It hurt watching her sit glued to the limo's opposite side, as far away from him as she possibly could in the confined space. She was gazing out the window clearly to avoid looking at him.

  "Don't worry about it. I'm texting her right now." Kian was truly baffled by Syssi's emotional storm and the mixed signals he was getting from her.

  Earlier, when he had made an ass of himself, she had been upset and disappointed. Now she was way worse.

  If he didn't know better, he would've thought Syssi had just lost a loved one. Micah had projected a similar scent when he'd brought her the devastating news of her son's death.

  Grief.

  What a fucking mess.

  Something else must've been going on. It didn't make sense for her to be that distraught over his petty jealous-tantrum.

  But what did he know.

  If she was anything like Amanda, she might've twisted the whole thing in her head, blowing it into monstrous proportions.

  "I'm really sorry for hurting your feelings. If it's any excuse, I'm terribly inexperienced in dealing with this kind of emotions. It's all new to me." He reached to take her hand but then reconsidered—afraid she’d pull away.

  "It's okay. You don't have to explain. I understand. I'm sorry, I overreacted,” Syssi said in a flat voice, looking out the window and pretending nonchalance.

  Except, she kept playing with her purse, tugging the magnetic clasp open and letting it snap back into place—over and over again.

  "You still look upset. Please tell me what I can do to make it better. I'm going out of my mind here." Kian wasn't exaggerating; he really was becoming desperate, hating the helpless feeling of not knowing what to say or do next.

  Was it just him? Or were all males completely clueless about women and how to deal with their peculiar emotional states? It seemed a man had to tread carefully through the minefield of a female's psyche to avoid unwittingly stepping on a landmine. Kian would've paid good money for someone to draw him a map and help him navigate safely through these dangerous grounds.

  "It's nothing."

  Nothing? It was the worst kind of answer. He could've dealt with accusations, with anger, even with tears. But nothing, gave him nothing to work with.

  All he wanted was to pull her onto his lap and kiss her senseless; until she forgot all about whatever it was that was causing her to be so upset and so remote.

  He didn't.

  Sadly, he didn't think he'd be welcomed.

  After what had felt like an endless silence, Syssi turned away from the window and looked straight into his eyes. "I need to ask
you a question, and I need you to answer me honestly." She sounded dead serious.

  "Anything, I'll answer any question you might have." And he meant it. Even if she guessed what he was, he would admit it.

  "Are you a mafioso? Is that what your family's business is all about—dealing drugs?"

  "What!? That's what you wanted to ask? Why would you think something so absurd?" Out of all the questions he had anticipated, this one completely threw him off.

  "Not absurd at all; one; you guys seem to have shitloads of money." She lifted a second finger. "Two; everyone I meet is family. Three; the men and Kri are very obviously bodyguards. Four; the attacks on Amanda and then her lab stink of retaliation or a warning strike by another mafia. Most likely, one that is competing with you for drug territory. Five; Amanda asks me to keep your location secret. Did I miss anything?"

  Unable to hold back, Kian burst laughing. "Oh, baby, I'm sorry. You're right. I totally get it how you could reach the wrong conclusion putting it all together like that. That's not why I'm laughing." Holding his hand over his heart, he took a moment to calm himself. "I'm just so tremendously relieved that this is what got you upset. I was racking my brain, trying to figure out what landmine I had stepped on."

  He made a move to pull her to him, but Syssi stopped him with a hand to his chest. "You still didn't answer my question. Are you, or are you not, a mafioso."

  "I swear on everything that's dear to me, neither I nor any other member of my family is in the mafia or has any connections to any kind of organized crime. As far as I know. Okay?"

  Scrunching her forehead she looked at him with narrowed eyes, scrutinizing his face for any signs of deception, then frowned. "Not yet, you need to tell me more than that."

  Sighing, he acquiesced. "Our family owns a large international conglomerate of enterprises that I assure you is all perfectly legal and has nothing to do with organized crime. Actually, our main objective is to benefit humanity by encouraging scientific innovation in a variety of fields, cultural shifts toward more freedom and equal opportunity around the world, women’s rights, eradication of prejudice and oppression, etc…"

  "So why the bodyguards? The secrecy? And what about the attack? It all seems so clandestine," Syssi interrupted.

  "I'm getting there. We have enemies, those who hate what we do and what we stand for. They're ruthless, hateful people who will stop at nothing until they annihilate my family and destroy all the amazing progress our work has accomplished."

  "Why?"

  "It's an old and complicated story. I don't want to go through all the long and sordid history of it. All I can say is that it's an ancient feud that started eons ago with a scorned suitor that didn't take the rejection well, to say the least. He swore himself and his descendants to an eternal vendetta. His progeny is very powerful and influential, and they pose an existential threat to us. Bottom line, we have to hide; operating under shadow corporations, always in a defensive mode. That's the reason behind the bodyguards, and why only family can be trusted in our inner circle."

  Syssi seemed dumbfounded.

  Did she believe his tale?

  He had done his best, being very careful with how he phrased it, attempting to give her all the main points without divulging too much or twisting the truth. But was it enough? Were her instincts telling her he had been genuine despite being forced to omit the things he couldn't tell her? Searching her eyes, he was seeking reassurance that she was willing to accept what he had told her.

  She looked at him for a long moment, her brows drawn together as if deliberating whether she should believe him or not. Then taking a deep breath she seemed to come to a conclusion. "I believe you. Though you're not telling me everything, but that's okay. I'm still a stranger to you, and you don't know if you can trust me, despite how close and intimate we got. It all just happened too fast. I understand that your family's safety must come first. I respect that."

  Was this woman something else or what? One in a million… Scratch that. One in a billion!

  Relieved that she'd believed him and grateful she hadn't pushed him to reveal more than he was comfortable with, Kian pulled her into his arms for a soulful kiss. She didn't resist, but although her body had lost its stiffness, she was still far from truly participating.

  Holding her close, luxuriating in the sensation of her soft body pressed against his, he felt buoyant. With the relief of finally touching her, knowing he had her back, the heaviness that had been weighing him down, lifted.

  It didn't take long for the kiss to morph from something sweet and gentle into something hungry and wild. With his hand cradling the back of Syssi's head, he wedged the one on her back under her bottom and lifted her onto his lap.

  As if a dam had burst inside her, Syssi's passive acquiesce turned into wild abandon. With her hands finding their way under his T-shirt, she caressed his pecs frantically then clawed into his skin as if she couldn't get enough of him. Moaning into his mouth with what sounded like desperate longing, she undulated her hips, rubbing her soft behind against his shaft.

  "God, I missed you." She groaned when he came up for air, grabbing at his shoulders and going for his neck, licking and sucking on his skin.

  "You have no idea." He looked at her neck hungrily while snaking his hand under the hem of her short, loose-fitting dress. With his palm on the inside of her thigh, he kept caressing it, slowly going up to where it met its twin, taking his time.

  He didn't want to overwhelm her—wasn't sure she was up to taking their passion further yet. But it seemed he had nothing to worry about.

  Syssi welcomed his touch, and spreading her legs a little, let him in. He hissed as he pushed her panties aside and inserted a finger between her wet folds, finding her already drenched.

  As another strangled moan escaped her throat, she glanced nervously at the half open partition, recalling they were not alone.

  "Okidu," she whispered, gesturing with her head towards the driver.

  Not willing to let go of his prize, Kian leaned with her still impaled on his finger, and with his other hand punched the button that raised the partition.

  "Better?" he whispered.

  "Yes," she slurred and closed her eyes.

  In the limo's dim interior, her beautiful face was bathed in the lambent light cast by his glowing eyes. He kept pleasuring her, his finger going in and out of her, slowly, deliberately, carefully kindling her fire so it would burn steadily; getting gradually hotter before bursting into one big flame.

  Feeling his glands swelling with venom, Kian dipped his head to suckle on her nipple through the thin fabrics of her dress and bra. Pulling on it carefully with his lips, he swirled his tongue around the turgid peak, creating a big wet spot on the silk.

  Oh, how he loved the little tortured sounds she made when he turned her mindless with pleasure; they were sweet music to his ears. But even more, he loved the sounds she made when she climaxed. Adding another finger to his in-and-out motion, he pressed his thumb to her clitoris, and rubbing it gently brought his masterpiece to its grand finale.

  Syssi erupted, falling apart on his lap and making the loud keening moan he loved. Man, he would never tire of hearing that. Prolonging her pleasure, he kept his hand pumping and rubbing while his lips and tongue took care of her other nipple, producing another big wet spot.

  It took momentous effort not to sink his fangs into the nipple he was working on. Dropping his forehead to her chest, he breathed in and out slowly, trying to regain control—commanding his throbbing erection and his fangs to let off.

  Syssi lay so limply in his arms, he would have thought he had killed her with bliss if not for her chest gently rising and falling with her shallow breaths.

  Kian lifted his head, and as he looked at Syssi's blissful face—the long lashes fanning out of her closed lids, her flushed cheeks, her red and swollen lips—a tide of tenderness that he was afraid felt too much like love washed over him. Cradling her head, he brought her cheek to rest on his ch
est. Holding her nestled against him, he suspected he would never be able to let her go.

  Too soon, though, Okidu parked in the underground garage and Kian had to reluctantly release his treasure. With a sigh, he helped her to sit back up and straighten her dress.

  Looking down at the two wet spots, her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "I can't get out of the car like this," she whispered, smiling her shy little smile.

  Shrugging out of his jacket, he handed it to her. "Here, you can wear this over your dress."

  After wiggling her arms inside the sleeves, she held the two halves clutched in her hand, waiting for Kian to exit and help her down.

  "As you have my jacket, you'll have to walk in front of me to provide cover." He smirked, glancing down at himself.

  Syssi giggled, positioning herself with her back to his front.

  It was sly of him. He wasn't worried about Okidu noticing his bulge, and the chances of anyone else arriving right then were slim. But it was fun holding her in front of him as they made their way to the elevator.

  Waving them off, Okidu began wiping dirt off the limo's windshield.

  Good man. Kian smiled at the butler's unexpected subterfuge. Evidently, Okidu had learned a few things during his long existence. Though Kian had a strong suspicion that this newfound knowledge was gained mainly from watching shitloads of television.

  With a wicked smirk, he followed Syssi inside the elevator, and the moment the doors closed, pressed her against the mirrored wall, his body enveloping hers from behind. She was wearing high heels, and her sweet little butt was perfectly aligned with his groin, providing delicious friction for his aching shaft.

  Rubbing himself against her, he was suddenly alarmed as he glanced at his reflection in the mirror.

  His eyes were glowing brightly even in the well-illuminated elevator, and with his lips pressed tightly over his elongated fangs, he wondered how was it possible for Syssi not to be terrified of him.

  He didn't look human even to himself.

  At that thought, something snapped inside him. Forgetting he'd been in the doghouse just moments ago, he was seized by an overwhelmingly savage impulse to make Syssi fear him.