Dark Warrior Mine (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance Series Book 7)

by I. T. Lucas

  Wiping her hands on a towel, Nathalie grimaced. Her poor hands were showing the rough treatment she was subjecting them to. Reddened and swollen was not an attractive look. Andrew hadn’t said a word, but she was sure her touch wasn’t as soft as he would’ve liked it to be.

  “Nathalie, come on…” Jackson walked into the kitchen and grabbed a corner of her apron to drag her out.

  She slapped his hand. “Let me at least take this off.”

  He relented, waiting for her to get rid of her flour-covered apron before coming behind her and giving her a gentle push.

  Expecting Jackson’s teenage crowd, she was surprised at the impressive young couple standing on the other side of the counter.

  “Nathalie, these are my friends, Kri and Michael. Guys, this is the famous Nathalie.”

  She offered her hand to the girl. “I don’t know about the famous, but it’s nice to meet you, Kri.”

  The girl, who looked like she could play professional football, took her hand, shaking it gently as if she was handling an egg carton. “Nice to meet you too. Jackson doesn’t stop talking about your pastries and we just had to come and have a taste.”

  Nathalie laughed. “I have no idea how he has time for all the advertising he’s doing for me when he’s here all the time.”

  Kri’s boyfriend lifted his phone. “It’s called Facebook, Snapchat… you name it, he used it to make you famous.” He returned the phone to his pocket and offered his hand. “I’m Michael.”

  “Okay, now you can go back to your kitchen.” Jackson graciously allowed her to go back to work.

  She rolled her eyes. “I swear, this boy thinks he owns the place.” She pointed a finger at him. “But don’t forget that I can fire you anytime.”

  He smirked. “You wouldn’t. I’m too good at this.”

  He was right, of course. And besides, in the short time he’d been with them, both she and her father had come to regard him as family. She wouldn’t let him go even if he tried.

  “You’re so full of yourself.” Nathalie waved a dismissive hand before ducking back into the kitchen.

  Thank God it was already five in the afternoon, and that Sundays she closed at six. After this last batch of muffins went into the oven, she would finally sit down and rest. Her back and her legs were begging for a good massage.

  Luckily, she had her own masseur, with strong and talented fingers. So far, only her feet and her shoulders had benefited from Andrew’s incredible massage at the end of each day, but after Friday night, she hoped he’d give her a full body, sensual one.

  Yesterday, she’d still been a little sore, but today she was fine—eager to find out what it would be like without the pain.

  Mind blowing, no doubt.

  Andrew was a skilled and generous lover, and she was so glad he’d been her first. He’d made it wonderful for her despite the unavoidable hurt, and not only because he’d been so patient and so bent on ensuring she had pleasure first. She found it beyond admirable that he’d been willing to stop at any point, and she didn’t doubt for a moment that he would’ve even if he were a moment away from ejaculating.

  Apparently, the myth that men couldn’t stop once they were too far gone was just that, a myth.

  A real man, a man like Andrew, could and would stop on a dime if the woman he was with asked him to.

  The buzzer on her back door went off. Probably Andrew back from the supermarket.

  She rushed to open up for him, and tried to relieve him of some of the many paper bags he was carrying, but of course, being the macho guy he was, Andrew refused. “I got it, sweetheart, just lock the door after me so your father doesn’t sneak out.”

  Having Fernando in the kitchen was like having a pet who just waited for an opportunity to make a run for it, the small difference being that the door needed to remain not only closed but locked with the help of a combination lock.

  Since her work table was in use, Andrew dropped the bags on the floor next to the door.

  “I’ll put everything away but you’ll need to tell me where.”

  “I’ll do it.” She bent over the first bag and pulled out a slab of baking chocolate.

  Andrew took it out of her hands. “You have enough to do, let me help the only way I know how.” He kissed her lips when she pouted. “Where does this go?” He held the chocolate up.

  She pointed, and he put it away then pulled out the next item. In minutes, he had everything stored, while she finished working on her muffins and stuck them in the oven.

  “Finally, it’s all done. And if we run out, we’ll just turn people away. I’m done with this kitchen for today.”

  Andrew pulled her into a hug then turned her around, her back to his front, and started massaging her aching shoulders. “Poor baby, you’re one big knot.”

  His hands kneaded just right, not too rough and not too gentle, and Nathalie closed her eyes, letting her body slump against his.

  Someone cleared his throat, and Nathalie’s eyes shot to her father, but he was still bent over his newspaper.

  “What’s up, Bhathian?” she heard Andrew ask and turned her head the other way to see the big guy blocking the entry into her kitchen with his bulk. His shoulders literally spanned the entire distance between the door jambs. In fact, he probably needed to turn sideways so they wouldn’t get stuck.

  “Do you guys want to come out?”

  Nathalie chuckled. “Is there anywhere to sit?”

  Bhathian grimaced. “Not really, but there is something I need to talk to you about and there is no space to sit in here either.”

  “How about we go upstairs?” Andrew suggested.

  Not a bad idea. She needed to put her feet up.

  “I’ll just let Jackson know. You guys go up.”

  Andrew shook his head. “I’ll tell him, you go and rest your cute butt on the couch.”

  Bhathian cleared his throat again.

  “Sorry, my bad.” Andrew apologized to him for some reason.

  What was that all about? Did Bhathian have a problem with the word butt? He didn’t strike her as a prude.

  Chapter 53: Andrew

  Andrew gathered Nathalie’s feet into his lap and started massaging her toes. She moaned, and Bhathian, who was sitting across from them on a chair he’d brought from her room, almost choked on his coffee.

  Nathalie cast him a quizzical glance, but the guy immediately schooled his face into a mask of innocence. “So, Nathalie, Andrew and I have been talking, and we decided to use our department resources to help you search for your mother.”

  We did?

  Nathalie seemed surprised. “You will do this for me? Why?”

  He gave her big toe a hard squeeze. “Because we care about you, that’s why.”

  “Ouch, I can see that.” She made a face and pulled her foot away.

  Andrew pulled it back into his lap. “I’m not done with this one, yet.” He pressed his thumb to the arch and she moaned again, oblivious to Bhathian’s discomfort.

  “I told Bhathian some of what you’ve told me about Eva, but we need more information. Anything you can tell us about her could be a potential clue. Did she have family or friends somewhere? Did she talk about visiting a particular destination? Did she talk about her favorite places in the world from her time working as an airline attendant? Any pictures, paperwork, everything—even things that you think are trivial.”

  Damn, he couldn’t remember if Nathalie had told him her mother’s name. He was screwed if she hadn’t and had noticed his slip.

  But she had either told him or didn’t remember if she had because she just offered him her other foot to massage.

  “That’s a lot. I will have to make a list and rummage through what she left behind, which isn’t much, but I haven’t looked at it for years.”

  “That’s a good idea. Nothing off the top of your head, though?”

  Nathalie shook her head. “My parents never went on vacations. Running a café is like slavery. But she never c
omplained about it. She said she’d traveled enough for a lifetime and was tired of it. As far as family, she never mentioned anyone other than her parents, and she was their only daughter. Paris came up as one of her favorite places to visit, she said that Venice was stinky, and the food in Germany was awful. That’s all I remember, I’m sorry.”

  “No worries, sweetheart. We will find a lead. The fact that she used to work for the government is helpful. I might be able to find some clues in her files. Agents, in particular, have a lot of information about them stored away in the archives, even after they retire.”

  “When do you think you’d be able to look through her stuff?” Bhathian pushed to his feet and stretched.

  “Maybe later tonight. But I can’t promise. I’m exhausted.”

  He bent down and kissed her cheek. “Call me when you’re done and I’ll come over.”

  “I will.” She made a move to get up, but he stayed her with a hand on her shoulder.

  “I’ll show myself out.”

  “Thanks, Bhathian.”

  He gave her a two fingered salute and walked out, his steps surprisingly light and silent on the old stairs that groaned even under Nathalie’s weight that was less than half of his.

  This was one of the tricks Andrew thought he should ask the Guardians to teach him. It probably had nothing to do with them being immortal—just with their training.

  “It’s very sweet of you to offer to look for my mother and rope Bhathian into helping.”

  “He volunteered.”

  “I hope you’ll have better luck with this investigation than with Tiffany’s. I still find the story about her brother picking up her stuff fishy.”

  “Yeah, but it’s not unlikely. If you want, I can try to find her parents’ phone number and call to ask about her. But that would mean searching for her birth record to find out their first names, not a big deal, but it’s work.”

  “No, it’s okay. Finding what happened to my mother is obviously more important to me. I should go and pull out the box with her things from the attic while you’re still here. It’s probably full of spiders.” She shivered. “I hate these nasty little things.”

  Andrew moved over a little, dragging Nathalie’s feet with him and turning her so her back was against the armrest. “I will gladly assist with the retrieval of the spider-infested box, but I have other plans for this evening.”

  Catching his drift, she smiled. “And what would those entail?”

  He tapped his finger on his chin. “Let’s see. One bottle of massage oil, one naked Nathalie, two talented hands, and lots of moaning and groaning, with some ‘Oh, Andrew, you’re the greatest’ thrown in.”

  Nathalie laughed. “This sounds amazing, but I’m afraid we’ll have to settle for a half-naked Nathalie and very quiet moaning and groaning.”

  “Nope. I’ll ask Jackson to babysit again, and I’ll take you to my place.” He leaned closer and whispered. “Are you still sore?”

  She shook her head. “Not at all. I’m more than ready, I’m eager for more.” Her foot found his crotch, giving a new meaning to the term foot massage.

  A loud stomping on the stairs must’ve been Jackson announcing his approach. The damn immortal with his freakish hearing had probably overheard the whole conversation and was coming to tell them that he had plans for tonight and couldn’t babysit Fernando.

  “Hi, guys,” he practically shouted from the hallway in case his stomping wasn’t enough of an alert.

  Nathalie retracted her foot, but Andrew’s shaft formed a bulge in his jeans that was hard to hide.

  Jackson’s barely contained smirk confirmed Andrew’s suspicions. “I just wanted to let you know that I’ve locked up, and I’m taking Fernando on a looong walk to the Japanese comic store.”

  Nathalie turned around to face Jackson. “Why on earth would you take an old man to a comic store?”

  “Well, the poor guy was cooped up in here all day, he needs to get out.”

  “I get the walk part, but why to a comic store?” Andrew had to ask.

  “Not any comic store, a Japanese one.”

  “And your point?”

  Jackson rolled his eyes. “Duh, comic books, of course.”

  Andrew chuckled. “Why would you think Fernando would want to see comics?”

  With a grimace that said ‘you old people know nothing’, Jackson put his hands on his hips. “First of all, at Fernando’s pace the store is an hour walk away, it has places to sit, but most importantly, it has tentacle porn.”

  Nathalie’s jaw dropped.

  “What the hell is tentacle porn?”

  “Just what it sounds like—porn with tentacles. Fernando is going to love it.” He winked.

  “You’re okay with it?” Andrew looked at Nathalie.

  She shrugged. “He is a big boy. But if it freaks him out, you’ll have to deal with his tantrum. Not an easy feat in public.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure he’s going to have fun. And if he throws a tantrum, I’ll just tell everyone my grandfather has dementia. Anyway, I estimate about three hours before we are back. Have fun.” He winked at Andrew.

  Nathalie blushed the color of beets.

  “The little devil is killing me,” she whispered, thinking Jackson was out of earshot.

  “No, he is being a saint. Now, what I want to know is where you hide the massage oil.”

  Chapter 54: Nathalie

  “In the bathroom, the cabinet under the sink.”

  Andrew jumped up. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

  “Wait…”

  He turned around.

  Nathalie cast him a sultry look. “I want to shower first.”

  “Need someone to wash your back?” His voice got husky.

  “That’s the idea.”

  He was back at her side in two quick strides. Snaking one arm under her knees and the other under her arms, he lifted her in his strong arms and held her snugly against his hard chest.

  Nathalie giggled as he carried her down the hallway and into the bathroom. “I can walk, you know.”

  “I know, but I’m a full-service kind of guy. I carry and wash for the same price.” He sat her down on the vanity’s counter and started unbuttoning her shirt.

  “And the price is?”

  “A kiss.” He popped the last button and parted the two halves, his eyes zeroing on her stiff nipples visible even through the light padding of her bra. Regrettably, it fastened in the back.

  Note to self, replace all bras with the kind that fasten in the front.

  It was such a delightfully naughty thought that she felt herself getting wet between her legs. The idea of making herself easily accessible to Andrew at all times was hot.

  Perhaps she should add skirts to her shopping list.

  Oh, goodness, what is becoming of me?

  Embrace your inner slut, girl, Sage’s voice sounded in her head.

  I wasn’t talking to you, she thought at him. Get lost.

  Sorry, I’m going, just wanted to tell you that I’m so proud of you that I have tears in my ghostly eyes.

  She giggled.

  “What’s so funny, sweetheart?”

  She wasn’t about to tell him of Sage’s brief visit. It would spoil the mood. But she could tell him about her naughty musings. “I was just thinking that I’m going to replace all my bras with the kind that open in the front.”

  Andrew skimmed his knuckles over the tops of her breasts, sending zings of desire down to her core. “Good idea.” He grabbed her bra cups and pulled them down, folding them under her breasts.

  As she glanced down at her pushed up swells—topped by nipples that were stiff and distended—the sight of her smallish breasts looking so lewd aroused her, and she wiggled her butt on the countertop to relieve the itch that had started there.

  She was impatient. “Don’t you want to finish undressing me first?”

  Andrew’s thumbs strummed over her aching peaks. “In a moment.”

  He li
cked his lips, and she arched her back in anticipation of his next move. With a groan, he leaned forward—his hands slapping the counter as he braced his weight against it—and took one nipple between his lips. Nathalie gasped, thrusting her breast out and grasping his head to get him to take more of it inside his hot mouth.

  Andrew hollowed his cheeks, sucking as much of her breast inside as he could, then released it with a loud pop, capturing the peak between his teeth.

  “Oh, my God,” she rasped, her hands pulling on his hair to hold him to her. It didn’t hurt, but there was something hot about the implied vulnerability. He could hurt her, but she trusted him not to. And that was hot too.

  His tongue replaced his teeth, then he repeated the whole thing with her other breast. By the time he lifted his head with a satisfied smirk on his handsome face, she was ready to skip the shower and get down to business.

  Nathalie shrugged off her blouse and reached back to unhook her bra. Next, she lifted a little to pull her pants and panties down.

  Andrew’s eyes were smoldering as he watched her no-nonsense, quick striptease. “Impatient?”

  “Very.” She made a move to hop off the counter, but he caught her before her legs touched the floor and carried her into the shower, getting in with her cradled in his arms.

  “Put me down, Andrew,” she commanded and reluctantly he complied.

  “My turn.” She reached for his belt buckle, releasing it and zipping down his jeans at the same time. He helped, grabbing his T-shirt and pulling it over his head then tossing it out on the bathroom floor, while she tugged on his pants, pulling them past his hips together with his boxer briefs.

  Kneeling to get them off his legs, Nathalie found herself face to face with his erection. “Well, hello there.” She gave it a little kiss, and it jerked in response. “Miss me? I think you did.” She fisted the hard length, running her hand up and down on the smooth, warm skin. When she licked the crown, Andrew groaned and swayed a little, letting himself fall back against the shower’s tiled wall.

  Did she make him weak at the knees?

  Looking up at his face, she swirled her tongue around the mushroom head and watched his lids sliding shut, his lips parting on a pant.