by Lisa Kessler
“You’re basing this off one guy, Erica.” He crossed his arms, his biceps straining against his T-shirt. He huffed out a frustrated breath. “Hell, I don’t even know why I’m fighting you. A relationship is the last thing I ever wanted.”
Erica stood up and walked over to the window. She’d never be able to get the words out if she had to look at him. “Every second I spend with you, I get more addicted. I just keep wanting more. It scares me.”
His chair scraped against the floor, and then he was behind her, the heat of his body tempting her to turn around. His breath caressed her ear. “When I couldn’t see you in that fire tonight, I’d never been so fucking afraid. I’m scared of what it means, too, but if the alternative is you walking out that door, I’d pick being terrified any day.”
She bit her lip, struggling to keep from turning around. “You say that now, but the feelings I inspire in others will start to bother you. It’ll be small at first, but soon you’ll be following me to see how far I take the flirting. And someday, you’ll do anything to be sure I’m yours. Even branding me.”
“No fucking way.” He turned her around and lifted her chin to meet his eyes. “Seeing you dancing tonight didn’t make me jealous. It made me feel like the luckiest man in that bar, because you could inspire passion in all of them, but you were coming home with me.”
She searched his eyes. “One day, you might not be so sure of that.”
“And maybe one day you’ll see I’m stronger than that other guy.”
She caught her lower lip between her teeth. “It has nothing to do with strength.”
“The hell it doesn’t. Somewhere inside, Jack wanted to own you and keep you in a cage.” Reed shook his head slowly. “I’m not even trying to pin you down to anything exclusive.”
She raised a brow. “You’re telling me you’d be all right if I walked out that door and got busy with some other guy?”
He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “No, I’d be sitting here wishing you were here with me.” He gaze wandered over her face. “All I’m asking for is honesty. No lies, even when the truth isn’t pretty.”
“Honesty.” Her heart raced as she swallowed the lump in her throat. “Okay… At the club, I kept waiting to feel a rush of desire when I danced with those guys. I saw it in the people around me, but all I could do was wish you were on the floor with me.”
He cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing her skin. “I wanted to be out there with you. You’re so damned sexy.”
Reed pressed his lips to her forehead, and suddenly the bathroom door flew open so hard the knob slammed into the wall. Erica jumped back.
He turned around, shaking his head. “And that’s apparently my ‘gift’ from the gods.”
She stared up at him, eyes wide. “You did stop that cup tonight! And the fireball in the parking lot…”
“Yeah. I think I did.” He walked over and moved the door, exposing a fresh hole in the drywall. “And I’m nowhere near figuring out how to control it.”
She came closer. “Why’d you open this?”
“I didn’t mean to. Hunter told me this ‘ability’ only works to protect your muse.” The corner of his mouth tugged into a sexy, lopsided smile. “But I was thinking you might need some help getting all the soot out of your hair.”
“For my own safety?”
He chuckled. “Apparently this new gift thought so.”
She looked up at him from under her lashes. “You wash my back, and I’ll wash yours.”
“Deal.”
His lips fused to hers as she ran her hands up his chest. He backed her into the bathroom, breaking the kiss long enough to turn on the shower. She unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, enjoying his deep groan of satisfaction as she slid her hand inside to stroke his shaft. He claimed her lips again, his tongue tangling with hers.
She broke the kiss, breathless. “Too many clothes.”
“Agreed.” He grinned and pulled his shirt off.
They were naked in record time, their clothes decorating the floor and the sink. He caught her around the waist, and holding her close, he helped her over the edge of the tub and into the shower.
He followed her inside, picking up the shampoo. “You’re even sexier wet.” He put some shampoo in his palm and gestured for her to turn around. “If I don’t get you clean fast, I’m going to have to take you dirty.”
She faced the water and pressed her hips back into him, teasing his erection. “Nothing wrong with dirty.”
“The smell of smoke reminds me of work.” He gripped her ass with one hand, shampooing her hair with the other. “But damn, you tempt me.”
His strong fingers massaged her scalp until she moaned with pleasure. He kissed the back of her shoulder. “Don’t make me come before we even get started.” He nibbled gently at her skin. “Turn around.”
She followed his instructions and leaned her head back into the spray. His soapy hands moved up her waist to her breasts, teasing her nipples until her knees were rubbery.
She lifted her head. “Your turn.”
They swapped places, and she picked up the shampoo. When she looked up at him, a grin spread across her lips. “You’re too tall for me to wash your hair.”
A devilish smile lit up his face as he knelt and licked the taut tip of her breast, murmuring, “Better?”
She shivered, rubbing the shampoo into a lather. “Much.”
His hand glided up the inside of her leg. She widened her stance as he ventured even higher, sliding his finger along her sex. Her soapy hands gripped his shoulders, bracing herself as he entered her with two fingers. His thumb circled her mound until he found the right spot, and she dug her nails into his shoulders, rising up on her toes.
“That’s it.” His lips trailed up as he straightened, his mouth at her ear. “Let go, Erica. We’re just warming up.”
He rubbed her faster, her hips grinding into his hand until she cried out, her legs trembling. He slid his arm around her waist, holding her up until the aftershocks ran their course.
She opened her eyes to find him smiling down at her. “You look proud of yourself.”
“Maybe a little. But all my pride will vanish if you see me crying when the shampoo stings my eyes.” He tipped his head back into the water to rinse it out.
Erica laughed, wetting her lips as she ran her hand up his thigh to cup his sac.
He shivered. “I’m almost done.”
She ran her finger along his erection and pressed a kiss to his chest. “But I’m not.”
Before he could open his eyes, she knelt, taking him into her mouth. His hands tangled in her hair, encouraging her. She gently scraped her nails up the outside of his thighs as she enjoyed his deep moan. He pulsed in her mouth, and she hummed around him. When she slid her tongue around the tip, his fists tightened in her hair.
“Enough. I’m too close,” he begged.
The desire in his voice tempted her to finish him right there in the shower. She forced herself to pull back, though, kissing her way up his wet chest while he finished rinsing.
He turned off the shower and grabbed a towel, handing it to her. “You can use it first. Sorry I don’t have another one in here. I don’t usually have guests.”
Somewhere deep inside, she loved that he didn’t bring women to his place. Yet he’d brought her here without hesitation…
Shit.
A warning sounded in her head. They were getting too close. Tonight, he went farther into a burning building to find her and help her to safety. They were already dangerously past the line of keeping things physical, and if she couldn’t keep this just sex…
She stepped out of the shower and handed him the towel. “I should probably go get my car.”
He stopped towel drying his hair and lifted his head. “Your car can wait. That asshole is stalking you, Erica.”
She plucked her clothes from the pile on the floor and her bra from the sink. “We’re fooling ourselves, Reed. The longer I’m around
you…” She shook her head, refusing to glance his way.
He got out of the shower and caught her hand. “We were just about to move this into my bedroom, and now you want to get dressed and leave? Walk me through this.”
She looked up into his eyes, her voice barely a whisper. “I like that you don’t bring other women to your place.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “And that’s…bad?”
“Yes!” She jerked her hand free and carried her clothes into the bedroom.
He followed, frowning. “Just because I don’t bring women to my place, doesn’t mean I don’t go to theirs. I don’t understand.”
She stepped into her underwear. “It’s just me, okay?” She straightened up, reaching for her bra. “I’m not like other women. There’s a muse inside me that inspires passion, and the flip side of passion is obsession.”
“I already told you that’s not going to happen with me.” He stood in front of her, a naked temptation.
She sat on the edge of the bed, resting her head in her hands. “I already think about you too much. You make me laugh, you’re the best lay I’ve ever had, and you saved me from a damned burning building tonight!” She looked up at him. “How the hell am I supposed to keep things just physical between us?”
He went past her into his closet and pulled on a pair of sweatpants.
She frowned. “What are you doing?”
“I’m being your Guardian.” He came out without a shirt. “You can’t go back to your car tonight. He could be waiting for you. Until we catch him, I’ll keep my distance, but I’m going to be sure you’re safe. You can have the bed; I’ll take the sofa in the other room.”
He walked out, leaving her staring at his back. This was for the best. He was right. He was her Guardian, not her boyfriend.
But dammit, seeing him walk away hurt.
Ted stared at the e-mail from the new professor of Greek studies at Crystal Community College. The professor’s translation of the Greek scroll Ted had given him a photo of was cryptic, to say the least.
The picture had been one of many Bryce had brought back from Callie O’Connor’s place last week, before Mikolas decreed they would only watch the muses from a distance.
But Ted wasn’t concerned about the Greek finding out. He’d sent Bryce to take pictures of any blueprints or contracts. Bryce wasn’t to touch or take anything. With nothing missing, the muses would never know they’d been breached.
And neither would Mikolas.
A couple of weeks earlier, one of Ted’s contractors had heard through the grapevine that a local carpenter had agreed to work for them. Ted had already strong-armed anyone with a contractor’s license in Crystal City or the surrounding areas not to accept any contract on the theater, or they’d run the risk of no new contracts with the oil giant. The threat alone made the one-time deal with the muses a bad business decision.
Of course, he could reach out to the carpenter and hire him out from under the muses, but with an arsonist in town, this might be an opportunity in disguise. If he could find out when they would be meeting on site, it could be the perfect time to light the place up and let the arsonist take the fall for the dead women trapped inside.
He could avenge his father and help the Order without Mikolas ever suspecting a thing.
But Bryce had not only brought back pictures of the blueprints and Callie’s calendar, but stuffed in the cabinet with the prints had been a Greek scroll. Bryce had snapped a picture just in case. It seemed the kid had good instincts.
Ted could have asked Mikolas to translate, of course, but then he’d have to answer questions about how he’d gotten it. Besides, the less he had to converse with the new CEO the better.
He narrowed his eyes at his computer screen, wishing the answer to the riddle would become clear.
Hey Ted–
If you have this scroll, it could be a valuable piece. Based on the dialect, this might be two-thousand years old. It appears to be a prophecy about the nine daughters of Zeus, the Greek muses.
Literally translated, it reads, “Every generation, the nine daughters of Zeus are reborn, and with their rebirth are also nine Guardians. These Guardians will be marked by the gods and given gifts to protect his treasure. Their abilities will only be unlocked when they find their muses.”
The professor went on to postulate that it might be a lost verse of a poem, but Ted already knew the first part. The Order of the Titans had been tracking the muses, but he’d never heard of these Guardians before.
He leaned back in his chair. Gifts. He wondered what that meant. He tossed around ideas of magic shields and swords blessed by the gods, but it didn’t feel right. No. When Melanie Jacoby had met the police detective, he had seemed to have a sixth sense about when she was in trouble. In fact, that was the only explanation for how he had found them in the warehouse that day at all. And when Ted’s father had shifted his sights to taking out the Muse of Epic Poetry, she got involved with a Navy SEAL who fucked up all their plans.
Ted’s gaze flicked to the prophecy again. What if those two guys were Guardians? Could they have developed some kind of superhuman abilities after they came in contact with the muses?
He picked up the phone and dialed Bryce’s number.
“Hey, Boss.”
“Keep an eye on the muses,” Ted said, staring out his window. “Tail them, and if there’s a new guy hanging around, I want to know. Understand? Don’t engage them.”
“Do you still want me to keep my ear to the ground to see how the fires were started?”
Ted turned to face his computer screen. “Tailing the muses takes priority.”
“Anything in particular I should be looking for?”
Ted hesitated, debating how much he wanted Bryce to know. “No. Just see if there’s another guy besides the detective and the SEAL. And keep me informed.”
“You got it. Be in touch soon.”
Ted ended the call and closed his e-mail. If the gods had brought the muses together through dreams, could they be bringing the Guardians to Crystal City, too?
And if so, if he could figure out what marked them, maybe he could make sure they never found their muses. A twisted smile curved his lips. He could finally be one step ahead of the fucking muses.
CHAPTER 8
Reed sat on the couch trying to get his head together. Not only was he aching for her physically, but his emotions were twisted up, too. He’d brought her home because there were no other alternatives.
Except maybe Callie’s place. Hunter had said he’d keep her safe, too.
But deep down, he didn’t want Erica with anyone else. If he hadn’t found her in all the smoke tonight… He didn’t even want to think about it.
He stared at the bedroom door, but that wasn’t going to make it open. Or maybe it would? Fuck. He was losing his mind.
Whatever was happening with his new “gift,” he wasn’t strong enough to walk away from Erica twice. He pulled out his phone and sent Hunter a text.
Another fire tonight. It’s got to be Erica’s ex.
His phone buzzed with a call. He stepped out on the balcony to answer. “Hey, Hunter.”
“Shit, man. Are you okay? How’s Erica?”
He glanced through the sliding glass door. “She’s safe.”
“Good.” Hunter paused. “Did you tell her?”
“About the birthmark?” He leaned against the railing. “Yeah, I showed her.”
“How’d she take it?” he asked. “You sound like shit, by the way.”
“Feel like it, too.” Reed chuckled. “She’s a little freaked out. Oh, but I think I know what my gift is—if you want to call it that.”
“Show me tomorrow. Come by our place. Erica’s supposed to be here, anyway. They’ve got a meeting about the theater.” He lowered his voice. “And be careful until then.”
“Will do.”
Reed ended the call and started to turn when a shadow moved below. He waited. A man was jogging down the str
eet. Reed scanned the area, but nothing seemed out of place. He was getting punchy.
He went back inside and reached for the sliding glass door, but he stopped himself. Could he close it with his mind?
God, he sounded certifiable.
But he focused on the handle, forcing his will and intention into it. Nothing happened. Feeling stupid, he pulled it closed.
Then Erica screamed. He ran for the bedroom, the door flying open before he ever grabbed the knob.
“What happened?”
She dropped her cell on the bed, pointing at it. He came closer and stared at the screen. There was a picture of his truck with a cow’s head in the flatbed. The words below it read, Tell the firefighter to return my property or his head will be next.
“Shit.” Reed ran a hand down his face. “I thought I saw someone sneaking around down there.”
“It’s a head in your truck, Reed.”
“A head he bought off a butcher for cash.” He glanced over at Erica and covered her hand with his. “It’s an empty threat.” He pointed at the phone. “And it’s sloppy. Hunter said one of the Guardians is a police detective. He might be able to trace the e-mail to an IP address and help us track him down.”
She met his gaze. “Or we could lure him out.”
“No.” He squeezed her hand. “Too dangerous. We can find him.”
“Right now, we’re playing his game.” She raised a brow. “You said we shouldn’t let him control us.”
“There’s a difference between holding hands in public and sending you out there like bait.”
She lifted his hand. “You pulled me out of a fire tonight. I can lure Jack out of the shadows for you. I’m what he wants.”
He shook his head. “I’m your Guardian.”
She pressed her lips to his fingers and whispered, “And who is guarding you?”
His chest tightened with emotions he wasn’t ready to sort out. No woman had ever asked that question. He cupped her cheek. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”