Dark Secrets Unveiled (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance Book 45)

by I. T. Lucas

  As Sari wondered what those ideas might entail, the images flashing through her head made her squirm in the saddle.

  Behind her, David groaned. “When you wiggle your gorgeous butt like that, I want to make you the main course, not just the dessert.”

  She cast him a mockingly annoyed glance over her shoulder. “You have such a one-track mind.”

  He shrugged. “A man is entitled to his fantasies.”

  “And a woman needs to make sure that her man eats so his body has the energy to transition.”

  A grin spreading over his handsome face, David applied pressure to Moray’s flanks and caught up to her. “I like the sound of that.”

  “Which part?

  “All of it. I like hearing you call me your man, and I also like you taking care of me.”

  She hoped he was sincere and not critical. “I don’t want you to feel as if I’m mothering you.” She let out a breath. “I’m well aware of having those tendencies. Let me know if I get too bossy.”

  He reached over and took her hand. “I don’t mind bossy as long as it’s the good kind. In fact, it’s a turn on.” He lifted her gloved hand, peeled away just a bit to expose the heel of her palm, and kissed it.

  Interesting.

  Sari was an assertive woman, but sexually she liked her man to take the lead, which David had done. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. They had taken turns, but Sari’s part had been to initiate, and David had taken it from there.

  “I’m not bossy in bed, am I?”

  Smiling, he kissed her palm again. “You are perfect.”

  It was like telling a woman that she was beautiful. Meaningless words men used to get out of tight spots.

  Or inside of them.

  Sari stifled a chuckle. “You don’t need to be politically correct with me, David. I have enough confidence to accept constructive criticism, and if there is anything about me that bothers you, I would like to know. I don’t have much experience with relationships, but I’ve lived for a very long time, and I’m leading a clan of people who tend to be very opinionated. Open and honest communication and the willingness to compromise are crucial for making it all work.”

  “You are just the right combination of assertive and yielding. I wouldn’t change a thing about you. Does that answer your question?”

  His answer made her stupidly happy.

  Sari had been perfectly honest about her willingness to accept criticism, but she was very glad that he had none.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  As they reached the lakeshore, Ojidu greeted them with a bow. “Good afternoon, mistress. Everything is ready for your picnic with the master. Would you like me to stay and serve lunch?”

  “No, thank you.” Sari dismounted and handed Ojidu the rains. “David and I will manage. You can return to the castle.”

  He bowed again. “Very well, mistress. I shall secure the horses and leave, but I shall return to clean up and take the basket.”

  “Hold on.” David dismounted. “If you don’t mind, Sari, I would like to ask Ojidu a few questions.”

  She’d forgotten about her promise to let David question her butler, but did he really have to do it now? He could enter transition at any moment, and she wanted their time together to be spent with each other, not on interrogation concerning her mother.

  “Can it wait for after your transition?”

  “I’ll make it quick.”

  Apparently, his curiosity couldn’t wait.

  She turned to her butler. “David will ask you a few questions, and I allow you to answer them.”

  Ojidu bowed. “Of course, mistress.”

  10

  David

  Sari seemed reluctant to let him question Ojidu, and David wondered whether it was because she didn’t want him to discover unpleasant truths about her mother, or because she was impatient to start their romantic picnic.

  In either case, the inquiry was sure to spoil the mood, and he should have let it go. Except, it was too late to do so now.

  The butler looked at him with a fake smile plastered on his square-ish face. “What would you like to know, Master David?”

  “Sari tells me that before you were her butler, you served the Clan Mother.”

  As the cyborg just kept smiling, David realized that unless he asked a direct question, Ojidu wouldn’t answer him. “Do you store in your memory everything that you experience?”

  “Yes, master.”

  “Do you remember a time when the goddess was in danger?”

  “Yes, master.”

  “Can you tell me about those times?”

  “Which one, master?”

  He needed to start thinking of Ojidu as a computer. Unless he told him precisely what he was looking for, the guy wouldn’t know which file to access.

  The problem was the limited information they had about the incident. It had happened a long time ago, probably while the goddess was still in the Nordic lands, but that could’ve been hundreds of years ago. Maybe even thousands. There was no way he could pinpoint a specific time.

  The only thing he could do was to start at the beginning and go from there. Hopefully, Annani hadn’t been in danger too many times. After all, she was a powerful goddess and could seize people’s minds. Only other gods and immune humans or immortals could pose a threat to her.

  “Start with the first time the Clan Mother was in danger.”

  “Very well, master. The first time the Clan Mother was in danger was before she became the Clan Mother. The god Mortdh was amassing forces, and she told us that if he won a war with the other gods, he would kill her. That was why she needed to leave her home and escape to the north.”

  Sari groaned. “This is not going to be quick, David. Knowing my mother, she got in trouble countless times. She always does things that might expose her, and Alena has to do damage control. Other than popping children like a human female, that’s Alena’s main job in life.”

  David nodded. “Let me rephrase the question. Was there ever a time the goddess feared for her life?”

  “Please define fear, master.”

  Damn, that was difficult. He was asking a cyborg to comment on an emotion instead of a fact.

  “Was there a time that the goddess needed your protection?”

  “Yes, master. When she left her home and traveled to the north, my brothers and I protected her. She told us that if the god Mortdh found her, we were to shield her.”

  “Other than Mortdh, were there any others she told you to shield her from?”

  “No, master.”

  This was going nowhere.

  Sari lifted a hand. “Can I take over, David? I know how to ask Ojidu questions that he can answer.”

  “Be my guest. It will certainly go faster.”

  “Was the Clan Mother ever physically attacked by humans? And by physically, I mean, did any of them ever raise their hands or weapons to strike her?”

  “Hands and weapons were raised.”

  Finally, they were getting somewhere.

  “Did she command you or the Odus to protect her?”

  “The Clan Mother did not command my brothers or me to strike humans down.”

  “What did she do to protect herself?” Sari asked.

  “The Clan Mother took over their minds.”

  “Were any of them immune to her mind control?”

  “I do not know, mistress. The Clan Mother did not tell us.”

  “Was there a time that she needed to flee?”

  “Yes.”

  “From whom?”

  “From Mortdh.”

  David stifled a groan. “Did she move from one place to another because it became dangerous for her to stay?”

  The butler tilted his head in a very human gesture of confusion. “The Clan Mother moved many times.”

  “Did she tell you why she moved?” Sari asked.

  “No, mistress.”

  Shaking her head, Sari turned to David. “I don’t think we can get anything
more out of him. Apparently, my mother didn’t confide in her Odus.”

  “Perhaps that’s the question we should ask Ojidu.” David turned to the butler. “Did the goddess share any of her thoughts with you or your brothers? Did she explain to you any of her decisions?”

  “No, master.” The butler bowed.

  David wasn’t willing to give up yet. “Have you ever witnessed anyone talk to the Clan Mother angrily or disrespectfully?”

  “Yes, master.”

  “Can you recall one such conversation and recite it?”

  “No, master.”

  “Are you forbidden to recite the Clan Mother’s conversations?” Sari asked.

  “Yes, mistress.”

  She threw her hands in the air. “That’s the first question we should have asked. It would have saved us from going through this entire futile exercise.”

  Ojidu bowed. “Shall I take care of the horses, mistress?”

  “Yes, please.”

  When the butler had gone, Sari sat down on the blanket and opened the basket. “Would you like some wine?”

  “I would love some.” David joined her. “I don’t agree that it was futile. We learned a few things. First, your mother never used the Odus as a defense force. Secondly, not everyone loved her. Some humans talked to her with anger and disrespect. My takeaway is that she faced some opposition, perhaps even from individuals who were immune to her charms as well as her thralling and compulsion. But she was somehow able to handle them without mobilizing her Odus’ combat skills.”

  Sari handed him the wine bottle to uncork and pulled two wine glasses out of the basket. “Annani is stronger than the average human male, but she is tiny, and those Nordic warriors were big, strong men. Without her mind tricks, she would have been defenseless against even one of them. If I’m not mistaken, we are talking about the era of berserkers.”

  “What about weapons? Can she throw a knife? Wield a sword?”

  Sari shook her head. “I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think so. Why would she? She’s always had protectors. As a young goddess growing up in Sumer, she had bodyguards assigned to her. Then Khiann gifted her with the seven Odus, and they’ve been protecting her ever since.”

  “So how come Ojidu says that she never commanded him or his brothers to defend her?”

  “She might have erased those incidents from their minds. Annani always thought of them as her servants, not her bodyguards. If she ever needed them to utilize their combat skills, she might have not wanted them to remember operating in that capacity.”

  11

  Sari

  “I like Rufsur.” David followed Sari into her apartment. “I even like Edna, but I don’t like that we couldn’t do what I had in mind because of them.”

  Edna and Kalugal’s second-in-command had joined them for dessert, and the four of them had gone back to the castle together. Sari would have preferred to spend the time alone with David, but there hadn’t been much she could have done about it other than tell them to leave, and that would have been rude.

  “I enjoyed their company.” She closed the door. “And now that we are in the privacy of our apartment, I can’t wait to discover what you have planned for us.”

  Throughout their picnic, David had been sweet-talking her and eroding her conviction that it was best for them to refrain from sex so he could preserve his energy. His arguments were that sex actually didn’t drain him but rather energized him, and that they should take advantage of every moment they had to enjoy each other before he entered transition. In the end, she’d stopped resisting and decided to go for it.

  After all, fear was the enemy of reason and it had clouded her judgment. David was absolutely right about squeezing every last drop of joy from the time they had left together before things got scary.

  Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him down for a kiss. “Our bed is much more comfortable than a blanket on the ground. Besides, there are no insects here to bite us in bothersome places.”

  He arched a brow. “Do immortals get bug bites? Because that can be interesting. You could potentially spawn immortal bugs that would bite other animals and spread immortality to them as well.”

  Sari rolled her eyes. “If that was possible, it would have already happened.”

  She loved David’s inquisitive mind, but right now she didn’t want to talk about bugs or anything else for that matter. He’d been teasing her nonstop with his comments about her sexy ass and what he would like to do to it, and she’d been counting the minutes until they were alone so he could show her what he had in mind.

  “Come on.” She took his hand and led him to the bedroom.

  He sat on the bed and pulled her into his lap. “I like it that you call your apartment and your bed ours. Is that part of assuming the win?”

  Sari brushed her lips over his cheek and continued to the shell of his ear. “Of course. We are going to spend eternity together, but probably not in this apartment because it’s too small for raising children.”

  David’s hand followed the curve of her spine until he reached the top of her breeches. “I like the sound of that.” The fabric was just stretchy enough for him to push his hand inside and cup her butt cheek. “I’ve been staring at this magnificent ass of yours all day long.” He gave it a hard squeeze.

  “What do you want to do to it?” Her nipples hardened against the fabric of her bra.

  “Everything.” He reached with his fingers and brushed them along the seam between her cheeks.

  Sari sucked in a breath. She hadn’t expected it to feel so erotic.

  But David didn’t stop there. With his other hand, he popped the top button of her breeches and pushed them down just enough so his hand could continue to her center. “God, Sari.” He groaned. “You are so wet.”

  “And you are overdressed.” She grabbed his T-shirt and pulled it over his head.

  Peppering his taut chest with kisses, she continued down to where his erection had popped above the beltline. “Well, hello there.” She blew air on the tip and then kissed it. “Let’s get rid of the rest of your clothes.” Sari pushed away from his lap and went down to her knees on the rug.

  Lifting his foot, she pulled the boot off, flung it behind her, and then did the same with the other.

  His jeans were next.

  Impatient, she yanked them down along with his boxer briefs.

  As her hand closed around his erection, he hissed, and she realized that she was gripping him too tightly.

  “I’m sorry.” Easing her hold, she smiled up at him. “I’ll kiss the ouchie away.”

  “There was no ouchie.” He threaded his fingers through her hair. “But you are welcome to kiss it all you want.”

  She was planning on doing much more than kissing. David was about to get the best blowjob of his life, and hopefully not the last.

  Fates willing, she would treat him to many more of those.

  Lifting on her knees, Sari dipped her head and planted a soft kiss on the very tip of him and then licked it all around like an ice cream cone.

  As David’s fingers tightened in her hair, she opened her mouth and took him deeper.

  A strangled moan escaping his throat, he pushed a little farther and then pulled out and thrust in again.

  David was being gentle with her, but it was costing him. Sari could feel him struggling for control, not wanting to overwhelm her, but she would have none of that.

  It wasn’t that she was all that experienced in orally pleasuring a man, but she wasn’t a novice either, and she could take a lot more than he was allowing himself to give her.

  Gripping his thighs, she dug her fingers into his hard flesh and sucked him in even deeper.

  With a strangled groan, David’s control snapped. His thrusts becoming more frenzied, he was going deeper and harder, until it became difficult for her not to gag.

  When his shaft twitched inside her mouth, she readied for him to climax and for his seed to coat her throat.

/>   It was a waste, and she would rather have had him put it where it had a chance to take root, but this wasn’t about procreation.

  This was about pleasuring the man she loved into oblivion.

  12

  David

  This was the best blowjob that David had ever received, and stopping before shooting his load into Sari’s mouth required more self-restraint than he thought he had.

  But he didn’t want to finish like that. He wanted to be inside her, filling her up with his seed the way she wanted him to.

  Sari wanted his child, and he’d be damned if he wasted even one opportunity to make it happen.

  David realized that the need to do so had been lurking in his subconscious ever since he’d agreed to the induction, but up until now he hadn’t confronted his fears. He might not make it through the transition, and this might be his last chance to leave something of himself behind. It wasn’t just for him, it was for Sari.

  Even though they had just met, she loved him with the passion of a fated mate, and if she lost him, her life would become intolerable. But if she had his child, Sari would have to survive the grief and stay strong for their son or daughter.

  The morbid thought managed to do what his willpower alone had struggled with, and he pulled out of her heavenly mouth.

  “Why did you stop?” she asked.

  David didn’t answer.

  Instead, he leaned down, lifted her by her waist and threw her on the bed.

  It was good that Sari wasn’t fragile, and the toss didn’t faze her in the slightest. As soon as her back hit the mattress, she parted her legs for him. But she was still wearing her blouse and bra, and David wanted her naked under him.

  Crawling on top of her, he grabbed the shirt and yanked it over her head, not caring that a few buttons tore loose and that the shirt was probably ruined.

  Thankfully, the bra was the type that closed in the front, and he got rid of it in one second flat.

  When their chests finally touched, they both let out a sigh.