Blessed (24 page)

“Is that how you met him? Doing rituals with him?”

Nuri smiled. “In a way. Many, many years ago, shortly after the religious revolution, Johnathan left England, much to his family’s disgust, and traveled to Egypt. He’d had a calling to worship Osiris, though his family thought he was just having a midlife crisis. I was immediately taken by his beautiful blue eyes and, after much persuasion and chasing on his part, we married. He is the love of my life and I thank the goddess everyday for bringing him to me.”

Eliana’s thoughts turned to Aiden and she couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you, Nuri. I know you didn't have to explain all of this to me, but I appreciate it.”

“You're most welcome, Eliana.” Nuri stood and smoothed the pleats of her gown. “Let's get you out to your little witch friend before she tries to break in here and rescue you.”

Nuri surprised her by giving her a hug. Her arms were warm and soft, and her psychic scent was comforting. Eliana relaxed and hugged her back, surprised by the peace she felt flowing into her soul. For the first time in days she felt the last of her tension leaving her and sighed with relief.

Holding onto her shoulders Nuri said, “The goddess gives you her blessings. Though you may not be hers, you have Egypt in your blood somewhere. Please feel free to call on me if you ever need to talk. I will keep your confidence and aid you as best I can.”

Eliana gave the tall woman another hug and followed her out of the quiet room. Chrissy stood waiting for them in the hall. Her hazel eyes carefully studied Eliana and Nuri.

“Thank you for taking the time to explain the temple to me, Priestess,” Eliana said, hoping to put Chrissy's mind at ease and head off any questions she could not answer.

“My pleasure, child.” Nuri glanced over at Chrissy and returned her suspicious look with a serene smile. “You're welcome here anytime as well, little witch. No matter what face she wears, the Mother Goddess always welcomes her children.”

Chrissy blushed and gave Nuri a considerably warmer smile. “Thank you, High Priestess. I am honored.”

With a final wave at Nuri, Chrissy and Eliana headed toward the exit of the temple. The main foyer was more crowded now as people got off work, and the noise echoed off the high ceiling. Chrissy kept giving her odd looks, but they had to concentrate on making their way through the crowd so she didn’t say anything.

As soon as they were outside, Chrissy said, “Holy crap. What the hell happened in there?”

“Sorry about that, Chrissy. I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't have time to eat a real lunch today, and I think the incense in there got to me.” Eliana fidgeted as she tried to think up excuses to tell Chrissy.

Chrissy stopped on the broad steps of the temple and stared at her. “Do you realize who that was?” she asked in a hushed voice.

“Umm, Nuri?” Eliana asked in confusion. They moved alongside the wall of the Temple to let the crowd flow past them.

“Nuri.” Chrissy snorted and added an eye roll for good measure. “That is Nuri King. She's like
the
High Priestess of Isis on the East Coast. She and her husband came over to the States in the '80s to help establish the first Temple to Isis in Washington D.C. What did she say to you?”

“She asked me who I was and gave me some advice on what herbs to take to avoid fainting.”

“Wow. Nuri didn't try to recruit you or anything, did she?”

“Nah, she said I wasn't Isis's type.”

Chrissy laughed and threw an arm around her shoulder. “Well, that's her loss then. Wait until I tell my mom I met Nuri. She's going to be green with envy.”

A large, dark-skinned man with thick black hair was standing in front of her car. He was dressed all in black and had dark-tinted black glasses on. On the lapel of his shirt was a small gold pin shaped like an oddly curving sword. They stopped a couple steps away from him and stared.

“Ladies,” he said in a deep voice. “High Priestess Nuri requested that I watch your car for you to make sure it was not broken into while you visited the temple.”

Leaning over, Chrissy whispered, “Inner Sanctum Temple Guard,” into her ear.

“Thank you. Please tell the High Priestess we're grateful for her help.”

The man bowed to them and moved back to the edge of the building, scanning the crowd.

Eliana and Chrissy got into Big Fran. As soon as the doors of the elderly Cadillac were shut, Chrissy said, “Wow, a real Inner Sanctum Temple Guard. Those guys are totally badass. In the old days, they were the last line of defense during an attack. Now they’re more like the Secret Service of the religious world. It's considered a high honor to be picked as an Inner Sanctum Guard. They usually have a military background and compete for a position at the temple of their gods.”

Eliana nodded as she checked her mirrors and pulled out into traffic. She let Chrissy's chatter wash over, her mind full of her meeting with Nuri. She would wait until tomorrow to tell Aiden what had happened. If she talked to him again tonight, he might manage to get her to come over, but she had way too much homework to catch up on. Somehow she didn’t think her parents would appreciate her failing out of school because she was caught up in the world of gods and goddesses. Then again, the memory of Aiden’s kiss, his touch, his everything, was so good that she found herself reliving their time together. He was so amazing and he liked her, really liked her. Almost as much as she liked him. With that cheerful thought in mind, she drove back to the dorm with a smile, fingers tapping to the song on the radio.

The next morning, as she was walking to class, Aiden's Hummer pulled to the edge of the circular drive next to her. He rolled down the passenger side window and made a come here motion. With a quick look around to make sure no one was watching, she threw her backpack into the car and jumped in.

He gave her a dazzling smile and grabbed the back of her head, pulling her in for a deep kiss. “Come play hooky with me,” he whispered against her lips.

She laughed softly as he kissed his way over her jaw. “Aiden I can't… I have class.” She closed her eyes as he bit his way down her neck. “Really...Aiden...I...”

He stopped and caressed her neck with his thumb. “Please? I have something special I want to show you. I missed you last night.”

She sucked in a deep breath and narrowed her eyes. “Fine, but if I fail physics, you get to explain it to my parents.”

“You won't fail. I'll tutor you,” he said with a wide smile as they drove out of the parking lot of her dorm. He held her hand in his and stroked her palm with his thumb.

He kept his eyes on the road and said, “I really did miss you last night.”

Fighting the urge to grin like an idiot, she replied airily, “People often suffer through withdrawal after being away from me for a while. I'm addictive.”

“That you are.” He raised her hand to his lips and slowly placed soft kisses over the smooth skin.

They drove with the radio playing softly, enjoying each other's company. It was a beautiful day outside, chilly, but clear and bright. The leaves were in their full fall colors, blazing in the vivid sunlight. As they moved farther out of the city, rolling hills blanketed in trees replaced the homes and office buildings. It was warm in the car, and she removed her dark brown leather jacket and smoothed her pale pink sweater.

Grabbing his hand again, she said, “Oh, I forgot to tell you. I passed out at the Temple of Isis yesterday.”

He turned to look at her sharply, his hand gripping hers hard. “You what?”

She winced at his tone. “I didn't eat a proper lunch, and, well, I didn't shield myself properly, and I passed out. Nuri said—”

He cut her off. “You met Nuri?”

“Well, yeah. I guess when I passed out she was the one who found me.”

After peeking over at him and making sure he didn’t look too pissed, she continued quickly, “See, Chrissy and I were there shopping for beads for my dress that I'm going to wear to the country club, and I went to look around for a bit. I saw the altar to Isis, and I started to feel all funny. I passed out before I reached it though. Then I woke up in Nuri's room, and she explained a bunch of stuff to me.”

Silence filled the car as they entered onto the freeway, heading north.

Finally, he said, “Did Isis speak to you?”

“No. Nuri said I had Egyptian blood, but I didn't belong to Isis.” She peeked at him and asked softly, “Are you mad at me?”

“No, I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself for leaving you alone and not teaching you well enough to strengthen your shields. I'm sorry. What happened was my fault.”

“Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself. I’m all right.”

Turning to look at her, he stroked her hand with his thumb again. “I lo— care about you. I don't want anything to happen to you. Especially when it's something I'm supposed to teach you and protect you against. You're lucky Nuri was there and I'm glad she has extended her friendship to you. She is a very powerful woman within the Chosen community and having her protection will help.”

Trying to lighten the mood, she said, “So, evidently I have some Egyptian in my blood somewhere. As far as I know, my mother is Greek and African-American. My dad is Dutch and English. Who knows, maybe I have Cleopatra somewhere in my family tree.”

He laughed and exited the freeway. “Or maybe an Egyptian washerwoman who got too friendly with a Greek sailor.”

She snorted and lightly hit his bicep. “I'll stick with the Egyptian royalty theory, thank you.” She looked out the window, watching the countryside roll by. “So where are we going?”

“You'll see.”

They turned down a dirt road and jolted around as he slowly drove over potholes. Reaching a pair of thick metal gates, he got out and unlocked them. She loved the way his worn jeans clung to his tight ass and as he strode back towards the car their eyes met and her heart raced. He hopped back into the Hummer with a grin, and they continued deeper into the forest.

After reaching a small clearing in the trees, he parked the SUV. She turned to him expectantly and gave him a teasing smile. “Okay, what am I missing class for? You know, as a professor you’re setting a very bad academic example.”

Reaching over, he cupped her face. Ever so slowly he rubbed his lips over hers while stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. She ran her fingers through his hair, tasting him on her lips and drowning in his desire. They shared a long, soft kiss that left them both breathing heavily before Aiden pulled away with a low groan. All he had to do was look at her to make her hot. When he actually kissed her, it felt like a blazing fire in her body.

“We’re here to make some magic,” he said with a devilish smile. “And we need to get out of this car before you entrance me again, and we end up in the backseat.”

“Hmmm, that would be a bad thing why?”

“You are far too tempting. Come on. I have something much better in mind.”

He grabbed a large backpack out of the trunk and handed her a thick blanket. “It's not too far of a hike. Can you carry the blanket please?”

“Yes, Oh Mysterious One.”

****

She looks so beautiful
, Aiden thought. The black jeans she wore clung to her rounded hips, and her pink sweater couldn't hide her stiff little nipples. The small purple bead that Billy had given her from Cupid was laced through a silver chain and lay in the hollow of her throat, making him want to kiss that smooth little depression. She was, by far, the most effortlessly beautiful woman he’d ever seen. And she was his, at least for now, but if he had his way she’d never leave his arms.

He loved how her silver eyes shone with pleasure when she looked at him and how her face lit up when she’d seen his car back at the university. The more time he spent with her, the more he thanked Odin for bringing her into his life. It scared him how fast he had fallen in love with her. He could only hope she felt the same.

With all the things going on in her life right now, he didn't want to burden her further, so he kept the talk of love to himself until she was in a more stable place. But that didn't mean he couldn't shower her with all the devotion and love that he felt. Once she was Chosen, and he knew she would be, all the other single male Chosen would fall on her like a pack of starving dogs, so he needed to make sure her heart belonged to him before that happened.

They made their way through the forest, stepping over fallen logs and following an old path. The air smelled rich, and their breath misted as they hiked past old trees and exposed rocks. He stopped and turned to her, admiring the way the sunlight brought out the amber and gold highlights in her wavy hair. “Close your eyes.”

She obeyed and held his hand as he carefully led her forward. “I feel silly, Aiden.”

“Be patient,” he replied as leaves crunched under their feet.

“Okay, you can open your eyes now,” he said as he continued to hold her hand. Her skin was so smooth, and his cock stiffened at the memory of sliding down that soft body of hers. A hint of her psychic scent curled over him and he took a deep breath, warming from within.

They were in a small clearing in the middle of the forest. A pool of water surrounded by smooth weatherworn rocks steamed gently into the chilly air. The trees all around the pool were alight with the beginning of autumn’s brilliant color, and a soft wind blew red and yellow leaves into the clearing like confetti.

“Wow, it's beautiful,” she murmured. “Are we going for a swim?”

“That, and something more. If you're game, I would like to do some magic with you. It's an old harvest spell, asking for Odin's blessing in the long winter months to come. To keep the participants warm and fed, safe from the killing frosts and dangers of the ice.”

Pulling her closer, he stroked his hand down her long honey-brown hair, loving how well she fit in his arms. “The spell needs a sacrifice. Normally I offer grains and meat. This year I would like to offer the warmth our lovemaking.” Did she notice the extra emphasis he put in the word love?

She gave him a sassy smile. “Sounds like more fun than baking bread.” She did a large mock-sigh that made her full breasts stretch against her sweater. “I guess I can make this sacrifice of letting you worship my body.”