Caress The Dark God [Scions of the Ankh 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (2 page)

“How about this,” Tessa began, watching for his reaction. “For every question you ask me, I get to ask you two.” Torian turned to look at her, his eyes revealing something she couldn’t name. He stared for a moment before nodding slowly in acquiescence. “All right. I’m a general practitioner. I also work in a hospice.” Both of his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“My turn.” Tessa grinned. “What is your connection to Rene and what do you do for a living?”

He paused before answering. “I’m an old friend of hers, recently reunited. As for what I do for a living,” he paused again, seeming to search for the right words. “I help lost souls find their way.”

“So you’re some kind of counselor.” He lifted a long, tapered finger and slowly tsked her. Tessa rolled her eyes, remembering the rules of play.

“Well, it would seem I’m not needed here.” Jonathan rose. “I’ll check on Anaise’s progress with Rene.”

Tessa barely registered his exit as she kept her eyes trained on Torian. He walked slowly away from the window, his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes never leaving her. Tessa followed his progress around the room. She sipped nervously at her water while she waited. Eventually, she lost track of him as he walked behind the chair she was sitting on. She waited for him to come around the other side, but he didn’t.

She could feel him directly behind her. In her peripheral vision, she could see masculine hands lightly gripping the furniture on either side of her shoulders. She took a deep breath as she felt his cool breath brush lightly against her neck. It made her shiver with awareness.

“Do you currently have a lover, Tessa, that brings this magnificent body to multiple orgasms?”

Tessa choked on her water as she set the glass down quickly on a nearby side table. She twisted around without thinking. It only brought her lips close to his. For a second, she wanted to lean forward those few extra centimeters, but caught herself. This man was like a drug. She turned back around and got up, smoothing the miniskirt as she collected herself. She had to give it to the man, he knew how to rattle her cage. He stood to his full height as he waited for her answer. Tessa would not back down; she ate men like this for lunch. Well, not exactly like him, but enough that his raunchy question shouldn’t have fazed her.

“Such a man does not exist for any woman. Contrary to men’s belief, it is the woman who
allows
the man to bring her to orgasm. No man has the skills to bring me such pleasure without me telling him exactly what to do.” She smoothed out a few more imaginary wrinkles before she gathered the nerve to look at him. She was surprised at the look of pity of his face.

“I had no idea American women were so unsatisfied. Perhaps what you need is a man who knows what he is doing in bed. A man who needs no instruction other than the moans of need he elicits in a woman. A truly talented lover can sense the specific desire of every individual woman.”

He began to walk around the chair towards her. His slow gait was more reminiscent of a stalking predator than a man. His voice alone wove a spell around her.

“He would know the honor that is truly his to please a woman, especially a woman like yourself.” He was so close to her now, she could smell the very masculine scent of him. “He would treasure every moment he was with her, every touch.” He took one finger and ran it down the column of her throat. Tessa swallowed as she wondered why she didn’t stop this bold man.

“She would want to surrender her lips willingly to this lover. She would demand that he never stop touching her.” She could see his head lowering and she swallowed again. His lips, firm and sensuous, were but inches away from hers as her mind raced. How would he taste? Exotic? Spicy? “But never, never,” he whispered, “would he need her instruction to seduce and satisfy her.” He lifted his head then, drawing back with a knowing grin.

Tessa was furious that she had fallen so easily for his machinations. She looked a fool. What the hell was wrong with her?

Just as a scathing comeback came to mind, Anaise burst into the room, waving a cell phone. “I have Rene,” she practically squealed. For a moment, Tessa had forgotten exactly why she was here and what she was waiting for. She tore her eyes away from the gloating man and turned to face Anaise with a plastic smile.

“Whatever is the matter?” Anaise asked in alarm. “Torian, what have you done?”

Tessa reached out for the phone, ignoring her questions. Rene’s very familiar voice bubbled out of the phone. Tessa listened patiently as Rene apologized for worrying her, but assured her everything was fine. She even promised she would return soon, but insisted that Tessa return home as there was nothing to worry about. Tessa asked a few questions just to make sure everything was fine.

Moments later, feeling satisfied, Tessa clicked the cell phone shut and handed it to Anaise. “Well, she is fine. It seems I’ve made this trip for nothing.” She retrieved her suitcase from across the room. “I’ll be leaving now.”

“Please stay, you shouldn’t make such a trip. Rest first,” Anaise suggested.

“No, it’s fine. Cairo is beautiful and I’ll enjoy the warm air back to the airport. I’m sure it’ll invigorate me.” Tessa wanted to get as far from Torian as she could.

“It’s going to storm,” Torian warned.

“No, there’s nothing but clear skies. Not to mention I got the forecast before I came. There’s not a storm in sight. Thank you again for your hospitality, but I really have to—” She paused as she looked out the window to see that the sky that was once blue and cloudless, was now populated with storm clouds. A grumble in the distance warned of its impending fury. “But that’s impossible.” Tessa stared at the skies in disbelief. Not more than a minute ago, it was sunny…

Tessa looked at the two other people in the room and immediately felt like she was the butt of some joke. Anaise had a slight grin to her face as she stared at Torian. He shrugged gallantly, but said nothing. “You’re more than welcome to stay here,” Anaise offered, finally looking at her. “We’ve plenty of room.”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary. Maybe I should wait and see how long the storm lasts.” Another grumble boomed from the clouds, this time much closer. Tessa glanced out of the nearest window. A bolt of lightning flashed quickly as the wind noticeably picked up. “This is the weirdest storm I’ve ever seen,” she said, almost to herself. The rain came down suddenly in sheets until Tessa could no longer see anything but gray out of the window.

“Well, it certainly appears necessary to me,” Anaise said in an amused tone.

“Well, I don’t want to seem ungrateful.” Tessa conceded. She was tired, after all, and Rene was okay. A rest would do her good. She just needed to stay away from Torian, then she could rest peacefully and leave this evening, weather permitting.

“It’s settled then, Anaise,” came Torian’s rumbling voice. “Tessa will be staying. I’m sure she’ll be comfortable in the room next to mine.”

What are you up to, Anubis?
Hathor’s curious voice slid into his mind.

He couldn’t help but stare at Tessa. She was breathtaking and the more she stood there, the more interested he became. As she took the phone from Anaise, Anubis was entranced with the way those lips moved. How he wanted to kiss those lips. To get a kiss from her under compulsion was one thing, but to get a kiss because she desired him was another. He wanted her kisses compulsion-free.

As he watched her speak on the phone, he couldn’t help but think how she’d been resistant to Hathor’s compulsion and, to a degree, his as well. A strong human mind was indeed hard to find. He and the others like him never interfered with the will of humans, unless it was in their best interest. Once worshipped as Egyptian Gods, they now stood as secret guardians to the human race. Blending in with the humans could be taxing and as of late he had grown tired of existing the way he was. That was, until he met this human. Yes, Tessa would amuse him until he decided to… He dropped the thought. As Tessa snapped the phone shut and handed it to Hathor, he had already decided on a course of action.

“I’ll be leaving now,” she announced as she walked the short distance to her suitcase and picked it up. That’s what she thought, Anubis mused as Hathor tried to convince her to stay.

“It’s going to storm,” Anubis announced, already feeling the power generating through him. Everything dark was associated with him, for good reason. He began to darken the sky, being careful that his eyes did not take on their supernatural state as he used his abilities.

Tessa began to argue, but stopped as she stared out of the window at the gathering clouds. Anubis watched as confusion washed over her face. “But that’s impossible,” she breathed.

Anubis, shame on you.
Anaise couldn’t keep the humor from her voice.

I’m not done with her yet.

Don’t harm her.

Have I ever harmed a hair on a human’s head?

No, but you have broken the hearts of many of the females.

She is different.

We shall see, old friend. We shall see.

Tessa looked from him to Hathor and he knew she sensed there was some sort of communication between them. “This is the weirdest storm I’ve ever seen.” Anubis wasn’t sure which of them she was addressing. Hathor chose to respond.

“Well, it certainly appears necessary to me.”

“Well, I don’t want to seem ungrateful.”

“It’s settled then, Anaise. Tessa will be staying. I’m sure she’ll be comfortable in the room next to mine,” he announced, gauging Tessa’s reaction. He saw her spine stiffen, and the uncomfortable shock that crossed her haunting features.

“So you’re staying as well,” Hathor directed at him.

“Yes.”

“You’re staying the night?” Tessa’s question was riddled with irritation.

“Most certainly.” Anubis walked took her before she could protest. “Did you not see the storm out there? It’s impossible to travel in. Besides, I am often a guest in this house, therefore I have room reserved just for me.” For the second time he held out his hand, indicating she should precede him. “I can show you to your room.”

“Is he kidding?” she asked Hathor.

“Torian is a very good friend of ours and, yes, he does reside here occasionally.”

“This house appears to be very big; surely there are other rooms I can stay in. You know, one that’s at least a wing away from him.”

“I am sorry, Dr. Michaels, but our house is going through some remodeling. I redecorate a lot and right now there aren’t any other rooms fit for a guest.”

“I apologize for being difficult,” Tessa said tiredly. “Any room is fine. Hopefully, I’ll be leaving tonight if the storm subsides. I’ll just take this opportunity to catch up on some sleep.”

“You plan on being holed up in your room all the day, then?” Anubis asked as she finally fell into step beside him.

“I know it’s early for you, but I’ve been traveling all night. I’m sure I could use the rest.”

“You don’t look tired to me.”

“You don’t know me well enough to ascertain when and if I’m tired,” she snapped. Anubis looked at her sideways, admiring the long lines of her body.

“I’m hoping to change that.”

“Not going to happen.”

Truly, he had angered her. Good. He liked a challenge. “How can you be so sure, after what went on just a few minutes ago?” There was no mistaking the attractive flush to her cheeks.

“What happened a few minutes ago ensures that it will never happen again.”

“Are you denying the obvious?”

She sniffed. “What would that be?”

“Desire.”

“Jetlag,” she countered.

Anubis stopped. A second later she stopped as well and turned on her heel slowly. “What?” She shifted her weight to one leg and tapped her foot. He was really becoming accustomed to that little habit of hers.

“Are you saying that you have no desire for me whatsoever?”

“I’m saying I have jetlag. That in and of itself means I can’t really judge anything with a clear head. However, I am willing to bet even after a good night’s sleep I’ll still find you incredibly annoying, but certainly not desirable.”

“Want to make a bet?”

“Why? I’m leaving this evening, if I’m lucky. There’s no way to actually activate the bet.”

“First of all, Dr. Tessa Michaels, never underestimate a determined suitor. Second, this is your room.” He lightly nodded towards the closed door. He watched with hungry eyes as she walked the distance back towards him and reached for her suitcase. The moment her smooth skin brushed against his, a fire flared inside him. Pure desire, undiluted, shot through him. It had been too long since anyone had captured his interest. This fiery creature had no idea the beast within him wouldn’t just let her slip away.

At the brief contact she seemed out of sorts, but quickly pulled herself together. “Thank you, Torian. You’re quite the, uh, something,” she finished wryly, entering her room without once looking back. But Torian knew she fought the impulse.

With the lightest of touches, he looked inside her mind to see that despite her interest in him, her reluctance to become involved was overwhelming. He pulled out of her mind, not wanting to intrude. Now his interest was piqued. Why a woman like this was insisting on living a solitary life was puzzling. His life was led in solitude through no choice of his own, but hers was self-inflicted.

He walked the whopping twelve feet to his own room and, without using the door, became a shade to phase into the room. The room, dimly lit because of the storm, posed no problem to his keen preternatural vision. With deliberate intent, he stopped right in front of the door that connected his room to Tessa’s and knocked. He could hear her bare feet on the carpet as she approached. He could hear her breathing on the other side. He knocked again, assuring her that she had indeed heard a knock at the door.

“Yes?” she said queried hesitantly.

“Torian.”

“What do you want?” There was no mistaking the annoyance in her voice, and a second later the door swung open. “Seriously, our rooms connect? You know, if I didn’t know any better I would swear you planned all this. If it wasn’t for the fact that you didn’t know I existed half an hour ago and that storm came out of nowhere, I would bet my life on it. What do you want, Torian?” she repeated.