Wilde Rapture (6 page)

“Feel the rapture,” he murmured.

He went back to his ministrations. Moaning, Nia released her breasts and gripped his shoulders. She pumped her hips, searching for the stream against her pussy. Darius stilled her motions, shifting her. She groaned as the motion of the water filled her pussy. Holding him tight, she whimpered. Darius buried his head between her breasts, licking the flesh, then nuzzling downwards, suckling her nipple. She arched back to give him better access. He moved from breast to breast, driving her into a frenzy. The jet streams moved inside her. Heat filled her belly, making shivers coat her skin. Darius bit down on her nipple. Nia screamed, going over into the talons of pleasure.

He held her still, taking his fill of her breasts, making harsh noises. Darius yanked her to him, spreading her legs. He pulled out a condom and rolled it on, then thrust into her. Moaning, she curled back, riding his cock. Darius held her, slowing her down. His thrust was lazy, designed to heighten her pleasure and drive her out of her mind. Nia shuddered as he took her.

Darius, from under partially lowered lids, took in the beauty of Nia as she moved on him. With a slow, deep thrust, he swallowed the moan that fell from her lips. Pulling back, he watched her gaze go glassy with pleasure as he filled her. Nia had come to him. She’d shared her day with him. It was more than he’d expected, having only known her for such a short time. Her hips hitched and her breasts rose in and out of the hot water. They were pebbled, and he wanted to taste them again. Gripping her back, he leaned low and sucked one in, biting it. Nia clenched tightly around him, a gasp ripping from her. She was sensitive, and he loved the sounds she made when he suckled her nipples. He continued taking his fill.

Each pull of his teeth made her gush, making the glide into her slick with her essence. She shuddered as she came again. Darius stroked inside her. He wanted to take his time and make it last. Nia moaned, holding him close. He raised his head and closed his mouth over hers. She kissed him, tenderly suckling his tongue, then bit down. His sac went tight, then he gushed into her waiting cavern. He thought of the condom between them and wished it wasn’t there. He didn’t remove it, though, leaving it there for her peace of mind. They would discuss it, and soon. Until then, he held her as she came down from their pleasure. She fell asleep, and still he held her.

A little while later, he lifted her and took her to bed. Nia didn’t stir. He slid in beside her, bringing her back against his chest and placing his hand over her rounded belly. Holding her, he imagined his child deep within her.

Patience. It will happen soon.

* * * *

Rubbing the back of his neck, Darius exited the elevator into his apartment. Spotting Nia curled up waiting for him, he smiled. In the weeks they had been together, she had got more comfortable in his home, coming and going at all hours. They had explored New York together when their schedules permitted. Lunch in the park across from her precinct had become a daily date he looked forward to. Nia glanced up at him and smiled.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said, going to her.

He kissed her, then sat next to her. Nia slid her feet into his lap.

“You weren’t expecting me.” Nia shrugged, her attention returning to the TV.

“Umm… What happened to your plans with Gabe?” He rubbed her feet.

“She was called in to the ME’s office,” Nia said absently.

“So, when am I going to meet this Gabe you talk about so much? And Carmen and her husband Nick? Your partner Lauren?” he prodded.

Nia didn’t respond. Darius frowned slightly as he leaned towards her. Although they were close, Nia still kept him out of certain parts of her life. She shared details about her job; that, she didn’t have a problem with. What she hadn’t done was let him meet her friends, the women he had seen her with over three months ago at the wedding.

“Nia.” He gripped her foot lightly.

“I’ve missed you, Darius,” she said, pulling her foot away.

She shifted, laying her body on his. He reclined on the couch. Nia kissed him gently. Darius cupped her ass, putting his leg between hers. Nia’s sleep shirt rode up, and she rocked her bare mound against his pants. Her wetness through the fabric made him groan.

A loud ringing interrupted them. Nia pulled away, sitting up. She grabbed her cell phone off the table and put it to her ear.

“Hudson. I’ll be right there, Lauren.” She stood and hurried to the bedroom.

Darius sighed. He was getting used to the interruptions to their time. He didn’t like it, but he was dealing with it. Nia strode back in. She paused by him and kissed his lips.

“We need to talk,” Darius said, holding on to her.

Nia’s scowl told him she knew what he was referring to. She pulled away and went to the elevator. She waved briefly as she entered. The door closed. Darius rubbed his fingers through his hair, then stood and went to get ready for bed. He had to decide what to do about their relationship.

Chapter Five

The sound of the door closing caught his attention. Darius glanced at the time. It was three in the morning. Nia was tiptoeing across the darkened living room. Darius snapped on the light. She squealed, hand going to her gun.

Nia lowered her hand and frowned. “You know better than startling me. What the hell are you doing sitting in the dark?” She took off her gun and set it on the end table, then strolled towards him.

Darius stood. “We need to talk,” he said.

“Christ, Darius. Not now. I’m tired. We can talk tomorrow.” She put her hands on her hips.

“I’ve been pushing you to show me all of you and introduce me to your friends,” Darius said.

“Look—”

He cut her off. “But I can’t expect that if you don’t know about all of me.”

Nia frowned warily. “What do you mean, ‘all of you’?”

Darius didn’t reply. He released his power. In a rush, his wings rose behind him to the vaulted ceilings. It was one of the reasons they had such high roofing. He spread his wings behind him, taking up the full span of the spacious room. Nia scrambled back, grabbing her gun. Hand steady and eyes cold, she held it aimed at his head.

“What the hell are you?” she asked coldly.

Nia held her gun steady on Darius, the man she had assumed she knew. In her thoughts, the sight of those inky-black wings rising from behind him to touch the ceiling, then spreading to take up the width of the room, replayed in a reel. She’d been sleeping with him, letting him into her life…and now this.

I’m glad I didn’t introduce him to Gabe and Carmen.

“That’s the problem. You’ve been keeping me at a distance. Let me in!” he roared.

“I would keep my voice down, buddy, because I’m not the one who’s a fucking X-Man or some shit like that,” Nia said.

Darius scoffed. “I’m not an X-Man. I’m a
Garlven,
from the Quilez clan—in human terms, a
gargoyle.”

“Gargoyles are those stone things, and they don’t look like you.” Nia backed up as he advanced, holding her gun on him.

“You mean like this?” Stone flowed over his skin.

One moment he was breathing, the next he was still. His shape was like Darius, and the wings had folded onto his back. Cautiously, Nia lowered her gun and walked to him. She circled him, studying the stone statue from all sides. Suddenly, it moved, wrenched her gun from her and flung it away. Hissing, she yanked away from him. Darius held her effortlessly, his blue eyes furious.

“I am a Garlven, and to be with me you must deal with that,” he said.

He released her. She stumbled back. Darius’ wings disappeared, and he strode out onto the terrace. Nia walked woodenly to the chair he had been sitting in. She dropped her hand between her legs and stared out where he had gone. She could clearly see Darius standing at the railing of the terrace, looking out over the city. She replayed the past few months, all the weird moments—from the very first time in the elevator, when he had seemed to know her thoughts. As well as other things that had happened which she’d shrugged off as her being tired and seeing things instead of them actually being real. Breathing deeply, Nia wondered what to do.

As she thought about it, anger filled her. The sight of him showing her who he was. The suddenness of it. No lead up. Then the turning to stone thing. Standing, she stalked to the glass door and outside. Darius faced her, his head back at an arrogant angle. Nia walked up to him until she was a few steps away then stopped. She put her hands on her hips and studied him dispassionately.

“You know, I might have been able to deal with you being this Garlven, gargoyle, or whatever the hell you are. B—”

Darius scoffed, interrupting her. “Yeah. Right. You are so accepting. I—”

“Shut the hell up. I’m not done,” Nia snapped.

He subsided, crossing his hands over his chest. Nia matched him, crossing hers, too.

“As I was saying… I might have been able to deal with your big reveal. But the way you did it wasn’t calculated to make me accept it. It was a shock and awe tactic, intended to make me run. You claim you want to know all of me, yet you haven’t shown me this—the most important thing about you—until now. And you did it in such a way that I had no way to react but badly.”

Darius lowered his arms. “I—”

“Still not done,” she warned.

He closed his mouth.

“Once you get your head out of your ass and are ready to apologise, come find me,” She turned away, then paused, looking back at him. “This time, I might be leaving, but it’s your turn to come find me. And the apology had better be good.”

“I have nothing to apologise for,” he protested.

“Then I guess I won’t be hearing from you,” she said.

Nia turned and went back inside. She picked up her things and went to the elevator. When it slid open, she entered. Turning, she saw him standing in the doorway of the terrace. The door closed, and she closed her eyes, shaking.
 

* * * *

Wrenching open the fridge, Nia grabbed the sodas, then slammed them down on the counter. The microwave dinged, and she yanked it open, retrieving the bag of popcorn. Grabbing the bowl and moving it closer, she pulled the bag open.

“Son of a bitch,” she said, dropping it as the steam burned her.

“No need to take out your pissy mood on the defenceless food,” Gabe said.

She picked up the popcorn bag, upending it into the bowl. Snagging the drinks, she left. Nia followed her. Gabe set everything down on the centre table, then sat back on the couch. She curled her legs under her body. Nia sat next to her, slouching.

“You could tell me what happened with Darius. You said you all didn’t break up, but what’s going on?”

He isn’t human.

Nia bit the inside of her cheek. Yes, that was an issue, but they could have discussed it if he had only told her differently, not the way he had—theatrical; scaring her.

Would you have reacted differently if he’d told you another way?

Nia crossed her arms over her breasts. She didn’t know. Would never know how she would have reacted. He hadn’t given her a chance.

But you were keeping him at a distance.

She brushed that aside. Her being hesitant to introduce him to her friends was nothing compared to his secret.

“Nia,” Gabe said.

“We didn’t break up,” she snapped.

“When did you last speak to him?” Gabe asked gently.

“Eleven days. He’s being stubborn.” She sighed.

“I don’t know what happened, but I bet you are, too. Go to him, Nia. Knock him upside his head to get him to listen to you.”

“It’s his turn to come to me,” she said stubbornly.

“What?”

“I’m not going to him,” she said firmly.

At Gabe’s sigh, Nia knew she’d recognised her tone as the one that meant she wasn’t going to change her mind. Gabe turned her attention to the movie.

Nia looked out at the bright mid-day Sunday. It was a beautiful day, but she couldn’t even appreciate it, or time with Gabe. All her thoughts were on the aggravating man named Darius Wilde. Focusing on the TV, she tried to get into the movie.

“Darius, stop being stubborn and go after her,” Mia Wilde said. She smacked him on the shoulder.

Darius ignored her and picked up his plate off the table. He should have known the invitation to lunch was a ruse. But they hadn’t said anything when he’d told them what had happened with Nia, and he had let that lull him into thinking they understood.

For days they had walked around him on eggshells, until they had realised he was fine. Then it had been business as usual. What no one had realised was that he had locked it away inside him, refusing to think about it. If they didn’t mention it, it helped him to do that. As the days had passed it had become easier not to face it.