The Dark God's Bride (Book 3)

  “I’ve long passed the rebellious teenager stage, Amara. I need to think about what’s best for my child. I want her to meet her grandparents.”

  Amara smiled at Lizzie. Motherhood had changed her friend drastically from an all-nighter and fun-seeker to a devoted mother. Lizzie was living her life for her child now.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t go before you’ve fully recovered,” Amara said worriedly. “Tell them that you’ll visit in a couple of months.”

  “I haven’t seen my parents in many years, Amara. I miss them. Besides, when I get there, my folks will take care of me.”

  “If you say so…”

  Amara called for a taxi and saw them off. A thunderstorm brewed half an hour after they left.

  Amara stared out of the window and scolded herself for not looking into the weather prior to seeing Lizzie and the baby off. She could only hope that they didn’t get caught in the god-awful storm.

  After she finished her meal, she put the leftovers in plastic containers and placed them in the refrigerator. Feeling sufficiently tired, Amara dragged her fatigued body to the upstairs bedroom. She turned on the light to the empty bedroom and sighed when that sharp feeling hit her.

  She took a long, hot shower that worked like magic against her aching muscles. After the shower, she felt somewhat refreshed. She brushed her teeth and then slipped into a comfortable silk nightgown.

  As she was sitting in front of the dressing table, brushing her long black hair, her mind started to wander back to the moment she saw Noctis drop into the lava. Shaken, she gripped onto the hairbrush.

  The light unexpectedly went off.

  Amara dropped the hairbrush on the dressing table and turned around. The lightning had probably short-circuited the power. She extended her arms in front of her to find her way back to the bed. As she climbed onto bed, she felt a large hand snake around her abdomen. Startled, she screamed out loud. Another hand went to cover her mouth and muffled her scream.

  Someone had broken in! A burglar?

  She wanted to scream out, but the firm hand covering her mouth only allowed an inaudible noise to escape. She doubted anyone would have heard her scream in this kind of weather even if she had voiced it. She fought her assailant, kicking and screaming. Her fingernails dug into his forearm, hoping to cause him enough pain to let her go.

  “Stay calm,” he whispered into her ear. “It’s me.”

  Her body froze at the recognition of his voice. She would recognize his voice anywhere. Tears began to swell up in her eyes. His hand went from her mouth to her shoulder.

  “Three days…” she faltered and then her voice turned into a shout. “You made me think you were dead for three days!”

  “I am immortal,” he reminded her softly.

  “I saw you fall into the lava…” she choked. “Why did you wait until now to come back?”

  “I needed time to heal my damaged tissues.”

  “You’re horrible!”

  “I know,” he said, pressing a soft kiss on the side of her neck. “But I couldn’t let you see me in that state.”

  “How did you manage to get back?”

  “The outer layer of the chess piece melted away and revealed a charm inside the white queen.”

  “A charm?”

  “There is a spell written on it. The lava burned through the charm and left behind a deep engraving on the stone. I followed the direction on the engraving to get back.”

  “Then, the Oracle must have known that you would fall into the lava…” She attempted to turn around, but he held her firmly in her position.

  “Don’t,” he warned.

  “I want to see you.”

  “No. I haven’t fully regenerated yet.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “Save me some pride, mortal. I had not planned on seeing you again until I fully recovered, but…”

  “But what?”

  He nibbled on her earlobe. “I miss you.”

  I miss you too. You have no idea.

  “Let me see you,” she pleaded, hand reaching for his face. He seized her hand to thwart her attempt. “I need to see you. I need to feel you.”

  “You don’t need to see me to feel me.” The slow movement of his warm hands on her breasts and the sensual feel of his lips on her neck made her tremble. It had been so long since he touched her like this. She didn’t realize how much she missed this until now. She leaned her head against him and let out a soft moan.

  “But first thing’s first,” he grated against her ear. “What was it you were about to tell me that time?”

  All of the blood suddenly rushed to her head that she thought she would blush to death. She didn’t think he had heard what she wanted to say, but it appeared he had.

  “Nothing,” she denied hotly.

  “Nothing?”

  A hand went up from her neck and cupped her face. His middle finger brushed her lips, teasing them until they give way to him. He inserted his finger into her mouth and dueled with her tongue as he would if he had kissed her mouth with his own. She felt hot – indecently so.

  “Are you sure it was nothing?” he continued to tease her.

  “You must have misheard me.”

  “Perhaps I did. Would you repeat to me one more time?”

  She should have seen that trap from miles away. “No!”

  “I want to hear it again, Amara. I’ll get it out of you one way or another.”

  She felt his calloused hand moving down her form and under the skirt of her silk dress. Her breathing faltered when she felt the invasion of his hand on her inner thighs. She reddened from embarrassment because now he knew exactly how much she wanted him. He was teasing her and he was luring her to give in to him.

  “You misheard me,” she stubbornly refused to confess.

  “Hmm…” He made a lazy sound. She inhaled a deep breath at the sudden invasion of his finger. He began to torment her with the slow movement of his finger.

  “I want you,” he grated desperately against her ear. “Now.”

  She trembled at his words. She was also a little fearful because it had been along while since she had been intimate with anyone, namely him. She may have lied about a number of things, but she hadn’t lied to him about this. After Noctis’ disappearance three years ago, Camden courted her again. Whatever it was that Camden lacked, it was not his perseverance. But even he grew tired of her rejections and moved on to propose to a nice girl. He would have made a wonderful husband. Sadly, Amara was never attracted to him that way.

  For a long time, she was in no mood to date. When she was ready to date, there was no one in mind. Lizzie had tried to hook her up with a number of men, none of whom she would remotely consider as a partner. That was until Gemma arrived and took up all of her time.

  “I want to be wanted,” she whispered back. Her nervous breathing filled the empty corners of the room.

  He needed no further invitation. He withdrew his finger and pressed another part of his body against her. He guided her to lean forward, secured a firm grip on her hips, and claimed her in a single stroke. She stiffened a cry. She hadn’t expected it to feel so uncomfortable.

  “Amara…” Her name sounded so rough coming from him. Recognizing her stiffened cry, he treated her more gently. He was filling and stretching her again and again with controlled but powerful strokes. The initial discomfort was quick to dissolve and it reawakened her sensual side. The overflowing feeling of rapture escaped in her moans and she thought for sure he had heard it.

  She couldn’t help herself then and tried to turn her head for a quick glance, but then she felt a firm grip that forced her to stay still. He separated and left her side for a short moment. She heard the drawer opening and then closing. He came back to her side and covered her eyes with a silk tie.

  She frowned. “I told you I don’t care.”

  “I don’t want you to see me like this.” She could feel his warm breath along the side of her neck as he was speaking.

/>   It was only when the tie was secured around her eyes did he turn her around and come down on her with a ravenous kiss. She dug her fingers into his hair, encouraging him to take everything she was prepared to give.

  He leaned toward her, slowly guiding her down to the mattress. The hungry kiss continued on and on. She whimpered when she felt him against her once more. This time around, he was taking his time in seducing her and he was giving her time to adjust to him. The chemistry between them combusted instantaneously, but he was still restricting himself with slow and constrained movements. She didn’t realize how hard this was on him until she felt his straining muscles beneath her fingers.

  Finally, he rasped out, “Amara, I can’t…”

  “I know,” she said and then she lifted her head to find his mouth.

  Passion heated. Body entwined. Take and give. Now that she had come to terms with her feelings, making love became more than just another word for sex. It’d become ironically literal. She felt him going deeper, taking her harder. The friction was building and it was driving her to madness. He pressed on even further and drove her over the edge. Her fingernails dug in deep and raked down his back as she let out a suppressed cry.

  Then it came. He brought forth a storm surging inside of her that was even more lethal than the one rioting outside the window. She clasped onto him, gasping for each exquisite breath. If she let go of him, she would drown.

  She could feel his muscles tightening. Her name before his lips, he plunged deep. He withdrew at the last second and spilled himself on the sheets. In the wake of the violent storm, she laid trembling while trying to catch up to her breath.

  He rolled off her and propped on one arm. He was looking down at her, a hand stroking the side of her face. “Did I hurt you?” he inquired urgently.

  She was at a loss for words so she just shook her head.

  “Speak,” he commanded.

  She licked her lips, couldn’t find anything to say, and smiled up at him. He watched her carefully, and then finally, a smile touched his lips. Amara reached for the silk tie covering her eyes, but he stopped her.

  “Be patient,” he advised her. “Another day at least.”

  “How badly are you hurt?” she asked worriedly.

  “Pretty badly,” he said with a hint of amusement.

  “Are you in terrible pain?”

  “Nothing you couldn’t help me with,” he teased. Then he gave a low chuckle.

  She was blushing so fiercely.

  “What is that noise?” he asked when their conversation was interrupted by a buzzing sound.

  “It’s the doorbell.”

  “At this hour?”

  “I’ll get it.”

  “Ignore it.”

  “But it could be Lizzie and the baby. They probably came back because of the storm. Probably forgot the keys too.” She got off the bed and removed the silk tie from her eyes. When she looked back at the bed, he wasn’t there. She slipped into her night robe and rushed downstairs. She didn’t want Lizzie to wait for long in this weather especially when the baby was with her.

  The bell rang again just as Amara reach the lobby. She turned the locks and opened the door for her friend.

  But it wasn’t Lizzie and the baby. Standing in front of the door was a gorgeous blonde. The woman was soaked from head to toe. Amara presumed that she had probably got caught in the bad weather and needed to find shelter.

  “Oh dear, you’re drenched! Come in!” Amara invited. Normally she wouldn’t have invited a complete stranger into the house, but she couldn’t turn down a woman who got stuck in this horrible weather. That and Noctis was watching over her. No harm would come to her. He wouldn’t allow it.

  Amara smiled at the thought because it made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

  The woman didn’t move from where she was standing.

  “You need to get out of that weather. Do you want some hot cocoa? I can make you some.”

  The blonde was observing Amara from head to toe. The scrutiny made Amara feel conscious about how she looked. She thought that Lizzie was coming home with the baby, so she came rushing down with nothing on but a silk night robe. She would have never greeted a guest looking like this. Her hair was tangled, her lips were bruised from too many passionate kisses, and she smelled like hot sex. In other words, she looked like a hot mess.

  Amara insecurely pressed the night robe even tighter against her body. She moved out of the way to let the blonde woman enter. At that moment, the butler came to lobby to answer the door. Now Amara was even more embarrassed about her state of appearance. She had forgotten that she had live-in help now.

  “We have a guest, Madame?” The butler asked.

  “Uh… yes. Get this lady some dry clothes, some hot cocoa, and if she want to stay, hot meal and a room. I’m going back to bed.”

  “As you say, Madame.”

  Amara fled upstairs as quickly as possible to avoid another moment of awkwardness. She didn’t even need to answer the door that time. She went back to her bedroom and closed the door behind her. When she turned around, there was no room for her to move forward. He was blocking the way.

  “What is that woman doing in our home?” The harsh tone of his voice almost sounded like a shout.

  “She showed up at our doorsteps dripping wet and there’s a storm outside. I can’t just turn her away, so I offered her a room to stay for the night. I’m sure she won’t do any harm.”

  He heaved a heavy sigh. “You have no idea.”

  “I don’t see what the big deal is. Do you know her or something?”

  A flash of lightning showed her a glimpse of him. The left side of his face and neck looked like that of a severe burn victim. Even the hand he used to cover that side of the face looked badly burnt as well. So this was what he didn’t want her to see.

  He saw something in her eyes and swiftly turned away.

  “Let me see…”

  “No!” he roared.

  “Fine! But remember that when I get hurt, I have the right to hide it from you too!”

  “No, you don’t!”

  “It’s only fair.”

  “To hell with fairness!”

  “But then you’ll never know, will you?” She grinned. “I’m asking you one last time. Let me see.”

  She could hear him grinding his teeth vehemently. He turned around and slowly let his hand fall to his side. The next flash of lightning was unflattering. It looked worse than she had imagined. She came closer to him and reached for his face. She didn’t dare to touch the raw flesh in fear of causing him pain. It looked appallingly painful; too painful to even look at. How he could endure such pain while talking to her like this, she would never know.

  “Are you happy now, mortal?” he asked, barely masking his anger. She just had to make him show the distortion that was his face! It wasn’t as bad as it was when he first pulled himself out of the flesh-melting hot lava, but it was still horrid enough to draw the horror from her eyes. He could see them now, between bright flashes of lightning. Her clear grey eyes widened in absolute disturbance in what she saw. He would have waited until he fully recovered if he didn’t miss her so damn much. He realized his mistake. If he had done that, she wouldn’t have had the chance of coercing him.

  “I told you to be patient, didn’t I? Another day and you wouldn’t have to see me like this!”

  She bit into her lower lip to prevent a sob from escaping. She didn’t want to offend him? Was that what this was about?

  “It’s horrible, isn’t it?”

  She nodded.

  “Does my outside finally match my inside?” he asked bitterly. His hands folded into fists as he waited for the answer he dreaded to hear.

  She may have been successful in stopping the sobs, but she couldn’t prevent the tears from overflowing.

  “Am I that horrible to look at?”

  She nodded once more.

  “You asked for this!” he growled angrily. “So look! Look at me!
”

  He stared down into her misty grey eyes. They were not filled with loath and terror like he had thought they would. Instead, they looked… hurt?

  “Let me distract you from the pain,” she breathed.

  What did she just say? He furrowed his brows because he didn’t know what she meant.

  She drew his head down to her level and lightly brushed his lips with her own. That was all that it took for him to lose every ounce of self-control. He had never lost control with a woman before no matter how skilled they were, but this grey-eyed mortal achieved just that with only the feather-light touch of her soft, soft lips.

  He claimed her mouth fully because they were his to claim. Everything that was this woman belonged to him. Her beautiful dark hair, her silken skin, her full luscious lips, even the tips of her dainty little fingers… all his.

  He had made love to her not long ago, and yet he wanted her again. He couldn’t explain his intense desire for her. It had been there since the moment he laid eyes on her and would unlikely fade anytime soon.

  He pressed her back against the door and lifted her legs so that they wrapped tightly around his waist. After he freed himself, his arms went under her thighs for leverage and support. He couldn’t wait for another moment of being a part from her. Still, he felt that he must offer her a choice to back out.

  “If you don’t want this…”

  “I want this,” she assured him. “I want you.”

  She was giving herself freely to him, and there went the last of any self-control he might have reserved. He pushed against her, burying himself deep in her tight sheath and captured her intense gasp with his mouth. Had he ever desired a woman as much as he did her? If he had then he couldn’t recall when or where. Since the moment he first laid eyes on her, he wanted her for himself. He made all kind of excuses for himself why he desired her in the past. He had been sealed away for a long time and she was the first female he laid eyes on. He thought it was only natural that he wanted her.

  But it wasn’t true. He knew now that it wasn’t true. He had his pick of beautiful women, but it was this particular one that dwelled inside his mind, and in his thoughts, and in his dreams. In the three years he had been trapped between time and space, he was out of his mind with jealousy whenever he thought about her being so far away from his watchful eyes. He wondered if she had moved on. He wondered if she had taken new lovers to her bed and shared with them the passion that he himself had taught her. If there were such lovers, he would have murdered them all.