In the Beginning... Page 23

  She was stuck with these feelings for him. That gave her a lot to think about.

  She was not going to be with him simply because of some magical bond that a goddess she didn’t even believe in somehow dictated it.

  ****

  Mickey dragged her out of her office around ten two mornings later, insisting Josey learn to enjoy all the hotel had to offer them. Much like when Mickey would drag her out of her office at TI in order to get lunch or sneak in a quick shopping trip between meetings.

  It was good to see some things hadn’t changed. Their first stop was the hotel gift shop. For all appearances, this Dardaptoan stronghold really did function like a large, luxury resort. The walls were clad with gold filigree accents, the floors were marble tile. The carpets were thick and lush and color-coordinated with the House colors of the various families.

  Humans were even allowed to book rooms on the top floors, and could book them online. Yet none of them ever learned of the Dardaptoans who lived below them. Cormac had told her whatever she wanted could be gotten simply by calling the hotel’s ‘guest’ services counter. The servants dressed and acted like typical hotel front desk agents; instead of serving guests, they were employed to meet the needs of the hotel’s residents. Most of those residents were considered Dardaptoan royalty within their families. Those that weren’t of the royal houses—and allowed to wear white— were politicians, lawyers, judges, healers.

  The hotel functioned as a mini-city within itself. Mickey had told her that the governmental and judicial systems were housed in the basement areas. The medical services were on the first floor. Every other section of the hotel that had public access looked and functioned exactly like any other resort.

  The gift shop sold clothing and swimwear. Beach towels. Mickey dragged her in there and insisted Josey pick out a suit.

  Apparently they were going to check out the swimming pools.

  Mickey had been an avid swimmer throughout high school and college, competing for years. It didn’t surprise Josey that her cousin would want to spend her spare time in the water. Josey quickly grabbed a tank suit in green. It would cover the still healing stitches.

  It wasn’t until she had it at the register and was signing Cormac’s name to the slip that she realized the green was the color of his House. That it matched the sash he insisted she wear hadn’t occurred to her.

  Jade joined them inside the shop, dressed in a revealing bikini and thin robe. She signed her greeting. “Let’s go.”

  Josey nodded. A relaxing day at the pool with her sister and one of her favorite cousins was exactly what she needed. Some sense of normalcy to get herself back on an even keel.

  Mickey was the first one in the water. Josey followed her then sank beneath the surface. The water was the perfect temperature, slightly warmer than an average pool. She loved swimming nearly as much as Mickey. The only reason she had never gone out for the swim teams was because she couldn’t hear the starting guns or whistles. She wouldn’t want to be the only one left at the gate; and if she followed the other swimmers, she would always be a second behind.

  Still, there was no reason she could not enjoy her time in the water now. She closed her eyes and slipped to her back, conscious of her sister and cousin nearby.

  They spent the entirety of the day in and out of the water, enjoying the time spent together.

  It was almost normal again.

  The only difference was that the people in the pool with them weren’t human and the conversation was focused on how Jade could seduce the healer Barlaam. Despite Josey’s reservations, Jade was determined.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Cormac had always felt at ease in the healer’s presence. Barlaam had a calming effect on all Dardaptoans, and that was something Cormac often appreciated. Except today.

  Today the other man had a heavy mind. “Care to share what’s got you so quiet?”

  “Mmm. Just much going on.”

  “The girl?” Cormac had easily seen how his Jocelyn’s younger sister had gravitated toward the healer. A girlish crush, most likely.

  “Mmm. Yes. It’s complicated.” Barlaam’s eyes darkened. “She is so young.”

  “That she is.” And the young could be so very foolish where the opposite sex were concerned. Though his Rajni had not come right out and said it, Cormac knew she too was worried about her sister.

  “She is my Rajni.”

  Cormac paused. Looked at the man who had been one of his sister’s closest friends, age-mates, and colleagues for centuries. “You are not joking. The girl…”

  “Is my Rajni. And she knows it. Said she has waited for me for years. A grand total of five.”

  “And she knows you’ve waited for her nearly four hundred?”

  “She seems to. She’s…she’s…”

  Barlaam’s consternation and confusion was easy for Cormac to see, to read. He laughed, a sound of commiserate understanding. “Maddening? You just want to touch her, taste her, yet everything she does seems designed to drive you crazy?” “Exactly.”

  “It must be family trait, then.”

  The two men continued walking toward the main conference room on the first floor. They were to meet Rydere and Kindara, as well as Dhan Emily, and the two Taniss Lupoiux to discuss the choice of property for the new laboratory.

  When Rydere decreed something was to be done—as he had when he agreed to let the laboratory be built in Dardano—it happened quickly.

  “Jocelyn gives you fits, then?”

  “Most definitely.” Cormac wouldn’t admit it to the other man but he was vastly worried about her.

  “How is she? Physically I know she is healing beautifully. But for such a young human, the last few weeks have been horrific. Is she mentally coping?”

  Cormac frowned. How like Barlaam to land upon his very concerns. “She has pushed it all from her mind, is focusing on this laboratory as if it’s the answer to all her prayers. But at night, she is restless.”

  “Time. We both know that only time erases such things.”

  True. But how was any male supposed to watch his Rajni suffer?

  ****

  Josey floated on her back for several long moments, eyes trained on the intricate stained glass above the pool. It was beautiful, at least eight stories above the water, and obviously done by hand. It showed a delicate blonde woman surrounded by flowers, smiling softly as she danced. Beautiful.

  Wild splashing had her turning toward Mickey.

  Mickey was gone, and Jade was screaming, her eyes wide with terror.

  Jade went under the water. The deep end of the pool. The dark end. Mickey was nowhere to be seen.

  Josey grabbed for her sister. All she got was handfuls of Jade’s blonde hair.

  ****

  Cormac keyed the security code into the panels Aodhan had had installed to keep the humans from unintentionally slipping into the Dardaptoan areas of the first floor and he and Barlaam entered the main hall, just behind the lobby.

  Help! Please! Hurry!

  Her voice sounded loud and terrified in his mind. Broken. Jocelyn, where are you? I’m coming!

  The pool! The pool! It has my sister! My cousin! I think they’re drowning! Hurry!

  Cormac cursed, started running just as screams sounded in the hotel. Barlaam was at his side, keeping pace.

  Cormac tore through the doors leading to the pools. Several people were encircled around the edge.

  His eyes landed on hers. She was pale, shaking. Terrified. Her arm was bleeding, and one of the lesser healers was attempting to get it stopped. Jocelyn would not let him, fighting to get to her sister’s side.

  An elhydra floated lifeless on the water’s surface. How in the nine hells had one of those beasts gotten into the protected waters of the hotel pool? Precautions were long in place to prevent that very thing from happening.

  He took her into his arms and held her still. Jocelyn, let Mhran look at your arm!

  She’s not breathing! I have to
help her!

  Barlaam has her. Look she is awake, now. Look! She’s going to be fine. He will care for her! He held her steady, not letting her go until the young healer Mhran indicated it was safe to let her go. The tiny stitch he’d placed in her arm would suffice for now. The pool water was as clean as it could be kept, and the chance of infection very slim. Still, the wound had needed tended.

  Mickey?

  Michaela is fine. Look, Theo’s brother Thaddeus has her now. Look.

  Thank God! What is that thing?

  The closest you would recognize is mermaid, or merman. It should have never gotten in here. The things are stupid, but can travel in less than six inches of water. I suspect it came in through the drainage system. Close your eyes if you want, you don’t have to look at it.

  He guided her arms around his neck, not caring that she was soaked. He put his hands on her ass and lifted, guiding her legs around his waist. Someone handed him a beach towel and he wrapped it around her shoulders. Everyone is safe, now. It’s dead.

  The little boy killed it. I couldn’t see it, couldn’t hear it, and Mickey was just gone. Then Jade. I grabbed her hair! But it was pulling us all under! If it was so easy to kill that a child did it, how come I could do nothing?

  Because there is but few ways to kill one. There is a spot on the back of its neck where if you hit it or stab it, it dies instantly. Another on its left tentacle. I suspect young Briken hit it in one of those spots. Cormac carried her through the lobby, past the gaping guests and residents and to the entryway to his Family House. A servant from his family, Amaia, keyed in the entry code and had the doors swinging open. He carried his woman through. He carried her into his suite and straight through to his shower. A single twist of his wrist on the handle had water the perfect temperature streaming around them.

  Her shivers continued. Her arms were locked around his neck. Her face was buried under his chin.

  Her tears mingled with the warm water falling around them.

  You’re ok. You’re all ok.

  I couldn’t see them, I couldn’t call for help. It was pulling us under. And then you came.

  I came. I always will.

  He held her while she cried, held her until the water turned cool. Held her until she calmed and stepped away from him. Her eyes were red and her skin pale. She looked at him for a long moment. You can put me down. I’m ok now.

  I like holding you.

  But your clothes are soaked.

  Mm. They’ll dry. He sat her back on her feet, then pushed wet blonde hair off of her shoulder. Her hair was long and curled when wet. He wanted to run his fingers through that hair again. He loosened the silk sash around his waist, the same green as the swimsuit she wore, and removed it. He tossed it aside. His vestis followed. Then the pardus. He stood before her clad in nothing but his underwear. He pushed the hair out of his face and looked at her across the tile shower stall.

  She hadn’t looked away.

  He grabbed the shampoo, a blend made especially for his House out of mint and cooling herbs. Come here. Let me take care of you.

  Her uncertainty was clear on her face. But she didn’t step away. She took a small step forward. Then another.

  Cormac’s breath caught as she got even closer. His hands trembled as he tilted the bottle up and poured some of the cream into his palm. Turn around.

  He lifted the cream to her hair and began massaging the soap into the strands. She tilted her head back and he continued his ministrations. He both heard and felt her sigh as it left her body. He worked his way down the long strands until he reached the ends, about where the swimsuit back started. He ran a finger along the material. It was a simple cut piece, elegant. He slipped his fingers under one strap and slid it down her arm. It caught around her elbow. She shivered.

  He left the strap there and pushed her hair off her shoulder, exposing the skin of her neck. He brushed his teeth against her neck and shoulder once. Twice. You like this, don’t you?

  Nerves. Stimulus. The books said the neck of a Dardaptoan is sensitive, the nerves prepped to aid in feeding. Especially in women. She sounded so prim, so scientific. But she didn’t pull away.

  Did the books also say how a male likes to feed from his woman during sex? Did they say how females view it as a sexual turn-on? Cormac nipped her neck with his fangs. Well? Did they?

  She shivered again, her hands wrapping around the forearm he had tight around her waist. But she didn’t pull away.

  His heart leapt in reaction when she tipped her head to the side and granted him greater access to the sweet skin he so wanted. Jocelyn. You scared me today.

  I scared me, too.

  Let’s not let it happen again. He nipped her again and again, punctuating each of his words with a small love bite. I’m old, a heart attack may be in my future if I have to keep being so frightened.

  He ran his tongue over the spots he’d nipped, tasting a mix of shampoo, pool water, and Jocelyn on her skin. Perfect.

  His teeth sank deep and he pulled from her skin.

  ****

  Lightning pierced her neck and Josey fought to stand upright. Had she ever felt anything so right in her twenty-six years? She didn’t think so.

  His hands were tight on her as he tugged her even closer to his hot body. She could feel every part of him pressed against her. Could almost define his muscles where they pressed into her back. All of his muscles. She shivered again and again as he continued to feed from her. His teeth were the most erotic things she’d ever felt against her body and there was no way she ever wanted them to stop what they were doing to her.

  He pulled away and the world spun. It took her a moment to realize he’d turned her to face him. She didn’t think, just slipped her arms around his waist and snuggled as close to him as she could get. The water had turned ice cold against her skin, but that didn’t matter. She had him to keep her warm. She brushed a kiss against one of the tattoos on his chest, then sank her own fangs into him. As naturally as breathing.

  She fed from him as the shower water washed the shampoo and the blood of that elhydra creature from her hair.

  He held her close, and that was all that mattered in the world.

  Chapter Thirty

  He had to lock his knees to keep from pulling them both down to the tiled floor. Her mouth was insistent, her hands doubly so.

  He wanted nothing more than to tug her to the tile and confirm for both of them that she was safe and whole and right there with him. His hands started to do just that, yanking on the material of her swimsuit, trying to slide the damned thing free from her.

  A heavy knock on the suite door was all that stopped him. He stilled. She didn’t.

  Jocelyn. You must stop now. The door. Someone is knocking on the door.

  Hmm? They’ll go away.

  And if it’s your father? Do you think he will be satisfied with that? Somehow I don’t think he will.

  It thrilled him, the obvious reluctance she exhibited as she pulled away. Then her eyes widened as she realized just how low he had tugged the swimsuit. He grinned at her, and her gaze narrowed. Answer the door!

  Do not be embarrassed. I’m sure you’ve read all about copulation and foreplay for our people. You have to know that this hunger we feel for each other is completely natural!

  Go!

  Cormac laughed as he grabbed a towel and hurriedly wrapped it around his waist. The knock on the door had gotten more insistent. Whomever was on the other side was not going away.

  It was probably her father, or one of her other blasted relatives.

  He didn’t bother with clothes, just kept the towel tight around his waist. It was his suite, and his Rajni. What did it matter if he wanted to be naked with her? He’d lost his shorts sometime during the shower.

  He swung the door open, not surprised to see his wolven daddy-in-law, and his Rajni’s Border collie. The dog—the canine—bounded into the room and nudged the bathroom door open, in search of her mistress. “Where’s my d
aughter?”

  Cormac shook the water from his hair, dog-like. He couldn’t resist mocking the

  Lupoiux. “Still in the shower. She was cold and needed warmed up.”

  The growl amused him. Still, this was her father. And he loved her; would die to protect her. Despite being Taniss, Cormac had to respect that. “She was chilled, shocked. Scared and full of adrenaline. She’s better now. How’s her sister?”

  “Awake. Bruised and still a little scared. But she’s in good spirits. Jade always is. She’s also worried about Josey.”

  “Tell the girl her sister is fine, and I am sure Jocelyn will insist on checking on her sister shortly. Give her a few more minutes to compose herself and get dressed.”

  “Are you going to let me check on my daughter myself?” The wolf’s annoyance was evident. But he apparently respected the boundaries. Her father knew he wasn’t the main male in her life anymore, and was apparently understanding of that. “Or are you hiding something?”

  “Feel free to stick around, pops.” Cormac waved a hand to the sitting area. “We’ll need to get dressed, first. Forgot to take dry clothes in there with us, first. You know how it is.”

  Her father flushed, then growled again. Guess Daddy wasn’t too keen on the Rajni bond, after all. Cormac laughed again. Best hurry, female. You’re father doesn’t seem too appreciative of my particular type of humor.

  Are you kidding me? I didn’t know you had any humor! And don’t fight with him, please?

  I won’t. But I can’t promise not to poke at him a bit. I usually kill Lupoiux on sight, you know. But it would be extremely bad form to kill my new father-in-law!

  He is not your father-in-law, that would indicate you and I had married. We have not, and we will not!