The Daughter Trilogy Bundle

by C. M. Owens

  His eyes begin stirring with dark swirls, and a look of possession fills them. I've seen that look before. Shit! My eyes!

  I jerk them to stare at the ground quickly.

  "Sorry. I forgot."

  But I'm startled from my downward gaze as lips cover mine, claiming my mouth as his. I'm not far from getting drunk off this man's breath. Gross.

  I struggle against him as he pins me against the wall. My squeals are muffled as his mouth continues to trap mine. I feel my hands heating up in a different way, and electricity surges through them.

  My possessed attacker flies across the room with smoke billowing from his burned-through jacket and shirt - holes courtesy of my electrically charged hands.

  "You have to snap out of it. Please stop," I beg.

  Suddenly the guy leaps to his feet, and he charges me again with an undeniable determination to make me his. I wince, but then he's derailed in his efforts as a punch comes in from the side, and he slams against the wall.

  Crumbs fall from the sheetrock as a crack climbs up to prove this apartment wasn't made for immortals to fight in.

  Devin's here. Oh thank goodness.

  My strong Poseidon pulls me into his arms and kisses the top of my head. The Scottish man's eyes clear from their pollution, and he shakes his head before rubbing his jaw that is now aching from Devin's right jab.

  "You could have damned warned me you had an Aphrodite here. I would've worn some shades. I thought they were extinct," the man says while laughing.

  "I thought your flight was coming in tomorrow," Devin mutters with an air of indifference as he inspects me.

  "I got an early flight. You made it sound important. Why'd you hit me so bloody hard?" he groans as he continues rubbing his jaw. "And where'd you come from?"

  Devin smirks as he stares me up and down with a look of astonishment when he finally takes a minute to appreciate my attempt to be striking.

  "I took the fire escape when I heard Adisia warning you off," he murmurs distractedly, and then he turns his attention to focus solely on me. "You look stunning. Wow. I'm considering kicking Deacon's ass for spoiling the big reveal," Devin gushes.

  "Hey. She gave me the stare. I didn't stand a chance," Deacon reports with a defensive tone.

  Devin rolls his eyes.

  "She's new to her powers. Her mother assures me it will soon be under her control and not falling from her eyes without consent."

  Deacon's eyes light up. "There's another? Incredible. How in the hell did I just land in heaven? Where is she?"

  "She's unavailable. She went to run down some leads on the guys attacking us in repetitive sweeps. That's why you're here," Devin mumbles.

  "You invite me up, and then punch me. I'm not so sure I like the hospitality around here anymore," Deacon murmurs with a mock pout.

  Devin laughs. "I had to snap you out of it."

  "Well she didn't need any help with that," Deacon gripes as he points to his scorched shirt. "She's quite the firecracker."

  Devin smirks as he stares at me with such an enamored gaze.

  "She's more like TNT. She just held back because she knew what was going on. Trey had the same reaction when he saw her."

  Deacon shows his surprise. "So Trey got to taste those luscious, deliciously intoxicating lips as well? Lucky bastard."

  Uh-oh. Devin's eyes swirl with fury, and now I'm worried this friendly conversation is pretty, well… fucked.

  "You fucking kissed her?" Devin blares as he flashes to Deacon and throws him against the wall.

  "Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Not my fault. Aphrodite's stare, remember?" Deacon panics, his hands raised like a man pleading his innocence.

  Devin drops him to the floor reluctantly with a look of disgust and walks over to the bar to pick up his mound of mail. He cracks his neck as he uses the heaps of envelopes to distract himself from tearing into Deacon. I try to shift the tense subject.

  "Greer dropped off your mail earlier. It looks like you've been gone for months."

  He laughs slightly. "Just a few days, but it piles up quickly."

  He continues to sift through the numerous pieces, and I walk over to Deacon.

  "Sorry. I promise I'm trying to control it," I mumble while avoiding eye contact.

  "It's fine. Devin's been wanting to do that for years," he says with a menacing undertone.

  I turn to see a smirk spreading on Devin's face as he rips open an envelope to read its contents.

  "Why?" I ask curiously.

  "Well, long story short, I was supposed to cover for him with Gemma while he made off with the hot piano player from a bar we were at, but instead, when Gemma came looking for him, I told her he wasn't there. That lass was pissed, and Dev-"

  Deacon shuts up when Devin clears his throat as an obnoxious warning, and Deacon's eyes grow wide as if he now realizes what's going on.

  "Oh. You two are together? I mean, really together? I thought she was one of your drive-bys."

  "Drive-bys?" I growl in distaste.

  Devin is staring at his mail now to avoid the scrutiny glaring from my eyes. I can see him stifling a smirk as he responds so casually.

  "I told you I have a past. Nothing for you to fret about now. Deacon just doesn't know when to shut the hell up," Devin murmurs as his tone ends in more of a threatening one.

  "Sorry. It's a bit of an adjustment. I need a beer to help me think better," Deacon chirps.

  "Who's Gemma?" I interject.

  Devin tenses at the mention of her name sliding from my lips. Did he love Gemma? Is she a fuck buddy? Is she an ex-girlfriend?

  Deacon flicks his thumb slightly against the cap of the beer bottle, and it shoots into the sink. He takes a swig of the western brew before answering the question Devin refuses to.

  "She's an old flame of Devin's," he says so naturally, as if I'm not supposed to even acknowledge the words that were said.

  "More like a nasty entanglement," Devin adds with a loathsome distaste ringing out.

  "Please define that term for a lay person such as me," I mouth off sardonically, my irritation showing through with more clarity.

  He squirms uncomfortably before sighing in defeat.

  "She was very… persistent in her endeavors to be with me. I didn't share the same enthusiasm, but I made a few mistakes that only strung her along longer," he says vaguely.

  "Persistent? That bloody girl stalked him for two centuries or more," Deacon adds with a chuckle.

  Two centuries? Or more? Seriously?

  Devin's eyes narrow at the paper, and I hear a gurgling sound coming from the beer bottle just before it explodes against Deacon's face.

  Devin's smug, triumphant smirk almost brings a giggle out of me, but I'm still too pissed about this mysterious Gemma portion of his past. Why is he so determined to keep his past a mystery?

  Deacon wipes his beer-drenched face and growls under his breath, "Mature. Real mature."

  Devin lets a faint grin cock up on the edge of one side of his mouth again. I cross my arms in a huffy manner as I contemplate berating him, and instead, decide to go with an ominous, one-line slice.

  "So you were a playboy?"

  Devin's cocked grin disappears, and his eyes finally look up to catch my scolding ones.

  "Playboy? Hell. He makes Hugh Hefner look like the Pope," Deacon chuckles out, and Devin's eyes twist in glaring offense.

  "My bad. Sorry. I'm still adjusting to your being in a… what are you in? Is this a serious committed relationship or what?" Deacon asks curiously.

  I'm curious as well. What are we? He told me to pick a term, but I have no idea what that means. My eyes narrow as I stare expectantly; waiting on Devin to answer the question I've been dying to know the answer to.

  "Yes. Very committed," he asserts without hesitation.

  His eyes stay fixated on mine, and I can feel the anger slowly rolling off of me as Aphrodite's lust becomes stronger and more pronounced.

  "Wow. Devin Cole in a real relationship. I
feel as though I skipped a century somehow," Deacon chuckles.

  "What are you?" I inquire bluntly, my question pointed toward Deacon.

  He smirks, and Devin rolls his eyes.

  "Isn't it obvious?" Devin scoffs.

  "No. I'm still new to all of this," I say while shrugging.

  "I'm a son of Aries," Deacon answers proudly.

  "War? The embodiment of war?" I ask with a sense of understanding for Devin's comment.

  Apparently the son of war really gets off on conflict, considering he's been stirring it up since he got here.

  Devin lets out a huff of a laugh and comes to stand by me. He wraps his arm around me, and Deacon shakes his head.

  "Still trying to wrap my mind around this," he mumbles.

  Devin smiles as he kisses the back of my hand.

  "Hurry up and get used to it. It's going to be like this for a while, hopefully," he murmurs sweetly.

  I sigh a little when a smile forces its way to my face. Damn him for being so supernaturally charming.

  "I need a bloody shirt. Mine seems to have a brew mugging it up," Deacon grumbles.

  "In the master bedroom - the closet to your left," Devin instructs while offering me his strongest seductive glare.

  I roll my eyes at his successful attempt to squash my momentary rage. Gemma's name is still taking a seat in the back of my mind though.

  "Bloody hell! What in the name of all that is holy happened to your bed?" Deacon gasps.

  Devin and I both chuckle as he walks out pulling on one of Devin's tee-shirts. He gauges our reaction and his shoulders slump as his eyes teem with envy.

  "I want one," he whines.

  Devin kisses my lips so gently and wraps his arms around me as he pulls me to his incredible body.

  "You can't have this one. She's mine." he teases with a slightly possessive tone that sends the most delicious chills up and down my body.

  I feel the foolish grin on his face forcing mine to mimic it. I wipe it from my face as I ask a more derailing question.

  "So what is Gemma exactly?" I ask while glaring into his eyes.

  "She's a daughter of Gaya," he says casually while he walks toward the kitchen.

  I hope he doesn't think he can escape this conversation.

  "I've never heard of Gaya," I say with a prying, leading tone.

  Devin sighs. "She was the embodiment of the earth, like Athena."

  "Athena?" I gasp.

  Devin shakes his head. "Minus the bloodlust for Aphrodite's daughters," he quickly adds.

  "For now," Deacon scoffs.

  Devin narrows his eyes at Deacon for his snarky remark. Deacon shrugs as he flops down on the couch.

  "I'm just saying," Deacon adds menacingly.

  Devin looks back to me. "As I informed you once, Athena believed herself to be the embodiment of virtue, though she was nothing more than the embodiment of earth. That is what prompted the Aphrodite Wars. Gayans, such as Gemma, only believe themselves to be the embodiment of earth."

  He gives Deacon one more warning glance which the Scottish menace ignores.

  "Oh the joy of the wrath from a woman scorned. It's sure to come. It always does when Gemma learns of your newest conquest." What? Deacon continues before Devin can blast him or before I can question him. "So what's going on with these groups, and why did you request I come?"

  Devin lets out an agitated breath, but gladly drops the Gemma conversation.

  "Because I need you to be in New York. I have no idea the names to the faces within this group, but they're vicious, ruthless, and too close too often. I don't know the heads, and I can't catch a glimpse of anyone behind the curtains. I need Camara, and you're the only one who can get to her," Devin says with a tone of anticipation and possibly a little menace of his own.

  "Camara? I can't talk to her. Are you crazy? The last time I saw her she strung me up and beat me half to death," Deacon blares.

  Devin starts laughing, and I have to stifle a chuckle of my own. The terror in Deacon's eyes is delighting Devin.

  "You shouldn't have pissed off a Sharlan. What did you think would happen when you slept with her and then ignored her for two hundred years?" Devin snickers.

  "Well I never thought she'd lose her howls on me," Deacon pouts.

  "What's a Sharlan?" I ask curiously.

  "The embodiment of the wild," Devin says with such a soft tone.

  Then he turns back to Deacon. "You have to find her. You're the only one she's going to let get close to her. The wild in her makes her skittish. She's still got it bad for you, and I think you like the animal side of her despite your denial," he teases.

  Deacon scowls and rolls his eyes. "You could at least buy me dinner before you screw me like this," he crudely remarks.

  Devin laughs as his eyes run up and down the full length of my body.

  "Sorry," he mumbles. "I've already made dinner plans."

  Deacon rolls his eyes, and Devin kisses me while my jealousy is completely distracted and subdued.

  "Fine. I'll go get her. You had better come get me if she tars and feathers me again," he whimpers.

  Devin starts laughing through our kiss before answering.

  "Promise."

  Then the elevator dings, and Persia walks in unannounced.

  "I hope this is okay. A gentleman named Greer told me you were already expecting me," she says to Devin.

  "It's perfectly fine. I suppose you're not shielding yourself from my visions anymore," he beams.

  She smiles endearingly. "I see no reason to waste such energy. I came to see you and Adisia before I went to run down some leads on this group. I've got several contacts around the area. I'll draw some of them away from New York if they're after an Aphrodite."

  "No. Don't. You could be killed," I panic.

  She takes my hand in hers, and I see tears forming in her eyes.

  "I never thought I'd see the day when you cared enough to worry, but I'll be fine. I know what I'm doing, and I'm the only one who can infiltrate my contacts. They're very cautious and with good reason. They've lived a long time by showing such reservations with trusting outsiders. I'll be back soon though," she chokes out slightly.

  I sigh out deeply, and Devin tightens his grip around my hand.

  "I've got several cars in a garage down the street. You're welcome to any of them," he says to Persia.

  "No. I've got wheels of my own. The only thing I need you to do is take care of my daughter."

  He kisses the top of my head before nodding to her. "Gladly," he murmurs gently.

  "You look stunning. I'm so amazed by your beauty. I'm glad you're safe. I'm glad you've found a group to belong to," she says, and then her eyes turn to catch sight of the drooling-like-a-kid-at-the-cotton-candy-machine gawk from Deacon.

  "Who are you?" she admonishes.

  "I'm Deacon Crichton, a son of Aries. I just have to say, you're gorgeous."

  She laughs a little and looks at Devin. "Keep her away from this one."

  Devin lets out a mock derisive snort. "No problem."

  "Hey, I'm more into older women," Deacon attempts to seduce.

  Persia laughs at his failed attempt to win her over as she laughs.

  "I can assure you, you're not ready for me," she menaces.

  He swallows hard against the instant knot in his throat, and his breath rattles as he tries to keep up his confident persona.

  "I'm sure I'm a little tougher than you're giving me credit for. You know what they say about love and war."

  She lets her breath find his face, and he almost dissolves under the potent spell she's exuding.

  "There's always war when I love." she whispers, and I try not to fucking gag.

  She smirks at his entertaining recovery and her stimulating tease, and then she deliberately struts like a goddess to the elevator, leaving his mouth gaped open.

  Devin laughs a little as I sneer in distaste. I know I barely know her as my mother, but… gross.

  She disa
ppears behind the doors, and Deacon gasps for air.

  "Sweet swinging hips. I'm in love."

  Devin laughs loudly, and I just fight against the foul taste consuming my mouth. He kisses me on the temple and walks over to grab a stack of cash from a drawer. Holy crap, that's a lot of money.

  He hands it to Deacon while returning his tone to a more businesslike professionalism.

  "If anything goes wrong, don't hesitate, run. They're cunning. No one has ever found my New York apartments. The population is so thick, and there are so many conflicting elements to blur one's abilities. They're good. Don't risk it."

  I suddenly feel the reality of his concern for Deacon.

  "I will. If something does go wrong, get Camara out of that group. They'll never be able to defend her, and they'll all be slaughtered."

  "I will," Devin promises.

  He walks back over to take my hand and Deacon waves as he loads the elevator.

  Devin turns to me and tilts my chin up to force my eyes to his. His immunity to my enslaving eyes is so liberating. He's amazing.

  "I'm sorry our evening was hindered. I hope it's okay to continue on."

  I take a deep breath as I try to digest the heaping pile of crazy that has just been whipped on top of the insanity cake, and then I nod. I need a night away from the surreal. A normal date with the guy I'm now living with would do wonders for my exhausted mind.

  "I want our date."

  "Good. I've got reservations at my favorite spot in the city," he seduces.

  I dread trying to avoid eye contact with the numerous people littering New York, but I'd do anything to have a real date with him.

  "Where are we going?" I muse.

  "That would ruin the surprise," he says with a boyish grin.

  I smile like a foolish girl, and he pulls me to the elevator. I almost skip a little with my perky steps.

  He chuckles lightly at my giddiness, and his lips close over mine the moment the doors seal. A dinging lets us know someone is joining us, but his lips don't move from mine.

  I hear the giggles of teenage girls as our soft-lipped embrace continues without allowing for interruption.

  A second ding tells us we've arrived in the lobby. He takes my hand and pulls me out of the elevator. I can see the childlike excitement in his eyes.