Dark Choices: Paradigm Shift (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance Series Book 42)

by I. T. Lucas

  Edna wanted more.

  More licking, more sucking, and more stinging slaps on her butt cheeks.

  Except, control over her body had been taken away from her, and as Rufsur added his fingers to the play, the orgasm detonated. The powerful explosion pushed her up and off the desk, but a moment later, she was pushed back by Rufsur’s hard body. His arms enveloping her, he reached under her blouse for her breasts, and without much preamble, pulled the bra cups down and pinched her nipples.

  “Fates!”

  As a second, gentler orgasm rippled through her, Edna wasn’t sure whether it was an aftershock or a new climax, but before she had time to absorb the sensations, Rufsur entered her with a single hard thrust. This time, she had no doubt that the explosion he’d detonated was a full-on orgasm and not an aftershock.

  Clamping his hands on her hips, he retreated and then surged in, again and again, pumping into her full force and not sparing her even an iota of his immortal strength.

  If she were a human, he would have broken her, but she wasn’t, and every time his hips slammed against her backside, her arousal rocketed further up.

  Even her heavy mahogany desk couldn’t absorb the powerful thrusts, sliding toward the center of her office and pushing the guest chairs until they got stuck on the edge of the carpet and toppled down.

  Through the orgasmic haze, Edna wondered how she was going to explain the wreckage in her office. By the time they were done, the place would look like a tornado had passed through it.

  Tornado Rufsur.

  The chuckle that the thought evoked died on her lips as Rufsur grabbed her bun and wrenched her head up and back. Tilting it sideways, he licked her neck, kissed the spot he intended to bite, and then struck with his fangs.

  Even before his venom hit her veins, a fourth orgasm blasted out of her, and then another, and another, and then, for the first time in her immortal life, Edna blacked out.

  20

  Rufsur

  As Edna went limp under him, Rufsur retracted his fangs, licked the puncture wounds closed, and collapsed over her back. “Are you okay?” he murmured into her ear.

  When he got no response, a momentary panic seized him. He’d gone all out, not moderating his strength as he would have done with a human, assuming that Edna could take it.

  But what if it had been too much?

  Listening to her vitals, he heard her heart beating steadily, and her breathing was even and deep as if she was sleeping. Had she passed out?

  It hadn’t happened the other times, but then he hadn’t been as rough with her before.

  Over the two weeks that they’d been separated, his frustration had been building up physically and emotionally, but that was no excuse. He should have been more careful.

  Edna was an immortal, but she was also a delicate female, and he probably weighed twice as much as she did and was at least three times stronger.

  Lifting up, Rufsur took hold of her chin and gently turned her face toward him. The dreamy expression on her face was a relief. It was the same look he’d seen many times before on his human lovers’ faces.

  Edna had simply blacked out, and she was probably soaring on a cloud of euphoria like he had hoped she would the first time they made love. It was the best gift an immortal male could give a female, even better than the multiple orgasms.

  Since it hadn’t happened to Edna the other times they’d made love, he’d assumed that immortal females didn’t get to soar, and he’d been disappointed that Edna had been cheated out of the best part.

  Except, he hadn’t been sure of that, and the suspicion that the failing wasn’t Edna’s but his made him feel inadequate. Perhaps that had contributed to his general frustration with her and their relationship.

  Today, he’d learned something valuable, though. Evidently, his mate required more intensity to reach the euphoric stage, and now that he knew the key to unlocking her ultimate pleasure, he was going to use it.

  His mate?

  The realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

  Edna wasn’t the immortal female he was currently shagging, she wasn’t his girlfriend, and she wasn’t even his future wife and the mother of his children.

  Edna was his mate, and that carried so much more weight.

  But was he hers?

  It didn’t seem so. She liked him, loved having sex with him, but did she think of him as her one and only?

  Not likely.

  If she had, she would have put more effort into their relationship instead of fighting him every step of the way.

  But that was no reason to despair. Rufsur wasn’t a quitter, and with enough effort and tenacity, he would convince her that he was indeed her one and only.

  Pulling out carefully, he lifted Edna into his arms and walked over to the couch. They were both naked from the waist down, but Edna’s shirt was still buttoned up, while his wasn’t, and he wondered whether to take it off her or wait until she floated back to earth.

  Nah, why wait?

  He wanted to see her beautiful breasts, and besides, she would be more comfortable if he removed the bra that was bunched under them. It was a great excuse to unbutton the blouse and put things back in order.

  Or maybe not.

  They were far from done, and the only question was whether they would continue round two on the couch in her office or walk to her house.

  Did she have an adjacent private bathroom?

  A quick scan of the office revealed no doors other than the one leading to the corridor, so unless the bathroom was hidden behind one of the many bookcases, she didn’t have one.

  That was a bummer.

  Shifting in his arms, Edna sighed and cuddled closer to his chest. “How did I get here?”

  “I carried you.” He leaned and kissed her forehead. “Are you okay? I was a little too wild with you.”

  She chuckled without opening her eyes. “A little? You were like an F-2 tornado.” She turned her head and looked pointedly at the two office chairs lying toppled on their sides.

  “Only F-2? I’m offended. I was at least F-4.” He hooked a finger under her chin and turned her head to face him. “But seriously, did I go too far? Tell me the truth.”

  Lifting a hand, she cupped his cheek. “You are fishing for compliments, but I don’t mind telling you. As hard as it is for me to admit, this was the best sex I ever had.”

  “Why is it hard for you to admit?” He chuckled. “Trust me. My ego can’t get any bigger. It’s already ginormous.”

  “It’s not about you or your ego.” The sadness returned to her soulful eyes. “But this is not the time or place for that tale.”

  21

  Edna

  It wasn’t fair to Robbie. As virile as he had been, he couldn’t compare to an immortal male. But she’d loved him, and that should have trumped Rufsur’s sexual prowess.

  Except, the memory of making love to Robbie had faded over the years, and even though she’d compared every man she’d been with to him, after three hundred years, her imagination was probably supplying most of the details.

  She shouldn’t feel guilty, though, and she should definitely not spoil the moment by bringing up the past.

  “Okay.” Rufsur nodded. “You can tell me all about it when you are ready. The question is whether we continue here on this leather couch or sneak out of here and go to your place.”

  “What time is it?”

  He glanced at his watch. “It’s seven-twenty.”

  Edna sighed. “They are probably still down at the café, and there is no way to sneak out without passing through there.”

  “Let me check.” He lifted with her in his arms and then put her on the couch. “Don’t move.”

  As her naked butt touched the leather, Edna grimaced. If she could help it, she would rather go home and continue making love to Rufsur in her bed.

  As he walked over to the window, she hoped to catch a glimpse of his fine ass, but regrettably, his shirt covered most of his magnificent
backside.

  “They are no longer there, and there aren’t many people left in the café either. I think it’s safe to make our exit.” He lifted their discarded garments from behind her desk and brought them over to the couch. “I vote for redecorating your office.” He handed Edna her pants and panties. “First of all, you need a bathroom in here. And secondly, this damn leather couch needs to go. It’s not pleasant on my bare ass.”

  “I agree. My ass doesn’t like it either.”

  Wiggling, he made a squeaky noise. “Did you hear that? Not very sexy.”

  Edna pulled her panties and pants on. “Even if I could, I have no intention of turning my office into a shag pad. I have a perfectly fine bed at home.”

  Rufsur padded over to the desk and got their shoes. “Beds are overrated, but right now, I’m with you on that.” He put on his and handed her hers.

  “I hope the chairs survived.” He lifted one and examined it. “Good to go.” Then he did the same with the other. “No damage done.”

  As they left her office and headed down the stairs, Edna wished that she had the willpower to tell Rufsur to go home. But she was just a flesh and blood woman, and she craved more of what he’d given her on that desk.

  Outside, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, staking his claim for all to see, and once more, she lacked the will to stop him. It just felt too good, and she was tired of fighting.

  What would happen if she just went with the flow?

  It wasn’t her job to hold the floodgates of change closed. It was Kian and Annani’s. She deserved a few moments of happiness too.

  You deserve more than that, the small voice in the back of her head whispered. You’ve grieved enough, and you deserve a lifetime of happiness.

  Tightening his hand on her shoulder, Rufsur pulled her closer against his side. “I bet that you’ve never had sex bent over a desk before,” he whispered in her ear.

  Edna didn’t want Rufsur to think that she was a prude. She’d been quite daring back in the day. “I haven’t, but I’ve had my share of sex adventures.”

  “Oh, yeah?” He looked at her with amusement in his eyes. “Do tell.”

  Would telling him about the things she’d done with Robbie betray the memory?

  She’d never talked with anyone about it, and maybe she should before she forgot even more. Honoring Robbie’s memory didn’t mean keeping him a secret.

  On the contrary.

  “I once made love under a waterfall.”

  “That doesn’t sound too daring. Fun, but wet.”

  Edna chuckled. “Wet and cold, but it was exhilarating. Robbie’s men knew what we were up to, and they could probably hear us too, but we were young and stupidly in love, and we didn’t care what the world thought of us.”

  “You were in love? With a human?”

  She nodded. “He was the love of my life, and I was young and naive, and I thought that I could make it work.”

  “What happened?”

  “He died.”

  22

  Rufsur

  Was that the source of Edna’s sadness?

  If she’d been a young woman at the time, it must have been hundreds of years ago. Was she still mourning her lover’s death?

  It was possible.

  Rufsur’s loss wasn’t that old, and a hundred years had dulled the pain significantly, but he still got sad when he thought about his mother. He hadn’t been around when she died, and he had no idea what her life had been like after he’d been taken away from her. All he had was the memory of her face as a young woman, and the sound of her wretched sobs as they’d dragged him away from the Dormants’ enclosure.

  He’d been so scared, not so much for himself as for her.

  Had she been punished for her emotional outburst? The mothers had been encouraged to show pride when their sons were taken away to become immortal warriors. After all, achieving that had been their singular goal in life, and the more sons a Dormant had, the higher her status had been. Except, his mother hadn’t cared about any of that, and her reaction had been considered a bad example for the others.

  They hadn’t killed her, he was sure of that. Dormants were too precious to waste. But they might have beaten her up.

  Edna sighed. “It happened a long time ago, but I’ve never gotten over his death.”

  He squeezed her shoulder. “Did you hope that he was a Dormant?”

  She shook her head. “Back then, we didn’t even know that Dormants existed outside of Navuh’s camp or our clan. Robbie might have been a Dormant, but it never occurred to me. All I wanted was to be with him for as long as he lived.”

  Poor Edna. Did she feel guilty for not having her lover induced by one of her male clan members?

  “Are you blaming yourself for his death?”

  She nodded. “But not because of that. He most likely wasn’t a Dormant, and even if he was, there was no way I could have suspected it. I blame myself for not trying harder to stop him from leaving to negotiate a peace agreement with his neighboring clan. I had a feeling that they were up to no good, and I warned him, but he said that he had to try. He and his men were ambushed and all but one were slaughtered.”

  That explained why Edna was so wary of Kalugal and his men.

  “That was a long time ago, and you can’t extrapolate from what happened to Robbie to the negotiations between Kian and Kalugal. We are not two warring clans, we have no land dispute, no blood feud, nor any of the reasons that prompted the Scottish clans to attack each other.”

  “I know. I just believe in being cautious.”

  “Caution is good unless it’s paralyzing.”

  Rufsur thought of Kalugal’s decision to leave his guards behind. Perhaps his boss was right about taking that small risk and showing Kian that he trusted him. Fear was the enemy of progress.

  Edna nodded. “I’m well aware of that. But when you suffer a loss as great as I did, it’s difficult to trust people’s good intentions.”

  “It happened a long time ago. The pain must have dulled over the years.”

  “It did. But it’s still in here.” She put a hand over her heart. “I’ve never been able to completely get over the loss.” She lifted her sad eyes to him. “I’m sorry for spoiling the mood.”

  Leaning, he kissed the top of her head. “I have a feeling that you don’t talk about it much. You hide your pain. In the beginning, it must have hurt too much, but since so many years have passed, maybe it’s time that you let it out. It might lighten your load.”

  “You talk like you’ve experienced grief yourself.”

  “I did, but it was different than yours.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “I grieved for the loss of my mother years before she actually died. The day I was forcefully taken away from her to be inducted into immortality and join the warrior ranks was the last time I saw her. Knowing that I would never see her face or hear her voice again, I felt as if a part of me died that day, which is precisely why the Brotherhood does it that way. They break the boys to build men out of them, ruthless warriors whose only family are their fellow fighters. Over the years, I’ve lost friends as well, and I grieved for them too, but the pain wasn’t as acute as the pain of losing my mother.”

  Wrapping her arm around his middle, Edna rested her head on his chest. “You are right. It’s not the same, but that doesn’t make it any less traumatic. You loved your mother, and you were just a young boy when you lost her. I loved Robbie with everything I had. I was willing to break every clan rule to be with him, and I did. The year I spent with him was the happiest of my life, and when he died, I knew that I would never have that again.”

  “Do you still believe that?”

  She looked up at him and smiled. “I’m no longer sure.”

  That was encouraging. “It’s a good start.”

  As they climbed up the steps to her front porch, it suddenly occurred to him that no Guardian had been trailing behind them. Had it been an oversight?
Or had Kian relaxed the security around them even more?

  “Did you notice that we didn’t have a tail?”

  Edna glanced over her shoulder. “I guess Kian trusts you.”

  Could it be that Kalugal’s show of trust had worked so fast? Had Kian returned the favor by not assigning a guard to him?

  Rufsur doubted that.

  “Theo and Jay might have forgotten that I went to see you in your office, and they followed the others home. I hope they will not get in trouble for that.”

  Edna opened the door. “Do you want me to send them a text?”

  He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “On the one hand, I like it that we finally have some privacy, but on the other hand, I don’t want those two to get in hot water with their chief, so yeah. You’d better text them.”

  Smiling, Edna stretched on her toes and kissed his cheek. “You are a good man, Rufsur.”

  He rolled his eyes. “That’s what I keep telling you.”

  “And so modest,” she mocked.

  Pulling out her phone, she typed up a text, and a moment later got a response. “Theo says that it was Kian’s decision to leave you unguarded.” She looked up at him. “It seems that your charm is winning him over.”

  It hadn’t been his charm that had done it, but Kalugal’s show of trust. Or maybe neither.

  He pulled her into his arms. “I don’t think Kian is doing it out of consideration for me. He’s doing it for you.”

  23

  Edna

  “Would you like some wine?” Edna opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle.

  Rufsur grimaced. “Don’t you have anything stronger?”

  Edna shook her head. “I drink wine for the taste, not for the alcohol content.” Perhaps now that she had a gentleman caller, she should keep a bottle of whiskey or two on hand.

  She chuckled. Rufsur was no gentleman, and he wasn’t a caller either. There was nothing polite or old-fashioned about him. He was direct to the point of being crass, but he wasn’t mean or unpleasant. On the contrary, he was fun to be with and easy to talk to, and that was on top of being a phenomenal lover.