The Darkening (Immortals)

by Robin T. Popp

  When she touched the golden serpent over his chest, he shivered.

  “It’s new,” he whispered, leaning forward to close the small space between them. “And I don’t want to talk about tattoos anymore.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Darius’s lips felt moist and warm as they captured hers. Instantly the hunger inside her raged out of control and she clutched at him, returning his kiss with a nearly frenzied intensity.

  He grabbed her to him, and she ran her hands along his broad shoulders before embracing him.

  “You taste so good.” Darius’s voice sounded husky. He let go of her long enough to reach between them and started working at the buttons on her shirt. The backs of his hands brushed against her aching breasts while he worked, and Lexi felt her nipples harden in response.

  She couldn’t stop a small groan from escaping, and it seemed all the encouragement he needed. Grabbing the front edges of her shirt, he ripped it open. Immediately she felt the cool air caress her overheated skin. He pushed her shirt back, baring her shoulders, then lowered his head to kiss the swell of her breasts. When he cupped her, his hands felt warm through the thin fabric of her bra.

  She fought to free her arms from her shirt and then quickly unclasped her bra. As Darius pulled it off, she had a moment’s hesitation. What was she doing?

  As soon as Darius’s mouth covered one of her nipples, all conscious thought fled and she could only react to the flicking of his tongue across her nipple and the tremors racing through her body.

  He suckled her until she felt the moisture gather between her legs. Need pulsed through her, hot and insistent. She struggled to reach the waistband of his pants, but figuring out the foreign clasp was beyond her ability for rational thought.

  “Off,” she gasped.

  He left her long enough to stand, and she watched unashamedly as he pushed his pants down his legs, much too slowly for her taste.

  Lexi swallowed hard at the sight of his engorged shaft. Then the wolf in her rose, and inside her head she released a primal mating howl.

  When Darius reached for her, she placed her hands in his and let him pull her to her feet. He made short work of her jeans, and when they pooled at her feet, he gathered her naked body close. She reveled in the hard warmth of him and felt the length of his shaft pressing insistently against her, throbbing with a need and life of its own.

  “Bedroom,” he demanded, lifting her into his arms.

  “Hallway. Last door on right,” she directed between a frenzy of kisses.

  As soon as they reached her room, they fell onto the bed in a tangle of arms and legs. Almost immediately his shaft probed the juncture of her legs, and she opened for him. When he pushed into her, she gladly welcomed him. Still kissing her, he proceeded slowly, filling her inch by delicious inch. Deeper and deeper he went until she could take no more. Then, with aching slowness, he withdrew. She clutched his shoulders in a frenzy as the sensation of his length rubbing against her created a friction that nearly undid her. Every fiber of awareness centered on the tension building inside her.

  Before he could completely pull out, he drove himself forward. Then once again, slowly, he withdrew. Each time he pulled away, he reached between them and began pleasuring her most sensitive spot until her inner core cried out for him to fill her once more. He continued this way until she thought she would burst into a thousand pieces. She fought against her impending orgasm, wanting this moment to last as long as possible.

  When Darius began to slow his movements, she thought it might be another tactic to prolong the experience. She opened her eyes to glance at his face and saw that his eyes were glazed over—with passion, she presumed, and privately reveled in her effect on him.

  Then, to her amazement, Darius flipped them over without pulling out. Now she was on top, straddling his hips as he lifted her up and then let her slide down his erection.

  Though her eyes were closed, she felt him shudder, and when she rolled her hips, he released a groan of pleasure. Setting her own rhythm, she milked the experience for all she could. When her orgasm hit, it was like a tidal wave slamming into her, taking her breath away.

  As she gradually came back to her senses, she noticed Darius had grown very still beneath her. She was fairly certain he hadn’t found his own release and wondered if he might be allowing her this moment to enjoy hers to its fullest before seeking his own pleasure. It was an unexpected, selfless gesture, and she opened her eyes, wanting to see his face when she thanked him.

  At first, she thought he’d merely closed his eyes too, focusing, like her, on the physical aspects of their lovemaking. After a moment, though, when he still didn’t look at her, she noticed his low, steady breathing, and the horrible truth finally dawned on her. He was asleep.

  Darius stood in the middle of an open mist-covered field on top of a mountain. He turned around, and everywhere he looked, the view was the same—acres of grass and an endless expanse of sky.

  He was confused. Mere seconds ago he’d been in bed with Lexi. Then, suddenly, he was here—and he didn’t even know where “here” was.

  He started walking, picking a direction at random, but after taking several steps, he stopped because he realized that he hadn’t really moved. Bending over, he plucked a few blades of grass and rubbed them between his fingers. Oddly enough, he felt only the friction of his fingers rubbing against each other. Intrigued, he lifted the crushed grass to his nose. There was no scent.

  It was all an illusion. All of it.

  He was in the dream dimension. There was magic at work here—incredibly strong magic if it was able to make him fall asleep in the middle of the best sex he’d had in seven hundred years. Someone was going to pay.

  A prickling along his neck told him he was no longer alone, and he turned to see the figure of a man approaching.

  “Whitley!” He hurried across the grassy field, grabbing the man’s upper arms in warm greeting when he reached him. “What are you doing here?”

  The priest smiled as he returned the half embrace. “It’s good to see you, son. Your mother wasn’t sure if we would be able to contact you.”

  Darius couldn’t help wondering if this was another one of his mother’s tricks to get him to come back. “What’s the matter?” he asked warily.

  “Your life is in danger.”

  “What?” At first, he thought Whitley was joking. After all, Darius was an Immortal. His life was never truly at risk. But Whitley didn’t look like he was joking. “I don’t understand.”

  Whitley’s expression was grave as his gaze traveled over Darius’s nude body. At the priest’s questioning look, Darius shrugged. “Your timing wasn’t the most opportune. I’m sure I’ll have some explaining to do.”

  Whitley gave him a sympathetic look. “Probably more than you realize.” He took a breath and explained. “When you broke the orb, your life essence naturally returned to you. However, it wasn’t restored properly.” His gaze shifted to the golden serpent over Darius’s heart. “As long as this tattoo remains intact, you are safe. However, the tattoo itself is vulnerable, and should something happen to it…” He paused as if he couldn’t bring himself to finish. “Right now, you are as close to being mortal as you have ever been.”

  Darius tried to absorb exactly what he was being told. “Are you telling me that this tattoo is my life essence? That if it’s harmed, I could actually die?” He raised his head to look at Whitley and saw the concern in the other man’s eyes.

  “We don’t know how vulnerable you are,” Whitley went on. “There was no way of knowing.”

  “Damn her,” Darius muttered.

  “Sekhmet never meant to hurt you—” Whitley began, but Darius held up his hand to cut him off.

  “Don’t. She never means to hurt the ones she loves—she just does. And you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

  Whitley’s expression became guarded. “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve lived with us my entire life. You know
what she’s like.” Off in the distance, lightning flashed across the sky and it grew darker. “She wanted to protect me, so she stole my entire reason for existing. Now, because she wanted to keep me with her, she’s placed my life—and that of everyone on Earth—in danger.”

  “Don’t be that way,” Whitley reprimanded. “She deeply regrets the danger she’s placed you in.”

  Darius wasn’t sure he believed that, but he knew it’d be wise not to argue. “Thank you for the warning,” he said. “You can send me back now. I still need to find the demon responsible for all the problems on Earth.” He purposely didn’t tell Whitley about Tain, because he didn’t want the information to get back to Ravenscroft where Tain’s mother might hear about it. It would break her heart.

  Whitley cleared his throat. “There’s one more…little problem.”

  Darius knew, before he even heard it, that he wasn’t going to like whatever it was. Another bolt of lightning streaked across the sky as dark clouds drifted in, an eerie reflection of his mood. “Better tell me what it is.”

  “Your mother was concerned that you might fall victim to the temptations available on Earth—specifically the temptations of the flesh, which she blames for your brothers not returning. She didn’t want the same to happen to you, so she tried to cast a protective spell on you.”

  “She what?”

  Whitley had the decency to look embarrassed and dipped his head. “It was supposed to help you not be distracted by sex—except that you were being pulled to Earth when she cast the protection, and you know the spell is only as good as the portion you heard. From what she remembers, um, I think it might be best if you didn’t have sex while you are there.”

  The warning bells went off in Darius’s head as he thought back to the words he’d heard his mother shouting: In…physical love…find…pleasure…forget…

  A bolt of lightning cut across the sky again.

  “She didn’t want to keep you from having some fun,” Whitley hurried on. “She just didn’t want you to remember how much fun it was.”

  “Damn it, Whitley,” Darius shouted. “Stop speaking in riddles.”

  Whitley sighed. “All right. Basically, it’s this: If you engage in sex long enough to climax, you’ll forget—everything.”

  Darius clenched his fists together. At least now he knew how he’d lost his memory that first night, he thought. “Of all the things she’s done to me…” He swore. “Why would I want to go home?”

  “Don’t say that,” Whitley said quietly.

  “Is that everything?” Darius fought to keep his temper.

  Whitley nodded. “Yes—that’s it.”

  “I need to go,” Darius said, noticing that the sky had grown very dark now and the lightning was getting worse. “Is this Mother’s temper we’re experiencing?”

  Whitley looked around, a worried expression on his face. “No, I don’t think so.”

  “I was afraid of that.” There was the possibility that a demon was nearby, possibly even inside the dream realm itself. If that was the case, it was best that he and the priest leave as quickly as possible. “Can you release us?”

  Whitley nodded. “Be careful, son. And keep that tattoo safe. I don’t want to lose you.”

  “I’ll be careful,” he promised, stepping forward to give the man a hug. “Tell Mother…” He hesitated. “Don’t tell her anything. I’m not sure I can forgive her interference this time.”

  Whitley took a step back and in the blink of an eye, he was gone. So was the grass and dark sky. Darius found himself lying in Lexi’s bed once more. When he looked around, she was nowhere in sight.

  Then he heard the clinking of dishes coming from the kitchen and caught the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. He glanced at the window, wondering just how long the dream had lasted, and saw sunlight shining through.

  Not good, he thought. He’d not only fallen asleep, but he’d slept through the night. Sitting up, he noticed that Lexi had at least covered him. He pushed the blanket aside, got out of bed and, finding his folded clothes sitting on the dresser, put them on.

  Then he took a breath and braced for the confrontation sure to come.

  Lexi stood at the counter, vigorously dicing an onion. Each downward stroke of the knife accompanied a dark thought about the man sleeping in her bed. How dare he fall asleep right in the middle of sex? How tired would he have to be to do something like that? She didn’t think anyone could be that tired. Had she bored him to a state of unconsciousness?

  Yeah, she liked that explanation so much better. Not.

  She put new effort into slicing the onion, trying to ignore the faint noise behind her indicating Darius was finally awake. She refused to turn around and acknowledge him. Frankly, she had no idea what to say. Even the scathing insults and put-downs she’d mentally rehearsed were forgotten.

  “So I’m wondering,” his voice floated to her in a very conversational tone, “just how mad are you?” She sensed him coming close and wasn’t surprised when he appeared beside her. “I’m going to guess that you’re pretty upset.”

  The last thing she wanted was for him to have any clue how upset she was. She didn’t want him to think he had any control over her emotions. “I’m not mad,” she said, surprised at how calm she sounded.

  “Right. That’s why you’re destroying that defenseless vegetable.”

  She carefully set the knife aside and carried the plastic cutting sheet to the frying pan into which she scraped the onions. “I like it cut up small.”

  She set the cutting board back on the counter and picked up the green pepper. When she reached for the knife, though, Darius covered her hand with his. When he didn’t immediately say anything, she looked up at him.

  “Despite how it looked, I didn’t fall asleep on you.” He gave a half laugh. “Sleeping was the furthest thing from my mind, believe me.”

  “But you did fall asleep.” She couldn’t help sounding accusatory.

  “Lexi. You’re a smart woman—and a witch. You’re familiar with spells and summonings.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “It was lousy timing, to be sure, but I’ve come to expect that from my mother.”

  Lexi’s eyes opened wide. “Sekhmet summoned you? To a dream world?” She considered the possibility and definitely liked it better than the alternative. “Why?”

  He pulled the cutting board to him and, picking up the knife, began dicing the pepper. “It’s a long story.”

  She gave him a look. “I have time.”

  He shrugged. “Okay. Well, our parting wasn’t under the best circumstances,” he said. “You know that Tain, Adrian, Kalen and Hunter aren’t my brothers in the sense of our sharing the same parentage, right? Our mothers are different, but they’re all aspects of the Mother Goddess. The last time the Immortals were Called to Earth, my brothers never returned home. It broke their mothers’ hearts, and Sekhmet swore she would never let it happen to her. So one night while I was asleep, she stole my life essence from my body.”

  Lexi was shocked. “You’re kidding.”

  He shook his head. “I wish.”

  “Did you ask for it back?”

  He scowled at her. “Oh, gee, that never occurred to me.” His voice held bitterness and sarcasm. “Of course I asked for it back.”

  “What did she say?”

  “She refused, of course. And without my life essence, I was physically bound to Ravenscroft. I’d basically become her prisoner. Not that she treated me poorly,” he quickly amended. “I could travel the Immortal realms, but I couldn’t leave—not even when the Calling Spell summoned me.”

  That explained why he didn’t show up the night of the ceremony, she thought. “I hate to state the obvious,” she said. “But if you can’t leave Ravenscroft”—she flipped her hand, palm side up, gesturing at nothing in particular—“what are you doing here?”

  “That’s a longer story.”

  He explained how his life essence was now contained in the
serpent tattoo on his chest. Lexi found herself watching the way his hands worked as he continued to chop peppers. She remembered the way he’d stroked her body last night and quickly cut off the memory.

  “So Sekhmet summoned me to warn me there could be complications,” he finished, his expression unreadable.

  “Like?”

  He heaved another sigh, and she was beginning to realize he did that before he delivered bad news. “Like, the tattoo is vulnerable to attack, which makes me vulnerable too.”

  “How vulnerable?” He didn’t answer, so she reached out and grabbed his hand, stopping him from dicing the pepper. “Darius, that tattoo is over your heart. Exactly how vulnerable are you?”

  He gave her a tender, indulgent smile. “You sound worried.”

  She hated that he was right. “I am worried. If something happens to you, who’s going to stop the demon and Tain?”

  He set his knife down and gently took her by the arms, turning her until she had no choice but to look at him. He was standing too close, affecting her ability to think. “Don’t worry about them. I’ll take care of it. Now, I’ve put off leaving for Seattle too long and I must go.”

  She sighed, knowing he was right. “I’ll make your reservation, and then we should call Adrian to let him know what’s going on. I’m surprised he hasn’t already called wondering what happened to you.”

  “Thank you for all your help,” he told her.

  She nodded, feeling self-conscious. She knew she should pull away from him, and yet she couldn’t. He was studying her so closely, she felt herself drowning in his heated gaze. Then his mouth came down on hers.

  Her lips parted on a surprised gasp and he took advantage of the small opening to slip his tongue inside. He tasted like danger and adventure rolled into one, and the intensity of his kiss robbed her both of breath and conscious thought.

  Automatically she wrapped her arms around him, returning his kiss with the ferocity of the wolf inside her. She felt her passion rise, felt herself teetering on the edge of something more powerful. When he broke the kiss, Lexi was glad to see that he looked as shaken as she felt.