Everlasting (Descendants of Ra: Book 2)

by Tmonique Stephens

  His gaze roasted her. Those oceany eyes kissed her lips, caressed her breasts, slid down her body and settled between her thighs where she ached. Her finger slipped on the metal and blood ran freely. The sharp sting seared all lustful thoughts away. Instantly, he kneeled in front of her and grabbed her wrist. She tried to jerk away, but he held her firmly, his thumb pressed hard on the wound.

  “Apologies, your injury is my responsibility. I never should have let you—”

  “It’s okay. It’s not that bad.”

  “It is. My nearness keeps causing you injury. That, I cannot allow.” His eyes blazed full of anguish.

  Strands of his long hair swept across his face, partially hiding his expression. Alexis brushed the wayward locks away. She skimmed her palm down his sculpted cheek and through his short beard. His eyes widened and…he stopped breathing. Amazed that she had actually caused a man to stop breathing at her mere touch, Alexis leaned in for a taste, that’s all she promised. One kiss to settle the heat stirring in her blood.

  Centimeters away from his lips, she paused, then drew away.

  There’s a reason you're celibate, Alexis. Too many relationships had soured quick and left her swearing off men for the past year. But if there was ever a reason to end her diet, Reign was it.

  He waited. Not a muscle betrayed his emotions, yet a vein pulsed wildly at the base of his neck.

  But he lied.

  What if you approach this logically? You want him. Your panties are sticking to you, you want him so bad. So have him. Leave your heart out of it. Hell, men do it. You can do it too. Screw him, let him work all your kinks out. Just don’t fall in love with him so when the shit hits the fan—

  I won't be the one cut by the blades.

  She pressed her lips to his.

  Holy hell! Nothing had ever tasted so delicious, felt as delightful as his firm lips slanted across her mouth. His whiskers gently brushed her skin, heightening her senses. His scent, woodsy with a hint of musk, filled her lungs. She leaned into him, parted her lips, and licked the seam of his closed mouth. He shuddered and his lips parted. His tongue darted into her mouth and ignited her blood.

  He wanted her. She didn’t just feel it in his touch but knew it as if she were peeking into his soul.

  They yanked apart, she panting while Reign inhaled sharply and exhaled deliberately. His pecs heaved as his gaze devoured her. Nothing made sense, not the heat surfing through her body or the hunger gnawing at her soul. Kissing Reign erased the presence of every man who had ever touched her. Flustered, she glanced down and saw her finger still pressed between his.

  He released her. She wiped away the smear of blood and found perfect new skin. “Okay, so how did you do that?” She held up the healed digit to his puzzled stare.

  “I do not know.” His gaze shifted away.

  He’s lying. Disappointment dissolved the lingering taste of him. Wow, that didn’t take long. Alexis rose and strode to the bookcase to study her grandmother’s ancient collection. “So, we have to find out where the animals came from and if there are more.”

  “I know where they are and yes, there are more.”

  Alexis pivoted. “There are more? How many more.”

  “Enough to be a problem.”

  “You knew where they were and didn’t tell me?” She demanded, storming back to him. He rose to his feet, forcing her to step back to maintain eye contact.

  “It is not a secret, at least not to me. And you have been there. You did not see.”

  “What didn’t I see? Where’ve I been?” Her forehead dipped, drawing her eyebrows together in a scowl.

  He held out his hand. “Come. I will show you.”

  Could she trust him? Did she have a choice? Everything the Nicolis men said about him circled her brain. They warned her to stay away. As if that was so easy. Reign claimed he was a warrior. Looking at him, she didn’t dispute it. Bossy, arrogant, yet gentle with her.

  She placed her hand in his and didn’t resist when he pulled her closer. One moment they were in the living room. Then her atoms scattered. Next, she was back in the factory.

  Alexis slumped against Reign. Parts of her still flew about. His arms banded around her and kept her from crumpling. Good, because she was about to shake apart. Her teeth chattered. Icy sweat covered her skin. She was freezing, inside and out.

  “I have you,” he whispered and pulled her flush against him. His steady heartbeat calmed her even while his breath teased her temple. Heat pooled low in her groin. Awareness of him—every sinful inch—flooded her. Her breasts pillowed against his chest. He shifted and lifted her. Abdomen to abdomen, pelvis to pelvis, all of him touched her. Warmed her. Placed her thoughts on a dangerous path.

  She pulled away. “I’m okay. But don't ever do that again.” His hands lingered on her waist.

  “Then how will we return home?”

  Home. He said the word like he belonged there. She’d opened her mouth to answer when That Smell slapped her. She buried her face in her sleeve and whipped around. Oh my god, she mouthed and threw herself back into Reign’s arms. All around her were pits filled with the animals.

  “Shhh.” He hushed her. “They are dormant.”

  “How do you know?”

  “They are not attacking.”

  She cut her eyes from him and peered around him at the pit. “They weren’t here before.”

  “Yes, they were. You did not see them.” He dropped to his haunches next to the pit.

  Alexis crouched next to him. The oppressive odor made her stomach flop and threaten to hurl. She leaned over to get a head count and slipped. Reign’s quick reflexes saved her from tumbling in.

  “Have you seen enough?” He pulled her along with him.

  “We can’t leave them here,” she protested.

  “We cannot take them with us.”

  Now he wants to be a smart aleck! “I’m calling the authorities.” Her explanation would come after the police saw this.

  He snatched the phone from her. “Calling the authorities will ensure their deaths. Unless your men are trained in swordsmanship, their weapons will not work.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Roman and I spoke of this.”

  “Still, we can’t just walk away. A kid could wander in here and get hurt.”

  “Is there a record of anyone being hurt here?” Reign questioned.

  They were in New City, not New York. She didn’t know anything about this building. “Not that I know of. Is this why you came here? To this…world? To kill these things?”

  “Uhm…yes.”

  Another lie. Her disappointment mounted.

  “Then you go down there and kill them.” She ordered. He had a sword, use it. She couldn’t understand when he refused. He killed those animals, their remains vanishing in a wink. Brayden said as much to her before she escaped RockGate. “Or do I have to pay for your services? What is the going rate for a two-thousand-year-old mercenary?”

  His nostrils flared and a muscle flexed in his jaw, curling a corner of his lip. “You could not afford the price. Killing one may wake the others. I am skilled, but even I cannot battle all of these creatures at the same time.”

  Fine. Alexis scrubbed a hand across her forehead and dragged her fingers through her hair. She walked around and decided to do a head count. Twenty. She moved on to the next pit. Twenty. And the next. Fifteen pits with twenty animals nesting in each equal . . . wait. Her heart lodged in her throat, she returned to Reign and stooped over the first pit again. Three times, she counted and came up short each. Ten. Ten. Ten. There were ten animals in this pit while twenty slept in the others.

  Three were killed at the club. Where were the rest? “We have a problem.”

  With Reign trailing her, she counted each pit again.

  “I agree. We do have a problem.”

  The hard edge to his voice halted her. Fist clenched, muscles straining, he stared into the pit.

  “Hey.” She touched him. “Ar
e you okay?”

  Reign’s head jerked to her. Alexis almost stepped back. His blue eyes glowed.

  But then she blinked and the glow was gone. She shook her head. I must be tired.

  “I am well.”

  At least one of them was. “How do we find the rest of them?”

  “I do not know.”

  And neither do I. When did all this strangeness begin? She thought back to the fight at the club but ditched that path. All of this happened way before that incident. Methodically, she retraced the last few weeks, examining each major event for any paranormal elements until she remembered the videotape at the morgue.

  Daniel Nicolis’s swan dive and resurrection, then the image of the Egyptian dude on the surveillance tape that only she saw. All of this weirdness started with him. Could the factory and the morgue be linked?

  Only one way to find out. She glanced at Reign. He studied her with an intensity that left parts of her simmering.

  Not now! She told her libido. Correction. Not ever!

  Alexis cleared her throat. “I have an idea where to start.”

  One thick eyebrow stretched into his hairline. Though she hated riding the Reign express transit line, there were worse places to be than wrapped in the arms of a gorgeous man. “Can you take me to the morgue?”

  His brows drew together. Of course, he didn’t know what a morgue was. “Is there a way I can direct you?”

  He nodded. “Possibly. If you open your mind when we flash instead of fighting the process. Perhaps you may enjoy it.”

  Not likely, but she didn’t have a choice. He’d transported them to the factory and she wasn’t about to walk miles home. However, opening her mind to him? Bad enough he’d invaded her home. She wasn’t about to let him roam her thoughts, learning every intimate detail about her.

  “You keep your grubby mind to yourself and I’ll do the same. Take me to my precinct. I have to pick up my bike. I’ll ride to the morgue and you can tag along.”

  “As you wish.” He sighed, but she didn’t believe he was happy about it.

  His arm circled her waist and pulled her against his body. Though she should be indignant of his manhandling, she didn’t mind. She really should shove him away and make him regret his arrogance. Do something other than slide her arms around his neck and lay her head on his pec.

  His chest expanded on a deep breath and his heart kicked into a gallop. “You are a stubborn woman.”

  Took him long enough to figure that out. “Yes, I am. I’m ready to leave now.”

  Laughter rumbled through him. “As, you, wish.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Daniel waited. Not that he had another choice. Confined in several different containers, the powers Anubis had gifted him were limited. Maybe the metal cylinders housing his parts kept him from fusing his body and destroying the two people who brought him so low. Reign freeing his head was the closest he’d come to freedom since Roman stuck him in the vault.

  He should’ve obeyed Anubis and fulfilled his mission. If he’d killed Reign, as ordered, he’d be enjoying sunlight and leading the army of quimaera. Now, his fate rested on Bianca’s vanity.

  Though weak, Daniel was still connected to Bianca’s mind. He followed her movements to her father’s cottage. She thought of his proposal, weighed the pros and cons, sought an advantage. He knew her well enough to know what her answer would be.

  And it only took twenty-four hours.

  Through her eyes, he watched Bianca jog through the dark woods. She deactivated the security alarm at the kitchen entrance and slipped inside. She’d picked the best time, three a.m. The men were either asleep or out and the staff had yet to rise. A penlight illuminated her walk down the center aisle of the cellar to the third barrel on the right. With a click and a hiss, the panel slid back and moved right. Recessed lighting hit the metal door. One finger stretched out to punch in the numbers. Waiting.

  07221970. He whispered into her brain.

  The pneumatic motor hummed and the door opened. Without the huge slab of metal blocking him, Daniel pushed passed her mental defensives and took complete control of her body.

  Bianca ignored the rolled documents, stacks of cash, paintings in pressurized frames, and weapons of all sorts and sizes. She headed straight to six metal containers.

  She unlocked the first container. Air rushed in and though he didn’t need to breathe, Daniel went through the motions of opening his mouth and inhaling. Bianca grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked. Darkness gave way to fluorescent light. He squinted beneath the glare, blinking up at her.

  Daniel used his power to calm her horror, and focus her on reassembling his body. She emptied each container and slumped against a nearby shelf. Daniel Nicolis, the human jigsaw puzzle. Humpty Dumpty had nothing on him.

  Her glazed, unfocused eyes, roamed over his parts but didn’t seem to see him.

  “Bianca! Snap out of it and get to work.”

  Her gaze shifted to his face. For a second, she broke his control. She gasped and sucked in a breath.

  “Scream and I will kill you,” he lied. He couldn’t kill anything in this condition.

  Her mouth clicked closed. She nodded a few times, dragged a trembling hand across her sweaty forehead, and then gingerly took hold of his right leg. She lined up his torso and played doctor with his body parts. Not quite the way he once wanted her to play with him. The longing he had for Bianca didn’t last. It couldn’t survive under her unwavering lust for power and for Roman.

  He grunted through the torture of ligaments, tendons, and muscles re-growing, and reattaching. His power levels surged with each attachment. Daniel slowly climbed to his feet. He reached for Bianca who was still seated on the floor.

  He stroked her silver blond hair away from her face. “Obey me and you will have nothing to fear.” He cupped her chin. “Defy me, betray me, and I will set your head in the dusty remains of your body.” His fingers dug into her tender flesh. Pain made her eyes pool and his reflection swim.

  Energy hummed through him, setting off tingles throughout his body. Anubis’s gift, the god’s vis’Ra, coursed through his blood. Never did he want this to stop. He pulled her to her feet and kissed her perfect red lips. The best way to ensure loyalty was to make her an addict. Power, like cocaine, meth, and oxy had the same effect. But, only a taste.

  She drank in the thimble of power and panted for more.

  “Later, if I’m pleased, I will show you what true power is.” He ushered her out of the vault. When it closed behind them, he pulled her close and flashed to the cottage, the home that Hector rarely used.

  The perfect hiding place and only a few hundred yards from achieving his revenge.

  ***

  Alexis parked her motorcycle a few blocks away from the Medical Examiner’s office and prayed she didn’t run into anyone. She cut the engine and dismounted. Quickly, she pinned her wild hair back into her professional bun. A few steps down the block and she wasn’t alone. A part of her warned not to take comfort in Reign’s presence by her side. A bigger part ignored the advice as she marched on.

  She went around back to the ambulance bay entrance and saw an employee leaving. She glanced at Reign to tell him to vanish, but he was already gone.

  “Hey, there. I’m Detective Lever,” she called out before the door closed and locked behind the man. She jogged up to him with her shield displayed. A quick peek at her badge had him paying full attention. “I need some information about the night Daniel Nicolis’s body disappeared.”

  Since no one except the department and the examiner’s office knew the truth, she’d keep quiet about Daniel getting up and walking away.

  “I wasn’t here that night. Mario was. He’s inside.” He nodded his head toward the building. “But they just dropped off three bodies so he’s gonna be busy for a while.”

  Perfect. “Well, I’ll go inside and wait for him. Thanks.” She scooted around the man and entered the building. The refrigerator room wasn’t far.
Though she knew the chances of finding anything in there was next to nil, still, she needed to see the room. Voices echoed nearby. Most likely from the examiner and Mario. She had to hurry.

  Staring at the bank of metal refrigerated drawers, a sliver of fear stabbed her. It’s the unknown laying on the other side. She could only imagine the anguish a loved one experienced waiting for the door to open and the drawer to slide out.

  “What is this room?”

  Alexis jumped. Reign stood next to her. Heart lodged in her throat, it took a second for her to muster an answer. “They keep the corpses in here.”

  “You do not bury your dead?”

  She nearly laughed at his horrified expression. “Yeah, we do, but sometimes not right away. Not when they’ve died unnaturally or suspiciously.” She walked over to the drawer Daniel had rented for a night and ran her fingers over the handle. She wondered if it was vacant, but she was too chicken to yank the handle and see.

  “Why are we here?”

  “I’m retracing Daniel’s steps.”

  “Daniel?”

  The interest in his voice turned her head toward him. “Yeah, weren’t you listening when I spoke to the employee?”

  Reign hesitated.

  “Guess not.”

  “Why are we here for Daniel?”

  “I think he may be the catalyst for all of this; the quimaera, possibly the factory. I need to…”

  He stared at her as if waiting for her to continue.

  “Daniel Nicolis was your brother Roman’s adopted son. I really don’t understand how a grown, single man adopted a bunch of boys and no red flags were raised, but hey, lifestyles of the rich and richer.” She chuckled.

  He didn’t.

  Should she tell him what she saw on the video? Maybe that would get a rise out of him.

  A voice came from the hall. “Yeah, okay, I’ll bring the next one in.” The door swung open.