Fallen Gods II: Jaded Prey

by Lorie O'Clare

  But at the first sign of something out of the ordinary to her mortal mind, she’d fled. Merco stifled the heaviness that soaked through him that she might not want anything to do with him if she learned the truth and moved silently into the small house.

  “Naomi.” He entered the dining area but stopped before moving into the kitchen.

  The young woman with her held a small ceremonial knife in her hand, moving the drifting smoke around as she called forth gods she knew nothing about. By the looks of her, they would be fools not to hurry to her aid.

  But he only glanced at her for a moment. Naomi looked up at him from the chair she sat in, her hair twisted in ringlets and falling free over her shoulders and past her breasts. She took his breath away.

  Damn it to all of the hells. It shouldn’t be like this. She was a mere mortal.

  No. Fuck that. Naomi was a person, albeit without powers, but she was a living creature who looked up at him confused and bewildered.

  I will see to it personally nothing ever plagues you again. He let her know his thoughts—just a bit at a time. She would get accustomed to him.

  “What? How did you do that?” Her eyes widened, her mouth forming an adorable circle as she looked up at him astonished.

  “What did he do?” Her friend stared at him, knife in hand, although it would hardly serve as a decent weapon.

  “He spoke to me…without moving his mouth,” Naomi whispered, not taking her gaze from him.

  “Oh.” Her friend matched the hushed tone. “What did he say?”

  “He said he would see to it that nothing ever plagued me again.”

  “Oh.” Her friend already believed in him.

  Naomi, on the other hand, looked skeptical. She studied him for a moment, wanting to question him, but not ready to hear the answers. He hated the doubt that clouded her eyes. No one would protect her better than he could, yet she’d run from him.

  He couldn’t stay away from her any longer, though. And he wouldn’t take her wondering if she could trust him or not. She would see that he would be her strength. There was no other man for Naomi.

  “Tell your friend thank you, and let’s go.” More than anything he needed to be alone with her right now.

  The only way he could ensure that whatever tortured her left her alone is if he kept her with him—an idea that sounded strangely appealing. It wasn’t like him to want to care for someone. That had never been in his nature.

  She straightened at his words, but didn’t rise. Instead something hardened in her expression, her lips pursing, looking full and moist. Her eyes sparkled with life like no other woman he’d known ever had. Tension riveted through him, the overwhelming desire to simply scoop her up and fade to another place making it real hard to focus on her words when she spoke.

  “Merco. You don’t simply prance into a stranger’s house and insist that I leave with you.” She tried to look stern, strong in front of her friend.

  The flush crossing her face made his insides boil. Forcing his hands to stay by his side took more strength than he imagined. Throwing her over his shoulder crossed his mind.

  But he saw straight through to the uncertainty that lay just underneath her calm expression. She placed her hands in her lap, but he didn’t miss how her fingers shook. She was scared. Terrified, in fact. But her thoughts were easy to read. She wanted him to see her as strong, as an equal.

  Silly woman. Why did her spunky defiance appeal to him so damned much?

  “We’re leaving.” He reached for her, and at the same time nodded to her friend who still stared at him with a somewhat perplexed look on her face. “You may not realize it, but you have helped her.”

  She would never understand the powers she played with, but unlike so many humans, she worked with the gifts passed down from her ancestors and didn’t simply play with them.

  Naomi looked at his hand but still didn’t move. He reached for her, touching her shoulder. The warmth of her skin traveled through him at a dangerous speed. Everything that was unique to her, her scent a mixture of perfume and soap, her natural red curls that traveled down her body, the softness of her body against his hand, every bit of it turned him on more than he thought a human capable of doing.

  She stood slowly, hesitantly, her thoughts again easy to read when she worried what to say to her friend. Naomi wanted to be with him. That in itself brought his cock to life. But fear tormented her. Some entity plagued her mind, and watching Braze and Bridget disappear frightened her. He could easily put part of her fears to rest. Convincing Bridget it might be the right thing to do would be a challenge. But his friend’s feisty woman didn’t control Merco’s actions. Naomi had a right to know what she had seen.

  “This is the guy I told you about,” Naomi began, her tone apologetic.

  “From the coven?” Her friend let her gaze travel down him, appraising him. She then looked at Naomi. “Call me later.”

  Naomi nodded, standing slowly, unsteady for a moment. He wrapped his arm around her, her body fitting against his perfectly. He didn’t say anything while he escorted her from the house. What he would do next would take all of his concentration to pull it off properly, and he didn’t want to scare Naomi any further than she already had been.

  “You know why I left your house,” she said quietly as soon as the door to her friend’s house closed behind them.

  “Yes.” He held her tight. No way would he let her go.

  And she didn’t fight him. Her attention was ahead of them, her expression hard to see from the locks that fell alongside her face. But even in her clothes that she’d slipped back on after waking up, and barefoot, he wanted her so desperately the pain began throbbing in his cock.

  “They disappeared,” she said, hesitantly.

  “Yes.” And they were going to also.

  He held her close, knowing this was the best way for her to accept what she’d seen.

  In the next instant, they were back in his living room.

  “What?” Her fingernails dug into his chest. “Oh, shit.”

  Merco reached for her chin, lifting her face to his before she had a chance to react further. He’d just transported her from her friend’s house to his living room and in a few minutes she would realize that was what Bridget and Braze had done, too. But before she panicked over the simple means of transportation, he had to taste her.

  “Merco,” she whispered, an urgency in her tone.

  He captured any other words with his mouth, pressing against the wet softness of her lips.

  She moaned into his mouth, dragging her fingernails up his shirt, gripping the material, holding on while she leaned into him.

  Suddenly he was ravenous. He couldn’t get enough of her. Leaning into her, crushing her against him, her full round breasts pressed against his chest, while one of her legs leaned in between his.

  He held on to her tight, wanting more than anything to float up the stairs with her, fuck her good and hard until she accepted who he was.

  “Damn it,” he breathed into her mouth, realizing the direction of his thoughts.

  In his urgency to protect her, discover what tormented her and get it the hell away from her, he’d forgotten his promise to himself. He wouldn’t manipulate her with powers.

  “What?” Her eyes were still closed. Her mouth was moist, parted, and her lips slightly swollen from his kiss.

  His cock danced inside his jeans, demanding freedom.

  “There are things you must know if I’m going to protect you.” It was the only way.

  It wasn’t manipulation if she accepted the truth about him. She would stay with him of her own accord. He wouldn’t coerce her thoughts.

  “Sorry we’re late.” The voice behind Merco made Naomi jump, a small cry escaping her lips.

  Merco turned and faced his friends, holding Naomi protectively to his side. She made no attempt to move.

  “What are you two doing here?” He looked from Ace to Morph, two of his party buddies.

 
Both of them focused on Naomi. A pride he’d never experienced before washed through him. Their approving looks as they studied her made him pull her tighter into his arms. His friends over eternity knew she was mortal, saw her for what she was, and she appealed to them, too.

  “We were called. And the lady who called us was so damned stunning there was no way to ignore her.” Ace ran his fingers through his closely shaven beard and nodded to Naomi. “Your friend told us you were the one needing help.”

  “But it appears you are already doing your best to help her,” Morph added, a gleam in his bright blue eyes.

  Naomi straightened, obviously not feeling comfortable about being held so close to him in front of his friends. He hadn’t proclaimed her his woman, but the thought crossed his mind with such intensity that he heard both men chuckle in their minds. He glared at the two of them.

  “Morph. Ace. Allow me to present Naomi Lorghon.” Merco didn’t miss the look she gave him when he used her last name. She hadn’t told him. He smiled down at her, releasing her but running his hand through her hair, loving its full texture.

  She turned to the two men. “It’s nice to meet you. Did Thena tell you that I was here?”

  “She told us you were with Merco.” Ace gave her his charming smile. “The two of you weren’t too hard to find.”

  “What do you mean that she called you? Are you friends of hers, too?” She was trying to sort all of this out.

  And there was no way she would pull it off. “Naomi. Like I mentioned before our guests arrived. There are things you need to know.” Merco ignored the words of caution thought to him by both of his friends. “Your friend Thena didn’t realize she was calling Ace and Morph. Most mortals are content to not believe in all that is out there. But your friend, and you as well, are willing to entertain the possibilities.”

  Naomi took a step away from him. He doubted she did it consciously. She crossed her arms, pushing those full breasts close together, the full bulges apparent even through her loose-fitting shirt. Her blue eyes glowed as her gaze darted from him to his friends, and then back to him again.

  “Be careful, my friend.” Morph stood maybe an inch taller than Merco, but didn’t have his strength. He showed his concern for Naomi though, seeing that Merco felt something for her, and honoring that. Morph would defend Naomi now, too. “She is deeply tormented. I’m not sure how much she can handle at this point.”

  “What do you mean how much I can handle?” Naomi’s temper flared, along with her fear, which hadn’t completely left her yet. “Don’t talk about me as if I am not here.”

  Her emotions were an open book, so raw and vulnerable that Merco knew his friend spoke with sincerity.

  “My apologies,” Morph said, nodding his head. “We only see how Merco cares for you. And any woman of Merco’s we will also care for.”

  Naomi looked at Merco, giving him an odd look. He knew she wondered at the meaning of his friend’s words. Again thoughts of what Bridget had told her entered her mind. Merco wouldn’t elaborate on that at the moment. He sensed his friends’ amusement, but also their concern.

  “Did Thena tell you about the creature?” she whispered so softly her words were almost inaudible. Her breathing accelerated. “I’ll do anything to get him out of my head.”

  Her lips parted while she took several breaths through her mouth. The mouth that he’d so recently ravished. Merco reached for her, knowing she meant her words. And he would see to it that she didn’t suffer, while whoever tortured her would suffer every second until they died.

  Even now, as she looked up at him, confused and so damned vulnerable-looking, he could see the fighter in her. There was a determination in her to free herself of whatever tortured her. His heart swelled in his chest, creating a lump in his throat. Damn it if he didn’t feel more than the urge to protect her, take care of her. He ached for her. Seeing her happy, relaxed, the haunted gaze in her eyes gone, meant more to him at that moment than anything had ever meant to him.

  Not much scared him, but the thought that he might be falling in love with her terrified him.

  “I can enter your dreams and take care of whatever disturbs you.” Morph gave her a gallant bow.

  Naomi cocked her head at him. “And I can just imagine how you would offer to do that.” She turned an accusing gaze toward Merco. “Bridget told me…”

  But Merco didn’t care what Bridget told her. Other than to stay the fuck away. He reached for her, grabbing her wrist, and pulling her to him before she could resist. His friends could be gone in an instant, and she didn’t need any more trauma today.

  Looking over her head, he gave his friends a mental warning to give him some time, not to push her before she was ready to handle what had to be done.

  “Let me talk things over with Naomi. I’ll give you two a call.” He listened to both of them share their thoughts, their fond jeers as they teased him of finally finding a woman who would make a decent man out of him.

  He smiled as he watched the two of them disappear.

  “Go ahead and see yourselves out,” he said for Naomi’s benefit after they had gone.

  He held her when she would have turned around to tell them goodbye.

  “It’s me you need to focus on,” he told her, watching the emotion swirl in her alluring blue eyes. “I’m far from done with you.”

  “What were they talking about?” Her curiosity was piqued, while so many thoughts raced through her head.

  He held on to the one where she wondered if they shared women. It didn’t surprise him Bridget would have told her that. Naomi wasn’t at all sure about that possibility. Her hesitant reaction to the thought was as clear as if she’d voiced it out loud. But she couldn’t let the idea go. And for now, it distracted her from whatever tortured her mind.

  “They are my friends. And they will do whatever I ask.” And he would do the same for them. It had always been like that since they were boys. “Right now, I think we need to help you relax. Then I might call them back.”

  “Why would you call them back?” A pink flush spread across her cheeks and she looked down, while her hands traced electric trails up his chest.

  His skin shivered against her touch, although he was far from cold. Heat rushed through him at a dangerous speed. Her thoughts distracted him, and although he knew he should stay out of her head, he enjoyed the fact that she mused over fucking all three of them. It terrified and excited her all at once.

  Merco fought the urge to make her clothes disappear. It was so natural to use powers to seduce a woman. But he was up to the challenge of winning her on her own terms. Undressing her by hand would be just as pleasurable. His friends were right, giving her bits of knowledge at a time would be best.

  “Something torments you. And I can’t see it. But I think they might be able to help.” He ran his hands over her head, tangling his fingers in her hair and pulling enough that she looked up at him. “When the time is right, we will invite them back. And we will free your mind of whatever tortures you.”

  “When the time is right?” She didn’t fight him, but let her head fall back, the blue in her eyes glowing with sensuality. “When will that be?”

  “You aren’t tormented right now.” He brushed the back of his hands down the front of her shirt, feeling her nipples harden to stone when he grazed over them.

  “Not by that creature,” she said, biting her lower lip while her eyes fluttered shut.

  Lowering his mouth to her neck, he ran his teeth and tongue over the soft curve there. She gasped, her body jumping against the sudden touch. Merco thought he would explode from the fire that suddenly rushed through him. Never had he experienced such sudden rush of need from such a simple act.

  Women of his own creation did everything because he commanded it, down to the softest of moans. Mortals were easy to figure out because their thoughts were so exposed.

  But when he’d touched her just now, Naomi hadn’t been ready for it. She hadn’t given it any thought, jus
t reacted. The spontaneity of her sexy moan was enough to harden his cock to stone. He pulled her against him, nibbling his way down to her collarbone. His throbbing shaft pulsated against her body.

  “You are tormenting me,” he told her.

  Her breathing increased. “What…what are you going to do about it?”

  There were still fears. He would do anything to wipe them away. But at the moment a powerful lust, a craving as strong as his, consumed her.

  “I’m going to fuck you every way imaginable,” he said, biting at her shirt, pulling it away from her body.

  Naomi yanked on his clothes, fisting the material in her hand. More than anything he fought the hard to kick habit of simply making her clothes vanish. Or possibly grabbing her shirt, shredding it like it was paper. Thinking was a chore, but he forced himself to lift her shirt, sliding it up and exposing her creamy white skin.

  She let go of him, extending her arms, allowing him to raise the material until he’d pulled it free from her body. Her full round breasts were perky, perfectly shaped, her nipples hard gems.

  “I can imagine many ways of fucking,” she said when he dropped her shirt to the floor.

  “Let me guess your favorite position.” He stared into her blue eyes, the color darkening while he probed deep into her thoughts. “Up against the wall, huh?”

  Her cheeks darkened a rosy color, while she nibbled at her lip and suddenly looked terribly guilty.

  “How the hell do you do that? You are reading my mind.” She shook her head, her breath coming long and hard.

  He reached for her sweat pants, tugging at the elastic waistline. She took a staggered step into him. Her lust drugged her, excitement radiating from her sultry body. The fact that he could tell her thoughts excited her. She should be terrified. But her lust overcame her, and he really liked that about her.

  “Get used to it, my dear,” he told her, undoing her pants and sliding them over the curve of her hips. “Just know you will always have it just the way you want it. I will always know just what pleases you.”