EmbracedbyaWarrior Read online

  She wasn’t too surprised to find Janey approaching the bar a short time after Brisa had gone behind it. The knowing smile her friend wore said everything.

  “Aren’t you glad I made you go talk to him?” Janey asked.

  “Yes.” Brisa rang in the sale of Darius’ beer in the cash register, then took out the change and handed it to Janey.

  The other woman pocketed the money. “And don’t worry. I won’t stick around to see what happens when he walks you to your car.” She winked at Brisa. “Maybe you’ll get lucky tonight.”

  Brisa doubted it. For one thing, she wasn’t the type of woman to hop in the sack with a man she’d just met. Considering how late it would be when the bar closed, it wasn’t as if she and Darius would have a lot of time to get to know each other enough for sex to be part of the picture. If he asked her out on a real date, that would be another matter.

  “Oh yeah, I’m going to have some hot sex with Darius in the back of my car in the parking lot,” Brisa said. “And given how small it is, I doubt the man would manage to fit inside it.”

  Janey laughed. “Okay, I just got the mental picture of him sitting in the backseat with his legs hanging out the car door as he does the nasty with you.”

  Brisa smacked her friend in the arm with the towel she’d used to dry some glasses behind the bar. “You really do have a gutter mind.”

  “Takes one to know one.”

  “Yeah, well, yours is worse than mine.”

  After Brisa mixed the drinks Janey needed for one of her orders, and Janey left to serve them, Brisa turned her gaze in Darius’ direction. He seemed to stare at her, a slight smile on his lips. The expression made him even better-looking. She sighed. She’d have to wait and see what happened when the bar closed.

  Chapter Two

  Darius spent the last couple of hours that the bar remained open slowly sipping on beer. He only had two, not wanting Brisa to think he’d had too much to drink. Not that two, or much less six of them, would affect him. Since becoming immortal, he’d lost the ability to become drunk. He figured it had to do with the way his body now metabolized anything he put into it. He could eat as much as he wanted, whatever he wanted, and remained the same as the day he’d vowed to serve Anubis. The perks of being one of the god’s warriors.

  He drank the last swallow of beer and turned his gaze on Brisa. It was almost closing time and she was cleaning up the bar. He still didn’t know what had come over him, causing him to ask to walk her to her car at the end of the night. He’d told himself repeatedly she wasn’t one he could have anything to do with, that admiring her from afar was all he was allowed.

  But when she’d served him his beer instead of the waitress, then introduced herself, he’d been unable to resist her. Especially when their fingers had touched. Something had zapped through him straight to his cock, making it strain even more against the zipper of his jeans. Then he’d smelled the scent of her arousal and his good intentions had flown out the window.

  Seeing Brisa’s waitress friend wave to her before she headed out the door, Darius took that as his cue to go up to the bar. He grabbed the empty bottle from the table and stood. He was the last customer in the room.

  Darius wove his way around the tables. Once he stood in front of the bar, he placed the bottle on top of it. “Are you just about ready to leave?” he asked.

  She grabbed the empty beer and placed it in a case behind her. She straightened and turned back to him. “Just about. I have to bring the money from the register to the manager, then I can go.”

  He watched her push a couple of buttons on the till, which caused the cash drawer to open. She took out the tray and covered it with a piece of metal before she walked out from behind the bar and headed to the offices at the opposite end of the room. It didn’t take her very long to come back. He also noticed she now carried a purse.

  Brisa stopped in front of him. “All right. I can go now.”

  As they walked toward the bar’s entrance, she fished her keys out of her purse. Once outside, as they were walking toward the parking lot at the side of the building, Darius did his sweep of the area with his gaze. It was late enough that there was hardly anyone else around. Neither he nor Brisa said anything. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her look at him a few times.

  When they reached a silver compact car, she said, “Well, this is me.” She looked at him shyly as she played with her key ring.

  He shifted closer, crowding her against the car’s door, forcing her to crane her neck to look up at him. Darius shifted even closer until they were toe-to-toe. He heard her breath catch, and smelled the scent of her growing arousal on the breeze that swirled around them.

  Even though he damned himself for being a fool, Darius couldn’t stop himself from bending his head and brushing his lips against Brisa’s. She was just too tempting. And when she made an almost inaudible sigh, he had to have more of her.

  Angling his lips for a tighter fit, he claimed her mouth fully. He increased the pressure before he swept his tongue along the crease of her lips, seeking entrance. She opened for him and he pushed inside. He moaned at the taste of her. Kissing her was better than he’d imagined.

  As her tongue twined with his, her arms came up and wrapped around his neck. Darius dropped his hands to her hips, spread his legs slightly and pulled her between them. His hard cock twitched when she rubbed up against him. Need pounded through him, causing his dick to throb in time with his rapidly beating heart.

  He sucked her tongue into his mouth and she swept the inside, tasting him as he’d tasted her. His libido increased. Darius ground his erection into her. He ached for her, but this was neither the time nor the place.

  Darius lifted his head, knowing the little he’d taken from Brisa wouldn’t be enough. He’d had his taste and craved more. He may well damn himself, but he wasn’t ready to end what they’d started.

  “When can I see you again?” he asked, his voice gruff with the arousal still pounding through him.

  She blinked a few times, seeming to come out of a daze. Her lips were swollen from his kisses. She licked them, making him want to claim them once more. But he did nothing of the sort.

  “Tomorrow,” she said in a quiet voice. “During the day, if you want. I have to work at night again.”

  “That’ll be good for me. Give me your phone number and I’ll call you sometime after lunch.”

  “Sure. Let me write it down for you.” Brisa reached inside her purse and took out what looked like an old receipt along with a pen. She scribbled her number on the back of the piece of paper before she handed it to him. “That’s my cell. I don’t have a landline.”

  Darius shoved it in his jeans front pocket. “I’ll look forward to seeing you tomorrow.”

  He turned before he weakened and pulled Brisa back in his arms. His body still thrumming with desire, Darius walked away. On the sidewalk, he headed in the direction where he’d left his car a few blocks up, having chosen the section of the city near the bar as his hunting grounds for this particular night.

  Once at his sports car, he started the engine before he pulled away from the curb. As he drove to his home, he relived every taste and feel of having Brisa in his arms. Even the small sounds of pleasure she’d made while he kissed her. Having lived eight hundred and twenty-two years, for the first time, he’d found a woman he thought he wanted to spend his life with. It was too bad he’d never be able to keep Brisa as his own.

  * * * * *

  Brisa watched Darius walk away until he disappeared down the sidewalk. Her body had yet to cool, and she still felt as if her brain was only functioning at half capacity. The man had kissed her senseless. She’d completely forgotten where they were and had let the desire building inside her take over. All that had mattered was having Darius’ arms around her and his lips taking hers.

  She felt her face flush with renewed arousal when she remembered how big and hard his cock had felt pressed against her. It had made her want to undo
his pants and see just how large he actually was. Her pussy had ached to be filled by him.

  Giving her head a shake over her heated thoughts, Brisa turned to unlock the driver’s side door of her car. If she didn’t stop it, she’d have to go home and take a cold shower. Or take care of what Darius had started herself. She shook her head again. Janey was right. Brisa was just as bad as her when it came to having a gutter mind.

  Once she was inside her car and had pulled out of the parking lot, she drove to her apartment. She really didn’t know what to expect when Darius called the next day. They hadn’t had a whole lot of conversation to get much beyond learning each other’s names. No, she’d been too busy sticking her tongue down his throat to get to know him better. A small smile played along her lips. Darius hadn’t seemed to mind, though.

  Brisa gave herself a mental kick. She had to stop thinking about sex with Darius. Tomorrow, she’d keep herself under control long enough to find out more about the man who’d asked her out. Rushing into intimacy didn’t necessarily mean a relationship would work out. Oh who was she kidding? If Darius put the moves on her again like he’d done back in the parking lot, she wouldn’t be able to resist. He was just too gorgeous and made her want to jump his bones every time she looked at him.

  * * * * *

  The following morning Darius awoke looking forward to what the day would bring for the first time in a long while. Being immortal, he’d started to lose interest in the people and places around him. He did his job each night as one of Anubis’ warriors, but had long since stopped associating with mortals. Their lifespans seemed too short. Eighty years was nothing to him. And what family he’d had before he’d gone on crusade, he’d never kept track of. Having never married or had children, he’d thought it best to stay away from the land of his birth.

  After eating a late breakfast, he took a shower. That done, Darius stood in front of the steamed mirror with a towel wrapped around his hips. He used a small hand towel to clear some of the glass in front of him so he could shave. His gaze landed on the mark the god of the underworld had placed on him once Darius had taken his vow to become one of his warriors. It was situated on his chest, over his heart. It was a picture of Anubis with a jackal’s head. In one hand he held an ankh while in the other was a flail. The whole thing was inside a cartouche, colored black.

  Darius picked up his razor and proceeded to shave off the stubble that was a shade darker than the hair on his head. He combed his hair and left it to dry by itself. After stepping into his bedroom, he headed for his closet. He frowned when he found nothing but jeans and jackets that were leather and denim. Without having to look, he knew the rest of his wardrobe would consist of t-shirts and long-sleeved ones. He didn’t have anything that would be considered “dressy”.

  Figuring there wasn’t much he could do about it now, Darius pulled out a pair of blue jeans from the closet before he picked a light-gray t-shirt from the dresser. Once clothed, he sat on the bed and put on his shoes. As he did so, he thought of what he wanted to do with Brisa that day, besides thinking about getting her in bed. He’d never “dated” anyone before. When he’d been mortal, there had been no such thing. There’d been more arranged marriages than not. At least that was the case in his station. His father had been a knight, as had Darius. He still had his armor, sword and spurs to prove it.

  Before leaving his bedroom, Darius picked up the piece of paper he’d taken out of his pants pocket when he’d changed out of his clothes the night before. He stared at Brisa’s handwriting. It was small and neat, unlike his hen scratching. He’d had a minimal amount of education when growing up. Learning how to read and write hadn’t been part of it. He’d had to learn in the years after becoming immortal.

  He headed down the stairs and into his living room. His cell phone sat on an end table, charging. Like Brisa, he didn’t have a landline. He liked to keep a minimal paper trail, since every thirty years or so he had to change his identity. The only pain in the ass side effect of never aging in this day and age. It wasn’t like the old days where he could just move to another city or country and be done with it, keeping his same name.

  Darius unplugged his cell and pocketed it, then went to the room that was meant to be a den. Inside, there was a mini-temple he’d created for Anubis with religious pieces to the god of the underworld that Darius had picked up in Egypt shortly after he’d taken his vow. Through worshipping Anubis, Darius kept the link between them strong. That way he could call upon the god whenever he needed him.

  After going through his morning ritual, and placing a bit of beer and bread on the altar in offering for Anubis, Darius left the room and closed the door behind him. Back in the living room, he sat on the black leather couch. He took out his cell and the piece of paper with Brisa’s number on it. It was already after twelve.

  He added the number to his list of contacts first before he called. Brisa picked up after the third ring.

  “Hi, Brisa. It’s Darius.”

  “Hi,” she said in return.

  “Are we still on for today?”

  “Yes. I just have to be at work by seven, since I work until closing.”

  “How about I pick you up and take you to my place, then we can go out for an early dinner before you go into work?”

  “Sure, I’d love to. What time will you get here?”

  “Whenever you think you’ll be ready.”

  “In that case, depending on how far you live from my apartment, give or take a half-hour?”

  “Sounds good. What’s your address?”

  Brisa gave it to him, then ended the call by saying she was looking forward to seeing him again. Darius added her address where her cell number was stored on his phone. He still had a little time to wait before he could leave to pick her up. It wouldn’t take the full half-hour to reach her apartment from his house.

  Once he’d let enough time elapse, Darius walked through the door that connected the three-car garage to the house. With a push of a button on the remote clipped to the driver’s side visor, the large door quietly lifted and Darius backed his car out onto the drive.

  It only took him about fifteen minutes or so to reach Brisa’s apartment building. It was situated right downtown, no more than five minutes away from the bar she worked at. Darius parked in the visitors parking out front, then went inside.

  He found Brisa’s apartment number and hit the code on the panel inside the vestibule to call up to her place. After telling her he was there, she buzzed him through the secured entrance door. A short elevator ride up, and he was at her door, knocking.

  Brisa opened it wide. “Come on in for a minute. I just have to grab my purse.”

  As she walked farther into the apartment, Darius stepped inside. He looked around, following Brisa with his gaze. She disappeared into what he assumed was the bedroom. The place was light and airy-looking. She’d gone for colors that were closer to pastels, whereas he was more into the darker tones.

  She returned with purse in hand. “Just to forewarn you, I have to be back here to get ready for work by six thirty at the latest.”

  He nodded. “That’ll be no problem.”

  Brisa walked by him to put on her shoes, and Darius took a deep breath. The scent of her perfume, and one that was uniquely hers, filled his nose. His cock twitched with interest. Just being in the same room with her brought his libido to life.

  Once she was ready, he guided her out of the apartment, then outside to his car. So used to not associating with others, Darius had a hard time trying to come up with conversation starters. He glanced over at Brisa and found her looking out the passenger window. The only women he’d let into his life were the ones who were interested in sex, then walking away when it was over.

  “So,” he said. “Have you worked at the bar long?”

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Brisa turned her head in his direction. “For a couple of years now. I know most people wouldn’t think being a bartender was that great of a job, but I
enjoy it. What about you? What do you do?”

  “I guess you could say I work for myself.”

  “Doing what?”

  “I’m a, ah, bounty hunter.”

  In a way, that was what he did. He hunted down the bad guys, only he wasn’t after the ones who had run out on their bail. He was sending them to face their final judgment.

  “That has to be an interesting job. You must come across all kinds of people.”

  He grinned. “Yes, you could say that I do.”

  “And you must be pretty good at it,” Brisa said as she looked out the passenger window again.

  “Why do you say that?”

  She turned back to him. “Well, for one thing, we’re now in Miami Shores. Where some of the most expensive homes can be found in the city. I take it this is where you live, right? And your car isn’t exactly what the average Joe could afford.”

  “Yes. I bought a place here five years ago when I came to Miami.”

  “I’ve only ever driven by the houses here. With a bartender’s salary, there is no way I’d ever be able to afford one, let alone rent it.”

  “Well, today you can say you’ve been inside one of them.”

  Money had never been a problem for him since he’d become one of Anubis’ warriors. The god had made sure of that. Over the years, Anubis had given him more than enough precious jewels and gold to make Darius a very rich man. The god looked after his own.

  As he pulled onto his long, curving drive, Brisa let out a low whistle. “Wow. Your place is gorgeous. You live here by yourself? It’s huge.”

  Parking his car outside the garage, Darius turned off the engine and turned to Brisa. “Thanks, and yes, I do live alone. I like to have my space.”

  “I guess so. You’d probably be able to fit three of my apartments in there.”

  He chuckled and got out of the car. Brisa followed suit and walked around the back end to meet him at his side. Once at his front door, Darius unlocked it and moved aside for Brisa to enter first. She let out another whistle as he stepped in behind her and closed them inside.