EmbracedbyaWarrior Read online

  “It’s beautiful, Darius. I especially like the banister. It’s the type I would have spent hours riding down when I was a kid.”

  He looked over at the wide, mahogany staircase that started near the center of the cathedral-ceilinged foyer, rising to the upper level. He then focused back on Brisa. “Go ahead.”

  She gave him a questioning look. “Go ahead what?”

  “Go ride down the banister.”

  Brisa laughed. “You really want me to do it? I didn’t mean I should slide down it now. I’m too old for things like that.”

  “Why not?” he asked. “I know you want to. And I won’t think you’re any less mature for doing it.” He gave her smile. “I have to admit I’ve tried it out a time or two. If it can hold me, it’ll definitely hold you.”

  She gnawed her bottom lip as she thought over what he’d said. Seeing her doing it made Darius want to lean in and claim her mouth, do some nibbling of his own.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “It’s a long banister, and there isn’t much of a newel post at the bottom of the staircase. It’s nothing but a small square piece of wood. If I can’t stop in time I could fly off at the end.”

  “I’ll be here to catch you just in case.”

  Brisa chuckled and shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m going to do this, but who am I to turn down a chance to go banister riding inside a mansion.”

  She put her purse on the floor and ran up the stairs. Once she reached the top, Darius shifted into position at the end of the railing. Brisa swung her leg over it with her back facing toward him.

  “All right,” she called down. “Are you ready?”

  “I’m all set.”

  She let go and started a controlled ride down. She giggled as she went. Darius followed her progress with his gaze. It landed on her bottom and didn’t shift away. Her jeans were pulled tight across it, molded to it perfectly. He had to bite back a moan at the sight of it. Unlucky for him, Brisa managed to stop herself before she reached the newel post. He would have liked the excuse to fondle that rear end.

  Brisa got off the banister and smiled. “One more time.”

  He nodded, then watched her hurry back up. This time she went a little faster and it looked as if she wouldn’t be able to stop in time. Darius stepped onto the bottom stair, snagged Brisa around the waist and lifted her off. He pulled her tight against his chest and swung around so they faced the other way.

  She relaxed into him and laughed. “I guess I went a little too fast that time. Thanks for catching me.”

  “No problem,” he said, his voice sounding husky to his ears.

  Where he held her to him, her nicely rounded bottom rested against the front of his jeans. His cock was hard, liking where it was. Brisa must have felt it, because her laughter slowly died. She turned her head to look at him and licked her lips.

  Darius knew he couldn’t let the situation pass. He took her mouth, groaning as she kissed him back. He made no move to put her down or turn her in his arms. He pushed his tongue past her lips and licked and sucked. His cock throbbed, and he rubbed it against Brisa, aching to have it buried deep inside her.

  One of her arms curved up, her hand coming to rest on the back of his head. She moaned into his mouth and pressed her bottom tighter along him. The intoxicating scent of her arousal filled the air around them, making him harder. Their kisses became hotter, more carnal. Darius felt as if his body had been set on fire. Need and lust pounded in his veins. God, how he wanted the woman he held in his arms.

  Chapter Three

  Brisa was so turned-on she couldn’t think beyond the pounding pleasure that surged through her body. What had started off as some immature antics had turned into something way more adult. And quickly at that. Whenever Darius touched her, she seemed to go up in instant flames.

  She squirmed in Darius’ arms, tying to let him know she wanted to face toward him without having to break contact with his lips. But he must have gotten the message. Brisa let go of his head as he turned her as if she weighed nothing at all.

  Since he hadn’t put her down on her feet, she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist. They both moaned as her pussy came to rest atop his erection. A shiver of delight swept through her body at the feel of him. She wanted more. So much more.

  Darius turned and walked in a direction away from the stairs. As his steps slowed, she cracked open her eyes to see he carried her into a spacious living room. His lips trailed from her mouth to the side of her neck. Brisa leaned her head to the side, turning it slightly to give him better access and saw the black leather couch with a chaise attached at one end. He headed right for it, then slowly lowered her onto it. He followed her down, still nuzzling her throat.

  “Please don’t tell me I’m going too fast for you,” he said against her skin.

  She sank her fingers into the sides of his hair and lifted his head. She nibbled at his bottom lip before she swept her tongue along it. “No, you’re definitely not going too fast.”

  “So you won’t mind if I take your top off?”

  Brisa tilted Darius’ head back and licked the hollow of his throat. “God, no. Do it.”

  He moaned, then shifted to lie half off her, holding his upper body up on a bent arm as he used his other hand to take hold of the bottom of her t-shirt. He pushed it up, baring first her belly, then her satin bra, to his view. His heated gaze landed on it, causing her nipples to tighten even more. Darius reached out with a finger and circled each one through the material that covered them.

  With a couple of tugs, he pulled her shirt up and over her head. He tossed it to the floor. A large hand covered one of her breasts, a thumb stroked back and forth over the taut peak that tipped it. Brisa pressed closer when Darius pulled her bra cup aside and bent his head to sweep her nipple with his tongue.

  He made short work of unhooking her bra and dragging it off her. Once he had her free of it, he took the tight bud into his mouth, sucking on it. Each pull on her breast Brisa felt deep inside her pussy. She grew wetter, her juices leaking into her panties. She shifted beneath him and Darius placed a hard thigh between her legs. Brisa rubbed against it, becoming more excited.

  Darius switched to her other nipple, lavishing the same attention on it as he’d done the first. Brisa’s pants and moans filled the room. He was breathing just as heavily as she. She ran her hands over his broad shoulders and onto his back. Bunching the material of his t-shirt in her hands, she yanked it up. He let her nipple go with a quiet pop and reached behind his neck to pull off his shirt.

  Brisa ran her gaze over his well-defined chest and abs. She then focused on the Egyptian-styled tattoo over his heart. She didn’t get to look at it too closely before Darius reclaimed her mouth for a breath-stealing kiss. She promised herself she’d check it out later.

  He ran caressing strokes down her side and across her stomach, leaving goose bumps in his wake. Going lower, his fingers deftly undid the button and zipper on her jeans before he shoved a hand inside. It cupped her pussy, the heel of it pressing against her pubic bone.

  Darius released her mouth and trailed kisses to her ear. He whispered, “I can feel how wet you are through your panties.”

  Brisa ran her hands up and down his muscular back. “Then what are you going to do about it?” she asked with a breathy moan as his finger brushed against her clit.

  He gave a husky chuckle. “I know exactly what I want to do.”

  Darius tugged at her pants until he had them down her legs and off. Left only in her panties, Brisa felt her pussy clench with anticipation as he ran a finger just under the waistband. He teased her for a bit longer before he took them off as well.

  She tried to pull him on top of her, but he resisted and shifted farther down the chaise. He licked the underside of her breast, then worked his way lower on her body, kissing and licking as he went. As his tongue circled her bellybutton, dipping inside, her stomach quivered.

  His fingers delved between her legs while he
nuzzled her belly. The digits trailed in the dampness found there before one pushed inside her pussy. Darius pumped it in and out, his thumb brushing her clit as he did so. Brisa opened her legs wider, her body coiling tighter.

  A second joined the first, and Brisa could no longer keep her hips still. She rode Darius’ fingers, squeezing around the plunging digits, matching his strokes. At the rate her arousal built, it wouldn’t take much for her to come.

  As if he’d sensed how close she was to reaching release, Darius pulled out of her pussy. Brisa whimpered at the loss, but soon found herself gasping his name when he wedged his shoulders between her thighs and took her with his mouth.

  He lapped at the wetness, circling her clit with his tongue as he went. He cupped her bottom in his hands and angled her hips up. He licked and sucked, driving her orgasm ever closer. Brisa shoved her fingers into his hair, holding him to her as she rocked against his mouth.

  “Yes,” she panted. “Just like that. A little more.”

  Then she was moaning, riding the waves of pleasure that shot through her as her climax took her over. Her pussy rhythmically clenched in release. Once it was over, Brisa relaxed against the couch, trying to catch her breath. She had to give Darius an A-plus for his oral-sex skills. He knew his way around a woman’s anatomy.

  Darius shifted up her body. Brisa watched as he licked his lips clean of her juices, seeming to savor the taste of her. She felt a jolt of desire shoot through her. Feeling his hard cock pressed against her thigh, she pushed on his shoulder to get him to change places so she was on top.

  She smiled down at him once he’d complied. “I get to play now.”

  Brisa undid Darius’ jeans and yanked them past his hips. He lifted them from the couch to help when she dragged the pants farther down his legs and off. She tossed them to the floor without looking, her gaze centered on what she’d revealed.

  It appeared that Darius was the type of man who shunned underwear. He’d been commando under his pants. His cock was out in the open, jutting up from his body. A shiver of longing ran down her spine. He was perfectly thick and long. She’d never slept with a man quite as large as Darius. Brisa couldn’t wait to have that part of him inside her, but first she wanted to learn his body as he’d learned hers. See what would make him groan louder, push him to the greatest arousal.

  Darius put his hands behind his head and gave her a grin that was sexy as all hell. “You want to play? Then go right ahead.”

  She bent her head and took his bottom lip between her teeth and gave it a tug, then nipped his chin before continuing downward. She explored the contours of his defined chest, taking the time to lave each of his flat nipples with her tongue. They tightened into tiny buds. Next, she went on to nibble her way down his six-pack abs. The man had a body she could get lost in for days.

  At his cock, Brisa wrapped her fingers around him, marveling at the fact they didn’t quite meet. She pumped up and down, enjoying the hot, thick length of him in her hand. She stroked a few more times and saw a bead of pre-cum leak out of the head of his erection. The urge to taste it was too hard to resist. Brisa bent her head and captured it on the tip of her tongue. Darius moaned, his hips lifting off the couch. He obviously wanted more.

  She had no problem doing that. Brisa opened her mouth and took his cock inside. She sucked him almost to the back of her throat, but she still couldn’t manage all of his length. What she couldn’t, she stroked with her hand as she slid him in and out. Darius’ moans increased in volume.

  Brisa continued to suck, loving the way his erection grew harder. She planned to push him to the brink, but would stop before he reached the point of no return. She wanted his big cock deep inside her pussy, filling her all the way up when he came, preferably after she’d come at least once more. Twice would be even better.

  She’d thought he was at that peak when his whole body seemed to clench. It took her a few seconds to realize his moans of pleasure had suddenly changed to groans that sounded as if he were in pain.

  Brisa had just let him slip from her mouth, about ready to ask if anything was wrong, when Darius shoved her away and scrambled off the couch. Totally naked, he rushed from the room, leaving her wondering what had happened.

  When he hadn’t returned after a few seconds, Brisa sat up. She hadn’t thought her blowjobs were that bad. At least she’d had no complaints from the other men she’d done it to. Really at a loss as to what had come over Darius, she wondered if she’d inadvertently done something wrong to put an end to their date.

  Darius gritted his teeth to keep his groans stifled as he rushed to the main floor powder room. Once inside he closed and locked the door behind him. He held on to his head as blinding pain shot through it. It was so intense he was surprised he hadn’t blacked out. He’d never felt anything like it. He looked in the mirror above the sink and noticed his eyes had shifted to a jackal’s.

  The pain moved to the rest of his body. He felt his bones shifting, heralding the beginnings of a shift, but only to stop and return to normal. Holding up his hands, he watched claws break through the tips of his fingers only to recede a second later. Black fur sprouted on his arms, then it too disappeared beneath his skin. What the hell was happening to him?

  He’d experienced nothing like this before. Once a shift started, it didn’t stop until it was complete. And the other thing that didn’t make sense was the fact he didn’t feel the pull of evil—the one thing needed to bring on the change. He’d been lost in the pleasure Brisa had given him, then wham, the pain had slammed into him.

  Slowly it faded, leaving him breathing hard, his body sheened with sweat. A quick look in the mirror showed his eyes had also returned to normal. Whatever it was, it seemed to be over. At least he hoped it was. There was no way he could have Brisa see any of that. She’d run from his house, screaming. Not how he wanted his time with her to end.

  His erection long gone, he waited a few extra minutes just to be on the safe side. Nothing else happened. No pain, no unwarranted shifting. Breathing a sigh of relief, Darius rinsed his face in the sink before he unlocked the door and left the powder room. He’d just have to keep a close watch on himself. At the first sign of pain, he’d have to make a mad dash once again. He just hoped Brisa wouldn’t think he’d lost his marbles.

  Darius walked into the living room thinking he and Brisa would start up where they’d left off. Having her in his arms, naked and willing, had felt good. Real good. His cock stirred to life, but it soon deflated when he saw her sitting on the couch fully dressed. Shit.

  Brisa gave him a small smile as he approached. “I, ah, thought since you ran out in the middle of things, then didn’t come back right away, that you’d changed your mind.”

  He pulled her to her feet and dragged her close. He did the quickest thing he could think of that would show her how wrong she was. Darius claimed her lips in a heated kiss, pouring all the desire that quickly rose inside him into it. He didn’t stop until he had her clutching at him.

  He lifted his head. “Does that feel as if I changed my mind about you?” For good measure, he pressed his renewed erection against her belly.

  Brisa stood there for a few seconds with her eyes closed. Her cheeks were flushed. Her eyelids fluttered, then opened all the way. She met his gaze. “No, not really.” Her voice was breathy sounding.

  “Good.” He went to kiss her once more, but she turned her head.

  “Then why did you run out of the room so fast? Are you okay?” She grinned. “I’ve never had a guy bolt like that in the middle of a blowjob. You could give me a complex doing that. Make me think I messed it up.”

  He dropped his hands to her backside and rocked his cock into her. “Believe me when I say it didn’t have anything to do with you. Or what you were doing. It was me, though it ended up being nothing.”

  She eyed him. “I don’t know about that. You sounded as if you were in pain.”

  “I’m fine. I…ah, had a cramp in my leg. So I had to go walk it of
f before it got worse.”

  Brisa didn’t look as if she totally believed him. “A cramp? While we were… I’ve never heard of that happening, especially in the leg.” She gave him a saucy wink. “Maybe in other places, but not there. You weren’t exactly using it at the time. And you needn’t have left the room to walk it off. I would have helped you with it.”

  “Well, it was a little embarrassing. Having to put an abrupt end to things because of a cramp isn’t exactly sexy, now is it? I thought it best to take it out of the room, then come back and continue.” Darius squeezed Brisa’s bottom.

  She put her hands on his chest and used a finger to draw an invisible circle around Anubis’ mark. “Okay, I’ll let you have this one, but try not to let it happen again. Especially when we’ve gotten to the good part.”

  “I promise. How about I show you the upstairs? Specifically my bedroom. I’m sure you’ll like it.”

  Brisa glanced over at the couch. “I suppose there would be more room up there.”

  “Definitely. I have a king-sized bed.”

  She broke his hold by stepping back. “All right. Show me.” Brisa walked toward the living room’s entrance, then paused to look over her shoulder. “Don’t forget to bring your clothes.”

  Darius quickly gathered them up and followed her out of the room. They’d just reached the bottom of the staircase in the foyer when the sound of a cell phone ringing could be heard.

  Brisa walked over to her purse and picked it up off the floor where she’d left it. “That’s me.” She reached inside and took out the phone, then grimaced. “It’s my boss. I’d better take this.”

  He listened to her answer, then after a few seconds heard her ask, “Are you sure there is no one else except for me?” Seeing a look of disappointment flash across her face, he figured the answer wasn’t something Brisa wanted to hear.

  “All right,” she said into her cell. “But the next time someone else has to cover it.” She ended the call and put her phone back in her purse with a sigh. “I’m sorry to do this to you, Darius, but I’m going to have to get a rain check on seeing your bedroom. The dayshift bartender took sick at the bar and couldn’t finish his shift. My boss is covering now, but he has a family commitment at five and can’t get out of it to hang around until my shift starts. And the two guys who cover the weekends both have other full-time jobs they work during the day. So that leaves me. And since I have to go in two hours earlier, I’m going to have to have an even earlier dinner. You’ll probably want to drop me off at my place. Sorry.”