She gave herself a mental kick as she started her car, then pulled out of the lot. She was getting way ahead of herself. There was no guarantee Darius would even call her tomorrow. And she sure as shit wouldn’t call him. Coming across as desperate was not something she wanted to do. No, if he really wanted to see her again Darius would have to be the one doing the calling. And he’d better have a good excuse. He might be the ideal man she was looking for, but that didn’t mean she’d be his doormat.
Darius came awake as pain tore through his body. Once it was over, he held his hand up in front of his face and breathed a sigh of relief. He was back in his human form. The spell must have worn off as Anubis had said it would.
Sitting up, Darius stretched, feeling as if he really hadn’t slept at all. He’d probably spent the majority of what had been left of the night pacing, only to finally fall into bed shortly after dawn. He’d been too worried to sleep. About being stuck shifted, and about what Brisa’s reaction had been when he hadn’t shown up at the bar. Even though he didn’t think he could have a permanent relationship with her, that didn’t mean he was ready to let her go.
Darius stood and shoved his hand into the front pockets of his jeans, then took out his keys and cell phone. He threw the first on the bed and looked at the latter to make sure the battery wasn’t dead. He still had a couple of bars left.
It was just after nine a.m. It was a bit too early to call Brisa, considering she’d worked a night shift. Darius decided to shower first before he called her. If she refused to talk to him, he had every intention of going over to her apartment to try to convince her to see him.
By the time he finished all that it was going on quarter to ten. It was still fairly early, but Darius couldn’t wait any longer. He picked up his cell phone and called Brisa’s number. She picked up after the fourth ring.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Brisa.”
“Hi, Darius. I wasn’t sure if I’d hear from you today.”
He swore to himself. She sounded a bit ticked with him, which he totally understood. “I’m so sorry about last night. I planned to show up right until the last minute.”
“You could have called, you know. Actually, it would have been nice if you had instead of leaving me to wonder if you just forgot about me.”
“I would have if I could. I’d forgotten to take my phone with me, and by the time I got home it was so late I knew you would be asleep. That’s why I’m calling now. I still want to spend the weekend with you, Brisa. Can I come and pick you up? We can go out for some breakfast, then I’ll bring you back here. Please don’t be angry at me.”
He heard her sigh on the other end. “If I say yes, you have to promise never to stand me up again. I won’t give you another chance if you do.”
“You have my word.” At least Darius hoped nothing like this happened again.
“All right. Like I said, this is the last time I’ll overlook you standing me up.”
“I’ll make it up to you. I just have to take care of one thing here, then I’ll come to your apartment.”
“Okay. See you then.”
Darius hung up then headed to the garage. He found a piece of plywood he had lying around and roughly cut it to the shape of the window he’d had to break the night before. With a few nails to tack it in place until he had it repaired, Darius figured it would be good enough. His car wouldn’t be quite so easy to jerry-rig. He’d have to take it in to get it repaired, but not today, which left only his motorcycle. He hoped Brisa wouldn’t mind riding on the back of it.
Chapter Five
Brisa opened her apartment door and stepped back for Darius to come inside. It was a half-hour since he’d called and asked to see her. As she’d predicted, hearing his voice, she hadn’t been able to tell him no. And it hadn’t helped that she’d awoken that morning after having an erotic dream that starred Darius. She’d been so turned-on that her pussy had been wet, aching to be filled.
“Do you want to go out for some breakfast?” Darius asked once she shut the door behind him.
“Actually, I’m not much of a breakfast eater. Give me a cup of tea and I’m fine until lunch. But thanks for the offer, anyway.”
Darius met her gaze. “You’re mad at me.”
She shook her head. “Not really. I’d say it’s more like annoyed. I don’t like being left in the lurch like that.”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up against his chest. “I’m sorry. I tried everything in my power to make it, but it didn’t happen. I wasn’t happy about it, believe me. I’d looked forward to being with you again. I missed not showing you my bed.”
Brisa put her hands on Darius’ chest and smiled. “Yeah, you were going to do that.”
He bent his head and brushed his lips across hers. “Do you think you can forgive me enough to come and see it now?”
Her heart rate increased at the thought of what they’d do in his bed. It looked as if she’d get some apology sex, after all. “Hmm, I think I can be persuaded.”
“Maybe this will help.”
Darius took her mouth fully. He held her tighter as he pushed his tongue past her lips, twining it with hers. Pressed against him from chest to knees, Brisa felt how hard his cock was. Her pussy clenched in reaction as a surge of arousal shot through her. She wanted him, there was no denying that.
After another minute, Darius lifted his head. “Well?”
It took Brisa a few seconds to understand what he asked. “Oh, I’d say that definitely helped.”
“Good, because if I have to do more persuading we’ll never get out of here.”
A shiver of anticipation ran down Brisa’s back. “Should I go pack an overnight bag?”
“Make it for two nights.”
Brisa left Darius standing at the door and rushed to her bedroom. She made short work of throwing what she needed into the athletic bag she’d used the night before. She stopped at the bathroom to get her toothbrush before she returned to Darius.
“All set,” she said.
He took the bag from her and opened the door. Darius waited in the hallway as Brisa locked it behind her. He took her hand, linking their fingers together, as he guided her over to the elevators.
Once they were outside, he led her to the visitors parking lot. Not seeing Darius’ car, but noticing he walked toward a motorcycle, Brisa had to force herself to keep following him.
She swallowed when Darius unlocked a helmet from the side of the bike and handed it to her. She gave him a weak smile. “You aren’t driving your car,” she said, stating the obvious.
“With the craziness of last night, the driver’s side window was smashed. I have to take it in to get repaired.”
“Maybe I should drive my car and follow you.”
Darius gave her a crooked smile. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid to ride on a motorcycle.”
“Well, maybe a little. They can be dangerous.”
“Only if you don’t know what you’re doing. You have nothing to worry about. I’m a good driver.”
“What about my bag?”
He took it from her and put the strap over his head so it lay diagonally across his chest. “It can sit on my lap.”
“Darius, I really don’t know.”
He kissed the tip of her nose as he took the helmet she still held. He placed it on her head and did the strap up under her chin. “You’ll be fine, Brisa. Just put your arms around my waist and hold on tight.”
She watched him get the second helmet and put it on. He climbed onto the bike and adjusted her bag so it was in front of him. Darius patted the seat behind him. Taking a deep breath for courage, hoping he was as good a driver as he’d said, Brisa sat at his back. She put her arms around his waist, locking her hands together. He put up the kickstand, and with a press of a button, started the bike’s engine. As he drove out of the lot, she held on for dear life.