Darius closed the distance between them and reached out to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. “Does that mean you’ll stick around for both those things? Do you want to keep me, even though I have this strange hobby you might not understand?”
She chuckled. “It isn’t too strange, except maybe for the praying part, but I can live with it.” Brisa met his gaze shyly and put her arms around his waist. “Of course I do want to keep you. You have no idea how long I’ve lusted after you. You’d come to the bar and I’d spend most of the time staring at you, thinking of all the things I’d like to do to you.”
Darius smiled, making Brisa feel weak in the knees. “Well, I’m glad you decided to serve me the other night.”
“You can thank Janey, your waitress, for that. She’s a friend of mine, and she knew I liked you. She kind of coerced me into going to your table. She figured if it was left up to you, you’d never talk to me.”
“Then I’ll have to thank her on Monday night when I come in. I was a little slow on asking you out, but I did notice you. Why do you think I kept showing up at the bar night after night?”
Brisa lifted her arms and wound them around Darius’ neck. She pressed herself against him. “Janey will like that. She thinks you’re hot too, but don’t tell her boyfriend.”
Darius dropped his hands to her bottom, gripping it under the hem of the shirt she wore. “You’re completely naked under this.” He squeezed each globe of flesh.
“Of course I am. It’s too early to get dressed.” The last word was said through a large yawn. She gave Darius a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”
He shook his head with a grin. “And it’s obviously too early for you to be up. I think we both could use some more sleep. Let’s get you back in bed.”
“As long as you join me.”
“I will. I think I’ll be able to sleep now.” Darius picked her up and carried her out of the room, shutting the door behind them.
“You don’t want to do anything else besides that?” Brisa asked as she played with the back of his hair.
“For now. Then we’ll get up in a couple of hours and I’ll make you breakfast in bed. How does that sound?”
“Make it brunch instead and I’m game. Remember, I’m not a breakfast eater.”
“Then brunch it is.”
Brisa put her head on Darius’ shoulder, liking the fact that he could pick her up and cart her around. It made her feel, well, womanly. Very feminine. And when he held her in his arms, she felt protected and cared for. Hearing how he wanted her to keep him did delicious things to her body. At the rate they were going, she just hoped it didn’t suddenly crash and burn, leaving her devastated.
Early that evening, Darius suggested they go for a walk on the beach. Brisa had been quick to agree. Since he had access to it from the back of his property, they only had to step through a gate Darius unlocked to reach the sand.
Hand in hand, they walked. Brisa enjoyed the colors of the sunset, breathing in the salty air. It looked as if Darius and she had the stretch of beach to themselves. Given that private residences lined it, she wasn’t too surprised.
Not too far from Darius’ property, Brisa stopped and took off her shoes. She couldn’t resist running to the edge of the water and walking in far enough for it to cover her feet. She could get used to this, having the beach right at her back door, able to enjoy the ocean without having to drive to it.
“How’s the water?” Darius called.
Brisa turned to face him. “Not too bad for how deep I’m only going to go. Wetting my feet is enough.”
She ran her gaze over him, noticing he’d taken off his shoes as well and now held them in his hand. Brisa didn’t think she’d ever tire of looking at him. He was handsome and sexy as all hell. And unbelievably all hers.
Walking out of the water, she headed for the man who was becoming to mean so much to her. Darius held his hand out to her, and Brisa hurried her steps to get to his side.
She’d just reached out, not quite touching his fingers, when a disembodied male voice said, “I found you again, warrior of Anubis.”
Darius stiffened, pulled back his hand and let out a bellow of pain. He gripped his head as he dropped to his knees. Brisa found herself frozen in place as his body began to change. In a matter of seconds, accompanied by the sound of his bones cracking as they realigned themselves, he’d taken on another form. He looked half human and half animal, his body completely covered in black fur. Whatever animal it was, it was sort of wolfish-looking, but she didn’t think it was that. After gaining his feet, he also stood a lot taller. He had to be no less than seven feet, his muscles even more thickly padded. She also took in the gold armbands around his wide biceps and the snow-white Egyptian-styled kilt he wore around the lower half of his body.
Looking this new Darius in his animal-like face, she took a step back. Her heart threatened to jump out of her chest. Fear beat at her, especially when she realized she’d seen him like this before. Her eyes hadn’t been playing tricks on her last night. She’d really seen him in this form, confronting another man, who she never saw leaving the alley.
“Brisa,” Darius said, his voice a lot gruffer and deeper than normal. “It’s all right. It’s still me in here.”
She took another step back. “What are you? I don’t understand? I saw you at the rear of the restaurant with another man. What happened to him? Did you kill him?”
“Just calm down. I can hear your heart racing. I’ll explain everything, but right now I have to get back to the house before someone sees me like this.”
Brisa looked Darius in the eyes. They had changed as well, looking more animal-like, except they were the same shade of blue as they were when he was human. He pleaded with them. She knew he wanted her to not freak out, but she was already walking a fine line.
“Please, Brisa,” he said. “I realize this is way beyond anything you expected. It’s going to be all right. Just come with me.”
Looking up and down the beach, Brisa saw how out in the open they were. One positive thing, it was better for her. She had more avenues of escape than she would at the house. But other than the shifting into a creature that shouldn’t exist, Darius hadn’t done anything to harm her. There was intelligence in those animal-like eyes, and he was still capable of speech. He might look like a beast that could kill her with one swipe of his claw-tipped hand, but he’d made no move to come any closer. He stood waiting for her to come to him.
Getting a grip on some of the fear coursing through her, Brisa gave a slight nod. She took a tentative step toward Darius, then another, but she didn’t take the hand he held out to her. She wasn’t quite ready for that yet.
Darius bent and picked up his shoes he’d dropped when the change had started. He silently walked beside her back up the beach to the gate to his property. Brisa kept some distance between them, half watching him and where she was going.
On his property, Darius paused at the gate to replace the padlock on the latch. He turned toward her once that task was done. Then he let loose with a growl that had Brisa ready to bolt, especially when a sword suddenly appeared in his hand.
“Brisa, get down!” he bellowed.
She instantly dropped to the ground, just as Darius closed the distance between them and swung the sword over her head. The sound of it meeting something equally metallic rang in her ears.
“You’re quick, warrior. I have to give you that,” said the same voice she’d heard on the beach. Only this time it didn’t seem to come from all around. It came from directly behind her.
Brisa slowly turned her head and looked up. A man stood at her back, holding a sword crossed with Darius’. He might appear human at first glance, but his glowing, red eyes told her otherwise. Her fear returning to its previous level, she crawled out of the way, then gained her feet and went to stand behind Darius, closer to the gate.