Turning the tap off, he spun to the shower and turned that on instead, and then quickly stripped. What followed was possibly the fastest shower ever. It couldn’t have been more than five minutes later that he walked out of the room with a towel wrapped around his waist.
“There’s another robe in the closet,” Divine announced on seeing him, and Marcus stopped to find the item, and then drew it on over his towel.
“Feel better?” Divine asked as he joined her.
“Yeah. Sorry about that,” Marcus said as he settled in his chair and noted that she’d put ice in both glasses and poured them both pop . . . and the pizza box was still closed. “You didn’t have to wait.”
Divine shrugged. “I only finished pouring the soda a minute ago. I was debating starting without you when I heard the water shut off so I waited.”
“Well, thank you for pouring the pop,” Marcus murmured, and opened the pizza box and then glanced around with a grimace. “No plates. Didn’t think of that. I guess we’ll have to eat out of the box. The boys do that sometimes.”
“The Dante and Tomasso you mentioned who like pizza?” Divine asked with amusement, reaching for a piece of pizza.
“Yeah.” Marcus smiled faintly as he picked up a slice for himself as well. “They aren’t the only ones who like pizza though. Actually, I can’t think of anyone in the family who eats who doesn’t like pizza.”
“Then it has to be good,” Divine said, lifting her piece to her mouth, but only sniffing. “It smells good.”
Marcus took a bite of his slice and stilled, savoring the various flavors that assaulted his tongue.
“Good?” Divine asked curiously. When he moaned aloud with pleasure and nodded, she finally took a bite of her own. Her eyes immediately widened. After chewing and swallowing, she said, “Oh yeah. It’s good.”
It was the last thing either of them said for several minutes as they concentrated on eating. Marcus hadn’t been sure what size to order. Dante and Tomasso could demolish too large apiece, but Christian and Caro tended to order one large only so that’s what he’d ordered, a large for them to share. However, since he and Divine were both still new to eating and stretching out their stomachs, a large was too much. He managed two pieces, Divine only got down one. It left most of the pizza still in the box.
Marcus closed the pizza box with regret, wondering if it would keep for a snack later, and then sat back with a little satisfied sigh and glanced to Divine. She was curled up in the opposite chair, looking relaxed and sipping at her drink. His gaze slid slowly over her in the robe. It was big, white, and fluffy. It had also parted above the knees, leaving her lower legs on display. Marcus couldn’t help thinking she had the cutest little feet he’d ever seen. He wanted to kiss each of her little toes and play that “This little piggy went to market” game, and when he got to “This little piggy went wee wee wee all the way home,” he’d tickle his way up her legs to—
“You have the strangest smile on your face,” Divine said suddenly. “What are you thinking?”
Marcus blinked and then sat up abruptly. Sexually, he wanted Divine like crazy, but more than that, he wanted her in his life. But he had to sort out if she was rogue, and if so, why. He needed that knowledge to sort out a way to keep her safe. So, instead of answering, he said, “Tell me about your family.”
Divine stilled, wariness crossing her face, “My family? I told you about my family.”
“Yes, you did, but—” Pausing, he leaned forward and said, “Divine, the Basha that Lucian is looking for is the mother of Leonius Livius.”
“His mother?” she asked with a start. “I didn’t think she was alive. I thought she died long before he did.” And then with sudden alarm, Divine asked, “He is dead, isn’t he? I was told he died back during the immortal/no-fanger war.”
“Leonius Livius I is dead,” Marcus assured her, noting the way she’d paled. “I’m talking about Leonius Livius II.”
She blanched as if he’d slapped her. “There’s another one?”
“Yes,” he said gently, concerned by her obvious upset. “Apparently one son escaped during the immortal/no-fanger war.” His eyes narrowed when she suddenly seemed to stop breathing.
After a moment, she let her breath out and said bitterly, “So one of his sons survived and you call him Leonius Livius II.” Before Marcus could respond, she asked sharply, “Why? Because he’s his father’s son?”
“No, because that’s what he calls himself,” Marcus said patiently and then explained, “He calls himself Leonius Livius II and has named all his sons Leonius as well. They go by numbers though. At least, Leonius the twenty-first was called Twenty-one, Leonius the thirteenth was Thirteen, and the others the Rogue Hunters have caught all went by a number. Except for Ernie,” he added with a frown.
“Ernie?” Divine asked sharply.
“Another son of his, but an immortal rather than a no-fanger,” Marcus explained. “For some reason he was named Ernie instead of Leonius . . . Perhaps because he was immortal rather than no-fanger,” Marcus thought aloud and considered that briefly before shaking his head. “Anyway, I’m off topic. The point is that Leonius was captured two years ago or so and a woman apparently whisked him away, and that woman according to Mirabeau looks like you but with blond hair. And then Ernie and this girl named Dee were captured, and from Dee they learned about a blonde named Basha who was Leo’s mother.”
Divine stood up and started slowly across the room.
Marcus frowned and said, “Now we know your son’s name is Damian so you can’t be the Basha who is Leonius’s mother. And Jackie said you were actually Leonius’s victim. But Mirabeau said there was still something in your thoughts about you being rogue or wanted. So just tell me why you think you would be—” He stopped abruptly, nearly swallowing his tongue when Divine suddenly stopped at the side of the bed, turned to face him with the robe undone, and shrugged it off her shoulders. All Marcus could do was sit and gawk as the robe hit the ground and pooled around her bare feet.
He swallowed, opened his mouth to speak, and then closed his mouth again, unsure what he’d been about to say. What had they been talking about?
Turning away, Divine climbed onto the bed, crawled to the center of it on her hands and knees, and then shifted to lounge on it, legs together, knees raised, feet and palms flat on the bed, arms back a bit, holding her upright at an angle that thrust her breasts into the air. It was about the sexiest damned pose he’d ever seen, or maybe it was just the woman. Marcus didn’t know which and didn’t care; without actually giving his body the order to move, he found himself standing at the side of the bed.
Disappointment slipped through Marcus when Divine immediately shifted to sit on the edge of the bed in front of him, but that died when she reached out, undid his robe, and then pulled it open. His erection, which had sprung into existence the moment her robe had dropped, bounced upward without the heavy terry cloth to hold it down and nearly poked her in the eye. Divine took that in stride though and simply caught it in her hand.
Marcus sucked in a breath, eyes squeezing shut as her cool hand closed around his hot member. His eyes blinked open again, though, on a shocked grunt when her hot, wet mouth suddenly closed around it.
Oh dear God, no, Marcus thought. This was too much, too fast. He’d lose control and— Oh hell, he thought as his hands reached for her head, his fingers tangling in her drying hair. She seemed to know exactly how much pressure to exert, just where to flick with her tongue, when to suck hard and when to ease up. It was like she was psychic.
Or a life mate experiencing what he was along with him, Marcus realized as his pleasure seemed to grow inside him in waves that rolled out, seemed to gather steam, rolled back in to gather more, and rolled out again.