Chapter Eleven
Riya had never been so cold. Her feet felt like blocks of ice. Her skin burned. Every muscle had seized up and she was sure all her teeth would shatter if she clenched her jaw any tighter.
This was so much worse than the time her idiot brothers had been playing around on a family ski trip in Canada, bringing an avalanche down on all their heads. It had taken her father less than five seconds to find Riya, breathing on her to bring her back up to a toasty heated level almost immediately.
In an attempted lesson to curb their stupidity, her father had left her brothers to fight their own way out of the icy mess. They’d been pale and cold by the time they’d slogged their way back to the lodge. But Riya didn’t think any one of them had been this cold, this frozen to the very marrow. Where every breath hurt and every cell felt at once alien and yet was signalling it was in pain.
Riya found herself arching, her back bowing as a particularly nasty jolt of agony arrowed up her spine. Oh, Goddess, that hurt. Hmmm, but what was that source of heat plastered to her? It was distant, but it felt so good. She struggled to get nearer.
“Riya? It’s okay, I’ve got you.”
She knew that voice. Deep, masculine, it was missing that know-it-all superior edge but she recognised Marcus. Phew. He was alive. They were alive… just. “S.. so… c-c-cold.” She had to clench her teeth together again to stop them from chattering.
“I know. Just give it a minute.” Marcus rubbed his hands roughly up and down Riya’s arms and back. Encouraging the blood to flow. Her complexion was still too pale. Eyes constantly trying to flutter shut, but Marcus couldn’t allow Riya to go to sleep. Not in the condition she was in, she might not wake up again. “I was disappointed that you didn’t pull something out of one of those heavy suitcases you drag around and kill the Ice Demon. Or, at the very least distract it with a lovely ensemble you had recently whipped up, complimenting its white scales and bringing out the icicle shard rammed into the middle of its forehead.”
“Hah…. Hah.” Riya managed, turning slightly, pressing herself harder against that wall of wonderful heat. What was exuding all that warmth? An electric blanket? No, too hard. “I had… to leave something for you to… fight. Warrior… ego and all… that.”
Marcus chuffed a soft laugh, his warm breath playing over the silken strands of Riya’s hair. “Thanks. My ego remains in tact.”
“Mhhhmm.” Riya felt so tired. So cold. If she could just close her eyes for a minute or two, then she was sure everything would be okay.
“Riya?” When she didn’t respond immediately Marcus began to gently shake her, not liking the way she had suddenly gone completely limp against him. “Riya?”
Damn, what to do? Shit. He tipped her head back and kissed her. He was a creature re-born in the sun over a hundred years ago. He shared that heat with her. Willed her to live.
Riya’s heart thumped hard suddenly in her chest. Heat. Glorious heat. She was engulfed by it. Drowning in it, and she never wanted to surface. Reaching out, she tried to wrap herself around the fire so that it wouldn’t leave her to the cold, the pain. Her hands latched on to… naked flesh? Hard, muscular, naked flesh. And yet there was velvety softness too, Riya clutched frantically at that heat. Revelling in it. Every cell in her body suddenly sparking, feeling like kindling flaming into life.
Riya’s eyes fluttered open, bewilderment and confusion swamping her. She was kissing Marcus? Just the thought sent another wave of welcome warmth racing through her body. Breaking the kiss reluctantly, she stared at him, hypnotic ocean blue eyes only inches away. “You… we… why are we naked?”
They appeared to be lying under the covers in the middle of a large art deco bed with gold cherubs decorating the bedhead. Several more of their brethren cavorting on the gilded four posts that held up the green velvet canopy. Gilded cherubs mooning her and Marcus naked, wrapped around her, there were thousands of worse ways to wake up.
“Body heat. It was the only way I could think to warm you up.” Marcus studied Riya closely, her skin tone wasn’t quite back to normal but it was getting there. Those fascinating green threaded hazel eyes of hers sparkled with awareness and life once more. Of course now that he was no longer in the throes of saving her life, Marcus was suddenly very aware that he held a gorgeous naked woman in his arms. Her flesh silky warm, snuggled up against him. His cock leapt to salute the wonder that was Riya. Okay, it was a perfectly normal reaction. But he didn’t want to embarrass her. “Looks like my work here is done.” Marcus attempted to detach himself in a gentlemanly fashion.
Riya surged forward, clinging to him. Legs coming up to wrap around his hips, Riya’s eyes widened in surprise at the feel of Marcus’s clear arousal resting between her legs. Instinctively she squeezed her thigh muscles. Wow, that felt surprisingly good. Dark ocean blue eyes met hers, an eyebrow rising in query. She answered Marcus’s unspoken question. “I’m not sure I’m finished with you yet.”
“You’re still cold?” Remaining completely passive was a hard won battle, his cock was resting against her hot, wet core, the urge to press further against… into Riya, gripped Marcus at a bone deep level.
“Getting warmer by the second.” Every primal instinct Riya had screamed at her not to let the source of all that wonderful heat move away. But it wasn’t just how good Marcus felt, it was the way he made her feel. Not just warmer. But how things low in her body were sizzling and tingling. She had made a pact with herself. To say yes to adventure. Not to shy away from fun and new things… new people. And whilst she’d immersed herself in new foods, new cultures and made new friends. She really hadn’t found the time to include sex in that equation.
Partly because she’d been kind of expecting the future father of her baby to re-appear at any moment and partly because the few men she’d been interested in, showed signs of being possessive and wanting more from her than a quick tumble or two between the sheets. Typical men, when you wanted a quickie, they wanted a relationship.
Okay, yes, there was a distinct possibility that Marcus might be her future sperm donor baby daddy… but he didn’t know that. And he sure as hell wouldn’t get possessive. And Riya couldn’t imagine Marcus wanting more than a quick tumble or two, they so did not work as a couple. He’d proclaimed it himself out and loud more than once.
Riya quickly did the math. She was on birth control. She was attracted to the man. Hard, very hard evidence stated that he was attracted to her. They’d just survived a death duel with two Demons, perhaps this was the perfect moment to reaffirm life. And what better way to celebrate than with some blistering hot sex with a gorgeous naked Warrior of Maat.
“Truth is.” Riya squeezed her thighs together, bringing Marcus that tiny bit closer. Arching her lower body, rubbing her clit back and forth over the hot hard length of him. “I’m still cold… deep, deep down. And I was thinking.” She reached up, sinking her fingers into all that thick short hair. “That maybe you have a way to fix that, Charming.”
“Riya.” He groaned out her name. Damn the feel of her slick, wet, warmth rubbing back and forth over his cock was enough to make Marcus’s eyes cross, but no, damn it, he was better than this. “You’ve just been through a very traumatic experience. Your body is swamped with… adrenalin and you… you’re not thinking clearly.” He placed his hands on her hips, her curvaceous naked hips and attempted to ease her away.
Riya chuffed a laugh. “And you’re overthinking things, Charming. Do the math. Naked, interested man, check. Wet, willing woman, double check. Now insert part A into slot B and we can move on to the engineering portion of our quiz today.”
Marcus laughed and then groaned as Riya tilted her hips in invitation. “Oh, you’re killing me.”
“If that’s what you think I’m doing then I’m sorry to tell you that you’ve been going about your past sexual encounters all wrong.” Riya surged up slightly, placing a hot, sweet kiss on his lips. “I don’t want declarations. I don’t even want foreplay. I just…” Arching into Marcus, rubbing against him in need. “…want you… to fuck me.”
Marcus found himself clutching at her, savouring the feel of Riya’s silky beckoning warmth when he should be letting go… should be pushing her away. “Damn you.” He swooped down and kissed her, hard, thrusting his tongue into her mouth.
Riya moaned, loving the taste of him. Revelling in the feel of Marcus’s large hands caressing her back, one hand moving to her butt. Yes, yes, but it was all taking too long. She shifted slightly, reaching between them to grasp his cock, surging forward, arching her back as the full, rigid length of him thrust deeply into her core. Oh, yes. Foreplay was so overrated when a Maat Warrior was in the mix.
Riya was all things tight, hot and wet. Marcus groaned, it was heavenly, her body gripping his cock in a vice tight hold that was just the right side of painful. He began to thrust, harder, faster, deeper, and she met and matched him.
Riya gasped, head thrown back as desire and need swamped her. Marcus took advantage of the moment, nuzzling the sensitive skin below her left ear. Liking the way it made her clutch at his back just as much as every deep seated thrust of his cock did.
They rolled, Riya found herself seated on top of Marcus, staring down at him. Damn, he felt good inside her. She rocked up and down on the length of him, savouring his size and strength. And the sight of him splayed out beneath her was a treat for the eyes. All that hard, glimmering golden alabaster muscle, silky short black hair and gorgeous dark blue eyes. She couldn’t help but laugh between breathless pants. “And she is the queen of all she surveys.”
“Which makes me king.” Marcus reached up, cupping those gorgeous bouncing breasts, rubbing his thumbs over pink tips.
Riya arched her back. The man wasn’t just good with his cock, he was good with his hands. Heavens, wasn’t she a lucky girl. Arching in further still as Marcus sat up, pulling Riya in close to capture her right nipple in his mouth and suckle and tease the tip with his tongue and teeth.
Oh, yes, Riya lifted and sank down on him, luxuriating in the heat, hardness and the maelstrom of sensations that buffeted her. That spark Marcus had ignited deep within her had taken hold and was bonfire level now. Riya’s heart racing. Blood pounding in her veins. Still, she craved more from him, she wanted to be consumed by the fire.
Clinging to Marcus, Riya urged him on, thrilled as he rolled them over once more, surging into her with renewed vigour. Digging her nails into his back, matching his rhythm, Riya’s breath came in short, sharp pants. Dear Goddess in heaven, yes, yes. Yes!
The orgasm swept through Riya like a tsunami of fire, picking her up, ravaging and consuming her, until all she could do was cry out Marcus’s name in praise.
Marcus felt Riya go over the edge, her hot core spasming around him. By The Sands, that felt good, he thrust deeper into her. Craving that vice like grip. He was so close, then she called out his name and he joined her, his body racked by sudden release. Bloody hell. He had just enough presence of mind to collapse to the left, rolling on to his back.
They lay there, together, staring at the green velvet canopy overhead, panting, sweaty, replete.
“Are those cherubs mooning us?” Marcus enquired once he got his breath back.
“I believe so.” Riya smiled, contemplating the nearest bed post. Hmm, she should probably say something right about now. As sexual encounters went, at least in her book, this had been pretty spectacular. Hot, a little rough and very, very satisfying. She was forgetting something… oh, right, the fact that it didn’t mean a damn thing. But, thanks for the sex sounded a little blunt.
Damn, and now more than two minutes had passed since anyone had spoken and they were lying here naked, together… okay, the sex hadn’t been awkward but the afterglow was proving to be a little nerve wracking.
Marcus wasn’t sure what to say. Thanks for the hot sex sounded like he should also be handing over a wad of hundred dollar bills. And it was too late to enquire if Riya was okay. They’d gotten a little rough and out of control there for a moment, but she hadn’t faked that orgasm or that million-watt dreamy smile on her face he glimpsed just before he collapsed beside her.
So Marcus was assuming Riya wasn’t regretting the sex. He hoped not anyway, it had been… well, fantastic, but that was beside the point. She had been very clear and he agreed, they were short term, bang out all that sexual tension, one-night stand material, nothing more.
Still, he should say something. Something savvy and cool. Only Marcus was coming up completely blank… saved by the emergency beep from his comms. Shit, the team. He lunged to the side of the bed, picking up his vest from the pile of hastily discarded clothes.
It wasn’t until he’d lifted the vest onto his lap that he registered what the blinking green light meant. “Shit, the camera is back on.” Turning the vest away quickly, he rammed the earbud connected by a coiled wire to the vest into his ear, opening the channel. “Is everyone okay?”
“Yes, we’re fine.” Drum acknowledged.
“Are you naked?” Rafe queried over the line. “Why are you naked?”
“Is Riya naked, too?” Flynn interrupted.
“Have you two been making the beast with two backs while we’ve been running around stupid looking for you guys?” Dash enquired cheerfully.
Marcus glanced at Riya, who was clutching the velvet bedspread to her chest, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, um, how was he supposed to respond to his brothers-in-arms. “Look, there was an Ice Demon…”
Riya leaned over and spoke into the comms. “Marcus totally took one for the team. The Demon pretty much snap froze me and body heat was the quickest way to get my core temperature back up.”
Marcus winced as Flynn and Dash made loud whooping noises down the line. Dash crowing. “Next time I wanna take one for the team.”
Drum growled softly, the Flyboys instantly shut up. “We’ve tracked your signal and are right outside in the corridor with an axe but I’m guessing you guys are going to need a minute or two to get presentable?”
“Make it ten.” Marcus made sure the camera was pointed at the floor before turning to look at Riya again. “We need to get dressed. The guys are going to start demolishing that wall in about ten minutes.”
“Oh, right.” Riya smiled as Marcus got up, leaning over to sort through their clothes. Now if she had to be mooned by someone on a regular basis she knew her preference.
They sat on either side of the bed, backs to one another, getting dressed, the silence stretching between them. Riya could stand it no longer. “So…”
“So?” Marcus finished tying his boots and sat upright to pull on his top.
“The sex… it was….” Riya took a breath but perhaps Marcus thought she was lost for words because both of them spoke together.
“… a mistake.”
“What?” They both looked back at one another in surprise.
Riya’s hazel eyes narrowed as she attempted to finger brush her hair back into some semblance of order. She knew what she meant when she said the sex had been a mistake, but what did Marcus mean by it?
Marcus pulled on his Kevlar vest, adjusting the straps. “We went through a high stress situation. Adrenaline levels were in the stratosphere. You had a near death experience and were obviously highly vulnerable-”
Riya lifted her boot up onto the bed, tying the laces with quick hard jerky movements. “Hold it right there, Charming. You do not get to say I told you so. I don’t regret the sex.”
“You don’t?” Marcus was surprised, but then he was forgetting that Riya’s reactions rarely jibed with his expectations.
“No, I don’t. It was fun. You had fun, right?”
Was this some sort of woman trap? “Yes?”
“You’re asking me or telling me?” Riya couldn’t help but smile as she changed feet, doing up her other boot.
“I’m telling you. Yes, I had fun.”
“And it was good, right? On a scale of - yikes, so that just happened, all the way up to fireworks - I think we landed on the upper end of the scale.”
Marcus ran a hand through his hair, the sex had been pretty fantastic, hot, a little rough and as they had both confirmed, a lot of fun. And very, very satisfying. “Agreed. Where are you going with this?”
“I’m just double checking your definition of mistake, that’s all. I called it a mistake because, let’s face it, our hook up was just an aberration.”
Aberration? He wasn’t sure he liked that word.
Riya elaborated. “Meaningless. Fleeting. No take backs, but no future kind of thing. We both know we’d be completely terrible together…” Not counting their physical compatibility, they’d put paid to that question. “… outside of the bedroom, anyway. So, what did you mean by mistake?”
“The same. Except I thought you also might be regretting acting so rashly. And for the record, I was not trying to say I told you so.”
Riya chuffed a laugh, her gaze travelling down over his frame, Marcus was back in Warrior-mode. Suited up. The only evidence left of their little adventure between the sheets ever happening was his missing cap and the rumpled bedspread. “Help me fix the bed. There’s them knowing we were naked in here, versus them seeing the evidence with their own eyes.”
A smile flirted at the edges of Marcus’s lips. It was surprising as they worked together to right the bed how this little act of domesticity made him feel weirdly happy and content. Damn, was Riya getting to him? No, no way. He was still basking in the afterglow, that was all. “So, we’re agreed. This…” He smoothed the bedspread one last time. “… was a mistake?”
Riya nodded, flashing him a wicked grin. “One of my better ones, if I do say so myself.”
Marcus found himself smiling back at her, damn, she was gorgeous. “Yes, as mistakes go, it would have to be one of my favourites.” He turned to the far right wall as an axe head suddenly appeared in the middle of it. “And the cavalry has arrived.”
Riya felt relief surge through her. Her hormones were still sizzling. And while they’d been bantering she’d been seriously considering asking Marcus if he was up for making the same damn mistake again. Honestly, rein it in woman.
The sex had been good, great, okay, bordering on the earth shattering. But she couldn’t duct tape Marcus’s mouth shut forever. As soon as they were out of the bedroom he would inevitably say something to piss her off. Dis-respecting her business or her magical powers.
So having expectations, getting attached, where Marcus was concerned… such a bad idea. Anything more than a physical relationship and the two of them were doomed.
Riya flinched slightly as a large booted foot suddenly appeared in the gaping hole in the middle of the wall, kicking a large piece of drywall away. The boot was removed and a light appeared. Followed by Drum’s deep voice. “Clear.”
Rafe’s voice sounded next. “Better add that wall to the list, someone is not going to be happy with all the damage we’ve caused on this hunt.”
“Wait until they see the bathroom.” Riya muttered under her breath.
“And the tunnel I annihilated with my knives climbing up to the seventh floor. And the wall panelling you destroyed coming down that chute.” Marcus sighed. “Our insurance premiums are going to skyrocket.”
Riya laughed, patting him on the back as she walked towards the roughly made exit in the wall. “But the real question is. Did the Para-X team triumph tonight? Were there ever any Imps in the mix, or did the Fire and Ice Demons lure us here to… what exactly?”
Marcus breathed out a sigh. Riya was right. There was a much bigger mystery at play here than Miss Scarlet in the study with the dagger. “Hey, we never did solve who murdered Babyface Travers.”
Riya glanced back at the room one last time, taking in the green velvet art deco bed, the over the top cavorting nymphs. This was not a man’s bedroom; it was a woman’s. “Haven’t you worked it out yet? Mrs Hard Mickey was the one having the affair with Rita Star. Babyface found out and was blackmailing her, so she killed him.”
Marcus smiled, watching Riya duck through the hole in the wall. Smart, funny and deadly, super-strong, fireproof… scratch a layer and Riya only proved more fascinating by the moment. Of course it didn’t matter that he’d been… wrong about her. Damn, that was hard to acknowledge. But he was big enough to admit that there was a lot more to Riya than he’d originally surmised.
Of course there was one undeniable thing that he wasn’t wrong about, she was a single mother. She had a kid who she obviously closely guarded, since she’d never brought them up in conversation. Who could blame her for being over-protective.
But there it was. She was a mother. She came with baggage. A child. And a no-name loser ex, lurking in the background somewhere. Complications. Trouble. He shouldn’t have to keep reminding himself of what Riya represented…. But damn, Marcus took one last look at the bed before exiting the room, that had been one hell of a mistake.