Chapter Twenty-Two
“What the hell is this?”
Riya fought not to sag in relief. He was here. It had been five days and she’d begun to think Marcus wasn’t coming. But now, here he was. He’d slammed the double antique doors open so hard the visitor chime was still ringing.
Stick with the plan, hussy, do not leap into his arms. Shoulders back, scowling, Riya turned to face him. Damn, he looked good. The black tactical trousers and fitted long sleeve top made him look all things hot and dangerous. No, maintain the attitude. Everything was on the line here.
Lifting her chin slightly, Riya sent Marcus a cool, disdainful look. “It’s exactly what it looks like. My bill. For services rendered.”
“Services rendered?” Damn, it was a relief to set eyes on her. The constant churning that had set up home in Marcus’s gut over the last ten days suddenly dissipated. It took all of his Warrior grit not to stride over and sweep her into his arms. They had a lot of things to discuss. Riya just up and leaving like that. The deadbeat Dad trying to worm his way back into her life, trying to take advantage of her. And then there was the kid, he should probably meet the kid.
Marcus had never thought of himself as step-dad material, but half that kid was Riya’s, and without question he would grow to love… it, he was sure of it. But first, they had to get the business portion of the discussion out of the way.
“Yes, services rendered. Is there problem with it? Do we need to discuss financing options?” Riya calmly walked across the room, placing a hand casually down upon the back of the nearest wingback chair. She needed the support, her knees were shaking that badly.
“Considering the amount, yes, there is a problem. There’s at least one too many zeroes present.”
“I had to factor in the loss of income involved in closing my shop for the duration of my employment period with Maat Enterprises. The impact on my stock levels going forward. Plus, I still had overheads and utilities to pay here. Add all that up, subtract the Friends and Family discount and there you have it.”
“There I have it?” Marcus scrunched the bill up into a small ball, dropping it to the floor.
Riya’s left eyebrow quirked upwards briefly as she studied the discarded bill. “Am I going to have to get my lawyers involved? I should warn you, three of the partners in the firm are ex-Enforcers and all are relatives.”
“Where is he?”
“Where is who?” Riya’s scowl was genuine now as she watched Marcus’s critical blue gaze roam the interior of her shop.
“You know who.” The deadbeat asshole had probably hit Riya with some tall sob story and was even now camped out on her sofa. Just biding his time before he made a move. Marcus’s gut clenched as burning heat speared him, the asshole better be on the sofa… if he’d lied his way into Riya’s bed, he would rip the jerkwad into little tiny pieces.
“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” Riya watched gobsmacked as Marcus strode across the floor, ducked through the doorway marked with a discreet employees-only sign and disappeared. What the…? How had she lost control of the conversation so quickly? And damn it, it had been going so well.
Thankfully growing up with her eccentric family had taught Riya how to deal with tangents. Quickly she raced after Marcus. Only to meet him in the hallway as he swung out of her workshop.
“Would you please tell me what is going-” Riya watched mystified as Marcus raced up the stairs to her apartment. He had a scary look in his eyes, and he kept clenching and unclenching his fists. Trailing after him, Riya was bewildered as Marcus cleared the first floor of her apartment like he was looking for some escaped criminal or supernatural bogey-man.
Um, it was weird, right? The man was acting like he was possessed. In exasperation she took a seat on one of the large turquoise sofas in her living room and waited. Listening to him tramp overhead as he searched the second floor, wondering idly what the hell he was looking for. And what was going to happen when he found it, what ever it was.
“He’s not here.”
Riya looked up, startled as Marcus bounded down the stairs and stalked across the open plan living area to loom over her. Hmm, this close she could smell him; sandalwood, moss and black pepper. It made things low in her body melt and her fingers itch to reach out and touch him.
“Who is not here?” Honestly, why couldn’t Marcus have walked into her boutique, smiled, complimented her hair and the gorgeous dark purple wrap dress she had on, paired today with black patent leather ankle boots? Why couldn’t he have just pulled her into his arms, said he was sorry and professed his unwavering and undying love for her?
No, he had to tear in, kick up a fuss and then go psycho.
“The asshole.” Marcus sat down on the coffee table facing Riya, their knees only inches apart. Deliberately cutting off all her escape routes. He wanted answers, he wanted a target, and he wanted it now. “The irresponsible, cowardly, son of a bitch father of your child. Where is he?”
Oh, damn. Riya’s plans flew out the window; love, kiss, stars aligning, ever after… and then the baby discussion. But now, damn, this was going to be more than a little awkward. And it wasn’t like she could get up and walk away, not with Marcus having boxed her in. He was sitting too close… but at the same time still too far away.
“Riya. Where’s the dead-beat dad?”
“Um, well, I’m looking at him.”
“Excuse me.”
Riya fought the urge to squirm as those gorgeous dark ocean blue eyes pinned her to the spot. “It’s funny, not funny, ha, ha… but funny. Remember how I mentioned I have eleven brothers? And how one is a Time-Travelling Fate Fixing Agent?”
“What has that got to do with anything?”
“Oh… um… Sweet Lady, it’s like this… our not yet conceived child will have the same powers and it seems that he, or she, is a bit of a busy body and wanted to be present the first time we met. So while I might have looked seven months pregnant at Hadleigh and Vaughn’s meld party, I wasn’t… it was just magic being all… woo-woo, as you’d call it.”
Marcus opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. “What?”
Riya took pity on him and repeated the whole explanation again, only slowly.
The revelation sunk in, he was a Dad. Going to be a Dad. Every instinct Marcus had fired, clamouring with the need to protect his future off-spring, even as raw, surprising unbridled joy blossomed in his gut. A kid? His kid? He thought about the little girl who’d leapt into his arms outside of Riya’s shop, fixing his hair and insisting he should smile more. The voice that had travelled down the tunnels at the Montague, demanding that rather than climb down, he go up… to find Riya.
Shit, he was being manipulated by his future progeny and he discovered, shockingly, that he didn’t give a damn. He wanted that kid in his life. Wanted to be her dad more than anything he had wanted in a very long time… excepting the woman sitting in front of him in the gorgeous dark purple dress that brought out the green threads running through her hazel eyes.
“We should get married.” It was the obvious next step to Marcus.
Damn his noble soul. Riya had known that would be his response and that was why she had wanted to put off the baby discussion. She didn’t want to marry Marcus because is was the right thing to do. She wanted them to have a future together based on passion and love, not duty and dirty nappies. “No.”
“But if it’s Fated?”
“Fuck Fate.”
“You don’t mean that. You’re a Fate Weaver.”
“I don’t care.”
“You work as an Agent of Fate, making clothes of destiny. How can you say you don’t care?”
“Don’t mock what I do.”
“Mock you?” Marcus chuffed a laugh, the corners of his lips twisting upwards in a wry smile. “Come on, we both know you could bring about World Peace if you set your mind to it wearing that dress. Or get a man to admit that he’s been a damn fool.”
Riya’s eyes widened. “Go on… or, if you need more incentive, there’s a matching scarf I could fetch.”
“No. The dress is more than enough. Riya… I’m sorry.”
“You’re going to have to narrow that statement down a little for me.”
“Exactly. And I shouldn’t have to. But from the moment I laid eyes on you you’ve been turning me inside out. Fuck, I didn’t just find you distracting as hell, which I so didn’t need in my life right then. But I was jealous.”
“Of whom?” Riya was mystified.
“As it turns out, me. You came along at exactly the wrong moment. You and the magic baby screamed complications. And yet, I found myself sitting there fighting the urge to tear the world apart to track down the asshole who I thought had made you pregnant and run out on you. I saw red. I thought it was just my justice instincts firing, but looking back, fuck, I was boiling mad because it wasn’t me. So I did what I always do, I pushed all of the emotions away and buried myself in my work. Telling myself not to get involved.”
“And then two and a half years later you come knocking on my door, being all arrogant, domineering, giving me orders, instead of asking… politely.”
“The monster slayer extraordinaire… and no, I’m not mocking you. It was a kick in the gut to see you again. I thought I’d been imagining the instant attraction. But there you were, in my face, giving me attitude, looking gorgeous and untouchable. And I think I knew then… and that’s why I fought it, tried to scare you away, because I knew you were going to turn my world upside down.”
“Me? I did nothing more than stand up to you, Charming.” Riya didn’t know whether to be annoyed or hopeful.
“You sashayed into my world and tore down everything I had spent a century building. Rules. Structure. Priorities. And then… you seduced me.”
“I seduced you?” Okay, Riya was definitely starting to lean towards being annoyed. Really annoyed.
“And then you had the nerve to tell me it had been a mistake.” Marcus actually looked a little miffed.
“You said it was mistake too. And every time after that, I might add.” Riya’s eyes were simmering with high emotion, it was a good thing she loved being annoyed by this man.
“Please. We’re both adults. We know better. A mistake is a one off. But I was worried if I called it a… relationship, then you’d run a mile.”
“I was the one who kept turning up at your door nightly.” Riya huffed.
“And if you hadn’t, I would have tracked you down.”
Riya rolled her eyes. “Like you tracked me down here? It’s been almost two weeks and the only reason you came was because I pissed you off with that bill.”
“You’re the one who left.”
“Because you fired me.”
“And since when do you ever listen to me?” Marcus gritted out the words from between clenched teeth, determined not to yell, but it was a near thing. No one frustrated him like Riya. Made his blood boil and his heart race.
“I was only there temporarily. You made it all too abundantly clear that I didn’t belong in your world. That I was too fragile and incompetent.”
“You, fragile? Incompetent? You killed a Fire Demon. You fell off a building and walked away with nothing more than grass stains. And you reduced Heath Gammon to a pile of silver ash in a matter of seconds.”
“Then…” Riya was confused.
“Look, I’m beyond thrilled that you can take care of yourself, but you don’t know what it does to me to have to witness… to stand by and do nothing when you’re in danger. It’s a Warrior thing. It’s my job to protect and that feeling is a hundred times stronger when it comes to your safety. I haven’t been dealing with it all that well, you’ve probably notice.”
“Why?”
“Why, what?”
“Why am I special?”
Marcus shook his head in confusion. “I’ve just spent the last ten minutes telling you why you’re special.”
“No. So far you’ve accused me of over-billing you. Labelled me as trouble. Called me stubborn. A destroyer of worlds. And lastly, a seducer of poor, innocent, Elite Warriors.”
“You know what I mean.” Marcus’s dark blue eyes narrowed.
“Oh, is this like the demanding help but not asking for help thing? Because if so, no, that’s not going to work for me.” Riya wouldn’t let him duck out of saying the words. She wouldn’t go through life knowing but never hearing them. If she was to commit to Marcus, if they were going to make this work, then she had to be left with no doubts about how he felt.
“I love you.” Marcus threw up his hands in exasperation. “There, I said it, you happy now?”
Riya stared at him, blinking slowly. No, she was not happy. Not happy in the slightest. She thought about storming off, making a hasty exit. But no. If she had learned nothing else about him it was that Marcus when faced with really strong emotions, had trouble filtering them. She was going to have to be the one to teach him, be patient, show him how to express himself in a kind and gentle manner.
And there was no time like the present to start teaching him. Leaning forward, channelling her mother, Riya cuffed Marcus hard just behind the ear. “No, I’m not happy. Try it again, but this time unclench your teeth.”
“I suppose you expect me to smile as well?”
“Yes, and bat those beautiful blue eyes whilst you’re at it. Come on, not-so-Charming. It’s just three little words. What are you so damn afraid of?”
Marcus blew out a deep breath, his gut was churning, he knew he was doing this all wrong. He should have brought flowers, read a poem, gone down on one knee and produced a huge honking diamond ring. He took another breath. “You know what I’ve been doing for the past five days?”
And another tangent. “No, what?”
“I’ve been recruiting a Dream Vampire to come work for me. It took some convincing but once she realised that Heath Gammon had been pulling her strings and is dead, it just came down to writing a big cheque.”
“You asked her to find Sek and Mot?”
“No. I asked her to track down where they stashed Apep’s sarcophagus. And after she did, I hired Eli to steal it.”
“Steal the sarcophagus so you can destroy it, eliminating all chance of Apep ever being brought back from the dead?”
“You’d think so, but no. I didn’t just give Eli the co-ordinates of where to find the sarcophagus, I gave her the chaos rubies and a pint each of Serena and Cara’s blood.”
“The witch and the descendant. You… you’re bringing Apep, the God of Chaos, back from the dead?” Riya didn’t know what that meant but it sounded bad. “Is that wise?”
Marcus laughed ruefully. “Wise? You wouldn’t think so. But you see, I had a conversation with Maat, she reminded me that all things must have balance. Life and Death. War and Peace. And it got me to thinking, as I’m sure she meant it to, Harmony and Chaos. You can’t have one without the other.”
“But… Apep do-”
“There’s more. I did some digging. Maat said something about love being the entire spectrum from dark to light, how it was rarely one factor but a combination of many. Since the beginning Maat has proclaimed Chaos isn’t all bad all the time, that more than anything it signals nothing more than change. Albeit, huge and unforeseeable change. And most telling of all, when she talks about Apep, there is always this slight catch in her throat.”
“I don’t understand?” Okay, what was beyond tangent? Off-grid?
“Like I said, I did some major digging. Back in the day, it seems Maat and Apep were lovers. Before the kids, his daughter’s death and the power play by Bal, Mok and Set that sent Apep running to escape the earthly plane to hide out in Aaru.”
“Do you think that you, all the Warriors, everything has been part of Maat’s plan to bring Apep back to this world?”
“Maybe.”
“Do you feel betrayed?”
Marcus shook his head. “We discussed it as a group. We don’t know what to think. And there’s nothing to do but wait and see if we made the right decision. Riya, I’ve just kick-started the process to bring the God of Chaos back to the earthly plane. The world could potentially end tomorrow. And here I am. Talking to you about having a kid, getting married and spending the rest of our lives together. What if I got it wrong?”
“You? Wrong? I wasn’t sure that word was in your vocabulary.”
“Riya.”
“This is so typical of you. Taking the weight of the world on your shoulders. Not only do you have six fellow Elite Warriors to stand with you. But the Goddess of Truth and Justice is your boss. And worse case scenario, you sound the emergency call and the entire Southern Sanctuary will come running. You are not alone in this Marcus, not now, not ever.” Riya reached over and grabbed his large, warm hand. “Now stop bloody procrastinating and tell me you love me, damn it. And you’d better be bloody convincing this time.”
Marcus couldn’t help but laugh. Leaning forward, he batted his blue eyes slowly. “Riya, I love you.”
Riya released a slow, deep breath, letting his words sink in. She fought the urge to melt into him, no, that would totally send the wrong message, she needed to be strong. Reaching up with her spare hand she cuffed the other side of his head. “There, was that so hard?”
“Riya.”
“So much drama.”
“Riya.”
“What?”
“Don’t you have something you need to tell me?”
Riya frowned momentarily and then smiled. “Oh, yes, you have fourteen days to pay my bill, or I’ll be bringing the matter to the attention of my lawyers.”
“Riya.” Marcus reached out, wrapping a large hand around her throat, cupping her jaw, lightly brushing his thumb back and forth over those wide cupid bow lips of hers. “Say it.”
“I love you, Charming.”
“Yes, you do.” Marcus smiled smugly.
Riya rolled her eyes. “Now, no taking me for granted.”
“Never. You are the best and only mistake I will ever make when it comes to matters of the heart.”
“Yes, I am.” She leaned in, pressing her lips to his.
Damn, Riya tasted like joy and happiness. They were going to have a great life together, they’d bicker and make up, bicker and make up. It was going to be all things annoying and a load of fun. They would have a daughter… soon. And more, Marcus wanted kids. And whatever the God of Chaos brought to the world when he eventually woke up, they would be fine. Riya wasn’t fragile. She was smart, gorgeous, and deadly. And most importantly, she was his, and he was hers.
Riya broke their kiss, staring up at Marcus, amusement glimmering in her gorgeous eyes. “And kisses are not an acceptable down payment.”
Marcus moved, one moment he was sitting on the coffee table, the next, Riya found herself sprawled back on the sofa, Marcus covering her, a determined and very possessive look in his eyes. “You sure about that?” He kissed her thoroughly.
Riya came up for air, her cheeks flushed, her whole body aching with need. “Um, well… maybe we could come up with a quid pro quo re-payment plan. But it’s going to take a lot of dedication on your part, if you miss one instalment there will be hell to pay.”
“I promise to make you my number one priority.”
“And I promise to make sure you keep your promise.” Riya smiled up at him, happiness glowing in her hazel eyes. “It was never a mistake, you and I, it was Fate.”
“Yes it was.” Marcus looked very, very smug. “And thank Goddess for that.”
Riya kissed him, didn’t think she would ever stop, after all it was their destiny…. And you can’t fight Fate.
The End