“Pay attention to your enemies, for they are the first to find out your faults.” ~ Antisthenes
Behind the steering wheel of his SUV, Xen’s lips curved up in gratification. The evening had gone better than he’d planned. His part had been so easy to play and he hadn’t been required to amp up his charms to win her over. His koukla couldn’t hold her alcohol, and it had been beyond amusing watching her and picking up some of her random thoughts. He hadn’t envisaged she would drink and render her mind-shield down, a morsel of information he locked into the forefront of his mind. He’d have to give her a drink when he wanted her to be putty in his hands.
Some of the random thoughts he caught from her when he’d tuned in almost slayed him—entertaining and sexually needy. Gods, it had been difficult to keep his arousal down from her mere reaction to him alone. Her thoughts had only added fuel to his already out-of-control fire. Her scent on the dance floor had stirred his lust. He’d fought the beast within him. He’d acknowledged his lack of resistance to her and her maddening scent only escalated his rapidly increasing need.
It had been a calling. One he could not fail to answer. He had found her immediately when he’d walked through the entrance of the charity function. The sweet smell of tuberose and jasmine assaulted his nose. The turquoise dress she wore—his new favorite color—clung to her luscious curves, stunning in the way it accentuated the contours of the dips and swells of her figure. A vision danced behind his eyes. He could see his hands leisurely peeling it from her body to reveal the glorious prize that waited beneath ... a soft and sensuous woman.
The tires of his SUV screeched as he pulled up abruptly in the driveway of his Virginia Beach residence. He owned one of the many hotels in city but preferred the privacy of the house he kept here. Plus it would not be ideal to have his Phi walking through the lobby armed to the teeth with swords.
He pushed the gear stick into park, but before he killed the engine a deep foreboding settled into the pit of his stomach causing his muscles to tighten. What if some other man tried to hit on her in that dress? I should not have left her there. With precision, he swiftly shifted the gears and reversed, heading back towards Carissa.
His thoughts turned proprietorial and his foot pushed the accelerator hard, driving like a man possessed.
Carissa’s steps were measured, her heels clacked on the asphalt. The twenty minutes the cab company had texted became thirty-five. She stopped her OCD strides and fished her phone out of her purse.
A gush of cool wind skipped over her flesh causing goosebumps to rise. A shiver ran through her, making her uncomfortable. Come on! What’s taking so long! She touched the app on her smartphone and called the number of the cab company.
A usual greeting welcomed her. “Yellow Cabs.”
“Good evening, I booked a cab over half an hour ago and it’s yet to arrive. Can you tell me if you’ve dispatched the cab?”
“What’s your location and destination.”
“Location is Lesner Inn, 3319 Shore Drive, going to 912 Watsons Drive, Virginia Beach.” Carissa fired back her answers, urgency laced in her voice.
“Can you hold?”
“Yes.”
Music filled the line for a few minutes, then with a click the Yellow Cab lady spoke. “Okay, he’s on his way. Said he got held up because of an accident. Should be fifteen minutes.”
“Alright. Thank you.”
She pressed end to finish the call and tried to shake some of her uneasiness. The parking lot was rather quiet, not many guests had left. In fact, only two couples had driven out in the thirty-five minutes she’d stood there.
Moments of the evening replayed in her mind and she tried desperately not to smile like a dork at the thought of Xen. Now that’s one hot man! One she could not touch. Work first. Yeah, like that’s going to help, Carissa.
The looks from Xen as he’d scanned her attire from head to toe, told her he liked what he saw. Warmth crept up her cheeks as she recalled his raking gaze.
She sighed and opened her purse to place her phone in it. The squeal of tires had her head snapping up. A black Range Rover with the license plate PHITECH1 came to a sudden halt next to the sidewalk. The passenger window of the car was down and behind the steering wheel sat none other than her dream god.
“Xen?” She dropped her jaw in surprise and held her palms out in confusion.
“Let me drive you home.” His mouth twitched.
“Why?”
“Because you need a ride, and if I’m not wrong, you’ve been standing out here for far too long.”
How odd. “But—”
“I realized I should have insisted on giving you a ride.”
“You know, it seems a little weird that you turned back—” A loud squeal of rubber cut the words from her mouth.
“Run now!” Xen’s voice penetrated through her mind and all the way down her body as an SUV rammed his Range Rover from the rear. Metal clanged against metal. The impact propelled Xen’s car forward.
Déjà vu ricocheted in her brain. Carissa’s dress tangled above her knees. Her fingers made quick work of hiking it up and into the elastic of her underwear. Her legs moved into a run in seconds. Gods, when had she strayed this far down the street?
The entrance to the parking lot lay ahead. Her feet, in the stupid heels, decided at that moment to make her see the pavement up close and personal. One hand stung at the graze, the other held her purse which took the impact of the fall. Her knees were another story, and the tearing sound told her that her gown would not live past tonight—just her luck.
A grunt alerted her to a presence. Turning she scrambled on the ground to face the source. Pain sharp and merciless stabbed her in the chest at the sight of a creature with a sword standing a foot away from her. She fumbled with her purse, pulling her gun from it. Her fingers wrapped around it, she pointed and fired.
Shell casings fell beside her but the creature wouldn’t go down. Shit, I’ll be sliced ham soon.
The bullets only seemed to aggravate him. He lurched, swinging his sword. She rolled out of the way and scrambled to her feet. Ready. He swung his sword. Her martial arts training allowed her to duck and expertly bring a heeled foot to his midsection.
A loud growl ripped through the night air. He flung his swordless arm out and backhanded her out of the way. Pain shot up her spine and her vision clouded. Pushing herself up, she tried to stand. A head rolled onto the ground and stopped at her feet, a bloody trail lighting the way to where it had been attached.
Behind the falling headless body stood Xen, sword in his hand.
Where the hell did he get that? He sped to her, a blur she couldn’t clearly see moving. How is that possible? She shook her head.
“Koukla, give me your hand we need to get out of here now. It’s not safe.”
Doors slammed as another Range Rover pulled up next to Xen’s. She noticed the similar plates: PHITECH2.
He barked out orders in Greek.
Adrenaline pumped through her veins, but the clarity of what had happened wasn’t there. What was that thing?
“Xen, you need to talk to me.”
He ushered her into his smashed-up but drivable car. “Let me get you to my place first, and I promise you’ll have answers.”
She watched as he shifted gears and burned rubber into the night. “Why? I mean—what was that thing doing here?”
“This is going to sound cliché, but it’s because of me,” he said.
“You must have really pissed someone off if they’re coming at you with swords. Speaking of which, you had one too. How?” Dizziness threatened to overwhelm her, her body turned to liquid as she tried to fathom what had played out. “And why attack me?”
“Well, you were with me. They must think you are tied to me somehow.”
“Who are they?” she croaked. None of the conversation made any sense.
“My enemies have only one prime objective—to kill,” he explained. “You are, in their eyes, a mere obstacle.”
She gulped hard at his words. She’d be dead if it were not for him. Raising her shaky hand, she wiped away the small beads of sweat that formed on her forehead. Her fingers tightened around the passenger door handle, turning her knuckles white from her iron grip. It helped to ground her muddled state. Her fear changed track to deal with the hand she’d been dealt.
“And here I was thinking it was the turquoise dress.” Maybe she really was deranged.
A deep and throaty laugh left Xen’s lips. “Koukla, if you don’t mind me saying ... that dress can not only stop traffic, it could cause a pileup.” A ravishing smile graced his lips.
She recalled her previous thoughts about his smile—its own religion and zip code, yes it definitely had that. He had his statement all back to front. She’d bet her bottom dollar he’d cause a pileup if he walked out on the street and flashed his pearly whites.
Her silly internal musings were short-lived, and her questions returned with full force. “What was that about?” she demanded. “I couldn’t see my attacker’s face clearly.”
She shifted through her thoughts, replaying all that had happened. She couldn’t remember the face. It was an odd thing. A bit like the warehouse incident where she couldn’t recall what happened.
“Why is that?”
“Carissa, let’s get you in the house first, then we’ll talk. I promise to answer your questions.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re hiding something?”
“Not hiding. You could say, protecting.”
“Protecting what and whom?” she bit out. “Are you part of a mob?”
His laugh echoed around the interior of the car. “No, Carissa. Not a mob.”
Her scalp prickled. Okay, if he didn’t belong to some mafia group, what crazed fanatical group did he belong to? She might have bitten off more than she could chew.
They’d barely stepped into the house when a knock sounded at the door. Through it came a man as tall as Xen, but wider and more muscled.
Wonder if all his friends are this hot. Carissa shook her head, rejecting the trail of thoughts and the direction they wanted to take. She should be focusing on getting answers on what in Hades had just happened and why, not drooling over men.
Warmth rose to her cheeks as the man’s eyes raked over every inch of her. It had never occurred to her that she might have looked cheap. “Nice dress,” he said with a smirk.
That’s it. I’m throwing this out when I get home.
Xen eyed her suspiciously for a moment before he introduced her to the large, imposing male. “Kane, this is Carissa.”
He nodded in greeting.
A response lodged in her throat. She glanced at them for a split second and could have sworn she saw auras around them, like small sparks of electricity. She shook her head. She really needed to lie down, or eat something.
“Carissa, we will talk in a moment. I need to speak with Kane urgently. He works with me at my company, Phi Technologies.”
“Phi Technologies?” Wheels turned and information spooled. “Don’t tell me you own it?”
“Okay, I won’t,” he said with a wink.
She swallowed hard at the news, a little surprised at not having put it together when her aunty had introduced her. Xen Lyson was the Xenocrates Lysandros. Every Greek knew him. The man had billions. The Greeks even made jokes he could bail Greece out of debt.
Idiot, Carissa. The alcohol she’d consumed had obviously affected her rationality and ability to process simple data. Way to go, Carissa. Your dream god is a living legend. The man was shrouded in mystery and very little was known about him. No hits on any search engines, no photos online, nothing, zip, zilch, nada. Other than the rumors the Greek community made up because no journalist had ever been victorious in gaining an interview. Her mouth went dry and her mind spun in overdrive.
“Are you okay? You look like you’re going to be sick.” Xen moved closer to her.
“No, I’m okay. Just need some water.”
He left the room to fetch it for her.
“Follow me.” Kane motioned and guided her to the living room. “Take a seat.”
“Thanks,” she croaked.
“No problem.”
All the insecurities she’d buried years ago shot to the surface and her self-esteem took that moment to plunge into a dark abyss. The only thing she could think of was how she must look to Xen, an enigma on his own—cheap trash vying for his attention in a discounted turquoise dress.
Xen stepped into the room, breaking her thoughts of self-loathing. He handed her a glass and leaned over to her ear. His breath teased. “Don’t ever put yourself down, koukla. You look delectable and I will tell you much later—when I’m finished with your questions—what I would like to do to you in and out of that dress.”
He lifted her hand, a smile curving his kissable lips. Slowly, he brushed them lightly against her skin. Tingles broke out through her body. Her cheeks warmed and heat pooled in her belly.
“I’ll wait here.” Her words were barely audible because a thief had stolen her breath without exerting himself at all.
“Thank you.” He rose from his position and headed through another door to speak with Kane.
Her hands quickly descended to her strappy heels, removing them and casting them aside. She pushed her toes into the thick rug and let out a sigh.
Big, lovely books adorned the coffee table. Tuscan Villas. Her fingers touched the glossy cover, compelled to turn the pages. She flicked them over one by one, and pondered on how he’d known she was thinking about the dress.
Maybe I said something out loud.
“Care to tell me what went down?” Kane queried as he walked into Xen’s office and stood near one of the chairs. Xen read his stance.
“You already know my movements ...” Xen paused, his body tensed and the muscles in his jaw quivered. He stamped his anger into submission. He needed a cool head to work out what game the demons were playing. That thought was briskly sliced in two—had he not returned in time, Carissa would be dead.
“You veered off your schedule. What if there were more demons lying in wait for you?”
“There weren’t, and you know as well as I do I can take on a fair few.”
“A risk you should not have taken, regardless,” Kane challenged.
“We take that gamble every time we strap on our swords.” Xen’s words echoed in the room, cleaving the tension.
“Why the girl?” Kane fired.
“They are likely tracking my movements.” It seemed too much of coincidence for the demon to have turned up when he did. No, they were waiting to strike.
“Still doesn’t explain why they would try to kill the girl.”
He agreed with Kane. It did not add up. “We’re missing something.” He clenched his fists.
“This thing smells bad, Xen. I can understand if the demon attacked only you, but he didn’t. It’s almost as if he rear-ended you to get you out of the way to go after the girl.”
“I’m aware of that. See what you can dig up from our human connections back in Charleston. Anything further on why Carissa might have been coaxed into the middle of one of our skirmishes.”
Kane nodded at his instruction. “So this girl isn’t a passing fad?” he asked.
A growl escaped Xen’s lips. Carissa belonged to him. “Firstly, she has a name—use it. I think you know me well enough to know what she may become to me.”
“Whoa!” Kane’s hands came up in defense.
It took Xen a minute to cage his possessiveness. It was time to share the most startling revelation of the evening, which had more to do with the delectable woman sitting in the living room and less to do with fighting demons.
“There’s also something you might want to know.” He paused, thinking of the best way to divulge his theory. “Carissa doesn’t realize yet that she has the power of Anagke—force, through compulsion. I saw her move a whole crowd of women just to get to me.” Amusement tugged at his lips as he recalled a small piece of information he had lifted from her mind this evening. Her guard had been down, allowing him access. “She basically compelled the women to do her bidding, thus moving them away from me.”
“No shit.” Kane’s rise in tone highlighted his surprise. “Then she could become interesting enough for others to want to have her on their team, to manipulate her powers to their advantage.”
“Yes.” Xen let out a breath. She belonged with him now, even if she didn’t know it yet.
“Any idea what she is?” Kane asked. “Obviously she’s other.”
“Actually, I think she’s a demi-god, but something is suppressing her power. I can sense it like it’s trapped and can’t break through the surface. I doubt she knows.” He paused before adding, “I suspect whoever bound her power did it to stop her being detected. The question is, why?”
Kane whistled. “Shit, a demi-god and clueless. That’s a potent mix.”
“Potent is too weak a word for it, Kane. If the power I sensed becomes unbound then I think we will have sparks that may draw the attention of the demons. We will need to help her develop it so she can protect herself.”
“Wow.” Kane ran a hand through his short brown hair. “If any other Unearthly discovers her talent by accident, they’ll have her for breakfast.”
“I fear they may already have.” His expression turned grim as the recollection of the demon standing over Carissa filtered through to his consciousness.
“How will we train her if we don’t even know the full extent of her power?” Kane asked.
Xen caught the conflict in his voice. “I’m sure we have details of a demi-god in our Unearthly database that has the power of Anagke. Run the search, Kane. Let’s see what comes up.”
“Sure thing.”
“Oh, and Kane, just so that you understand my position, Carissa is mine.”