Dark Fates (A Paranormal Anthology)(29)

Then he did the oddest thing. “One so beautiful should not cry,” he said gruffly and dried her tears with long fingers.

“Y-you’re going to kill me. W-what do you c-care?” Oh hell, she was all drippy. Such an ugly crier.

The big guy didn’t answer. He leaned close and kissed her again, and like before, her entire body lit up like a Christmas tree. He sighed against her mouth and let go of her hands. She buried them in his hair, pulling him closer, unable to resist the magic of a killer about to strangle her.

She knew the insanity of the moment, called herself all kinds of fool, but couldn’t resist him.

Until he moaned and pulled back to rest his forehead against hers. “Now you must come with me.”

God, I’m about to come with or without you if you grind into me again. He was huge and hard, and she wanted him inside her in the worst way.

He swore in a foreign language, pulled back to stare into her eyes, and stroked his finger down her cheek. “What is your name?”

“Why?” She felt her fire come back, no longer weepy. Thank God. “So you can choke the life out of me while knowing it, Tariq?”

He shifted against her, his eyes nearly black, and fitted himself tighter between her legs. “Choking is not what I have in mind.” His slow smile had her heart racing even faster, and not out of fear. “But not here, little one. We must go.”

“But I…” What she wanted to say trailed off as she lost herself in his gaze.

She heard him sigh, felt another kiss against her lips, then succumbed to the whisper of sleep beckoning her close.



Tariq stroked her dark hair, marveling at the fragile beauty of the woman’s face. He’d seen her yesterday in the street, but he hadn’t gotten more than a cursory glance. It had been a vague feeling, a coming home, that had made him look up in the first place. Then a desperate need to protect an innocent had him ordering Hasani to mesmerize the woman into forgetting all about them and making her escape.

Could it be a coincidence Set had ordered him to bring this Eden Dixon to his temple in the city? Set had been adamant that Tariq bring the woman—and the vial—to his temple. But why? Had Set been sending him those dreams about her? For centuries? Had the visions been nothing but a ruse to draw Tariq into some new torment?

Why then did he feel such a pull toward her? Staring into the face of perfection, he felt so much more than lust or that elusive love he would never know without this heart. Some connection joined them, and he’d need to know what it was before the spell forced him to bring her to Set. Despite the canny god’s insistence, Set hadn’t mandated when Tariq had to bring her, only that he deliver her alive and with the vial. Not much time to play with, but Tariq would take what he could get.

Leaving Eden on the bed while he did a thorough search of her home, he found nothing. But he hadn’t expected to. If Set couldn’t force the woman to give up her mysterious vial, she must have hidden it somewhere under magical protection. He’d need to convince her to give it to him. Then, once he knew what he was dealing with, Tariq would figure out how best to handle the woman.

For now, he’d take her into his keeping. He picked her up in his arms, aware of her deceptively slight frame. Though tall for a mortal female, she felt light. She had all the appropriate curves and feminine features he loved—full breasts, ripe lips, thickly lashed eyes, and long, silky hair. Though her waist and hips seemed trimmer than he normally liked, he would have no problem watching her ride him as they came together in climax.

Annoyed by his arousal that continued to grow in her presence, he carried her to his waiting conveyance and nodded at Asim to drive them home.

Asim raised a brow but didn’t question Tariq, for which he was grateful. He cradled the female to him as they drove and couldn’t help sniffing her hair. The scent eluded him for some reason.

“Vanilla and jasmine,” Asim offered from the front. He grinned at Tariq through the rearview mirror. “I have a very keen sense of smell.”

“Thanks.” Tariq stifled a snarl at Asim’s amusement. “Something you find funny?”

“No, T. Not a thing.” Asim glanced at the bundle in Tariq’s arms, and his grin widened. “Nothing funny at all about you literally sniffing after a human.”

“Fuck off. You’re as bad as Hasani.”

Asim chuckled.

They continued the drive home in silence while Tariq tried to figure out why Eden Dixon felt so right in his arms. He wasn’t desperate for a woman, though it had been a good year since the last time he’d lost himself between a woman’s thighs. Most of the time he focused on duty, serving not only Anubis but the righteous dead in Duat.

The harem no longer interested him, and for years, he’d been dissatisfied with even brief sexual encounters. Though he had no heart, a part of him still longed for a more meaningful connection with his bed partners.

He ran a finger over the female’s cheek, taken with her smooth skin. Asleep, she seemed so vulnerable, easily broken. Yet she would have much strength in her if she had refused Set. He’d do well to remember that and not be taken in by her beauty.

So he continued to remind himself, especially when she shifted in his arms and gave a soft moan, grinding against his already painful erection. By Anubis’s teeth, he felt ready to rut, come, and rut some more.

He moved under her, trying to get comfortable. The ride felt as if it lasted forever, with Asim finding every bump and divot in the road to shove Eden’s comely backside against him. Fortunately, they arrived at the warehouse and parked in the garage before he did what he hadn’t in centuries and came in his gods-be-damned trousers.