“I’ve got nothing but time. Explain it to me.” She swallowed a spoonful of the spicy broth and meat. “Ummmm, delicious.”
“I’m from an Irish family and if I didn’t learn anything else, I learned how to cook stew.”
She wiped her mouth with the napkin that he’d placed next to her bowl. “So tell me what it is you do.”
His brows came together in a frown. “You know too much already.”
“Exactly,” she said. “So it wouldn’t matter if I knew the whole story now, would it?”
“It’s not for me to say.”
“Bullshit.”
His eyes widened and he laughed. “You’re a piece of work, Reese. A perfect match for Dagan.”
“I’m not a match for anyone unless I say so.”
“Pardon me, I didn’t mean to speak out of turn.”
“Don’t hand me that bull, Rufus. I’m a good judge of character and you don’t strike me as a man who worries about being politically correct.”
He laughed again. “You’re so right.”
“Then tell me what goes on here that you’ve been left to watch over me…again.” She took another spoonful of stew.
Rufus sighed. “When the call went out for the army to go after Kur, there were many who took the oath.”
After throwing back a shot of whiskey, she said, “The oath?”
“Yes, those who stepped forward swore an oath to the Goddess Inanna.”
“Inanna is the one who requested the army to fight the beast.”
He nodded. “There are different levels, if you will.” He too swallowed a shot of Johnnie Black. “The first are the purebreds, the sons and daughters of the gods.”
“Like Dagan.”
“Yes.”
“He told me about these. Then there are the
nephili
,
those born of humans who mated with gods which was not unheard of in mythology.” Reese sat back against the chair, her head felt light.
“Then there are the
doghume
, which are full humans who have special or enhanced abilities.”
Her right brow rose. “And what is your…special talent?”
He chuckled and reached out to brush his fingers over the knuckles of her hand as it rested on the table. “I have many…uh talents, but for the subject of this conversation, I have a very high IQ and the ability to work any and all kinds of technology with the utmost skill and accuracy.”
“And all that talent will be laid to rest if you touch her one more time.”
Reese’s head snapped up to see Dagan poised in the doorway as though he would really attack Rufus. Rufus’s hand disappeared from the table and rested on his thigh.
Her anger boiled. How dare he come into her home issuing orders? She and Rufus were having a nice conversation and he had done nothing untoward.
Dagan’s eyes were that intense, deep green again as they glared at her.
“Don’t take that tone with me,” she said and rose from the chair to take her bowl and rinse it out.
“You are done for the night,” Dagan told Rufus. “Secure the perimeter and then go catch some shut-eye. Be back here by five-thirty a.m. The seal will hold until then.”
“Okay, I’m gone,” Rufus said. Before he left, he walked over to her. “You take care, Reese. Be safe.”
She smiled at his sincere face as he winked and kissed her cheek. He was trying to get under Dagan’s skin.
Dagan growled and fisted his hands.
She played along. “Thanks, Rufus. This evening had definite high points.”
Rufus bowed and walked out of the room via the doorway opposite the one Dagan blocked.
Dagan glowered at her. “What was that supposed to mean?”
Reese turned her most innocent look on him. “What?”
“Don’t try to hand me that innocent look. What did the two of you do here tonight?” He stalked toward her. “When I left you were like the North Pole all blue and shivering and shit.”
“Do gods really talk like that? Like humans do, cause you sound like an arrogant, egotistical, jealous male. A human male. That’s interesting. Do you think it’s because you spend so much time here on Earth, mingling with humans or do you just like our language? Or maybe you like the whole intimidation thing.”
She pushed past the tower of vibrating man and went into the living room.
“Reese, dammit. What happened while I was gone?”
Sitting down in her cozy chair, she picked up the romance novel she’d been reading for the last week. “I started feeling better,” she said then focused on her book.
Another growl from deep in his throat floated across the room. Reese hid a smile. It served him right. He acted as though she owed him an explanation, which she didn’t.
Dagan stormed past her chair and locked the front door.
Reese looked up in time to see him raise his hand and murmur words in the language she now knew to be his native tongue. She knew he was putting another seal on the house which meant they were in for the night…together.
His nostrils flared and her scent permeated every pore in his skin. Deep breaths helped slow the erratic beating of his heart; he needed to calm down. Strolling back into the kitchen he decided he could eat. It had been hours since he’d had nourishment and although his strength and skill did not require it, his stomach did. Grabbing the bottle of Johnnie Black off the counter with one hand, he took the steaming bowl in the other and sat at the table. He thought it best to keep his distance from Reese because in this mood, he couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t rip the clothes she wore from her body and mate with her in a matter of seconds. No, he needed to relax and calm down.
Dagan ate half the contents before grabbing the whiskey bottle by the neck and chugging it. Unfortunately, alcohol didn’t affect his system the way it did humans. Getting shit-faced sounded good.
Two deep breaths, more food shoveled into his mouth, then chug. He needed to concentrate on those things his body required.
As he lifted the dripping spoon, he froze. Humming? A soft sweet melody drifted on the air from the other room. Closing his eyes, Dagan opened his senses fully. Her scent carelessly knocked him backwards. He breathed it in. The heat surged through his body like smoldering rock flowing through a lava tunnel. The
fury
escalated.
In this uncomfortably hard, small chair his body hardened and burned. He shoved the bowl aside and grabbed the neck of the bottle, bringing it to his mouth for a long swig. It did little to douse the tempered ache turning his gut out. The need grew more intense as the seconds ticked by. Her voice intoxicated him even more than the liquor.
Unable to stand it any longer, Dagan shoved away from the table and stood. In determined strides, he marched into the room where she sat. With a startled jolt, she looked up as he stormed toward her. The music stopped. Her scent grew stronger the closer he got and lust tore through him at a level he’d never experienced.
She must have known how close to the brink he teetered because she said, “Don’t start with me again.” She rose from the chair, laid her book down and rushed past him, heading toward the kitchen.
Lifting the remaining whiskey-laced coffee to her lips, Reese peered at Dagan over the cup while she drank. Warmth flooded her body and the alcohol ignited her nerve endings on its way down to her stomach. Unsure of whether the reaction was due to the whiskey or the relative stranger, who claimed to be the first born son of a Sumerian god, standing there watching her, devouring her.
“You’re doing it again,” he murmured in a husky voice.
“Doing what?”
“Sizing me up, turning me on.”
She coughed and practically spilled the coffee. “Sorry.”
Hurriedly, she started clearing the dishes and rinsing them to put in the dishwasher. “So, you are the first born son of the air god?”
“Yes.”
“Does he approve of what you’re doing?”
Dagan stood just behind her. She turned and he handed her his bowl. A frown of concentration wrinkled his face. Even in that state, he managed to appear sinful and inviting. Her body tingled again.
“I’m sworn to protect humans. It’s my duty.”
“So you said.” She filled the sink with warm soapy water to wash the pots and pans. “Why is it your duty to protect humans?”
“Perhaps I should explain how this all started.”
His lips curled in a faint smile and her heart flipped. “Okay.”
There was a brief silence, as if he considered what or how much to tell her.
“We are Naruki from the planet Bylari.”
A gasp wrenched from her throat as Reese fumbled the plate she held and it fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.
“Did you just say you came from another planet?”
“No, I was born here.” He gave a lift to his shoulders. “But my people came from Bylari about five hundred thousand years ago.”
Sure, why not? The shock ebbed as the curious side of her pushed to the forefront. “So you’re aliens?”
Dagan rolled his eyes heavenward. “I’m not really a green, slimy creature with tentacles, if that’s what you mean. What you see is what you get.”
She bent to pick up the large pieces of the broken plate. Standing, she let a reluctant smile touch her lips. “I’m sorry. Momentary brain stutter, which tends to happen when I find out I’m speaking with a…” she blew her cheeks out, “…
being
from another world.”
He crossed his massive arms over his chest. “I’m the same
being
you’ve been dealing with since we first met.”
Cautiously walking over to the large pantry, she dropped the broken bits into the trash can and brought the broom and pan back to finish cleaning up the mess. Stopping in front of Dagan’s stiff form, she gazed up to his face. “I’m sorry, Dagan. Please continue.”
He relaxed his stance. “From what my father has told me, my people left Bylari to escape the ravages of a war that had done untold damage to the planet. In the first ship were the males and Nammu, she who gave birth to all the gods.”
“But you’re not gods,” Reese offered in a clear voice.
“To the humans we are. We live for thousands of years and we have powers that you cannot comprehend.”
He took the dustpan and broom from her to discard the remaining shards of the plate. She turned back to the sink and the dishes.
“When they happened upon Earth, they were taken with the beauty of the planet and the abundant resources it offered, so they decided to make this their new home. The males did everything needed to survive in their lives. They farmed, they fished and built magnificent palaces in which to live. They were happy in their existence.”
“Okay.” She rinsed a pot and put it in the strainer.
“They sent word to the second ship which had left later and soon, the females arrived.”
“Ah, the plot thickens.” Reese smiled at him over her shoulder.
“The males became lazy and distracted by the females.”
“As is wont to happen when women come around.” She winked at him. A hungry, wicked look crossed his face and made her sweat. Of course, the rising temperature of her body could be due to the fact that she had her hands in warm water. She stole a glance. Nope, it was definitely him.
He came closer and whispered in her ear, “There is the ring of truth in that.”
He’d come up behind her so stealthily, she hadn’t felt him move. “So what happened next?” she asked breathlessly.
He hopped up onto the counter to watch her and finish the story.
“The gods were starving and in need of many necessities, but were too lazy and preoccupied to continue. So, they begged Nammu to create servants for them. Those that could tend the fields, maintain the structures and keep the gods in the lifestyle they wanted.”
“Man?”
“Yes,” he said as he ran a fingertip down her arm.
Chills raced across her skin and she swallowed several times trying to concentrate, washing the same dish over and over.
“Nammu went to Enki.”
“The God of Wisdom,” she offered.
“Intrigued by the idea, Enki saw no harm in it, so he arranged a party.”
Reese finished the dishes and released the water. After wiping her hands on the towel, she walked over to stand by the table, keeping as much distance between them as possible. “I take it something happened.”
“That’s the truth of it.”
His eyes darkened as she ran her hands up her arms.
“With the combined energy of all, Ninmah created man from blocks of clay, and Nammu breathed life into them. The attempt had been successful. The servants were provided with everything required for their survival. In turn, they built temples to honor the gods who’d made them. They gave offerings of livestock and crops. This made the deities happy and they continued their lounging and loving.”
“I see,” she said and moved farther away from him. “So the Naruki created mankind to serve them as gods with a mutual agreement they both honored.”
“Yes.”
“What about Kur? Not much has been found regarding the creature.”
His eyes clouded. “In his drunken stupor and after having witnessed the creation of another species, Enki decided he wanted to create one himself.” Dagan jumped down from the counter and paced the kitchen. “Unfortunately, without the others and the knowledge to create as Nammu, what he created was a weak, feeble, useless creature.”