The Stone Warriors: Damian (20 page)

“And daughters,” she added automatically.

“There were daughters, of course,” he agreed almost dismissively. “But sons were far more important.” He shrugged when she scowled at him. “It was a different era. Hell, it might even have been a different world than this one. But none of that matters, because I didn’t produce a son
or
a daughter.”

“And you think. . . you thought
then
that it was because you weren’t real.”

A frown line deepened above his nose, but he nodded. “And I wasn’t the only one who noticed. No one dared say anything to my face—not even Straton, Nico’s bully of a brother—but it was whispered about behind my back.”

“What about the women who lined up to fuck you?” she asked, reaching down to stroke his cock through the denim. “Did they complain that you weren’t real? That this”—she pressed hard against his straining erection—“wasn’t real?”

“No,” he admitted.

“Consider this, then,” she said patiently. “Did Nick have any children?”

He frowned, as if he’d never considered that before. “No. But no one expected—”

“No,” she interrupted. “Probably because, like his father, he cast a spell to prevent such a thing from happening. And since the two of you are linked—”

“You think his spell affected me.”

She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “It makes sense.”

He was quiet for a long moment, and then he asked, “What do you see when you look at me?”

“Magic-wise, you mean,” she said with a small smile. “This isn’t just you fishing for compliments, right?”

He gave in to his instincts and tugged her closer. He knew she didn’t need protecting, but he couldn’t help wanting to do it. There were beasts in the woods around here. Animals that would be drawn to the presence of two humans where they shouldn’t be. Besides, he simply felt better when she was close.

“Magic-wise,” he agreed. “What do you see?”

“The first time I saw you in that alley behind the Kalman, I sensed magic inside you. I’m not strong when it comes to personal magic—I’m better with things than with people—but with you. . . . I knew you weren’t a sorcerer. It wasn’t like that. But you resonated almost the same way. At first, I thought you were just a lesser magic-user—”

He snorted his opinion of that.

“I know,” she said, patting his chest soothingly. “You couldn’t possibly be a lesser anything.” She rolled her eyes, which made him grin. “But don’t worry, I dismissed that theory almost right away. It just didn’t
feel
right. But then you told me about the statue, and the curse, and so I figured it was just a leftover residue from that, and it would fade. But it didn’t do that either.”

Damian frowned. “What am I, then?”

“Besides a person, you mean,” she admonished, and didn’t continue until he’d nodded his agreement. “I didn’t fully understand until tonight, when I saw you standing there with Nick. For the first time since I’ve known him, he wasn’t bothering to cover up what he is. He blazes so brightly, Damian. I wish you could see—”

“But I do. I mean, I probably don’t see what you do, but Nico shines like the sun itself.”

“Exactly. But that’s my point. So do you. When the two of you were together earlier, you looked like two pieces of the same sun, each separate and strong, and yet far more powerful together. When it comes to you guys, the whole is way more than the sum of its parts. But here’s the thing—
he
benefits more than you do. He’s like this parasite, feeding—”

“My brother is not a fucking parasite, Cassandra.”

“No, no, of course not. Bad choice of words on my part. But it’s not quite symbiotic either, because once you’re together, the energy only flows one way. From you, to him.”

Damian considered that. “All right, I get your point. He’s stronger with me back in the world, which explains why Sotiris wants me dead. He’d rather curse me back into the literal Stone Age, but if he can’t do that, he’ll settle for killing me outright.”

She nodded. “I think our little vacation’s over. We need to get back into the hunt.” She started to turn, to head for the house, but Damian pulled her against his chest, sliding his hand around to rest on her hip, his fingers splayed just above the curve of her ass.

“One more thing, Cassandra,” he murmured. She looked up at him with a question in her eyes, and he kissed her, soft and slow, nibbling on her plump lower lip, sliding his tongue between her teeth when she gasped with surprise, sucking her tongue into his mouth until her gasp became a moan. Her arms were around his waist, her body flush against his, her nipples taut peaks through the soft fabric of his T-shirt, and his cock grew heavy where it was trapped behind the zipper of his jeans.

“What was that for?” she asked, her voice raspy with desire as she rubbed herself against the thick bulge of his erection, making it even thicker, while her fingers dug into his back.

“A promise for later,” he said, and then admitted the truth. “And a reminder of what’s real.”

“Damian,” she whispered unhappily, but he stopped her with another kiss.

“I know, sweetheart. Let’s get back to Nico.”

She nodded, but stretched up on her toes for one final kiss before they threaded their way back through the trees to the bright beacon of the pool, and the house where Nick waited for them.

“I’LL SEND YOU whatever information I have,” Nico told Damian as they walked back to his car. You won’t catch Sotiris, not this time. And I’m not sure I want you to, anyway. He’s far too dangerous. But make no mistake, these are his agents at work, and the Talisman must be recovered. Its potential for death and destruction in this era is devastating.”

“Do you think he wants the device for himself?”

Nico shook his head. “Sotiris doesn’t collect things, not the way I do. If he wants the Talisman, he has a purpose for it. But it could just be money that he’s after. Whatever he’s planning might simply be a demonstration of the device’s destructive power, either for potential buyers, or to further a blackmail scheme of some kind. One thing is certain—Sotiris won’t care how many people he kills to accomplish his goals.” He shook his head. “I’ve asked my assistant, Lili, to send Casey the latest satellite images of the house where your sniper went to ground. That should help. And you’ll keep me informed on the rest.”

“Of course.”

“And you’ll take care of Casey?”

“I’ll try, but I think she sees it the other way around,” he said disgustedly. “She’s taking care of
me.”

“She likes to be in control, and I told you, she doesn’t trust easily. If you knew her father and husband, you’d understand.”

“She has a husband?”

“Ex-husband.”

Damian frowned. “Ex?”

“Former, no longer married, they’re divorced.”

“Ah, divorce. I understand.”

“He’s a real bastard, but that’s not my story to tell.” Then Nico grinned. “It is so good to have you back, brother. When this is over, you’ll come stay with me in Florida, and we’ll use it as a base while we locate the others.”

“I look forward to it. But now I have to get back to the house, lest Cassandra think I’ve wandered off and been kidnapped.”

The two men embraced again, and then Nico dropped down into the seat of a sleek, red machine of a car. He pushed the ignition and the car’s powerful engine purred to life. Maybe Nico would let him drive it once they reached Florida. The gods knew Cassandra was never going to let him drive anything, he thought sourly.

The house was quiet when he closed and locked the door, then armed the security system. He’d had Nico give him the codes and demonstrate the device. With Sotiris doubly on their trail now—not only to stop them from stealing the Talisman, but to weaken Nico by killing Damian—he wanted to utilize every advantage this new age had to offer.

Cassandra was already asleep when he stripped off his jeans and T-shirt, the white bandage on her arm a gleaming reminder to him of how vulnerable she was. She didn’t have his ability to heal quickly, and despite the power of her determination or her magical gift, her body was as fragile as any other human’s. It terrified him to think about sending her into battle against an enemy as dangerous and utterly ruthless as Sotiris. But it wasn’t up to him to send her or not. That decision lay firmly with Cassandra herself. All he could do was protect her as best he could. Including from herself.

She murmured wordlessly when he slid into bed behind her, wrapping her in his arms and pulling her into the shelter of his body. She stroked her hands over his forearms and smiled in her sleep, before the gentle rhythm of her breathing returned.

He lay awake, surrounded by the sweet fragrance of her hair. The much fainter scent of their lovemaking from earlier lingered in the room, and that made him smile. For the first time since he’d been freed from his stone prison, he thought he could sleep restfully. Seeing Nico, feeling the embrace of his brother again . . . it brought everything into stark relief at last. This world hadn’t seemed quite real to him before tonight. But now it did. Now he stood where he belonged, with his leader and brother, Nicodemus. And with Cassandra, whether she liked it or not.

Chapter Seven

CASEY WAS ALONE when she woke the next morning. She sat up, wondering where Damian had gotten to, when splashing sounds from the pool drew her to the balcony window. He was swimming laps, powering back and forth with graceful strokes that barely rippled the water. But as she watched, she found herself frowning. Not at the picture he made—that was pretty enough—but at the realization that her first thought upon waking had been not of her mission to recover a dangerous artifact, but of Damian. She’d missed him. She couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.

Actually, no, she
could
remember. It had been the first morning she’d woken up and realized that her dick of a husband wasn’t where he should have been. The first time she’d been forced to acknowledge that coming home to their bed, to
her,
wasn’t his top priority anymore . . . if it ever had been. It still made her flush with humiliation to remember how many times she’d let that happen before she’d finally walked out the door.

Ever since then, she’d carefully avoided emotional attachment, never giving anyone the power to tear her apart the way her ex had. Until Damian. He’d somehow slipped through her defenses and become important enough for her to
miss
him. She hadn’t planned this, and she didn’t want it.

She turned away from the window and stepped into the shower, her thoughts tumbling over one another as she stood beneath the pounding heat. There was no question that she would go after the Talisman. She’d known that from the moment she’d discovered it missing. But she’d lost track of that goal, gone off course somehow. Or not
somehow.
There was no question as to how she’d gotten off course. It was Damian. Getting involved with his situation, letting herself be seduced by him . . . it had made it easy to forget her purpose. Just like this house, with its elegant furnishings and expensive wines, had made her forget what she was—a hunter. She turned off the water, and stepped out of the shower. Even the oversized fluffy towel, on a rack that was as warm as the floor, was a distraction. It made her forget why she was here. Why
Damian
was here.

And it sure as hell wasn’t so that the two of them could play beautiful house together. She’d let him get too close, become too important. Or maybe he’d just snuck in under the radar before she’d realized he was there. But whatever it was, it had to stop.

Evil existed, and it had a plan for the Talisman.
That
was why she was here. Her responsibility, her
purpose
, was to disrupt that plan by stealing the Talisman back and shutting it down.

Damian had pulled on some sweats, and was sitting at his laptop working away when she got downstairs. He was worse than she was now, the computer permanently attached to his fingertips. She walked over and stroked her fingers over the back of his neck, before realizing what she’d done. Yanking her hand back, she had to fight the urge to lean down and kiss him, which told her just how deeply he’d managed to infiltrate her heart, and how stupid she’d been to let him.

“I saw you swimming,” she commented, putting physical distance between them, keeping her voice casual. She helped herself to the coffee he’d started. “Did you always do that for exercise? You know, before?”

He smiled without looking up from his computer screen. “
Before,
we didn’t need to exercise. Life did it for us. But, no, I’d never actually swum before this morning.”

She paused mid-sip and looked over at him. “But I saw you. You were doing laps.”

“It’s an intuitive response to water. The body doesn’t want to drown, so I learned.”

She gave the back of his head a narrow-eyed stare, trying to figure out if he was pulling her leg. But, no, she decided. He really
had
taught himself to swim in one morning. Or maybe with him, it was more that he’d simply let his body do what it did naturally. “Please tell me you’ll at least need to work at maintaining that body now that the daily hardships of life won’t be doing it for you anymore.”

He looked up with a grin. “You like the body?”

Shit. Why had she said that? She blew out an intentionally dismissive breath. “Yeah, right. Like you need any more ego-stroking. Listen, this morning, Nick’s assistant emailed some satellite images of the house where Sotiris’s agents have gone to ground. They’re less than twenty-four hours old, which means they’re accurate. By tonight, I’ll have blueprints or some other floor plan of the house itself.”

He grunted. So charming. What the hell was he doing on that computer anyway? If he’d discovered fantasy football or some other shit, she was going to crack that damn thing over his head.

“Look,” she said matter-of-factly. “I know what Nick said about us working together, but I’ve been thinking, and getting the Talisman back is my responsibility, not yours. So, if you’d rather start looking for your warrior brothers, I’d understand. I’ve been working alone for years, so I’m used to it.”

“Maybe that’s your problem,” he said absently. “You’ve spent so much time alone, you’ve forgotten how to do anything else. You need to learn the value of depending on others.” Then he spun his laptop around to show her what he’d found.

Casey stared. “Is that—?”

“Yes.”

She pulled the computer closer and manipulated the image, verifying that it was what he claimed. He’d done her research for her. She’d figured on several hours today digging out information on the house where Sotiris’s agents had taken refuge, maybe unearthing the original construction blueprints if the local county office had a record of the architect, or better yet, if they scanned the docs for their own files. Public databases were the easiest to sneak into, since they were designed to allow ready access.

But Damian had taken a much simpler route. Her preliminary search had already told her that ownership of the property had been transferred roughly six months ago in a private sale. But the house had apparently been listed and sold two years before that by a local Realtor, who still had the information available on his website. There were pictures of the interior and exterior, as well as a basic schematic of the layout.

“This is great, but how the hell did—”

“You admire the body, but you underestimate the intellect, Cassandra. I believe I’m insulted,” he added, with a satisfied smile that told her he wasn’t insulted at all. Damian didn’t need her approval. He knew exactly what his worth was, in
every
arena.

“It’s not a matter of underestimating your intellect,” she protested. “Anyone in your position would take a while to catch up to this world. Why should I expect you to be any different?”

“Because I
am
different. You heard Nico. I was created to be the perfect warrior, which doesn’t mean following someone else’s orders. It means leading. And
that
means that strategy, tactics, and weapons are all second nature to me. And in this reality, it includes your Internet. And swimming. Therefore, darling, I learn.”

“Lucky you,” she muttered, stifling the irritating little thrill she got whenever he called her
darling
. “But, what about Nick?” she asked, mostly just curious. “You didn’t lead when he was around. You followed. You still do.”

He shook his head as if pitying her for not understanding. “Nicodemus was our leader, but we four fought
with
him
,
not behind him. No blade could touch him as long as we stood by his side. Why do you think Sotiris wanted us gone? Because there was no other way to kill Nico.”

“But he didn’t. Kill Nick, I mean. You four were gone, but Nick still survived.”

“Nico’s was always the superior mind, his power unmatched. It drove Sotiris mad with envy.”

“Well, he sure as shit is crazy mad now. Which is why I have to get the Talisman back.” She leaned over just enough to reach the computer keyboard, careful not to brush against him. “Thanks for doing all of this. If it’s okay with you, I’ll just email them to myself—”

“I already did that,” he said, sounding almost bored.

“Okay, well thanks,” she said
awkwardly, standing back up.

He gave her a curious look, but then said, “I’m assuming the present owners will have upgraded whatever electronic security was built into the house, but I’ve identified all of the structural defenses. There are almost certainly arcane defenses as well, and since I’m assuming you’ll want to come along, your talent will be useful to reveal, and hopefully disarm, those. I still want you out of the action, however, so once we’re in, you’ll remain in the rear.”

Casey didn’t answer. She
couldn’t
answer. She was too busy staring at him. “Excuse me?” she said finally.

He sighed. “Don’t be difficult, Cassandra. I’m far better equipped to conduct an assault of this nature. I’ve fought any number of magically skilled enemies on my own. I understand your desire to be involved, and I
can
use your help with the arcane defenses, but you must accept that I’m in charge and commit to maintaining your assigned position. If I can’t trust you to fulfill your part of the plan—”

Casey finally opened her mouth to tell him where he could shove his
plan
, but he talked right over whatever she would have said.

“—and if you cannot trust
me
sufficiently to do what needs to be done, then we should not attempt this together. I will recover the Talisman alone, and bring it back here. You can then deal with—”

“What makes you think you’re the only one who can get it back?” she finally interjected, pissed as hell that he’d all but hijacked her mission. “This isn’t my first rodeo, you know. I’m perfectly capable of—”

“And you might succeed . . .
this
time—”

She sucked in a breath. Oh, he did
not
just throw that in her face. It wasn’t her fault she’d lost the damn Talisman the first time she’d grabbed it. The intelligence had been woefully inadequate. She’d been facing hellhounds, for God’s sake.

“—but it’s just not in my nature to permit you to endanger yourself when I can accomplish the task alone.”

“Not in your nature?” she growled. “Fuck your nature. This is
my
assignment, not yours
.
If
I
decide to let
you
help
me
—”

“Cassandra, be reasonable.”

“Is that warrior code for ‘stop being such a
woman
?’ Because that’s bullshit. Let’s not forget who got whom off that damn rooftop, bucko.” She regretted the words as soon as she said them, even though they had the desired effect. She’d wanted him angry, wanted a reason to let her own anger rise to the surface, to push him away, to get him out of her heart where he didn’t belong.
Couldn’t
belong.

And it worked. Damian showed real temper for the first time since she’d met him, tightly leashed, but obvious in the clench of his jaw, in the way he so carefully set the computer down and walked over to stand in front of her. “I have been pledged to the fight against Sotiris since I was a beardless boy,
millennia
before you were even born. I am a warrior, honed and shaped over decades of battle, and far more capable than you of accomplishing this task.” He leaned closer, staring directly into her eyes. “And as for who did what on that rooftop, I saved your life that night, Cassandra. Let’s not forget that either.”

“This is
my
mission,” she argued, her teeth clenched.

“Oh, no, darling,” he said sweetly. “This is
my
mission, given to me by Nicodemus himself, the only man, only
person,
whose wishes matter. I could leave here right now, and have the damn Talisman back by noon, without any of your interference,” he said, finishing with a snarl.

She blinked, reeling inwardly at the slap of his words, reminding herself that this was what she’d wanted. She stared up at him, and felt her own temper rising to meet his. She didn’t usually permit herself to get angry. She preferred to remain in control of her emotions, just like the good little soldier she’d been raised to be. The fact that she now found herself getting more furious than she could ever remember being only confirmed in her thoughts what she already knew. She never should have fucked him. All those orgasms had freed up destructive emotions that she normally kept tightly leashed. Not to mention that having sex had blurred the lines of exactly who was in charge between them. She couldn’t quite convince herself that it had all been a mistake, but it sure felt like one now.

His gaze was cool as he returned her stare, but there was something more than anger in his expression. She’d hurt him with her sharp words about the curse being broken. She’d taken what was undeniably the most horrific thing that had ever happened to him, and thrown it in his face. And knowing that, she realized it hurt
her
to know that she’d caused him pain. God, she was an asshole.

“I’m sorry,” she said with real contrition. “What I said about the curse . . . that was cruel. You deserve better.”

He nodded, but his gaze remained flat. He was giving her nothing back, no emotion of any kind. Panic froze suddenly in her chest. She could lose him over this. He really would walk out the door, and she’d never see him again. Oh, sure, maybe their paths would cross at Nick’s house on one of the rare occasions they were both there. But that would be it. And wasn’t that precisely what she’d wanted when she’d woken up this morning? When she’d been convinced that whatever this was between them had gone too far? She’d been certain that she needed to get out now, with no messy emotions, no aching heart, no roiling gut at the very thought of losing him. So why was she now suffering exactly that?

Her eyes were burning, but she refused to cry. Not just because it would prove his point, but because she wouldn’t use tears as a weapon. She hated women who did that.

“Damian,” she said, raising a hand to place it on his chest, but then closing it into a fist against her own chest instead. She didn’t know what to say, how to make this better without making it so much worse. So she just swallowed and said, “Do you really think that the two of us working together has the greatest chance of success?”

He nodded curtly. “Yes.”

It took willpower on her part, but she put away the guilt and the hurt, and all of those other unwanted emotions tumbling inside her, making her want to throw up. She boarded them up behind a lifetime of discipline. “Okay, we’ll do it your way. But I’m not a novice at this, you know. I have skills. If you can’t accept that, then—”

“I never doubted your abilities. The question is . . . can we trust each other?”

She stared at him for what seemed like a long time. Did she trust him? Trust didn’t come easily to her, not even in a situation like this. He was right about her. She didn’t trust other people to come through, to be there for her. It was why she preferred to work alone. Hell, to
live
alone. But he’d gone and shattered that, whether he knew it or not.