Royally Screwed Page 5

  Hux opened up the throttle and ate away the predawn miles. Dani obviously loved being on the back of his bike. Her relaxed posture confirmed it. She’d told him how much she’d enjoyed it once before. When they were still, what…friends? Huh. He’d screwed that up royally. Hux snorted, chiding himself. The pun wasn’t lost on him.

  He had some tough decisions to make, and several hours of silent contemplation on the road would be just the place to get some things settled in his mind.

  First off, Dani was along for the duration in the search for the queen. That was a given.

  Second, and harder to admit, Huxley’s obsession with the doctor meant he harbored an absolute attraction. Scratch that. His body responded to her like he was in some kind of a fucked-up heat.

  He liked her, he admired what she did, he was scared as hell of her smarts, but that body, that killer five foot ten slender body of hers with those big tits… Those things alone left him rock hard, but that wasn’t the half of it. Add to that her large, brown eyes, freckled nose, and that long, coppery hair. Hell, he longed to bury his fist in those lush tresses and hold tight while he buried the needier parts of himself in other places. The doctor, from her sweet, caring demeanor to her ripe body, was a package too much for any man to withstand.

  Which brought him full circle to the third reason. Third on his don’t-get-carried-away-with-Dani list. She was good. Good in a big sense of the word, and Huxley had been anything but in his life. He shouldn’t be thinking about the doctor because you didn’t dirty something so pure with trash. And even though he hadn’t been brought up that way, he’d steered his life down that slippery slope, and he doubted anything would ever make him feel totally clean again.

  The whole god-prince thing had thrown him. Maybe he’d be immortal, and perhaps in six or seven lifetimes, he could move beyond his past. But it wouldn’t happen in a hurry, and not in Dani’s lifetime. There was a fucked-up reality. What if he let himself get involved with her, she got old and died, and he didn’t? How would he deal with that? No. Better to hold himself at arms’ length. Or so he told himself as Dani’s thighs flexed against his and his heart missed a beat. Fucking hell.

  Dani snuggled closer, enjoying the ride. She relished the closeness, loved the heat of Hux’s back under her cheek and the smell of his leathers. He was so in control, so dominant on the bike, she glimpsed him in an element where he showed complete comfort and liked it.

  There had been too many instances where she’d witnessed doubt creeping over him. Not with his god friends, not when sparring, but absolutely when being touched without his consent or when he was with her or Lenore or Glory. Dani even noticed a change when Hux got around his own sisters. In certain instances, he clearly did not seem comfortable in his own skin.

  It was a conundrum. Huxley obviously had a problem with women, which made no sense considering he had two sisters. And that didn’t even cover the attention he must always receive with his good looks. He’d clearly been well loved at home, and away from it, he probably prevailed as every woman’s wet dream. Dani-Lee couldn’t imagine that any woman he’d ever dated dumped him. They would have had to have been insane. It was a puzzle, and Dani remained determined to get to the bottom of it.

  Once she had Tess’s and Holly’s ears, she would dig into his past and see what she could find. She might be a surgeon, but she’d double majored as an undergraduate, one of which had been psychology.

  She shifted closer to Huxley, gripping his thighs with her knees. Here, at least, Huxley allowed Dani’s touch and didn’t flinch away. Dani wished they could ride forever.

  ****

  Dani-Lee tipped her head, surprised when Hux brought the bike to a stop in front of a farm—a real, planted fields, animals-behind-fences farm. She’d been to the Abelard homestead, and this wasn’t it.

  “This isn’t your house.” She started to remove her helmet but Hux stopped her.

  “Nope. These are our neighbors. Their son has been mowing our lawn.”

  Dani settled back on the bike.

  “Huxley.” A kind woman in her mid-fifties approached, leaving her laundry basket behind where she’d been hanging wet clothes on the line. “It’s good to see you, but we didn’t expect you. You haven’t been gone very long,” she said, looking puzzled.

  Hux didn’t get off the motorcycle, but reached out and took the woman’s hand. “I know, Eva, but I got a call from the state police last night that someone broke into the house.” He removed his helmet. “They said a neighbor reported our front door as being busted down, so they came out to take a look and found the place ransacked. Was it you or Dave that called it in?”

  “Neither one of us, Hux.” Worry lines etched between the woman’s brows became prominent. “If we’d noticed it, we would have called you first then the police. Very strange. Have you been to see the damage yet?”

  “No. I thought I’d stop here first and see if you knew anything.”

  “Let me get Dave to go over with you. I don’t want you and your girlfriend going over there alone.” She put a kind hand on Dani’s arm. Thank God Dani hadn’t taken off her helmet. Her cheeks surely flushed bright red. Hux’s face became a mask before he turned to look out to the fields.

  “Don’t bother, Eva, we’ll be fine.”

  Dani figured if trouble existed, Hux didn’t want the couple getting involved. “We’re supposed to be meeting an officer named Dunsky there to go over things and file a report.”

  A young man, obviously the couple’s, son wandered up, lunch in hand.

  “Hey, Shep.” Huxley nodded his head at the teenager. “Have you been mowing my property?”

  “Yup.” The kid smiled broadly. Hero-worship glowed in his eyes as he answered Hux.

  “When was the last time you were over there?”

  “Yesterday, midafternoon.” Shep took a big bite out of the sandwich he held, spilling lettuce in the process.

  “Did you see anything suspicious?” Hux questioned. “Anyone hanging around? The place got broken into sometime yesterday.”

  Shep’s eyebrows rose up. “No kidding?” he mumbled with his mouth full. “Everything looked fine when I was there.” He chewed quickly, then swallowed the enormous bite. “Wait. Some woman drove up, asking for you.”

  Dani felt Huxley stiffen in front of her.

  “What woman?” His voice had dropped and she could tell he grappled with unease.

  “A really, uh, cute woman. About your age.” He looked at Dani and shrugged apologetically. “Said she was an old friend of yours.”

  Huxley was allowed old friends. Dani wouldn’t let herself get jealous.

  “What did she look like?” Again, stiff and cold.

  “Oh, short. Five foot three, four at most. Nice looking, dark hair.” Shep got a grin on his face at a memory. “Lots of muscles.”

  Hux relaxed slightly, and Dani speculated that Shep described someone from the gym.

  “Did she give a name?”

  Shep opened his mouth to speak and then realized he had nothing to say. “Funny, she told me to tell you she stopped by, but she never told me her name.” The teenager stopped chewing and looked at Hux to see if he’d done anything wrong.

  Huxley put him at ease. “No big deal, Shep. It had to have been one of my students.”

  Hux clearly believed otherwise. “Thanks for keeping the place mowed. I’m headed over there now.” He looked at the woman Eva. “No need to bother Dave. I’m sure things will be fine. If I need any help, I’ll call and let you know.” He put his helmet back on and gave a wave. Dani did the same.

  “Bye now,” he called, then revved up the bike and put it in gear. They travelled down the dirt road at a slow pace.

  “I don’t like it,” Huxley said over his shoulder after they rode out of earshot. “It sounds like someone snooped around. It could be the same woman who called me last night. We can’t be sure she was a cop.” Dani-Lee nodded against his back.

  “We have to assume there could
be someone else working with Beletseri trying to draw us out; maybe a human, maybe a goddess, but we need to be careful.” He pointed to the edge of a vast woods not too far ahead.

  “That’s the property line.” He indicated. “I’m going to hide you and the bike there and go ahead on foot. If it’s all clear and I see the cops, I’ll give you a whistle. Other than that, you stay put. Do you hear me?”

  Dani heard him all right, and he wouldn’t like her response.

  “I’m supposed to stick with you,” she reminded him brusquely.

  “What?” Huxley said it like he must have misunderstood.

  “I said, I stay with you,” she reiterated loudly. “The witches told me very specifically that I was not to leave your side.” She dropped her voice on the last because Huxley pulled over and cut the engine.

  He drew off his helmet and sat, taking a few seconds. To what? Bring himself under control?

  “Get off the bike,” he bit out.

  “I don’t think—”

  “Get off the bike.” His voice brooked no argument.

  Dani scrambled to do as she was told.

  “Fine,” she said, once she had both feet on the forest floor. “I’m off the bike.” She removed her helmet and closed her eyes, shaking out her hair and fortifying herself for a fight. She felt Huxley’s hands at the back of her neck and her lids snapped open.

  “What about ‘stay put’ do you not understand?” he growled, his face no more than three inches away from hers.

  “Huxley, the witches said―” Dani swallowed down her panic.

  “No, Dani. You’re not going.” He shook her a little. “You will not argue this.” He pinned her with his chocolate-brown stare. “If I go and there’s danger, I can get myself out of it. If you go and get yourself in trouble, then I’ve got to worry about both of us. That’s not going to happen.”

  Dani had never seen Huxley’s eyes quite so intense, nor was she used to him getting up so close and talking to her like this except for the few times he’d kissed her. She shivered a little in the damp woods.

  “Okay, Huxley, I get it. But you have to promise me we’ll talk to Addie May when we get back. She laid it out pretty specifically about not letting you go off on your own.”

  “Fuck, woman. Stop being so goddamned bossy. You’re not right all the time, you know,” Huxley hissed. “You can play the superior doctor with patients, but not with me. You get that?”

  Dani-Lee tried to draw herself away, twisting ineffectually.

  “Bossy?” Dani drew herself up, hurt. “I’m not the bossy one. If you think for one minute that you can make this problem about me, then—”

  “Dani.” Hux got even closer. “Shut up.” His lips came down on hers in a crushing kiss. He ground into her mouth, scorching her deeply. She shook in response. This wasn’t like any of his kisses she’d experienced before.

  This was not an “I like you” kiss or a “let’s get something started kiss. No. This was a punishing “shut the fuck up and do as you’re told kiss,” and all Dani could do was hold onto the front of Huxley’s jacket and let it happen. She was appalled. She was thrilled. Dani groaned deep in her throat and melted into the heat of his embrace. If he wanted her right then and there, he could fuck her up against a tree, and she wouldn’t stop him. Hell, she felt a flood of warmth between her thighs just thinking about it.

  As her body surrendered, Huxley’s assault changed. His kiss became softer, he explored her mouth deeper. She twined her fingers around his neck, scoring her nails into the soft, scruff of his nape, and he drew her hips up and into his, molding her to his unmistakably hard cock. Dani moaned. Huxley drew back from the kiss, but still held her close.

  “Do you get me, Dani?” He looked shaken. She detected it as he examined her mouth.

  “I do.” She bit her tender, swollen lower lip and Huxley groaned. The slightest of pauses occurred before he dipped his head toward her again.

  This time he teased, he tasted, he coaxed her tongue into his mouth. All the while, he kept hold of her hips and rocked his body as close to hers as he could get. She could feel the hard outline of his cock where it rubbed and chafed at her pussy, their jeans an unwelcome barrier. His heart beat hard against her swollen breasts, and when he finally let her go, Dani figured he’d had more than he bargained for.

  “Now stay here.” He attempted to slow his breathing and his voice sounded gruff. “I’ll be right back.” Huxley dropped another kiss on her freckled nose before sprinting off in the direction of the farm house.

  Wow. What was that all about? Dani pondered Hux’s dissembled actions hazily as she raised one trembling hand to her lips. If it had been a distraction, he’d come close to succeeding. Dani had trouble thinking, let alone moving her feet. But with an extraordinary effort, she squared her shoulders and straightened her spine. She took a shaky breath. Dani knew what she’d been told by Addie May, and she’d be damned if she neglected her duty. She would trail Huxley, albeit at a distance, to make sure nothing happened to him.

  Dani emerged from the trees, looked right and left, and then followed in the direction Huxley had taken. She kept her cell phone in hand as she silently crept down the road, careful to stay well hidden. Marduk was on speed dial. He and the cavalry could be here within minutes if anything bad went down.

  ****

  Candy straightened up slowly. Well, how about that. She rolled her eyes and cracked her neck. She’d gotten an eye full of the little scene that played out and waited, both pissed and relieved. The Huxley guy had clearly given the redhead orders to stay put then gone on ahead, figuring his little macho display would keep her in her place.

  Good for that chick not taking the big boy’s crap. If some guy strong-armed her like that, she’d bite his tongue off and stuff it in his pocket before she hauled her ass far, far away from tactics like that. Candy picked up her pack and got her head around the game change.

  Earlier, she’d staked things out, having figured the Huxley dude would check with his neighbors first. She had taken a position halfway between the farms, up on a knoll that overlooked everything. She’d been correct, and as soon as she’d seen him—with a fucking passenger—stop to talk with the farm folks, she quickly and covertly made her way down into the woods.

  Her initial objective had been to waylay pretty boy in the forest, perhaps with a bullet to a tire. Take him down, cuff him up, and drag him back to Mrs. Snootface. When she realized a woman accompanied him that plan became a bust, and Candy settled on following him to the farm, waiting ‘til they both got inside before planting a tracking device on his bike. She’d trace him to wherever he went, wait until he ditched his company, and then snag him.

  What she hadn’t counted on was that the asshole would unexpectedly stop his bike not ten feet from where she hid. Candy found herself surprised—and she rarely got surprised—as she listened to find out he was suspicious about the break-in scenario and was willing to hoof it the rest of the way to his front door to see if the story panned out. This motherfucker was a lot more complex than she had originally been led to believe, and—as she figured while doing her recon on the farmhouse—more existed about this guy than she’d been told by her erstwhile employer. All Candy’s internal bells and whistles blared in warning.

  Candy also figured she would have to find a way to lure the redhead away to plant the tracking device, but she would hand it to the tall bitch. She had some balls. After basically being warned her pussy was in jeopardy of a retributive banging if she didn’t mind her Ps and Qs, the woman called Dani manned up and followed Huxley’s ass anyway. Score one for the ladies.

  Candy wasted no time taking the small device from her backpack. She moved quickly and planted it in one of the saddlebags. Now all she had to do was follow the signal once the pair left. She slid back into the trees and off to where her car was stashed. Her interest had certainly been piqued.

  She might have to put Huxley’s reunion with Mrs. Worthington on a back burner. Ther
e remained more interesting things to discover about this situation. Like, who the hell was Addie May, and why couldn’t the tall redhead let the well-equipped Huxley go off by himself?

  Chapter Six

  Nergal remained awake, staring at the ceiling. He’d heard Huxley and Dani take off on their bike. An hour had passed since those few short words with his wife. He probably shouldn’t have wasted those precious seconds making sure she was unharmed, but he needed those assurances.

  Nergal? Nergal are you there? Her words had catapulted him out of a worried stupor, and he’d sprung to his feet while answering.

  I’m here Eresh, my love, my life. Are you all right?

  I’m okay, Nergal, but I need to tell you—

  Beletseri, Nedu, that human, Matthew? None of them have hurt you?

  Nergal, I’m fine. Please let me speak. I have less than thirty seconds between moves.

  They’re using the ore from the Underworld to hide themselves and block your energy, am I right? Nergal wanted to make sure he and the gods hadn’t made erroneous assumptions.

  Yes. Yes. But Nergal, you need to find me fast. Beletseri is pumping me for Underworld information. Once she’s got everything she wants, I fear she won’t need me anymore.

  Look around, Eresh. Right now. What do you see?

  All she’d been able to get out were a final two words. The ones Nergal now contemplated, more frustrated and puzzled than ever.

  After Ereshkigal had been cut off, he’d relayed the conversation to Lahar and Shamash by mind-speak. The pair had been monitoring the compound all night. Neither had any clue what the queen’s words meant. He couldn’t wait for the household to awaken fully so he could run it by everyone, or at the very least, get the witches scrying in their bowl.

  A few restless hours later, the king noted all the god energy converging on the kitchen and swung his legs out of bed. He ran a trembling hand through his thick, chestnut mane before securing it back with a leather thong, wondering how his body could be so weak after a lifetime of power and total control. Now he understood what humans meant when they said nothing hurt more than a broken heart.