Marisa Chenery (3 page)

Konner took pity on her and reached across the table to position the chopsticks properly in her grip. “Like this,” he said. “You should be able to use your fingers to open and close them.” He helped her make the movement. “Now you try on your own.”

Alexis did as he’d said. This time the chopsticks crossed and she didn’t drop one. She gave a smile.

“Not great,” she said, “but I might be able to manage. If not I’ll just eat with my fingers.”

“Whatever is easier for you.”

Alexis clumsily selected a spring roll and got it to her plate before she dropped it. “So,” she said. “How long have you been in the States?”

“Quite a while now,” Konner replied after he took a bite of food.

“What part of Australia are you from?”

“New South Wales. Sydney, to be exact.”

“Did you ever go to the opera house there? I’ve always thought of going to Australia, but it isn’t a cheap vacation.”

“No, I’ve never been to the opera house.” Of course Alexis would ask if he’d been to the famous Sydney landmark. Most people thought of it when talking about the city of his birth. But since construction on the building hadn’t started until 1961

and wasn’t completed until 1973, Konner hadn’t been living in Australia during that time.

“What a shame,” Alexis said. “You had to have done the bridge climb above Sydney Harbour, at least.” Another landmark that hadn’t existed while he’d lived there. The Sydney Harbour Bridge had taken nine years to build with construction started in 1923. At the rate Konner was going, Alexis would think he’d lied to her about living in Sydney. The only thing he could do before she asked him if he’d been to another landmark he should have been to and hadn’t was to change the topic of conversation as quickly as he could.

“No, I’ve never done the bridge climb.” He cleared his throat. “You said you owned your own web design business.”

Alexis didn’t bat an eye at the rapid change of subject. “Yeah, I do. After completing the computer programmer program at the University of Chicago, my best friend, Sabrina, and I decided to go into business for ourselves. It took a few years, but we now have steady, regular clients with new ones coming in.” She grinned.

“Now don’t be calling me a computer nerd, because I’m not nerdy in any way.”

Konner had to agree with that. In no way did Alexis look like a nerd. “I would never call you that. I promise.

Do you work from home, or do you and your friend have a small office somewhere?”

“From home, but Sabrina and I get together to go out for lunch a couple times a week. They’re like our business meetings. Most of the time we just handle things through email and phone conversations.” More of their food arrived. Konner saw Alexis eyeing the rolls with the raw fish. She didn’t look too sure about it all. He poured some soy sauce into the small bowl in front of his plate, then used his chopsticks to mix some wasabi into it. Alexis followed his example and did the same. He selected one of the pieces of the rainbow roll and dipped it into the soy sauce mixture before he put the whole thing into his mouth. Alexis heaved a big sigh, wrangled her chopsticks and did the same without hesitating. A look of surprise crossed her face as she chewed.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

Once she swallowed she answered him. “Wow, that is good. I couldn’t tell the fish was raw.” She ate another piece, then said, “You’ve never said what you do for a job.”

Konner was about to answer in a roundabout kind of way when an excruciating pain shot through his head. A few seconds passed and it didn’t abate. He barely managed to bite back a groan. He’d never had a headache this bad or one so intense. Nor had he had one since becoming immortal.

He must have shown in some way that he was hurting, because Alexis asked, “Are you okay, Konner?

Your face has gone pale.”

“I suddenly just got a really bad headache. I think I’ll go to the men’s room and splash some cold water on my face and see if that helps.”

Before Alexis could reply, Konner put down his chopsticks and stood from the table. He took the most direct way to the restroom. Inside, he went to one of the stalls and shut the door behind him. Something wasn’t right. Along with the headache, his bones were now shifting beneath his skin. Claws broke through the tips of his fingers before they receded a second later. Black fur sprouted on his arms, then it too disappeared beneath his skin. His vision had become keener, which meant his eyes had shifted to those of a jackal as well. But that didn’t last long, either. The pain in his head continued to pound, making Konner wonder if he’d pass out from it.

By slow degrees, the headache went away, leaving Konner a bit on the shaky side. He unlocked the stall and walked to the sinks. A look in the mirror above them showed he was back to normal. He turned on the water and splashed some on his face. He had to get back to Alexis. He’d already been in the men’s room far too long.

Konner dried his face with a paper towel. He had no idea what had caused this partial shift or the extreme headache. It had never happened to him before. He only ever did a full shift into his half-human and half-jackal form, nothing in between. And the scary part was there wasn’t any presence of evil to set him off. He’d felt no pull. It didn’t make sense to him. He couldn’t be coming down with some kind of illness that would affect his shifting ability. He hadn’t even gotten a simple cold since vowing to serve Anubis.

Even though what had just happened to him was something to be concerned about, it didn’t mean he was going to end his date with Alexis over it. Konner would just have to be ready to think of a reason to get away from her if the headache and the other symptoms came back. For now, whatever it had been seemed to be gone and hopefully it would stay that way.

Alexis looked toward the restrooms. There was still no sign of Konner. He’d been in the men’s room for a while now, and she was a little worried about him. His headache had seemed to set in awfully fast, and his face had gone really white. If he felt that bad, she was going to suggest he just take her home once they were done eating.

Turning her attention back to the food on the table, Alexis fussed with her chopsticks until she held them in a semblance of the right way, then attempted to pick up one of the rolls. It took her a couple of tries, but she managed it.

She put the food in her mouth and chewed. If she had known sushi, and the raw fish, tasted this good she would have tried it a long time ago. Once she swallowed, a small smile tugged at her lips. She’d have to get Sabrina to come here for lunch sometime with her.

Alexis would probably have to trick her into it, though.

Her best friend was leery of new foods as she was with new situations and people.

Alexis turned her gaze in the direction of the restrooms again and breathed a small sigh of relief when she saw Konner walk out into the main part of the restaurant. Even from this distance he looked better.

Maybe putting water on his face had helped him.

She was glad about that. She really hadn’t wanted their date to end early. She liked Konner. He was a great guy. With a terrific personality and good looks, he was everything she could ask for in a man. And being sexy as all hell helped as well. Alexis ached to explore his hard body, to learn what really turned him on.

She pulled her wayward thoughts back to less provocative things as Konner sat in his chair across from her. “Are you feeling better?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yes. The cold water helped. I’ve never had a headache come and leave so quickly.”

“Maybe you’re coming down with something. Do you want to end our date early?”

“No. I’m fine.” Konner’s gaze met hers. “I was going to suggest we do something else after we eat, like going to a nightclub, but how would you feel about going to my place? We can play some video games,” he said with a smile. “See who the better gamer is.”

Alexis had the distinct impression that if she said yes, playing video games wouldn’t be the only thing they would be doing. Not that that bothered her. She’d use any excuse to get someplace alone with Konner.

“All right. You’re on,” she said. “So what does the winner get?”

Heat flared in Konner’s eyes. “Anything they want.

Within reason, of course.”

“Of course.”

Alexis would try her damnedest to be the winner.

The thought of telling Konner to take his clothes off while she watched sent a flood of warmth through her body. Though ending up the loser would more than likely be something she’d enjoy as well. The way his gaze seemed to eat her up as he stared at her, Konner’s thoughts could be going down the same road as hers.

“Then we’re on?” he asked in a voice that had gone a little husky.

“Definitely. Just be prepared to get your ass beat.”

“You’re pretty confident you’ll win. You’ve never played against me before. I might be the one beating your cute ass.”

She gave him a smile. “We shall see.” Even though it was an offhanded remark about her ass, a thrill still went through Alexis to know Konner thought it was cute.

They finished the rest of the food. To speed things up a bit, Alexis packed in the chopsticks and picked up the rolls with her fingers. Konner paid their bill, and they were soon outside getting into his car.

When they reached the Southport Corridor neighborhood, Alexis realized Konner had never said what he did for a living. Whatever it was, she had a feeling it paid really well. That was proven correct when he pulled into the driveway of a majestic-looking Queen Anne house that sat on a large corner lot. The property had black wrought-iron fencing all around it. It also looked to be worth a fortune. Konner parked in front of a two-car detached garage and shut the engine off.

Alexis waited for him to come around and open the door for her. Konner seemed to be a gentleman that way, always opening and closing it. With a hand on the small of her back, he guided her to the double doors at the front of the house. Inside, they stepped into an entranceway that had mosaic floors.

“How big is this place?” she asked as Konner shut the door they’d come through behind them.

“It’s sixty-four hundred square feet.”

“That’s huge. I guess you don’t have to worry about feeling you’re running out of space.”

Konner chuckled. “No, I don’t. Come on. I’ll show my media room. That’s where I have my systems set up.” He led her to a door that had a flight of stairs going down to what turned out to be a finished basement. Her eyes widened when she took in the catering kitchen.

“Someone could use this basement as an apartment with the kitchen and all.”

“I like my privacy too much for that, and I don’t need renters to pay for the place. Besides the kitchen and media room, I have a thousand-bottle wine cellar down here as well.”

She blinked. “A thousand bottles? You can’t have that many down here.”

Konner chuckled. “No, I don’t. The cellar is more for a wine collector, which I’m not.”

He led her to his media room. There was a large LCD

television hanging on one wall with a thick-cushioned couch facing it. The entertainment unit sitting under the TV had two gaming systems set up on it and the shelves inside were filled with games.

Alexis sat on the couch as Konner walked over to the entertainment unit. “So what game do you have in mind for us to play?” she asked.

He selected one off the shelf and held it up. “This.

It’s a shooter. Whoever gets the most kills during a match wins.”

“You’re on. Just to give you fair warning, I’m pretty good at games like this.”

Konner turned on one of the systems, then put in the game disc. “So am I,” he said as he took a seat next to her before he handed her a wireless controller.

As they played, Alexis soon found out Konner was as good as he’d said. He was definitely giving her a run for her money. She even wondered if she’d be able to beat him. Plus, it didn’t help that he sat so close their thighs touched. His body heat sank into hers, making her very aware of him. With each breath she took, she pulled in the scent of his aftershave and the one that was totally his own. Alexis found it hard to keep her full attention on the game, which caused her to make some silly mistakes that worked out in Konner’s favor. If he was as affected by her nearness as she was by his, he didn’t show it. And it sure didn’t seem to hinder his playing abilities, either.

But somehow Alexis managed to pull off the win in the last few seconds of the match. She let out a whoop as their scores appeared on the TV screen. The difference was only by one kill, but she’d take it.

“I guess that makes me the better gamer,” she said as she turned to look at Konner.

“Or you just were lucky,” he replied.

“Either way I still won.”

Konner took the controller from her, then stood and returned hers and his to the entertainment unit. He took out the game disc and shut off the system before he once again sat beside her.

“All right, winner. You can have anything you want.

So what will it be?”

Alexis didn’t even hesitate. “You.”

Konner moved so fast he had her under him on the couch with his lips fused to hers as he kissed her hungrily before Alexis knew it. She moaned into his mouth, returning his kiss, opening her own when he pushed his tongue inside.

She clutched at his shoulders as she lifted her legs to put them around his waist. His hard cock pressed against her pussy. She rubbed herself along it, growing wetter by the second. Konner thrust his hips, which increased the pleasurable friction. Alexis had no doubt in her mind if he kept it up she’d come this way.

A large hand landed on one of her breasts, the fingers tweaking her nipple. Alexis sucked on Konner’s tongue as her arousal grew. Her body craved more, but she didn’t want this to be over too fast. She wanted to savor every touch, every kiss. Plus, she wanted to do some touching of her own.

She broke the kiss and looked up into Konner’s eyes.

His pupils were dilated with desire. “I want to watch you take your clothes off,” she said with a nip to his chin.

He rocked his hard cock against her pussy, which had her sucking in a breath. “Will I get to watch you take yours off as well?”

She shook her head. “No.” She paused, then said,

“You’ll be the one stripping me.”

Konner pushed off her and stood facing the couch.

Alexis sat up to watch him. He grabbed the bottom of his t-shirt and started to pull it toward his head in a quick yank. She stopped him.

“Not like that,” she said. “Slower.” He let the hem of the shirt drop back into place, then took hold of it once more. This time he lifted it at a snail’s pace. “A little faster than that,” Alexis demanded.

“Do you want me to turn on some music so I can dance to it while I strip? Put on a real show for you?” Konner asked with a smile. “But I have to warn you, I can’t dance worth shit and I’ll look like a nong.”

“A what?” Alexis asked with a laugh.

“An idiot. Sorry, Australian slang.”

“Oh. Well, we can’t have that. It would ruin the sexy vibe you’ve got going on.”

“Then I’ll continue.”

This time Konner pulled up his t-shirt at just the right speed. Alexis had time to savor every inch of bared flesh as he went. She licked her lips once he’d tossed his shirt aside. His chest was wide and defined with large muscles, same with his shoulders and arms. She then noticed the black tattoo he had on the left side of his chest directly over his heart. The style of it was ancient Egyptian. It was a depiction of Anubis. He had a jackal’s head. In one hand he held an ankh while in the other was a flail. The whole thing was inside a cartouche.

Alexis’ attention was snagged downward as Konner reached for the button on his jeans. She heard the thudding of her quickened pulse pounding in her ears and she breathed at a faster rate. He slowly undid it, then yanked down his zipper. He took hold of the waistband and pushed the pants down before he stepped out of them and kicked them out of the way. Konner now stood only in a pair of black boxer-briefs.

She ran her gaze up and down Konner’s body. His legs were as muscular as his chest, shoulders and arms.

And she couldn’t help noticing how his cock tented the front of his underwear. There was no mistaking he was a large man there as well.

The anticipation built as Konner placed a hand on the top of his boxer-briefs. He finally pushed them down, bending at the waist a bit as he did so. He stepped out of them and sent the underwear in the same direction as his jeans.

Alexis swallowed at the sight of a nude Konner. He took her breath away. His cock stuck out straight from his body and was as thick and long as she’d pictured he’d be. She couldn’t tear her gaze off him. No longer able to just sit there and not touch, she reached out and ran a hand down the side of his hip. Konner’s shaft jerked and a bead of pre-cum appeared on the very tip.

“I’ve stripped, now what do you want me to do?” Konner asked in a husky voice.

“Let me touch you however I wish.” Alexis dragged her fingertips from his hip to his cock, trailing them down its length to the flared head, and rubbed the drop of moisture there into his skin.

Konner groaned. “I don’t know how long I’ll be able to let you continue to do that before I’ll want you back under me—naked.”

She looked up and saw he watched her intently.

“Don’t worry. I won’t be able to explore you for too long before I’ll crave more than that.”

Alexis shifted forward so she sat on the edge of the couch cushion and was closer to Konner. She reached up and smoothed her hands down the center of his chest to his washboard abs. It was kind of erotic to have a naked man in front of her while she was fully dressed.

She continued her downward journey until she came to his erection. This time she didn’t just trail her fingers along it. She wrapped them around his cock in a tight fist and pumped. Konner let out a deep groan as he thrust his hips to match her strokes.

The sudden urge to taste settled inside her. Alexis had no intention of ignoring it. The thought of what she was about to do had wetness leaking into her panties and her pussy clenching with the need to be filled.

With a firm grip around the base of his cock, she opened her mouth and sucked him inside until he just about touched the back of her throat. She slid him almost all the way out before taking him back in. Konner’s harsh breathing filled her ears as he rocked his hips. Alexis sucked harder, swirling her tongue around the head of his shaft with each stroke out.

All too soon, he pulled her away. “It’s been a while for me,” he said in a strained voice. “I don’t want to push my luck.” Konner took a step back, then helped Alexis to her feet. “Time for you to get naked so I can do some of the things I’m aching to do to you.”

While he slowly undressed her, he whispered some of those things to her. Once he had her down to her panties and bra, Alexis was so turned-on her legs shook, and she didn’t think they’d hold her up for much longer.