Page 22 of The Guardian (Dark-Hunter 20)
Chapter 7
Lydia tapped her fingers against the Guardian's desk in total boredom, waiting for him to return.
You still have the laptop, you know.
Yes, yes, she did ...
And with it, she could e-mail Solin! Why hadn't she thought of that earlier?
'Cause I'm an idiot. And honestly, she didn't want to get caught doing something that would get her hurt.
But ...
He wasn't here right now.
Her heart pounding, she went to her gmail account and prayed she had enough time to finish before the Guardian returned.
Her fingers flew over the keys.
Solin,
I'm still here in Azmodea. I know you didn't abandon me by choice, but I need a way home. My powers are gone. I can't get them back by myself. I don't know how long the Guardian intends to keep me. For now, I'm safe and unharmed. Please tell me what you're planning.
Whatever you do, do not give him the key, whatever it is. I'm not worth it.
Love you always,
Dee.
He was the only one who'd ever called her that and it was her way of letting him know that e-mail was really coming from her. She hit the send button and held her breath until she was sure it'd gone through.
With any luck, he'd check his mail soon and get back to her.
Even though it hadn't been said explicitly, she had a really good idea that the Guardian was holding her until Solin handed that key over.
And to save her life and free her, Solin would. Without hesitation.
Please don't. Her life wasn't worth what would happen to the world should Noir tap the power of Zeus. Under no circumstances could that be allowed.
She reloaded her e-mail, hoping for a response.
For over an hour, she did that to no avail ... until she felt the Guardian's return. There was no way to miss the change in the air whenever he was near. His powers were tangible.
As was that fierce presence.
But he didn't come into the bedroom. Rather he was in the shower.
At least she assumed he was the one running the water in there.
After logging out of her e-mail, she went to check for sure. 'Cause if it wasn't him, she was going to give someone a lot to regret.
She crept slowly toward the closed door, ready to bolt if it was another demon in there. Not sure if she should do this, she shouldered it open, then froze.
The Guardian's armor lay in a heap on the floor outside of the shower. A shower she hadn't realized earlier had a glass door.
Now she saw it.
And she saw him.
All of him.
The hot water slid over a magnificent body that rippled with chiseled muscles and sinewy grace. Oh yeah, baby. He'd make a fortune with a Web cam.
Holy cow ... Not even the bruises and scars detracted from the absolute beauty of him.
Oh my word. I want a piece of that. Never in her life had she wanted to bite a heinie so badly.
Her throat went dry as a wave of desire burned through her blood like lava. Unaware of her presence, he scrubbed at himself with such vigor that she was surprised he didn't remove skin with it.
He turned slightly to get more soap, then froze as he caught sight of her.
Time hung still as they stared at each other through the glass and steam. Her eyes widened the instant his cock began to swell.
"Sorry!" she shouted before she jumped back through the door and slammed it shut.
Oh good grief! She was mortified at being caught ...
* * *
Seth still didn't move. He couldn't get the sight of Lydia standing there out of his mind. Why had she watched him?
How long had she watched him?
Did it matter?
Sighing, he returned to bathing. It stunned him that he could get hard again, given what Azura had just put him through. But all he had to do was think of Lydia and his body reacted against his will.
Damn treacherous beast.
He turned the water off and summoned his loose black pants and a loose, long-sleeved black shirt. He'd never liked showing off any part of his body. Not after what had been done to him.
Grabbing a towel off the bar, he considered putting his makeup back on, but why bother? She'd already seen his real face and hair.
And hopefully both Noir and Azura were through with him for at least a day.
I just want a some peace. If only it was possible.
He rubbed the towel against his wet hair as he opened the door to find Lydia, still red-faced, sitting in his chair. "Did you need something?"
She shook her head, refusing to look at him.
It was just as well. "Is there anything I can get you?"
"Besides my powers?" The sass in her tone caught him off guard.
She was ever persistent. Not that he blamed her. "Yes, besides your powers."
"I'm good. Really, really good."
But he wasn't. He wanted to walk over to her and brush his hand through her dark hair to feel its softness again. More than that, he wanted to bury his face in the hollow of her throat and inhale her scent until he was dizzy with pleasure.
He'd also want to kiss her again if her kisses weren't as violent and painful as everyone else's. Between Azura's mouth and Noir's fist, his lips were always burning and aching. And when it came to a she-demon ...
Yeah. At least Lydia's bite hadn't left a scar.
It made him wonder if she bit Solin like that whenever she kissed him.
And for some reason, the thought of her with the dream god made his blood boil. He had no idea why. She was Solin's, after all.
But he didn't like it. Not one bit.
Lydia swallowed as she felt him draw near her. Every molecule of her body perked up, aching for her to reach out and rub herself against that long, hard body.
She glanced up, hoping his war paint would settle her desire, and remind her of who and what he was. But when she met those light blue eyes set into an unbelievably handsome face that was framed with thick, unruly spiral curls, she melted even more. Until then, she hadn't realized how young he was in appearance. He didn't look any older than his midtwenties. Actually, if not for his whiskers and the sprinkling of hairs on his chest, and the cut definition of his muscles, he'd probably look even younger.
And how much more handsome would he be without the bruises and cuts on his cheeks and lips? Without his jaw swollen and the broken blood vessels in his eye?
Her heart aching for his pain, she dropped her gaze to the swallow's tail and wing tip that peeked out from beneath his shirt. "Does that have any special meaning?"
In response to her question, he began clawing at it as if he wanted to scrape it off. "No."
"Then why did you-"
"I don't want to talk about it."
He moved the towel to cover the tattoo, and it was then she saw the additional bite marks on the other side of his neck and along the underside of his jaw. Two of them were over what appeared to be really bad hickeys. She also realized his lips were more swollen than before, and the upper one was bleeding again. And when he brushed his hand through his thick hair, there were bleeding fingernail marks on the back of his neck.
"Are you all right?"
