Damon: The A'rouk Brothers: A BBW Paranornal Page 10

  She moved closer to his body and felt as his emotions came crashing down. He’d held them in, now she could feel them all. The love for his brothers and their friends. Family meant so much to him. His hatred for the scientists and anyone that made a move against those he loved. His almost hero worship of his oldest brother. They were all there. His emotions drew her closer connecting her to him.

  She tilted her head back to look him in the eyes, and then she shared her emotions. There was pain and sadness for all the years of captivity she suffered through. There was envy of those who had a life when she didn’t. Underneath them was the shame she had been made to feel because she didn’t look like everyone else. It wasn’t about her skin color or her face, it was all size based. The pain that slashed her heart because no one was willing to accept her as she was.

  There was her mother’s voice always reminding her that people came in all shapes and sizes and even River sizes would find love. Damon drew her into his arms and kissed her tenderly before they both closed their eyes to get some sleep.

  “Damon, where’s dinner?”

  River jerked awake at the sound of the voice that traveled up the stairs.

  “That was my brother, Lucca. His way of letting me know he was here in case I didn’t feel him nudge my alarm or walk louder than a stampede of horses.

  “Are you feeding my patient?”

  “That’s Nicolas. You should recognize his voice.”

  “Do you just show up at each other’s house?”

  “All the time. We’re family.”

  She grinned wide because she could feel his love for his family. He might be acting like it was no big deal but the fact that they were here for him meant a lot.

  “I need to go shopping. The clothes I had are still at Aran and Rena's.”

  “Rena sent your clothes.” That was a female voice she didn’t recognize. “I have several bags down here.”

  “Thank you.”

  “That’s Jaz, my brother’s mate. You go take a shower I’ll get the clothes for you.”

  “What about you?”

  He was dressed before she could open her mouth.

  “Not everyone can do this only the first.” He went to the door. “River I’d rather be taking a shower with you.”

  He walked out smiling, and she hummed the lyrics to a song that she didn’t remember knowing.

  She took her time in the shower meeting the whole family was on her list of scary things to do. Right there after being locked in a wild animal preserve. Hmmm, maybe it was before that on the list. Damon was sitting on the bed when she walked in.

  “Hey you, I thought you’d be downstairs with your family.”

  “I’m not going to let you walk in there by yourself.”

  She released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and walked into his arms.

  “Thanks, I know they’re your family, and they aren’t scary but…”

  “River they are the most lethal killers in the galaxy. Little Warrior, they are scary as hell, but it’ll never be directed at you.”

  “What a way to make me feel better.” She walked over to the bags and found an outfit that she thought would look good on her.

  “I like these, they fit so well.”

  “I don’t know how the females do it, but according to them they have shopping down to a science.”

  “I’d like to meet them and go one day.”

  He drew her into the shelter of his body. “We’ll make it. Remember we’re taking it one day at a time.”

  “I remember. Let’s go so you can introduce me to your family.”

  He took her hand as they descended the stairs and walked into the kitchen.

  “Umm, I don’t think the kitchen used to be this size.” She whispered to Damon.

  “We enlarged it.” A male with black hair said grinning at her.

  “That’s Julian, he’s the third born. The male with the blonde hair is Lucca, and he’s the fourth born. Raphael is to his right with the silver hair he’s the baby of the family.”

  “You have got to stop calling me the baby.”

  Everyone’s eyes lit up, and they tried hard to suppress their smiles. She wanted to laugh with them as they teased their brother.

  “Mick has the brown hair, and he’s hugging his mate Jaz. Ash has red hair like me. He’s Aran’s youngest brother. The female he’s protecting is his mate Brook. Why do you…” There was no way he was going to ask her why she had a shirt on that said baby on board with an arrow pointing down.

  “Aww Damon, you should have asked.” She gave him a big grin as she leaned back into Ash.

  “I assume you're pregnant?” All three of them laughed while the males gave them that wide eye look.

  “I am. Do you want to come sit over here?”

  She looked at Damon. She didn’t want to desert him even if talking to other females would be nice. His hand slid down her neck, but she could feel his emotions that were telling her to go have fun.

  “Let’s go sit in the living room while they make dinner.” Brook got up and started making her way to the door.

  “Don’t you dare follow us.” She was looking at Ash.

  “I won’t.” He picked her up and took her to the couch before heading back into the kitchen.

  “Are you alright?” River asked.

  “Yes.” Jaz turned to look at her. “My equilibrium is off, and I fell the other day. Nicolas took a look at me. He told me to be careful and stay in bed. If I wanted to get up, Ash would carry me. Seems whatever’s wrong is an easy fix when I’m no longer pregnant. They don’t want to hurt the baby, and since there haven’t been many born, they still need to be careful.”

  “Why haven’t there been many born?”

  “The Dares have some type of system that allows only one of them to impregnate a mate at a time. Now that I’m pregnant there may be another round of children.”

  “I remember Rena talking about it with Dee. I was only half listening at the time.”

  “Mick is the first to get mated, so we don’t know if that will be the same with his family.”

  “It’s really hard to come into a readymade family and not know a soul. Harder when the males are so different from what you're used to. I met Ash several centuries ago at a stadium in Pittsburgh…”

  Brook told her story, then Jaz picked up from where she left off.

  “I was held hostage by a male named Sloan.”

  “Stay away from him, he will try to kill you.”

  “Too late for that warning.”

  “Do you love Damon?” Brook asked.

  “Isn’t it too early for that?”

  “No. Love is supposed to take a long time at least that’s what the humans around me always said. I found out love doesn’t have a timetable. Sometimes it's slow and simmering, other times it's fast and hard. It was fast and hard with Mick and me.”

  “I knew the first day I saw Ash. I kick myself sometimes because of the centuries we missed out on.”

  “It’s time to eat.” Ash’s deep voice said from the door. He walked over and picked up Brook. “All that matters is that we're together now.”

  River was the last to walk into the kitchen. She wanted that kind of love. When she looked up Damon was looking at her with an emotion she couldn’t identify.

  Chapter Sixteen

  River was laughing so hard she had to wipe the tears from her eyes. Damon’s brothers were telling her about some of his famous antics and having a good time at his expense.

  “Damon had this gem that he protected. It was a unique blend of blue and green.” Raphael was talking now, but the tone of his voice had changed. He wasn’t laughing, he was looking at his brother with respect.

  “We didn’t have much because we weren’t allowed to own anything. Warriors had to travel light, and they couldn’t care about anything. Damon found this small rock long before I was born and he kept it with him. If the scientists had known, they would have taken it from him.
One day I snatched it and ran.” He gave a smile and laughed at Damon.

  “Those were good times when we still had some freedom. He gave chase, but he never thought I would take for the air.” He stopped and cast a glance at his oldest brother.

  “I had been told that unless I was at risk of dying I was not to take to the air. One look at Damon’s face told me he was going to kill me. I shot straight up something he didn’t expect me to do. I was so proud of myself. Look how young I was, and I was going as high as Julian or Lucas until I got into trouble. I dropped the rock and lost any stability I had.”

  Raphael stood and walked over to the window in the living room and looked out.

  “When you’re young you do things because you can’t begin to understand the consequences of your actions. Even The Created have done things like that. I was falling, there was no way I would be able to survive a fall from the height I was at. Damon was racing after me to get his stone back when it passed him. All he had to do was dive to catch it. He never even looked at it, he kept coming and caught me instead.” He tilted his head to his brother in a silent thank you.

  “Damon’s a good male, and I believe he will make a good mate.” He disappeared.

  One by one his brothers stood up and disappeared. Brook and Ash, along with Jaz and Mick left out the front door and climbed into the hover that was outside waiting for them.

  “You love and care for your family.”

  “I was upset with him. I knew he was playing, but he took the one thing I guarded jealously. I wanted it back, and he was probably right to take to the air I wasn’t in the talking frame of mind.”

  “What was it that made it so special?”

  “When we were younger we began to understand that the Scientists didn’t intend for us to mate or create. That rock represented my mate. When Raphael took it, it felt like he stole my dream. I was sure it would never come true when he dropped it.”

  “You saved him.”

  “He would have died. My dream was important but not as important as his life.”

  “I don’t know if a lot of people would have done that.”

  “All The Created would do that. When I came to this planet I realized, there were hundreds of thousands of people who did that daily. They gave up their dreams so someone else could have theirs. Like The Created, they fought battles that weren’t always theirs so the planet they loved would continue to be free. They picked up pipes to make sure the people they cared for had a chance to live.”

  He pulled her into his arms holding her close before he reached into his pocket and brought out a blue-green rock.

  “Is this the rock?”

  “It is.” It wasn’t a pebble it was bigger than his fist, but it was still small enough to stow away in his gear.

  “How did you find it?”

  “I didn’t. Dante gave it to me when he came to my cabin.”

  She leaned and rubbed her head against his chest as she looked at his rock.

  “Why did he wait so long?”

  “I didn’t ask him, and he didn’t say. If I had to hazard a guess, I think I needed to put this dream aside until it was time for it. When I met you, my mate, the time was right to dream again.”

  “I like that.”

  “River, would you like to go out?”

  “Like a date?” Her eyes shined before she got herself under control.

  “Yes, a date.”

  “I need to change.” She was off his lap and walking sedately to the stairs. When she thought he couldn’t see her, she began to run.

  A date. She’d been in captivity for so long that things like dating and laughter and sex were no longer on her radar. Mmm, sex with Damon. She had stopped thinking about those things and now he was bringing them all back into her life. Sure, there was some danger, but he wasn’t the cause of the danger. It would be there even if he weren't in her life.

  She picked out a full skirt that swayed when she walked giving the viewer a peek a boo look at her legs. The shirt cupped her small breast showing them off to their best advantage while directing the eyes away from her tummy. She liked the outfit, but for the first time, she didn’t care about her tummy. Damon appreciated all of her and loved to caress her there.

  “I’m ready.” She walked down the stairs with a smile on her face.

  “You're beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” Her heart beat faster because he meant it. They weren’t just words he thought he had to say.

  “Where are we going?” She was enjoying how he looked. So far she’d only seen him in jeans and tees, but now he was wearing dress pants with a nice shirt that outlined the muscles in his chest without clinging to them. The dress pants offered the world a view of his ass that was making her drool. Maybe they should stay in.

  “You can do any sin you think of in Sin City.” Her eyes widened as she looked at him. What did he want to do?

  “We’ll be doing none of them. Eli likes it when I don’t kill his clients.”

  She shook her head and laughed until she realized he was speaking the truth.

  She slid her hand into his. “No killing.”

  He nodded. “There’s a place away from all the bright lights and sinners that serve’s dinner. There is a separate level if you just want a drink or to dance. I thought you might like it.”

  “I love the idea already.” They walked out the door.

  “It’s an easy walk.” She squeezed his hand as they walked.

  “The stars are beautiful I never saw them when I was in captivity. It still amazes me how bright they make the night. I wish I could visit another planet.”

  “I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

  She stopped and turned to look at him. “I can never leave Earth. I’m bound to this planet. If you want to explore the universe, you’ll need a different mate.”

  She started walking again. He took the lead stopping at times to point out some of the beautiful architecture. The building they stopped in front of was understated. It looked like a long rectangle with nothing much happening in it. When they walked inside, she realized the impression it gave off was deliberate.

  The inside looked like a high-class club she saw on some of the vids with the males showing off their wives. This took it a step further. There was music, it was loud enough to dance to but not so loud you couldn’t talk.

  “The restaurant is on the second floor. We’ll come here to eat one day. Preferably when Lucca’s cooking.”

  “You brother cooks here?”

  “Every now and then he gets into the mood to make lots of different food. We still operate our restaurant, but we are even more selective than we used to be.”

  “How can a restaurant be selective?” They were walking over a lighted floor. Images of the ocean caught her attention. Why would they use those images?

  “What do you see when you look at the floor?”

  “The ocean, and I see you. We’re doing things we haven’t done before.”

  “This floor is different from most. It shows you what is important to you.”

  “What do you see?”

  “I see you, but I also see my family. Then I see myself as a healer and a warrior.”

  “I’m important to you?”

  “Never doubt it.”

  “Why do you see so much?”

  “I’ve been here before. Eventually, you will see more too.” He pulled her chair out and waited for her to sit before he took a seat.

  “Our restaurant was always by invitation only. If you ended up eating in Dante’s, you were invited. You didn’t always know you were invited, but you were.”

  “Did you name it after him because he was the oldest?”

  “No.” He got quiet, so she didn’t press him.

  “Would you like a drink?”

  “Yes, whatever you think is good.”

  “I’ll be right back.” He kissed her before he went over to the bar.

  “River, I’ve missed you.” Harold walke
d up to the table. He was a partner with Sloan.

  She shivered when she saw him. Harold was a little darker in skin complexion than she was. He also wasn’t human although she wasn’t sure if he was the same alien species as Sloan. It didn’t matter anyone looking at him would think he was a handsome Earth man. He could be on vids, except like Sloan he had a dark side. He just controlled it better.

  “I’m glad you got away from us. This way you have a chance at life before you die.”

  She felt Damon’s arms go around her. He felt her fear. She was feeling his anger even as he kept it under control.

  “Damon this is Harold. Harold this is Damon.”

  “The Created nice to meet you. I had a chance to meet your brother a while ago.”

  “Jaz talked about you. You were one of her handlers.”

  “How is she? I think I’m glad she escaped. I always liked her.”

  She shook when Harold turned to look at her again. His eyes flashed red before he gave her a charming smile.

  “I’m not that fond of you, but it may be because I never spent any real time with you.”

  “What do you want?” Damon pulled River off the chair and stepped in front of her.

  “I just wanted to say hi. My job here is done.” He turned and walked away.

  “Did he touch you?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Are you sure? I can tear him apart if he laid a hand on you. If he didn’t, I’ll have to play by the rules of Sin City.”

  “I didn’t feel him touch me.”

  Harold was standing by the door watching Damon. He flashed him a smile before he disappeared.

  Damon controlled the animal desperate to tear Harold apart.

  “What rule?”

  “If you want to fight there is a spot for it. The only other time you can use violence is if a male places his hands on a female without her permission. Eli doesn’t like that at all, to the point that the male’s death is acceptable.”

  She looked up at him in shock.

  “It’s Sin City, Love.” He leaned down and kissed her.

  “Why don’t I get us a drink, and then we call it a night?”

  “I like that idea.”