Conquering Lyssa Page 4

  “That is just a taste of what it will be like between us,” he said, moving his hips so she could feel him more. “And I’ll let you decide how you want that first time to be. You can have it before or during your cycle. The choice is yours. Just know that at the time of your cycle, you will be mine. End of story.”

  Chapter Three

  “Brooding has never been something you’ve done before.” Lorenzo strolled into Daxis’s office. He went up to the desk and sat down across from him. “I did try to tell you that this wasn’t going to be easy, now didn’t I?”

  After Daxis left Lyssa, spread out still on his bed, he came down to the office with hopes of getting himself under control. He had hoped to get lost in some work, but instead just ending up sitting in the chair, feet up on the desk, staring at nothing. When his father came in, he glanced up at him but didn’t move.

  “Are you at least thinking up the best course of action here?” Lorenzo asked. Again, Daxis only looked at him quickly. “Thought so.”

  Lorenzo nodded, linked his hands together, head lowered, but his eyes stayed on Daxis. “So what happened then? I heard her scream.”

  “You don’t want to know.”

  “Maybe you are right.”

  “How did you do it, really?”

  “Do what?”

  “Mom. The claiming. All of it?”

  “Son, none of us have it easy when we go to a Gathering and claim a mate. For far too long it has been bred into the females that is a bad place to go, instead of how it is now, that is. They fear it and they have good reason to in a way. We claim them and take them away from everything they know, and put demands on them. Your mother was no different than Lyssa is now, except a bit less hostile.” Daxis grunted at that. “But as much as your mother feared the Gathering, she also wanted it.”

  “Why?”

  “Her father was trying to match her up to another male. One that scared her even more than I did back then.”

  “You never told me another was interested in Mother.”

  “There is a lot I’ve yet to tell you about us and some you’ll never know.”

  “So grandfather was trying to match her up.”

  Lorenzo nodded. “To a not so nice male. His family I’m told is still into the old ways of the Gathering and don’t like the changes.”

  “If grandfather wanted her to be with another, then why let her go to the Gathering?”

  “Because it is the law. When they reach age, they must go. If he wanted to keep the old ways, then he must abide by the laws and take the chance. The look on his face back then was so priceless when I put my claim on her and left.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I mean, that in those days it was honorable you finish the claim in front of all, so that the father can brag that his daughter was untouched. Something I had no intentions of ever doing. No way in hell was I going to bed my frightened mate in front of a bunch of animals. Your grandfather, to the day he died, hung on to his belief that I dishonored him by not bedding her right then and there.”

  “So you had both fathers pissed at you.”

  Lorenzo also chuckled and nodded his head. “Yep. One pissed that I didn’t hurt his daughter in front of a pack of animals, the other because I wouldn’t give him my money.”

  “But how did you handle it when you got home?”

  “Time was on our side for one. I didn’t have the worry of a cycle or the full moon coming up. But let me ask you this, what do you want to do?”

  “What I want to do will make me look like a damn animal.” Daxis sighed, resting his head back on the chair. “I’ve waited so damn long for her, been as patient as I can be with her. Given her the space I thought she needed, and it’s all come back to slap me in the face. If I do what I want, I’m going to be a bastard in her eyes. If I don’t, then I’m going to appear to be weak to her. I don’t see a way to win.”

  “Isn’t either way a win?” Daxis looked up at him. “To wait doesn’t mean you’re weak. Yet she must also understand that by waiting it only prolongs what must and will happen. If you’re looking for my approval here, don’t. You’ve already set in motion what you want to happen by tossing her shot away. So deep down, you’ve already made up your mind on what you want to do.”

  “And doesn’t that make me a monster?”

  “No. It shows that the wait is over. You’ve given her four years to come to terms here. But don’t misunderstand me, son. I like the girl. She has spirit, a fire that I don’t want to see put out. So don’t hurt her and don’t let her walk all over you, either. As I see it, she’s been the one in control for the past four years. Now is the time for you to be in control. Just do it with a soft hand, not a brutal one.” Lorenzo stood up and stretched. “Use your head here, Daxis. Use what you have, to your advantage.”

  Daxis watched him leave the office, the door closing softly behind him. He thought about it some and when the meaning of his father’s words hit him, he slowly broke out in a smile. He knew just what his father was talking about.

  He got some work done, but not much. He did end up working through lunch, so by the time dinnertime came around he was starving. At the table, his father sat and so did Lyssa. Taking his seat, he glanced at her, but she seemed to be working on ignoring him.

  “Have a nice nap?” he asked her, placing the napkin on his lap. She turned her head then, looked at him with both shock and a bit of embarrassment. “Carmella went in and checked on you. Seems everyone heard you scream.” Her cheeks reddened.

  Lorenzo cleared his throat. “So how’s the new deal going? The buyers still interested?”

  Daxis pulled his eyes from Lyssa to look at his father. “So far, yes. They are still waiting for the bank to agree to the terms. They want the ground.”

  Lorenzo nodded. “And I want to get rid of it. No need to have it anymore.”

  “Think I heard a casino might go up there.”

  “Really?” Daxis nodded. “Hum, interesting. If that is what they want to do with it then I understand why the bank is taking so long. One has to have all the permits in the right place and people on board for such a big project.”

  “It’ll pass.” Daxis reached for the potatoes, put a large amount on his plate and then passed it to Lyssa. She took it but didn’t look at him. “It gives them jobs. You look tired still,” he said to her. “Maybe tonight you’ll sleep better.”

  “Doubt it,” she said and used more force than necessary it seemed to put some of the potatoes on her plate. “Still in a house and bed that isn’t mine,” she snapped at him, giving him a dirty look as she passed the bowl off.

  “Would you like for me to help you with that?” he asked, narrowing his eyes and trying like hell to not grin.

  Lyssa leaned closer to him and spoke low. “Hell will freeze over before you touch me again like that.”

  Daxis also leaned in, making sure his father didn’t hear. “It already has frozen over, sweetheart.”

  Lorenzo cleared his throat and they parted. “Tell me more about the marina,” he asked Lyssa. “I have always enjoyed boating, but never have found the time to get into it like I wanted.”

  “Not that much to tell really. The only one in town. There are a few houseboats, one of my brothers has one and lives on it. Summer time we are super busy. People come in for skiing, fishing and stuff. I love it, and I’m going to miss it big time.”

  “Well, I’m sure once things settle down Daxis will take you to see your family.”

  “Doubt it,” she mumbled.

  Daxis put two large steaks on his plate and passed the meat platter on as well. She took one, passed it and then started cutting into the meat.

  “Oh, I’m sure he will,” Lorenzo went on. “He isn’t as bad as what you think he is.”

  She surprised him by keeping her mouth shut and eating. In fact, they all ate in silence. When dessert came, Lyssa wiped her mouth and pushed away from the table.

  “I think I’ll pass on dessert
. I want to call my sister, if that is all right with you?” she said to Daxis.

  “Phone is in my office, other side of the stairs to the back,” Daxis said.

  She left quickly and he groaned, slumping in the chair.

  “Well, at least we had dinner this time,” Lorenzo stated. “Breakfast didn’t get eaten at all.”

  “Man, she’s so pissed it’s just stewing in her.”

  Lorenzo snorted, “What did you expect. You started it up stairs, or did you forget already?”

  “No, I haven’t forgotten what I did.” In fact, just thinking about it had him starting to get hard within his jeans.

  Lorenzo sat forward, put his hands together with his elbows on the table and stared at Daxis. The way he was looking at him had Daxis quickly feeling very uncomfortable. It also had him feeling like he was a young boy in trouble again.

  “My gut tells me that you have a plan, one I don’t really wish to be around for,” Lorenzo said. “So I think I’m going to head up to the cabin for a few days. Or at least until the moon comes and goes. That should give you both some time alone together, which I do think you both need.”

  “So you trust me to be alone with her?”

  “I trust that you won’t hurt or abuse her.” Lorenzo pushed away from the table and stood up slowly. “Might even give most of the staff off as well. Think the less people around the better.”

  Daxis grinned just slightly as his father walked from the room. He sat there, staring at nothing, just digesting everything. His father leaving for a few days wasn’t going to make Lyssa very happy. He had the impression that she thought his father was a small amount of protection for her. Wonder what she was going to think now, knowing that most of the household would be gone and it would be just them—alone.

  * * * *

  Lyssa sat down at Daxis’s desk, picked up the phone and called Darian. She was the only one she knew of who might help her figure a way out of this mess, or even if there might be one. She just couldn’t accept that she had no choice here. She didn’t know the guy, so how could she be expected to mate with him? It didn’t make any sense to her.

  “Hello?” Darian’s voice sang out and it sounded like music to her.

  Unable to control herself, Lyssa broke down crying. “Darian.”

  “Lyssa? What’s wrong?”

  “He took me.” Lyssa sniffed, trying to keep her voice down so Daxis wouldn’t hear her. “He just, he just took me.”

  “Yeah, dad called to tell me. Were you really out on a date with another male?”

  Lyssa groaned and said, “Please don’t lecture me about that. I need help here.”

  “Help? What do you want me to do?”

  “I need to know how you dealt with this. Darian, I can’t do this, not with him?”

  “Do what? Have sex?”

  “Everything. He’s taken everything from me. How can I stay?”

  “Lyssa, you knew that this day was coming. I wish I could have had the time you did. It would’ve made it easier for me. I don’t know what you want me to say here.”

  “He took my shot away.” Her voice broke again as tears fell down her face. “He’s going to make me have my cycle with him here.” Darian sighed on the phone. “Tell me what to do.”

  “I can’t tell you what to do. You have to decide that yourself. Do you want the first time with him to be during the cycle or before?”

  Lyssa groaned, “I don’t want to do either.”

  “Those are your only choices. You have none other.”

  “There has to be another.”

  “Not if he threw the shot away. That pretty much tells me that he intends on having the experience with you.”

  “No,” Lyssa groaned.

  “I’m sorry, Lyssa. I don’t know what you want me to say.”

  “Did Nick do that to you?”

  Darian got quiet for a few moments. “Um, no. He didn’t want me to, um, be a virgin still on my cycle.”

  “So you two did it before then.”

  “Well, it wasn’t my idea really, but yes. We had sex before my cycle came.”

  “What you mean is it wasn’t your idea?”

  “Lyssa, listen to me. Now, I’m telling you as a sister who has been in your shoes, in a way. Don’t push him too much. If you do and don’t give, then when he pushes back you’re not going to be able to stop anything.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, stop being so damn stubborn here. If you can make out with a guy in a car, then you can do the same thing with Daxis.”

  Lyssa felt her temper quickly rising up. “That is so different.”

  “No, it’s not!”

  “I can’t believe what I’m hearing here.”

  “You mean you can’t believe I’m not telling you what you want to hear. Look, everyone’s hands are tied. You’re his mate. You did wrong and now he’s taken charge. We both know that you never were the kind to like someone being in charge of you. Hell, how many times did you sneak out of the house after dad grounded you?”

  “This has nothing to do with him being in charge.”

  “Yes, it does! He has the upper hand right now, and if you don’t stop being a bitch, then that upper hand is going to get even worse.” Lyssa snorted. “Hey, I’m serous here. Listen to me. You don’t want him to start to really screw with you and I mean the mind seduction.”

  “He can’t do that.”

  “How do you know?”

  “If he could, then he would’ve done it a long time ago.”

  “Not necessarily. He’s been acting very nice to you for four years. I get the feeling that the niceness is over.”

  “Did Nick do that to you then?”

  “Yes he did, and it’s very dirty when they do it. There is nothing and no one to stop him from doing whatever they want in your head.”

  A shiver went down Lyssa’s spine at the thought. She opened her mouth but stopped when the door opened and Daxis walked in. He closed the door and she was instantly on guard, fearing that he might do what he did upstairs.

  “I—I’ve got to go Darian.”

  “Hey, listen to me, Lyssa. Stop fighting with him. He isn’t dad. You won’t win this way.”

  Lyssa hung up and stared right at Daxis. She slowly moved away from the desk, thinking it might be better if there wasn’t a surface of any kind that he could use against her.

  “So you here to attack me again?” she asked.

  Daxis’s dark eyes followed her every move. She didn’t hear the door lock, so that gave her some hope. “I didn’t really attack you last time.”

  “What would you call it?”

  “Showing you what will happen soon.”

  She snorted. “That isn’t going to happen again. Ever.”

  One eyebrow of his went up, “Is that a challenge?” She didn’t answer him. Daxis slowly moved to the desk, his eyes still on her. When he reached it, he leaned back on it and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ve been doing some thinking, especially after what happened this morning.”

  “You mean when you attacked me,” she reminded him.

  He smiled, but it was a short one. “Call it what you want. But I’ve come to a decision, one that I know you’re not going to like.”

  “Oh, you mean there’s going to be more shit you do that I won’t like?”

  “I’ve been nice and very patient with you, Lyssa, more so than I think others would be in my shoes. And some of that is going to come to an end, tonight.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’ve given you time that you didn’t seem to want to take, to come to grips with us. So, no more. Tomorrow, you turn eighteen, and after tomorrow, all the gloves are off.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “You’ll see.” He pushed off the desk and walked back to the door. Lyssa didn’t move, not even when he left and closed the door behind him.

  She was half-tempted to call Darian back, but knew that would be a wast
e of time. Even her mother couldn’t help her this time. Which meant, she really didn’t have anyone to call and ask about this. Her gut did tell her that it wasn’t going to be good, no matter what. Daxis had something up his sleeve, something she knew she wasn’t going to like.

  And she was right. When she got back to her room there was a note on the bed.

  This is your last night in this room. D.

  Lyssa fisted the paper, scrunching it up, and tossed it aside. She was not going to let him mess with her mind or tell her where she was going to sleep.

  She entered the bathroom and decided to take a hot bath. The house was quiet, almost too quiet, and before she started to take her clothes off she wondered if maybe she shouldn’t just try to get some sleep. She didn’t sleep last night, and if he was going to start to mess with her, she might need her energy. So instead of taking a long bath, she just took a short one. Washing, soaking for a bit, she got out before the water really cooled. Drying off and then looking around for the robe, she frowned when she didn’t see it. Lyssa knew that she left it in the bathroom, but now it was gone. Strange.

  With the towel wrapped around her, she left the bathroom and stopped dead in her tracks. On the bed was not the robe, but a very short, white, nightie. Walking up to the bed slowly, looking around thinking that Daxis might be hiding in a corner, Lyssa really was starting to get worried about what he had planned for her. She picked it up, saw it was a baby doll nightie with very thin straps and so soft that it had to be silk. And the only reason she knew that is because Darian gave her a silk top for her last birthday present.

  What to do? She didn’t want to wear it, yet she didn’t want to sleep naked either. Maybe this was what he meant about the gloves were off. Maybe he was going to try to control her now. Well that wasn’t going to happen. She might have to wear this thing tonight, but come morning she was going to take charge of her own life and she was going to get as far away from Daxis as she could get.

  Dropping the towel to the floor, she quickly put the nightie on and climbed into the bed. Man she was tired and so drained that she didn’t want to move. She just wanted to let the bed wrap around her body and hold her tight.