Black Mark Series Book 2: Black Mark's Secrets Read online

  I'm pretty sure my eyes rolled back in my head. If any other man had said those words to me, I think I would have been dressed and out of the room before their mouth stopped talking. When Darius said it, my pelvic muscles spasmed, and my nerve endings fired through every part of my body.

  "Darius?" I gasped.

  He smiled down at me; he could tell exactly what he'd just done to me. "Yes, Mora."

  "You need to stop talking and make love to me now."

  Darius shifted. I think I died a small death when his engorgement slid between my folds to find my opening. He hesitated. "Are you sure you want this, Mora? I will not give you up a second time. If we do this, you will be mine for life. I will marry you, you will bear my children, and I will love you until the day I die."

  I took his face in my hands and brought his mouth close to mine. "Darius. I've been married to you in my heart for six years already."

  Darius smiled and pressed into me. He watched me this time, watched every emotion on my face as he pushed further with each stroke. Yeah, experienced or not, he made my body feel every inch of him. I think I stopped breathing as he rocked into me, and when he finally slid all the way home, I gasped in the oxygen my body needed.

  Darius smiled. "I think we will need to practice this a lot to get you used to me, Mora."

  I nodded, still struggling to breathe. "Yes. Definitely need to practice this a lot." My body clenched around him.

  Darius closed his eyes, dropping his forehead to my chest. "Jesus, Mora! Do not do that. I have not had sexual intercourse with a woman in quite a while. I am not going to last long here."

  "Why?" I gasped.

  Darius shook his head. "I will explain later. Right now, could you please refrain from doing that?"

  "I wish I could. That's my body swearing about the size of you. You're just going to have to take the abuse," I chuckled.

  Darius looked at me, surprised. A smile slowly spread across his face. "Two can play at that game, Mora."

  Darius kissed me deeply. I was in heaven once more with the intensity of the moment. As he kissed me, his body started rocking into me, gently at first, but slowly accelerating until he was thrusting into me with gusto.

  I grabbed at the bed sheets above my head to avoid scratching him. I was torn between crying out in pleasure or begging for mercy from the friction of his growing size.

  Darius swore, his eyes widening, and then he started hammering into me. He swelled impossibly big, and I felt him ejaculate inside me. It felt amazing. Not orgasm amazing, but just… I didn't have the words for it. I didn't feel the same on that first night. I had been in too much pain. Jasper and I always used protection so this was an entirely different feeling.

  Darius collapsed on top of me and rolled over, keeping me pinned to his body so I landed on top. "I stay hard for a while after coming, but not as big. You should be able to ride me now," Darius breathed heavily.

  I kissed him heatedly before pushing up to sitting. I started rocking myself upon him and understood what he meant. He held my hips and encouraged me. I closed my eyes to focus on the feel of him inside me. I could feel how slick my folds were around him and knew that was the result of his pleasure. I moved his hand to my breast. Darius teased my nipple, and I felt my body edging toward orgasm.

  "Close?" Darius asked.

  I opened my eyes to meet his. He was watching me with interest. I nodded my head and bit my lip. Darius added his thumb to my clit and my body reacted. It was like someone lit a fuse to fireworks. I could feel the heat rushing to my core, felt the moment it hit the gunpowder and my body exploded over him. I opened my mouth and came soundlessly, my body bucking over him.

  As the fireworks dimmed behind my eyelids, I collapsed upon him, breathing heavily. "Jesus, Darius. We should be using protection."

  Darius laughed. "Hell no. Do you know how tight those things are for a guy like me?"

  I sat up, shocked. "What? That's just selfish. It shouldn't fall entirely on me to protect us from disease or pregnancy."

  Darius sat up, taking my face in his hands. "I am not having sex with anyone else, Mora. I'm ready to settle down and start my family, with you." Darius kissed my mouth lightly. "We are going to get married, and I plan to spend our honeymoon getting you with child."

  I kissed him, happiness filtering through me. He rolled me off him and tucked me into his side.

  "Darius?"

  "Mora?"

  "How many?"

  "Four is my favorite number."

  "Darius?"

  "Call me Dare," he murmured, falling asleep.

  "Dare?"

  "Hmm?"

  "We're going to need a bigger place." I smiled.

  This was perfect. Darius was perfect. I knew the moment we met I would love him, that I was meant to be with him. That he wanted a large family was just the icing on the cake for me.

  "We will find a new place when you tell me you’re pregnant with number two."

  "Dare?"

  "Yes?" He was trying really hard to go to sleep.

  "Does this mean I'm back to working for you and living here?"

  Darius pulled me tight against him. "Mora. I was up most of the night listening in case you tried to sneak out again. I am quite literally drained. Go to sleep. We can talk logistics once my brain is working again."

  I smiled, tilting my head back and caressing his jaw. "Dare?"

  Darius groaned.

  I chuckled. "I love you. Thank you for finding me."

  Darius opened his eyes. He took my hand in his and kissed my palm. "I promised I would."

  Chapter Three

  I only slept for a short time. I woke on one side of the bed, Darius on the other. We'd both rolled away while we were sleeping. We complemented each other in every way. I quietly climbed out of bed and made my way to the bathroom.

  Darius’ bathroom was twice the size of mine. There was a double shower, a toilet and high-tech bidet, a double-ended freestanding bathtub that was big enough to fit myself and Darius easily, plus a double vanity.

  Next to the towels hung Darius’ robe, and next to his was my heavy satin robe. Confused, I looked over the bathroom. My toothbrush sat right there beside Darius’. In the shower, my toiletries were neatly arranged along one shelf at the opposite end to Darius’.

  "Steffen," I murmured to myself. He must have unpacked my stuff while we slept. Well, I hoped it was while I slept.

  Taking a deep breath, I turned on the shower and cleaned myself up. As I washed, the memory of leaving Darius’ much smaller apartment six years ago played through my mind.

  It hurt more than I thought it would to be with a man, and I remembered the sticky mess between my thighs all the way home. While the mess felt the same, I was only slightly tender this time.

  Drying off, I tiptoed back into the room and collected my clothing. Darius was snoring lightly and it made me smile. I moved out to the wardrobe and dressed there so I didn't disturb him. Steffen was nowhere to be found, so I moved into the reception area. My cello was in its stand over by the piano.

  I sat on the chair placed near it, picked up my bow, and let my happiness and relief flow out of me through my fingertips. The music sounded much better out here in the reception room. I closed my eyes and smiled as every note reflected my joy at finally being with Darius.

  When I finished, I released a long sigh and opened my eyes. Darius sat at the dining room table, freshly showered, wearing just his jeans. "That would have to be the happiest tune I have heard you play yet."

  I placed my cello away and walked toward him. "I didn't mean to wake you."

  "I heard my bedroom door shut." Darius watched me walk toward him. "I panicked when I realized you were not next to me, so I got out of bed. Then I heard the music start." Darius put his hand out to beckon me. "I left the doors open so I could listen while I showered. I love listening to you play. It is always so heartfelt. Jeremy said it was your strength and your Achilles as a musician."

  "J
eremy?" I frowned.

  Darius smiled, twining our fingers and pulling me in close. "He heard you play regularly during your degree. Jeremy said if I ever want to know what is going on in your heart, I should just listen to you play."

  I nodded, not elaborating. "Steffen has disappeared and so has my luggage."

  Darius stood. "Steffen will be visiting his daughters until after Boxing Day. With the brothers gone, we have the place to ourselves for four days." Darius’ face dropped, "Although, I will be flying out tomorrow night and coming back on Boxing Day."

  "Family?" I asked as he led me to the couch and sat me down beside him.

  "Yes, I spend Christmas with my family each year. I gather you will be seeing your family?"

  "We are having lunch with my grandparents. I was going to stay with dad on Christmas Eve."

  Darius studied me. "That is where you have been going every weekend, isn't it?"

  "Yes."

  Darius took my hand, turning his body to face me. "There are some things we need to discuss."

  I swallowed nervously.

  Darius reached out, taking my left hand from my right shoulder where I'd started moving my fingers as if my right arm was the fingerboard of my cello. "Nothing for you to be insecure about, Mora. I just want everything out in the air so we can move forward without issue."

  "Okay," I moved toward him, "but can we do this with your arms around me? I have been dying to have you hold me."

  Darius smirked and drew me into his arms, leaning back on the couch so that we reclined together.

  "I was serious about us marrying. The sooner the better. I was thinking spring."

  "Does that mean we are engaged?" I asked, snuggling my face into his chest.

  Darius ran his fingers over my bare ring finger. "Not yet. I want to get you a ring and do it right, but from that point onward, it will be a sprint to the altar, Mora. So, I want you to start looking around at dresses and all the wedding stuff, keeping notes on what you want."

  "A quiet affair with just our families and closest friends in attendance," I murmured.

  Darius encircled me in his arms. "You should probably look at rings, too. Give me an idea of what you like." Darius cleared his throat. "Then there is the prenup."

  Darius paused as he waited for my response. I wasn't upset. It was the sensible thing to do in this day and age, especially with his business at stake. I stayed quiet and Darius quickly explained.

  "I need to protect my interests, Mora. I do not plan on divorcing you, ever, but one can never be sure of the future."

  I splayed my hand on his chest. "Relax. My father would kill me if I got married without one. Have your lawyer draw it up, I'll send it to my lawyer, and we can go from there."

  Darius physically relaxed beneath me. "I will organize it in the new year. When we get back from our honeymoon, I will need to present you as my wife to a group of my peers. You will need a white dress, not your wedding dress, but a formal evening dress, to indicate you are a new bride."

  I lifted my head to look at him. "This is the swingers club you are in?"

  "Yes." Darius caressed my cheek. "And the day we marry, you become my pound of flesh offering, my sacrifice."

  "Sacrifice?" I frowned, sitting up a little more.

  "Not in the traditional sense," Darius assured. "Unfortunately, I cannot tell you any more than that until we are married. Once you are my wife, I can tell you all of it."

  "So, you will need to share me like Jeremy does Cassandra?" I clarified.

  Darius looked torn. "Yes, although I do not want to. You have no idea how much restraint it takes to hold my tongue when another man touches you, Mora. Jeremy saw it last night. He advised I get you pregnant before I present you to the others; that way it is not an issue until I can cope with sharing you."

  I sat up. "So, you don't want me pregnant because you are keen to be a father and have snot-nosed brats running around the house, tackling you on the couch and dragging you out to play football with them?"

  Darius glowered. "That is a double-edged question, Mora. If I say I do, you might argue that I am so eager to be a father I would not care who the mother is. Which is completely incorrect. If I say I am not ready to have children, you will be insecure that I do not want children at all and that I will be a bad father." Darius again took my left hand from my right shoulder. I ground my teeth, frustrated he'd learned my cues this quickly.

  "The truth is, neither of those statements are true. I am very much in love with you. I very much want to have children with you, and be a good father. It is not that I am not ready for this commitment, Mora. But after we have children, I will keep working; you will be the one staying home to raise our children. You are still young and may not be happy to have that restriction in your life yet," Darius explained.

  "Then this needs to be my choice, Dare." I stood up, walking to the fireplace.

  "Be honest with me, Mora." Darius sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Relationships like this will only survive with complete honesty."

  "It is sexist of you to assume that I would give up my career to be a full-time mother. What if I want the best of both worlds? Can't I still work and be a good mother? I could work reduced hours. Nan still did her charity work and was there for me every afternoon after school. As my boss, you can allow me to work shortened days," I negotiated.

  Darius stood, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Mora, these past seven months I have watched you war with your desire for me, and your issues about being involved with your boss. You resigned last night. That is what allowed this morning to happen. I will not be reinstating you. You will be my girlfriend, my fiancée, and, in a few months, my wife. You will no longer be my employee."

  ***

  Was I relieved Darius was no longer my boss? Yes. Was I also bitterly disappointed? Very. I did love working for Darius, and working with Warren.

  Darius sighed, looking at his feet. "Warren is going to kill me, you know? I would have fired you the moment I knew my being your boss was an obstacle to us being together, but Warren threatened to make haggis of my innards if I even considered it." Darius shook his head. "To appease him, I will have to hire a replacement for you. I doubt I am going to find anyone near as good as you."

  I smiled at the compliment. "Try the Cambridge Music School. The degree provides fantastic transferable skills." I thought about it. "You need a composition major." I met his eyes. "A male composition major."

  Darius laughed, stepping toward me and pulling me in against his body. "I am not going to be tempted by another female, Mora."

  I chuckled. "It is not for my sake, Dare. Could you imagine what Warren and Zander will do to a young impressionable female who is not protected by your jealousy?" I kissed the underside of his jaw. "Thinking I can stop whoever you hire obsessing over you would be pointless. Plus, knowing my luck, you'd hire a gay male, and I'd still have to put up with their jealous looks."

  Darius smiled. He kissed the tip of my nose and then dropped to my mouth. I pulled back instantly, taking several steps away.

  "We should probably finish everything we need to discuss before we start that. It might take a while to come up for air," I suggested with a smirk.

  Darius lifted a brow at me, patiently matching me step for step as I backed toward the foyer.

  "Well, all I have left to say is you still live here, just in my room with me from now on. You do not work for me, you do not need to work, but if you would like to work, I will support that."

  "Children?" I asked, my smile growing as I backed through the foyer, heading for the kitchen.

  "We covered this last night. Four."

  "When?" I entered the kitchen and moved to put the island bench between us.

  Darius sighed and stopped the chase. He realized we hadn't reached a conclusion on that subject. "As soon as we get married, Mora. I will not share you yet."

  I eyed him. "You don't really get a say in that, do you? I mean, we can try and get pregna
nt and it may not happen, it is also dependent on me not using contraception any longer. So really, even the potential of having children starts with my choice to stop taking precautions."

  Darius raised both brows now. "It is Christmas, Mora. If I flush your birth control down the toilet, you will be unable to get a new prescription until the middle of next week."

  I laughed. "Trust me, Darius. You will not be the one to decide I stop using birth control."

  Darius straightened and walked out of the room, turning for his bedroom. I didn't follow. I knew I'd challenged him, and he was taking the dare. I left him to it and started making some lunch for the two of us.

  Steffen never let me cook in his kitchen. I felt so naughty as I raided the fridge and cupboard and made myself a peanut butter and honey sandwich. Steffen only stocked the peanut butter after constant begged him to buy it for a week straight. When that didn't work, I bought a jar and pointedly sat at the kitchen table, with a spoon, eating it straight from the jar. Steffen had conniptions. After that, I got my peanut butter on English muffins for breakfast.

  "Mora?" Darius stepped back into the room, a worried look on his face.

  "Yes, Dare?"

  "Where is your contraception?"

  "What do you mean?"

  Darius came to stand by me. "I have just searched your toiletries and the rest of your luggage. I cannot find a hint of a pill."

  "Oh, I don't take pills. I forget to take it constantly. It wasn't any safer than the withdrawal method," I explained happily before taking another bite of my sandwich. I pushed a sandwich toward Darius.

  He lifted the top piece of bread, looked at the inside with distrust, and dropped it again. "So, what have you been using to ensure you did not get pregnant?"

  "I told you, Jasper used protection. He didn't want children with me."

  Darius gave me a disdainful look. "Mora, you are not so stupid to think condoms are a hundred percent safe."

  I smiled. "I have a diaphragm." I popped the last bite of my sandwich in my mouth and took my plate to the sink.

  Darius stood and started walking toward me. He pulled me close to him. "Well, that's not very spontaneous, Mora, and I like to be spontaneous."