Kathryn stared up at the sky as she stood in her garden the next morning. She'd already smelled the rain in the air heading in her direction with a purpose. Rolling dark clouds came in quickly covering the once blue sky. This was no ordinary storm coming in.
He was coming for a visit.
"I suggest you go in unless you want to get wet," a dark masculine voice said behind her, scaring her. Damn, the man could sneak up on her so suddenly. She never knew what to expect from the Scorpio. He was the most powerful of the water signs and leader to the male Cancer and Pisces.
"A little water never hurt anyone," Kathryn said coaxing a deep chuckle from him.
She was the only one that could make him laugh. The man was so intense all the time it was quite stressing on one's nerves. She slowly turned around to stare into the hypnotic, piercing eyes of the Scorpio.
Jared Lexford stared down at her, those dark midnight blue eyes of his seeming to pierce into the very depth of her souls. He tilted his head as if he was reading all her secrets and gave her that mysterious irritating smile of his. She could never figure out exactly what the man was thinking because he was always so guarded with his facial expressions, but those eyes ... damn those beautiful eyes.
Kathryn took a step back from him. Being so close to him made her forget who she was. He had a way of making her do that, making her think he was the one in control and not the other way around.
It was easy to lose herself in a man like Jared Lexford. He was the most beautiful African-American man she'd ever seen, sexy thick lips, high cheek bones, a proud nose, and once again those eyes, dark midnight eyes that enticed her just as every syllable in his voice was made for enticement, his words alone dripped sex. His skin was darker than her own golden caramel color. His skin was the color of mocha brown, which contrasted beautifully against those midnight blue eyes. He was tall and muscular and powerful, but unlike his leader, Kenrick, who couldn't help but radiate power for all to feel because he was a male Capricorn and it was his nature, Jared's intense power flowed smoothly beneath a deceptively calm personality.
Kathryn took another step away from him and forced her eyes from his to look at her garden. "Thanks for watering my plants."
A slow smile crept against his lips. "It was looking a little dry, rain is rare in the summer in California. I don't know how you keep it going."
"Did you forget I'm an earth sign, the ground is my power."
"And I rule the waters," he took a step to her. "All plants need earth and water to grow, we'd make a good team you and I together."
"Sunlight, they need sunlight too. I guess that's where Mr. Leo comes in," Kathryn teased.
"In my younger years I may have had a threesome, but I only want one person in my life now, Kathryn."
What the hell kind of reply was that? Kathryn thought. She shook her head and didn't even try to figure out the inner working of the mind of a Scorpio.
"Are you going to continue to stand out here in the rain or shall I pick you up and carry you inside?" Jared asked.
"You could make it stop raining," she told him.
"I could," was all he said.
She let out a scoff and ran inside her house without glancing behind her. She was kind of hoping he'd leave, she didn't feel like battling against the Scorpio for her own mind, heart, and soul today, three things he was after.
A thick towel slowly wrapped around her as soon as she stopped and then strong arms wrapped around her from behind to warm her. She stared at their reflection in the mirror in the hallway; they made a beautiful couple together. They suited each other very well.
"Even soaking wet you're sexy as hell, Kathryn," Jared whispered in her ear. "I can see all the curves of this little body now that your clothes are plastered to you." He ran his hands down the curve of hips. His lips found her neck and moved over her sensitive skin in a sensual caress that made her toes curl.
Kathryn's heart began to race and her skin began to suddenly grow warm. She didn't know if it was from the heat of his body or that she was getting turned on. Those thick lips of his were leaving a scorching trail down her neck. "Jared," she whispered...wanting him to stop, but also wanting him to continue. He held her as if she'd already slept in his arms, as if they'd already made love...such a familiar feeling he manipulated her with.
"Why do you fight me, Kathryn? It is in our nature to be attracted to each other, we can no more fight what is in our nature than a bee drawn to a flower..."
That's exactly how she saw herself, a delicate flower minding her own business and he was the bee flying to her with a purpose to pollinate her and she couldn't fight him off, not when she was in his arms like this, not when his lips were driving her crazy, not when he could sting her if she made one wrong move...
The ground suddenly jolted causing them both to stumble and sending a vase crashing to the floor. Any other time, they would have thought it was a normal earthquake that California was prone to having, but they knew better.
The distraction brought Kathryn back to reality and she forced her way out of his arms and waited patiently for the Scorpio to lash.
Jared stared up at the ceiling and frowned. "What's wrong old man? Can't deal with a little competition?"
"Jared, be careful. He's god to you, god to us all..."
"He's not my damn god. I chose who my god is and you're not him. Come down and fight me if you're so powerful."
"Jared! Stop it! He will smite you with one wave of his hand!" Kathryn warned him. That was thing about Scorpios. For all the calmness and smoothness they chose to show outside, they were very passionate people on the inside, with everything they did, passionate when it came to making love, passionate at being angry, passionate about challenging someone more powerful than they were.
"I don't give a fuck who he is. You don't interrupt a man's moment with his girl unless you have a death wish."
"He interrupted us because I didn't give you permission to be so familiar with me..." Kathryn explained.
That got his attention. He slowly turned to her. Those blue eyes sizzling with hidden desire.
"I want you...you know this...and I know you want me too, you can't deny it."
"Perhaps, but I'm not ready for you...Jared. You would only be seducing my body which I admit can't seen to control itself around you..., but I'm not ready for you...not mentally, not emotionally."
"How could you not be in love with me when every woman I've met falls at my feet and begs me to take them. I've been chased by women who find me mysterious and challenging, they try to get me to let them in, but they never can. They see as me as some kind of conquest, but you...the one that I choose to open up to, to let in, deny me!"
"And it makes you want me even more doesn't it," Kathryn asked. "Because Scorpios don't like to lose to anything on any level once they set their sights on something. We are physically attracted to each other, the chemistry between us is quite...intense, but we think differently. You're all passion and intensity inside, you depend on your emotions, how you feel about things to get you through life and I'm all about structure and form..."
Jared tilted his head. "No you're not...you're just as passionate as I am, I can feel it, I know from the way you respond to my touch..."
"Fool," a voice that was clearly Kenrick's thundered through the hallway. "A Capricorn woman's heart has to be earned, you have to work for it, you maybe able to seduce her, but she'll never give you her heart and you'll never experience the true passion of a female Capricorn. If you touch her again without her permission, I'll drag you underneath the ground and into the depths of hell."
Kathryn eyes widened. They stared at each other for a moment in complete silence. Kenrick could be downright scary when he was angry.
"Fuck it," Jared said. "Possessive ass. I got enough sense to know when to chill. Don't mean I'm giving up though." He smirked when Kathryn bent down to pick up the towel they'd dropped when Kenrick shook the floor. "That plump derriere calls to a man...hell no I'm not giving up..."
"Such a pervert," Kathryn sighed and quickly wrapped the towel around her body. "So I take it this was just another visit to seduce me and nothing bad has happened?"
"I didn't come to just seduce you...well that was on my mind I'm not going to lie, but I actually did miss you. It's been months since we've last seen each other."
"Oh yes, you were on a mission of vengeance I believe. Jared, when are you going to let it go. It's been three years since your best friend slept with your girlfriend. Three years!? And yet every year you go after them and make their lives hell for two months before you grow bored and leave them alone."
"I fucking loved her!" Jared yelled. "She was going to be my wife and I trusted this dude with my life and they both fucked me over, played me like a fool. Oh no..no, no, no, I will continue to put them through every fucking miserable punishment I can think of until they cry tears of blood."
"They have already begged you to forgive them," Kathryn told him.
"But they are still together," Jared said. "And for that alone, I'll continue to make them suffer. This year I caused her hair to fall out, she tried to cover it with a wig and I made her scalp so sensitive that she can't stand anything to touch it, she has to walk around with a bald head and I got to tell you, it's not a good look for her. She's got a damn big head that even I didn't know about without all that hair. She looks like an alien. I gave him boils all over his body. They can't even touch each other for at least a year. Let's see how long they stay together now. She's bald and he has boils over his body." He grinned in evil contempt.
Kathryn blinked. Scorpios were pretty damn scary too...At their worst, they could be spiteful, vengeful creatures, stinging everything and everyone that they believed wronged them in some way. Kathryn did not want to get on his bad side, even though he didn't have the power to hurt her...he could hold a grudge forever...
"Anyway, forget them, they're not important to me right now. I do have another reason to be here. It's Assandra...she's gotten out of control with her powers and I do believe she needs your guidance back into the world of sanity."
Assandra was the Scorpio female and Jared's partner. Each male sign had a female partner they worked together with. Assandra was as powerful as Jared, but as a woman on a totally different level than her male partner, she was quite difficult to handle.
"Assandra..." Kathryn sighed. "Why do you Scorpios make my life so difficult?"
"Because we love you?" Jared said with a grin and a wink.
"Let's get an early start," Kathryn said walking out the door. "This may take all day..."