Darkness Awakened (Primal Heat Trilogy #1) (Order of the Blade) (38 page)
Read Darkness Awakened (Primal Heat Trilogy #1) (Order of the Blade) Online
Authors: Stephanie Rowe
After successfully concluding the search for Dante’s
mjui
, Quinn wearily strode back into the clearing just as the sun was beginning to peek through the trees, burning off the fog that had been surrounding them for days.
Grace was sleeping, curled up next to Zach, her hand on the warrior’s heart as she held his jacket closed over his chest. She was muddy, Zach’s blood was on her hands and face, yet she was still holding tight to him.
“Look at how she put that coat over him, as if a little damp chill could hurt Zach?” Gabe’s voice was quiet beside him. “Does she think we’re a bunch of pansies or what?” But there was respect in his tone, an appreciation that hadn’t been there when they’d left her hours before.
“Probably.” Quinn walked into the clearing and kneeled beside Grace. “Come on,
sheva
,” he whispered. “It’s time for Gabe to take over.”
She mumbled something about watching out for Zach, and Gabe crouched next to Quinn. He lifted his hand as if to touch her hair, but let it drop without touching her. “I’ll watch him now,” he told her. “You did well.”
Quinn slid his arms around Grace and gently lifted her against his chest, absurdly pleased when she leaned into him and let her head fall against him. “You keep your mind open to me,” he reminded Gabe. They’d done a blood exchange earlier in the night so they’d be able to keep in touch over a long distance.
It would create a life-long bond between them that was tighter than most warriors felt comfortable with, but it had been necessary. Once Gabe and Zach were on their way to retrieve Drew, it would be the only way for Gabe to contact Quinn without Zach realizing it.
Gabe nodded and sat in the mud beside Zach, forearms draped over his knees. “You’ll know when we’re on the move. Just don’t forget to show up when I give you the word.”
“It’ll be the party of the year. We’d never miss it.” Quinn gave a few final instructions to Gabe, then he carried Grace back toward where Ryland was just entering the sleep of the
mjui
. Thano was standing guard. Kane and Gideon were already sleeping, catching a few winks before their rotation as guards. Quinn had the last shift, so he had several hours until he was on duty.
He had to try to sleep. He knew he needed to, but he couldn’t slow his mind down enough to do so. He was too haunted by what had happened earlier, by how close he’d come to going rogue, and by the power of the
sheva
bond to bring him back not once, but twice.
Quinn found a spot in the woods that was hidden from the others, but close enough to provide immediate assistance with his sword if he were needed. He kicked a bunch of sticks and rocks out of the way, then he stretched out on the damp earth, settling Grace on top of him so she wouldn’t have to sleep on the ground. He wrapped his arms around her as she nestled her head under his chin. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
She stirred. “Mmm...”
“I’m sorry I almost killed you tonight.” He grimaced as the moment came crashing back: that terrifying moment when he’d turned toward her with his sword in his palm and deadly intent in his heart. He wrapped his arms more snugly around her, trying to block the guilt building in him at the thought of what had almost happened. “If you hadn’t helped me knock out that illusion—”
Her hand went to his mouth, her fingers pressing against his lips. “You wouldn’t have killed me.” Her voice was husky with sleep.
He pressed his face into her hair, relishing the scent he now associated with her. “Didn’t you feel my hatred?”
She sighed and lifted her head, propping her chin up on her hands so she could look at him. Her face was lit by the rays of dawn coming through the tree branches, tinting her skin a soft golden hue. “Give me a break, Quinn. You weren’t going to kill me. All I did was remind you of that little fact.” She patted his cheek and yawned. “I’m your
sheva
. You can’t possibly kill me, remember? Some things are stronger even than an illusion.” She found his hand and entwined her fingers in his. “Until we bond and have to destroy each other, we’re a team, in every dangerous and deadly sense of the word.”
He was quiet for a minute, letting himself absorb the feeling of Grace’s body draped across his, trusting him. “Does it bother you? My life? What I do? All the killing?”
She hesitated. “Yes.”
He couldn’t stop the stab of disappointment. Had he expected anything else? Here was a woman who’d been haunted her entire life by one accidental death. What made him dare hope that she wouldn’t have a problem with who he was?
“But it’s okay.”
He frowned. “What does that mean?”
“It means...” Grace wrinkled her nose while she tried to think of how to explain it, and he found himself tensing. Hoping. “It means that it’s part of what makes you who you are. Without it, you’re not you. And that would be wrong. It’s your whole package that I like.” She rolled her eyes. “But, seriously, Quinn, what women
wouldn’t
be a little wigged out by your life? Zach nearly got decapitated tonight! By a friend! And Gabe?” She shuddered. “He’s going to be the last face I see before I die. Or maybe it’ll be Ryland. It’s clear you guys are expecting him to go rogue at any second. Or even Gideon. He’s ready to do his job.” She dropped her head and pressed it to his chest. “God, I’d blocked all that out. I take it back. It’s not okay. Your friends scare the daylights out of me.”
He smiled. “If it’s any consolation, you scare them more.”
She studied him for a minute. “And how do
you
feel about all of it?”
He met her gaze. “Sometimes I find myself wanting to forget that I’m not supposed to let myself care about you.”
* * *
The intensity in his voice went straight to Grace’s heart, and the tension she’d been holding all night finally began to uncurl. Despite his harsh edges and the rules he lived by, Quinn was her rock in a world that was sliding out of control. Her kindness in a world where too many people wanted her dead. Her support when she felt like she couldn’t take it anymore.
Grace was so used to expecting betrayal from others, especially after what had happened with her fiancé, that it was such a gift to be able to count on Quinn. Having his support was empowering her in so many ways. He’d given her a place, albeit it a temporary one, with the Order and with himself, which had given her the courage to stand up in front of all of them and admit what she was and what she could do.
Yes, Grace was aware that at least a large part of Quinn’s loyalty was to the bond, but she was beginning to be okay with that, because it meant she could count on him. With her sister’s life at stake, it was an unbelievable feeling to know that Quinn would stand by her, even when he was half-crazy.
Of course, were they to complete the bond, it was back to her old life of having people betray her, but for now, it was a gift, and she was taking advantage of everything about it. She was going into this with her eyes open and her heart protected, knowing that Quinn’s dedication to her was because of the bond and not because of who she was. She wouldn’t lie to herself about the future, but for today? She wanted to live and breathe what he gave her.
“Kiss me, Quinn,” she whispered. “I need you to kiss me.”
He didn’t ask why. He simply tightened his grip on her, moved her higher up on his chest so he could reach her, then kissed her.
The moment the tender softness of his mouth embraced hers, her insides unclenched. She sighed with relief and pleasure.
This is what I needed.
His hands tangled in her hair, and he deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding in and out, his lips coaxing her to respond.
I need it too,
sheva
. God, I need this right now.
The earnestness underlying his words flowed through her, triggering a spiral of heat and warmth and something else: a
belonging
. Grace moaned his name as his hands slipped beneath her jeans and his knuckles kneaded her bottom. Her body began to move against him, desire blossoming deep in her core as he hardened beneath her, responding to her,
needing her
.
She sat up and straddled him as she tugged her shirt over her head, his hands sliding up her ribs and over her breasts as she exposed them to the cool morning air. His gaze settled on her breasts, and she felt a shiver of excitement at his intense perusal, her nipples hardening at the first touch of a breeze.
Quinn cupped her breasts, then pulled her down so he could kiss each one. A tender kiss that made her tremble, then shudder when he scraped his teeth across her nipple. His hands supported her lower back, and she leaned back into his grasp, the muscles of his forearms hard against her sides. She drank in his strength, ran her hands over the tightness of his biceps, and relinquished herself to him.
Sheva
.
Grace trembled at the endearment, at the tenderness of the word as it spilled through her mind. That’s why she was safe with him right now, because she was his
sheva.
Not because she was Grace Matthews. The thought sobered her, and a little part of her wished that it was different. That he was there with her because of who she was, not because they were connected by some bond.
No. She was too wise to yearn for a fairy tale. She was lucky to have this moment, the unfailing commitment from Quinn, a warrior so honorable and brave. A man who truly wasn’t fazed by who she was. A partner who had brought her into a world where no one was daunted by her powers, where her value actually increased because she was an Illusionist, instead of her talents being a black mark that qualified her for hatred, disgust and fear.
So what if this magical moment was because some archaic destiny had forced them together? So what if he didn’t love her? Grace couldn’t let it matter. That wasn’t her life. It wasn’t her future. She sighed, realizing that she was lying to herself. Before Quinn had showed her what it was like to be able to count on someone, she’d convinced herself she didn’t need it.
But she did. She wanted the dream. She wanted the fairy tale.
“Grace?” Quinn paused, his dark eyes searching hers. “You okay?”
She shook off the melancholy, refusing to lose this moment because of some naive longing for something she’d never have. “It’s perfect,” she said.
He narrowed his eyes. “Why are you lying to me?”
“Just kiss me, you fool.” Grace pressed her lips to his, and Quinn kissed her back, instantly taking over the kiss. His mouth was a sensual decadence, calling her out of her brooding and awakening a rush of desire that was like liquid heat crashing through her.
Quinn shrugged out of his jacket, never ceasing his seduction as he trailed his lips over her collarbone, nipping and scraping, sending chills through her body.
He tossed his coat behind her, then eased her down on it, his motions so gentle and tender, as if he were afraid to break her. “This time, it will be the way I’ve wanted to make love to you since the beginning,” he whispered as he bent to lave her belly, his tongue teasing into the crevice of her navel as his fingers unfastened her jeans and he began to slide them over her hips with a sensual intimacy that shattered the shields around her heart.
“Yes,” she whispered. This was what she wanted. To be made love to as if she was his entire world and always would be, as if the magic between them was simply them and how they felt about each other.
“Oh, yes,” Quinn agreed as he kissed her again, harder now, demanding her body’s response.
Excitement flared through her and she lifted her hips as he trailed kisses down her belly, following the path of her pants as he pulled them off her. His mouth tangled in her curls, and then his hot mouth between her legs made her jerk as he swept his tongue through her folds.
Let yourself go, sheva
. His voice was a commanding whisper in her mind, but she felt his tremor as he fought to keep his own desire under control. He tightened their mental connection, and her body convulsed when she felt his need for her, his lust, his raging desire.
She grabbed for him, the bare skin of his shoulders flexing beneath her grip as he wrapped his hands around her legs and parted them further, stretching her as far as she could go, exposing her until she had no defenses, no protection, nothing. She was at his mercy, and she loved it, loved that she could trust him completely and know she was safe in his arms.
She shuddered at the knowledge, at the awareness that he controlled her, that she was putting herself into his hands. She thrilled in the sensation of giving herself over to him.
You are mine,
he growled as his fingers thrust into her.
The orgasm was instant, rising up from the depths of her soul so fast and so unexpectedly she screamed. Quinn kept his fingers deep inside her as he caught her mouth with his, driving the orgasm on and on, as her body shrieked with the pressure of the release, the cycle of power seizing her until she thought she couldn’t survive it.
The moment it faded, while her body was still vibrating with the aftershocks, Quinn rolled off her long enough to ditch his jeans, and then he was back between her legs, his skin sliding against hers. No fabric between them, just the tantalizing, vulnerable feel of flesh to flesh. Arousal surged through her, and she grabbed his hair and pulled his face to hers as his lean hips settled between her thighs. His skin was hot and slick against hers, and his upper body loomed over her. His chest was wide and ripped with muscles, decadently hard beneath her hands. A man who could keep her safe from anything, if he chose to.
I’ll always protect you,
he growled.
Never, ever doubt that.
Her throat tightened at his declaration, and she wished this moment would be forever.
Quinn reached between them and guided himself into her, and she welcomed his length and thickness into her body, shuddering at the connection as they became one, at the sense of absolute rightness as he breathed her name as he sank more deeply inside her.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and lifted her hips to meet him as he drove again and again, tension coiling deep inside her as his rhythm intensified, as his control began to slip. As he fell into the desire building inside him, his need, his commitment to her. For her.
It was against everything Quinn had been for the last five hundred years, for the duration of his existence, yet his walls had fallen to her, to their bond, to his
sheva
. She felt his dedication to her in every trembling muscle in his body, in the glistening sweat as he struggled to keep control, in the tender way his fingers caressed her hair and in his reverent kisses as he staked his claim on her body, spirit and soul.
Grace clung to his shoulders as his hips thrust even deeper, penetrating to her very core, and she lifted her knees to draw him further into her, needing more. Emotions swelled in her chest, emotions that were so pure and powerful, she could almost imagine that there was nothing metaphysical pulling them together. Not this time. This time, it felt like it was simply them.
God, Grace
. His groan was of complete capitulation, of total surrender as he drove again, and her walls shattered.
I put my life in your hands, for now and for always.
The words sprung unbidden from deep inside her, and his body instantly went rigid as the orgasm hit him, then ripped into her. She clung to him as the culmination of desire claimed her, and his arms held her tight against him as they rode the final crest together. As one.
The final tremors faded as he eased them to the ground, tucking her into the shield of his body. She snuggled into his heat and smiled as he pressed his lips to her hair. For now, for this moment, she would crawl into the shelter he gave her.
For it would all be over far too soon.