Darkness Seduced (Primal Heat Trilogy #2) (Order of the Blade) (25 page)

But a part of her didn’t care. He had answers for her. She knew it, somehow she knew it instinctively. Frank had something she wanted and needed.

It was something in the way he tilted his head, the secrets held in those merciless blue eyes. Frank Tully was what she’d been waiting for. Not just since she’d been rescued from Nate’s.

For far, far longer than that.

And Ana knew, with absolute certainty, that he would never hurt her. Ever. Lily, yes, he would hurt her badly. Others, yes. Many others, yes. Ana, no. Whatever monster he was, he wasn’t there to do her harm.

A slow smile spread across his face, as if he’d heard her thoughts. “You will come with me.”

Ana didn’t hesitate. “Yes.” He had answers to questions, questions she couldn’t think of right now, but she knew she needed them answered. Questions that would come to her...

“With the knife?” he asked.

“I don’t have it. I gave it to the Order.”

Frank dropped his hand, and there was a tic of aggravation in his cheek. “I need the knife, Ana. Bring it with you. I’ll meet you here. An hour? Can you get it that quickly?”

“So soon?” That gave her no time to strategize, to figure out her plans. “I can’t—”

Ana.
Elijah’s voice whispered through her mind. She clenched her fists, against a sudden burning of Elijah’s brands on her forearms, and she knew she had to find a way to get the knife for Frank. She didn’t know why, not yet, but she knew she
had
to go. Her certainty resonated in every fiber of her being. “I’ll come.”

Frank cupped the side of her face. “You were always the good girl, Ana.”

She lifted her chin. “I’m not doing this for you.”

One eyebrow went up above the tinted glasses. “And the games begin.” Then he turned and strode away, the shadowed woods swallowing him up as he faded into the darkness, until even the sound of his footsteps faded.

That was probably smart. I wasn’t...ready yet.

There was a low moan.
Shit, Lily. Just the thought of what you might have meant by that comment’s getting me hard again. What is it with you? Is it Satinka?

Lily wanted to smile at how frustrated he sounded. He was aggravated that he wasn’t in complete control. She’d studied Gideon enough to know that his tight rein on his emotions was his greatest pride and his best weapon.
I don’t know. I’ll have to look into it.

Research?

She swung her feet off the bed, feeling comforted by his presence in her mind.
For you, your axe is your weapon. For me, it’s my mind. It’s all I have.
She walked across the room and realized the shower was still running. She stuck her hand in. Ice cold.

Shit, Lily. I won’t deny you’re brilliant, but you’re a hell of a lot more than your damn mind.

She looked down at the crusted blood on her body, and sighed. It would have to be a cold shower.
You’re referring to my fantastic sexual allure?
She stepped into the water and let out a yelp when the icy water hit, driving her breath away.

You’re a warrior, Lily. Like me. It took a warrior mentality to do that blood bond with me today. You survived Nate. You have strength, Lily. Real strength.

The genuine respect in his voice made her heart tighten.
Thank you for saying that. I appreciate it. Sometimes I need to be reminded.

There was a pause, as if he’d shifted his attention somewhere else and she grabbed a washcloth and started scrubbing the blood off her, even as she started to shiver.

Then he was back.
Quinn wants to know how long until you can come downstairs and look at the knife.

She hesitated.
Is it safe for me to be around the Order?

I’ll make sure it is.
He didn’t hesitate, and his words were honest and sure.

Lily smiled. As terrifying as the future implications of being his
sheva
were, it was an unbelievable gift to know that she could trust him entirely to keep her safe. She knew that only the
sheva
bond and Gideon’s immense personal strength had enabled him to walk out that door when her magic had been calling to him. His need to keep her safe had been stronger than her irresistible siren call. An impossibility, but so unbelievably beautiful. Gideon, the warrior who’d been her nightmare her whole life, had turned out to be her salvation. Ironic, but she was too smart to turn down the gift he offered her. Granted, if they bonded, all hell would break loose, but until then he was a gift.

I’m a gift? Sweetheart, you are going to be an easy woman to please if you think I’m a gift, but I really recommend you raise your standards. At least demand chocolate or diamonds. Take advantage of the
sheva
bond and milk me for all I’m worth. I have a shitload of money and I can’t say no to my woman.

She chuckled.
Gideon, I wouldn’t even know what to do with diamonds. The way you make me feel is exactly what I need.

Damn, woman. That’s a lot of pressure. Diamonds would be easier for me to deliver.

She laughed then, and the laughter felt so foreign. When was the last time she’d laughed? She hadn’t thought she even remembered how to do it.
How on earth did you just make me laugh?

I’m a god. You’re a lucky woman. Learn to deal with it.
His affection warmed her, and she could almost see his answering smile.

She laughed again, and this time she felt the lightness dance through her spirit.
Well, at least you’re humble.

Humility is for wimps.

She turned off the cold water and stepped out of the shower. A part of her wanted to spend an hour drying her hair, putting on makeup and making herself beautiful for him, the way she might have done in another life, a woman simply excited about a man.

Sweetheart, you’re the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever laid eyes upon and there’s not a damn thing you could do to make me want you more than I already do. When are you coming down here? I need to get some time with my girl.

She laughed.
Don’t I get any privacy from you?

What? You want privacy from me?
He sounded shocked, but she could tell he was teasing.
Let me come up there right now and we can talk about that.

She wasn’t surprised by the sudden flush of desire that vibrated through her at the idea of Gideon walking into her bedroom again.
If you come up here, we’ll never get down there. Leave me alone. I’ll be down in ten minutes.

I’ll be waiting. Just make sure you have clothes on and you’re not singing.

She smiled again, amazed that she had any smiles left in her body.
I promise.

* * *

Lily paused in the hallway outside the living room. She could hear the murmur of male voices. The Order of the Blade was waiting for her. Men who had taken an oath to kill her on sight because she was Gideon’s
sheva
. Warriors who were ready to take her from Gideon. Calydons who were at war in the battle that had resulted in her imprisonment for the last two years.

Suddenly, all Lily’s courage and strength deserted her. How could she summon up the energy to resume the battle? It had felt so good to flirt with Gideon, to wash her hair, to feel like a woman being excited about a new man. To be normal, or as close to normal as she could get.

She didn’t want to resume her life again. She really didn’t.

Lily leaned against the wall, and closed her eyes.
I can’t do this.

“Yes, you can.” Gideon walked out of the living room, apparently having sensed her presence before she’d reached out to him.

He was wearing a clean pair of jeans, a gray tee shirt, and a different pair of boots. This pair was black, and worn. His hair was curling around the back of his neck, but there was a small mark on his skin where she’d cut him. There were angry red marks around both wrists...from the chains?

He followed her gaze to his wrists. “Yeah, it’s the chains. I was a little crazed for a few minutes. Thankfully, Dante had the foresight to install them a long time ago to contain Order members after their
shevas
are killed. We had to put Ian in them a few months ago after Elijah killed his
sheva
. I didn’t think we’d get to let him go, actually...”

Lily swallowed, searching his blue eyes that were so serious now. “God, Gideon. What are we getting ourselves into?”

“I have no idea, and no one else does either. This is virgin territory, but we all understand now why Satinka are so rare.”

“The Calydons killed us off.”

“Yeah. Not on purpose, but that doesn’t seem to matter.” He flexed his wrists. “I’m under control now. You ready to go in?”

She shook her head. “The males in there are my enemies. I’ve spent my life—”

“I was the only Order member who was your enemy.” He walked over to her and caught her wrist, his fingers just below the cut he’d made with his axe. “Just me.”

“No, not just you. Cade was my enemy. Anyone in the Order would have come to kill him if you hadn’t.” She looked at his hand where he held her, his fingers loose around her wrist. “If I hadn’t been your
sheva
, I would have been someone else’s. And now...now they want to kill me and—”

“This meeting in there isn’t about you. It’s about stopping Frank. That’s the only focus right now. Any fate of yours is periphery right now.”

She shivered. “Frank has to be stopped.”

“He does.” Gideon cocked his head. “Did I tell you we think he kidnapped a young Calydon? Nineteen years old? His name’s Drew Cartland.”

“Oh, God. You had to tell me that?” But she knew he did. It was too easy to forget the threat that Frank presented when she was behind these walls with Gideon by her side.

Frank was still out there, and he was still so dangerous. Far more dangerous than the bond building between Gideon and her. She took a deep breath, pulling herself together.
Just a little longer, Lily. You can keep it together for a little longer.

She saw by the flicker of amusement on Gideon’s face that he’d heard her silent pep talk. “No privacy even for my own neurotic moments?”

“Not anymore.” There was a flicker of regret in his tone, but his face was heated, as if he was damned happy with how closely they were connected. “We’ve done almost half the stages. Trust has been completed by both of us. My half of the death stage was completed when I killed to save your life. We did the blood bond. We have only two and a half stages left: sex, transference and your half of the death stage.”

Lily knew all about those stages. The death stage would be satisfied if she killed to save Gideon’s life, or if she offered her life to save his. Transference occurred when his weapon recognized her as his mate and became hers to call from his arm, just as he could call it to life. And the final stage was sex. God. Sex with Gideon? Hello. How was she ever going to resist that?

Gideon’s fingers brushed over the silver lines in her skin. “You okay with where we are?”

Lily managed a nod. “I have to be. There’s no going back.”

“No, there isn’t.” His hand closed over her wrist, and he lifted her hand to press a kiss to her palm. “You ready?”

“Absolutely. Frank has to die.”

Gideon nodded and took her hand, then led her into Dante’s luxuriously decorated living room. After all her years of researching the Order, she recognized everyone immediately.