Darkness Awakened (Primal Heat Trilogy #1) (Order of the Blade) (30 page)

His hand slipped beneath her waistband and his fingers plunged inside her. She gasped at the invasion as he razed his teeth over her tongue again. Pain echoed somewhere in her mind as he sliced her tongue with his teeth , clamped his lips over the cut and sucked on the wound, his hand still moving within her. He thrust his tongue again, raking it over the edges of her teeth as he drove deeper inside her with his fingers, stretching her with a decadent twist that sent delicious spirals through her. Desire built inside her until her body coiled, and still his mouth demanded her response, his hips driving against her until her body shook with a desire and a need so strong she couldn’t think.

Then his tongue was between her teeth again, and she couldn’t resist his offer any longer. She grazed her teeth over his tongue, and the coppery taste of his blood slid through her mouth, a delicious and amazing sensation that felt like the heavens had just swept her up into the skies and gifted her with the seeds of life. A sense of utter rightness blossomed through her as his fingers brought her over the edge into the whirling place where her body and soul were striving to go, as his voice filled her mind.

Mine to you. Yours to me. Bonded by blood, by spirit and by soul, we are one. No distance too far, no enemy too powerful, no sacrifice too great. I’ll always find you. I’ll always protect you. No matter what the cost. I am yours as you are mine.

She whispered the words back to him, the unfamiliar promise tumbling out on its own, as if she’d always held it in her spirit, waiting for it to be called to life.
Mine to you. Yours to me. Bonded by blood, by spirit and by soul, we are one. No distance too far, no enemy too powerful, no sacrifice too great. I’ll always find you. I’ll always keep you safe. No matter what the cost. I am yours as you are mine.

Yes
. His guttural sigh of triumph trumpeted through her as his fingers brought her body screaming into completion. The orgasm crashed into her, thrusting itself through every inch of her body. Her orgasm swept him up, and he came with her, his hips driving fiercely, his mouth locked down on hers with a passion that made her body rage with a wildness so far out of her control she knew she’d never return, never come back, never the be the same.

* * *

Quinn sagged into Grace’s warmth. He pressed his face into the curve of her neck as he tried to regain his breath. His muscles were spent. His energy was drained, as if he’d thrust every last bit of his soul into Grace and left nothing for himself.

But Quinn didn’t feel depleted. Intense satisfaction was like a bright light burning with fresh energy. Even as he lay there, his nerves tingled, and fresh strength surged into his muscles, rebuilding him with astonishing speed.

Quinn was so aware of Grace, tucked beneath his body. The steady beat of her heart was like an echo of his. The sated sensuality easing through her body soothed his own muscles. Each breath of air into her lungs filled his own with the crisp freshness of the mountain air. They were so connected, it was as if their souls were still tangled and wrapped in desire.

Grace’s fingers were still clenching the front of his jacket as microscopic tremors rippled through her. Quinn loved the feel of her holding onto him, as if he were her anchor, the only thing keeping her grounded.

“Oh, wow.” Grace let her head drop back against the ground, strands of her dark hair falling raggedly to the earth. “I thought you were gone,” she said. “Your eyes were red.”

Quinn tangled his fingers in her hair. “Nah. I was fine.” But he wasn’t sure he was telling the truth. He could still recall with vivid clarity how focused he’d been on making Gabe pay for threatening Grace. How far would he have taken it? Would he have killed his own teammate?

He would never know, because Grace had intervened. His courageous, insane, daring mate had thrown herself into the mix-up against all common sense. It had been foolhardy and dangerous, and yet she’d done it anyway. “Grace.”

Her eyes slanted open, half-mast with exhaustion and relief. She managed a faint smile that resonated deep inside him. “Yes?”

Quinn kissed the tip of her nose. “You are too brave, woman. You should not have been jumping in the middle of that battle. Don’t take charge of my safety. It’s
my
job to look after
you
.”

“Really?” Grace laughed softly and laid her hand on his face, her touch so soft and gentle, a sensation so foreign to him. “When are you going to learn that you don’t get to boss me around, Quinn?”

He set his hand over hers, holding her palm to his face. “Never. I need to be in charge.”

“I need to control my own life.” Grace shook her head, but the denial was subdued and weary, a woman who had used up all the resources she had. “I knew I should have shot you back at the truck.”

“Never. You think I’m fantastic.”

She raised her brows. “And you think I’m fantastic, sexy, brilliant and amazing.”

His smiled faded. “Yeah. I do.” When her eyes widened with surprise, he knew his
sheva
really didn’t get how much she brought to the table. “Damn, you’re amazing, Grace.” He leaned down and kissed her.

She sighed with pleasure and kissed him back, her hands going around his neck. Her mouth parted for his, and he deepened the kiss. His tongue brushed against hers, and he caught a faint coppery taste still lingering—

Oh, hell. Her blood.
Holy crap
—

Gideon invaded his mind.
Quinn.

Shit. He’d forgotten the Order was all around them. Quinn wrapped his arm around Grace, sliding her more tightly beneath him as he lifted his head and took quick stock of their surroundings.

A rapid assessment of the dark forest told him that he and Grace were alone, but he could sense the Order standing just out of sight behind the nearest trees. Energy hummed through the air, and he knew they were all armed, ready to take him down the instant they thought he’d gone rogue. Their lust was thick in the air, crowding too close to Quinn’s woman. Adrenaline rushed through Quinn and he went to his knees, still covering Grace, but ready to protect, prepared to defend.

Take it easy, Quinn,
Gideon said.
They’re already on edge and looking for a reason.

Tell them to back off.
Quinn shifted his weight to free his sword hand as Grace’s eyes opened wide. She went still beneath him, suddenly alert. She eased her hand to the collar of his shirt and lightly grasped it, as if she could stop him from leaping up by that simple action.

Except it worked. The moment Quinn felt her tug on him, something inside him quieted.
Leave us alone, Gideon,
he said.

After that? I can’t. I need to check in with you.

I’m not rogue. I won’t jump anyone as long as they don’t try to kill her. I may not be rogue, but I’m not dead either. If anyone messes with her, I will protect her.
The effort of keeping his voice calm ground deep, when all Quinn wanted to do was jump up and do some macho shit to them for lusting after his woman. Yeah, not rogue, but not quite himself either.

Gideon laughed.
Point taken. Get your ass off her. We have a bad guy to catch.

Grace released his shirt and touched his lips, pressing her finger to them, worry creating a pucker between her eyebrows. Quinn looked down at her, and their gazes met with silent intensity. W
e need a minute.

Quinn felt Gideon touch his mind. He allowed him access the way he’d brought Grace in, so Gideon could see for himself that he wasn’t rogue. Satisfied, Gideon agreed.
I’ll take the men back to the fire. Make it quick. They’re restless.

How are Zach and Gabe?

They’re both pissed at you. Zach was impressed with her, though. Said she’s almost tough enough to beat your ass.

She is.
Quinn agreed, relieved both men would survive.
We’ll be up there in five.

They shut off the connection, and Quinn heard the whisper of movement through the woods as Order members vacated the area. He knew the moment he and Grace were truly alone. “Grace,” Quinn whispered, shifting his position so he could see her face. She looked even more concerned, and her fingers were pressed to her own lips now. “You okay?”

She shook her head once. “Did we—” She stopped, uncertain.

“The blood exchange? Yeah, but we’re still good. Got a few stages to go.”

She closed her eyes and rested her palm on her forehead. “This is happening faster than we intended. It’s taking us, Quinn—”

“No.” He cut her off with more fierceness than he had intended. Now was not the time to doubt. Now was the time to get tougher. “We’re stronger than it. For hell’s sake, you took down an Order member when he was trying to kill you. You’re motivated by your love for your sister, and there’s nothing more powerful than that. My uncle broke through it, and so can we.”

Grace chewed her lower lip as she searched his face, then she slowly nodded. “Okay.”

He nodded. “Okay.” Yeah, maybe in two thousand years, there’d been only one man who’d broken through the rogue state caused by a
sheva
, but when there was one, there could be others. Grace was gifted with an inordinate amount of strength, and she was driven by such intense love for her sister. He was putting his money on Grace, and since he was descended from the one man who’d done it… yeah. They could do it. “You ready to go take on a bunch of old-school warriors?”

“Wait.” Her fingers tightened on his wrists. “Did I kill…” She stumbled over the question, but he knew what she was going to ask.

“Nah. Zach’s a tough old bastard. He’ll be fine, but I think he has a crush on you now.”

Oblivious to his joke, she searched his face, and he was surprised by the depth of desperation in her eyes. “Really? You swear he’s not dead? Or dying?”

Quinn took her hand and kissed her palm. “He’s fine, sweetheart. We get more damage than that on a daily basis. It won’t even leave a scratch.”

“Oh, thank God,” she whispered. She let her head drop back to the ground and scrunched her eyes shut, but not before the tears trickled free, sliding down her cheeks. She pressed her hand over her eyes, and her body started to shake.

“Hey, hey, hey.” He rolled to his side, so he could pull her into his arms and hold her against his chest. “It’s okay,
sheva
. It’s over.” He kissed her hair.

She shook her head, her hand still over her eyes, her body shaking even harder. “It won’t be over. It will never be over.”

“Grace. Listen to me. You didn’t hurt him.”

“I killed a man once. A boy. I killed a boy.” Her voice was ragged, her breathing raspy.

“Oh...” Quinn cupped her face as the tears started to fall for real, as her anguish pervaded his mind. He felt the truth of her words, and he finally understood her. Killing his uncle had changed him forever, forced him to harden himself, to find meaning and honor in his actions, or else it would have broken him. Quinn had trained his whole life to become an Order member. He’d been indoctrinated since birth on the need to slay the chosen few in order to save the rest, and yet killing his uncle had still been a brutal shock.

For Grace, with her tremendous capacity for love and loyalty, with her deep sensitivity toward hurting others, he knew it had to have rocked her to her core. Quinn wanted to tell her it was okay, that it didn’t matter, but he knew those words were empty. Nothing could erase the magnitude of taking a life. So, instead of trying to comfort his woman with meaningless words, he took her hand, pressed his lips to her palm, and offered himself to carry her burden. “Tell me what happened,” he said, letting her know through his voice that he didn’t judge her. “I want to know.”

Tears streaked down her cheeks and she looked past him at the night sky, as if she were remembering a past long forgotten. “I was fourteen and in foster care. One of the boys came into my room, thinking it was the bathroom. I panicked when I saw him fumbling with his fly, thinking he was coming after me. I didn’t mean to, but I called out an illusion.” Her voice thickened, heavy with tears and a lifetime of guilt. “It was knives.” Her gaze flicked to his, so full of self-recrimination and horror. “Knives, Quinn. They were stabbing him, and he believed it was real.”

Quinn frowned. “Did the knives actually hurt him?” At her nod, his respect for her grew. Grace was a force to be reckoned with. For her illusions to be so powerful that a person’s skin actually split itself open in response to a knife wound that the mind had imagined… shit. It was almost incomprehensible, the power the mind had over the body. Yeah, he knew all about stress causing heart attacks, but this was a whole different level.

“He was screaming,” Grace said, the words tumbling out now, as if she couldn’t contain them anymore. “He was holding his arms over his face to try to protect himself, and the knives kept coming, slicing him to bits. There was blood everywhere. I tried to stop the illusion, but I couldn’t. I ran over and tried to protect him, and I couldn’t stop it.”