Kiss of Darkness
Page 15
With each move, each shift, she found herself nearer to the door. She started to feel a little desperate and then Marcus was by her side. He was bleeding from a cut on his arm and she hesitated a split-second seeing it. Time enough for the demon she’d been fighting to surge forward, to plunge the wicked-looking knife he carried upward, sloping toward her neck. Marcus wrenched her out of the way in time to save her from death, but not from all of the blade’s fury.
The cut started at her collarbone and stretched diagonally down across her chest and over her belly. It burned and she growled when she realized she’d been poisoned again. Her demon howled its outrage and she let it take over, gave it free rein. She remembered from the last time that she only had a few seconds before the poison started to work, before she would slow. Before she got herself and Marcus killed.
She rolled forward, closer to the demon, slashing up with both her blades as she rose, following when he tried to retreat and regroup. She got lucky. He stumbled as she thrust, burying her knife in his throat.
Marcus didn’t wait, didn’t give her a chance to catch her breath. He grabbed her around the waist, shoving the image of his foyer into her brain, and ordering her to teleport, forcing her to when she wasn’t fast enough.
When they arrived, he released her so fast she was afraid he’d somehow been scalded. He stomped across the space, footsteps quick and angry, to the foot of the stairs before whirling around and coming back to her. He stood close, so close his clothing crinkled against hers. She held her breath, afraid to move, afraid to speak. He was livid and he wasn’t hiding it. The walls bulged, breathed with the weight of his anger.
“Are you fucking crazy or just suicidal?”
She winced at the accusation, at his raised voice, but she didn’t back down, not even when heads started poking around corners and outside of doors down the hall behind him. Not even when she felt the poison hit her bloodstream and she struggled not to sway against him.
“Shit,” he muttered, sweeping her up in his arms before she could collapse. He hesitated at the bottom of the stairs and turned in to the office, laying her down on the couch after Luke vacated it.
She took a deep breath, ignoring the sudden cold when he released her and stepped away. She shivered. Scowling, he left the room but reappeared in seconds with a blanket that he covered her legs with. Closing her eyes, she let her mind float until the touch of his fingers against her skin jerked her back to attention. He lifted the bottom edge of her shirt.
“This has to come off. We need to clean that wound.”
He waited though and it took her sluggish mind a minute to realize he was waiting for Luke, Kadall and Gia to leave. She frowned. Where was Dupree? She didn’t have to wonder long. She felt his energy rushing in before him. Marcus sighed but allowed himself to be pushed out of the way.
“Jesus, Winter. We can’t leave you alone for a second, can we?”
Gentle hands fingered the bottom of her shirt and lifted it up. She felt everyone withdraw from the room but Marcus and Dupree. Marcus tensed as Dupree peeled it from her body. She opened her eyes to watch him. His back was ramrod straight, fists clenched at his sides, but he didn’t interfere. She smiled at him while Dupree ripped the collar open so she could slide her arms free rather than try to pull it over her head.
A knock sounded on the door but it was pushed open without waiting for permission. Kara grinned at her as she came in with a tray containing a bowl of water and gauze.
“Hey, Commander.”
“Kara.”
Winter cocked an eyebrow at Dupree, but he didn’t explain, ignored her just as she suspected he would. She didn’t push him. He tried to pretend Kara was a baby sister, but Winter had seen the way he looked at the young woman when he thought no one was watching. If she was staying in the house maybe the proximity to her would help thaw him out a little, maybe he’d realize it wasn’t brotherly affection he felt for her at all.
Kara set the tray on the floor and Marcus nudged Dupree out of the way. Then he sat on the edge of the sofa and dipped a washcloth in the water. He started at her collarbone and gently began washing the blood away.
“Leave us,” he said quietly. Over his shoulder she saw Dupree stiffen, but the hybrid let Kara tug him out of the room. The door closed with a soft snick, and Marcus used his mind to turn the lock with a resounding click.
“You are in so much trouble, Winter.”
Her heart stumbled at the lightly spoken words, at the sensual promise in his tone. He followed the cut down, stopping over the inside swell of her breast. He rinsed the cloth and returned to the last place he’d touched her. Going slowly he moved it down her body, removing every trace of blood in its path.
“It’s not too deep. No stitches required.”
“Good,” she whispered, feeling her eyelids droop, feeling her mind shut down. She was distantly aware of being covered to her chin, of his low command to sleep. Like she was in any position to argue?
Chapter Twenty-Six
Marcus found the others, plus the two newcomers he’d sensed when they arrived, gathered in the kitchen. The room fell silent as he entered. Kadall, Marelle, Luke, Gia and a woman he didn’t know sat around the table.
The other woman, the pixie-cute girl who’d brought in the first-aid supplies stood stirring something that smelled divine at the stove, while Dupree stood a few feet away in a dark corner watching her. He met Marcus’s gaze briefly, nodded, then turned his attention back to the woman. Dupree may not have claimed her, but it was obvious she was his woman.
Marcus grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and went to the table. Spinning a chair around, he sat, leaned his forearms over the seat back and met his brother’s gaze.
“Two guests.” Luke grinned and nodded toward the stove. “That’s Kara. And this,” he added, turning to the other woman, “is Nadia.”
“Nadia’s our senior historian,” Gia interjected. “Luke said she could take over the dining room.”
He smiled, hoping to put her at ease. Gia radiated tension, her body strummed tightly and her eyes were pinched. Luke’s hand rested on the nape of her neck and she froze for a second when he squeezed before finally relaxing a little.
Dupree stepped closer to the table but didn’t sit down. “What happened tonight?”
Marcus took a firm grip on his power as his anger rose again. He was going to wring Winter’s neck when she was healed. “We were checking the safe houses. There were demons at the last one.”
Kara and Marelle both reacted, one with a gasp, the other turning from the stove and coming closer to hear.
“How many?” Luke asked.
“Four, but as soon as we killed them four more teleported in. The one that cut her was trying to get her closer to the house. We couldn’t get in to see what kind of trap they had. We barely got out of there as it was.”
“We need to check it out,” Dupree said.
Marcus nodded. “Tomorrow.” He gestured to the shuttered windows. “Sun will rise soon.”
Dupree shrugged, but there was nothing casual in his eyes when he answered. “I don’t have that problem.”
Marcus shook his head. “Bad idea.” He could see his words didn’t affect the hybrid male’s decision to go on his own and he struggled for a way to keep him at the house. He wasn’t a nightwalker, so Marcus couldn’t order him to stay but he knew Winter would be very displeased if he let Dupree leave. In the end, he needn’t have worried.
“I’m going with you,” Kara said.
Dupree’s expression didn’t shift a fraction. “No you aren’t. You’re staying here where I know you’re safe.”
She set her hands on her hips and turned to fully face him. “I’m twenty-four, Dupree. I can take care of myself. Hell, you made sure of that.”
“Forget it, Kara. You’re staying here.”
“Don’t count on it.” She narrowed her eyes. “And when Winter wakes up I’m going to ask her to lift Benjamin’s edict.”
“She’s only human. Don’t let her leave,” Dupree ordered.
Then Dupree was gone, the young woman he’d left behind loudly cursing his name as the air shimmered where he’d stood. She stomped to the stove, turned off a burner and moved the stew pot to a cold burner. When she started to leave the room, Gia stopped her.
“Don’t even think about it, Kara.”
The young woman looked at her in disbelief. “You’ve got to be kidding!”
Gia shook her head.
“I’m not even a member of the Order, remember?” she asked bitterly.
A calculating look entered Gia’s eyes. “But your petition to join is long-standing. Disobey Dupree’s order and I’ll see that it’s never approved.”
“You’d deny my application?”
“How serious are you really? You haven’t made the appointment with the priest yet.”
“Priest?” he interrupted.
“Everyone who joins has to go to counseling with the priest first,” Gia answered, but he wasn’t sure she meant to. She was focused on Kara, gave her a long and hard look until the other woman cast her eyes down.
“I was hoping to convince Dupree it’s the right thing for me first, but yes I am serious,” she said with aggravation. “You’d really deny my application?”
“I don’t have to deny it to keep you in limbo for years.”
“Fine,” she snapped. “I withdraw it then. If you have that kind of influence so does Dupree and he’ll never let me create the bond if he can stop it.”
Gia shrugged. “Your choice, of course.” Then she grinned. “I wouldn’t go that far if I were you though.”
Kara frowned. “Why?”
“Dupree has better control than anyone I’ve ever seen.”
Knowledge lit the young woman’s eyes. “And I’m the only one who makes him lose it.”
Marcus almost felt sorry for Dupree. The hybrid male obviously loved this petite woman so much he wouldn’t allow her to go through the same demon bonding he had, wouldn’t let her risk her soul in the same way his was endangered. But Dupree was trying to deny his feelings for her, trying to repress the emotions Kara obviously reciprocated. And Gia had just handed her a powerful weapon in that very private fight. Kara now knew she tested Dupree’s control, and a man on the edge of control sometimes made decisions he’d sworn to himself he’d never make. Like allowing his woman to bond with a demon. Or bonding with her himself to stop it.
“Yeah. But, Kara, the time will come when you have to decide which you want more. To be a full member of the Order or Dupree. Dupree…let’s just say you can’t have both. But either one of those choices will require you being able to take orders.”
The girl was quiet now, thoughtful. Marcus watched her face, saw the moment she realized the entire conversation with Gia had been a test over whether she could follow orders. It was an inside look into how the Order was run that he found fascinating.
“I’m going to go rest for a while. It’s been a long night.” Kara pointed at the stove. “Chili’s done.”
“Well, that was interesting,” the woman called Nadia said a few minutes after Kara left the room. She grinned at Gia. “And here I was thinking I knew everyone’s secrets.”
“You don’t know this one either,” Gia responded dryly.
“You got it.” Nadia nodded. “No problem.”
Sighing, Gia stood and walked to the cabinets. “No, there are plenty of other problems without borrowing that one.”
She opened two before she found the bowls and Marcus gave Luke a mental slap. Instead of assisting his woman, he’d been staring at her ass. With a rueful grin and a mental shrug, Luke stood and went to help her reach the bowls that were on a shelf higher than her reach.
While Gia and Luke took care of ladling out dinner, Marcus studied the other woman. Like all the female members of the Order she wore a confident, competent air. Her hair curled wildly around her shoulders, brown like her eyes. Pretty in a girl-next-door sort of way. He guessed she’d been around thirty when she’d undergone the bonding ceremony, but had no way of knowing how many years ago that was. Long enough that she was comfortable in her own skin, comfortable with her position whatever it was. Historian, Gia said.
“Why am I giving over my dining room to you?”
She looked to Gia, whose nod was so slight he almost missed it, before she answered. Disciplined. He could respect discipline even if it rankled that she didn’t understand he was the final authority in this house.
“I’ll be looking for anything I can find in the old scrolls and books on warlords. I need some space, really just a table big enough to spread out.”
“Someplace secure,” Gia added, setting bowls on the table.
“You don’t think your offices are?”
She pressed her lips together, obviously debating how much to tell him. “The lab is. The rest of the building?” She shrugged. “They found a safe house. I have to assume nothing is secure.”
He was puzzled at their structure. He knew Gia and Dupree were Winter’s top lieutenants, but he’d assumed Dupree was the one in charge of security and patrols while Gia handled the business end of things.
She hesitated so long he didn’t think she was going to explain. No matter. He’d get it out of Winter in due time.
“Physical security, taking care of the business assets…I handle that stuff.”
He nodded. “And Dupree runs the patrols?”
“And most of the training.”
He returned his gaze to Nadia. “And how does one become an Order historian?”
She grinned. “Once upon a time, a long time ago, I was a history professor.”
“Nadia is one of the civilian members of the Order.”
“And you aren’t?” Luke asked. Marcus had assumed the same thing since it appeared Gia was an administrator.
“No.” Her smile was fierce and made it clear his brother better watch his back.
“Giving away trade secrets?” Winter’s voice was joking, but raw. He jumped from his chair and practically ran to where she leaned against the doorframe.
“You should be lying down.”
He scowled. He’d left her asleep on the couch in his office. She shouldn’t be functioning on any kind of conscious level for days with that damned poison in her veins. She only shrugged and moved to step around him, but she swayed and he caught her, carried her to his seat at the table. He flipped it around and sat with her in his lap. Sighing, she leaned her head back a moment, turned her face to kiss his throat. His body threatened to seize up. It was the first open affection she’d shown him, but it was over too soon. Looking up, she met Gia’s gaze across the table.
“This shouldn’t be possible,” the other woman said, frowning.
“It shouldn’t. But it is. Maybe you build an immunity? Or maybe there wasn’t a lot of poison on the blade.” Winter shrugged again. “I’m just glad I’m not incapacitated.”
But she was exhausted, worn nearly to the end of her endurance. He wasn’t going to allow this chitchat to go on much longer. She needed to be in bed.
“Is that Kara’s chili?” She sniffed the bowl in front of her. His bowl. He had a sudden nearly overwhelming desire to feed her.
“Yep. She’s upstairs.”
Winter shifted in his arms as she reached for one of the spoons in the middle of the table, and he saw her cock an eyebrow as she watched Gia.
“Dupree?”
“Gone.”
“Wonderful,” she added sarcastically but then groaned when she took her first bite from the dish. “At least we’ll eat well.”
Gia snickered. “Yeah. Never mind the heartburn, right?”
Winter
didn’t respond, but he felt her laughing agreement.
“Kara’s going to ask you to lift Ben’s edict.”
That got her attention and she lifted her head in surprise.
What’s the edict?
Winter should be used to him showing up in her head by now. Crap. Sitting on his lap, his warmth and strength seeping into her, she found him impossible to resist.
We used to allow twenty-year-olds to go through the bonding. Benjamin thought that was a bad idea. Thought you couldn’t really know your own mind at that age. So he refused to let anyone in his territory under twenty-five create the bond.
“What did you tell her?”
“Told her I could hold up her application indefinitely.”
Winter raised her eyebrows again. “I missed something I take it?”
Gia shrugged. “Kara. Dupree. The usual.”
“Uh huh.”
Gia looked over, held her gaze. “Dupree is never gonna let her do it, Winter.”
She felt the walls closing in on her even though they were talking about someone else. “He doesn’t get to make that choice. He doesn’t have any rights over her. And she’s an adult.”
Gia watched her a long moment and Winter felt her struggle, part of her even shared it. Part of her cringed knowing this young vibrant woman would willingly tie part of her soul to a demon. But the other part, the part that was responsible for keeping everyone safe and fighting off the demons, knew she needed every soldier she could get.
“Dupree will get over it,” she added. He’d be good and pissed, but if he’d really wanted to change what was virtually an assured outcome he should have acted years ago.
“So are you lifting the edict?”
She seriously considered it. They’d already discussed the need to up their recruitment efforts, especially since they’d lost so many in the last few days. But Ben’s reasons for the edict were still sound and she still agreed with them. A few months, in this case at least, wouldn’t make a difference.