Chaos and Moonlight (Order of the Nines Book 1)

by Marrow, A. D.

  “Sarah, you’re looking a little pale,” Taris said.

  “It worked,” she whispered.

  “Come on, let’s get you upstairs to lie down.”

  The dizziness passed, and suddenly a switch flipped inside her.

  “Holy shit, it worked!” She jumped up and stood in front of him, smiling. “I can’t believe it! I have to go see him. I have so many questions, and there are so many tests to run and…”

  Taris caught her by the arm and stood up. He let out a little laugh, watching her all but jump around with excitement.

  “You might want to slow it down a bit before you go bounding up the stairs and using him as a lab experiment. He’s going to be a little,” he stopped and tried not to cringe when he said it, “busy.”

  “Well, yeah, we have a ton of work to do. We have to make more and then find a way to get FDA approval so this can go global. You realize this means our initial intention is entirely possible, and wait—what do you mean ‘busy’? And why did you say it like that?”

  Taris gave her the watered-down version of the lovefest that took place between Nick and Kalin. From start to finish. The suicide attempt, Nick feeding her and staying with her, him asking Kalin to marry him, everything.

  “Wow,” she said, sitting down on the stone hearth. “So Nick and Kalin, huh?”

  “Yup.” Taris sat down beside her, lacing his fingers with hers. “I don’t really want to think about it, but they are probably consummating their hasty union as we speak.”

  Sarah chuckled. “You think they know about us?”

  Taris thought back to the conversation that took place outside of the lab when everyone was waiting and felt the heat rush to his face. He cleared his throat.

  “We were apparently very loud last night…so yes, to answer your question, they all know.”

  Sarah turned to him, tilting her head. “Barely let our pulses calm down from marathon sex last night, and you’re already calling me names? What gives?”

  He smiled and pulled her in close to him. “It means ‘beautiful.’” With a quick jerk, she was in his lap, facing him. “Because you are.”

  “Yeah, right,” Sarah laughed. “I bet you say that to all the girls.” She felt Taris’ body go rigid beneath her. He slowly lifted her up and set her on the stone beside him.

  Taris was silent, his eyes shut. She could tell he was gearing up to say something. It was right there, on his lips—a word, a phrase, some sort of sharp quip about his sex life being none of her business.

  “I haven’t slept with that many women, Sarah,” Taris abruptly blurted out. “I suppose in comparison to most people, I have, but the reality of the situation is that I’ll indulge two or three times a year, but that’s it. I didn’t really connect with any of them. They never meant anything.”

  “I’m sorry if I offended you, Taris. I didn’t mean to—”

  “No,” he said, his shoulders shifting beneath his shirt. “You didn’t offend me. I just wanted to explain to you so you know,” he paused for a moment, “how different this was for me.”

  Sarah nodded and started to stand before Taris gently grabbed her arm and pulled her in closer to his chest.

  “I was always safe. I know I can’t catch anything or get anyone pregnant, but I still think it’s the best way to go. The last person I slept with whom I didn’t practice safe sex with was—” he paused and shuddered. “Never mind. I’ve just never felt like that before.” He ran his fingers through her hair. “I told you things between us would be different, and I meant it. So when I tell you that you are beautiful, I damned well mean it.”

  Taris wasn’t one to delve into the super sappy or even attempt to convey his feelings into flowery romantic notions, but looking at her, he couldn’t help it. She’d given so much of herself. Her mind, her body, everything was his for the taking. He was even convinced that last night, he’d felt her soul squeeze him. She managed to do in one day what he’d tried for centuries, and the weight of who she now was and what she’d done was heavy. The love he had for her was deep, fierce, and carried with it his heart and his very soul.

  “Sarah, I…”

  His words were cut off as she launched herself onto him. She caught him off guard, but only for a moment before he wrapped his arms around her midsection and steadied her on his hips.

  “Your past doesn’t matter anymore,” she said against his mouth.

  “No, it doesn’t,” he replied, gently nipping her bottom lip. His hands made passionate passes over the planes of her back. He pulled away, staring into her eyes. Her lips were pink and full, and he wanted desperately to kiss her, but the pulsing vein in her throat distracted him. Watching it throb made his heart pound and his cock even harder for her.

  In a fluid movement, he lifted them both together, just as he did before, but he didn’t walk to the chair. Instead, he made his way to the far wall and planted her against it.

  “I want to taste you again,” he said, the words coming out of his mouth in a hot and raspy growl. “I want my mouth on you, here.” His long fingers pressed against the fabric between her legs. He leaned down to press his mouth to hers, but she pushed him back, spinning him until he was the one flat against the wall.

  “You’ve done that before,” she said. Her hand drifted down the front of his torso, her fingers making their way past his belt and to the large bulge in the front of his pants. She wrapped her hand around him and squeezed. “Do you mind if I have a turn?”

  “By all means,” he rasped, looking down at her. “You can take all the turns you want.”

  She lifted herself up on her tiptoes and licked his lips until his mouth opened. Their tongues played with each other for a moment before she ran hers over the tip of his fang until she felt it pierce enough to bleed. The heavy moan in his chest got louder, and his hips surged forward against her hand.

  “You can use those on me later,” she said.

  “You’d better watch it, or I’m going to come before you get it in your mouth,” he growled and bit his lip with the same fang she licked.

  With a sly smile, she placed tiny kisses on his throat, working her way down to his chest. Her fingers fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, and one by one, they were opened to let her blaze a trail with her hot mouth. Her fingers made quick work of his belt buckle. She dropped down to her knees and leaned in, pressing her mouth to the silver button on his jeans, her hot gaze never leaving his.

  Taris groaned, threading his fingers in her hair as he watched her snap open the button of his pants with her mouth. She held the metal zipper tab between her teeth and slowly took it down the track until his pants were completely undone. His head rolled back as she slid them down far enough to be able to hold him in her hand.

  She didn’t waste any time. Her fingers gently teased the inside of his thighs, and she ran slow, dragging passes back and forth over his balls. With one hand, she lifted him and ran her tongue along his length. Taris hissed and tightened the grip his fingers had in her hair. The languishing licks got closer and closer to his tip until she took him completely into her mouth.

  She paced her strokes with the swirls her tongue made on his hot, hard skin. His other hand dug deep into her shoulder, and the pressure only made her lick longer, stroke harder.

  “I need to be in you,” he growled, and he lifted her up from the floor, spinning her around and planting her face against the wall. She watched over her shoulder as he held her up with his hips, fumbling with the tie to her scrub pants.

  “Screw this,” he said as his hands grabbed the thin green pants. As he jerked them down, they tore just enough at the waist to fall completely.

  “Stop ripping my clothes,” she panted.

  “Then stop wearing them,” he said. Once the pants were out of the way, he pushed her panties to the side, exposing her to him. With a quick thrust, he pushed himself completely into her. He stopped, just for a moment, and buried his head in the crook of her neck. He didn’t want to rush it, but h
e could feel her pulsing against him already, and he knew it would take only a few hot moments before he would explode.

  “Taris,” Sarah whispered, lacing her fingers with his against the wall. “Do it again.”

  He damned well knew what she meant, and it made him hotter than anything he could have ever imagined. Any and all semblance of sanity he’d tried to hold onto was gone forever. He didn’t wait or wax poetic about what it would feel like. His hips made a gentle grind into her as he pulled the hair away from her shoulder. Peeling his lips away from his teeth, a low growl pierced the room before his fangs broke the flesh where her shoulder met her neck.

  Then there was no holding back. The rush of her blood in his mouth and the pulse of her sex around him flipped a switch, and the animal inside came clawing out. Sarah’s nails dug deep into the wall as his thrusts became deeper and faster. Every stroke made her blood pulse quicker, and his mouth was completely full of her.

  He braced himself against the wood-paneled wall with one hand and held onto her hip with the other. So fast and hard were his hips that they came completely off the wall every time he made a backward pull. Hesitantly, he pulled his teeth from her skin and sealed the puncture wounds.

  In an instant, they both came together, reaching a pinnacle peak that sent them both crashing to the floor in a sweaty, breathless mess.

  “You are…just…damn,” he panted, pulling her close to him.

  “Yeah,” she placed a kiss on his chest. “You, too.”

  After a few moments to catch their breath, Taris stepped back and pulled his pants back around his hips. He adjusted himself, zipping them back up and buckling his belt. With a grin on his face, he helped her tie hers as best he could before licking his finger.

  “Did you just lick us off your finger?” Sarah asked.

  He gave her a wink and a devilish grin that showed the tip of a fang. “You let me get you upstairs, and I will lick us off you.” He lifted her into his arms and pressed a quick kiss to her mouth.

  * * *

  Zillah and Achan looked around at the bodies on the floor. Judah and Rhiannon were passed out cold, snuggled close together, the last remnants of old Scotch still clinging to the lip of the bottle they’d shared.

  “Have they always been such lightweights?” Zillah asked, lifting another glass of champagne to her lips.

  “Rhiannon, not so much,” Achan said before he took a deep slug out of a black bottle. “Judah’s been a little…off lately.”

  A loud crash followed by a riot of laughter came floating from down the hallway. They were all still camped out in the lab. After Kalin and Nick had left and Taris had gone to find Sarah, the four of them had decided to celebrate in grand fashion—which meant tons of pizza and free-flowing booze. A few hours later, there were two fallen soldiers, a half-drunk Zillah, and Achan left standing.

  “What are they doing in there?” Zillah muttered as a banging thud shook the walls.

  “I’m not one hundred percent sure,” Achan said, shaking his head. “But I do know one thing. They’d better never have kids before they invest in soundproofing their house.” He took one final swig from his bottle and stood up, holding a hand out to Zillah.

  “You want to come crash in my room? We’ll watch something funny.”

  Zillah accepted his hand, and they ambled out of the lab.

  “Arsenic and Old Lace. Let’s watch that,” she said.

  Achan nodded and felt his heart twist a little bit. That movie was the only thing that actually made Zillah laugh. It was a shame Rhiannon and Judah would miss it.

  Chapter 27

  Bane didn’t want to risk taking vehicles up the narrow gravel road. It wouldn’t be the easiest thing in the world if they had to make a hasty retreat. The ten men he’d managed to sneak out of Morrigan’s sight walked slowly behind him, gauging their steps.

  “Listen, pussies, either speed up or piss off,” he barked. Bane could have cared less about making any noise. Taris would know he was there no matter how quiet they all were. The one person he was actually concerned about was by his side, matching him step for step. His bravado and that big brick body took everything he threw at him in stride.

  “So what’s the plan?”

  Bane cast a glance over toward Stellan. “Get in, get the girl with little to no casualties.”

  “If it were that simple, we wouldn’t all be strapped with weapons, now would we?” Stellan muttered.

  He was about to quip back when he noticed they were approaching a large metal gate. He assessed the layout, noticing the large iron spikes that lined the top of the fencing.

  “Keypad is blinking,” Stellan whispered.

  Bane glanced over his shoulder to the little metal box with the blinking green light. Green meant “go.” He gently pushed on the center of the gate, and it slowly swung open, the metal hinges creaking only once.

  “A little too confident, big brother,” he muttered as he motioned the men forward.

  There was a faint light that flooded onto the gravel in front of them. He lifted a hand to stop the movement behind him before stepping slowly toward the opening in the trees.

  The gravel began to spread, leading out into a gigantic courtyard. A solitary light perched on the top floor of the large house illuminated everything. To his left, he could see another narrow gravel path snaking through the trees. The house in front of him was completely dark. Save for a solitary candle in one of the upper room windows, everything was black. Instantly, he knew to avoid that room at all costs.

  Taris was inside. The burn in his belly only grew hotter the closer they got. And if he knew anything about his darling big brother, Sarah would be with him. But there was something else, something more centering and palpable about the fire in him. And it had everything to do with what was up that hill.

  “Okay, bitches, here’s the plan,” he turned and faced the men behind him. “You’re looking for a thin woman, about five ten, brown hair, kind of plain. Her name is Dr. Sarah Bridgeman. She may be with one of the men, so be careful, and keep your eyes open. The rules are as follows: in and out, quick; if things go bad, stay and fight, but do not start anything; once you have her, make your way back down to the car.”

  He turned back to stare at the gravel path beside the house. “Text me when you’ve got her,” he mumbled. “Or if you need help.”

  One of the men behind him made his way to the front door and gave it a soft push. It quietly swung open.

  “We’re in,” he whispered, motioning for the other men to follow in behind him. One by one they filed in, disappearing into the darkness.

  All except for Stellan.

  “And just where is it that you’re going?” he popped his neck and stared eye-to-eye at Bane.

  “To play kitty,” he said. “Curiosity is getting the better of me.”

  “Curiosity is what killed the cat, isn’t it? And I have to be honest, it kind of feels like you’re leading us to the slaughter, here. Whatever is in that house isn’t pretty. I can tell that for a fact. So again, why is it you are leaving us here to face the demons?”

  A well of something unfamiliar pooled up in Bane. He grabbed Stellan by the back of his neck and pulled him in close, meeting his mouth with his lips. He halfway expected Stellan to pull back and punch him. But instead of the violent recoil he’d expected, Stellan sat motionless until Bane pulled away.

  “You done trying to shock me into running, or you want me to give you a reach around?” Stellan sucked on his teeth and cocked an eyebrow at Bane.

  Bane licked his lips one more time. “I’m just trying to gauge your loyalty, that’s all.”

  The sound of a metallic slide and the feel of a cold barrel against his back made Bane smile.

  “By kissing me? You are one seriously jacked-up kid. I’m loyal to the point of lubing up, and that’s where I stop. Now get up the damned hill, and let me do my job. Sir.” Stellan smirked and turned away from him, striding toward the open doorway. He turned back a
nd cast a glance at Bane one more time before fading into the blackness of the house.

  * * *

  Everyone else was busy sneaking around the downstairs rooms. Amateurs. It was dark and quiet. Typically, that meant bedtime. Considering that the other idiots were casing every corner of every room on the bottom level, the best place for him to look was up the giant staircase.

  Stellan took the stairs two at a time, careful not to let his heavy boots hit the stone too hard. Who had stone stairs in their house? The whole thing was ridiculous.

  He’d start with the open door in the corner first. As he made his way toward the end of the hallway, he noticed there were two people on the floor, huddled together under a blanket. Not spooning like lovers, more like siblings. The room was completely glass and nearly bare. Quietly turning, he pulled the door shut and moved on to the next room.

  Three of them were empty. In the fourth, he found a man and a woman, both passed out on top of a thick comforter in the middle of the floor. On the large flat-screen was the DVD menu for that Cary Grant flick his mom always used to watch. He carefully left that room, as well.

  At the opposite end of the hallway was the sixth and final room. Something about this one made him twitchy. He palmed his pistol, ready to take aim if needed. Cautiously, he turned the knob and slowly pushed open the door.

  Jackpot.

  Tangled in a mess of sheets and the long legs of her male companion was the woman they were after. He tiptoed in across the hardwood floors. The bed was in absolute shambles. There were torn remnants of sheets still tied to the bedposts. Both the man and the woman were sleeping in the bed backward, with their heads where their feet should be. A glass vase he could only assume had once sat on the bedside table was shattered on the floor. He was halfway jealous of this guy. Whatever Bane thought about that doctor, she apparently had a freak flag she wasn’t afraid to fly.

  He leaned down at the foot of the bed and gently pulled the top sheet away from the mattress. Draping it over his shoulder, he made his way around to her side of the bed. She only stirred once as he swooped her up. Covering her with the sheet, he turned to leave when he heard the man in the bed beginning to wake.