Knight's Dominion (Knights of Hell Book 4)

by Sherilee Gray

  Jack walked into the room carrying a chair. Chaos hadn't even noticed him leave.

  "Sit down and rest your arm on the bed," Jack said calmly. "She needs your blood."

  Her skin had turned gray and her lips were going blue. "But my blood, it won't match..."

  “She’s your mate, even if you haven’t finalized things. I have to assume your blood will work on Grace, like Kryos’s does on Meredith. There’s no time to find anyone else. It’s the best chance she has right now.”

  Chaos didn't need any more convincing, he sat down and offered up his veins. With quick efficiency, Jack fed a line into the artery on the inside of his wrist, then into one of Grace’s veins. Chaos sat as still as he could as Jack went around to the other side of the gurney and placed his hand over the stab wound in her side. He closed his eyes again, using his powers to give her natural healing abilities a kick start.

  Her color improved almost instantly.

  "That's an impressive power.” It wasn’t the first time Chaos had witnessed what the male could do, but it always amazed him. Knights had the power to heal quickly on their own. They stitched each other up if shit was bad enough. But they called Jack in when the demi in their care needed him.

  Jack shook his head. "That's not me; that's your blood. And with your quick regeneration abilities you should be able to give her a pretty good amount before you feel the effects."

  "She can have as much as she needs." She could have it all, every last drop.

  Jack's mouth kicked up in the corner. "I don't want you passing out. If you start to feel light-headed, tell me."

  After Jack had stitched her up and dressed her wounds, he removed the transfusion tube and packed up his equipment. "You can move her to your room, she'll be more comfortable in her own bed."

  Jack’s assumption was a natural one, and for some unknown reason, Chaos didn't correct him.

  Grabbing one of his jackets off the back of the couch, he covered her near nakedness. Now that the doc had finished patching her up, he didn't like the idea of another male looking at her like that. "What happens now?" Chaos asked.

  "It's a waiting game, I'm afraid. She’ll make a full recovery, but her body took a beating. Despite the transfusion, the blood loss will have taken its toll." Jack’s gaze met his. “You need to prepare for…”

  "What? Christ, what aren't you telling me?" Chaos barked.

  Jack gave him an exasperated look. “…some side effects,” he finished.

  Chaos’s heart kicked against the back of his ribs. “Like?"

  “With the amount of your blood we had to give her, and because your blood’s so potent, her body will take a few days to process it properly. She might be aggressive, irritable, or become highly..." He cleared his throat. "...er, amorous."

  Chaos’s spine went ramrod straight. Yeah, that got his attention. "You're telling me when Grace wakes up she'll be pissed off and horny?"

  The doc actually blushed. “That's exactly what I'm telling you."

  His dick stirred, filled. He really was an asshole, getting a hard-on while Grace lay unconscious in his living room. But shit, he wasn't made of stone, despite what everybody else thought. "Right, I'll watch for that." He ran a hand over his head. "And is it advisable to treat her, ah...symptoms?" Jesus, he never thought in a million years he'd be having this conversation.

  Jack grinned. "Well, that's up to you and your mate. But I'm guessing it would definitely help with the irritability. If you do, you'll have to be careful. I don't want her stitches torn. I'll be back in a week to take some blood. I’d like to make sure it’s integrated into her system like I expect it to.”

  Jack left, and Chaos carefully scooped Grace into his arms and carried her to his bedroom. He laid her on his bed and pulled the covers over her. Again, she didn't stir, and he found himself leaning down and placing his ear to her lips, listening to her even breaths, feeling its warmth against his skin.

  She'd scared the living crap out of him. He could honestly say that on the flight to the compound, when she'd gone limp in his arms, he'd never been more afraid in all his life.

  He pulled up a chair and took her hand in his. Her skin had warmed and was no longer clammy.

  Brushing her long, blond hair away from her face, he studied her still features. So beautiful. And she was tough as shit. He couldn't have asked for a better mate if he'd dreamed her up himself. Why had he ever thought resisting this was a good idea?

  Still, with or without her, the coming war had to be his first priority, he knew that. Yes, she was a distraction when he was with her, but she was more of one when they were apart. He'd discovered that the hard way.

  What if you lose her like Tobias lost Scarlet, like Rocco lost Kyler?

  Could he afford to risk it? With so much at stake? Any day now, Rocco's female could gain her power and open the gates of Hell. And the way Grace risked her life every damn night—could he allow himself to get attached to her?

  He stared down at her so still and fragile. She’d hate this. Hate feeling weak.

  Who are you kidding? You’re already attached.

  A warm hand to the back of his head woke him. The fingernails lightly grazing his scalp sent pleasurable tingles all over his body. He lifted his head from the mattress. Grace was awake.

  Thank fuck.

  She looked up at him, her beautiful brown eyes were filled with worry, and anger.

  “Laney, James, the others, are they okay?" Her voice was croaky.

  He took her hand because he couldn't help himself and passed her the glass of water by the bed. "Your injured are in the hospital. I called James, you had only one fatality. The rest are going to be fine."

  Somehow James had kept his involvement with Grace and her crew a secret from him and his brothers. It stung that he didn’t feel he could share that with Chaos, they were family, but fuck, he understood it as well. Up until a short time ago, Chaos would have lost his shit if he’d know James was fighting with Grace.

  Now he just respected the male even more.

  She took a sip of her drink and passed it back. Her hands balled into fists. “One fatality is one too many.” A tear rolled down one cheek. “I can’t believe Mark is gone.”

  Oh fuck, she was crying.

  Seeing that tore at his chest. He reached for her.

  He reached for this mate.

  Chapter 17

  Grace scooted back, away from Chaos’s outstretched arms.

  "Grace..."

  She held up a hand to ward off whatever he'd been about to say. "Don't. I’m fine.” It was a complete lie. Pain and rage wrapped around her, growing with every breath she took until she could feel nothing else. She didn't want to feel anything else.

  So many demi had died at the hands of demons, suffered even now as slaves to their kind, kept as play things. No, this wasn’t new, losing her kind to those evil fuckers. But losing Tina and Mark, it was just…it was too much.

  “Is his body still at that house? He deserves a proper burial." She bit her lips to stop an angry sob from breaking free. "I just...I can’t believe he's gone, that I'll never see him again, never talk to him." She glanced up. "He was a good man. It shouldn't have ended like that, not for him."

  Chaos’s thick forearms rested on his thighs, and his dark gaze locked on hers, like he was assessing her mood, her mental state. "You're pretty cut up about this guy. You two were close?"

  She made a strangled sound, fighting back her bellow of rage. “Jesus fucking Christ, Chaos. What the hell is wrong with you? Cut up? Of course, I’m cut up. We've been fighting together from the very beginning. He's family.”

  Tension flowed from him and washed over her. "Were you lovers?" he asked.

  “Are you actually jealous of a dead man?”

  His jaw tightened.

  She’d always believed she was in this on her own, that she could never truly trust anyone. She finally understood, and now it was too late to tell Mark, to tell Tina how much she cared about them.
How important they were to her.

  “Apologies,” he said quickly, before she could form a reply. “I have no control over the possessiveness. It was shitty of me to ask.” His voice was tight with regret.

  “Yes, it was.”

  He shifted in his seat. “I know that pain, and it fucking sucks. Use it, let it fuel your rage on the battlefield, but don’t let it eat away at you. Mark knew the risks, Grace. Every soldier does. You go to war, there's always a chance you won't come back. He knew that, and he chose to fight anyway."

  He was right, deep down Grace knew it, but that truth didn't make it hurt any less. "Can I have my phone? I want to call the hospital and check on my friends.”

  "They're fine, you're not. You need to rest."

  Her body throbbed and ached, but it was only then that she fully took stock. Her injuries had been treated and she was only wearing a pair of panties. There was a dressing on her ribs, and if she moved quickly, pain shot through her side. There was also a deep, constant throb coming from her thigh where the demon had bitten her, and a Band-Aid on the inside of her elbow.

  She glanced at Chaos. He looked exhausted, lines etching his handsome face. “Who treated me? The last thing I remember is flying.” And how good it felt to have your arms wrapped around me.

  "I had someone come to the compound and treat you. You'd lost a lot of blood, passed out on the way here. I was so..." He cleared his throat and rubbed his hands against the denim covering his massive thighs. "The doctor gave you a blood transfusion. He's a demi and used his power to kick-start your body's natural healing."

  "A blood transfusion? From who?"

  He pointed to a Band-Aid matching her own on the inside of his wrist.

  He'd done that for her? He'd taken care of her people, had rushed her to safety and given her his blood. He'd saved her life. Probably the lives of some of her crew, as well. The more time she spent with him, the more she realized he wasn’t the man she’d believed him to be.

  "You’ve been with me the whole time, haven’t you?”

  He shifted again, like the question made him uncomfortable, and when he avoided it all together, she knew it did. “Thank you, Chaos. For taking care of me. For taking care of my friends.”

  He shrugged like it was nothing.

  But it wasn’t nothing. It was huge. And a bone-deep weariness, a kind of disappointment she didn’t understand creeped in.

  Because she'd learned repeatedly through her life that nothing came for free. Not even when it came to the people who were closest to her. "I'll repay you, somehow. I promise."

  His body stilled in an unnatural way. “What?” His voice held an edge she hadn't heard from him in a while.

  Suddenly, she couldn’t meet his eyes. “You saved my life. I owe you. I won't forget it."

  "You owe me?" More with the scary voice.

  She forced herself to look at him and nodded. “Of course, I do.”

  He stood abruptly, hands on hips, and studied the ground for several long seconds. When he looked up again, she knew she’d fucked up.

  "You don't owe me a damn thing. You don’t need to… Jesus, Grace.” He shook his head, the muscles in his jaw tightening, then took several steadying breaths. “You hungry?”

  Okay, it seemed they were changing the subject. Fine with her. "I could eat."

  "Don't move." Then he walked out the door.

  She looked around his room, all neat and orderly. No wonder the guy kept his head clean shaven, a hair out of place might send him over the deep end. Not that it wasn't hot, because it was. She squirmed. Shit. Stop thinking about his hotness.

  She sat there, restless, not sure what to do with herself. When he returned, she couldn’t stop her gaze from roaming over him as he walked toward her. All tall and hard-bodied, and grumpy, like he wanted to spank her again. Stop it!

  Chaos passed her a plate. He’d made her a sandwich. She lifted the top to check out what was in it.

  "Sorry, can't cook worth shit.” A blush darkened his cheeks.

  Her mouth went dry, and she found she wanted to put him at ease. “Neither can I. Good thing I love PB and J." She smiled, but knew she failed.

  The grief and anger inside her wasn’t going anywhere, and now, thanks to the sexy bastard taking care of her, she was also hot under the collar. So messed up. Two of her friends were gone, and her traitorous hormones were prodding her to jump Chaos.

  He frowned. "With all the fighting and training you do, you really should be eating a high-calorie, high-protein diet."

  She swallowed the bite she'd taken and rolled her eyes. "I do eat other stuff as well.”

  He dipped his head, clearly pleased with her answer.

  “You up to telling me what happened in there tonight?" Chaos asked, looking as if he was unsure whether or not to ask the question.

  The food turned sour in her mouth. But if there was some small detail she’d picked up in that house that would help track down whoever was controlling the demons in Roxburgh, she’d go over every horrific detail until she was blue in the face.

  She gave him a blow-by-blow of everything that happened after he’d given the signal to go in. "I've never seen anything like it. They kept vanishing, then reappearing. I can't believe the rest of the team walked out alive.” She yawned, there was no stopping it, and he took her plate from her.

  “Lie down and get some rest.”

  “Christ, you’re bossy.”

  He grinned.

  “Fine.” She slammed her eyes closed, locking out that gorgeous smile before she gave into her hormones and pounced.

  Grace woke with a scream. Images of monsters, of beasts flying through the portal, of demons slaughtering her people, had invaded her mind.

  Drenched with sweat and heart racing, she struggled to breathe. They could lose. Hell could win.

  Sitting up with a groan, she glanced around the room. Chaos’s room. She was alone. It was dark and silent. A stab of disappointment took her by surprise.

  She glanced at the chair he'd been sitting in earlier. It was closer to the bed, like he'd been watching her sleep. To someone on the outside looking in, they’d think it was because he had feelings for her.

  He didn’t, not really. It was the bond between them, nothing else. And that was okay. She didn’t need him to care about her. She didn’t want him to. Because dream Grace had come to a realization that awake Grace should have figured out for herself by now—especially after what they’d been through in that house of horrors. The demons sure as hell weren’t playing fair, they’d do anything to win, and after losing another one of her people, one of her friends, she knew she had to be just as ruthless.

  She didn’t have a choice in this.

  There never had been one.

  What she wanted, what Chaos wanted, wasn’t important. Winning this war was the only thing that mattered. She always believed she’d do anything to win, but when faced with the truth of who she was to Chaos, who he was to her, she’d fought against it. Denied it. Hidden it.

  It was selfish and cowardly.

  She was done fighting fate.

  Pain twisted in her belly. Maybe if she’d given in to it sooner, Mark and Tina would still be here.

  She knew what she had to do, but she wasn’t going to do it while lying in his bed looking weak and pathetic. It was far too important… She needed to be on an even footing with him. It was the only way.

  Pulling back the covers, she gingerly slid her feet out of the bed and stood. Not too bad. At least not as bad as she'd expected to feel right then. She made her way to the bathroom. It was fairly big, all white and black tiles and shiny chrome. She remembered being in the tub with Chaos the last time she was there, his massive body cradling hers, and shivered, her entire body clenching as pleasurable tingles danced across her exposed skin.

  There was a stack of fluffy gray towels by the sink and shampoo and body wash in the huge shower.

  She turned the water on and climbed in, careful not to get
her stitches too wet.

  The shower had excellent pressure and felt so good, the heat working to ease her aches and pains. So good.

  She clicked open the body wash and sniffed. It smelled like Chaos. She'd gotten up close and personal with him enough times to know how his skin smelled. A low, deep ache started between her thighs.

  Her body heated, and her breasts grew tight and achy. How the hell could she be horny at a time like this? Then again, when Chaos was around, she was always in a constant state of arousal.

  Something that wouldn’t go away if they didn’t mate, right? Another reason to give in and stop fighting. Being turned on almost constantly was too much of a distraction. At least they could scratch that itch and get on with their lives.

  She realized she still held his body wash pressed to her nose. How pathetic could she get?

  One sniff and she was ready to start dry humping the first thing she could get between her legs. What the hell was wrong with her?

  She ran her hands down her warm, wet, slippery skin, and shivered. The ache deep inside increased, and her nipples actually hurt they were so tight.

  She was so desperate to get off, she shook, her skin heating and prickling, her breath coming harder, faster. Widening her stance, she slipped her fingers along her slit, and a moan broke past her lips.

  Oh yeah, that felt good.

  Even better when she brushed over her clit. Maybe she could get herself off quickly, take the edge off before Chaos got back, before they talked.

  Leaning against the wall for support, she closed her eyes and started circling her clit, brushing over it, and when that wasn’t enough, rubbing it in earnest. But after a few minutes, she bit back a desperate curse. It wasn't working. She was so desperate for release she whimpered, tears of frustration prickling the backs of her eyelids.

  The water turned off suddenly.

  Grace’s eyes flew open. Chaos stood there, gaze burning with hunger. He held up a towel. "Step out, Grace.”

  Heat slashed her cheeks. "Don't you know how to knock?"