She didn’t pull her hands away like he’d expected she would. Instead, she let him hold them and he became conscious of their softness and warmth. His heart pounded. Fleetingly he wondered if it was her telepathy, but he tossed the thought aside. She was a knockout, and that alone warranted the primitive reaction coursing through his body. Her expression was guarded, as though she didn’t know what to expect. Hell, he didn’t either. Although one thing he knew for sure was he wanted to kiss her. Not a chaste peck. Something substantial. He wanted to pull her close and feel her breasts up against his chest as he kissed her hard and fast.
Hell, he needed to be projecting trust and protection, not lust. Reigning in his arousal, he said softly, “Let me help you. Let the others help your friends. Be open to us. Don’t fight Serena or the others during your induction.”
Her expression softened slightly. “I get that you’re following your duty. That you believe in The Order. And I get that you guys want to help new Starborn be stronger and more in control, but as an outsider the process doesn’t seem to be the best way to treat vulnerable people.”
“Hundreds of years have told us what works,” he said firmly. But the words felt a little hollow and he found himself thinking of Thea and the other Elders who called for kinder, softer initiations. “Just give us a chance.” He squeezed her hand, feeling completely out of his depth. He was used to tracking targets. Collecting neophytes and depositing them into other people’s safe hands. His hands were used to killing. Not this. This was foreign.
His job was black and white. Logical.
And what he was feeling with this woman was illogical. And it was more dangerous than a room full of Noctem.
She continued to hold his hands. Continued to beseech him with her expression. “I took a chance coming here. Allowing my patients here. I’ve taken a hell of a lot of chances. Now it’s your turn. Tell me what you know of Eve. Have you found her?”
Her switch in conversation to Eve almost befuddled him. He let her hands drop, breaking their physical and metaphysical connection. “We’re working on it. We have our best people trying to find her.”
His surroundings returned into focus and other Starborn stared at them standing in the corridor. Taking a shaky breath, he turned and strode away, hoping that she would follow. After a few moments he felt her presence trailing behind him.
Two weeks. In close quarters. In his quarters. How would he survive with his mind intact?
16
Willow
As Willow strode after Lucas through the never ending white corridors of the Sanctuary, chaos reigned in her internal world. She wanted to box his ears at his earnest devotion to his duty and this secret society. What was troubling though was how her traitorous body had rejoiced when he’d dropped his shield and she had been hit by a flame of arousal. Even more worrying had been her response to his heat—she’d wanted him in equal measure.
She forced herself to think of Eve. To think of the reason for coming to this faraway place. It wasn’t this enigmatic man who had just offered her a tiny crack into his hard exterior. It was her sister. But still her mind fixated on him. When he’d dropped his shield, there had been arousal, yes, but also a myriad of other emotions. On the surface there was confusion and slight doubt. She guessed that despite his protestations he wasn’t as committed to the hard line of The Order as he made out. But it was his deeper emotions that made her feel almost guilty for sensing. Heartache. Pure gut-wrenching heartache buried so deep that it likely guided him like instinct. Almost compulsively, she reached out again and tried to detect his emotional tenor, but frustratingly, a fortress now surrounded his aura.
As he showed her through the Sanctuary, he was back to his usual reserved self. They passed others, who called out to Lucas, saying hello and asking after him. His response was usually gruff, but none were deterred; she could only surmise it was his usual demeanor. With stiff formality he answered her questions about the Sanctuary, but refused to discuss anything personal, only sharing he’d arrived at the Sanctuary as a seventeen-year-old. Walking through the endless corridors, they passed a large dining hall and then a busy gymnasium full of black clothed individuals working out on treadmills and other equipment. He then showed her the recreation hall, where the walls were lined with video feeds of peaceful locations like waterfalls and soft green meadows.
He quickly ushered her past what appeared to be the military headquarters before they arrived at the Research Center. Five people, each in front of a computer, glanced up at their arrival. They nodded at Lucas and then returned to their keyboards. Lucas explained they were investigating Internet leads of emerging Starborn. With interest, she watched them trawl through the seemingly endless data.
“How many are real?” she asked.
A fleeting look of compassion flashed across his face. “More than you think. I saw your research wall filled with Internet stories and newspaper clippings. You’ve got a head for research.”
She stared at him in shock. “Wait, you saw my wall? You were in my house?” she asked with a squeak.
He squirmed under her gaze. “Yeah,” he said. “It was part of our mission.”
For once he didn't look completely in control. It gave her a heady feeling of feminine power. Slowly, she put her hands on her hips. “So, how did I go? Did I get any right?”
His green eyes quickly connected with hers and she had to remind herself to breathe.
He nodded. “Yes, some of the people are real Starborn.”
“Really? What about the levitating yogi from India?”
“Afraid not. Totally fake.” He offered a reserved smile, but to Willow it was one thousand watts straight to her heart.
Feeling slightly giddy she smiled back. “No! How about the woman who could make it rain anytime, anywhere?”
His eyes sparkled. “Starborn.”
“Really, is she here?”
“No, Tara is based in Scotland in the European Sanctuary.”
As they smiled at each other, guilt filled Willow. Instead of flirting with her handsome hero, she should be thinking of Eve. But whenever he was near, she was sidetracked by his emerald eyes, his rock-hard body and his deep voice. Her reservations about The Order of Orion and their practices did nothing to dampen the attraction. She was in danger of falling for him. Hard.
“What about my sister?” she asked, destroying their easy banter. His dark brows furrowed and his body tensed. She felt annoyed for ruining the moment and then even more annoyed for caring. Eve needed to be her priority.
“You’ve been told we’re looking into it,” he said in an even tone.
“Please, have they found anything?” She reached out to his aura, hoping to detect something that would tell her what he knew, but his shield was impenetrable.
For a few heart-stopping seconds, his green eyes, now intensely dark, penetrated into hers, and then he sighed. “They have found nothing yet, but I’m sure they will.”
“Nothing? How can they have found nothing? Don’t they keep track of weird things going on? Maybe there have been reports of a redhead woman associated with telepathic thingies?”
He cocked one eyebrow. “Telepathic thingies?”
Willow blushed but she pressed on, “Maybe they’ve missed something. If I could spend time with the researchers, I might be able to help.”
His expression softened. “You need to focus on the here and now, Willow. Put all your attention toward the induction process.”
“Fuck the induction process!”
“Is that your fall back line for anything you don’t like?” His voice, usually an even deep timbre, was edged with irritation.
“No! Yes! I don’t know,” she grumbled, feeling completely out of her comfort zone. For years she’d worked hard to keep her emotions in check and now, here in this strange place with this enigmatic man, she was losing precious control.
“Don’t worry, we’ll find her,” he said softly. “Come, let me show you the other areas of the
Sanctuary.”
She reluctantly let herself be moved on. Looking back over her shoulder at the research office, she made a mental note of its location in the elaborate rabbit warren. If they weren’t going to tell her anything, then she’d take things into her own hands.
They returned to the communal dining hall and soon she was enjoying chicken chow mien with other Starborn. She sat to the left of Lucas who ate in silence. He’d chosen for them to sit away from most of the other diners and Willow wasn’t sure if it was his normal practice or if it related to her. It was strange knowing that everyone present had some supernatural ability, but went about their daily lives in normality. There were no floating salt and pepper shakers or telepathic conversations, well not that she could tell anyway. It was all, well, mundane. Even though everyone was dressed in black outfits, they were of different ages, looks and cultural backgrounds. Willow cast out her emotional net and searched through the crowd. Although a mixture of emotions swirled around, there were Starborn whose emotional footprint she couldn’t penetrate, and she assumed they must be from the house of Mercuria.
She turned to face Lucas. “Serena said our abilities can be activated from twelve years of age. Do you ever ‘collect’ children at this age? Are there any here?”
“Sometimes,” he said, continuing to eat his dinner.
“Do you take them from their families?”
He slowly put his fork down, but didn’t turn to look at her. “Yes.”
“But that’s horrible,” she said, looking at his profile and trying to decipher his feelings and thoughts.
“Yes and no. Here they are accepted and celebrated for who they are. This is powerful for many who are frightened by what is happening to their bodies.”
“Do they ever see their families again?” she asked, thinking of how painful it had been to be separated from Eve. How painful it still was, fourteen years later.
“It depends.”
“On what?”
Still, he didn't look at her. Instead his gaze focused on the plate in front of him. “If they are willing to accept the code of The Order of Orion.”
Willow shook her head. “It’s barbaric. You must see that.”
“It would be more barbaric if we eliminated their families. Or left them to be found and tormented by Noctem.” Finally, he turned to look at her. His direct gaze making her feel self-conscious. “Think, Willow. If you and your sister had been recruited together and brought here at that age, had been offered acceptance and support, would you have called it barbaric at the time?”
Willow thought about the isolation and terror she had experienced, and the life Eve had been subjected to according to the sporadic hospital records Willow had accessed over the years. “Yes, yes it would have been better,” she admitted.
His eyes softened. “Children are in a different section of the Sanctuary and are well cared for.”
She felt an uncomfortable tug at her heart at his compassionate look and tried to focus on something, anything, other than Lucas Black. But when their knees accidentally touched under the table, her mind and body leapt at the contact, creating internal havoc.
He suddenly stood, as though he too needed to stop whatever was happening between them. “Tomorrow we start your training. You have two weeks before the initiation ceremony. Mornings will be physical training and afternoons will be telepathic exercises. Let’s go get your gear.”
She nodded and tried to think of her plan to double back to the research lab tonight, rather than the more immediate threat of throwing herself wildly in his arms when it came time for them to retire to bed.
To their own beds…to sleep…she reminded herself.
17
Lucas
Willow was quiet as he escorted her back to her room to get her belongings. He didn’t want to interrupt their uneasy truce and remained silent. Some newly arrived Starborn were terrified and slow to adjust. Others were enthralled with the secrecy of the Sanctuary and were eager to prove themselves.
Willow was neither. He thought of her continued challenges and persistent questions, of her unwillingness to play the expected game, of her concern for her patients, and her obsessive search for her lost sister. She was like no other neophyte he’d ever encountered. Even more alarming, she was like no other women he’d encountered, and that scared him silly. While he waited outside her dorm as she grabbed her meager belongings, he tried to stop the thoughts that had been torturing him all day. But it was useless, he could think of nothing else except Willow sharing his quarters. Willow undressing in his quarters. Willow showering in his quarters. His body responded to his wild thoughts and he shifted uncomfortably. He was acting like an infatuated teen and he needed to focus on getting her through the induction. And after her initiation rite, he could return to normal duties and never have to see her again.
Willow appeared at the doorway with a duffel bag and a tentative smile.
“Ready?” he asked, a little too gruffly.
“Sure. Lead on,” she said quietly.
Neither spoke on the way to his section of the Sanctuary. Since completing his own initiation rite, he’d lived in the same studio apartment. It was minimal in appearance, but when Willow entered his quarters, it felt downright bleak compared to the vibrancy that pulsated around her.
“Make yourself comfortable,” he said.
With her bag still slung over her shoulder, she walked around and looked at his belongings. Stopping in the kitchen, she inspected one of the few photos he had—an old photo of his family taken in happier times. It was stuck to the fridge with a tacky boxing kangaroo magnet, which Serena had brought back for him on one of their joint missions. Thankfully, she didn’t ask about his family in the photograph, but instead continued her exploration. When she hesitated at his double bed in the far corner of the room, the awkwardness factor kicked up a notch.
“The futon folds out,” he said in a rush and pointed to the white sofa.
She threw down her bag next to the sofa bed, and with exaggerated delight she flopped on to the sofa. Stretching out her arms across the back of it, her breasts strained against her tank top. He swallowed hard. The room shrank in size. How the hell was he going to make it through two weeks?
Would you like a drink?” he said, opening the fridge.
“Sure.”
“A beer?”
“That would be great,” she said, coming to stand in the kitchen.
He handed her a cold bottle of beer and she followed him to the white dining table. As they sat down together, he didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing. Grateful for the beer, he took a long drink and then nursed it in his hands.
“Have you lived in these quarters for long?” she asked, scanning the sparse room.
“Thirteen years.”
She spluttered beer. “Thirteen years? But it’s so empty.”
“I’m on the road a lot.” It sounded like a lame excuse, but he’d never wanted to put down roots, never wanted to form connections that could one day be ripped away.
“It’s so clinical. So…white.”
“A bit different from your place, isn’t it?” He had no idea why he said that, it just slipped out.
She looked at him sideways. “You do know it’s creepy that you spied on me?”
It was his turn to choke on his drink.
“What did you learn about me?” she asked. To his surprise, her tone was more teasing than accusatory.
He took another long swig of beer before answering. “You like ridiculously large, fluffy slippers.”
She laughed out loud and his heart beat faster. She leaned back in the chair, her blue eyes dancing with humor. This playful side of Willow was disconcerting, as was his response to it. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d shared a joke. He wished he could detect what she was thinking or feeling. Although he belonged to Mercuria, he couldn’t read emotions like Willow or thoughts like Wren. His skill was limited to reading and wiping memories, and sometimes planting
new ones if the mission called for it. The temptation to scan her memories of him was overpowering. In the motel, when he’d examined her wound, the desire to see how she perceived him had been almost compulsive. To see if her gaze was repeatedly drawn to him, like his was to her.
He berated himself for such fanciful thoughts and focused instead on her in the now. In his apartment. A groan almost escaped his tension-ridden body.
“What else?” she asked.
He didn’t answer her straight away. Should he say you’re a loner too? But he wanted to keep things light. Answers to that question might lead the conversation in a direction more intimate than he wanted. Instead, he guided the conversation toward the Sanctuary and its daily operations. However, Willow wasn’t satisfied with keeping the topic neutral.
“Have you always lived alone?” she asked.
“For the most part.”
“Do people stay in the Sanctuary all their lives?” Her sky blue eyes were earnest as she waited for his answer.
“Sometimes,” he said, looking down at his beer.
“Do you plan to live here all your life?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
She leaned forward, and he tried not to look at her cleavage as she spoke. “But you obviously like it, you’ve stayed for thirteen years?”
“It suits me.”
“Can people come and go if they wish?”
“Yes, once a neophyte has stayed for their orientation year they can choose to live here or in the community.”
She frowned as she processed his answer. “We must stay here for a full year?”
“Yes, The Order believes a Starborn member must become comfortable with their ability before returning back to the ordinary world, so they are able to control and hide their power.”
“So if we’re out in the ordinary world we must always hide our true selves?”
“Unfortunately, yes. It’s too dangerous otherwise.”
“How can Starborn marry then?”
Starborn (The Order of Orion Book 1) Page 11