Darkness Possessed (Order of the Blade)

by Stephanie Rowe

  Slowly, unable to stop herself from basking in the scent of his being, she turned her head toward his, her lips sliding over the roughness of his whiskers until they reached his mouth. She didn’t kiss him, but their lips were touching, burning heat through her soul. Her heart hammered through her, and she knew that if he made one move to kiss her, she would panic. She went still, every part of her soul yearning for him not to betray her and shatter the desire burning through her. Was he going to move? Or was he going to let this moment become something that she’d been craving her whole life?

  Chapter 14

  Zach didn’t move. He simply went utterly still, as if they had become two statues made of flesh, entangled in a position of burning desire that would never be satisfied.

  She closed her eyes and inhaled his scent. It was a mixture of sweat mingled with the freshness of the jungle and something deeper and more primal. It swirled through her belly, tightening her muscles with desire that sent a ripple of fear through her, but when he remained utterly still and made no move to capitalize on the yearning that she was sure he could sense, she was able to relax. She focused entirely upon him: the heat of his body everywhere they touched, the weight of his hand on her hip, the seductive temptation of his mouth against hers. Her blood surged through her, ignited by the desire he was stirring up, and she allowed it to build inside her, becoming stronger and stronger.

  Zach sucked in his breath, and his fingers tightened on her hip, but other than that, he showed no reaction to the heat growing between them, as if he sensed that any response would destroy what was happening.

  The need for him grew stronger, pulsing through her, and her heart began to hammer. It felt like an eternity since she had tapped into her power this way, and she was stunned by the pulsing energy beginning to build inside her. Anger was powerful, but raw, sexual desire had a power of its own. It was pure energy that drew its force from the utter capitulation of the mind and soul, and the absence of conscious thought to clutter it.

  Her skin began to feel hot, and adrenaline raced through her, excitement at the forces amassing inside her. It had been so long since she’d felt so bold and in touch with who she was. She slid her hand from the back of his neck up through his hair, entangling her fingers in the soft strands until she was gripping him tight, holding him even more securely against her.

  He let out a small groan that plunged right into her core, and his hand slid lower on her hip, palming her as his mouth shifted ever so slightly against hers. Not a kiss, just a move that sent sparks exploding through her. Her fear was gone, completely obliterated by the desire building inside her, burning through her very flesh.

  The need to kiss him pulsed through her, an almost overwhelming urge to break the tension being held so tightly between them, to unleash the energy vibrating within them both—

  “Thano,” Zach whispered against her mouth. “Remember Thano needs our help.”

  His voice was taut with lust so thick that it made her belly clench, but Thano’s name was enough to help her regain her tenuous control over the need for him that was crawling over her skin like a temptation that would never be satisfied. Gripping his hair even more tightly, she pried her hand off his wrist and held her palm out toward the jungle. Help me. She sent the plea out to the jungle that had once been her home, to the plants that she had played with as a young girl, to the vines that had hung there uselessly, unable to protect her when she’d been caught in José‘s thrall and unable to bridge her connection to them.

  No longer were they a distant memory of a partnership that had once been real.

  The sexual tension amassing between her and Zach exploded into the night, plunging into the vegetation surrounding them. The air crackled with energy as the plants rejoiced over her return, and she felt the earth lurch in response. Wind exploded around them, making their clothes flap ruthlessly under the onslaught as the earth churned in response. The night filled with the howls and chirps of the plants as they crawled across the soil toward them, coming alive at her invitation.

  Zach lifted his head and started to pull away, leaving behind a cold void where he had been. Instantly, her energy faltered and the wind began to die down. “No!” she cried as she pulled him back. “Don’t! I need you!”

  His eyes flashed with darkness as he turned back toward her. “I’m running out of willpower,” he said, even as he slid his hands back around her. “I’m the good guy, but I’m not made of ice.”

  She swallowed as she reached for him, needing to pull him close. “Just don’t scare me,” she whispered, knowing that she was asking almost the impossible from him. What man had the self-control to do what she was asking? To hold her so intimately and yet not make a move on her? Even as she thought it, she began to tense, and the plants began to quiet.

  He swore under his breath and hauled her onto his lap. His eyes were blazing fiercely as he palmed the back of her head, forcing her to look at him. “I would never betray your trust,” he said. “Never.” Then, before she could say anything, he bent his head and kissed her throat.

  The feel of his lips on her bare flesh sent a shock of sensation catapulting through her. She gasped and shuddered, gripping his shoulders as he trailed gentle, tantalizing kisses over her collarbone. His arms were around her back, supporting her even as he bent her back to give him better access. “Do it,” he growled. “Focus on your plants. I swear that I won’t so much as breathe on your breasts unless you beg me to do it, and even then, I might refuse, just to piss you off.”

  Relief rushed through her, and she closed her eyes, surrendering to the incredible sensation of his lips on her flesh. Desire crackled through her, a passion so intense that every muscle in her body tightened. She turned it outward, once again, thrusting it into the night.

  The plants roared to life, and the night howled with the fierce energy of the vegetation. She felt the strength of the earth and plants rushing through her, cleansing her body of all the filth that had been fermenting inside her for so long. Adrenaline filled her and she sent out more power into the night. I need a wall! An impenetrable fortress! The night filled with the hiss of plants rushing along the earth, climbing over each other, and tangling their leaves as they rushed to do her bidding. Elation filled her as the wind grew even stronger. The ground shifted beneath her, and she relished the power of the earth as it flooded her body.

  Now! There was a final burst of energy and a loud snap, as if a tremendous door had been slammed shut, and she knew without even opening her eyes that they were surrounded by a thick wall of vines, a barrier that would hold against any invader, a barrier that would hide their scents and sounds from even the most refined hunter. They were completely hidden, even in the middle of José‘s territory.

  There was one final crash of the last plant slamming into place, and then the crescendo went silent, leaving behind nothing but the sound of her breathing, and the quiet hum of plants at peace. The wind faded into stillness, and all the power that had been rushing through her faded away…leaving her drained, exhausted, and suddenly aware that she was flat on her back with Zach’s full body weight on her, his rock-hard erection pressing into her belly as he trailed kisses over her throat. Her hands were on his shoulders, her fingernails digging into him as if she had been trying to pull him closer. Her legs were around his hips, and her feet were locked behind him, as if she’d tried to trap him between her legs.

  She froze, shocked by the realization that she was pinned beneath him, completely trapped, horrified that she had been so caught up in her plants that she hadn’t even noticed it happening.

  But before she could become afraid, a deep, powerful burning desire swept over her, a need for this man that was so intense that nothing else mattered. Her fingers involuntarily dug into his shoulders, and her legs tightened around him, and she realized that he hadn’t pinned her to the ground against her will. She’d dragged him down with her, and the only thing that had kept their clothes on was his sheer strength of willpower.
He could have violated her in a thousand ways, and she would have let him, but he hadn’t.

  And that fact made her entire body clench with longing and need so stark and raw she felt like her soul would break if she didn’t have him.

  Zach suddenly went still, as if he’d sensed the change in her.

  Slowly, he raised his head to look at her. The lust burning in his eyes made her suck in her breath, and her heart began to race. After years of being terrified of being touched or kissed by a man, suddenly all she wanted was for Zach to kiss her. Not just a kiss. The kind of kiss meant to sear her soul and rip away all the damage that she’d carried for so long.

  Her fingers began to tremble, but she didn’t let go of his shoulders. She simply met his intense gaze. “Kiss me, Zach,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “Kiss me now.”

  ***

  Eric liked her.

  He sat on a patch of dirt, watching Jordyn as she strolled around the perimeter of Rohan’s camp. She was edgy and tense, and had opted for takeout with her stew instead of sitting around the campfire trading stories. She’d finished her dinner on her second circuit, and he’d accepted the bowl from her as she’d passed him by.

  The others were all watching her as well, and he knew they were not used to having a woman in the camp. Rohan and his team were uncivilized, raw, and stayed as far away from women as they could, except for the occasional foray into a town for a night to relieve the typical Calydon lust. Having Jordyn strolling around their camp as if she owned it was interfering with their solitary maleness.

  Eric, however, was thoroughly enjoying watching her take inventory of the camp. He respected Rohan’s crew, but enduring the hard, deprived life wasn’t his style. He was damned happy to have a woman around, even one who gave him a lot of shit. In fact, he kind of liked that aspect of her.

  Jordyn suddenly stopped at the far end of camp, near the black pit that hid Thano and the other rogue warrior. “What’s in here?”

  Again, silence. Every question she’d asked had been ignored by Rohan and the crew. “Jesus, guys. Be a little more rude,” Eric said aloud. “You did invite her.”

  Again, no reply.

  Bunch of chumps. Nothing much about this crew bothered Eric, but their absolute silence around Jordyn was beginning to grate on him, though he had to admit the others were probably asphyxiating under their hoods, which they usually wore only in battle to hide their true identity. Having Jordyn among them meant they couldn’t drop the secret identity thing, which he found sort of amusing. Who the hell cared who they really were? “It’s where Rohan keeps the rogues that are waiting to be saved,” he offered. “He has them tied up and—”

  “Enough!” Rohan was suddenly on his feet. “She doesn’t need to know.”

  “Rogues?” Jordyn suddenly looked wary. “Why aren’t they dead?”

  “Because they’re good warriors,” Rohan snapped. “I don’t kill rogues unless I have to. That’s not my mission.”

  “No?” She turned back to face him. “What is your mission? Aren’t you Order?”

  Eric raised his brows. “How the hell did you know that?” Even he hadn’t realized they were Order of the Blade until six months into his time with them. All the warriors were Order of the Blade, but they weren’t like any of the Order he’d heard about over the years. Not once had they gone after a rogue Calydon, like the traditional Order was supposed to do.

  No, they went after other shit. Darker shit. Monsters.

  “Because I was the sheva of one of the most powerful Calydons in history,” she said simply. “I paid attention.” She studied Rohan, and then looked around at the others. “What is your deal? Seriously? There’s so much melodrama here, I could choke on it, but you guys aren’t doing anything but sitting around. I thought Calydons were action guys, not the kind who dwell in introspective silence.”

  Eric grinned at the rise in tension as she challenged them. “They’re afraid of the fire god,” he offered.

  “I’m not afraid,” Rohan snapped, apparently unwilling to hold his silence in the face of an accusation of fear. “I’m a smart warrior, and—”

  “Are you?” Eric stood up. “You sent Zach off by himself. Did it ever occur to you that maybe he could use some backup? He sets the fires, and you do other shit?”

  “Zach?” Jordyn walked toward them, clearly pleased she was finally getting some response from Rohan. “Who’s Zach?”

  “The poor bastard Rohan sent off to try to get the staff from the fire god to save his team. He’s holding the guy’s best friend hostage until he gets back.”

  Blue lightening crackled from Rohan’s fingers. “I liked you better when you weren’t being an ass,” he snapped.

  Eric blinked, surprised by the normalcy of Rohan’s sentence. The warrior was usually formal and proper, never hinting at his emotions, but that one line had been spoken like a man who was alive and cared. Around them, he felt the other warriors shift, as if they, too, were surprised by this change in Rohan.

  Jordyn strode across the clearing and stood in front of Rohan. “You sent another man off to save yours? What kind of leader does that? You hide behind a cloak and—”

  “Enough!” Rohan snapped, spinning toward her.

  “Hey.” Eric leapt between Jordyn and Rohan, holding up his hands. “Let’s everyone chill. There’s no need to kill anyone here.” His fingers hummed with magic, and he let it roll through him, willing to intervene if necessary. He doubted he could kill Rohan, but he could do enough harm to let him and Jordyn get away. The damage, however, would be unpredictable, and he had learned to save his strongest magic for a last, very last, resort.

  Rohan spun away and stalked across the clearing, standing with his back toward them.

  Silence fell over the campsite, and Jordyn looked at Eric with a small shrug. “Sorry,” she said. “It just makes me mad when I see people who have the ability to help, but won’t do it. I feel like everyone who is in a position to help someone else has an obligation to do so.”

  Ah…he was beginning to understand. “Which is why you are here to help Rhiannon?”

  She nodded. “Her soul mate is a bad man,” she said. “A woman bound to a jerk is in a very rough spot. No matter how awful a man is, it’s hard to sever the ties with him once an emotional bond is created. I know that, and her ex is…” She grimaced. “Bad news. I need to help her.” She sighed, glancing back at Rohan. “It’s so sad when someone as powerful as he is refuses to use that power to help.”

  “I do help.” Rohan didn’t turn around. “I do what I can, but I’m bound by limitations.”

  Eric raised his brows at the unusual confession from the stoic leader. “What limitations?”

  Rohan didn’t answer. Of course he didn’t. Jordyn’s influence could go only so far to make the man human. But just as Eric was turning away, Rohan whispered softly, so softly that he could barely hear the words. “They have her.” Rohan’s lament was like a whisper on the breeze, so faint it drifted away before the words had even taken shape.

  Eric stopped, uncertain that he’d heard right. “Who has her? And who is the woman being held?”

  Rohan’s shoulders shuddered, and then he turned back to face them, his face still shrouded behind the cloak. “I do what I can,” he said quietly. “I do all that I can.”

  Then he turned and strode past them, into the darkness that held the two rogues.

  Silence fell upon the campfire, with Rohan’s team sitting in silence. Eric looked at the warriors. “Does anyone know what he’s talking about? Or who he’s talking about?”

  For a moment, no one spoke, and then Ethan pulled back his hood, not bothering to hide his silver hand from Jordyn. His ragged blond hair tumbled down around his shoulders, and he fastened his blue gaze on her. His jaw was heavy with whiskers, and the fluorescent lime-green of his tee shirt was barely visible above the neckline of his cloak. “You were really Walter’s sheva?”

  Jordyn nodded, not commenting on the sudden
revelation of his face. Eric was a little surprised, however. He wondered what it was about Jordyn that Ethan had decided to trust. He wasn’t sure he liked it, to be honest. There didn’t need to be any bonding between Jordyn and other men. Seriously. There really didn’t.

  “You killed him?” Ethan asked.

  She nodded again, but Eric saw her shoulders stiffen, belying her casual stance. He thought of what she’d said about Rhiannon, how difficult it was for a woman to break free of a man she was bound to. He wondered what she had endured with Walter.

  “Was it hell when he died?” Ethan asked.

  She bit her lip, and Eric walked over to her and set his hand on her shoulder. “Of course it was,” he said softly, sparing her the need to respond to Ethan’s question. “She killed her soul mate. What do you think that was like?” Everyone at that fire knew of the sheva destiny, that she would kill herself after she killed her rogue mate, because the anguish of his death was too powerful for her to survive.

  Ethan nodded quietly, and his shoulders relaxed, as if he’d decided that he could trust Jordyn. “Back when I first joined the team, Rohan used to talk at night in his sleep,” he said. “He spoke of a woman. He never said her name, but he called to her. It’s like he’s searching for her, and can’t ever find her.” He looked at Jordyn. “I’ve been with Rohan for over two hundred years, and you’re the first one who has ever gotten to him. What is it about you?”

  As he spoke, Eric saw the others take down their hoods. Zane Hart with his shaved head and row of black diamond earrings in his left ear. Maddox Crowley with his gray-flecked crew cut and matching goatee. James Wolfe with his pale blue eyes that seemed to drill straight into the heart of anyone he looked at. Ethan Lagat, with his silver hand that could do shit Eric still didn’t believe was possible. And lastly, slowly, as if not convinced that Jordyn was worthy, Axel Knight eased back his cowl, revealing the white blond hair, pale flesh, and stark complexion of a man without a soul.