Hunt the Darkness (Order of the Blade Book 11)

by Stephanie Rowe

  Desire rushed through him, and before he could stop himself, he kissed her again, running the tip of his tongue over her lips. The moment he did, she responded. She began to kiss him back, her decadent mouth moving under his in a rush of sensual temptation that was beyond anything he’d ever experienced.

  Swearing, he gripped the edge of the bed, refusing to touch her, even as the kiss deepened. She slipped her tongue between his teeth, and he groaned when he felt it slide across his in a sensual caress. Sweat broke out on his forehead with the effort of restraining himself, but he kept to the script, deepening the kiss while never moving his hands to her body.

  Then she moved hers, sliding her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. He lost his balance and went to his knees, falling against the side of the bed as she took over the kiss. Her mouth was hot and sensual, a temptation of the most sinful kind. His cock was hard as a rock, straining against his jeans, and his entire body was screaming for more.

  She deepened the kiss, a sensual assault against his defenses, stirring up desire in him that he’d never experienced before. Was this what his teammates had felt when they’d met their soulmates? Was this what all men felt when they fell under the spell of a woman? For the first time, he comprehended the power of a woman over a man. He’d always kept himself so far removed that no woman could access him, and yet with one kiss, he was consumed with thoughts about what he wanted to do to her, of what her breasts would taste like, of how he wanted to part her legs and—

  Shit!

  He jerked back, breaking the kiss, but she didn’t release him. Her grip was surprisingly strong, and he didn’t want to hurt her by exerting the effort it would take to break her hold. “I don’t do this,” he said.

  Her eyes were brighter now, and sharper. “What’s your name?” she asked.

  “Gabe.”

  “Mine is Maria. No man has ever been able to say no to me,” she said, her fingers softening against the back of his neck. He realized she was playing with his hair, a tender gesture that felt incredible. “It feels good to know you can keep your mind when I kiss you. No one ever can.” There was a wistfulness in her voice that softened his resistance.

  He leaned forward, and traced his finger over her cheek. “No woman has ever gotten past my shields,” he said. “I haven’t had an erection in hundreds of years. You’re very powerful.”

  She smiled, her fingers still tracing circles on his neck. “I need to get stronger,” she said. “I’ve waited too long to replenish my energy, and now I’m paying for it.”

  “Why did you wait?”

  She shrugged. “I hate having sex with the demons in this place. It’s like selling my body to the highest bidder every time I need to be restored. They use me as much as I use them, and I have no choice. I have to do it.”

  He understood what she was saying. Like him, she had a duty to others, and she did whatever it took to fulfill it, even if it meant handing her body out to whoever would take it. He might not have spent any time between the sheets with women, but he’d been around enough to understand that a woman’s right to say who touched her was sacred and critical for the sanctity of her soul. Protectiveness surged through him, and he cupped her face. He didn’t even know her, but her plight affected him. He didn’t like what she had to do. “I’m sorry you have to do that.”

  She met his gaze, and he saw that now-familiar fog beginning to overtake her eyes again as the momentary high of the kiss began to fade. “It’s okay,” she said. “I don’t waste time worrying about it, but the fact I can have a sane conversation with you after I’ve started kissing you made me think about it.” Her words began to slur, and he realized the effect of the kiss was already wearing off. “I need to heal,” she whispered. “I need your help. At least give me enough to help me survive until I can find a demon. You don’t have to have sex. Just enough to keep me going.” A faint smile curved her lips. “It would be a miracle to be with a man who could manage not to have sex with me. Just once. It might be nice to experience, before I go back to doing what I do.”

  He ground his jaw at the idea of her handing her body over to some demon who would fuck her like an animal, anger pulsing through him at the mere idea. “That is going to have to change,” he said as he bent his head to kiss her again. “No more of that shit.”

  Then he kissed her again, and this time, he knew it wasn’t going to stay chaste.

  Her mouth was warm and ready for his when he kissed her. This time, he took over the kiss, no longer allowing her to control him. He kissed her hard, he kissed her deep, he kissed her with the passion she stirred up in him. He held rigidly onto his control, however, refusing to become the mindless sex fiend that she’d had to deal with her whole life. He had no idea what the proper methods were for kissing, but he didn’t give a shit. He was a Calydon warrior, for hell’s sake, born and bred to be consumed by his lust so that it would drive him into the arms of his soulmate. He might not have been trained in sex, but every nuance of seduction and sex was imprinted on his being, and he knew exactly what he wanted to do to her.

  He was going to kiss her like she was worth something, not like she was some piece of ass to be ridden until there was nothing left. He pressed a kiss to the side of her mouth, then trailed his lips along her jaw, and then down the side of her neck. Yeah, she might be a lust demon who’d been with men too many times to count, but she hadn’t seen anything yet.

  Her arms tightened around his neck, and she gasped as he lightly bit the side of her neck. A heady sense of power surged over him at her response, and he bit again, this time harder. Then he worked his way up her neck. He trailed his tongue along her earlobe, need surging through him as he tasted her skin. “You taste incredible,” he whispered as he worked his way back to her mouth. “Like fresh honey and peaches.”

  “No one has ever said that,” she whispered. “Thank you—”

  He cut her off with another kiss, deeper now, sensual and passionate, unleashing a thousand-year-old untapped instinct into the kiss. She leaned into him, almost falling off the bed, and he grabbed her, his hands flanking her hips. Her curves filled his hands perfectly, and he tightened his fingers on her, using his body to push her back onto the bed. He followed her onto the bed, never breaking the kiss, never taking his hands off her hips. The kiss was wild and out of control, and he loved every second of tasting her.

  He settled beside her on the bed, his cock hard as he draped his leg over her hip, trapping her against him. She was strong, but he was stronger, and for some reason, he wanted her to know it, not to show he was the aggressor, but so she would know that he was a shield that was available for her use.

  Her slim fingers wrapped around his wrist, pulling his hand off her hip. He knew what she wanted instantly, but he let her move his hand and place it on her breast. If every demon she kissed turned into a lust-crazed sex-fiend, he doubted that she’d ever had to put a man’s hand on her body, or that she’d even had the chance to control the pace.

  So, he didn’t move his hand until she put hers on top of his and squeezed lightly, as if she thought he were some innocent who had no idea what to do with a woman’s body. He grinned, and instead of squeezing her breast through the wire bodice, he grabbed the edge of her top and dragged it down to expose her breast.

  Hell. His cock quivered at the swell of flesh as it tumbled free. Her nipple was hard and dark, a salacious bud of temptation. He cupped the underside of her breast, drinking in the feel of the soft mound in his hand. It felt unlike anything he’d ever touched, and it felt right.

  Maria shifted against him, and he glanced at her face. Her blue eyes were riveted to his face, and she smiled when she saw him look at her. “No one has ever slowed down enough to notice my body. The look on your face when you saw my breast made me feel like the most beautiful woman ever. Thank you for that. Thank you for making this different than it ever has been.”

  Emotions shifted inside him, feelings that he’d never allowed to surface befor
e. Emotions that were soft, and, at the same time, cloaked in a furious, possessive rage at all the men who had used her body with so little appreciation for what they had been gifted with. “You must be the most beautiful woman ever. You’re the first one I’ve ever responded to.” He thumbed her nipple as he took her mouth in a deep kiss of tongue, seduction, and possession.

  She shifted against him, a low groan escaping her mouth as he continued to play with her nipple, rolling it beneath his palm and pinching it lightly. “That never feels this good,” she whispered into the kiss. “Why does it feel so amazing with you?”

  “Because I’m incredibly good at everything I do.” He palmed her breast and bent his head, taking the taut bud into his mouth. Her skin tasted like heaven, something far purer than he deserved to experience. He traced circles with his tongue, vividly attuned to every breath Maria took, to every flinch of her body, memorizing what she responded to, and what she loved. Within a minute, she was twisting on the bed, held in place only by his leg locked over her hip. His balls were hurting like hell, and he knew that he needed release, the kind of release he’d never granted himself.

  But he ignored it. Instead, he focused on Maria. How far did he need to go with her? Was it enough? He had to knock it off soon, because it was getting more and more difficult to suppress his own needs, needs that he’d never had to fight off before. He pulled back from her breast and kissed her mouth. “Enough?” he whispered.

  “No.”

  Shit. “What do you need?”

  “I need physical release. An orgasm.” She pulled back. “Do you know what that is?”

  “Do I—?” Jesus. She really thought he was that pathetic? “Hell, yeah, I know what that is.”

  She raised her brows.

  He groaned under his breath, aware of how hard his cock already was. He couldn’t afford to get more entangled with her, but what choice did he have? “Okay.”

  This time, when he bent to kiss her, he knew he was in danger…from her, from himself, from the instincts that he’d managed to control his entire life.

  His control was about to snap, and he had to let it happen.

  Chapter 18

  Gabe didn’t give himself a chance to think about what he was about to do, or how dangerous it would be if she turned out to be his sheva, or how it could awaken instincts that he’d suppressed for so long. He simply moved over her and kissed her hard. Desire poured through him, as he reached for her pants, hooked his fingers over her waistband, and pulled them down over her hips.

  Her skin was like satin, tempting him as he dragged her pants over her feet. She propped herself up on her elbows, her gaze hooded and sultry as she watched him. There was so much yearning in her eyes that he felt something deep inside him lurch. Something more than lust or need. He took a deep breath, meeting her gaze as he locked his arms around her thighs. “You’re sure?”

  She nodded. “Yes,” she whispered, her voice raw with need.

  He swore under his breath, feeling guilty that she’d been forced to accept him, that she was trapped by her body’s need for sex. He was a stranger, and yet she had to give him her body to save herself. He admired her courage, but couldn’t deny the vulnerability in her eyes. Determination flooded him, a sudden protectiveness, and he knew he was going to do everything in his power to make it good for her, to honor her and salute her courage.

  “I’ll make this good,” he promised.

  Her eyes widened. “Really?”

  “Really.” Still keeping his gaze locked on hers, he pulled her across the bed toward him, and kissed her swollen nub.

  The moment he tasted her, he knew he was lost forever. She tasted sweeter than anything had the right to be, and her body seemed to be made for him. He knew instinctively where to touch her, how to kiss her, how to use his tongue. Intense satisfaction pulsed through him each time he felt her react. He realized that he loved making her respond. He awaited each whisper that slipped from her lips with increasing anticipation, and he loved feeling her legs tense around his shoulders.

  He unwound his right arm from her thigh, and slipped two fingers inside her. Her body welcomed him, and he felt his entire body shudder as her muscles tightened around his fingers. He kept up his assault with his mouth, relentlessly pushing her onward, giving her no time to recover or catch her breath. She bucked against him, and he pinned her hips to the bed with his forearm, locking her down at his mercy. Her fingers were tight in his hair, and he felt the tension coiling tighter and tighter.

  “Now,” he whispered. “Now.” He sucked on the tiny nub and moved his fingers inside her, hard, deep, and with absolute precision.

  “Gabe!” She gasped his name, and then she bucked against him. The orgasm ripped through her, and it took a considerable portion of his strength to hold her still so he didn’t lose his spot. The orgasm held her in its grasp for what felt like an eternity. He could feel himself straining to take her, to plunge inside her, and to complete what he’d started.

  But he didn’t move. He just kept his position, supporting her as the tremors wracked her body. Every muscle in her body was rigid, and her skin was damp with sweat. It was several minutes before the tension eased, and she sagged into the mattress, still gasping for breath. Her arms were flung over her head on the pillow, making her breasts stretch across her ribs. She was sexy as hell, and he was all too aware of it.

  “Wow,” she gasped. “That was amazing.”

  He grinned, kissed her belly button, and then eased up beside her. He propped himself up on his elbow, resting his head on his hand, grinning as he watched the play of expressions across her face. Her skin was flushed and rosy now, darker, a caramel brown that made her eyes even more brilliantly blue than they were before. Beads of sweat dogged her forehead and her upper lip. Her lips were fuller than before, and darker…and he wanted to kiss them again.

  He let out his breath, examining his urge to kiss her, assessing it. He knew he couldn’t shove it away into a black abyss right now, not when he could still taste her on his lips, and smell the scent of sex in the air. So, instead, he faced it, knowing that the more he understood about his reaction to her, the better he would be able to control it. “I’m good, huh?”

  She smiled, her gaze moving over his face assessingly. “That was your first time?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Want to try it again?”

  He grinned. “Yeah, actually, I do.”

  Hope lit her eyes. “Really?”

  “Yeah, but I’m not going to.”

  “Oh.” Some of the hope faded, but she didn’t look overly disappointed. “No one ever turns me down. It’s nice.” She touched his face. “No one has ever done that to me before.”

  He cocked his brow. “Done what? Oral sex?” At her nod, he grinned. Yeah, she was a lust demon who’d been with a lot of men, but he was also her first. He liked that idea. He liked it a lot.

  Maria sighed. “It’s always just about sex, as fast and as hard as we can make it.”

  His amusement vanished. “Is it.” It wasn’t a question. It was a thinly veiled attempt not to descend into some possessive, testosterone-induced male rage.

  “Yes. It’s functional, not for pleasure.” She raised her hand and brushed her fingers over his hair, in a touch so gentle he wanted to close his eyes and simply absorb it. “That was pure, sinful pleasure, Gabe. Amazing. Thank you.”

  He inclined his head, still focusing on her fingers in his hair. “How do you feel?”

  She smiled. “So much better.”

  “Totally recovered?”

  Her smile faded, and she shook her head. “I’ll still need to have sex soon, but this gave me time.” She began tucking her breasts back into her bodice, and Gabe couldn’t help but feel cranky about it. He liked having her breasts where he could see them.

  Shit. This wasn’t good. He rolled off the mattress and walked away from the bed. He placed his hands on the walls, sending his energy into the rock, trying to focus on Dante, a
nd not the fact that he couldn’t stop thinking about the woman behind him. “So, how do we get out of here? Where are we? And where would Dante be?”

  “So many questions. You’re awfully demanding, aren’t you?”

  “I have a mission.” He heard the sound of her sliding her leather pants over her legs, and he ground his jaw. He knew exactly how soft that leather was, and how it clung to her body as if it were part of her skin. He knew the way it curved over her hip in a sinfully decadent way that would make any guy forget about anything but seeing what was hidden beneath the fabric. He bent his head, resting his forehead against the rock, using the cold surface to distract him. “My leader, Dante Sinclair, was murdered recently. His spirit is still circulating, so I need to get his body back to the earth realm to reunite them.” As he spoke the words, the enormity of what he was planning struck him. He didn’t even know if it was possible to do what he was planning. “He’s a Calydon, which means he’s descended from demon blood. I think that his body may have returned to the demon realm when he died. All Calydon bodies disappear when they die, and I’m guessing they come here.”

  She was quiet for a moment, and he could hear the rustle as she finished getting dressed. Shit. He wanted to turn around and rip those clothes off her, to see how far she could take him. Swearing, he pressed his forehead harder against the wall, and braced his palms on the rock. “Is that possible to do?” he asked. “Retrieve him and bring him back to life?”

  Her hand touched his back, and he jumped a mile. He whirled around, grabbed her around the waist, and pinned her to the wall with his body in one swift move that was pure instinct, completed before he even had time to think about it.

  Maria’s eyes widened as she stared at him, her breasts pressed against his chest. “I didn’t mean to startle you,” she said softly.

  “I want you.”

  A small smile curved her mouth. “It’s okay, Gabe. Every man wants me. It’s not your fault.”

  “It’s my fault. I have better discipline than this.” He bent his head slightly, so that he could inhale the scent of her hair. “God, you smell good. I shouldn’t even realize that, but instead, I can’t stop thinking about it.” He tangled his fingers in her hair and tugged on it as he lifted his head so he could see into her eyes. “Why do you affect me like this?”