Authors: Rebecca York

Dark Warrior (21 page)

BOOK: Dark Warrior

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She knew he sensed her reaction, and his face contorted.

“It’s okay,” she whispered. “You’ll be okay when we get out of here.”

She hoped that was true, and she knew he caught the doubt in her mind. Opening yourself mentally to another person wasn’t always as convenient as she’d like.

“We have to focus on freeing you.”

“I know.”

She felt him struggle to concentrate and work with her. Together they focused on the barrier, using the silent communication that they’d forged before. For a long moment, nothing happened, and she was afraid that they’d lost the mental power that they’d developed together. Then, where their hands were pressed against the invisible force field, she felt something change. Molecule by molecule, it began to thin so that gradually she felt the skin of Jason’s hand.

“Thank the great spirit of the universe,” she whispered as his palm finally pressed against hers. Yet it was only a small hole, not nearly large enough for him to get out of.

“What should we do?” he asked.

“Move your hand with mine.”

She began to sweep her hand in a circle, in a motion she might have used to rub soot from a windowpane, and he kept pace with her.

Gradually she enlarged the opening, until it was finally large enough for him to step through.

She pulled him into her arms, and they clung together. She wanted to keep holding him, but there would be time for that later.

“We have to get out of here.”

“I think it’s too late,” he answered in a gritty voice.

When she raised her head, she gasped. While she’d been focused on Jason, the Ionians had been moving into position. Now they formed a circle around the two of them.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO

WHEN RAFE HELPED
Tessa out of the limousine, she focused on her surroundings. They were under a large portico that led to a wide doorway.

“Come into my house and make yourself comfortable,” Rafe said.

As she studied the property, she struggled to remember as many details as possible. The entrance to the house was beautifully landscaped with bright flowers and fruit trees: lemons hung nearby. Also oranges and plums. Beyond the trees, a cheerful fountain bubbled.

This was no small estate. It was a luxury enclave that only a very rich man could afford.

“Come in,” he said again, gesturing for her to go inside. Beyond the doorway, a woman in a black dress and a formally attired man waited. Both looked to be in their fifties, with salt-and-pepper hair. The man was lean and tall. The woman was short and plump.

“This is Tessa Thalia,” he said to them. “Please make sure she has everything she needs.”

“Yes sir.”

“Tessa, these are Mr. and Mrs. Vincent.”

“Nice to meet you,” Tessa said politely.

“They take care of the house for me.”

“Um.” She smiled at the couple, and they smiled back. Were they being friendly? Or were they just doing what their master commanded? She couldn’t tell, and she didn’t have a chance to study them further.

“We’ll be on the patio. Please bring us some refreshments.” He looked at Tessa. “What would you like?”

She thought for a moment and dredged up something. “Iced tea.”

“And some of those wonderful sandwiches that cook makes,” Rafe added.

They walked through the large entrance hall. Off to the side Tessa saw a formal living room and dining room. He led the way to a large airy space that was set up like a Spanish courtyard with another fountain, pots of flowers, and comfortable wicker furniture.

He gestured to a small sofa under a wide awning, and she sat down, trying to take it all in.

Perhaps Rafe had called ahead, because the food and drink came almost immediately. Then the servants withdrew, leaving them alone.

She took a sip of tea, which was excellent, then picked up a sandwich quarter and nibbled. It was chicken salad. Also very good.

“You will be very comfortable here,” Rafe said.

He didn’t eat or drink—only watched her until she put down the glass with a shaky hand.

He stroked her arm. “Don’t be afraid of me.”

She swallowed. “You’re not what I expected.”

“Of course not. For almost two thousand years, the Ionians have been . . . prejudiced against the Minot. They wanted you to think I was dangerous. But it’s not true.”

“Then why did you have to kidnap me?”

“I explained that. It was the only way to get you alone, so we could get to know each other. You don’t think your sisters would have allowed me access to you at the spa, do you?”

“I guess that’s right.”

“Since we’re free to do what we want, let me show you what we can mean to each other.”

She should refuse, but when he reached for her, she let him pull her close.

She’d been deathly afraid of him. At this moment she felt safe in his strong arms. She’d had lovers, of course, but her loyalty had always been to her sisters. Suddenly, everything had shifted, as though she was in a speeding vehicle that had unaccountably changed directions.

When she eased back and tipped her face up, she found that her mouth was only inches from his. He looked down at her with an intensity that made her blood heat to boiling point, yet she told herself it wasn’t too late to pull away. Somewhere in her mind she knew she
should
pull away, but she stayed where she was for a breathless second and then another.

“Tessa.” He said her name with aching tenderness as he covered her mouth with his and moved his lips over hers. The kiss carried so many emotions. He was comforting and needy and, at the same time, sexy.

She closed her eyes, shutting out the world so that she could focus on the man who was weaving a magic spell around her.

Perhaps he was doing something to her mind as he brushed his mouth against her, angling his head and deepening the kiss. But no mind game could account for the seductive taste of him. The soft velvet of his lips. The heat radiating from his body.

She loved all that. Did she love the man as well?

Maybe not, but did that matter? In a gesture of surrender, she lifted her arms, circling his neck.

She felt him smile against her lips as they kissed. His hands came around her waist, gathering her closer as he turned his head first one way and then the other to change the angle of the kiss, then change it again.

Somewhere in her mind, doubt flickered. Everything she had been taught from childhood told her this was wrong. She shouldn’t be in his arms. She shouldn’t be kissing him. But it was impossible to hold on to that conviction when it felt like the most natural thing in the world to be close to him like this. As she nestled in his embrace, she could imagine what it would be like to share more than this kiss with him.

She made a small sound deep in her throat, telling him she liked what he was doing. When his tongue dipped further into her mouth, she felt hot, needy sensations swirling through her body.

His hands stroked up and down her ribs, against the sides of her breasts, and she wanted to beg for more. She’d forgotten where they were. Forgotten why she shouldn’t allow this man—above all others—such liberties.

SOPHIA
felt a terrible pressure bearing down on her as though she were deep under the sea with tons of water squeezing the life from every cell of her body.

She gasped, sagging against Jason, who kept his arms around her, holding her up.

“You have betrayed us,” Cynthia said. “You are no better than he is.”

Jason raised his head, and she knew he was making a tremendous effort to speak. “Let her go. She only wanted to help me get away.”

“She made her own choices and sealed her own fate.”

Sophia clung to Jason to stay on her feet. Fighting the force around her with every ounce of power she possessed, she spoke to her sisters.

“This happened because I came to Cynthia about Tessa, but she refused to help me find my sister. I pleaded with her to discuss it with everyone, but she said that the Ionians were not a democracy and the decision was hers alone.” She paused to drag in a breath and let it out. “But I can’t just let Tessa go. Cynthia says she’s lost to us. How can any of you accept that? And how can you deny me the chance to find her—with Jason’s help.”

She heard voices babbling around her as the sisters all began to speak at once.

“Silence,” someone called out.

It wasn’t Cynthia. It was Eugenia.

In the sudden quiet, she addressed the high priestess. “Is that true?”

Cynthia gave her an angry look. “Yes.”

“Abandoning Tessa is not your decision alone.”

Cynthia raised her chin. “I am the high priestess, and I think it is. She left the spa on her own. Nobody kidnapped her.”

“We must not act so hastily,” Eugenia answered. “We are few in numbers, and every one of us is precious to the order. We have fewer daughters now than when Tessa was born.”

Suddenly, Sophia felt some of the pressure on her body ease, and she dragged in a grateful breath. “Thank you, Eugenia,” she whispered.

“What else can you tell us?” the older woman asked.

“Cynthia said that because the Minot had what he wanted, the rest of us were safe. But we don’t even know if that’s true,” Sophia protested.

“There’s something else you need to understand,” Jason said in a strong voice that had them all switching their attention to him. “Something important you don’t know about the Minot.”

Sophia heard more than his words. She caught what was in his mind, and it jolted her.

You wanted to get close to me to lift a curse?

Not just that!

Had he spoken aloud? She wasn’t sure above the roaring in her ears.

The betrayal slammed into her. The shock was too much for her system, and she would have fallen, but Jason caught her in his strong arms and cradled her against his body.

“Sophia! No.”

He was too strong for her to break from his grasp. But she had to get away from him, and her only refuge was unconsciousness.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE

JASON CRADLED SOPHIA in his arms.

“What have you done to her?” the one named Eugenia asked. Like the rest of the Ionians, she looked young, but he sensed that she was much older than Sophia.

“Nothing,” he answered.

“Don’t tell me ‘nothing.’”

“She was hearing my thoughts. She thinks that I got close to her to lift a curse.”

“Did you?”

He swallowed. “That was part of it.”

The woman made a rough sound. “So much for your integrity.”

“I think you’ll want to hear my explanation. Where can I lay her down?”

After a short hesitation, she answered, “The guest lounge.”

He walked along with the women, carrying Sophia, feeling strange to be surrounded by her sisters.

But they weren’t his focus. Sophia was his main concern.

As he cradled her in his arms, he spoke silently to her.

It’s not what you think. The curse is only part of it. I wanted to bond with you, the way my parents bonded. I wanted the joy they created together. I knew I could only find that with an Ionian. And from the first moment we met, I knew that was you.

He kept speaking to her urgently, saying the same thing over and over. Praying that he was getting through to her.

Did she stir?

“Sophia?”

She didn’t open her eyes, didn’t speak to him or reach for his hand.

When he saw the others watching them, he stared straight ahead, wishing he and Sophia could be alone.

He had said he would lay her down, but he simply couldn’t turn her loose. As he cradled her in his lap, she opened her eyes and stared at him, and he felt the breath freeze in his chest.

TESSA
pressed her hands against Rafe’s chest, pushing him away.

A moment ago she’d been under his spell. Then a bolt of strong sensation had made her realize she was walking down a dangerous path.

Well, not just a bolt from the blue. She was sure it had something to do with Sophia—calling out a warning across the miles that separated them. A warning about this man? Or all Minot?

She didn’t know. But it had jolted her from her sensual fog.

She opened her eyes to see Rafe Garrison looking at her questioningly.

“What’s wrong?” he asked urgently.

“I don’t know.” She blinked at him. “We shouldn’t be . . . making love.”

BOOK: Dark Warrior

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