Darkness Awakened (Primal Heat Trilogy #1) (Order of the Blade) (49 page)

Lily gritted her teeth against the almost uncontrollable urge to drop her shields and bolt into his arms. To give herself over to him. Gideon was death, but he was also temptation. As she stared at the hand he was holding out to her, she felt an unshakeable conviction that he was her sanctuary. For the first time in years, she could be safe, if she would just reach out and take what he offered, his violence, his sensuality, his overwhelming desire, his
protection
.

But she’d trusted Nate when he’d invited her into his house so she could interview him for her latest research project, and she’d wound up his captive for two years. Despite all Lily knew about Calydons, she’d forgotten all her lessons and walked into Nate’s house and paid dearly for it. She wasn’t stupid enough to trust a Calydon again.

Never, ever again.

Not even the warrior who’d killed to save her. Next time, it could be she who fell victim to Gideon’s weapon. Or it could be Gideon who turned that uncontrollable lust onto her.

And if he didn’t turn on her next time, he would eventually. Of that, Lily had no doubt. The warrior standing before her was her salvation, her passion, and also her ultimate destruction.

(The Soulfire Series, Book One)

(humorous paranormal romance, available now)

“Let’s get it done.” Blaine grabbed her arm and began to propel her down the sidewalk.

“My car is the other direction—”

“We’ll take mine.” He nodded ahead, and Trinity saw a large, black motorcycle parked up beside the curb.

She stopped. “I can’t ride on that.”

He frowned. “Why not?”

“It’s...dangerous.” It was the best word she could think of. She didn’t take risks right now. She kept all emotions tucked deep away inside, held tight like steel netting was wrapped around her. The motorcycle...too wild. Too adventurous. Too passionate. Too everything she didn’t dare to be.

“Been riding for over a century. I’m good.” He strode toward it, not bothering to wait for her. “I’ll keep you safe.”

“No.” She was already walking toward it. She had to touch it. To feel what that kind of freedom felt like. She laid her hand on the seat. The leather was soft, but it felt tough at the same time. The chrome was gleaming. The wheels were immaculate. It was the ultimate expression of daring to take on life, of refusing to go gently, of feeling the passion and fire burn through her until she wanted to explode. Of embracing risk and danger.

It was everything she couldn’t afford.

Not in this moment. Not with the spider edging so close to the line.

Right now, she needed to keep a stranglehold on her emotions. It was about self-control. It was about showing she could manage the cravings and desire burning inside her. It was about driving her Subaru below the speed limit while wearing her seatbelt.

Blaine swung his leg over the seat, straddling the huge machine like he owned its soul. Like it was a demon he controlled by his mere presence. “Just got it. Nice, huh?”

“I can’t ride that.”

“You’re my ticket to freeing Christian.” He held out his hand to her. “Trust me, I’ll protect you. No chance you’re getting hurt with me around.”

“It’s not that.” She clasped her hands behind her back, against the urge to climb on there with him. She could almost feel the wind blowing through her hair, that sense of being utterly free in a way she never had been. Ever.

He turned the key, then punched the ignition button. The engine roared to life, so loud it drowned out the thoughts in her head. It thundered in her chest, made her body vibrate, reducing her to nothing but a physical, visceral reaction to the power and freedom it offered.

He didn’t bother with a helmet. He didn’t bother to shout above the din. He just jerked his chin at her and revved the bike with a twist of the right handlebar.

She saw the determination in his eyes. He was man who wasn’t going to lose his race for Christian’s life.

He wasn’t even considering it. He’d do whatever it took, and he’d succeed.

She wanted to be like that. She wanted to be so sure, so confident, so certain in who she was and what she wanted that she never doubted herself again, never feared the monster within. She wanted to wake up in the morning with that same expression that Blaine was wearing. The one that knew, without a doubt, that she could have anything and everything she wanted.

Maybe she’d been going about it the wrong way. Maybe fighting her passions had been a misguided approach. Maybe the right choice was to embrace her inner fire and let it shine.

Blaine grinned, a smug look that told her that he knew she’d changed her mind.

Even as she started toward the bike, even as she slid her leg over the seat behind Blaine, even as she wrapped her arms around his muscled waist, she knew was using the logic as an excuse to get on and feel that fire, a choice she knew in her gut was the wrong one, the dangerous one, the choice of an addict unable to ditch the high.

Blaine let the engine idle, and it subsided to a quiet roar. He pointed to pegs poking out of the bike near her feet. “Rule number one. Your feet never, ever come off those pegs unless I tell you. Not even when I stop. Your feet get in my way, and we could crash, or you could burn your leg off.”

Her heart started to race, but she put her feet on the rods. What was she doing, riding this bike? This wasn’t her. But it was too tempting. She wanted to live, just once. How could a bike ride trigger her into going crazy and becoming a murderer?

By stripping her of what little self-control she had left, that’s how. What if she liked the high too much? What if she wanted it again? What if—

He twisted around so he could look at her. “Second rule: you tuck up against me and let your body fall in with mine. When I lean into the corners, you relax and go with me. Got it?”

Oh, man, she so couldn’t do this. Release all resistance and let the world take her? “I—”

“If you need to stop, tap my side with your left hand. Other than that, just keep your feet on the pegs and let your body move with mine and the g-forces of the bike, and you’re good.” He grabbed her knees and crushed her thighs against the outsides of his.

Heat began to throb through her inner legs. An awareness of his strength. Of the intimate feel of his body between her thighs.

He flipped a grin at her over his shoulder. “The name of the game is submission, Trinity.”

She stiffened. Submission was a dirty word in her vocabulary. Submission meant giving into the curse.

“Surrender yourself to the bike and to me.”

“I can’t surrender to anything—”

He revved the engine with a flick of his right wrist, drowning out her protest. She frantically hit him on his left side to tell him to stop, but all he did was raise one eyebrow at her. Then he ditched the kickstand and the bike began to roll.

She lunged to get a grip around his waist, hugging desperately with all her strength. What had she been thinking—

She suddenly became aware of a deep vibration echoing up from the bike, like the pulsing of a bass drum throbbing in her core, down her legs, in her belly, along her thighs where she was pressed so tightly around Blaine.

And then the bike lurched forward with a squeal of tires. She tightened her grip around his waist, and then she felt the earth move beneath her. As the bike roared down the street, the cold wind whipped at her face, yanked at her hair, and her whole body shook with the vibration of a thousand pounds of force, she felt her soul come to life in a way she never had before.

She raised her face to the sky, felt the sun fighting to warm her against the wind’s coldness, felt the heat of Blaine’s body between her thighs. He turned a corner and they leaned as one with the bike.

She looked down as her right knee skimmed just above the pavement. They were going so fast, the ground was nothing but a gray blur, rushing past. Another inch closer and her kneecap would turn into a Frisbee. So close to utter destruction, dancing on the edge—

He straightened the bike and they moved upright again. Away from danger. She’d threaded the edge, but she’d never really been at risk. She could feel Blaine’s complete control of the machine of the power beneath them. One wrong move and the bike could be an instrument of carnage and lost dreams. But in Blaine’s grasp, it was a tool of pure, unadulterated freedom.

To be able to control death so easily? To turn it from hell into joy? Tears filled her eyes as she pressed her cheek to Blaine’s back. The heat from his body pressed at her inner thighs, burning through her jeans. Her hair knifed at her cheeks, her shirt flapped ruthlessly, as if the fabric wanted to rip free from her body, to fly through the air. She hugged tighter, suddenly afraid.

Blaine tapped her wrist and held his right arm up to the sky, like he was reaching for the sun. “You can let go,” he shouted over his shoulder. “Try it!”

She shook her head and held tighter.

She felt the laughter rumble in his chest, and then he leaned over the handle bars and the bike leaped forward, as if he’d unleashed a wild cat from a cage. She felt his muscles flex, felt a sudden energy pulse through his body, like sparks were jumping from his skin onto hers, and then he whipped the bike onto the highway, and let it all out.

And all she could do was hang on.

(The Soulfire Series, Book Three)

(humorous paranormal romance, available now)

Natalie froze with her hand on the doorknob, shocked by the sudden memory of the blades erupting from Nigel’s body. The look of fury on his face, his lethal anger, his roar of rage before all those blades had started pouring out of him, lacerating her, ripping her apart—

He’d become a monster. The mellow Nigel she knew, the man of art and serenity… he’d been swallowed up by the beast, an assassin who had tried to kill her. She remembered falling into the same abyss she’d dreamed about, a cavern of black rock, of blood dripping from the walls, of bronze, fanged monsters clinging to the edges of the crevasse with their claws, snarling as she fell past them. She could still smell that bitter sulfur, the acid burning her nose, the stench of death and abandonment and—

The door opened, and Nigel stepped into the room.

Natalie jumped, and then tumbled back as Ella yanked her back away from him.

Nigel’s shirt was caked with blood, and it was ripped to shreds. New, pink scars peppered his body, and his eyes were dark with a raw determination she’d never seen before. There was no sign of the artist. He was pure warrior and elemental action.

His settled his gaze on hers. Intense. Fierce. Possessive. “Everyone but Natalie, get out,” he ordered.

Natalie’s belly tightened. With what, she wasn’t certain. Sheer unbridled terror? Raw, sexual attraction? None of it good, whatever it was.

Ella stood up, her hands fisted by her side. “No.” She squared her shoulders and faced Nigel. “Leave us,” she said. “You’re too dangerous.”

Recognition of the truth flashed in Nigel’s eyes, and he inclined his head. “I am,” he agreed. He met Natalie’s gaze again, and this time there was acknowledgement in his eyes. “This is your opportunity to walk away, Natalie. One chance, and if you don’t take it, I’m keeping you until this is over.”

His tone was brutal and unyielding, and it sent a shudder through her, a quiver of longing. He wouldn’t leave her. No matter what. He could keep her alive, and he would.

Of course he might snap and kill her, too.

What was a girl to do? Bad boys were one thing, but bad boys were something else entirely. She’d had enough men luring her to her death, thank you. She shook her head. “I can’t—”

His face hardened before she even finished her denial, and guilt coursed through her. He needed her. He’d snapped in the most horrible way. She knew him well enough to know that he had too much honor to ever turn on her intentionally, so for him to lose it like that…dear God, what kind of beast was he fighting within?

Shame burned her cheeks. Was she really that pathetic? Was she really that weak that she couldn’t even step up and help him? She’d been hiding her whole life, and where had that gotten her? Dead. So what would more hiding get her?

Nigel was burning with passion, with strength, with power. He was life, and he wasn’t going to lose or die. Maybe he could show her how to defend her own life and believe in herself. Maybe—

Ella took her arm. “Girl, I know he’s hot, but some men just aren’t worth it.” She shuddered, and there was no mistaking the fear in her eyes. “Don’t go down that road. Not with him. You know what men like him are like. There are other ways—”

“No!” Maggie scrambled to her feet, stumbling over the cushions. “I touched him. He has a good soul.” She grabbed Natalie’s other arm, her young face raw with a grown-up understanding that Natalie didn’t expect. It was the face of someone who had been through hell and was still living its shadow. “He saved your life, Natalie.”

“He did?” Natalie suddenly recalled hearing Nigel’s voice while she’d been catapulting down the crevasse. With the demons stalking her, the hell chasing her, she’d heard his voice calling to her. She could still feel his warmth plunging into her body, yanking her back from the free fall. He’d been there, and he’d brought her back.

He might have almost killed her, but he’d saved her life afterwards. That had to balance out somewhat, right?