Darkness Seduced (Primal Heat Trilogy #2) (Order of the Blade) (3 page)

He was all male, a testosterone-laden specimen of strength and aggression, a threat to all she was as a woman. He was a ruthless temptation to her deepest, darkest desires, the ones she’d hidden away even from herself. In his presence, everything that made her female flared to life, longing for this man, this warrior, this
enemy
.

She backed up as he neared, holding out her hand in a pathetically useless attempt to stop him.

“My name’s Gideon. I’m here for you.” His voice was forceful and unyielding, but to her surprise, he eased himself to a stop several yards away from her. He spread his hands as if he were trying to appear harmless. There was no chance he could ever be mistaken for anything harmless, and it wasn’t simply because of the weapon in his right hand or the axe-shaped brands burned into his forearms. Danger bled from his pores, darkened his expression, and weighted his broad shoulders. “Don’t run,” he said. “You’ll slice your feet.”

Her stomach lurched. There was no remorse in his face for the body on the ground behind her, yet at the same time, heated desire brimmed in his eyes as he studied her intensely. He was a Calydon, a warrior of hot passions and cold death, both of them hopelessly intertwined. His overwhelming presence was stirring up heated feelings of longing deep within her, even as her heart froze in fear at all he was, for how her life could fall at his hands in a split second.

She tugged her torn shirt closed over her chest, knowing it would do nothing to protect her from the raw sensuality pulsing from him, from the painfully intense yearnings rising within her, responding to his call, desperate to fall into the fire he was already kindling between them. She’d met dozens of Calydons in the past. She’d always felt their pulsing sexuality, their intense stares that made desire rush through her, preying on her heritage and how it called her to their kind, but this was
different
. With all those others, she hadn’t felt anything for them. It had been easy to turn them away, to ignore the beastly desires of her kind.

But Gideon was different. He was stripping her raw, branding her with his gaze, making her body ache with need for him, for all that he was and could offer her.

His eyes darkened, and she knew he could sense her attraction, the need pulsing so strongly within her.

Her cheeks flared with embarrassment, and she began to slide along the wall away from him, using it as a support to keep herself vertical. She winced as her foot landed on something sharp, and she jerked her foot off the floor, brushing off the glass by running her foot over her calf.

His jaw tightened, and his hand went up as if to grab her, but he stopped himself when she flinched. “Lily. There are more Calydons outside that my teammate is dealing with.” There was an urgency to his voice. “We need to go.” He snapped his fingers impatiently. “Come on. Now.”

She gritted her teeth against the almost uncontrollable urge to drop her shields, bolt into his arms and give herself over to him. He 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 safety. 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, and she’d wound up his captive for two years. Despite all she knew about Calydons, she’d forgotten all her lessons and walked into Nate’s house, and she’d 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 next time, 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, she had no doubt. The warrior standing before her was her salvation, her passion, and also her ultimate destruction.

Beneath the injuries, however, was the steady, courageous resilience of a woman who would not be brought down. There was a determination in her gaze as she stared at him, and his attention was drawn mercilessly to the fullness of her mouth, to her high cheekbones, and to the delicate slant of her nose.

Her dark blond hair was tangled and matted around her shoulders, but he could imagine the softness of those strands, the delicate femininity of how they fell forward over her collarbone. Her hands were trembling, her breath an effort with each inhale. The fine line of her jaw as she raised her chin was compelling as hell, and he knew immediately she was a survivor, a warrior whose weapons were her courage and her mental strength.

She was all female, vulnerable, and unprotected, a warrior who had reached the end of her reserves. Lily needed him, and a fierce excitement raced through him as he started forward to retrieve her—

A squeal of terror ripped from her, and panic flared in those beautiful eyes as she scrambled back.

Gideon stopped instantly, viscerally aware of her fear and recognizing instantly that she was going to flee. He could feel it in his chest, in his mind, and in every fiber of his being. Her terror was so intense, almost overwhelming, shocking him for a moment. His mentor, Dante Sinclair, had taught Gideon long ago to turn off his empathic abilities. It was so automatic he hadn’t thought of it in centuries.

Until now.

Until every breath of pain, fear and torment Lily was feeling bore into him like the dark twisting of an ominous storm, raging through him, threatening his control—

He shut it down. Just shut the damn thing down. Cut off all his emotions, and severed his connection to hers, swiftly reclaiming the calm, focused state that he lived by, the one so necessary for him to do his job.

Still sweating from the sudden onslaught of emotion, Gideon focused on the woman before him and he searched for the words she needed to hear to ease her fear. He wasn’t soft. He wasn’t gentle. He wasn’t kind. His dominant mode of operation would be to haul ass over to Lily, toss her over his shoulder and break like hell for freedom, regardless of how terrified she was. Comfort and gentleness had no place in battle.

But he made no move to lunge for her. Instead, for reasons he couldn’t fathom, he stayed right where was he was, refusing to inflict any more terror onto those heavily weighted shoulders. “Lily,” he said quietly, his voice soothing and gentle. “You can trust me.”

Her eyes widened. “No.”

No.
He was shocked by the first sound of her voice. It was like the most beautiful spring breeze, caressing his skin. Musical, as if dozens of tiny bells had taken flight when she’d spoken. Her voice was rich and full, laden with emotion, with pain, and with the vibrations of a female who lived and breathed with more passion than Gideon had felt in centuries. It burst through him, right to his gut, thrusting into him like the fierce stab of passion and desire.

He became truly aware of her in that moment. He saw the tiny pulse hammering at the base of her throat. He noticed the swell of her breasts beneath her tattered blouse. He felt the rush of desire emanating from her, like a raging tide of passion. Her cheeks flushed with need, her gaze riveted to his as her sensual reaction to him crashed past his shields, flooding him with the intensity of the emotions consuming them both. His body responded instantly, shockingly and he swore.

Lust? Now? In the middle of battle, when Lily was barely hanging on, broken and battered? What the hell was wrong with him? He was here to do a job, to rescue Lily. Nothing else.

It was time to focus. It was time to be the warrior he’d sworn he would be.

Not the sensual, lustful male pulsating with hot desire that made him want to haul her against him and consume her until they were both too sated to move.

Yeah, he definitely didn’t have time to be that guy, but damn, it was tempting as all hell. And then some.

* * *

“It’s time to go. Now,” Gideon said firmly, his hand tight around the handle of his axe.

Go? With him? Fierce longing flooded Lily, chased by the icy chill of real terror. Dear God, what was wrong with her? Why was she responding to him like that?

She forced herself to shake her head, her legs trembling as she willed herself to keep moving away from him, even though every instinct she had was screaming to run to him and take all that he offered, and more. “I’m fine here, thanks, now that I’m out of the basement. You go do your thing and I’ll call a cab.”

Gideon’s jaw tightened, and she thought for a second he was going to simply grab her. She froze, awareness flooding her body at the idea of his hands on her. It was a dark, sensual awareness that terrified her.

When he didn’t move for her, relief and dismay warred ruthlessly inside her, intense emotions fighting to be heard.

“Ana told us you were here,” he said, his deep voice wrapping around her like strong arms and hot flesh.

“Ana?” Lily paused in her retreat, her mind whirling as she tried to make sense of what he’d just said. “
She’s alive
?” Her mind flashed back to the woman who’d been imprisoned with her. She recalled with vivid clarity all the gashes on Ana’s body, and the fierce fire in Ana’s silver eyes when the two women had plotted Ana’s escape, a desperate attempt that had been their last chance before Nate and Frank had killed them both. “She got away? Is she okay? Is she hurt?”

Gideon nodded, his blue eyes softening at her barrage of questions. “We retrieved her. She’s safe.”

“Safe.” The word taunted Lily, laughed at her. God, she wanted to feel safe again. Just for a day. For an hour. For even a minute
. Gideon will keep you safe
. She winced at the unbidden thought, at the desire raging within her for him.

She forced herself to meet his probing gaze, stunned by how utterly cold it was. For a brief moment, she thought she’d seen fire simmering in his deep blue eyes, intense passion that had awakened an answering response in her. But the heated desire was gone now, replaced by the impersonal visage of a warrior on a mission.

Had she imagined it? Had she been so desperate for some kind of humanity that she’d created feeling and fire in this emotionless warrior? Or had it been there? Was he really both, stirring hot desire and icy cold fear deep inside her?

She shook her head, trying to clear thoughts that made no sense. She knew what Calydons were like. She knew how dangerous they were in general, but especially to her. Oh, how terrifyingly dangerous to her, specifically. “Safe is an illusion.” She met his gaze. “No one is safe with a Calydon. Not even if that Calydon is you.”

Frank knew she’d be worried about Ana. Frank would know that the best way to get her acquiescence would be to pretend Ana had sent the warriors. The fact that Gideon knew to use Ana’s name with her didn’t mean he was really on her side.

Lily couldn’t be a fool. She had to count on herself. No one else. She couldn’t trust anyone, especially not a Calydon who had somehow awakened the sensual side of her that she tried so hard to hide from his kind.