Dark Warrior (25 page)

Authors: Rebecca York

BOOK: Dark Warrior

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He stroked his hands up and down her back, sensitizing her to himself.

She didn’t have to ask if he felt the buzzing, too. Closing her eyes, she leaned into him, a host of emotions swirling through her. They had been apart less than a day, yet she had the sensation of missing him terribly and joyfully coming back to him.

They swayed together, touching and stroking. When she lifted her head, he brought his mouth down to hers for a kiss that was as much a homecoming as a promise.

“How should we do this?” she whispered when they broke apart for air.

He laughed again. “I recall that last time we were together, you tortured me.”

She gave a little gulp. “You figure turnabout is fair play?”

“Not exactly. I think this time we have to torture each other. I mean,” he clarified, “we have to bring each other to a knife edge of need—and stay there until we accomplish our mission.”

She swallowed. “Or go insane.”

“Yeah.”

She wanted him so badly at this moment that she couldn’t imagine jacking up the level. But she understood the suggestion.

“Are we allowed to be comfortable?” she asked.

“I think it’s better that way.” With his arm around her, he turned them toward a short hallway that led to the back of the house. His bedroom was in the same style as what she’d already seen, with a squared-off wooden bed and matching dresser and a masculine spread of brown microfiber.

They turned down the spread together, each of them standing on an opposite side of the mattress. Just the act of getting the bed ready made her blood run hotly through her veins. When he came around to her side and slipped his hands under the back of her T-shirt, she felt like she was going to explode.

They undressed each other, moving slowly, drawing out the anticipation until they were both naked, standing facing each other. Reaching out, she touched his shoulder, his chest, then stroked down to his belly where his erection stood out hard and firm.

His face was a study in need as he touched her, playing his fingers over her breasts, then lifting them in his palms and stroking his fingers over her nipples.

When he did, she caught the first sense of something far away. She knew he was aware of it, too, because he looked at her questioningly.

“We’d better lie down before we fall down,” she murmured.

They eased onto the bed together, and he rolled to his side, gathering her close. Reaching down, she grasped his cock, guiding him into her.

They both sighed at the joining.

When the Ionians had captured him, she had been afraid that they would never make love again. Now they locked intimately together.

He nuzzled his face against her forehead, stroked his hands gently over her back.

“We’re here now,” he said, and she knew he was following her thoughts.

She turned her head, kissing his cheek, his jaw. She wanted to enjoy this moment with him. She wanted to move her hips, but he caught that thought, too, and pressed his hands against her bottom, holding her still and reminding her what they had to do.

“We can’t.”

“I don’t think I can manage this.”

“You have to.”

She massaged the muscles of his arms, marveling at his willpower. Given this opportunity, any other man would take his pleasure. This one was postponing gratification—to help her find her sister.

But it was more than that: their own future hung in the balance. He’d seen what his parents had together. He wanted that for the two of them.

He had made her want it, too, more than anything, even when she didn’t completely understand it. Or maybe she didn’t have the same commitment because she’d always relied on her sisters for emotional fulfillment. Even when she was enjoying a physical relationship with a man.

What if the order cast her out now? She had broken their rules by wanting more with Jason than sex. But wasn’t Cynthia doing the same thing? Was it all right for the high priestess to do as she pleased and not with an ordinary Ionian?

She knew Jason was following some of that reasoning, because he answered her.

We have to get through the present before we can think about the future.

How can you be so calm?

I knew that the Minot lacked discipline, so I focused on giving myself that advantage.

She had known he was extraordinary. Now she understood that she was just delving into his depths.

He tried to soothe her with calming thoughts, but it didn’t help. Without warning, she was seized by a desperation that she couldn’t control.

“I need you.”

“You have me.”

“I can’t deal with this!”

When she began to move, he tried to resist—for the two of them.

“Don’t.”

But she swept him along, catching him in her urgency.

They moved together, frantic to give and take what they both wanted. A blinding climax overtook them. It should have shut out everything else in the world, but just as she drifted back to earth, she heard something from far away.

Tessa calling out to her with an urgency that made her go still.

Jason heard it, too, and he tightened his arms around her as she screamed in shame and frustration.

“I forgot what I was supposed to be doing,” she gasped.

“Nobody said this was going to be easy.”

Once again he was the voice of reason as he cradled her in his arms, stroking her.

“I messed that up,” she whispered.

“No. It was when we climaxed that you heard her.”

“She’s in danger. We have to focus on finding her.”

“We’ll do that now.”

His reassurance was interrupted by a blast of psychic communication.

Not from Tessa. From Eugenia.

You’d better get out of there. Cynthia found out you’re not at the cave, and she’s coming to bring you back.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN

SOPHIA GASPED.
WHY?

She says that Jason has you under his control, and she’s persuaded some of the others.

Doe she really believe that?

What does it matter? Hurry and get out of there. You don’t have much time.

Before Sophia could ask another question, the communication snapped off.

Jason stood up and started looking for the clothing they’d discarded. “Nice of her to warn us. Get dressed.”

She pushed herself off the bed, trying to take it all in. Her words came out in a stammer. “If . . . if . . . I run away, I . . . may never get back to the order.”

“And if you stay here and let them take you captive, you will probably never see me again. Or your sister.”

“But Cynthia gave us twenty-four hours.”

“We don’t know what happened back there, or who talked to her. I’m sorry. She could be using the excuse that we came to my house. All I know for sure is that Cynthia must be too unsure of her own power to give up control of the situation.”

The harsh words landed against her like stones—because they were both frightening and true.

Still, she couldn’t stop herself from saying. “Are you asking me to choose between you and the Sisterhood?”

He kept his gaze fixed on her. “I’m not asking anything. I’m laying out your choices.” As he spoke, he pulled on his clothing, then strode out of the room.

Panic was like a thick cloud, choking off her breath and her thoughts.

She reached for the clothing she’d so carelessly thrown off. A few minutes ago, she’d thought she and Jason had time to find Tessa. Time to work out their relationship. Suddenly she didn’t have either luxury.

She stumbled out of the bedroom to find Jason standing rigid as he stared out the window at a cloud of dust advancing toward the house.

He looked back at her. “Too bad I don’t live farther from the spa.”

She nodded.

“I’m getting the hell away before she carries out her threat to operate on my mind.”

“You said you wouldn’t run away.”

“That was before she changed the rules. Do you want to come with me—or stay here and wait for Cynthia?” he asked in a voice that made her chest tighten painfully.

“I want to go with you.”

“Then we’d better make tracks.”

She looked at the dust cloud. “They’ll see where we’ve gone if we take my SUV.”

“Yeah.”

He paused for a moment. “I could leave a nasty surprise for them.”

“Like what?”

“I could blow up the house the moment someone opens the door.”

“No!”

“All right. Your call. Come on.” He strode to the closet and picked up a backpack, which he hooked over his shoulder with one strap. Then he hurried to the rear door, and she followed. Shielded from view by the house, he scooped her up and slung her over his shoulder so that her head rested on the top of the pack.

“This won’t be the most comfortable ride you ever had,” he said, as he clamped his arms over her back and legs.

She gasped as he began to run away from the house, into the desert. No ordinary man could have carried her like this and run in the heat of the Arizona sun. Not for long. But he was no ordinary man.

As he moved between the cactus plants and the low trees, putting distance between himself and the house, she realized he must have been prepared to get away in a hurry. Maybe not from the Ionians but from the man they had met in the desert. The man who had abducted Tessa.

The hot air rushed past her, stinging her eyes. The bright sun beat down on her head and shoulders as Jason ran into the wilderness.

How long could he keep up this pace?

She raised her head and looked back toward the house. He’d said he could make it blow up. And he’d said he wouldn’t do it. Was he telling the truth, or telling her what she wanted to hear?

PULLING
to a halt, Cynthia climbed quickly out of the car and stood with her hands on her hips, looking around the property that Jason Tyron had bought.

It hadn’t been difficult to locate this place, once she’d known the name Jason Tyron. And once Eugenia had admitted they’d gone to his house instead of the cave.

From the outside, it appeared to be a modest abode, not what she’d expect from a Minot. Was he really different from the rest of them, or was he just trying to make sure they thought so?

Ophelia, Vanessa, Rhoda, and Lysandra joined her in the yard. She’d asked for volunteers to come here with her, and they’d agreed. They had always been loyal, sisters she could count on in a crisis.

Ophelia pointed to the SUV. “They’re still here.”

“Maybe.” Cynthia looked toward the house, wondering if Jason or Sophia would rush out. She directed the women to circle the building, assigning each of them a position. When she judged everyone was in place, she knocked firmly on the door. There was no answer.

“Come out,” she called in a confident voice. “We have you surrounded.”

Again, nobody answered.

She took a deep breath, wondering what she’d find inside. When she reached for the knob, it turned easily. Was this a trap?

She wasn’t going to let the others know that she was worried about that. Or anything else. Like the conversation she’d had with Sophia about the missing Ionians. She’d known about them, of course. It was written down in the secret notes that one high priestess passed to another.

As far as she was concerned, all three women had fared badly. But she wasn’t prepared to discuss their fates with anyone.

Switching her attention to the present problem, she looked around the house. The living room was empty, and she took in details. He was an orderly man. And he’d made himself comfortable here.

“Hello?”

No answer.

With a growing feeling of disquiet, she hurried through the house. She could see that Sophia and Jason had been in bed together. The bedding was in disarray and the room smelled like sex.

But they were gone.

She ran to the back door, and threw it open, startling Vanessa.

“They’re not inside?”

“No.”

Shading her eyes, she scanned the desert. Far away she thought she saw a dust trail. Too small to be made by a vehicle.

Vanessa came up beside her, following her gaze.

“That must be him. On foot. Did he take Sophia with him?”

“She’d never keep up.”