Warrior from the Shadowland (6 page)

Good.

He
wanted her to know.  Wanted her to surrender and admit that she belonged to
him.

A
Phase-Match was the goal of every Phase.  It was the only way they could
procreate and, in a more existential sense, the only way they could be whole. 
The two sides of the Match came together to form one bigger, symbiotic force. 
Their powers had to recognize and join.  When they did it was a sexual 4
^th
of July celebration called Phazing.  A desperate, urgent, out of control desire
that was pretty much impossible to ignore.  It only happened with one person and,
when it hit, it was like being granted your own, private miracle.

After
knowing nothing but pain and isolation, Cross felt like he’d just won the damn
lottery.  He threw himself headlong in the bliss of belonging to someone. 
“Nia.”  Her name was so thick with Shadows that Cross was surprised that she
could understand him.  “Yes or no?”

She’d
say no.  He knew that, but he still had to ask.  Even the early stages of
Phazing had to be mutual or it was worthless.

Nia’s
eyes went wide as she felt the strength of his power brush against hers.  Cross
was holding back, making sure that the full weight of the Shadows didn’t
overwhelm her or hurt her even as his instincts screamed at him to just let go
and experience the Phazing completely.  Just the small touch of the Shadows he
gave her carried more of a punch that more Phases ever came close to, though. 
Nia’s gaze went blank with stunned pleasure.  “Yes.  Cross, yes.”

She’d
said yes.

That
surprised him enough that he just gaped at her for a moment.  Then, triumph
filled him, even though he knew that she wasn’t sure what she was agreeing to. 
Still, it was close enough.  Cross was suddenly so aroused, all he could do was
step fully into the cradle of her legs and give into at least one Phazing
instinct.  He grabbed Nia’s hip and pulled her forward so she was tight up
against his erection.  She fit against him perfectly as he bent over her.

 Nia’s
licked her lip at the predatory move.  “Wow.”  She breathed in and out rapidly,
as if she felt the energy building between them, too.  Their powers coming
together.  “Cross.”  She pushed closer to him, so he could feel the weight of
her breasts against his chest.  “How are you doing that?  You’re holding so
much energy that… Oh!”

The
second his mouth covered hers, power poured out of him, creating a whirlwind
around the desk.  The bodies of the dead Phases vanished, the blood on the
walls and floor evaporated and Cross didn’t even blink.  The power still wasn’t
touching Nia, so there was no need to let it distract him.  His lips slanted
over hers.  He was so hungry that he felt like he’d die if he couldn’t taste
her.

“Open
your mouth for me.”  He pulled back enough to issue the order, afraid to simply
ask for fear she’d say no.  “Now, Nia.”  His lips covered hers again, not
waiting for a reply.

She
made a whimpering sound and did what he said.

“Good
girl.”  He wasn’t even aware that he was whispering to her, coaxing her as he
took.  “Be a good girl and kiss me back, now.”

Oh
God.  Her tongue slid past his lips and it felt so good.  Better than anything
else he’d ever felt.  Her hands came up to grip his shoulders and Cross gave
her a low sound of approval.  He’d wanted his Phase-Match for so long.  He’d
wanted
Nia
for so long.  The relentless pressure of the Shadows had
receded, but he still couldn’t think.  Couldn’t do anything but want her.

“Cross.” 
Her voice had a little hitch to it and it nearly broke him.

He
could listen to her say his name forever and still not be satisfied.

“Cross.” 
She sounded dazed.  “Please.”  She arched against him, restlessly.

“I
know, baby.”  He, at least, knew that she was his Phase-Match.  Nia had to be confused
as hell by the heat they were generating.  Cross wasn’t taking the time to
explain it, though.  Not now.   “I’ll take care of you.”  The perfect blue
streak at her temple had been driving him crazy since he’d first seen it.  His
fingers found the curl and held it so he could angle her head for another
kiss.  The hair designating the Elemental Houses was always a tiny but more
sensitive to touch.

She
gasped as he tugged it, slightly.  He felt the fine shudder of pleasure pass
through her.  “That’s cheating.”  Her eyes drifted shut as his mouth covered
hers, again.

Cross
felt his lips curve against hers.  Nia was the only creature in the universe
who could make him smile all the way into his soul.

He
rubbed against her body in the same rhythm that he used to kiss her.  He
released Nia’s hair, so his free hand could slide up under her blouse to find
her breast through the lace of her bra.  It overflowed his hand and Cross
almost came just from the feel of her.  From the fact that she was letting him
touch her.  The damn bra was in the way, though.  Her nipple felt hard and
perfect and he needed to see it.  Needed to get rid of the obstructions to his
quest.

Cross
wasn’t sure what happened, next.  He pulled back and suddenly Nia’s clothes
just vanished.  All of them.  His jaw dropped, more from the sight of her naked
than the unexpected surge of his power.  She was so beautiful.  So, so,
beautiful.

And
so, so freaked out.

Nia’s
expression switched from sensual pleasure to panic so fast it would have been
comical under other circumstances.  Cross felt her growing fright at what he’d
done splash like ice water across his head.  Shadow Phases couldn’t make
clothes just disappear.  In fact, no Phase could disappear the clothes right
off someone else.  Only Cross
had
.

Unnatural.

Weird.

Wrong.

“What
did you do?”  She yelped.  “Stop!  I’m not ready for that.”  Her hands came up
to cover her breasts.  Blue eyes flashed with betrayal.

“I
know.  I know. 
Shit!
”  Who the hell could blame her for not wanting to
go any further?  He was a freak.  He’d taken her clothes and left her
vulnerable, without her consent.  Cross forced himself not to stare at her, not
to feel the bare skin under his hands, even as he tightened his hold.  “Give me
a second.”  If he let her go, she’d be totally exposed and that would be even
worse.  He had to figure out how to get her dressed, again.  Where the fuck had
her clothes gone?  He looked around desperately.  Had he somehow destroyed them?

Nia
ignored that and tried to squiggle free of his grasp.

“Oh,
God, baby.  Don’t do that.”  The Shadows were back in his voice as her naked
body slid against him.  “Stop, Nia.  Stop moving.”  His jaw clenched. 
“Please.”

She
stopped, gazing up at him with an expression somewhere between fear and
confusion.  “What did you do?”  She repeated, looking like she was about to
start fighting in earnest.

“I
don’t know.  I’ll fix it, though.”  Cross met her eyes.  “You’re safe.  I
promise.  We’ve stopped. ” He struggled to make his tone soothing, again. 
“We’ve stopped, baby.  You’re safe.”

“I
want to stop.”  Nia nodded.  “We need to stop.”  She regarded his warily, but
with markedly less fear.  “Let me go.”  It was a test.  He could see it in her
face.

Cross
instantly took his hands off her and held out his palms, in classic ‘I Come in
Peace’ fashion.  It would be worse for him to see her fully naked, but it
didn’t matter.  Nia was in control, even if Cross outweighed her by a hundred
pounds.  He eased back, slightly.  “That’s all you ever have to say to me.  Alright? 
You say ‘stop’ and the discussion’s over.”  Everything he felt for her was on
his face.  He could tell and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.

Nia
stared into his eyes.  Stared
past
his eyes and straight into his soul. 
“Okay.”  She whispered, on a relieved sigh.  “Good.”  Her hands stopped pushing
at his chest and slid down to fist against his shirt front, hanging on.  “It’s
alright.”  She relaxed against him again, cuddling closer so he couldn’t see
her body.  “Just fix it.”

Trust.

Cross
had never had anyone trust him before.  Certainly not to this extent, when he
didn’t even trust himself.  If he were Nia, he’d be screaming for help or
blasting him with as much Water energy as he could possibly generate.

He
just watched her silently for a beat.  Then, his hand slid over to touch her
back, hesitantly.  “Forgive me.”  He heard himself say.  “It was an accident. 
I didn’t mean to take… Well, okay, maybe your shirt
I
did
want to
take off, but…”

“Would
you hurry?”  Nia swallowed.  “I
really
don’t want the others to see me
without my clothes.”

“Believe
me, baby, neither do I.” 
Especially, not Uriel.

“So,
put them back on, then, dummy!”  If he didn’t know better he’d swear there was
a teasing element to her voice, now.

Cross
closed his eyes and reached out to the Shadows, searching for whatever he’d
done so he could undo it.  It took him a minute to backtrack and figure it
out.  The Shadows were so enormous, so heavy that Cross couldn’t use them the
way other Phases drew on their powers.  He fought every day for some kind of
control, but it never worked very well.  Generally, all he got were nosebleeds. 
He had no idea why touching Nia had jumpstarted something.

He
found the string he’d accidently pulled and yanked, again.  Nia clothes came
back in exactly the same condition they’d been in before.  She beamed at him. 
“You did it.”

What
he’d done was unforgivable.  Scaring her.  Manhandling her when she was hurt.
Holding her still; she was so much weaker than he was physically.  Touching her
at all; she was so much better than he was in every possible way.  It was bad
enough that Nia was stuck with Cross as a Match, but
this
was how he
treated her?  There was still blood on his hands, for God sake.

 He
was an even bigger bastard than his stepfather had claimed.

Cross
dropped his forehead to hers, breathing hard.  “I’m sorry.  Nia, I’m sorry. 
Are you okay?”  He had to force his hands to let her go and stepped away.  “I
won’t…”  He broke off because he knew that if he promised he’d never touch her again,
it would be a lie.

Fuck.

“I’m
fine.  I think I’m doing much better than you, in fact.”  Turquoise eyes stayed
fixed on him for a long moment.  “You have so much energy in you.  More than
you’re even letting me see.  I can still feel it all over my body.  How do you
control so much energy and stay sane?”

“I
don’t.”  Cross admitted in a dead tone.  “I’m broken.”  The headache was
already coming back now that he wasn’t touching her.

“You
don’t feel broken.”  Nia glanced down at her arm and her mouth curved.  “You
even healed me.  Broken Phases don’t do things like that.”

Cross
frowned.  “I didn’t…”  He stopped in confusion as he saw that the cut on her
shoulder had completely vanished.  Even the bandage was gone.  “That’s not part
of the Shadows’ powers.  It wasn’t me.”

“It
was you, Cross.  Trust me.”  Nia jumped down off the desk so she could cover
the space that separated them, now.  The distance that he’d created when he
backed away from her.

He
retreated, again.  “Nia, stop.  You don’t want to come any nearer to me right
now.”  He was still too close to the edge.  Too close to just ignoring what
little conscience he had left.

She
grinned at that.  “Funny.  It
seems
like I want to.”  She took another
step forward.

“Are
you really this reckless?”  He demanded.  “Shit, has it escaped your notice
that I nearly killed you?”

“Oh,
you did not.”  She waved a dismissive hand.  “It was a blip…”

“Blip?!?” 
He roared, interrupting her.  “Nia, I’m
wrong
.  Can’t you see that?  I
could be taking you on that desk, right now.  How could you have stopped me if
the Shadows took over and…”  Cross trailed off and ran a hand through his
hair.  The silver streak at his temple slid between his thumb and forefinger. 
“I could’ve killed you.”  He finished, harshly.  “And I
did
scare you. 
So just. stay. fucking.
back
.”  It was a harsh command.

Nia
ignored him and edged a bit closer, Cross had the bizarre feeling that she was
moving slowly so she wouldn’t spook him.  “You scared me.”  She agreed.  “Or,
at least, you startled me, anyhow.  So, I stopped you.  And it wasn’t hard to
do.  When I said ‘stop,’ you stopped.  There was no danger, Cross.  Not from
you or the Shadows.  There’s certainly nothing
wrong
with you because of
it.  I’m sorry, I…”

“Don’t
you dare apologize to me.”  He snarled.  “Not for one damn thing.”

Nia
hesitated.  “You asked me to forgive you.”  She told him.  “Remember?”

“I
did?”  Cross recalled saying a lot of panicky things when she looked so small
and afraid, but he wasn’t real clear on the specifics.  “Well, I was wrong. 
You shouldn’t do anything that stupid.  I’m dangerous.  Never forgive or forget
anything
, especially not from dangerous people.”