Warrior of Fate Read online

  She turned off the shower and stepped out, reaching for a towel. The movement of her reflection made her pause. She studied her naked self and was reasonably pleased with what she saw. She tried her best to stay in shape. She had long legs, a decent (though not terribly curvaceous) figure, and a pretty face. The blond hair and unusual violet eyes always drew comments from those who met her. She considered herself kind and intelligent and as independent as someone with two overprotective brothers and a dad with his own security team could be. She had a lot to offer.

  But she was also a little too gullible for a grown woman. What if she trusted Adrian, and he used their bond against her? She didn’t think she’d survive it.

  Shaking her head, she reached for the towel. She was acting as if this mate bond was a one-way street. If she couldn’t read his thoughts, even with her own Seer abilities, then it stood to reason he couldn’t read her either. Was she just making excuses to avoid opening herself up to someone again? There hadn’t been anyone in her life since Luke.

  Until about thirty minutes ago.

  “You’re scared, Tessa Montana,” she told her reflection as she twisted a towel around her long hair. “Get over it.” She reached for her robe on the back of the door and caught sight of the mark he’d left between her shoulder and neck. She shrugged into the robe, then touched the mark. It wasn’t a hickey, more like a bite. She remembered how she’d gotten it, and heat bloomed between her legs.

  She looked inward at the mating bond and followed the raging river to Adrian’s energy. He glowed gold with red undertones, vibrant and sexy. She also picked up a little sadness, but she knew he was still thinking about Ben, blaming himself. Her heart softened.

  He’d asked her to stay with him, and she’d said yes. Did she really need to answer all questions tonight? Maybe she should stop thinking and just take things one at a time.

  Starting tonight.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Adrian heard the quiet rasp of his bedroom door opening as someone entered the darkened room. He tensed, ready to leap off the bed and take out the intruder. But the hiss of satin against flesh stopped him. That, and a familiar, alluring scent. Tessa.

  He leaned up on one elbow and flicked on the lamp. She blinked against the sudden brightness. Hesitating with her hand still on the knob of the closed door, she looked for all the world like a naughty angel in her ivory satin nightie with black lace along the hem. “I thought you weren’t coming back,” he said.

  “I told you I needed to take a shower. I never said I wouldn’t be back.”

  He threw off the covers and stood, his lips curving at the way her approving gaze slid along his naked body, the way she paused at his newest scar, as if caressing it. “I’m glad you’re here.” He came over to her, touched the black lace near her thigh. “And that you’re wearing this.”

  “Well, I can’t roam the halls naked.”

  “I suppose not. But you might have thrown on more clothes. I appreciate your restraint.”

  “You do?”

  “Of course I do.” Clearly he’d bungled their first encounter if she’d come away from it questioning how much he wanted her. He traced his finger along her bare thigh, loving her quiet sigh. “You look like an angel.”

  “Angels are good. I don’t feel very good right now.” She stepped closer so their bodies brushed. “I feel wicked. You do that to me.”

  “Do I, now?” He slid his arm around her waist and swayed, savoring the friction of their bodies separated only by the thin satin.

  “You do.” Her eyes clouded, and her lips parted as they moved together in a dance without music. “You’re sin on two legs, Adrian Gray.”

  “I could say the same about you, Tessa Montana.” He glided his hand up her back, the satin warm from her flesh. His fingers skimmed the bare skin between her shoulders. She shivered. “I was too fast before,” he murmured. “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not.” She slid her hands up his chest to link behind his neck.

  “You deserve more, Tessa. Better.” He brushed his lips against hers. “Let me show you.”

  Her mouth curved. “That’s why I’m here.”

  The mischievous twinkle in her eyes added fuel to an already raging fire, and his hands trembled with the effort to hold back. They had all night, and he wanted to take his time, to immerse himself in the essence of Tessa.

  Starving for her, he kissed her. She responded without hesitation, leaning closer, her tongue tangling with his, her taste bursting like robust wine on his tongue. She rocked her hips against him, brushing his rising erection over and again in a provocative rhythm that made his blood heat. He clenched his hands in the delicate satin at her back.

  She broke their kiss, moving her mouth to his throat. She nibbled and licked, one hand inching down his chest to encircle his erection. He shuddered, desire roaring in his ears, and closed his hand around hers.

  “Lie down on the bed,” he whispered.

  She stayed where she was. “Let me,” she murmured, squeezing her fingers beneath his. Desire roared, and it took every ounce of discipline he had to not let her continue.

  “Soon.” He kissed her again and pulled her fingers away, nearly groaning from the absence of her touch. “Lie down.”

  She pouted, and he resisted the urge to nip that sweet, plump lip. But when he took her hand and led her to the bed, she didn’t protest. She climbed onto the mattress, flashing him a quick glimpse of bare buttock and enticing female parts, before settling on her back. She held out a hand to him.

  He took her hand and kissed it, then snagged a condom from the nightstand and tossed it on the bed.

  “Good idea,” she said, glancing at the condom.

  He paused. “I was careless before. I’m sorry.”

  “It wasn’t planned, and I forgot, too. We should be okay.” She bit her lower lip. “I’ve been screened, just in case, and I haven’t been with anyone in a while. So we don’t have to worry about, you know, that.”

  “The temple makes certain all its Warriors are a hundred percent healthy.”

  “Good. That’s good.”

  “Do you know what else is good? Us, together.” He stretched out on top of her, his weight pressing her into the mattress, her every curve snug against his body.

  She smiled and stroked his hair. “Yes.”

  Cupping her face between his hands, he tortured them both with slow, lingering kisses, delving into her mouth with his tongue, making himself crazy with her taste. He stretched it out as long as he could, while she whimpered and clutched his hair and dug her nails into his shoulders. Against his chest, her nipples hardened, and the musky scent of her hot arousal swamped his senses. She shifted her legs over and over, little keening noises coming from her throat.

  He pulled his mouth from hers and looked at her, relishing her beautiful violet eyes, clouded with desire, and her lips, moist and swollen from his kisses. He moved to her throat, licking and nipping his way down. She gasped, she sighed, she whispered his name in a plea that shook his control. He reached the mark he’d left on her earlier. It was a mild bruise without punctures. Luckily his teeth had only skimmed her skin, not broken it. He licked the wound gently, an apology for losing his control even as part of him reveled in this visual proof of his claiming her.

  He worked his way down her body, tasting everything, driving her higher and higher. When he finally touched his tongue to the spot between her breasts, she was arching her back in unspoken supplication. He edged the lace aside with his nose, not quite uncovering her breast. He lapped at what flesh was revealed. She gasped his name, pushed his head toward the rigid nipple straining beneath the satin. He closed his mouth around it, right through the material. She let out a high-pitched cry, arching into his mouth.

  He clasped her other breast in his hand, teasing that nipple with his thumb through the satin. Her breathing became pants, her fingers pulling his hair. He listened to her heartbeat, paid attention to her unconscious signals in movement, sc
ent, and sound. Finally he slid the tiny straps of her nightdress down her arms and revealed her pretty breasts, all gold-toned skin and pink nipples. One of them fit exactly into his palm, sealing the idea that she had been made for him.

  He teased the newly revealed flesh with tongue and gentle bites, while sliding his hand up her thigh and beneath the satin. She spread her legs in a silent entreaty he could not ignore. He stroked his hand along the drenched female folds, her scent irresistibly alluring. She raised her hips to him, rubbing herself against his hand. His cock throbbed, more than ready.

  “That’s right, princess,” he murmured against her breast, half drunk from the blatant proof of her excitement. “Show me what you want.”

  She reached down, her fingers brushing his abdomen. If she touched his erection again, no amount of discipline would stop him from plunging into her and bringing this seduction to a hasty conclusion. He didn’t want that.

  Shifting down, away from her questing fingers, he hooked his arms under her knees and pressed his mouth to her swollen mound. She moaned, begged, grabbed at his head with both hands, pulling him closer. Her essence exploded on his tongue, her scent flooding his senses. He lapped and licked and sucked until she cried out, her body tensing. He tightened his fingers around her thighs, holding her still as the orgasm took her, rocking them both and driving his unsated hunger to insane levels he’d never before experienced.

  Her fingers in his hair fell slack, and the muscles of her legs loosened. Her rapid pants and thundering heartbeat filled the room. He snagged the condom and got it on. Before she’d finished catching her breath, he surged upward, hooking her legs over his arms again, and plunged into her. Her body accepted him without question, her passage slick with her pleasure. He took her with hard, slow, deep strokes. Her breathing hitched, her fingers clung. He drove himself incrementally mad, moving with the slowest pace he could manage, determined to make this last as long as he could, to outrun the climax racing toward him, even knowing it was impossible.

  She met his rhythm, tightening her inner muscles around him, clouding his mind and chipping at his control. Then she kissed him, deep and long. He shattered, groaning into her mouth as the release shook him down to his very core. He collapsed on top of her, face buried in her neck.

  After a moment, her thigh muscles twitched, and he slid his arms from beneath her knees, letting her legs slide down to rest against the bed. He wrapped his arms around her and rolled to his side, cuddling her against his thundering heart.

  This time he’d done it right.

  * * *

  Tessa hovered in a light doze, her entire body replete. Adrian had made love to her once more after the first two times, this one sleepy and quiet and gentle. He’d screwed her blind against that tree, then seduced her with devastating thoroughness for a good hour, but that third time, where he’d reached for her half-asleep and brought her to sweet, devastating climax with the skill of a familiar lover, had been her favorite. It had seemed, for some reason, to be the most intimate.

  Adrian had spooned against her, dropping a heavy arm around her and falling asleep almost immediately. She stroked his forearm curled around her and wondered what came next. They hadn’t talked about anything: not Ben, not destined mates, nothing. Where did they go from here?

  Eventually her exhausted body won out over her busy mind, and she let sleep claim her.

  The vision hit hard and fast.

  One moment she was sleeping, the next she sat straight up in bed. The vision was clear and specific, not couched in half-blurry pictures and cryptic phrases. She’d never had such a clear vision, nor been completely conscious during it. She shook Adrian. “Adrian! The Mendukati! They’re coming up the driveway!”

  He sat up, instantly alert. “How do you know that?”

  “I had a vision.”

  “But you can’t see Atlanteans.” He touched her cheek. “Are you sure it wasn’t just a dream?”

  “I know a vision when I get one, even if this one was different.” She jerked back the covers, the sting of his disbelief throbbing, and got out of bed.

  “Tessa, wait a minute.” Adrian leaped out of the bed like a lion, landing on his feet in front of her. “Larina is on patrol. If the Mendukati were here, she’d know.”

  “Then ask her. They’re driving up in a green minivan.” She picked up her negligee, looked at it in disgust, and slid it back on. “I’m going to get dressed.”

  “Hang on.” He took a moment to apparently confer with Larina. “She says the only one coming up the drive is your housekeeper. And yes, she’s driving a green minivan.”

  “Lupe drives a silver Corolla.” Tessa ran to the door. “The Mendukati are using her to get on the grounds, just like they used Rigo’s men in September.”

  “Wait, wait!” He grabbed the door as she yanked it open, blocking her way. “You’ve never been able to see Atlanteans, princess. You know that.”

  “But I see Lupe. And she’s driving a car not her own. I’m calling my brothers as soon as I get some clothes on.” She darted beneath his arm and into the hall. By the way, she added telepathically as she disappeared into her room, there are three Warriors in the back of that van.

  * * *

  Adrian closed the door and dressed quickly in black pants and a sweatshirt. If she was calling her brothers, best he have his pants on. He pulled on socks and boots and headed out into the hall.

  Rafe charged out of his room, zipping up a gray hoodie. “Gray, what the hell? Tessa says the Mendukati have done the Whisper thing on Lupe and are using her to sneak on the grounds. Guess she told you, too.” He fell into step beside Adrian.

  “She says she had a vision,” Adrian said.

  “Huh.”

  As they reached the steps, John charged down the other staircase from the third floor, a walkie-talkie in one hand. “We’re being attacked?” he demanded. “Tessa called my cell.”

  “She thinks the Mendukati are using Lupe to get to us,” Rafe said as the three of them charged down to the first floor.

  “Again? Goddammit.” As they hit the ground floor, John used the radio to alert his security team that there might be intruders.

  “If there are Warriors in that van, your men are no match for them,” Adrian said. “Let me and Larina handle it.”

  “And me,” Rafe said.

  “No.”

  “Look, with this new focus stone Faith created for me, I have complete control over my Hunter side,” Rafe said. “Dad’s guys are good, but I’m Atlantean. I should at least be able to keep one busy until you or Larina get to him.”

  “If there are Warriors?” John asked. “Are you doubting Tessa, Adrian?”

  “She’s never been able to see Atlanteans before,” Adrian said.

  “But she didn’t,” Rafe said. “She saw Lupe.”

  “If Lupe was Whispered,” Adrian said, “Tessa wouldn’t be able to see anything but whatever compulsion was put on Lupe. She wouldn’t know anything about the Warriors or their attack plans.”

  John slowed. “Do you think this is a false alarm?”

  “I’m leaning that way,” Adrian replied, “but let’s not take any chances.”

  “Agreed.” John turned away, speaking into the walkie-talkie again.

  “Tessa isn’t the type to hit the alarm without reason,” Rafe said.

  “She says she had a vision, but we all know she can’t see Atlanteans,” Adrian said. “Unless something’s changed.”

  “Gee, I wonder what that could be,” Darius said, coming into the living room from the kitchen. He leveled a narrow stare at Adrian.

  “Now’s not the time, Darius,” Adrian said.

  “You’re right,” Darius agreed. “But there will be a time, Gray. Count on it.”

  Rafe glanced from one to the other. “Something I should know?”

  A, get the hell out here! Larina sent into Adrian’s mind. There’s three of them!

  “Not a false alarm!” Adrian shouted to the other me
n, and shot out the door.

  The green minivan was parked in front of the house, and Larina was holding off three Warriors. Adrian leaped into the fray, grabbing a big guy with a ponytail and yanking him around to land a hard right to his jaw. Ponytail shook it off and came around swinging.

  Rafe joined in, his focus stone glowing yellow in the darkness, and took on a Warrior in a black hoodie. He apparently had his Hunter at full power and was doing a reasonable job of keeping up with Hoodie. But he didn’t have a Warrior’s stamina and would tire way before his opponent did. Hopefully by that time Adrian or Larina would have taken their adversaries out and be able to step in.

  Darius came outside, his cane clacking against the concrete porch. Adrian kept landing punches on Ponytail’s face, but the guy had a jaw of granite. He wasn’t going down anytime soon.

  A howl of pain split the night. Adrian glanced over and saw Hoodie on his knees holding his nose, blood streaming down the front of his sweatshirt. A sock to the nose shouldn’t stop a trained Warrior mid-combat, but this one curled into himself, holding his face and whimpering. Adrian flicked a glance at Darius, who smiled. So, Darius was using his empathy to amplify the emotions of Rafe’s opponent. In this case, pain.

  Which exploded through his own face as Ponytail landed a hard left to his cheekbone. He put his mind back into the fight, satisfied Rafe wouldn’t get himself killed. With renewed focus, he pounded at Ponytail, hammering at his ribs and kidneys and face, dodging the other man’s blows more times than not, protecting his newly healed wound. He a took hard kick to his uninjured side and swung around with his own kick, landing one to Ponytail’s ribs. Ponytail staggered backward, shook his head, and came back in a charge.

  Adrian leaped toward him with a kick to the head that put the other man down hard. He lay there, dazed and groaning. Rolling Ponytail over, Adrian accessed the power of the Leyala. The tattoo on his chest heated and throbbed, swelling as the power grew within him. Tearing open the other man’s shirt, he shoved his hand flat against Ponytail’s chest and whispered the Word of Judgment.

  Ponytail screamed, his eyes widening as Adrian stripped him of his Warrior power. “You have been judged,” Adrian said.