The Order Ch. 10

"Is it possible for you to guard me here until the semester ends?" Nadia remained behind Euan as they walked into her apartment. Their drive from the manor was a short one, especially considering she'd fallen asleep before they left the grounds. She was afraid to ask him if that was magic or her own fatigue; Euan seemed to be a nice person and she had to trust someone. Upsetting him was not a smart idea. Having him stay to guard her for a few weeks seemed like a good plan. By the end of the semester, she would have a new location to hide and restart her life. A life where demons and demigods did not exist.

Euan turned to stare at her curious face ah she turned on the lights. There went the element of surprise if they weren't alone. "Nadia, did I ask you where you lived?"

"No."

"If I didn't need to ask, what makes you think that they need to?"

He had a point. Andrae was able to find her, so it would only be a matter of time before other demons did. "This is all my fault," she said on a sigh, "If I just left well enough alone, none of this would be happening."

"Don't think about that right now. Just go get your things." Euan watched as she nodded before he followed her to her bedroom. "Be quick."

"I will, I just need-" Nadia gasped when there was a loud crash behind her. She couldn't see due to the darkness in the room and desperately tried to think of a way to get to the front door. The thought was stolen from her, however, at the sound of his voice.

"I ask you to watch her and this is what you do?"

Andrae. There was no mistaking the deep even tone of his voice or the harsh breathing associated with his anger. Gingerly, Nadia moved to the bedside lamp and turned it on. Sure enough, Andrae stood with his back to her as he held his brother against the wall. Euan, thank God, looked no worse for wear. "Let him go, Andrae."

"I'll deal with you in a minute," he said as he stared into Euan's blank eyes. "Answer the question." It didn't take him long to check all of the safe houses. It also didn't take him long to realize that her scent was only present at the manor, which meant that his brother had taken her somewhere else. Sheer luck brought him back to her apartment, only to find her leading him into her bedroom, the same bedroom that still had the faintest smell of their lovemaking.

A hundred years ago, Andraemalek wouldn't have hesitated to kill first then ask questions later. It was interesting that he only held him pinned to the wall, Euan thought. Because he knew that his brother would not kill him, he did not get angry. "She wanted to gather some of her things. I couldn't let her go alone."

"You could have told her to wait." Andraemalek turned slowly when he felt the slight pound of a fist on his back. He wasn't surprised to find Nadia standing in front of him, her hand poised to strike again. What he hadn't expected was the soul shattering look of betrayal and hatred in her eyes. The emotions contorted her face, making her look almost as evil as Nyx. "I said I would-" He stopped when she hit him again, this time harder. The blow didn't hurt, but the emotion behind it did. She wanted to fight, to unleash her anger. Because of his lingering distress at trying to find her, he was more than happy to oblige. Andraemalek stepped away from his brother as he said, "This isn't over yet. Get out."

"Don't you dare leave," Nadia said to Euan. She stared at Andraemalek as she spoke, wanting to focus her anger where it belonged. If Euan left, there'd be no one around to ensure his brother didn't complete his mission. If it wasn't for the fact her life hung in the balance, Nadia would have laughed. But her life was at stake and she wanted to see her graduation. "Don't you leave me with him."

"Euan I swear on the old man's head that if you're still here in thirty seconds, feeling guilty about leaving her with me will be the least of your problems."

Euan had to hide his shock at how well his brother still knew him. He took a step to the side, closer to the door. He knew that Andraemalek wouldn't harm Nadia, but her feelings were hurt. There was nothing more unpredictable than a hurt and angry woman. "I can wait in the-"

"Get out, Euan. Back to the manor."

Nadia glanced up in time to watch him nod farewell to her and felt her temper ignite full tilt when he walked out of the room. She stared at the wall for a full minute and it wasn't until she heard Andraemalek take a deep breath that she looked at him.

Andraemalek felt a shiver run down his spine at the look she gave him but refused to back down. "I left you at the manor for a reason."

"And what reason is that? To protect me?" Nadia crossed her arms over her chest as she waited for him to answer. When he remained silent, she said, "If anything, I need protecting from you."

"Don't you dare start, little girl," he warned. He knew what he did and what he had to make up for it. He wasn't in the mood to feel guilty.

Nadia refused to listen. "You started this, Andrae. Or should I call you Andraemalek?" The warning look he gave her fueled her anger. Taking a step forward, Nadia continued, "You were sent to kill me. You were sent here by the very people who killed my parents. The people who killed my uncle. Tell me, where you the one who killed them?"

"No." The potent anger radiating off her was unlike anything he'd ever encountered. It both subdued and fueled his inner rage, creating a jumble of emotions he did not know how to process.

"Did you come back to tie up loose ends?"

"I told you, I wasn't sent here to kill your family."

"No, you were just sent to kill me." Unable to control herself any longer, Nadia took another step forward and used all of the force in her body to slap him. She was glad to see his head turn from the power of the blow, but he looked only mildly surprised. "Bastard! I trusted you. I trusted you!" she shouted as she shoved him. "All this time, I let you into my life. My heart! Why couldn't you just kill me and get it over with?" She stopped and shook her head in disgust. After noticing the hilt of a knife at his waist, she quickly reached for it and held it up. "I have every right to kill you."

The potency of her emotions hit him like a brick wall. The desperation behind her words, the look of betrayal in her eyes... Even the smell of her emotions was nearly to much too take. Andraemalek chose to not reach for the Blade of Abraxis, knowing the situation would get out of control if he did. "Give me back the knife, Nadia."

"Fuck you," she said, "Asshole. Get out."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"I said get out. I want you out of my sight."

"You need protection."

"I can take care of myself."

"Because you've done so well so far." Another fierce slap forced Andraemalek's head to turn. On a harsh growl, he used his speed to knock the knife out of her hand and pushed her against the wall. Her struggles did nothing to dissuade him from wrapping his large hand around her neck. "You'd better fucking listen to me when I tell you that I'm not leaving."

"Go to hell," she muttered through clenched teeth. The experimental pressure on her neck reminded her of her humanity and her vulnerability.

"After I make sure you're safe." He hid his surprise when he realized that the scent of her anger faded to a dull aroma. Through the dim light of the bedroom, he looked at the blank expression on her face. What was she waiting for?

"Safe from what? No matter what happens, I'm going to die. By their hands or yours is the question." The fight hadn't gone out of her, but based on her compromised position, Nadia knew that she wouldn't live much longer.

"I'm not going to kill you, Nadia."

"And why the hell should I believe you?"

"Because you'd be dead now if I wanted you dead."

"Should I drop down on my knees and praise Jesus that the devil sent an incapable bastard after me?" The tight ball in her throat signaling her impending tears had her fighting to keep them inside. He was a murderer, not a human. "Tell me something; did you change your mind before or after I became your whore?"

Andraemalek felt a small part of himself tear inside at her cold and callous reference to their mating. "Don't test my patience."

"Are demons even capable of patience? Or emotion, for that matter?" Nadia used both hands to hold onto the arm that had her pinned to the wall by the neck. She'd long ago stopped struggling and simply decided to endure the inevitable. Unable to look at him, she closed her eyes and asked, "What are you waiting for, Andraemalek?"

The sound of his demonic name on her lips snapped his control. Growling, he pulled back just enough to shove her into the wall once more. "Is this what you want?" Her silence only fueled the fire within him. There was no point in keeping her alive anymore. Nadia wanted nothing to do with him and he had the Brethren to protect. As he added pressure to the hand wrapped around her neck, he said, "You're nothing but a weak human. I should have killed you weeks ago."

"Then why don't you end it now?" This was it, the moment The Order was no doubt waiting for. She was about to die at the hands of the demon she loved. There was no use denying how she felt anymore; she wouldn't live to think of the consequences of them. "Put us both out of our misery." After long moments of waiting for him to choke the life out of her, Nadia slowly opened her eyes. He'd only slightly increased the pressure, making her breathing shallower. He looked nothing like the man she'd thought him to be, but at the same time, he looked nothing like a demon either. She didn't fight the tears that ran down her cheeks as she said, "Come on. Do it." The tears fell harder and she choked on a sob as he stared at the liquid drops of despair that rained down her face. "Complete your mission."

Her tears brought him back to reality. The only other time he'd seen her cry was after the argument they'd had. The impact of them now was unlike anything he could have ever prepared himself for. He looked at her glistening eyes as they closed in defeat and the trails of tears that slowly rained onto the back of his hand and stopped fighting. Andraemalek leaned down and kissed her hard. Her surprised gasp gave him the opportunity to take total possession of her mouth by invading the sweet cavern with his tongue. He ignored her initial struggles and waited for her to give into the needs of her body before he released her neck. Hot desire burned through his body as he pressed himself against her. The scent of her arousal was quick to envelop them, further igniting his passion. He ran his hands over her body, reveling in its softness and sweet warmth.

Nadia tried to fight her way out of the storm that was the passion he ignited within her but it was impossible. She wasn't supposed to want him, shouldn't have craved his touch as much as she did. But she couldn't stop herself from nibbling on his lower lip as he palmed her breasts. His movements were quick and erratic, moving from her hips to her breasts and back. There was a moment when his hands weren't on her at all, but that did not stop Nadia from feeling like they were all over her. There was the sound of a tear in the distance, but she ignored it the second his lips moved to the tender spot on her neck. Electricity shot through her body at the sensation. She moaned his name and gasped when he felt his hands on her bare bottom as he lifted her. How had-

Her thoughts were stolen from her when he roughly invaded her throbbing core. Unable to think, Nadia wrapped her arms and legs around him and held on for dear life as he pounded into her mercilessly.

"You belong with me," Andraemalek growled into her ear. He couldn't control his forceful thrusts as he moved within her. His body shook as he took her; from the intensity of their lovemaking or from the ferocious grip of emotions taking hold of him, he did not know. "Do you understand me, Nadia? You belong to me."

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she rebelled against the thought of belonging to the demon who'd betrayed her, but Nadia couldn't concentrate on anything other than the pleasure washing over her body. What was he doing to her? It felt as if her soul was slowly being ripped from its hiding place deep within her body and was slowly wrapped around her heart. The feeling was both exhilarating and terrifying. "I..."

"Say it."

"I can't," she gasped. She couldn't let him know, had to hide everything inside. He already knew too much. Nadia groaned harshly when he placed a hand between them to strum at the sensitive button built to drive her wild.

"Say it," Andraemalek commanded again as he moved even faster within her. She was close, just as he was. "Tell me."

Nadia was barely able to breathe as her body prepared itself for the inevitable end of their joining. "I can't," she gasped again. He filled her so thoroughly. He touched every part of her, left nothing in her wanting. When he began to lick and nibble on her neck, caution was thrown to the wind. "I love you." She cried out when he drove even deeper within her and let her body take control. She moved with him, against him, desperate for that much sought after release. Nadia's body tightened in preparation and in her need, she burrowed her face in his neck.

Andraemalek murmured sweet words of encouragement in her ear as he moved within her and all too soon, he felt the delicious convulsions associated with her release. He barely heard her scream of fulfillment over his shout. His body trembled as he filled her with his seed. Andraemalek's body pinned Nadia's against the wall as he fought to control his breathing. Sweat covered his body, he noticed, and he smiled when he realized that she was in the same condition. After a few minutes of waiting for his tremors to subside, he allowed Nadia to slide down to stand on her own. He took a step back as he pulled up his pants and watched as she pulled down the hem of her t-shirt. She refused to look at him, he was unhappy to see, and she looked at the tattered remains of the sweatpants in confusion. "Nadia-"

"You need to leave."

There was a moment of tense silence as he stared at her. It was a difficult task indeed, keeping his temper in check. Nadia was still upset, probably moreso after their play and her admission, but that didn't change the fact that she needed protection. His protection. Whether she liked it or not, she was stuck wit him. "I'm right where I need to be."

The flutter in the pit of her stomach was exactly why she needed to get as far away from him as possible. Oxytocin; it was still flowing through her veins, trying to convince her to let go of the anger until the danger had passed. Tricky little hormone. No, it wouldn't be that easy for him. "Look, more assassins will come after me. I'm not going to put your brothers out like that." She had nothing against The Brethren- except maybe Euan for leaving her. This wasn't their fight. "I have to die sometime anyway."

This was not what he wanted to hear after everything they'd been through. Andraemalek took a step forward as he said, "You're not going to die."

"All humans die." Nadia looked up at his tense face and held in a frown. He looked... Almost panicked at the prospect of her death. She shook her head to ward off the thought as she said, "I just happen to be one of those rare instances where it's demon related and not freak accident or something to do with my health. Have to pass on the family tradition somehow."

He took hold of her shoulders to keep her from walking passed him as he asked, "You're so ready to give up after everything?"

"If you don't kill me, some other demon will." Nadia chose to keep from reminding him about the demon that almost killed her. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew that he was also sent by The Order and instead of killing her, he decided to toy with her until Andraemalek came after her. Nyx was his name. He was all the evidence she needed to know that she wouldn't live to see twenty-five.

"I'll kill anyone who tries to hurt you." And that was the truth. Andraemalek had finally found a reason to smile, a reason to tap into everything inside him that was good. He wasn't going to give that up simply because of the reason he was sent to her in the first place. "No one touches what's mine." He held her fast when she tried to pull away from him. Andraemalek didn't care that she thought differently.

"I'm not a watch, Andrae," she said as she tried to pull out of his grasp. "I don't belong to anyone." As long as she lived, she wouldn't become someone's property. Nadia once thought that belonging to him would have been a wonderful thing, but that was before she saw him for who, no, what he really was. "The fact that we just had sex doesn't change anything."

"You told me that you love me." Andraemalek ignored the incredulous look in her eyes. Nadia wanted no reminder of their relationship. That much was obvious. But what she refused to understand was that he refused to give her up. "That changes everything."

"That's what you think."

"That's what I know."

"You son of a-" Nadia stopped when he placed a large hand on her mouth. For a moment, a tremor of fear rolled through her, but the serious look in his eyes told her nothing of imminent death. He simply wanted to quiet her. Bastard.

"You belong to me, Nadia." Andraemalek ignored the murderous look in her eyes as he removed his hand from her soft lips. It took massive amounts of control to keep from kissing her again because he knew that once he started, he would not be able to stop. He'd wasted enough time. "Change your clothes. We need to leave."

"So I'm supposed to accept the fact that you consider me your property and move along like that's normal? That's not normal. That's slavery."

"Not if I belong to you too."

Nadia hadn't expected that response. Breaking free from his hold, she took a step back and looked into his dark, unwavering eyes. "And what happens if I don't want you?"

"Then you're going to have to deal with it because I'm not going anywhere." Andraemalek didn't like hearing that she didn't want him. She had to want him; she loved him.

"I hate you." Pushing passed him, she walked to her dresser but stopped when she noticed the condition of her room. There were clothes strewn about everywhere. There were piles of shirts and sweaters on her bed and her closet looked like it exploded. "What the hell happened here?"

"I came back to pack some things for you."

"So you pretend to be a tornado and destroy my bedroom?" Nadia turned to face Andraemalek and ignored the uneasy look in his eyes. She sighed when he said nothing and quickly picked up a pair of sweatpants from the bed. As she slipped them on, she found another traveling bag and packed a few more clothes. She refused to thank him for what he'd done thus far. "Which safe house are you taking me to?" She didn't want o leave, but it was obvious that she couldn't stay if she expected to make it to next week.

"I'm taking you back to the manor."

Nadia didn't look up from her task as she said, "Yes, to get the rest of my stuff. I already told your brother I refuse to stay there."

Andraemalek didn't care what she told Euan. She wasn't leaving his sight. "Just pack your stuff. We'll figure it out when we get to the manor."

"Damned right we will." Nadia zipped up her bag and took one last look at the disaster area she once called her bedroom. It was funny; she'd only been gone a few days, but it felt as if she'd been gone for years. Everything looked so foreign, so unreal, much like her life currently was. "I don't want to be near you any more than I have to."

"Come on," was all he said. Yes, she hated him and made no bones about it, but that didn't stop him from thinking of the future. A future with her. If she didn't like it, that was too bad.