The Order Ch. 07

Nadia was confused; she still hurt, but the way he touched her made her breathless. Deciding to trust him, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed the side of his neck. She did not fight him when he lifted her legs to wrap around his waist and moaned when a new, foreign type of pleasure took over her. Nadia remained still, unsure of whether or not her mind played tricks on her.

Andraemalek slowly withdrew from her depths and thrust back in experimentally. Her involuntary cry of pleasure was all he needed. He assaulted her senses with long deep stroks that made her shudder and squirm beneath him. He kept his hand between them but did not move it, the way she lifted her hips against him to achieve the friction she needed gave him room to concentrate on his movements. Andraemalek kept up the slow torture, waiting for the moment he would not be able to remain in control any longer.

"Yes, Andrae, yes," she moaned as she felt herself being lifted to that wonderful end. His movements drove her mad, forcing her to take more from him. "Faster."

He was quick to comply. Bracing his weight on his hands, Andraemalek drove into her faster and harder, letting the demon in him take control. "That's what you want, baby?" As she gasped in agreement, he growled low in his throat. He was closer than he'd thought he would be. But she had to get there first. "Come for me, Nadia. Come all over me."

There was something about the guttural way he dominated their play that sent her over the edge. With a sharp cry, Nadia tensed. Every delicious spasm rippled through her body and had she not been gripping his hips tightly, she would have been lost. His deep, harsh cry forced another spasm out of her and paired with the hot bursts of his seed pumping into her, she became delirious. Long minutes passed before she was able to think straight. Panting for breath, she slowly unwrapped her arms and legs from around him. "Wow..."

Wow indeed. Andraemalek knew that if he did not move, he would collapse on top of her. At the same time, the last thing he wanted to do was pull away from her. Sex with a human was unlike anything he'd ever expected. Nadia was soft and pliant beneath him, her hands slowly running over the surface of his skin. The scent of her happiness was thick and pleasant when mixed with the lingering scent of their lovemaking. He'd crossed a line, but lying in her arms made it impossible for him to care. Andraemalek leaned down and kissed her softly, moaning at the slightly salty taste of her lips. "You ok?"

Nadia only moaned quietly in response. She didn't move when he finally rolled off her and because she expected him to not care, she became surprised when he pulled her into his arms. "That was certainly unexpected."

"But you liked it."

His arrogant tone of voice made her laugh. "Yes, I liked it."

"Good. I don't want to hear anything about you regretting it in the morning."

"Or what?"

Andraemalek laughed at her show of defiance. "Then I'll show you why you actually don't."

"Sounds like fun." Nadia smiled at the lighthearted tone of their conversation. She almost felt like a child again. "Oh, my God." She tried to sit up but was stopped by his strength. "Andrae, you didn't use a condom, did you?"

"No."

He sounded so relaxed about that. "Oh, my God."

"Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it?" Again, she tried to sit up but was once again stopped by his hold on her. "We just have unprotected sex and you tell me not to worry? Andrae, I could have gotten-"

"You're not pregnant."

"You sound so sure."

"I am." Andraemalek did not feel the need to tell her that he had to be fully willing to father her children for conception to occur, a wonderful ability inherited from his father. "I can't have children."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

Nadia waited for some form of an explanation and signed when she received none. It was possible that the subject was difficult to discuss, which she could respect. That didn't stop her from wanting to ask dozens of questions. "What about ST-"

"Nadia, you're safe." To emphasize his point, Andraemalek gave her a gentle squeeze. He knew she was a talkative thing when she wanted to be, but this was hardly the time to worry about such things. Mentioning her safety did, however, remind him of a very important subject they needed to discuss. "Do me a favor."

"What?"

He almost forgot his words when she snuggled herself closer to him. By no means did he interpret the move to mean that she wanted to have sex again; the simple move flattered him, made him feel very much the protector. "Don't talk to strangers."

"I learned that very important lesson when I was five," she said on a smile.

"No, I mean that if anyone you don't know tries to invite you anywhere or tries to be alone with you, run. As fast as you can."

"Andrae-"

"I don't want you to get hurt."

She wasn't exactly sure why he mentioned these things to her. It was possible that he felt protective of her because of everything they'd been through. "I won't."

"Good. Don't let that cat in unless I'm here, either."

"What do you have against Ivory?" Though she didn't really care about his answer, she was curious about his reasons. Not that it would have mattered; she hadn't seen the cat in weeks.

Andraemalek thought it best to keep from mentioning the fact that she had a shape-shifting assassin after her. "Nothing. Just do this for me."

"I seem to be doing a lot for you this week."

He laughed at the statement. "And I'm grateful. Now go to sleep. You've got another full day of classes tomorrow."

If she wasn't so tired, she would have protested. "What about the lights?" One of them would have to rise to shut the lights off and she had the distinct feeling she would be the one who had to do it.

"Screw the lights."

Nadia laughed and allowed herself the luxury of falling asleep in his arms. Though amazed that she did not feel ashamed of their lovemaking, she did make a mental note to discuss this new unearthed territory with him. By all rights, she should have hated him for what happened, especially after she pretty much gave Spencer the green light to date her. Spencer. He was such a sweetheart and did not deserve what she did and would do to him. She would talk to him in the morning, Nadia decided, right after their lab. It was only right. As long as she involved herself with Andrae, she had to make herself unavailable to other men.

What the hell was he going to do? Andraemalek desperately tried to think of another plan of action. He'd just slept with his mark; a mark he protected from another assassin. A mark he knew he'd never be able to kill. As long as Nadia lived, she'd never be safe, not with The Order of Zebulon after her. And as long as he remained uninitiated, he'd have to use whatever means he had to protect her. A difficult task considering she didn't know what he really was. Knowing Nadia, she'd try to kill him once she found out. That thought shouldn't have made him smile, but it did.

As he listened to her soft breathing, he decided that the best course of action was to kill Nyx then fake her death. That way, he'd become part of The Order and she'd have his full protection. The only problem with that plan was the fact that he'd have to let her live her own life. Without him. As it was, they had absolutely no future together. Once he became part of The Order... Andraemalek forced himself to stop his line of thought. His main focus was killing Nyx. Once he did that, he would concentrate on the next step, whatever that was.

* * * * *

Nadia stretched lazily and winced at the tenderness between her legs. The price she had to pay for good sex... She reached over but stopped when she found the other side of the bed empty. It was still warm, a clear indication that it hadn't been deserted for too long. As she sat up, Nadia noticed the hastily written note that was perched on the pillow he'd slept on. "Had to run a few errands, be back for dinner. Don't forget what I said, Drae." With a sigh, Nadia stared at her reflection in the mirror and realized that the woman she looked at wasn't the same woman she saw last night. This new woman didn't care about the way she looked; she was appealing and though reserved, she was headstrong. This new woman had what it took to live life on her own terms, not the terms of those who felt the need to coddle her.

They were right when they said that sex changed everything.

Slowly getting out of bed, Nadia moved to prepare herself for the day. She had to run to the library to return the books she had checked out before she went to class and then had to work on a lab report after she'd finished her classes for the day. "Only a few more weeks," she consoled herself. Only a few more weeks and she was officially a college graduate.

It took all of thirty minutes to shower, get dressed, and have a quick breakfast. She didn't bother to make her bed; she wanted a reminder of last night for a while longer. With a smile, she gathered her things for her class and headed out. There was a slight chill to the air, but the bright sunlight that accompanied it balanced the temperature. There weren't many people walking along the streets, but then again, it was very rare that people chose to spend their time outside at that particular time of the morning. No matter; it only made the task of going to the library that much faster.

Nadia smiled she remembered the tender way Andrae held her while she slept. Every time she rolled away or created space between them, he pulled her back to him, almost as if he was afraid that she would disappear. Though his actions made for a semi-difficult night of rest, she couldn't think of another time when she'd slept better. She wasn't sure of where this left her relationship with Andrae, but she hoped it was someplace good.

As she walked into the library, Nadia was pleasantly surprised to see Janine working. "Hey." Today, the tiny clerk's hair was bright orange to reflect the late changing colors of the season.

"Hey. Returning books?"

"Yes," Nadia said as she handed the books over. "Then I have to go run a quick errand before class." Deviating from her original schedule, Nadia decided to stop by her academic advisor's office to discuss her options after graduation. She wanted to work while she waited for the first semester of medical school to start and figured that a job at either a medical school or a hospital was an optimal approach.

"You've been busy these past few weeks."

"You have no idea."

"Wouldn't have anything to do with a really big guy who has a problem with you playing in fountains?"

Nadia smiled at the curious look in her friend's eyes as she said, "Not completely."

"But he's part of it."

Widening her smile, Nadia replied, "I'll catch you tomorrow." She turned on her heel - and walked right into Spencer. "Spence, hey." Why hadn't she noticed that he stood behind her? Because she was too busy thinking about Andrae while she talked to Janine. Realization dawned as she looked back at the clerk; she'd seen Spencer standing there and decided to play detective for his benefit.

"Nadia."

She frowned at the almost cold look in his eyes as he looked at her. He was no doubt upset about what he heard and refused to hide his feelings. "Can we talk?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing."

Yes, he was definitely upset. With a sigh, Nadia placed her hand on his shoulder and led him toward the exit. "I'm on my way to the advisory building, but I think that's enough time to settle everything." She sighed again when he said nothing and waited until they'd turned toward the jogger's trail behind the library before she began. "So about what we talked about yesterday..."

* * * * *

Where the hell was she? Andraemalek paced the length of Nadia's apartment as he waited for her. Her final class of the day ended at six, which would have had her home at six thirty; seven if she stopped by the library. It was now nine-thirty and there was no sign of her. There was an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach, one that told him that she wasn't coming home tonight. The thought terrified him, especially since her scent was the only one in the apartment. Where was she? He wanted to be the first thing she saw when she returned, particularly since he'd left early to track Nyx. The job was harder than he'd anticipated; the demon figured out how to change his scent. How? It was clear that it was the work of magic. But which kind? Without a specific scent to track, finding Nyx was virtually impossible, especially with the dozens of scents already in the air.

On a frustrated Growl, Andraemalek shimmered into the basement of the library. Already, he caught a whiff of her lingering scent. Following the trail, he found himself in front of the check-out counter. Nadia's friend, the petite rocker, stood frozen as she stared up at him. He remembered her being at the fountain and realized that he might have scared her. "Hi," he said casually, "I'm looking for Nadia."

Janine stared up at the large man and forced herself to remain silent. She wasn't afraid of him, but it was obvious that he was a savage when it came to Nadia. "She was here this morning to drop off a couple of books."

"Do you know where she went after that?"

"She mentioned something about the academic building before she left with Spencer." She smiled at a fellow student as she accepted books.

"Spencer?" At the petite's nod, Andraemalek frowned. The peon's scent wasn't detectable and if there was a scent he knew well, it was his. "Are you sure?"

He seemed more confused and concerned than angry or mean, Janine was happy to observe. She shouldn't have said anything, but one look at the big man made her want to hand over her wallet and bank records. "Yes, she dropped off her books then left with him because she wanted to talk to him." Suddenly a thought occurred to her. "That's weird."

"What's weird?"

Janine frowned as she said, "Well, it's just that they left to talk, but when I ran over to the campus coffee shop ten minutes later, he was sitting in the corner doing work." She picked up the hand held scanner to scan the codes in the returned books. "I guess it wasn't that serious of-" She stopped when he abruptly walked away and out of the library. "You're welcome," she muttered.

Potent rage rolled through Andraemalek's veins. He was wrong about the son of a bitch; he'd gone after her during the day. It took every cell of control in his body to keep from changing into his natural form. The animal dared to touch her.

The light remains of Nadia's sweet scent lingered in the air. He followed the smell as it led him behind the library. There was a small path he'd noticed when he'd first began his mission. Her scent led him onto it and soon the telltale scents of her nervousness and anger wafted to him. The fear became stronger the further along he walked on the path. She'd been too late to realize that she wasn't with Spencer. Andraemalek's head pounded with the fierce need to kill. This was his fault; he should have stayed with her, should have thought of her needs before his selfish quest to kill Nyx. He'd failed her.

Nadia's scent abruptly vanished in the middle of the trail. That only meant one thing; she was taken to the underworld. Sweet, innocent Nadia was taken to the one place he wouldn't have wished on any human, no matter how vile. He had to find her. There was no telling what Nyx had done to her; time in the underworld went slow, much slower than the time on the human realm. Five minutes might as well have been five hours... And she'd been there for hours.

She had to be alive. Nyx wouldn't kill her until he had all of the information he needed and if Andraemalek was right, he'd want him to be a witness to her death. The arrogant bastard had a death wish. Andraemalek was more than happy to deliver.

First thing was first; he had to gather intel and weapons to prepare himself for battle. This was Nadia he had to rescue, his beautiful Nadia. She had to be alive.