Free Darkness Seduced (Primal Heat Trilogy #2) (Order of the Blade) by Stephanie Rowe Page B

hate me later.”
    Lily’s breath was racing and her chest was starting to close up. How had she not figured it out? Ian Fitzgerald. Gideon Roarke. Order members for the last five centuries. She knew everything about them. About Gideon. About the man who’d murdered her family.
    This man she was entrusting her life to was Gideon. She batted at his hands as he reached for the harness again, and she tried to pull the harness off. She had to get out. Not Gideon. She couldn’t put her life in his hands. “No, you don’t understand. I can’t—”
    He grabbed her shoulders and forced her still, his blue eyes penetrating. “For hell’s sake, Lily, cut it out . I’m on your fucking side! I’m trying to keep you alive , so stop fighting me.” He growled. “I swear I’ll knock you out if that’s what it takes to keep you safe.”
    She stared at him, into his intense eyes, and saw the truth of his words. He wasn’t going to hurt her. Not right now. He was her only chance. Oh, God. She had to trust him. But how could she? “I don’t know if I can trust you—”
    “What do you know about the Order of the Blade?” Ian asked.
    She shot a wild glance at him, grateful for the interruption as Gideon grunted and went back to adjusting her harness, muttering about how it was too loose. “Order of the Blade,” she recited, using the opportunity to try to calm down, to shut out all she knew about Gideon. To stop thinking about what he’d done to her family— No. Don’t think about that. Not right now. “The Order is an elite group of Calydon warriors who’ve taken an oath to protect innocents from rogue Calydons. The Order members are ruthless killers who are willing to trade the life of one innocent to save many.” Her mouth became dry as her gaze slid involuntarily toward Gideon.
    He scowled as he yanked on the buckle. “I’m not about to trade your life for anything right now, so stop worrying about it.”
    “It’s so much more than that,” she said, her voice raspy in her throat. “You killed—” She couldn’t even say it. Not with her life in his care right now. She couldn’t afford to think about it. “Rogue Calydons are at least insane when they kill innocents, but you guys do it on purpose.”
    “You’re too damn skinny.” Gideon ignored her comment as he unbuckled the harness, tied a couple knots in it, then buckled her back up. “Next time you get kidnapped, find someone who will feed you better.” The nylon cut into the glass still wedged in her back, but she was too freaked to protest.
    Lily swallowed. “Yeah, sure, I’ll try to keep that in mind.” She focused on his eyes, on how intensely he was concentrating on securing her into the harness. He’d come to her rescue tonight, more than once. She reminded herself that Ana had trusted Gideon enough to send him after her. He was Gideon , but he was also more than that. And it was this extra bit, this protector side, that she needed to focus on right now. Let him help you, Lily. You need him.
    Ian had turned his attention back to the road, trying to work his way around the stopped cars. Behind them, the headlights of their pursuers encroached ruthlessly, getting closer and closer. She was trapped, sandwiched between two demons closing in on her.
    Gideon tugged at the front of the harness, the back of his hand brushing against her breasts. “Shit. Still loose. It’ll have to do. Try not to fall out of it.”
    “Try not to fall out of it?” Oh, that just didn’t sound promising. Her gaze snapped to his grim face. “I really don’t think I liked that order.”
    Gideon flashed her a grin as he fastened the other end of the harness around his wrist, giving it a hard yank to test the buckle. “I doubt you like any orders.”
    “One minute.” Ian’s voice rang out.
    Lily’s heart started hammering out of control, thundering in her ears. “One minute until what?”
    “All you need to do is trust me. I’ll take care of the