The Black Rose Chronicles, Deceit and Lies: Book 1 in this suspenseful, action filled, and sizzling paranormal romance.

by A K Michaels

  He lavished her body with caresses, kisses, and gentle strokes, bringing her to the brink then pulling back. Her moans of pleasure pushing his ardor to heights he’d never thought possible. Cassius slid down the bed, moving between her thighs and letting his head fall between them. Her scent intoxicated his senses as he let his tongue dart out to finally taste her, groaning when her delicious arousal slipped over his tongue. Once again he felt her tense for a moment before relaxing her thighs to allow him access to her most private parts.

  Cassius kept a hand on her stomach as his mouth expertly brought her nearer and nearer to the peak. Dipping first one, then two fingers inside her, as his tongue worked magic upon her sensitive nub. He felt it when her orgasm started, deep inside her muscles tensed, convulsed and then clamped tightly as her back arched and she screamed his name. Her fingers now in his hair tugging his head even closer between her spread thighs.

  Smiling as he crawled up her body before kissing her deeply, knowing she would taste herself causing him more pleasure. Her body still quivering from her release as he slowly thrust inside her, his cock so hard it was slightly painful. “That’s a first,” he thought as her legs wrapped around him, pulling him in deeper as he started to move faster, each lunge driving him all the way inside the warmest, hottest and sexiest pussy he’d ever encountered.

  He couldn’t stop now even if he wanted to and damn it all to hell he didn’t. This woman beneath him made him feel things he hadn’t in centuries and when she smiled at him, his heart sped up at an alarming rate. Who she was, still a mystery, but one he’d unravel because he wasn’t letting her go anytime soon. Not when she made him feel this way.

  His urgency rose as she nibbled on his bottom lip, urging him inside her with her thighs clamped tightly around him. He could sense her rising again and he fought off his own release to give her another. Her little exclamations murmured into his mouth almost undoing him until she once again screamed his name, her back arching and her pelvis thrust up into his. As soon as his cock felt the contractions deep inside his own release stampeded forth, his seed emptying deep inside her as he held her tightly against him.

  Neither of them spoke as he held her naked body to his. As he reveled in the feel of her in his arms, he decided he didn’t care about the secrets she so obviously hid. All he wanted was her here, with him, as he showed her how gentle and loving Vampires could be. He needed her beside him and couldn’t even figure out why.

  Her body started to shake as a soft sob escaped her. Cassius quickly pulled her tighter as he looked into her tear stained face. “What’s wrong?” he asked worriedly, hoping he hadn’t hurt her in some way.

  “I’m sorry,” she gasped, wiping at the tears. “You wouldn’t understand. Fuck, I don’t understand.”

  “Talk to me,” he prodded, keeping his voice soft as his hand stroked circles on her lower back.

  “I don’t do that.” She hiccupped, shaking her head quickly when he looked shocked. “No, I don’t mean I’ve not had sex. I mean, I never let a man do that, do those things. Well, only ever one man before but even with him it was different. I’m not explaining this very well. Am I?”

  Cassius shook his head. “No, but go on, we’ll get there if we talk. What was different?”

  “Control,” she gasped. “I don’t give up control. I can’t give up control.”

  He saw the turmoil in her eyes as she tried to sort things through. “You did with me. What does that tell you?”

  “I don’t know.” She hiccupped again before scowling. “I have no fucking idea but it felt good, like a release of something. I just don’t know what.”

  “We’ve got plenty of time to work through it.” He leaned forward, kissing her softly. “I’ve got a confession of my own.”

  “What?” she asked as she rubbed her body against his like a cat and he was sure she almost purred.

  “I’ve not taken a woman to my bed in a very long time.”

  “No?” Her eyes widened before she smirked. “How long?”

  “For so long I can’t remember,” he admitted. “I grew tired of sex just for the sake of it. After hundreds of years, no, thousands, sex loses its appeal. I craved a connection but not once did I feel it.”

  “So what does that mean?”

  “It means I feel something with you. Something I’ve never felt before and with the way you’ve been ogling my ass I thought you were attracted to me too.”

  “What?” She pinched him hard as he laughed. “I have not been ogling your ass.”

  “Yes,” he grinned wickedly. “You have, but I’ve been doing the same so we’re even.”

  “Cassius, I need to talk to you.”

  He held a finger to her lips. “Wait, hold that thought. We’ll get dressed and talk in the living room because I’m not certain I’ll be able to concentrate otherwise.”

  “I’d rather stay here,” she quipped as he released her to get up.

  “A quick shower then we’ll talk.”

  The shower was anything but quick. His need for her growing as they washed each other’s bodies. The time slipping by as they enjoyed discovering every inch of the other. He found she had a very ticklish spot on the inside of her thighs and teased her mercilessly as he pounded into her. Her groans of passion sounding loud in the confines of the stall as steaming hot water fell around them.

  Cassius heard her stomach growling as they dressed. “I’ll get Sue to get some food sent up.”

  “No.” She shook her head, her face white with what he thought was worry.

  “Why not?” he asked, taking her hand and leading her through to the living room.

  “To be honest I’m scared of what you’ll say when I tell you who I am. I think I’ll throw up if she brings me anything and you’ve seen me do that far too many times already.”

  “Why don’t we get it over with then?” Cassius took his seat in the armchair opposite the sofa where she sat down.

  “My name’s . . .” was all she got out as a shimmer in the air around them had him on his feet in a second.

  She jumped up, grabbing her katana and wielding it in front of her as a man appeared. Tall, broad, dressed in black from head to toe with a long leather coat. His eyes were the darkest color he’d ever seen as he smirked at the woman Cassius had taken to his bed.

  “Naughty, naughty,” the man said as he shook a finger at her.

  “Who the fuck are you?” she snarled as Cassius stood at her side.

  “I’d like an answer to that question too,” he growled, trying to decide just what this fucker was.

  “My name’s Razor. I usually get asked to clear up things when others cannot.”

  Cassius roared for his guards as the man, Razor, smirked and flicked a wrist. He could hear the guards on the other side of the thick wooden doors trying to get in.

  “None of that. We don’t want to be interrupted. Not when I’m here to deal with you, Little Rose.” Razor’s eyes glinted as he took her in from her bare feet all the way up to her eyes. “You had an assignment and you’ve not exactly carried it out, so, I’ve been told I can do what I want with you if I do what you obviously cannot.”

  “What?” she gasped as she looked at Cassius, stepping in front of him as she swirled her blade in her hands. “Don’t fucking try it or your big head will be on the floor in no time.”

  Cassius looked from her to Razor trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Razor sneered over at them, his face a mask of pure evil. “Rose, Rose, Rose, I think I’m going to enjoy you for a while before you’ll be too damaged for even me to use.”

  As Cassius was about to push her out of the way to get his hands on this man she did it to him. Her hand reaching back and pushing him with a strength he had no idea she was capable of. Staggering backwards he could only watch as she leapt forward, her blade moving with incredible speed to slash and cut at the trespasser.

  He watched as she moved with lightning speed and precision, causing several injuries within
a few seconds. Razor roaring wildly as he tried to stop her assault. On and on she went, jumping high into the air and only just missing the blow that would have removed Razor’s head from his body. The scent of the black blood that seeped from his injuries causing Cassius to gag on the putrefaction of the scent.

  Razor reached forward, barely missing her throat as she slashed again and again, inflicting minor injuries as the much larger man danced out of the harm’s way. Cassius moved forward, using his Vampire speed, only to have Marie snarl at him and push him back, again. “What the fuck are you doing?” he howled as she attacked Razor once more.

  The doors burst open, shattering at the force of his guards and Valentine who rushed inside. Taking only a moment to assess the situation they dashed forward to enter the fight. At that second Razor screamed loudly, “I’ll be back for you.” Before disappearing as quickly as he’d arrived.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Valentine roared. “Who was that and why the fuck is she doing the fighting?”

  Cassius held up his hand and Valentine shut up. He wasn’t happy going by the snarl on his face though. “Leave us,” Cassius snapped out, his eyes on Marie’s as she caught her breath.

  “Boss.” Valentine stepped forward. “I’m not going anywhere until I know what’s going on. Who or what the fuck was that?”

  “A Demon,” Marie spoke quietly as she stared back at Cassius.

  “Demon? A fucking Demon? What’s going on?” Valentine barked out, his body tense as he looked around expecting it to reappear.

  “We need to talk,” she said, her face flushed from exertion and possibly shame.

  “Yes,” Cassius agreed. “We do. Val, please leave us.”

  Valentine took note of the shortened name and knew Cassius was beyond upset. He rarely called him Val. “Okay, but I’m not going far so if you need me just shout.”

  “Thank you.” Cassius inclined his head and waited until they were alone. “Who are you?”

  Cassius saw her grimace and realized she’d injured her newly healed arm. He fought the urge to rush to her as he closed down his emotions. His eyes cold as she sank down onto the sofa.

  “My name’s Rose,” she said softly then looked up into his eyes. “Better known as The Black Rose.”

  Cassius thought his heart had stopped as she tried to smile. The Black Rose? No, that was impossible. He’d heard of this person. An assassin that dealt out death as easily as a card-shark dealt cards in Vegas, the once renowned gambling capital of the entire world.

  “What did you say?” He breathed deeply, sure he must’ve misheard.

  “Cassius, can you sit down. Please?” Her eyes implored him as things started to fall into place.

  “You’re an assassin? The assassin the Council uses?” He knew he sounded shocked. Hell, he was shocked.

  “Yes.” She nodded. “Please sit down.”

  He didn’t sit next to her, going to his armchair and stiffly lowering himself down. “Talk.” His jaw clenched so tight he had to speak through his clenched teeth.

  “I was told you were plotting to enslave the other species and have Vampires rule. That you had a plan to overthrow the Council and take control of it, humans, Wolves, fuck, everyone. That you were going to have everyone enslaved so that your species could feed off them.”

  Cassius cursed as he glared at her. “You fucking believe that?”

  “No!” Her voice rose as she held her hands up waving them around in front of her. “I took the mission but I always check my targets out myself. I don’t ever do anything unless I’m certain the person is doing wrong. Bad things, very bad things. Only then do I take them out.”

  “Take them out?” Cassius snorted. “You sound as if you’re taking them on a date but what you really mean is kill them. Don’t you?”

  She looked away, down at the floor as she nodded. “Yes.”

  “Going to my bed was part of this plan?” His heart ached in ways he couldn’t describe, pain lancing through it at the thought of her deceit.

  “Absolutely not. I’ve never slept with a target, never, not once.”

  “I’m to believe that?” Cassius asked coldly.

  “Believe it or not, I can’t make you think one thing or the other.” Her eyes lifted to his, tears sparkling as she shook her head. “I’ve seen who you are, Cassius. I’ve seen that what we were told was a lie. You’re not the person we were assigned to take out. You are so far from that person it’s . . .”

  “Stop.” His mind slowly began to work again. “We? You said we? Who the fuck else have you got here?”

  “I don’t take anyone else with me on a mission. I work alone but the man I live with . . .”

  Again he stopped her, his voice even colder. “The man you live with? For fuck sake. You live with someone? Does he know you’ve been in my bed? Does he know what we’ve done?”

  She started to shake as his voice rose, her head shaking back and forth as his words hit their target. “No, no, no, no! He’s not my soul-mate. I’ve lived with him for years when my dad took me to him to protect me when they took my mo—”

  She stopped talking, her hand flying to her mouth as she realized what she’d said. Cassius pounced. “When who took your mother? The hunters? Your mother was a Witch, wasn’t she?”

  Rose didn’t answer, shock, fear and so many other emotions rolling over her face. Cassius roared at her viciously, “Tell me!”

  “Yes,” she gasped as the tears started to fall. “I was a child when we were sent away from the Pack. The Alpha was scared because Mom was a Witch. We only lasted a little while before they came for her. That night she managed to hide me and my dad took me away to his friend’s for safety. I stayed there while Dad looked for Mom.”

  “Go on,” Cassius prodded.

  “His friend looked after me but when it was obvious Dad wasn’t coming back any time soon he started to train me. I’ve been training since I was eight and Dad only visited rarely in case he brought the hunters.” Rose sighed, sitting back and pulling her feet up onto the sofa, her arms wrapping around her knees. “He found out she was dead and who’d done it. He swore he was going to hunt them down and kill them but I begged him not to.”

  She paused, taking a deep breath as Cassius whispered, “Why?”

  Her tortured eyes rose to his. “Because I wanted to be the one to kill them. I hated them and I had to make them suffer for what they’d done.”

  “Your father agreed to this?”

  “Yes, but only after a lot of pleading from me.” Rose shrugged. “I told him I would refuse to see him ever again if he didn’t agree.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “I kept on training, harder and harder, every single day and I didn’t complain. Well, not much, because I knew I’d need to be strong to kill the fuckers who’d taken Mom.”

  “And did you?” Cassius asked even though he was certain of the answer.

  “Yes.” She nodded. “It was my eighteenth birthday present to myself.”

  “My god, you started killing when you were eighteen?” Cassius couldn’t hide the shock from his voice and saw her flinch.

  “Yes, and I’d do it again.” Her eyes fiery as she faced him. “They’d killed many more by then but they suffered and I felt glad. Glad that I’d killed them and glad that I had the power to make them suffer.”

  “That’s not something any girl should have to do.” Cassius couldn’t help the compassion from leaking into his voice. He’d seen death too many times to know that it affects anyone who deals in it.

  “No, I suppose not, but she was a Witch and that’s what happened. I couldn’t change it. All I could do was try to live in a world that was full of death, corruption, and hatred.”

  “What happened to turn you into The Black Rose?”

  “After I’d dealt with everyone involved with my mom, I found I’d already gotten a reputation. I also realized that there were far too many out there doing unspeakable things, so I decided to do something abou
t that.” She sighed, her shoulders drooping down. “At first it was people I’d come across when out on a supply run, but my reputation started to grow and soon the Council was asking me to take on jobs. As I said earlier, nothing was ever done without research and everyone was extremely deserving of my little brand of assassination. It felt good when I knew I’d taken out someone who was carrying out horrendous atrocities on others.”

  Cassius butted in, “Wait a minute. Were you responsible for that fucker who had those young female Vampires in a harem?”

  Rose gave a curt nod. “Yes. He was a horrible human being and I’m glad I took him out.”

  “I got those girls,” Cassius spoke slowly. “They’re safe now and in nests around the country being shown how to be a responsible member of society and not to hurt humans.”

  “They didn’t hurt humans.” Rose frowned. “They were barely living.”

  “I know, however, once they gained their freedom they had a bloodlust because they’d been starved. My men only just got to them in time before they would’ve killed god knows how many.”

  Rose’s eyes widened. “Sorry, I didn’t know that. I thought the Council would go in and deal with them.”

  “The Council contacted me but not until after you’d been there. As I said, my men only just got there in time.”

  “I guess they dropped the ball on that,” she admitted as he stared hard at her.

  “So, Rose, you came here to kill me?” Cassius bit out the words that almost choked him.

  “That was my assignment, yes.” She shivered, moving her arm so that she held it cradled against her.

  “What happened between us, was that your usual modus operandi?”

  “Please, Cassius, you have to believe me I never intended that to happen. I told you already, fuck, I’d seen what kind of man you are and that I’d been lied to.”

  “How can you expect me to believe you?” Cassius spat out coldly.

  “Because she’s telling the truth.”