They all laughed at the simplistic summary of their relationship, but Xander wouldn’t let the subject drop.
“I’m Xander, and I meant that you have his scent all over you. Are you a couple?”
She opened her mouth to deny that they were in a relationship, but Kai cut her off.
“Yeah, she’s mine. Don’t even think about it. That goes for all of you, especially you, Ax.”
She followed his gaze to the gigantic blond man, and he spotted her eyes widen as her gaze wandered over the lion-shifter. He squeezed her, and when she glanced at him, he shook his head.
“I wasn’t. He’s huge, bigger than Reaper, and I didn’t think that was possible,” she mumbled.
“I like her.” Ax chuckled.
“You like all women,” Kai grumbled.
“Yeah, but she’s honest. There aren’t too many women out there who are that blatantly honest.” Ax paused as he eyed her up and down. “Are you sure that you won’t share?”
Reaper clicked his tongue at Ax. “It’s your funeral, man.”
She must’ve sensed his rage as his muscles flexed underneath her, ready to stand and possibly rip the shifter’s head clean off, but she distracted him in the only way possible. She kissed him. His mouth opened and her tongue searched for his, and in a matter of minutes, he plundered her mouth as though he was dying of thirst and she offered him his salvation. It wasn’t until a loud clearing of throats that he pulled away, remembering where they were.
“Holy shit, that was fucking hot,” Ax shot out.
“No kidding,” she mumbled under her breath, and another round of laughter erupted.
Hunter walked up toward the stack of paperwork that she’d already compiled, and looked over at Liv. “Do you mind if I look at this?”
She moved her gaze to Hunter, and perused his black hair and his dark olive skin. She shook her head before she spoke. “No, go ahead. The original formula is on the laptop in front of you. I’m working on a way to combat the bio-weapon, including any possible tweaks they might come up with.”
The other shifters finished their meals and gathered by the pile of paperwork, and tried to read her scribbled work. Before long, all of them had given up, except Hunter. Whenever he asked her a question on how she’d come up with her calculations, she answered him, but even this was over his head. When he’d finished looking them over, Liv scrambled over to the stack of papers and grabbed an armful. She chucked them into the fire, and while the other shifters gasped in surprise, Kai chuckled as he rose and helped her with the rest of the papers. When they were finished, he wrapped his arm around her waist, and turned back to the stunned group.
“I remember everything I’ve written down. I haven’t gotten closer to solving it yet, but burning the work keeps it safe until I find the correct solution. When I do, I will give it to you, and create the antidote so even if you are exposed, it won’t have any effect,” she explained.
She squirmed in his arms, as they continued to stare at her as if she were an anomaly. Five large shifters were enough for anyone to bear, much less a woman not used to being around people. But again, she’d shown him how brave she was, facing their questions head on.
“Why are you working so hard on this?” Ax asked.
He could feel her body shiver with emotion, and he froze, shocked the moment he spotted tears in her eyes. He moved to comfort her, but she shook her head once, and cleared her throat. Her gaze met each one of the shifters in the room, before she settled on him.
“It’s because of me, because of my work, that all of you are in danger. This drug is so dangerous that a man ripped out his own throat because the rage that they’d injected him with couldn’t be contained, even after killing five people. I will find a way to prevent it. I just need a little more time.” She choked on the last word.
Mumbling an excuse as she wiped the tears from her eyes, she darted upstairs to their room, and shut the door with a soft click.
He traced her movements until she was out of sight. He turned back to the group in front of him. They all looked as determined as he felt, and although she’d left the room, the weight of her words still hung in the air.
“She has no clue how much trouble she’s in. They won’t stop until they have her, Kai. You know they won’t,” Gunnar said.
He met each of their eyes—Reaper, Gunnar, Hunter, Axel, and Xander—before he spoke.
“I can’t lose her. I don’t know if the legends are true, but I feel that she’s my mate, and I will do everything I can to protect her. She didn’t even flinch when I told her about the contract on her life; she just asked that we continue the research to protect ourselves. If they come, we have to stop them.”
His words had barely settled before Gunnar spoke. “We’ve got your back, and we’ll protect her with our lives.”
The four other shifters nodded their agreement without hesitation, and just like that, they had a pact. He felt something shift deep inside him, and something close to gratitude filled his chest. But he knew it was much more than that. They were his family, his brothers, and they were willing to protect a woman they’d just met. His emotions were jumbled as he nodded his thanks, unable to find his voice to say the word of appreciation to each of them.
He knew he was a selfish bastard for putting their lives on the line, but he knew he would do the same for each of them. He glanced to where she’d retreated and heaved out a heavy sigh, relieved that he and his family had come to an understanding. Protect her at all costs. But she had been unpredictable, and when the time came, he hoped that she wouldn’t go looking for danger.
Chapter Twelve
Olivia
Warmth seeped into her cold body, and she turned toward the source and blinked her eyes open. The moment her eyes landed on his face, the night before rushed back. Kai’s arms tightened around her, and for a reason she couldn’t fathom, guilt swamped her.
The image of the shifter on the video replayed in her mind, and she couldn’t stop them. Just as vampires had been an abstract thought until she’d met Kai, meeting shifters and seeing how close they were to each other and Kai had driven home the need to figure out the antidote quickly.
Not wanting to disturb Kai, she slid off the bed and walked into the adjoining bathroom, glancing at her face in the mirror. Tears stained her cheeks and her hair tangled in a curled mess, but yesterday, after working sixteen hours and with the emotions finally catching up with her, she’d crashed as soon as her head hit the pillow. As much as she wanted to blame the tears on her weariness, she knew they sprung up because of the danger that surrounded them. She cried because as much as she had experienced death, she couldn’t stand to have even one more on her hands.
She couldn’t remember when Kai had joined her in bed, but she enjoyed waking up to his warmth and the comfort of his arms around her. She shed her clothing and stepped into the powerful spray, closing her eyes and savoring the warm water that washed away evidence of her emotions from the night before. Using the shampoo and conditioner he snatched from Jade’s room, she rinsed her hair, before she picked up a dark amber bottle and sniffed. Her body heated as his non-diluted scent struck her nose, and her eyes closed at the intense scent. She dabbed some on her palm, and quickly washed and rinsed herself, loving how his scent remained.
Reluctantly, she shut off the shower and toweled off, wrapping it around her before she went in search of the clothes he’d found for her. The white blouse that happened to be on the top of the pile fit her snugly around her chest, but the yoga pants were comfortable and warm. As she left the closet, her eyes raked over his sleeping form, and she remembered that he hadn’t fed the day before, despite making love in the morning.
Walking toward the bed, she knelt and took a few seconds to examine his face, relaxed in sleep, before she leaned forward and gently kissed him on the lips.
His eyes snapped open, and the next second she found herself on her back, cocooned in his arms, as his body pressed hers down on the ma
ttress.
“Why are you dressed?” he growled.
“I needed to get started, but I realized that you haven’t fed in a day.”
His answering kiss left her breathless, and her body taut with need. She knew that he could smell her arousal. But he needed to feed, so she pressed her hands against his chest, trying to lever him off her; he refused to budge. His mouth sought hers, and this time, she gave in and kissed him back. Her arms wound around his shoulders and held on to him.
“I love your mouth,” he said.
“Kai, please, you need to eat,” she begged.
Buttons flew as he ripped open her shirt, and he groaned aloud when he spotted her stiff nipples pressed against her bra. His tongue traced the lace around the cups, teasing her with each lick, and she arched her back, trying to get closer.
The moment his tongue swiped against her skin, her breaths became choppy and she moaned. With deft hands, he removed the remainder of her clothing, followed by his, and as they came together, skin to skin. She found that she could finally breathe again.
“Forgive me,” he moaned.
Opening her mouth to ask why, he drove deep inside her, stealing her words and her breath. At the same time, he bit down on her breast, sending erotic pulses throughout her body, and soon, she felt her body clench with its first release.
With desire swirling throughout her sensitized body, she clung to him as he sought his own release, but instead of the quick movements she expected, his movements slowed.
Her eyes widened as she watched his teeth retract from her breast, and moaned again as his tongue swiped the punctures closed. His hands and lips savored her body, kissing every inch, until it brought tears to her eyes. She understood the frank need that they shared, but with his slow, methodical motions, her heart beat painfully in her chest as she fell deeper for him.
Closing her eyes tight to hold back the emotions that threatened to spill over, she breathed deeply as he continued with his relaxed, yet passionate thrusts. Soon, she was swept away in another release, and she heard him roar. A moment later, she felt his warmth flood inside her. Breathless and sated, she clung to him as he pulled her into his side, and wrapped her in his arms. After a few minutes of silence, he leaned back and glanced down at her.
“Look at me, love.”
Her eyes blinked open, and when she spotted the seriousness on his face, she tumbled out of bed before he spoke a word and scanned the floor for her clothes.
There were more shifters in the house, so she knew what he was about to say had everything to do with keeping her distance from them. The night before, she had watched as Kai and the others tease one another mercilessly; yet she sensed the closeness among the group. They acted more like family than friends. In stark contrast, she understood her place in the group, but she still didn’t want to hear that she didn’t belong. She didn’t want to promise him that she wouldn’t get to know the others, so when she spotted her torn shirt and held it up for inspection, she shook her head and wandered over to the closet to get dressed again.
When she emerged, Kai’s brows were furrowed. “Is the mark still here?”
She moved closer and noticed that the bruise from her mouth had darkened instead of yellowing or even disappearing. Her fingers smoothed over the spot, and she glanced up to see his reaction to her touch. His teeth were gritted, and his fists clenched at his sides.
“It’s darkened, almost black. Does it hurt? What does it mean?” she asked.
She ran her fingers over the spot one more time, but instead of a groan of pain, he moaned. His hand slid around her neck and he pulled her close, their lips melding together. This kiss felt almost desperate, and he plundered her mouth until they were both breathless and shaking with need.
“It looks like a bruise. Are you sure I didn’t hurt you?”
With a shake of his head, he dropped back down on the pillow and sighed. “I don’t know what it means but it doesn’t hurt. Come back to bed.” With blood in his system and sleep pulling him under, he closed his eyes and settled into bed.
“I’m going to go down and cook breakfast for everyone.”
“Liv?”
“Yeah?” She tucked him in.
“You can trust them,” he mumbled.
“I know.” She kissed him once more before she turned and closed the door with a gentle click.
Jogging down to the stairs and into the kitchen, a sudden thought had struck her as she mentally reviewed the formulas in her head. The night before, she’d been too tired to connect the dots, but with a good night’s sleep, she had put the pieces together in a way that led her in a new, but promising direction.
Mechanically, she brewed coffee and drank half the cup before she turned to the fridge, hoping that she had enough food to feed everyone. When she opened the door, she blinked at the restocked shelves. Shrugging, she pulled out everything she needed, and started.
As she finished setting everything to cook, she grabbed another cup of coffee and leaned against the counter, going through the calculations in her head that might prove her epiphany could be demonstrated.
But her mind wandered to the the vampire upstairs. Being next to him every night, sharing the most intimate moments she’d ever had with him, had given her a sense of belonging that she’d never experienced before. She smiled into her coffee cup, and with her mind occupied, she didn’t hear the stranger approach.
A growl, different than those of the shifters she’d met, had her freezing with her coffee cup halfway to her mouth.
“Who are you?” a feminine growl erupted.
“I’m—”
She heard the female sniff the air, and cursed under her breath. “You’re Liv.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Yes,” she squeaked, flinching at the sound.
A small hand grasped her upper arm and whipped her around. Her eyes widened as she peered at the exquisitely beautiful redhead with stunning green eyes and a toned, athletic body. She moved with a graceful ease of a dancer, and her eyes traced the woman’s light, lithe movements as if she were in a trance. It wasn’t until the redhead hopped up on the counter and reached for her that she snapped out of it. The woman’s grip was strong, and she yanked her forward, despite her digging her heels in. She was no match for the shifter. She stiffened as the woman buried her face in her neck and sniffed. A bark of laughter made her jump, and when she jerked back to look at the woman’s face, pure happiness shone from the stunning face.
“You smell delicious. Well, your scent combined with Kai’s.”
“Thank…you,” Liv squeaked.
“I’m Jade.”
“It’s nice to meet you. Oh, oh, I’m sorry, Kai borrowed some of your clothes and toiletries, but I’ll pay you back for whatever I use.”
“Don’t worry about it. You can use anything I have.”
“Thank you,” Liv said.
“Hey, little one,” called someone behind her.
She watched as Jade rolled her eyes, and stiffened when the woman wrapped her arms around her waist, and settled her cheek against her back. She must’ve had a humorous look on her face, because Gunnar chuckled.
“Jade is a red fox shifter,” Gunnar said, as if that explained everything.
The confusion must have been written on her face, because he continued with his explanation. “They need a lot of contact, love touching, and are very sexual.”
A blush heated her face, and she tried to step out of Jade’s arms, but the woman held tight.
“Have you smelled her scent? I’ve never…” Jade mumbled.
Axel smiled at her and sauntered her way. “I have, but I think Kai would rip my arms off if I touched her. He’s very protective.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but the serious look on all their faces had her words die in her throat. There had never been any clue how Kai had truly felt about her directly from the man, so she refused to get her hopes up. She knew that he loved touching her, making love to her, but that wa
sn’t a basis for a relationship. He worried about her well-being, enough to safeguard her in his house, but the look on the men’s faces told her that she might be off on her assessment.
“Jade,” Kai said from the doorway.
Jealousy spiked somewhere deep in her chest, and she pulled herself out of the woman’s grip and turned back toward the food. She didn’t want to delve into why she might be jealous, but she couldn’t help but think about their possible relationship. Obviously, Jade had her own room and left her things behind, but she had no idea whether the woman shared Kai’s bed when she stayed, and didn’t really want to find out.
Turning her mind back to the problem at hand, she plated everything. She settled down at the table and ate quickly, ready to rush back to work and ignore the pain that threatened to overwhelm her. Aware of the boisterous talking around the table, she kept her eyes on her plate, and breathed a sigh of relief when she finished. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she slipped behind the group. She cleaned up after breakfast, and grabbed another cup of coffee, ready to head back to work.
“Hey, what’s your hurry?” Xander asked.
“I have to get to work. I missed something last night, and I think it’ll get me closer to solving this.” She started toward the door.
“I thought as a scientist, you would be curious about us. For instance, shifters can’t mate or even have sex with vampires.” Xander winked at her.
Relief and embarrassment warred inside her. She remembered that they could sense her heartbeat and pulse speed up, and he must’ve watched her when Kai had spoken to Jade. She caught his eyes, and Xander gave her a gentle smile, letting her know that only he had noticed her reaction. She sat down across from him as her curiosity grew.
“I am curious. You don’t mind if I ask?”
Xander smiled at her as he finished his breakfast. He rinsed the plate and slid it in the dishwasher before he turned back to her, shaking his head “Ask away.”
Kai (A Dark Assassins Novel Book One) Page 10