Angel's Assassin

by Laurel O'Donnell

A cave. It was a cave.

  And then, the sun vanished.

  Chapter Thirty

  The rain echoed through the cave as Damien stepped into the darkness, his sword clutched tightly in his hand. A steady patter of drips resonated throughout the dampness. Damien was soundless, a moving shadow. His eyes darted every way, expecting anything.

  Damien turned a corner and stopped dead in his tracks. A shaft of light shone down into the cave through a collapsed hole in the top. It was enough light for him to see what was illuminated within its ray.

  Aurora! Rain poured in through the hole, drenching what little clothing she had on. Someone had stripped away her beautiful blue velvet dress and left her in her white thin chemise. Her head was bowed to her chest, hanging limply. Her long hair was undone, hanging about her like wet vines of dull gold.

  Damien’s breath caught in his throat and his heart constricted in his chest. He marched toward her, even though every instinct told him it was a trap. He didn’t give a damn.

  He looked up to see a thick root extended across the opening of the hole. A rope was attached to the root, the ends wrapped around her delicate wrists, binding them tightly together. His blade flashed and she was free, falling against him. She moaned in his arms in cadence to his heart.

  She was alive! Every fiber of his being screamed out for joy. Damien held her close with his sword hand. He tilted her head up to see she had been gagged with a piece of cloth. He reached around behind her head, fumbling with the knot. The gag fell from her lips. “Aurora,” he called quietly. His eyes desperately searched her face, soaking her in, taking in every curve, every line. There was a scratch on her cheek and when he touched it, she moved her head away from him. Her lips were parched and rough and the corners were dry and raw from the gag.

  Damien brushed strands of hair from her cheeks, back from her forehead, wishing she would open her eyes and look at him. He had found her! She was in his arms. Safe. He couldn’t resist the urge to kiss her lips, her forehead, her cheeks. Again and again. He held her tight against him, promising himself no one would ever harm her again.

  And with that promise, came a primal urge for vengeance. He would find who did this to her and…

  She moaned and her eyes fluttered, her head lulled forward and then back.

  Damien caught her chin, calling softly, “Aurora.”

  Wearily, her eyes opened, drooped and then reopened to focus on him. “Damien,” she whispered in a hoarse, unsure voice.

  He could not stop touching her, running his knuckles over her cheeks, down her nape. Her skin was icy. Fear touched him as he realized just how cold she was. She was limp in his hold, trembling from cold. He had to get her warm. Damien’s eyes searched the darkness.

  She began to shake fiercely as he held her.

  Against one wall lay a mattress of hay with a blanket over it and another blanket folded neatly on the bottom. Bastard. Whoever did this to her will pay. Damien moved over to the mattress and sat her down. He grabbed the blanket at the bottom of the bed and draped it over her shoulders. She looked like a drowned rat, barely able to hold her head up. The shivering seemed to worsen. Her eyes rolled.

  “Aurora,” Damien called in a stern voice.

  She opened her drained eyes to look at him. They were a pale reflection of the bright ones he remembered. He took her bound hands and cut them free with his sword. He was shocked to see the raw skin beneath the ropes. He angrily tossed the rope aside and began to rub his hands over her arms, moving them up and down her skin. The chemise was soaking wet and scraped against his skin. The flimsy cloth would do little to warm her. He knew her arms would be sore and stiff from supporting her weight for so long, from being in the same position for neigh on three days. But he was more concerned with getting her warm.

  Aurora shook so badly, looking to him for relief, that Damien was desperate to heat her. He pulled her onto his lap, holding her tight against him, using his own warmth to heat her. “You’ll be fine now, Aurora,” he reassured her in a soothing voice. “The worst is over.”

  Against his heart, he felt her trembling lessen. He ran his hand over her wet hair, comforting her, needing to touch her, to confirm she was in his arms, alive.

  Aurora lifted her face to him. Her gaze swept his with relief. “I knew you’d find me,” she whispered, teeth chattering. She lifted trembling fingers to touch his cheek as if she still could not believe he was real. “I knew you’d come.”

  Damien took her shaking hand and tucked it beneath the blanket. Her lips were battered, parched, and raw from the gag. He tugged at one of the flasks he had brought, bringing it from around his back where it hung over his shoulder. He quickly uncorked it and dribbled a bit of ale on her lips, into her mouth. She coughed as the liquid hit her parched throat, but she quickly swallowed it and opened her mouth for more. Damien poured another small amount of the amber liquid over her lips. She drank and he gave her a little more. The dried, ragged look to her lips started to fade as the moisture seeped into them. Damien could not resist them any longer. He bent his head and pressed his lips to hers. His arms tightened about her tiny body. Another day and she would have been dead.

  Aurora pulled back slightly to look into his eyes.

  Her eyes were an endless blue. Damien had missed them terribly. He had missed her hope and her goodness. He had missed the beauty and kindness she brought into his life. The happiness. He offered her another small sip of ale and she drank it, licking her lips as she finished swallowing.

  He cupped her face with both of his hands. He could look at her forever. He could drink in her beauty, her innocence.

  He had almost lost her.

  She moved her head and her lips rubbed against his in a slow, anguished thankful caress.

  Damien let her explore his mouth for a moment, relishing the feel of her. His lips tingled where she touched them. He moved his face closer to hers, fully meeting her mouth with his. He kissed her mouth open, easing his tongue into her, finding hers waiting for his. It was such a sweet, innocent, thankful kiss. A kiss of reassurance that was quickly heating him to hardness. The intense relief he felt, the tortured longing for her, mixed in a torrential tide of desire.

  Again, Aurora brushed his face with slow seeking fingertips as he kissed her, touching, exploring. He needed to know she was all right, that she was not harmed. His hands skimmed the sides of her body, beneath the blanket. She was soft, supple, and wet. Damien could feel her breasts press against him. Her glorious, marvelous breasts. Unable to resist her, he lifted a hand and ran it over the outside swell.

  He knew they should leave, but he could not resist her. At her soft intake of breath, he became braver, running fingers beneath her breast. Kneading, caressing the soft globe. He had to move slowly, lest he frighten her. And frighten her was the very last thing he wanted to do. He never wanted to frighten her. He wanted to reassure her. He wanted to love her.

  He pulled away from her kiss, startled by his own thoughts. Love? But as he gazed down into her half opened eyes, her trusting gaze, he saw himself reflected in her eyes. A good man. A man of honor and conviction. A man worthy of her love. He wanted desperately to be this man. To be good. He ducked his head, taking her lips in desperation. He knew of all people, she was the only one who could help him become this man.

  He slid his hand to the nape of her neck and pulled her closer into his kiss. His other hand reached beneath the blanket to her perfectly rounded bottom to draw her tight against him. Her hands moved up around his shoulders, through his hair.

  Damien caressed her bottom. Her chemise was so wet it felt as if this shred of clothing was not even there at all. Her skin was no longer icy. Somewhere deep inside him, Damien acknowledged her shaking had stopped.

  He wanted to touch her all over. He wanted to touch every spot of her being, including her soul. He ran his hand over the front of her legs to just below the hem of her chemise at her knees. He eased the garment up, his hand wide and possessive over her smooth
legs. Up over her skin, he moved his hand. Her thigh was hot, and wet from the rain.

  She sighed against him as his hand came to the apex of her thighs. She relaxed in his hold, giving him free reign over her body and mind. She wanted him to touch her. He sensed that. But he knew if he did, he would not be able to stop. It was what he wanted. He wanted to heat her body, to make her groan for him. And make her understand what she wanted.

  He hesitated, his hand halting its upward progression. He knew, without a doubt, that he could do all he desired with Aurora. She was his now. And yet, he paused.

  He broke the kiss and pulled back, looking down into her eyes. They were lidded with expectancy. She moved her hips on his lap, causing his desire to flare again. But as he gazed at her, her beautiful, innocent face, he knew he could never hurt her. He realized he didn’t want to extinguish her goodness. He wanted to be part of it. But his evil would contaminate her. He removed his hand from her legs, easing her from his lap. He looked away from her.

  “Damien?” she called, confused, hurt.

  Damien could not look at her. She was as lovely as the sun on a warm day. And as painful to look at. “I can’t do this, Aurora,” he admitted.

  A heavy silence filled the cave, shattered only by the dripping of the constant rain.

  Damien chanced a glance at Aurora. The confusion and hurt he saw glittering in her large eyes tore at his heart, forcing him to continue. He lifted a hand to lightly stroke her cheek. “I want you so badly.” He clenched his teeth and looked away from her, dropping his hand to his side. He didn’t deserve her. He didn’t deserve to even look upon her. But he could not resist. He turned to gaze into her eyes. He wanted her to understand. He wanted her to realize just what evil lay within him.

  His gaze swept her face, and even with that small bit of invisible contact a deep longing filled him. “But you are good. And pure. And absolutely beautiful.” His heart ached as he took her face into his hands and said desperately, “I don’t want you to change. I want you to always be innocent and lovely and…” He felt an endless sadness inside of him.

  She began to shake her head, but Damien stilled her movement with a stern grip. “You don’t even know how powerful your kindness is. I’ve been in darkness so long that I thought you were a threat to me. To who I am. And you were. You changed me without my even knowing it. God, Aurora, I want to be good. I want to be… the person I see when you look at me.” He released her and a savage growl tore through his body from his very soul. “God help me, but I would do anything, anything to have just an ounce of your integrity in my soul.”

  “You already do,” Aurora whispered huskily. She reached for him, taking his hand into hers.

  He watched her tiny, white hand engulf his large, callused dark one. She lifted it to her lips, pressing kisses onto his fingertips. “You are everything to me, Damien,” she whispered. “I would have you no other way.” She pressed his palm against her breast. “Make me yours.”

  Damien stared hard at her. “Do you understand what you ask of me?”

  “You once asked me to give you my soul. I have only my body to give.” She leaned forward, pressing her lips hard against his, easily parting his for her exploration.

  Damien growled low in his throat and knew that he was lost.

  Chapter Thirty One

  Damien gripped her tightly, in disbelief, holding her small body to his, kissing her. His body ached for her, swelling to his full size instantly.

  His lips caressed hers, drinking her in, tasting every inch of her mouth. He could not stop there. He kissed her cheeks, her chin, peppering her neck with long, languishing brushes of his lips. His hands slid over her waist, up to her breasts. They fit perfectly in his hands. Her chemise was the only barrier between them. Damien needed to feel her skin. He peeled away the garment, moving it over her shoulders and down her arms, easing it away from her flesh. He exhaled slowly as her breasts were revealed to his ravenous gaze.

  Desire fueled his already starving appetite. He could not get enough of her. He dipped his head to taste of her pointed nipples. She inhaled sharply. His tongue flicked around the hardened tips, swirling her into oblivion. He wanted to give her what she gave him, the abandon and the trust. The absolute joy. Her skin was cool against his hands as he eased the chemise from her body, pushing the fabric aside so he could gaze upon her splendor.

  He pulled back to stare down at her. Her large eyes were flooded and darkened with passion. Her hair hung damply around her shoulders, encasing her body like a golden frame. She was magnificent.

  He lifted his tunic over his head.

  Aurora reached for him. She ran her small hands over his arms, gazing at him as though in awe. What had she to be in awe of? She was so lovely, so… He took her face in his hands and kissed her, reveling in the joy. She chose to give herself to him. He brushed his anguished and trembling lips over hers.

  Unable to hold his desire in, he pulled her against him, anticipation enveloping them. His palm skimmed over her hips, to her perfect bottom. When she pressed up against him, Damien clenched his teeth, reigning in his unleashed passion. He wanted to be slow and gentle with her. He wanted her to experience what he was feeling, but his body was so ready for hers, so hard that it was difficult to control his need.

  He eased her back onto the mattress with his body, pressing her beneath the warmth of his body. She was so tiny he covered her completely. Protectively. Possessively. Lord, how he wanted her.

  Her hands skimmed up his back, tender in their exploration. He stiffened as her fingertips reached the scars marring his back. But when she kissed the hollow of his shoulder Damien relaxed beneath her healing touch. He pulled back to look at her. There was no repulsion in her eyes, only acceptance and something else, something that warmed his cold soul.

  Her hands fluttered up his spine, beneath his hair to the nape of his neck. She pressed kisses into his cheek and along his jaw.

  She touched him like no other woman ever had. With no fear. He pressed his head into her shoulder. She was so good. So gentle and kind. How could she ever want him? How could he have gotten so lucky to have her choose him, to have her want him? An ache rose in the very depths of his soul.

  He looked into her eyes again. They were lidded with desire. Yet, he could still see the blue of her orbs, clearer than the deepest sea. “We can still stop,” he whispered, giving her every chance to escape him. Did she truly know what she was doing?

  Overwhelming tenderness shone from her eyes before she lifted her lips to his, caressing them in reassurance. A healing kiss. It opened Damien’s soul. She had chosen him. She wanted to give herself to him. And heaven help him, he wanted to let her. The thought sent waves of unequaled joy cresting over him. Of all the men on this land, she had chosen him.

  Damien cupped her head, drinking of her sweet, innocent nectar. The kiss deepened. She wanted him. This time, she would not run. This time Aurora wanted him to touch her, to make love to her.

  Damien’s tongue swept the inside of her mouth, tasting her, touching her. There would be no stopping.

  She opened her legs slightly and his body rested against her womanhood. He groaned softly. He wanted to go slow, but he was so close to release. A mere look of hers drove him to hardness. A touch of her hands, her body against his, and he was lost.

  He pulled back again, trying to slow their frantic pace. When she reached for him, he captured her hands in his and lowered them above her head. “Slowly, my angel,” he whispered.

  She reached up with her mouth and found his. It was as if she were unable to get enough of his touch, his kiss.

  The thought was powerful. Damien skimmed down over her beautiful breasts, past her thin waist to her curvy hips. He cupped her bottom. She gently lifted her hips to him, nudging him, pushing her womanhood against him.

  She groaned into his kiss, softly, tenderly.

  Unable to hold himself back, Damien pulled back and tugged open the string holding his leggings on. He eas
ed out of them and stretched himself down over her, covering her in the blanket of his body. His manhood immediately sought her core, pressing against the juncture of her thighs.

  She gasped in surprise and squirmed her hips against him.

  Damien grit his teeth, forcing his satisfaction to wait. “Easy,” he whispered to her as much as himself. “This will hurt,” he warned her.

  She looked up at him with such heated passion Damien’s heart twisted.

  “I trust you,” she whispered.

  Damien hesitated. She trusted him. The only one in his entire life who had done so. She trusted him. He positioned himself close to her. Slowly, so slowly, he parted her folds. She squirmed again and it was all he could do not to thrust inside her. He didn’t want to hurt her. Not now, not ever. Slowly, gently, he pushed forward. Her body held his manhood like a wet glove. Hot. Moist. Forward he pressed in sweet agony until he reached her barrier. He paused. He knew a quick thrust was the best way and still, he hesitated. He wanted her. He wanted all of her. But he didn’t want to hurt her. No man had ever touched this part of her. The thought sent waves of passion through his body.

  She groaned softly, encouraging him with soft flutters of her fingers over his back.

  Still, Damien did not move. One thrust and she would be ruined. She would be like him. Tainted. Flawed. It was what he wanted all along. And now, poised at the barrier, he found he didn’t want her blemished. He didn’t want her changed. He wanted her just the way she was. Lovely and innocent. Kind and pure.

  Then, Aurora lifted her hips to his.

  All of Damien’s thoughts disappeared and he groaned as he lunged into her, filling her completely

  Aurora cried out, her body stiffening beneath his.

  Immediately, Damien wrapped his arms around her, soothing her with gentle kisses and whispered words.

  She writhed beneath him.

  Damien held her tightly. It was too late. For them both. He claimed her lips, seeking to ignite the flames that had licked at her conscious once again. He moved his hips over hers. Very slowly.