The Laughing Assassin [Assassin's Diary] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Jennifer Willows

  When the room was quiet and she heard the hum of the engine, Jaden knew they were headed for the auction. Jonah pulled her into his arms and whispered into her ear. At first their position excited her beyond belief, and she wanted him inside of her. But then she registered what he was actually saying.

  “This room is bugged. If I tamper with the devices, they will know something is up. Just follow my lead.” He quickly tossed his shirt over a lampshade and the bedside phone. His pants were tossed over the TV, leaving him in only the blue half mask, and he pulled her closer. The position was unusual for her, as normally when he was playing Dominant, she was nude and he wore the clothing. But she supposed her scanty clothes wouldn’t have been as good at covering the spy cams hidden in the space.

  She knew there had to be more, but the two he covered probably were the best angles to see all of the action from. Jonah was used to distinguishing the best placement for devices with his naked eye, and she had never learned that art. When she found bugs and whatnot, it was with her programmed handhelds.

  Jaden had one that she built herself a few years ago. The PDA located any electrical ears or eyes then emitted a focused electromagnetic pulse and fried them beyond use. The best past was the fact that the burnout was set up to seem natural and unexceptional. But that would be of little help here as they were stuck on board and at the mercy of people without any of the refined emotion to spare.

  “Do you want me to fuck you, my pet?”

  “Yes, Master.” It was the only response she could give, whether she wanted his cock or not. But she really did want him, just as she always did.

  His hands roved over her flesh, exposed by the scanty garb that was preplanned especially for this event. Almost every inch of her was covered in fishnet, sleeves over her arms, wrapped over her muscle-toned legs. The only claim to modesty she could boast from the garb was a bare bit of leather bandeau top and tiny micro-miniskirt. Her half mask matched his, but where Jonah’s was a simple face-framing construct of royal-blue silk, hers was a more feminine cat-eyed cut and sparkled with sequins in the same color.

  Jaden knew she looked like sex on a stick, and the thought was enough to make her wild. She didn’t have on any panties, and the net bodysuit was built without a crotch for his convenience. Her hair was constructed as a mohawk with massive amounts of hair glue to keep her locks in place with the sea air and spray she knew she would be subjected to during transit.

  He was nude, and she was fully clothed, but his hands on her body were enough to make her forget where she was or even her state of relative dress juxtaposed against his nudity. When she was unable to remember her own name from his stealthy caresses, she was grateful he didn’t forget her. He saw her needs, the ones driving her even as she was in danger of forgetting the job at hand. She could trust him to remember for the both of them.

  “Who owns you, pet?” The query came out of left field, but she remembered what he was driving at.

  “You do, Master.” Hopefully that would satisfy the dominant before her, along with any hidden eyes and ears.

  “Good answer, my girl.” His hands were pure devastation, driving her nearly mad with need.

  His fingers were a mere skimming of the tips over her face, but it was as if the sensations traveled lower and struck at the heart of her needs and wants. It was as if he was truly the master of her body, and she was unsure if she was ready to give the man a stake in her heart. That was where he was headed anyway, to a place where she was owned again. But instead of hating her enslavement, she was in rapture to her bonds.

  His hands rubbed over her jaw. “Are you okay with this?” The words were subtle, a hoarse whisper amid the finery of the yacht.

  “If I wasn’t, it would be too late to ask anyway,” she whispered back, the words so low they barely disturbed the air around her.

  “True, but I will always give you a choice, no matter the price.” He kissed her neck, just a buss of lips against smooth skin.

  The claim he staked on her had increased with every fuck between them, until the heart-pounding sex had blurred seamlessly into heart-melting lovemaking. The sex was so tender and soul-wrenching that she no longer could distinguish between the two of them. They were no longer Jaden and Jonah, but a weird combination of the individual parts. She was not able to decipher when he fucked her or made love to her. It always seemed to be a conflagration between the two of them. They became one flesh in a way that she never knew was possible, and he owned more than her body.

  He was quickly taking over her heart as well. She didn’t want to give that to him, this was supposed to be a mere affair with two adults and no emotions. Or at least on her part, but he had taken over until she was no longer Jaden, the lone assassin and discerning mercenary. She was just a woman who had too many confused emotions for a man, and that was never wise.

  Not that Jonah was without the finer understanding of female emotions, but for him the matter was simple. His life didn’t have to change due to a relationship. Hers would be irrevocably disturbed by his presence. She would never be the same again. She was falling for a man, something she’d promised herself she would never do. His eyes spoke to the fact he wanted more than a mere affair. He wanted it all. The only problem was he already had it, her, and whatever else lay between. He just didn’t know it yet, but soon enough, she wasn’t going to be able to hide her heart.

  He used the bracelets framing her wrists to bind her. There were two fair-sized claw clips that dangled from each leather band, and he clipped them together then tugged the restraints before he was satisfied that she was at his mercy. Jonah smiled, and she was caught in his molten orbs, a moth dragged perilously close to the fire. There was very little preamble after the restrictions of her bondage were set. He took a seat and pulled her atop his lap with her thighs spread wide apart. She was left to crouch awkwardly as he teased her with a dip of cock, and he only gave her the head at that.

  “If you want my cock, slave, you have to work for it.”

  The words enflamed her even as she felt demeaned by them. She had no idea why she felt so good with Jonah. She trusted him more than any other person alive, even Kris. That in itself was enough to scare her, but at the moment she was unable to figure out how he could make the unusual seem usual. How he could take a woman who was perpetually unsure of everything and everyone around and make her feel as if she had a safety net. Even in a situation as dire as this one. Even now when she was in the vipers’ nest and nothing was secure.

  She maneuvered her hips in a vain attempt to seize Jonah’s thick cock, but he made sure she was unable to attain him.

  But finally he took pity on her and gave her the chance to feel him, all of him. She had no intention of wasting a moment, as she knew this may be the last time they would have the opportunity to make love and she refused to throw it away. Jonah let gravity take them where they both wanted to go, into the cosmos together. The initial thrust was joyous, and she shuddered helplessly in his lap. He held all of the control, and she promised herself that if they survived this moment whole she would make sure to turn the tables on him next time.

  When she reached the base of his thick cock, she was sure that she would scream his name, but Jonah was apparently prepared for the moment. He sealed their lips together, the seam of mouths a promise of future pleasures as well as a gag to keep her from crying his name as she always did. They rocked back and forth as the motions became a siren’s song that sank them into a quagmire of essential hunger.

  But their lips were still a meld of meeting flesh and suckling tongues, so the only sounds able to escape the seal of skin were his grunts and her groans, an accompaniment of desire in a ballet for two. Once she was sure that he was going to give her more, he still withheld himself. She was filled in every way possible and even then she felt greedy for more. She needed more movement, more of him, more sensation. She wanted to dine on all that he had to offer and gorge herself until she was finally satisfied.

  But she
didn’t think that she could ever be happy. There was never enough to complete her. There was never enough to make her feel satiated. There was never enough to make her think she could feel replete and exhausted. No matter what he did to her with her, there was more he had to give. And she wanted to be more than a mere vessel. She wanted to exhaust everything that he had until there was nothing left of them to bury. Until there was nothing left but bones and dust.

  But he was better at the denial than she was. At least he was able to keep his mind where it belonged and on the matter at hand. Even as she looked around her and recognized the danger that was present, it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but more of him. Her hands were tied and out of commission, but there was more she could get if she was ready to steal it.

  When she was sure that she was going spontaneously combust, he rocked his hips and gave her a thick thrust that left her stuttering and shuddering. His breaths grew into labored pants, each exhale of air shuttled past her right ear, and the sexual sounds seemed panoramic. He was everything she existed for in those seconds, and for all she knew, it would be the last moment that she was able to share with him like this. And hopefully, this would be the last time she ever felt this way. Never before had she entered any operation with the thought of fear and bodily harm tantamount.

  But this time, the terror of losing him was sufficient enough to keep her on the edge of panic. The worst part was the alarm she felt wasn’t for her. It was for him only. The fear gave an edge to their sex that couldn’t be replicated, and if she could toss a label on the potency of their lovemaking, she could make billions.

  “Don’t think about it. Just give yourself to me. Let me worry about all of it. That’s what I’m here for,” Jonah whispered into her ear and rubbed his hands over her joined arms.

  She shook her head. He knew her all too well. When he realized she wasn’t going to let her tightly held mass of concerns go, he clasped her bound hands and rocked deeper and harder. The motions gave him what he asked for. He spoke the language of her body fluently, and she had no choice but to give him what he sought. His body wouldn’t allow her to do anything more.

  “Yeah, it’s so good. This pussy is enough to make me crazy.” He spoke aloud, the volume high enough that any ill-intentioned ear and eyes would be sure that there was naught more than sex happening. But there was so much more than just cock and cunt, more than thrusts and grunts between them.

  “Say it,” he demanded, and if she knew what he needed to hear, she would give him the words without hesitation.

  “Wha—?” What did he want? What more did she have to give that was left unclaimed?

  Chapter Fourteen:

  Breath Play with Masked Monsters

  Jonah was sure that he was going to lose Jaden tonight. He could feel the way she had begun to withdraw mentally, even as she gave him the entire glory of her body amid their mutual possession. But even worse, he felt that this night was the last she planned to give him the freedom of her body. If this was the final time he would get the opportunity to own this woman, he would get the words he needed to hear.

  “Tell me you love it.” And by extension, him. This was the closest he would get to a confession of love from her, and he was desperate enough to take it.

  “Yesss, I–I love it…Sir.” The honorific was almost a forgotten courtesy to the situation they were in, and he was glad he didn’t have to balance a punishment in along with everything else. It was easy to see that she adored everything about the combination of bodies and lusts. Jaden’s head lolled backward and exposed the graceful column of her throat.

  “Good girl.”

  “I’m no girl, Master,” she whispered, but the words meant little when she gave her true thoughts on the matter away with a full-bodied shudder. The seizure of muscles was irrelevant when he felt his own knees knock together.

  “You are when I’m inside you. My girl.” Her gaze was pointed enough to melt steel and keep his erect cock at a painful steely mast.

  She was his woman even if she didn’t want to admit it aloud. Not just for this mission, but for good. He just had to convince her that the merits of being his woman outweighed the cons.

  No sooner than he stroked deep inside of her again she was coming around him. The milking walls of her cunt were enough to strip him of all control, and he followed behind her.

  Once they were both clean of secretions and pristinely dressed once more, it was as if the interlude never happened at all. No sooner than he felt composed the phone rang, and he knew their short time together was up. He carried Jaden in his arms down the gangplank to the poor, quick construct of dock, where they were met by a mercenary who motioned for them to follow behind him. The male with the buzz-cut carried a machete along with a small arsenal of weaponry, including a silenced .357 in a holster. Jonah took a visual survey of the area and hoped that the GPS tags in his shoes were able to be read after the harsh treatment of the sand and surf.

  The isle was unadulterated and seemed barely tapped by man. There was an overgrowth of wild foliage, and the path he was about to take with his slave seemed fresh though unused, as if it was hacked away earlier that day. But that was the nature of the jungle. Even Jamaica was quick to reclaim her land when man was no longer in the way. If the grass wasn’t mowed every few days, the land was quickly overrun with wild plants and ivy. Even the flowers grew rapidly enough to be mistaken for weeds.

  He noted that the security guard was cut from the same cloth as the one on the boat, a no-neck behemoth who was more brawn than brains, and Jonah knew the man was on the fringe of the operation. The man was not going to be of any use to his cause and would be considered collateral damage if he got in the way. He wasn’t going to waste his energy taking any hostages without value.

  The jungle trek was about a quick ten-minute walk before he reached the perimeter of the manse.

  The house was palatial in structure, and almost strangely Russian in feel. There were many elements that seemed out of order, as if the Taj Mahal had met a castle and made a baby. Jaden must have felt the same as she kept quiet, but her body completely stilled, and he watched her do what she was best at as she took stock of the situation at hand. He knew that she had to have some knowledge of the house or area that they had no idea of before, and he wished he could find out what it was. But there was no way to speak on anything more now, and later they may not get the chance to converse at all.

  He would do his best to make a moment where he could get the information he needed, but for now his curiosity would just have to wait. When they walked inside of the home, the guard took them inside from the back door and led him to a basement, if the area could be called that. The space was large enough that the square footage around him rivaled the above-ground portion of the house. Once again Jaden grew stiffer, if that was even possible, and he wondered what memories had been unearthed during their brief walk.

  She didn’t say anything, and he clamored to ask her what was wrong, but it still was far from the right time to do so. It wasn’t until a few minutes later they reached the center of the basement and he knew that this was where they were supposed to put on a show to rival the Moulin Rouge. Jaden seemed as if she had climbed into a shell of her own making ,and nothing would be able to crack the surface unless she chose to let him in. Her face was one of placid perfection, but her tense muscles spoke to her readiness for combat.

  “Your show will start after the auction. As you are considered hired help due to your position as entertainment, you will not be seated with the others, but you can place your bid in this room using the controller.” He handed Jonah a small remote and turned on a large flat screen television and toggled over the keys that Jonah would need to place said bid. The entire time that the crew-cut man spoke, his words burst tersely from his mouth as if he was barely able to force the speech past his lips without difficulty. When the brawny but brainless man completed his quick sales pitch, he walked away and the door closed behind him. Now Jonah had a few
valuable minutes to see if he could determine what was eating Jaden.

  Jonah looked over at the TV set and saw the first woman auctioned. She appeared frightened but still carried an air of spirit as though she could keep her mind and her body separate from what was about to happen to her. The nubile brunette didn’t appear to be drugged or mentally broken yet. Her fight against her bondage only escalated the bids, and Jonah could see that many of the buyers in this auction were looking for women with a bit of reluctance to add spice to the already illicit transaction.

  “What do you think of her, my pet?” Jonah asked Jaden as he watched the poor woman be degraded for masculine amusement.

  “I think she would be a beautiful addition to your stable, Master.” Jaden held her hand over his and stroked her fingers over the index digit that hovered over the key to bid. “But if I may be completely honest with you, Sir, I think that you would prefer someone with more ass.” Jonah had to quirk his lips to keep from laughing. Only she could make a situation this grim seem like an adventurous lark instead of the dangerous territory that they waded in together.

  “I think you may be right, my pet.” He let the caresses over his hands relax him and turn the ugliness of this dilemma into something beautiful.

  He didn’t bid, per his plan, although he felt sorry enough for the first woman, the brunette renamed Iris by her kidnappers, that he was nearly willing to pay all the money he had to save her. It was a close call. Only the fact that Jaden rubbed her hand over his fingers nonstop kept him from clicking the remote to enter the bidding.