The Assassins of Light

by Britney Jackson

  “Choosing,” Rose said as she stepped out of her pajama pants.

  Kara’s mouth fell open in surprise. That word, that one word, unleashed a plethora of emotions inside of her. Powerful, overwhelming emotions that left her speechless for the first time in her life. She prided herself in always knowing what to say, what to do, but now, in this moment, she couldn’t speak. She couldn’t react. She stepped back, as Rose—now naked—stepped into the shower with her.

  “Rose,” she murmured, her voice low and breathless with longing.

  Rose stepped forward and raised her hands to touch Kara’s face, feeling the warm, wet skin of Kara’s cheeks under her fingers. Then, she captured Kara’s lips with her own, kissing her slowly and deeply. Rose poured all of her emotions into the kiss—her pain, her sadness, her passion, her desire, and finally, her love.

  The kiss jolted Kara back into action. She threaded her fingers in Rose’s thick, auburn hair, deepening the kiss, sliding her tongue into Rose’s mouth, and she stepped forward, backing Rose toward the wall of the shower. Rose gasped as Kara pressed her up against the wall, her bare, wet skin sliding against Rose’s.

  The sensation of Kara’s skin against hers—even as cold and wet as it felt under the water—was unlike anything Rose had imagined. Her heart—which had already been racing since she made the decision to do this, since she accepted her feelings for Kara, once and for all—beat even harder and faster against her chest.

  And she felt the erratic flutter of Kara’s heartbeat, too, as her breasts pressed against Kara’s, as her fingertips traced the pulse in Kara’s neck. The drops of water on their skin felt colder and colder the longer they kissed in that small shower, but Rose hardly noticed it because she focused her attention, instead, on the heat of the desire that poured through her body and the heat of Kara’s mouth against hers. That heat seemed to grow, pulsing outward, until it enveloped every part of her, until all she could think about was the sensation of Kara’s hands on her skin, and the softness of Kara’s skin beneath her lips. She pressed her lips against Kara’s neck, showering Kara’s skin with gentle, affectionate kisses. She moaned as she felt Kara’s hand moving between them, her palm sliding over the softness of Rose’s stomach, down to her wet, aching center. Rose caught Kara’s wrist in her hand, just before she could touch her. “No,” she gasped. “Wait.”

  Kara stopped and pulled back. She watched Rose worriedly, afraid that Rose had changed her mind, that she had decided she didn’t want Kara, after all.

  “There’s something I’d like to do,” Rose said softly, “if that’s all right.”

  A relieved smile curved at the edges of Kara’s lips. “Whatever you want.”

  Rose reached out and pressed her hand against Kara’s shoulder. She guided Kara back a step, and then, she turned and pushed Kara against the wall.

  Then, with a nervous smile, Rose sank to her knees in front of Kara.

  Kara raised an eyebrow. “Rose,” she murmured. “Always surprising me.”

  Rose smiled shyly at that. She ran her fingers over the leanness of Kara’s thighs, delighting in the sound of Kara’s increased heart rate, in that quick catch in Kara’s breath, in the knowledge that Kara wanted this as much as she did. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against the inside of Kara’s thigh, kissing it with a gentleness that caused Kara to shudder. She parted her lips and licked the soft skin of Kara’s thigh, tasting the water on her skin. She traced the intricate lines of Kara’s tattoo with her tongue, running her tongue over the vines and roses that encircled the sword, that led upward, toward the center of Kara’s legs.

  Kara arched her back, her fingers sinking into Rose’s hair, as she moaned at the feel of Rose’s warm, gentle tongue. She watched Rose, her chest heaving, a pink flush spreading over her skin, as her body flooded with painfully hot desire.

  Rose could feel what Kara felt—their emotions and feelings intertwined, threaded together by the blood bond—and knowing how much Kara wanted this, how much she enjoyed every second of it, reassured Rose and melted away the anxiety that she’d felt about it. With her lips and tongue, she followed the path of the tattooed vines, until she reached her destination: Kara’s warm, wet center.

  “Fuck,” Kara breathed, as Rose began to lick, slowly at first, then faster.

  Rose moaned at the taste of Kara, at the way Kara’s body reacted to her, arching, bending, and trembling. It was all so arousing, and the blood bond only intensified those feelings. Rose felt overheated, desire burning under her skin, even as the water from the shower grew cold. She traced the curve of Kara’s hip with one hand, feeling the lines of the flower tattoo beneath the pad of her thumb, and she ran the other hand up, tracing her palm over Kara’s flat, lean stomach.

  Kara moaned deeply, a slight whimper in her voice, at the sensation of Rose’s touch—on her hip, on her stomach, and then, on one of her breasts. She bent forward slightly, her knees buckling at the sweet torture of Rose’s tongue.

  Rose felt Kara’s skin warming beneath her touch. She heard Kara’s heart pounding faster and faster. She heard the blood rushing in Kara’s veins, in the femoral artery in Kara’s thigh. Her hunger burned in her stomach and throat, urging her to feed, to sink her fangs into Kara’s thigh and feed. But Rose couldn’t stop what she was doing, not yet, not when she could already feel Kara trembling.

  Kara sank her fingers deeper into Rose’s hair and arched her back as every muscle in her body suddenly tightened. She tilted her head back against the cold, wet tile wall and cried out as intense, overwhelming pleasure poured through her veins, exploding and burning in every cell of her body. “Oh, Rose,” she cried.

  Rose waited until Kara stopped trembling before she stopped. Then, she climbed to her feet, smiling shyly at Kara. “So,” she said awkwardly, blushing as Kara pinned her with a dark, lustful stare, “that means…I did okay…right?”

  Kara reached out and wrapped her trembling fingers around Rose’s arm, pulling Rose against her with a gentle tug. Their faces tilted closer, their lips nearly touching, as they panted for breath. She grasped Rose’s face tightly, holding her close. “I love you,” Kara growled, still breathless and shaking, “so much.”

  “You’re just saying that because I made you…” she trailed off, blushing.

  “No,” Kara said. She stepped forward, sliding her warm, shaky hands down to Rose’s hips. Rose gasped as Kara turned and pushed her up against the wall. A flirty smile tugged at the edges of Kara’s lips. “I did love that, and I plan on repaying you for it. Over and over. Until you beg me to stop,” she murmured as she kissed Rose, not giving Rose a chance to respond to that. Rose moaned against her lips, melting into the kiss, but then, Kara pulled back, pinning her with the most serious look Rose had ever seen. “But I mean it. I love you, Rose.”

  Rose just smiled. “I love you, too, Kara.”

  Kara’s light blue eyes widened in shock. “Wait. You do? Truly?”

  “Obviously,” Rose teased. “What did you think all of this was about?”

  Kara smiled, and the brightness and warmth of that smile was easily the most beautiful thing that Rose had ever seen. Kara lifted her hands and cradled Rose’s face in her hands, her palms warm against Rose’s cheeks. Then, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against Rose’s lips. She kissed her slowly, indulgently, passionately, as if they had all the time in the world, as if they never had to stop.

  Emotions—overwhelming, indescribable emotions—bubbled up in Rose’s throat, flooding every part of her mind, drowning everything in their wake. The kiss felt like a song—a beautiful, evocative song that brought its listeners to tears, just from the sheer intensity of emotions, the emotions that seemed to come from nowhere. This kiss was like that for Rose. So full of emotion. So full of love.

  “Would you mind terribly if we stayed like this forever?” Kara asked.

  Rose smiled. “Well, not terribly,” she teased, “but the water is a little cold.”

  Kara pulled back,
her light blue eyes darkening with pure, unadulterated lust. “Really?” she said with a mischievous smile. She ran her hands up the soft, wet skin of Rose’s stomach, up to Rose’s soft, heavy breasts. She cupped them in her hands, lightly squeezing them. “Because…I’m burning up. Practically on fire.”

  Rose moaned as Kara lowered her head and began to kiss Rose’s breasts. Rose tilted her head back against the wall, unable to suppress the soft, breathless moans that spilled from her lips as Kara traced the curve of Rose’s breasts with her tongue. “Yeah,” Rose squeaked. “Yeah…I think…I know what you mean.”

  Kara’s piercing, blue gaze shifted up, meeting Rose’s gaze, as Kara circled Rose’s nipple with her tongue. A smirk tugged at her lips as she saw the longing in Rose’s bright blue eyes. She stepped back, suddenly, and turned off the water.

  Rose didn’t move. She couldn’t. Her heart raced against her chest. Desire burned beneath her skin. Arousal pulsed and ached between her legs. And she was pretty sure that the only thing keeping her in an upright position was the wall.

  Kara returned to her. She reached out and gently grasped Rose’s hand, lifting it to her mouth and planting a soft, gentle kiss on the back of Rose’s hand.

  It was such a sweet, affectionate action. So innocent.

  Until she began to lick each one of Rose’s fingers, slowly and sensually.

  Rose’s mouth fell open, her breath coming out in fast, shallow pants.

  Kara smiled at Rose’s reaction and stepped backward, leading Rose by the hand. She walked backward, pulling Rose out of the shower, leading Rose toward the door of the bathroom. She pushed open the door with her shoulder and pulled Rose into the bedroom, leading her toward the bed. Cold water dripped onto the bedroom floor, sliding over their skin, dripping from their hair.

  Rose laughed nervously, “What? No towels?”

  “No,” Kara told her. She tugged Rose closer, moving her hands to Rose’s hips, as their cold, damp bodies collided. She grinned wolfishly. “I like you wet.”

  Rose tried to roll her eyes at the double entendre, but the sensation of Kara’s lips and teeth on her neck made her forget about her need to be sassy.

  Because another need was feeling a bit more…dire, at the moment.

  When Rose felt the bed hit the back of her legs, she separated from Kara, just long enough to crawl backward onto the bed. But Kara barely let any distance form between their bodies before she was leaping onto the bed, closing the space between their bodies and lips. She straddled Rose’s legs and grabbed her hips, tugging her down, until she lay flat on her back with Kara hovering over her.

  Kara tilted her face toward Rose’s, as if she were going in for another kiss, the warmth of her breath dancing across Rose’s lips, but she stopped just shy of kissing her, teasing a kiss but not giving it. She watched Rose for a moment, her light blue eyes full of promise and longing. “Do you trust me?” she whispered.

  “Yes,” Rose said breathlessly. “Yes. I trust you. I want this. I want you.”

  Rose raised up, trying to kiss her, but Kara pressed a finger to Rose’s lips, stopping her. With that sly, mischievous smirk that Rose had grown to love, Kara tilted Rose’s head back with her finger. “Lie still,” she whispered before moving her lips to Rose’s neck. Rose moaned at the warmth of Kara’s lips, the gentleness of her tongue, the sharpness of her fangs, and the relentlessness of her kisses.

  Kara moved on her hands and knees, crouched over Rose like an animal, as she crawled down Rose’s body, her lips moving over Rose’s skin. She explored Rose’s body slowly, kissing every inch of her soft, fair skin, watching her all the while, studying the way she reacted to certain things, learning what she liked most.

  By the time Kara reached her waist, Rose felt as if her head might explode from all of the longing building up in her body, fizzing just beneath her skin, like a shaken drink waiting for release. She gasped as she felt Kara’s hands on her thighs, spreading them so that she could kneel between them. She tilted her head to the side, meeting Kara’s piercing blue gaze. Kara smiled at her, and that smile—full of warmth and longing—melted any part of Rose that hadn’t melted already.

  Kara bent her head and kissed the inside of her thigh. Rose gasped at the sensation, stunned by how intense it felt—desire shooting through her like a bolt of electricity. She felt Kara’s lips and tongue moving along her thigh. Kara pressed her fangs against the inside of Rose’s thigh, just over the femoral artery, and froze.

  Rose realized that Kara was waiting for permission. “Yes. Yes. Please.”

  Kara sank her fangs into Rose’s thigh, her sharp teeth sinking deeply into the soft flesh. Rose tilted her head back and clenched her jaw at the initial pain, but like always, it subsided quickly, as Kara covered the wound with her mouth and began to feed. The endorphins flooded Rose’s body with pleasure and desire, and the blood bond they shared—connecting their bodies, their minds, and their emotions—grew stronger, unbelievably. Rose wouldn’t have thought it possible.

  Kara took her fill of Rose’s blood, until her hunger was sated, until Rose could wait no longer. She sensed Rose’s building need, the tension that was wound up too tightly inside of her, the painful desperation that begged for release.

  Kara pulled back for the briefest of moments, licking her lips lightly, and then, she moved, trailing her lips up Rose’s thigh, moving closer and closer to the place that ached most for her, until, finally, her mouth found its destination.

  Rose cried out immediately, her back arching, as Kara swept her tongue over Rose’s center. Kara’s mouth felt so warm and wet, so gentle…but also so…intense. Rose had never felt anything more intense in her life. Her eyes slid closed, and her fingers clawed at the sheets, as Kara’s tongue tormented her.

  It didn’t take long. The blood-sharing had already brought her so close, and Kara knew exactly what she was doing. Rose could think of nothing other than the warmth of Kara’s arms against her thighs, the persistence of her tongue, and the need that climbed higher and higher inside her, pulling tighter and tighter.

  Until, finally, it shattered.

  White-hot pleasure exploded inside of her, blinding her, consuming her, shooting through her body like electricity, bursting in every cell of her body like tiny, exploding stars. It was all too much, too powerful and too cataclysmic to contain. She couldn’t contain the pleasure, the moans that spilled from her lips, or the power that radiated from within her, shattering the lamp on the nightstand next to them. When the energy was spent, an afterglow of warmth and peace spread throughout her body, soothing the same nerves that it had just set on fire.

  Kara crawled back up Rose’s body, the muscles of her arms flexing as she held herself over Rose, their bare skin almost touching. She watched Rose with a smile, enjoying the pink flush of Rose’s skin, the peaceful smile on her lips.

  When Rose opened her eyes to look at Kara, that smile deepened. She lifted her hand to trail over Kara’s bare arm, her fingers still trembling from the intensity of the orgasm. Her eyes glowed crimson-red, still, her body still bathed in potent, radiating power. Rose kissed Kara slowly, tasting herself on Kara’s lips. Then, she lay back, her thick, red hair curling around her head, bright against the white pillowcase, and stared up at Kara, watching the enticing curve of Kara’s lips as they curled into a deeper smile. “So, that’s why people like sex,” Rose muttered.

  Kara nearly collapsed on top of Rose, as she dropped her head to Rose’s shoulder and burst into hysterical laughter. Rose smiled, amused by her outburst, and ran her fingers along the soft curve of Kara’s back. Kara’s body shook with laughter for a good sixty seconds, at least, before she finally pushed herself up on her hands and knees again. “I take it you liked it, then?” she said with a smile.

  Rose widened her eyes playfully. “What gave you that idea? Was it the involuntary reaction of my body, which only happens when it really, really likes something? And I mean: really, really likes. Or was it the fact that I’m still sh
aking?”

  Kara grinned. “Keep sassing me, and I might just make it happen again.”

  Rose frowned. “Is that supposed to discourage me or encourage me?”

  Kara laughed, “I’ll let you decide that.” She turned her head to the side, her long, dark hair tickling Rose’s shoulder, as she noticed the shattered glass on the nightstand. She reached out and picked up a piece of the lamp. “Hmm,” she said with an amused smile. “I can’t say I’ve ever made a woman do that before.”

  Rose grimaced at what used to be a pretty, pale blue, glass lamp. “Yeah,” she said slowly, “uhh…I have no idea how I’m going to explain that to Kallias.”

  Kara chuckled, “I’ll have it replaced before he notices.” She turned the shard of glass over between her fingers, wincing a little as the jagged edge sliced her fingertip. She dropped the glass and watched as blood surfaced on her finger.

  Rose grasped Kara’s wrist before she could stop herself. She stared at the blood on Kara’s fingertip, the crimson-red haze in her eyes glowing brighter. She felt Kara’s gaze on her—heated and lustful—as she tried to control her instincts.

  “It’s been two nights since you fed,” Kara said. “You must be hungry.”

  Rose tried to act nonchalant about it. “Nah. I’m just a little…ravenous.”

  Kara bent her head toward Rose’s, her lips brushing against Rose’s lips, almost kissing her, and yet, not quite. “Then, ravage me, sexy,” she murmured.

  —

  Afterward, Rose and Kara lay in bed together, curled up in each other’s arms, for a long time. It must have been hours, and yet, it felt as if no time were passing at all. As if they’d found this place outside of time and space, outside of the terrifying, miserable world that they lived in—a place so peaceful and so sweet, where no time passed and the problems of the world couldn’t touch them.