Assassin's Kiss

by Sharon Kay

  Scorpio. His name echoed in her mind on constant repeat. The way he had roared at her to defend herself, even though she was in a mental lockdown. The ways he killed the wolves. Those hands flung fire and snapped a neck. In minutes. He’d looked savage and totally in control of the situation, mesmerizing and strong…like a protector.

  And then he’d handled her so carefully. She wouldn’t have thought it possible. She was almost embarrassed by the way she’d sunk into his arms like a baby. But she’d been grateful and so desperate for reassuring contact. And if she were honest, a little greedy for him. To feel him so close, to have a valid reason to press against his muscled chest.

  It didn’t make sense. How did she go from despising him, to wanting to rub against him like a cat in heat?

  And by the way, her traitorous feline was nowhere to be found. Probably with Scorpio right this second.

  No, Scorpio had an instant, unexpected effect on her right from the first day she’d inspected the bars of the cage. He’d shattered every preconceived notion of hers with each day, each fight, and with each newly revealed surprise.

  He wasn’t the murderer she’d first thought. Yet he had killed Pennar. And after watching him on these last two outings, he still possessed every one of his lethal skills.

  The thought should have set off warnings bells, but it only invited question after question into her brain. The same ones that had been circling in her mind. He projected honor and a steadfast heart…so he’d left his dark past behind.

  Killing to protect shouldn’t invite judgment. After all, she was marrying to protect, in a way. To at least lessen the amount of shit her people had to deal with.

  People could change. She fully believed that. From bad to good, or from good to bad, depending on what life had thrown at them and how they had chosen to deal with it. But she never expected to grapple with it here and now, in the form of the most dangerous male she could imagine.

  She curled a hand into the cotton sheet and rolled to face her window. Maybe she could count the stars—

  A shadow moved across the sill. She bolted upright and reached for the knife that was always under her pillow.

  Even though the coven boundary was warded and so was her own cabin, she wouldn’t take any chances, with Vespera growing in power every day. She strained her ears, but her hearing was about as good as a human’s, so she detected nothing.

  A minute passed. Tessa sat silently in her tank top and panties and tugged the sheet up to her waist. Which was silly, because if someone were here, she wouldn’t hesitate to take him down, no matter what she was or wasn’t wearing.

  Was it Damien? Gods, he would try to sneak into her room, just to prove he could. Her lips curled in disgust.

  She exhaled slowly, thinking she might have imagined it. Then a creak from her front room had her heart hammering in her chest. Shit! She pulled her arm back, poised to throw her knife. Had Jinx wiggled her way back in, or had—

  Her bedroom door opened, slow as molasses and completely silent.

  Fury churned through her, though she remained still. How dare he? Each inch that the door opened farther gave her a bigger window to aim and throw. Just a little more, and she would see the intruder’s face—

  She gasped.

  Standing there, his silhouette filling the doorway, was Scorpio.

  “You!” She stared, shock and relief mixing into a dizzying cocktail. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  He held up both hands. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just wanted to check on you.”

  “Check on me?” She exhaled the breath she’d been holding. “You scared me!”

  “I didn’t mean to.” He took a step into the room.

  She eyed him as wariness and uncertainty fired through her veins. Not fear, exactly, but confusion. He’d never been able to choose to get near her before. It was always the other way around, or him being ordered to accompany her. But his reduced restrictions were her own idea after all. She just wasn’t prepared for this.

  She looked over his shoulder, seeing no one else. “How did you get out of your cabin?”

  “I can get out of anywhere,” he said, and his tone was again matter of fact, not cocky. Like when he’d said he was simply better than the witches, when Vespera was attacking at the rowan tree.

  She gulped another breath and laid a hand over her still-pounding heart. “I’ll bet you can. But crap. Some advance notice would be nice. It’s the middle of the night!”

  “I didn’t want to wake anyone else,” he murmured.

  “What about your guards?”

  “They think I’m still inside the cabin. I went out the back window.”

  Whoa. Kharv, Orser, and the rest were no slouches. If Scorpio slipped past without alerting them, his stealth skills were beyond anyone she’d met. “How did you know I was awake?”

  “I heard you.”

  “You’re not close by! How could you—wait, your hearing is that good?” She stared at him, incredulous. Their cabins had to be at least a hundred feet apart.

  “It is. I heard your breathing and the sheets rustling. I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

  “I can’t decide if that’s a good thing or not.” She frowned. Finally her lungs allowed her to take a full breath. “Is everything okay with the coven?”

  “All’s quiet.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “And you just wanted to check on me?”

  He nodded. “Today was a rough day.”

  “It was.” She laid the knife down by her hip. “And, yeah. I can’t sleep.” She didn’t feel like revealing that he was the reason for her insomnia and not the dire wolves.

  He took another two steps toward her. The room wasn’t that big, just enough for her bed, dresser, and nightstand. As he moved closer, she weighed her choices. She could kick him out. After all, she’d assured him she was fine. Or she could move them to the tiny living room.

  That was one option…but a totally irrational part of her wanted to stay here. Since he’d occupied the frontal lobe of her brain all damn night, she didn’t want him to go. He was honorable. If he wanted to take advantage of her, he’d had plenty of opportunities already. “Sit.” She shifted so that her back was against the headboard.

  A smile flickered across his face and he sat with one knee bent, propped on her sheets. “So what keeps running through your mind?”

  He had showered and changed to a clean T-shirt, this one just as tight as the last. She was surprised anything here came close to fitting him. In the low light of her room, his jaw seemed more angled, his muscled forearms more sinewy. Dangerous.

  He’d broken in. Silent as a shadow.

  But fear was the farthest thing from her mind.

  “Everything about today,” she said. That was true enough, and vague enough.

  “Everything?” he asked, his voice an audible caress.

  “Yeah. It was full of unexpected stuff.”

  To her surprise, he chuckled. “You got that right. One after the other.” Then his voice turned serious. “Thank you again for advocating for me, to Hallon.”

  “You’re welcome.” She rested her head against the headboard and studied him. “It’s the right thing to do.”

  “I’m not complaining. But I get the sense you’re in the minority, and that’s not always easy.”

  “It’s not about being easy. And I don’t care if I’m in the minority. Things seemed black and white a few weeks ago. They don’t anymore.”

  “Like what things?”

  “You.” She sighed. “Fact? You killed Pennar and things have sucked for us ever since. But since you landed here, you’ve only been helpful. Another fact.”

  “I’m not the same man I used to be,” he said. “I feel like my life started over when I was able to leave Dalamos’s hellhole.”

  Her heart pinched as she allowed herself to think about what he’d been through. Empathy. He deserved that much. A few weeks ago, she wouldn’t have thought someone like him de
served it at all. And what did that say about her? A pang of regret pulsed in her belly. There was a lot she didn’t know about him. “And your brother and sister? Where are they now?”

  A slight smile tugged at his lips. “At Watcher HQ. Arawn took them in, along with me.”

  “I bet they’re worried about you,” she said. “I don’t have siblings. I can’t imagine if I did and they suddenly went missing.”

  His mouth tightened in a line. “They probably are, yeah. I’ve been gone on missions before where I couldn’t communicate back, but this one was unplanned. Though I’ve been gone longer. And I won’t be away forever.”

  His eyes seared her on the last word. Tessa didn’t know why, but the emotion packed behind that one word speared through to her center, as she remembered his proclamation the first time she’d talked to him. It was too much, too intense, and she needed to redirect this conversation.

  “Are they in Watcher training?” she asked.

  “Raff is. Kira is looking for her niche.”

  His voice was lighthearted when he talked about them, and it lent a handsome glow to his face. She wanted to keep it going. “Looking for it?”

  “Yeah. She’s not sure what she wants to do, exactly. She doesn’t want to be a warrior. She tried working in the kitchen, but set off a few fires…”

  “No way.” Tessa covered a giggle.

  “Yup. She tried the spell group, but she doesn’t possess a lick of magic, like most of us Lash. Now she’s with the tech group, but I’m not sure she feels like she fits in.”

  “Aww. She’ll figure it out.” Tessa idly traced a pattern on the sheet. “What about you? Did you always know you’d be a fighter?”

  He nodded. “Always.”

  One word, delivered with intensity and conviction. It brought her right back to his deep voice, his huge presence, and those eyes that glimmered faintly with flecks of gold. She wanted to keep him there longer. But she had no reason. Thoughts and ideas jostled each other in her brain until they all faded to background noise. He was a warrior, a survivor, a protector. Somehow that was all she needed to know right now. She didn’t need to ask more, or ask how Dalamos had snared him and his siblings. Kidnappings and brutality were all too common in the realms.

  Words tumbled from her lips, as if she needed to speak to break the intense quiet between them. “Because of your work, you ended up here. If you hadn’t landed among us, I would have died. If not today, then last week. Her heart slammed in her ribs. “It’s not what I expected. You’re not what I expected.”

  He exhaled a slow breath and licked his lips. “You’re not what I expected either.”

  “Did you know I was here?” she asked, her voice a whisper.

  “No.”

  “But you acted like you knew me. That first night they moved you?”

  “I recognized who you are to me.” The gold in his eyes brightened.

  “How? How did you know…I mean, why did you react the way you did?” She couldn’t bring herself to say the word. Mate. It seemed far too intimate, and she was already crossing a line by having him so close.

  “Your scent. I just knew it.” His molten stare mesmerized her, sparking heated awareness low in her belly.

  She swallowed against the sudden intensity. “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “Things don’t have to make sense to be true. Think we proved that today.”

  “Nothing makes sense right now.”

  He shook his head. “Wrong.”

  She frowned. “Don’t make me even more confused.”

  “You know two things for sure.” He scooted closer and took her hand. “I will never leave you unprotected. And I will never harm you.”

  His touch sent a warm jolt up her arm. This wasn’t a touch to protect. This was hot, sensual, and loaded with meaning. Not daring to move a muscle, she wanted to preserve this moment.

  But yes. She did know his words were unequivocally true. “Right. I know. And…and I’m thankful for that. But still…you…I don’t know what to think of you.”

  He leaned a fraction closer. “Two words, Tessa. Just remember two words.” His eyes glowed golden, stealing her breath, scorching her with their intensity.

  “What?” She doubted she’d be able to remember one word, or any word. He overwhelmed her and right now, she wanted it more than anything.

  “I’m yours.” His hand, warm and sure, slid to her nape. “Yours.” He dipped his head to cover her mouth with his.

  She gasped. His lips were soft and the heat rolling off his big body made her want to tuck herself closer. He was so strong, and the gentleness he kept surprising her with threw her world off balance. Dizzy, overloaded with the need for more of him, she let go of any thoughts or inhibitions.

  She curled her arms around his neck and kissed him back, loving the moment he realized she wasn’t going to back away. His free hand slid to her hip, and she was painfully aware that all she wore was a thin tank top and panties.

  He licked at her lips, his tongue a warm, wicked invitation, and she opened for him. He rumbled, a luscious approving sound that reached from his chest all the way into her belly. She pulled herself closer and the hand at her hip slipped to her lower back.

  He teased her mouth with flicks of his tongue, tangling with hers. Sliding his hand into her hair, he knotted his fingers gently. Enough to show her his aggression, light enough to let her push him away.

  But she only wanted to get closer. He smelled clean and masculine, and every cell in his body radiated power. His fingertips gently stroked her neck. Those hands could snap a neck. Gods only knew what pleasure those hands could bring.

  To her. To her? What the hell? But she flung the thought far from her mind, carried away by Scorpio’s intoxicating kiss. She caressed her way down his arms, learning with her fingers the ridges and dips of biceps and triceps she’d only observed up to now. Hard huge muscles that had lifted rocks. Lifted that wolf. Lifted her.

  With a growl, he pulled her head back and dipped to kiss her neck. His lips were so soft, so warm and wet. She arched her back, desperate for more of any and every sensation he could give her. Her breasts rubbed across his pecs. Digging her fingers into his arms, she held on, all the while a delirious need built in her core.

  He kissed along her clavicle, licking gently at the delicate ridge. Every place his mouth touched sent heat racing across her skin. She thrust her body forward, shameless, wanting more of his kisses anywhere she could get them.

  C

  HAPTER 15

  SCORPIO’S HANDS BURNED TO PUSH Tessa down in her too-small bed and strip the goddam scrap of cloth off her. Just a bit of pink cotton that hid her breasts from his eyes. But not from his touch. He’d felt their lushness when she’d gone and rubbed against him.

  His cock was swollen like a fucking missile at the overload of pleasure. He had his mate in bed, for fuck’s sake. Claim her. Need pounded him relentlessly. Take her. Make her yours.

  Abruptly, she straightened and ran her fingers through his barely grown out buzz cut. She kissed him with an urgency and passion as her hands continued their exploration of his chest. Gods, he’d let her explore him all day. Her hands were little and soft, but surprisingly strong. And when they reached his waistband and hooked inside, he growled.

  She seemed to take it as encouragement, but he was walking a dangerous line. He dropped a hand to hers, preventing her from moving any farther south. His dick throbbed with an ache more painful than anything he’d felt, because the drumming need wasn’t just physical. Even though her kisses were sinful and her body was practically quivering in his arms, he knew she was a good, honest female. Not to mention brave, powerful in her own right, and shaped by her own personal tragedy. Like him. And that made him crave her even more.

  Unable to resist, he slid a hand up her torso as he let her devour his mouth. He went slowly, knowing he had entered here uninvited, yet torn by her seemingly urgent need. He stopped just below one tempting breast. She kept kis
sing him, her tongue wickedly dueling with his. Then she wriggled, pressing herself into his hand.

  With a growl, he kneaded her soft flesh. She whimpered and her whole body shuddered. She broke away, raising huge blue eyes to him. Her lips parted and she panted, waiting.

  He massaged her over the tank top, feeling the hard tip of her nipple. He pinched and she moaned. “More.”

  Ah, fuck.

  Restraint was a quickly dying thought. He shouldn’t do this. It was too soon. He’d had a plan. A tactical one. He did, at one point in time. But hell if he could remember it now, when her scent wrapped around him and he had no prayer of fighting it.

  He found the hem of the tank and ran his fingers under the edge, brushing against the soft skin of her abdomen, eliciting another full body shiver. He watched her face as he slipped his hands beneath the fabric and up the exquisite silkiness of her stomach to cup her perfect breasts.

  “Ohhhh.” She bit her lip. Eyes closed, skin flushed. Fucking beautiful.

  His cock strained in his pants. He flicked his thumbs over her nipples, loving how they stiffened at his touch. She writhed and closed her eyes. A tiny whimper escaped her sexy mouth. Her hips and legs shifted under the white sheet.

  The spicy-sweet scent of her arousal curled through the air, making him insane. His mate wanted him. His soul, his inner demon, saw no more reason to hold back. He fisted the cotton in his hands, ready to tear it off her like he’d been dying to do. He shifted closer, getting at an angle to better tear with…

  And his leg pressed into something cool and hard.

  Her knife.

  He’d broken in. He’d startled her. She had been poised to fling it at his heart, and probably follow it up with a searing ball of witchfire. Yeah, he wanted to check on her. But she didn’t invite him here or seek him out tonight.

  Need to make her need him. Fuck, he couldn’t rush this. It had to be on her terms.