by Ella Grey
"Are these from University?"
The noise of something whistling through the air made Raven dart out of the way, his body acting on instinct. A bat thudded against the wall, a few seconds slower and it would have connected with his head. "Get out of my house." She came at him again and this time he swerved behind her, grabbed her around the waist and held her close. The warm press of her half-naked body made him wish for better circumstances. She felt wonderfully soft and womanly under his arms.
"I know you're scared, Cassandra. If I wanted to hurt you, I could have reached you when you were caught up in yourself. Even now, Cassandra, I am stronger than you are, faster. I could snap your neck as quickly as you could blink." He echoed the thoughts he'd had on the roof, the ones he'd dismissed.
The fight left her quickly and the bat hit the floor with a dull thud. "What do you intend to do with me?"
He didn't have a clue. Raven pulled her hair over her shoulder, baring the skin at her throat, her blonde curls tickling his nose. Her body tensed again and his grip loosened. "Who would want to hurt you?" The words caressed her neck and he wanted to punctuate them with a kiss. He opened his arms completely, letting her take a step away from him and tried to ignore the effect her body had on his.
She shook her head. "No one, I don't have any enemies."
Raven wanted to believe her, but he knew different. "Everyone has enemies."
***
Was she dreaming? There was no other logical explanation to why the man from earlier stood in her room. He'd felt real enough, a hard body pressed against her back. The scent of an aftershave wrapped itself around her, a scent that was masculine and teasing. Her body was still wired from the orgasm and the irony that the object of her fantasy was currently in her room, and that she was more scared than turned on, wasn't lost on her.
"You followed me from the cafe, didn't you?"
He nodded and stepped back, he hadn't changed from the last time she saw him. He still had hair she wanted to run her fingers through and eyes that looked into her soul. "I was hired to do a job."
The way he said it, cold and calculated seemed to drain any warmth out of the room. There was only one reason he was here, and she needed to ask the question. To get it out in the open, so she could deal with it. "What kind of job?"
He wasn't muscular and not built like a thug, but there was still power there, one that filled her bedroom. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end.
"To kill you."
His words made her stomach go hollow. He said them causally and Cassandra suspected she wasn't his first and wouldn't be his last. "And you've what? Changed your mind?" She didn't bother to hide the disbelief that tinged her words.
"I already told you I had."
She collapsed onto her bed exhausted. Why did she trust him? It didn't make any sense to believe him, but she did. He was right, if he wanted to hurt her, he could have done it countless times. They were the only ones here, miles away from the nearest neighbour and besides the confusing feelings brewing inside of her, she was safe. "Who would want to hurt me?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I work with an in-between. Nicolai gave me the information, told me your name, where to find you."
She glanced up, a part of her wanted to cry; her emotions raw, close to the surface. It wouldn't take much for her to break. Cassandra took a few deep breaths only stopping when she was sure she wasn't about to burst into tears, that wouldn't help anyone. "So what do you do now?"
"I'll find out who hired the hit and stop them from hiring anyone else." He picked up one of her old photos. Everything in her room seemed to intrigue him. When she moved back home, she'd been hit with a major case of nostalgia. Cassandra moved out of the mansion when she'd turned eighteen, but her parents left her room untouched. "Why are you trying to help me?" She needed to know, even if a part of her didn’t want to hear the answer.
"I don't know." His reply was honest and she appreciated it. "There's something about you. I noticed it when I looked into your eyes; you're an innocent. I doubt you've done anything that would warrant a death sentence."
She tried to hide her surprise at his words. Cassandra thought back to the thoughts she'd had about him. They'd been far from innocent. “Why do you think that?”
He knelt in front of her. A warm sensation danced over her skin and she became acutely aware she was only dressed in her nightie and not much else. She gazed into his dark eyes as he seemed to search for something in hers. "All of my kind has the gift to see into a person’s soul." The full curve of his bottom lip begged to be worshipped, nibbled, licked and teased and she found herself leaning forward before she managed to stop herself, her cheeks blazing hot. What was wrong with her? She shouldn't still be attracted to him, the man hired to kill her. "What are you?"
"A Skinwalkers, our history is one of myth and legend. Native America has the roots of our story. Another world for us is shifters?" She shook her head. It was all too impossible to believe. "Do you think I’m lying to you?" He asked, bemused. She nibbled at her lip again. When he reached out cupping her cheek and rubbing her bottom lip, it felt like her heart stopped. "The only one who should be marking your lip is me."
"I believe that you believe what you’re saying. If that helps"
He leaned towards her and her heart kicked up a gear. Was he going to kiss her? Was she going to let him? Her lips parted slightly as if they had a life of their own. "Well, at least, in this case, I can prove it." He whispered against her legs before standing/ When he turned away from her, she swept her gaze over his body enjoying the view. He might be a few sandwiches short of a picnic basket, but he was still the best-looking guy she had seen in a while. One second she was enjoying the view, the next a bird was in his place and she promptly fainted.
Chapter Three
The streets were dark as Raven drove Cassandra to the clock tower he called home. He counted himself lucky to find her car in the garage and before they left he'd packed a few of her clothes in a rucksack. There was no way he could let her stay in the mansion; after all, it had been too easy for him to sneak in. The only way to keep her safe was by taking her with him. He was untraceable and he preferred it that way. He never really took the stairs up to the converted apartment, taking the window built into the roof instead. The clock tower had a caretaker but as he walked up the stairs, Cassandra tucked up in his arms, the door remained closed. He shrugged off the rucksack and carried her to his couch.
It had been stupid to reveal his animal form like that, especially to someone who said she didn't believe in shifters. Those eyes of hers, the way she made him feel, it had to be something more than a human reaction.
She'd stirred in his arms as he'd taken her up the stairs, a slight twist that unconsciously brushed her breasts against his chest. That simple move had him hard, the need to claim her only intensifying. The raw emotions were new to him, she was something different, something he'd never seen before and it shattered his quiet reserve, the part of him that focussed on the job at hand. After gently placing her down on his couch, he made his way to the kitchen and poured her a glass of water, ignoring the faint tremor in his hands. He placed it on the table and perched onto the couch with her. As he brushed stray blonde strands away from her face, she moaned, turning her head slightly into the curve of his hand. The move was sensual, the way her lips parted, tempted him to kiss her.
"Cassandra, can you hear me?"
Her eyes fluttered open, finally resting on him. "Who are you?"
"I told you, I'm Raven, in both name and the animal."
The expression on her face softened a split second before blind panic set in. "You changed into a bird." Raven rested his hand on her shoulder, forcing her to lay still and bringing the glass to her lips, urging her to drink.
"You're not one of the Gifted?"
"I don't even know what that means." The way her eyes widened slightly showed the words meant something to her even if she wasn't sure what.
"Do
you have a gift, maybe an ability that doesn't make sense? There has to be some reason someone wants you dead."
"Can I sit up?" Raven gave her space, placing the glass back on the table before she scanned the room. "Wait a minute, where am I?"
"You're somewhere I can keep you safe. This is where I live." He'd lived in the converted clock tower ever since he moved back to New York.
Her mouth dropped open before it snapped shut again. "I've had feelings, funny spells that feel like a panic attack since I was a little girl. I can't control them. I don't even know what they mean; just something bad is going to happen. Does that mean anything to you?" The plea was obvious in her tone, the way she leaned forward, not taking her eyes off him. She wanted answers and while he didn't want to disappoint her, he didn't have any.
"I play a very small part in the supernatural world, ravens are loners by nature."
"So, you don't know?" There was no mistaking the tears in her eyes. Raven could only guess what she was going through. He'd been born as a raven, more magic than shifter. He'd always known what he was, his place in the world. Cassandra, on the other hand, didn't.
"This world is vast, I might not have any of the answers you need, but that doesn't mean someone else can't help you. I promise I'll find someone to help you, but we have more pressing concerns to worry to sort out first. First I need to find out who hired me and stop them from hiring anyone else."
"Why do you want to help me so much; I mean you don't know me at all?" The way she kept her eyes on her hands, the tightness in her shoulders, it cried out to him to protect her. She needed to stay in this world with him.
"It's hard for me to put it into words. I've never experienced anything like it before. The idea of you not being in this world, it hurts." He placed his hand over his heart. "You are important."
"You don't know me," she said more firmly and Raven closed the distance between them and knelt, taking her hands into his. The touch felt electric, like pins and needles travelling up his arms.
"It doesn't matter, Cassandra. Since you'll be staying here for a while, you should take my bedroom. I'll sleep on the couch."
"You expect me to stay?" The disbelief was clear in her eyes.
He nodded briskly. "It isn't negotiable, Cassandra. I can't keep you safe in the mansion, but I can here. No one knows about this place, except for the people I trust and believe me that's a shortlist." He kept his tone serious, this was the one thing she couldn't fight him on. The situation was alien for him too. He'd never shared the apartment with anyone.
The construction crew had mostly been shifters who could shift into bears and they'd made sure to have the top of the clock tower renovated before he moved in. The entire layout of the place he called home had changed, except for the ceiling, which still had the original beams and probably a few pigeons that called it home living in it. He might not have been part of the most sociable circle in the supernatural world, but they still helped each other out. "I'll get your bag." By the time he went to retrieve it, Cassandra was up and walking into his bedroom. He rarely used that room anyway since he was more comfortable in his bird form when he slept. Since she'd fainted the last time he changed, he'd sleep in his human form. There wasn't any point in shocking her twice.
Raven followed as she walked into his bedroom, watching her every move. He flashed back to the moment he'd caught her in bed. She hadn't answered his question about who she was thinking about, but he'd caught the desire tinged by fear in her response to him like she'd seen a dream come to life.
"Do you make a habit of staring at people?"
He shook his head, hoping it would be enough to knock the ghost of her moans free. "Yes, but I'm sorry. It's been a while since I've had company." One that spent the night, He added silently.
"Yeah, it's been a while for me too." She sat down on his bed.
Raven dropped her bag on top of the chest of drawers. "I didn't know what you'd need so, there's a little of everything in the bag."
"Well, at least I'm already in my nightie. I don't think I want to be sleeping naked."
He bit back a groan. The image of her naked had him as hard as a rock and the thought of her writhing between his sheets had him worried he might pass out, as blood rushed in the wrong direction. When he finally had himself under control he turned around and all common sense flew out of the window. He'd never wanted to kiss a woman as much as he wanted Cassandra. Her lips would be soft and she'd moan as he claimed them like they needed to be. Her blonde hair pulled over her shoulder, her knees up against her chest and she watched him with wide eyes. She barely made a sound but Raven could read the desire in her eyes. The situation was twisted and reason should have had him walking out the door, but he couldn't, he was pinned by those beautiful eyes, like a butterfly being studied under a microscope and he wanted her.
He walked toward her, taking measured steps, knowing that moving too fast would scare her. "Tell me you're not as curious about this as I am, and I'll stop."
Cassandra nibbled on her bottom lip. "Stop what?"
He reached out, cupped her face. "This." He did the one thing he'd wanted to do since he'd seen her eating lunch. He swept his lips across hers, drinking in her moan. A hunger welled inside of him. The need to claim her intensified. The gentle way her fingers trailed up his bare arms had him craving more. Raven wanted to touch every part of her.
"Stop." A hand pressed against his chest and he reluctantly broke the kiss. Her pupils had drowned the entire colour out in her eyes, her chest rose in a fevered rate. "I can't do this, I'm sorry. I'm getting married next week." The words left her in a nearly incoherent blur.
That was the man she'd been sitting with? For the first time in his entire life, Raven wished he was someone else. He wanted to be the one to take this woman to bed, to claim her body every night, to watch pleasure blossom behind those eyes. Raven stood. "He's a lucky man. I'll see you in the morning." He reached the door when her voice had him turning around again.
"I was thinking of you. When I was...you know." She blurted the words out. "I don't know why I told you that." She added looking down at her hands.
He smiled. "I know. Night, Cassandra."
Chapter Four
The light came in from a small window in the roof, the beam warmed her face and she laid there losing track of time. It didn't feel like she'd slept for more than a few minutes. The kiss replayed through her mind on a continuous loop. How far would it have gone if Patrick hadn't come into her thoughts? A simple kiss, that was all it had been, but it made her wish for more. For one thing, Patrick never kissed her like that. How could a stranger invoke feelings in her that even her fiancé couldn't?
Cassandra pushed the bed covers aside and stood, making her way to the bag Raven left for her. Picking out a pair of jeans and an oversized beige jumper, she quickly pulled them on. It was weird being naked in a stranger's house, even if Raven didn't feel like one. When she was finally dressed, she walked through the door and back into the living room, or what passed for one.
Her would-be assassin laid out on the couch, fully clothed. There was a flash of disappointment, he'd seen her at her most vulnerable half-naked, caught up in her fantasy of him. It would have been nice to have the balance tipped in her favour. To see him without the armour that was his clothes. She let her eyes drift over him, he wasn't even human. The thought should have scared her, but it didn't. She was hardly normal herself.
Pale skin visible only on his face and naked arms; the dark clothes he wore only enhanced the paleness of his skin. Long legs, muscular, powerful and strong arms crossed over his chest. His lips had been soft, his body hard. How much of it was an illusion? A person who shifted into a bird, did that mean he could change his human form as well?
"Do you like staring?" He teased her. Her own words coming back to haunt her.
She snapped her eyes up and fixed them on his. A lazy grin told her he knew she'd been studying him for a while. She blushed again. "I'm sorry."
<
br /> "Don't be. I like you looking at me." The words left her feeling faint. Raven moved slowly to his feet, and Cassandra made her way to the kitchen. Judging from the clean space, he didn't cook very often. She caught sight of a discarded box from a local Chinese restaurant pushed into a bin. She smiled, in some cases, Raven was exactly like a normal man. The feelings he created in her were hard to get her head around. Only a few hours ago he told her he'd been sent to kill her and there was no doubt in her mind he could do it. Now she was in his home, a private space that he only reserved for himself.
His life had to be lonely.
"Do you have any coffee?"
"Yes." His voice behind her made her jump and spin around. His lips were over hers as if they'd never left them. Cassandra gasped at the sudden intrusion, but she let herself melt against him. With hands under her legs, he lifted her, resting her on the top of the counter. Her vision swam in front of her and she closed her eyes. The attack came out of nowhere, a wave of unease held a tight grip on her heart.
Raven must have noticed since he broke contact with her. Every part of her screamed out in protest, there was something so right about being in his arms that she felt lost without him. Her whole body tensed up, her grip on the kitchen counter turned her knuckles white. There were flashes of images behind her eyes, nothing that made sense. The intensity of them stole her breath and stars danced behind her eyelids. Raven was calling her name, but it was a faint whisper barely breaking through the attack. She'd never seen images before, only the intense feelings that turned her stomach. She held herself rigid against the onslaught, broken glass, rain-slicked stones, twisted metal, and so much blood. If this was the direction her 'gift' was leading her, she wasn't sure she wanted it.