Tiernan laughed evilly as he stepped down from the chair. "Knowing Nero, he probably did it on purpose."
Livia's eyes were bright. "Are they always this entertaining when they're together?"
"Depends."
"On?"
"Whether or not they're plotting against you. Taryn's like a head injury. It's only funny when it happens to someone else. And Tiernan . . . I think there's now a hurricane on Chrinon VI named after him."
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She burst out laughing.
The twins sobered.
Taryn gave her an incredulous stare. "Thank you, Liv." "For what?"
Tiernan answered for him. "For making Adron human again. It's been a long time."
"Screw you, Tier." But Adron had to give her credit, too. It'd been too long since he'd teased with his family or with anyone else like this.
"Yeah, bro, since when was Adron ever human? More like a festering subspecies of some kind. You know. Like a pimple on the ass of a warthog."
Adron tossed a pillow at Taryn, who caught it and laughed. "You better be glad I'm strapped down."
Taryn threw the pillow back at him.
It rebounded off his head. Adron hissed and threw himself back as if in pain. The three of them ran to his side.
Taryn reached him first. "Do I need to call a nurse?"
Adron laughed at them as they surrounded him with terror in their eyes. "You are all so gullible."
Tiernan let out a sound of extreme disgust. "You bastard. I thought you were hurt."
Taryn picked the pillow up and beat Adron with it. "I hate you."
Adron snatched the pillow out of his hands. "You suck, too." As he tried to put it back behind him, Livia took it from his hands and placed it where he wanted.
"You're all terrible. I feel sorry for your poor mother having to referee all of you. It's a wonder she has any sanity left."
Taryn grinned. "Personally, I'm not sure she does."
Suddenly exhausted from the activity, Adron leaned back and watched as they put his room together. When it was done, his brothers left and Livia pulled the chair closer to his bed.
"You need anything else?"
"Yeah. You not to leave."
"I'm right here, sweetie, and there's no place else I'd rather be."
And right there she stayed for the entire week he was sentenced to his hellhole. Even though it was selfish of him, he loved it, and her presence there made time fly in a way it never had before. Once it was over and they were back in his apartment, he took her to bed and didn't emerge except to attend to basic needs like food and drink.
Livia came awake slowly. She blinked her eyes open to find herself lying in bed, wrapped in her husband
's arms.
Adron was still asleep, but even so, he had a tight grip on her as if he were afraid she'd vanish. Smiling, she picked his hand up and placed a kiss over his scarred knuckles. Then she heard someone in the outer room. At first, she assumed it was the cleaning lady who came twice a week, until she heard one of the twins call Adron's name.
"Hey, bud." He threw open the door. "I need . . ." Tiernan took one look at them lying naked in the bed and turned around to give them his back.
"Sorry, Livia. I assumed by three o'clock in the afternoon the two of you would be up and about."
Adron rubbed his stubbled cheek against her shoulder as he came awake. "I need to learn to lock my bedroom door."
She laughed.
Tiernan made a sound of agitation. "I'm going to go out there and wait until you two are dressed."
Adron brushed his hand over her hair, and she felt his erection against her hip. "Why don't you keep walking until you get to the other side of the front door?"
"Ha-ha." Tiernan paused in the doorway and turned back toward them. "By the way, your wife has a great body."
Heat exploded across her face as Tiernan shut the door. Adron gave her a stern frown. "Say the word, and I'll kill him for you."
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She smiled. "It's okay. If you did that, Taryn would miss him."
"Hardly. He'd probably fall down in gratitude. You know, when they were babies, Tiernan used to shove Taryn down and grab his bottle away, then drink it."
"No, he didn't. Tiernan's too sweet to do something so mean."
He scoffed. "Don't let Tiernan's polite, mild-mannered demeanor fool you. He's every bit as lethal as Taryn, and he hits twice as hard. Take it from someone with firsthand experience. The only difference is, unlike Taryn and his pirate garb, Tiernan will be in a suit when he cuts your throat. No one expects an ambassador to go bad, but believe me, Tiernan's not a pacifist. I'd put him up against any assassin the League ever trained . . . including me in my prime."
She still had a hard time believing that. There was an aura about Taryn that said he could be vicious if provoked. But Tiernan . . . he was like an adorable baby brother who never lost patience with anyone. Not even Zarina.
With a low groan, Adron rolled over slowly and reached for his injector and medicine on the nightstand.
Livia cringed as he gave himself a shot in the stomach. How she wished he didn't have to do that every few hours. But it was either that or his body locked up with so much pain that he couldn't move at all. Unfortunately, he would have to do it for the rest of his life. His features strained by the effort, he left the bed and dressed. Every few minutes, he'd have to pause and wait for the pain to subside before he could resume dressing. She wanted to offer to help, but he wouldn't appreciate it.
By the time he finished, his brow was damp with sweat from the strain. He gave her a sheepish look before he grabbed his cane and left the room.
While he went to speak to his brother, she headed into the bathroom for a shower. She took her time, letting the hot water cascade over her skin, until she felt someone watching her bathe. Turning around, she saw Adron leaning against the wall, staring straight at her. She dropped the cloth in her hand. "You startled me."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to. I was just wishing I could join you."
It amazed her how comfortable she'd become around him when she was naked. Her nudity had long since ceased to bother her. As did his. In fact, she'd learned every dip and curve of his tawny flesh. Every scar.
She glanced over to the tub a few feet away where he took his baths. "Want me to join you?"
He smiled. "Yes, I do."
Livia turned the shower off and ran them a tub full of water. Adron got in first, then pulled her in on top of him.
"Careful," she warned as a wave of panic went through her. "I don't want to hurt you."
"You could never hurt me." He claimed her lips with his.
Livia moaned. Oh, but she would never get tired of his kisses. His touch. Adron pulled back to stare at her in awe. Her lips were swollen from his kiss and her cheeks red from his whiskers. He ran his hand over her ravaged skin, hating that he'd chafed it.
"I'm sorry about that." He reached for his razor in the cubbyhole in the wall above his head. She sat beside him, watching him shave with a frown on her face. "Wouldn't that be easier with a mirror?"
"Probably."
"Then why don't you use one?"
He paused and looked away from her as his gut knotted. "I don't like looking in mirrors, and I damn sure don't want to do it first thing every morning." It was bad enough to catch sight of his mangled face accidentally. The last thing he wanted to do was look at it on purpose. She took the razor from his hand, and to his shock, she shaved the mutilated side of his face. "You are incredibly handsome."
Adron stared at her doubtfully. "When I was younger, I was really vain about it. Zarina used to tease me that I looked at my reflection so much that one day the bogeyman was going to come and steal my Page 41
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face." He dropped his gaze to the floor. "I guess she was right. He did."
Livia rinsed the soap from his face. "I think you're gorgeous."
"I think you're insane."
She shook her head as she started shaving his other cheek. "You know, there is a bright side to all you suffered."
"And that is?"
She hesitated as if gathering her thoughts. "Tell me truthfully, Adron. If Kyr hadn't scarred you, would you have taken me home that night at the Golden Crona? Would you have even looked twice at me?"
Adron opened his mouth to deny it, but he couldn't. She was right. She was beautiful to him now, a vital part of his life. But she wasn't the kind of woman he'd chased after when he was single. Like Zarina had said, he'd been a vain asshole. Though Livia was pretty and sweet, she wasn't one of the tall, sleek knockouts he'd been with. The kind of women who knew how to tease and torment a guy with their looks and body.
The truth was, as pretty as she was, he would never have looked twice at her before Kyr had crippled him.
That thought cut him all the way to his soul. How could he have been so stupid as to not look any deeper than the surface?
And she deserved someone much better than him.
"I wish I could be whole for you . . . I wish I could hold you and dance with you, take you in my arms and make love to you the way I want to."
"And I'm just grateful I have you at all. It's not your body or face that I love, Adron. It's your heart, your soul, and your mind."
He trembled at her words, then pulled her to him and kissed her. She moved carefully into his lap. Adron nibbled her lips as he felt her sliding her hand over his shoulders, down his arms. She lifted her hips, then impaled herself on him. They moaned simultaneously. Bracing her hands on the edge of the tub, she rode him slow and easy, making him blind from the pleasure of her body surrounding his. And for the first time, he was grateful to Kyr. Grateful that the bastard had opened his eyes . . .
Grateful he'd found Livia.
God help him if anything should happen to her. She was the one thing he could never lose. The one thing that could truly destroy him.
His throat tight, he watched her as she climaxed in his arms. The pleasure on her face tore through him. And as he felt her body tighten around him, he surrendered himself to his own release. Livia started to collapse against his chest, then barely caught herself before she hurt him. She smiled at him, but she saw the turmoil in his eyes, felt him go rigid over her action. It always hurt him when he realized the frailness of his body.
She would give anything to remove that look from him forever.
Would you give your life?
That was the question that haunted her every day. And what scared her most was that the answer was starting to become yes. She'd much rather he have his happiness than she hers.
"I love you," she whispered.
As usual, he said nothing as he shifted away from her.
Livia sighed. She hadn't meant to hurt his feelings. But it was too late. He was closed off from her again.
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SIX
By the time they dressed, it was nearly dinnertime.
"You want to go out to eat?"
Adron's question startled her. It was so unlike him to volunteer to leave. Normally she had to pull him out while he threatened and protested every step of the way.
She wanted to go eat, but he'd been doing really well with his pain today. He'd taken only half his normal dosage of medication. The last thing she wanted was to tax his strength and make him hurt again. And going out always made him tense. He didn't like the way people stared at his face or his cane. But it was nice of him to offer.
"No, it's okay."
He looked at her skeptically and used her words against her. "C'mon, you can't spend your life locked in this apartment. The fresh air will be good for you."
"Are you sure you feel up to it?"
"Truthfully? I hate being stuck here all the time. I was never a homebody before."
"Yeah, but I know how much you loathe being in public."
He shrugged. "I've learned to like going out with you. People don't bother me as much as they used to. And I don't really see them when I'm with you anyway. I'd much rather look at you than anyone else."
How could she say no to that?
"Okay." She got up and put on her shoes while Adron got her coat and held it for her. They didn't go far, just a few sectors over to a quaint restaurant she'd discovered with Zarina and his mother a few weeks ago.
Adron sat beside her with his arm draped over the back of her chair as they waited for their food. For some reason he liked to twist a lock of her hair around his forefinger. She wasn't even sure if he realized how much he did it . . . if he even knew he did it at all. But anytime she was near him, he played with her hair.
And it always warmed her.
"I don't believe it."
Adron went rigid at the unfamiliar deep voice.
Livia turned her head to see a man who looked so incredibly similar to her husband that she knew he must be the elusive brother, Jayce--the only member of Adron's family she had yet to meet. Jayce's green eyes were warm with friendship as he paused beside her chair. His long blond hair was braided down his back, and he wore a black League assassin's street uniform. Something so dark, it seemed to absorb light. Dark-red daggers were engraved down the sleeves, and each was topped by a crown that marked him as the most lethal of his kind. A command assassin of the first order. But for his playful eyes, he would have been terrifying to meet. They, however, softened his features and made him appear almost human.
Smiling, he extended a gloved hand to her. "You must be Livia. It's great to finally meet you. My parents think the world of you."
Before she could move or speak, Adron knocked his arm away. "You're not welcome here. Why don
't you slink off into the hole you crawled out of?"
Jayce curled his lip. "Oh, that's real original and mature. Why don't you call me Mr. Stinky Pants while you're at it?"
"Fuck you."
A tic worked in Jayce's jaw. To his credit, he kept his cool and took a deep breath before he spoke again. "Look, can't we just put the past behind us and be brothers again?"
Adron's response was so crude that it sent heat over her face. Jayce went flush with his rage. "Fine, wallow in your self-pity, you disgusting asshole."
He turned to leave.
"That's right," Adron snarled, "turn your back on me, you coward. That's what you were always best Page 43
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at."
Jayce whirled about and grabbed Adron out of his chair.
Livia gasped as she rose to her feet to stop them. "You need to let him go."
Jayce ignored her. "Don't you ever call me a coward. You, of all men, know those are fighting words."
But Adron didn't back down, and the hatred in his eyes was searing. "Why not? It's true, isn't it? You dare wear a League uniform, yet you betrayed your oath to them and you betrayed your oath to me. You are nothing but a self-righteous coward."
After that, everything happened in a blur.
Jayce bellowed, then swung.
Adron ducked and caught Jayce a staggering blow against his jaw. Trained and honed as an assassin, Jayce acted on autopilot as he returned the blow with one of his own. A fist straight into Adron's heart. It was so fierce it would have been debilitating on a healthy man. On Adron . . .
Livia heard the horrendous sound of bones breaking. The force of the blow knocked Adron back into the table.
Before he hit the floor, Livia knew he was seriously injured.
"Oh, God, Adron," Jayce gasped as he knelt beside him. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. It was completely reflexive. Oh, God, I'm sorry."
Adron couldn't answer.
>
Livia watched, horrified by the paleness of Adron's face as his breath rattled loosely in his chest. She'
d never seen panic in Adron's eyes, but she saw it now, and that scared her most of all. Jayce called for an MT unit, but it was too late. Adron's breathing was growing shallower by the heartbeat. He started coughing up blood.
Livia cupped his face in her hands.
Adron touched her arm and tried to memorize her features before he died. He should never have provoked Jayce. His brother had always had a hair trigger on his temper. Just like Adron.
But now it was too late. Jayce had finally done the one thing he was supposed to have done when he found Adron lying in the Dumpster.
He'd killed him.
Adron reached up and placed a hand to Livia's soft, creamy cheek. His angel of mercy. At a time when he'd wanted to die, she alone had given him a reason to live. He didn't want to leave her. Couldn't stand the thought of not having her with him. But it wasn't meant to be.
Her face faded from his sight, and then everything went black.
"No!" Livia screamed as his hand fell from her face and he went limp in her arms. "Don't you dare leave me!"
But it was too late. His skin was already discoloring.
Jayce laid him on the floor and prepared to resuscitate him.
"Damn it!" The agonized cry tore through her as Jayce realized he couldn't give him CPR. Adron's body couldn't sustain it.
In that instant, Livia did the only thing she knew to do. She reached down deep inside her and summoned all the power she possessed. She didn't care what it cost her. She couldn't live without Adron. And if it meant her own life, so be it.
Almost instantly, her hands were hot. Hotter than they'd ever been before. She placed them against Adron's chest and willed her life force into him.
Jayce shielded his eyes as an unbelievably bright orange halo surrounded Adron's body. Adron came awake with a jolt. At first, he thought he was dead. There was no pain anywhere in him. Page 44
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His body felt strange. Different.
It felt whole.
Then he became aware of Jayce touching his face and of a strange weight on his chest.
"Adron?" Jayce gasped in disbelief.
Looking down, Adron realized the weight on his chest was Livia. His heart pounding, he sat straight up with an agility he hadn't possessed in eight years. And in that instant, he knew what she'd done. She'd healed him again. As he pulled her into his arms, he saw his blood-covered hand and scowled at it in disbelief. The scars were completely gone from it.
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