by Nadia Heaton
“I guess we’ll find out – I’ve never been on a long trip like this. If I do, though, I don’t intend to spend ten days throwing up. I’ll use magic to settle myself.”
“You can do that?”
“Using healing magic on yourself isn’t ideal, but for something like seasickness that isn’t life threatening. It’s not the worst thing in the world.”
The boat jerked slightly as Jim presumably untied them from the dock. The engine started, and soon their movement was smooth enough that Nobu couldn’t feel it. He and Lisette made do with sitting on crates, facing each other. He watched warily for any sign of seasickness, ready to dodge projectile vomit if necessary.
Lisette seemed alright, though, and eventually broke the silence. “So how long have you been an assassin?”
Nobu had skirted around this topic when they were talking before, but he supposed that if they were going to be with each other for the next ten days, he may as well tell her everything.
“Since I was thirteen. My guardian deemed me old enough to start helping to pay the bills. At first, I hated it. Gary didn’t care who he killed, and I tried to make myself feel the same way. Eventually, I kicked up such a fuss about it that he let me choose my cases based on who I thought deserved death.”
“How do you know, though? I mean, I know you do the research and stuff, but ultimately, how do you decide who deserves to live and die?”
What Nobu thought she was asking, as he read between the lines, was what gave him the right? He’d asked himself that same question many times.
“I act on my best judgement. I wish I could do something else – something like you do, that helps people rather than hurts them. This is all I’ve ever known, though. It’s what I’m good at. I choose to derive what satisfaction I can from making the world a better place, at least in my opinion. As for whether they really are bad enough to deserve to die… I don’t know, maybe I’m just fooling myself. Everyone is bad to someone. Perhaps I don’t have the right to decide.”
“I can’t really imagine what it must be like,” Lisette admitted. “Growing up being bred to be a certain thing. It must be very hard to break from that.”
“If there is a way, I haven’t learned it yet. Maybe someday… but for now, I do what I can.”
Great, now he’d made her sad, he could tell by the mournful way she looked at him. Nobu quickly changed the subject. “Tell me more about your sisters.”
“What do you want to know?” The subject had already been covered, and he scrambled to think of something Lisette hadn’t told him, something that might raise her spirits.
“What about their magic? You said you specialize in love and lust. Do they have specialties like you?”
“Fleur is training to take over as head of the coven – or at least, she was until the whole thing with Savion. I’m not sure what’s happening there now, but being head of the coven is a specialty on its own. Tristan hasn’t decided yet. It’ll probably become clear in the next few years.”
Nobu had seen enough by now to know that it was all true, but still, part of his mind boggled as he listened to Lisette talk so casually about witchcraft. Witches, vampires… a day ago, he’d never known any of them existed.
Now, he was rapidly becoming infatuated with a witch. He wondered briefly if Lisette might have cast a love spell on him, but decided he trusted her more than that. He still felt in awe of her. Nobu had thought his career was impressive, but Lisette… she was something else.
“So two of your sisters are in love with vampires?” He wondered if it was a family thing, and if Lisette would also only truly fall for a vampire.
Her reaction told him otherwise. Lisette grimaced, her mouth twisting in distaste. “Yes. I try to be supportive, and I know Jermaine and Savion are good guys… but still, it’s hard. I don’t know how they can stomach being near vampires so often. It’s unnatural.”
Nobu nodded along, smiling internally. Maybe he was still in the running after all.
7
Nobu spent most of the rest of the trip alternating between going above deck and spending time with Lisette down in the storage room where they were sleeping. It was a constant battle, and it went back and forth several times per day.
He very much wanted to spend all of his time with her, but when he did, he found himself more and more drawn to her by the moment. Then he’d retreat to where she couldn’t follow for a few hours, before finally giving in to the pull and returning to her.
If he was a less selfish man, he’d stay far away from Lisette, but Nobu had never been good at denying himself. His presence would likely put her in danger, as it already had. If Gregory had seen her face, Lisette would probably have people coming after her by now. His line of work didn’t mis too well with significant others; all too often, those others ended up getting killed.
When he was talking to Lisette, though, Nobu started to have doubts. It was clear that she could take care of herself. She was far more powerful than he would ever be, even if he had all his weapons. She could probably deal with anything Gregory or any other disgruntled client of his threw at her.
That didn’t mean he wanted her in danger, though. Nobu vacillated back and forth, wondering just how close he should let himself get to her. They were stuck on this ship together until they reached Spain. Perhaps the smart thing to do would be to go their separate ways once arrived, but every time that thought surfaced, he found himself viciously pushing it down.
“You ok? You’ve gone quiet again.” Lisette was giving him a piercing look that made Nobu feel like she could read his mind, though she had assured him she couldn’t.
“I’m just wondering, I guess. How did you and Teo meet?”
Lisette grimaced. “I’d rather not think about Teo right now. Ugh, I really made a mess of things, didn’t I?”
Nobu didn’t answer. He was trying to get a read on her current feelings for Teo, but that wasn’t going to be possible if she wouldn’t talk about him. If he was going to start something with her, he needed to be sure that she wasn’t still hung up on another guy first. Nobu didn’t want to get his heart broken.
He’d never had a proper long term relationship before – his work didn’t allow for it. A few flings here and there were acceptable, but he wanted more than that with Lisette. If he wanted his answer, perhaps he’d have to be less subtle.
“Do you still have feelings for him?” Nobu asked bluntly.
Lisette sighed. “Not the kind of feelings I should have. Mostly, I feel guilty that I let things go on as long as they did. I should have ended it long before the wedding. I haven’t had romantic feelings for him in some time.”
That was a relief. “I’m sure he’ll forgive you.” Nobu couldn’t imagine holding a grudge against Lisette for long, no matter what she did.
Lisette snorted. “Wishful thinking. I expect he’s going to react rather badly to this.”
Something about the way she said it made Nobu’s protectiveness surge up. “You think he might hurt you?”
“Don’t worry about it. He can’t hurt me, even if he decides he wants to. Hopefully he won’t be stupid enough to try.”
Nobu hoped so too, but he privately thought that if this anyone, especially Teo, wanted to hurt Lisette, they’d have to go through him first.
He was still conflicted, though. Residue feelings or not, Lisette was in an emotionally vulnerable place. The last thing he wanted was to take advantage of her. He should wait, at least a few weeks, before making a move. She deserved time to recover.
They arrived in Spain on schedule. Lisette did as she’d said she would, and cast a fog around them, completely shielding their approach from prying eyes. Before they left, she made sure to enchant Jim’s fishing nets before they left.
The boat pulled away, leaving the two of them standing on the dock with their luggage.
“Come on, let’s find somewhere to stay.” Nobu led the way, insisting on carrying Lisette’s suitcase as well as his own lighter
bag.
It didn’t take them long to find a taxi, and Nobu directed him to take them to the nearest place they could spend the night. It was already evening, and they were both tired. The taxi brought them to a bed and breakfast set alongside the sea. It looked perfect, and their restaurant was even still open.
When it came to booking their room, Nobu hesitated for the first time since stepping off the boat. He turned to Lisette. “What do you want to do about rooms?” he asked quietly. “I can get you a separate one if you’d like…” He trailed off, hoping she would shoot his idea down.
“No, we can share. It’s cheaper that way, and I don’t mind.” Nobu grinned. He could easily afford another room, but he’d take any reason to share with Lisette. Judging by the way she looked at him, he suspected she wasn’t truly motivated by cutting costs either.
In the end, it turned out that there wasn’t a couples room available, so they got two adjoining rooms. Nobu opened the door between them wide, trying to stifle his disappointment.
After dumping their things, he turned to her. “What do you want to do? Dinner? You’ve got to be dying to eat something other than fish by now – I know I am.”
“True,” Lisette laughed. “I’d like to look around, first, if you don’t mind. I’ve never been to Spain before. Have you?”
“Yes, but it was for work, not a vacation. I never got to see much of it.”
The two of them walked side by side down the streets as the sun set. It was still relatively busy despite the late hour, and there was plenty to see. Their hands brushed against each other. Nobu wasn’t sure who moved first, but somehow, their hands became entwined.
As they walked, they talked. He and Lisette had spent hours talking on the boat ride, but it seemed they never ran out of things to say to each other. He felt like he could spend a lifetime with her and never get bored.
People bustled around them, having to move out of the way, since Nobu and Lisette were too wrapped up in each other to notice much of anything else. They may have technically been sightseeing, but the only sight he cared about on that walk was Lisette. She was more beautiful than anything Spain had to offer.
As the sun finally sank below the horizon, they returned to their bed and breakfast. Their room had a small balcony, and they returned there, Lisette saying she wanted to get changed into some clothes that didn’t smell like fish before dinner.
Unfortunately, the smell of fish seemed to have permeated everything they had. They would have to check if this place had a laundry service in the morning. Nobu took Lisette’s hand again as they went to the small restaurant that was part of the bed and breakfast.
As they sat down opposite each other, he glanced up at Lisette. “So… I’m taking you to dinner. Does that mean this is a date?”
He’d been hoping for a laugh and a yes, but she bit her lip, her eyes not meeting his. “I’m not sure…”
Nobu reached across the table for her hand. “It doesn’t have to be, Lisette. It can just be a meal.”
He wondered what was holding her back. It was clear that there was both attraction and affection between them.
There were any number of valid reasons for her not to want to take things further with him. She’d just broken off another relationship – in fact, he’d been having many of those same doubts himself. But he knew he wouldn’t take advantage of her; if she didn’t want anything more with him than friendship, then Nobu wouldn’t push. For now. He didn’t intend to let her get away from him, though. He’d lost too much in life to give up something truly valuable when it came around.
It could also be that she was a witch. He was just an ordinary human. Maybe she wanted to be with someone else of her kind, someone who could understand her in a way that Nobu would never be able to, no matter how hard he tried.
“I… I don’t know.”
“It’s ok,” he repeated. “Let’s just enjoy our meal, alright?”
“Alright.”
The tension of the moment soon melted away as they got drawn into a conversation about the weirdest spell requests Lisette had ever received. That naturally led to a question about the weirdest job Nobu had ever done.
“That may have to be a joint trophy,” he admitted. “One person wanted the kill to look like a vampire had done it, so I had to drain all the blood, then find a way to get rid of it without a trace. Do you know how much blood is in the human body? A fucking lot of it! I had to sell that car, I could never get the stains out of the seats.”
Lisette leaned back as she laughed, clutching her sides.
“But this one probably takes the cake. It wasn’t even a kill job, but it paid well, so I took it. A disgruntled CEO was being forced out of their company, and he wanted to make everyone miserable for firing him. I didn’t do any of the physical work, but I was in charge of collecting the people who were willing to do it.”
“What did they do?”
“They took every door out of the building and turned it into a wall. The new CEO’s first order was to have the walls bashed in so that everyone could get to work.”
They both had tears in their eyes from laughing so hard. “That’s brilliant,” Lisette gasped.
“I know. Sometimes I think people can be a lot more creative than death.”
Their waiter edged around their table, clearly nervous to approach.
“I’m a movie director,” Nobu explained. He’d run into this kind of thing before. Usually, he spoke to clients in places where they couldn’t be overheard, but if such a place wasn’t available, this line always worked.
“Oh!” Relief broke out over the waiter’s face. “You’re making a movie about… vampires?”
“Vampire businessmen,” Nobu confirmed, covering all his bases. “Can I have another look at that wine list?”
It was late when he and Lisette returned to their room. The two of them paused on the balcony, looking out at the stars that were staring to appear over the water.
“I had a really good time tonight,” Lisette said softly.
“Me too.” They were standing very close, close enough that Nobu could feel the warmth coming from her body. He knew he shouldn’t do what he was strongly tempted to do, but her lips were slightly parted and the perfect shade of pink. He couldn’t hold himself back any longer.
He moved slowly, giving Lisette a chance to back away if she wanted to.
She didn’t back away.
Their lips met in a soft kiss that set all of Nobu’s senses on fire. He pulled back, trying to get a read on her expression.
Lisette gave him a dreamy smile. “We should go to bed.”
“Of course.” She didn’t look unhappy about the kiss – quite the opposite. If she didn’t want to do more yet, Nobu wasn’t going to pressure her. He was rapidly coming to realize that when it came to Lisette, he’d wait as long as he needed to.
8
Lisette ducked into the bathroom. Her head was still spinning from the kiss. She was well acquainted with the rush of a new relationship, both physical and emotional. This didn’t feel like anything she’d felt before. There was something different about Nobu.
She checked herself. Lisette always thought there was something different about each new guy she started dating. She’d just escaped from a huge mess that she had made by being too hasty. She and Teo never should have gotten engaged in the first place.
Was she going to make the same mistake with Nobu? Rush into things and end up ruining everything? Lisette didn’t want that, but she didn’t know how to stop. She was falling for him, and falling hard. What a mess.
The door between her and Nobu’s rooms was still open, and she tiptoed over to it, closing it as quietly as she could. She needed some time to think. Lisette showered and made a quick trip downstairs to put her fish-smelling clothes in the laundry.
When she got back, the door between her and Nobu’s rooms was still closed. She couldn’t resist casting a small spell to heighten her hearing, wanting to know what he was doing.
It wasn’t anything very interesting. It sounded like Nobu was getting ready for bed. Lisette sighed as she did the same, lying down and forcing her eyes closed. With her eyes closed or not, though, her mind didn’t want to shut off. Thoughts of Nobu battered constantly against her defenses.
She could hear him tossing and turning next door. Lisette knew from their trip that Nobu didn’t usually have problems falling asleep. He must be thinking about the kiss too. She certainly couldn’t get it off her mind.
There was no way she was going to get to sleep like this. Lisette changed her spell slightly, so that it would magnify sound and words for both her and Nobu.
“Struggling to sleep?” she asked quietly.
She heard Nobu jerk in surprise, but he recovered quickly. “Yeah.”
Lisette wondered if she wanted to bring up the kiss, but decided to steer the conversation to safer waters. “What do you want to do tomorrow?”
“I don’t mind. Whatever you’d like.”
“Come on, there has to be something you want to do in Spain.”
Nobu hesitated for a moment. “You’ll think it’s silly.”
“Try me.”
“I want to go to one of the bull fights.”
Ugh. Had she completely misjudged him?
“Then find out who is in charge of organizing them and kill him or her.”
Ah, there was the Nobu she knew. “Not that I have any objections there, but we should probably try to keep a low profile.”
“Probably. I doubt Gregory will be able to track us here, but you’re right, we shouldn’t take the chance.”
They kept talking, mostly about light subjects. Nobu had a wide range of general knowledge, as well as some very specific knowledge in certain areas. Lisette knew that he did a lot of research before going into a new job. He was fascinating to talk to.
He also seemed interested in magic rather than freaked out by it, which was a nice change. Most of the humans who knew what Lisette was were at least a little wary of her, but not Nobu.