Kai (A Dark Assassins Novel Book One) (11 page)

A shiver pulled him from his musings, and when she mumbled and burrowed closer to his side, he allowed himself a small smile as he sensed her happiness, even in sleep.

Concerned that she might be cold, his hand roamed over her exposed back.
 
When he found it cool to the touch, he reached for the comforter that lay at their feet and covered them both.
 
His arms tightened around her waist and the movement pulled her closer.
 
He settled his cheek against her curls.
 

In the past, he would’ve chastised himself for caring for anyone, much less a human.
 
He found his concern for her a constant presence buzzing in his mind.
 
He tried to reason with himself that he had been assigned to protect her, and he took his job seriously, but his thoughts were centered on her and the way she made him feel.
 
If he were honest, he’d never been comfortable with sharing a space with another, but with her, he found himself relaxed and content.
 

Most nights found him researching new targets, boxing, combat and weapons training, or out on assignment.
 
But for the first time since he’d been recruited, he had no plans to leave his bed, or the woman beside him.
 

In the few months that he’d been aware of Liv, his normal life had shifted into something more than what he’d been content to live with.
 
He yearned to see her every night, and became grateful that he slept during the day, while she happened to be at work and safe.
 
The hours between dusk and the moment he laid eyes on her each night were the longest in his life.
 
Not even the excitement of a new target or the anticipation of the adrenaline rush when tracking could draw him away from thoughts of Liv.
 
The obsession grew over time, and the longer he had been away from her, the stronger the urge to see her.

He had begged off more times than he could count whenever Reaper or Hunter had invited him to a club in Denver or to travel with them on overseas jobs.
 
They’d begun to ask him about it more and more, but he refused to answer.
 

With thoughts of his team, a groan rumbled through his chest.
 
The entire company would be arriving in less than a day.
 
Although he trusted the few vampires who would be in attendance to keep their distance from Liv, he couldn’t expect the same from the shifters.
 

Shifters were visceral and tactile, and although they were around humans more than vampires, their fascination with the weaker species would lead them to cross paths with Liv more than he would deem necessary.
 
The thought of anyone touching Liv, even a fellow assassin, sent a shaft of rage through him.
 

He hadn’t realized that he tensed at his own thoughts, until she let out a little cry of pain.

In a split second, he huddled over her.
 
“Did I hurt you?”

He heard her heart beat faster in her chest, and a small pang of worry rushed through his body.
 
The emotional tie between them felt stronger, but being so far removed from human emotions, he tried to work out what her specific emotion signified.
 
A scowl of concentration must’ve startled her, because her gasp pulled him from his internal investigation as he tried to tune into her emotions.

“No, I’m fine.
 
I’m disturbing your sleep, so I’ll go down to my own room,” she said.

With a sharp shake of his head, he lay on his side, and slid his hand down to her waist, pulling her closer until they faced each other, barely an inch separating them.
 
As he gazed into her eyes, he understood what he’d sensed when she woke.
 
Shit, she thought I would push her away.

“No, I was thinking.
 
I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s okay.”
 
She scanned his face before she continued.
 
“You snarled several times so I thought I would give you some room.”

He kissed the tip of her nose and pulled her in closer.
 
“I like you right where you are.
 
I was thinking about the team coming to the house.
 
The vampires keep to themselves, but the shifters are more…hands-on.”

“Are they angry with me?” she asked.

While they’d been talking, his hand rubbed her back in slow, languorous circles.
 
He shifted and entangled their legs, keeping her as close to him as possible, but he answered her.

“No.
 
They know about the bio-weapon, but Ghost explained that you had nothing to do with it.
 
I’ve already sent them everything you downloaded, except for the video.
 
That’s something that should be watched only once.”

“Can I ask you a personal question?” she asked.

“Sure.”

“How old are you?”

He calculated his actual age, including the years he spent as a human.
 
“Two hundred and thirty-one.
 
I died in battle at the age of twenty-eight.”

“Do you know…who turned you into a vampire?”

“No.
 
I woke up on the battlefield, surrounded by bodies.
 
All the wounds I sustained from the shrapnel when the canon exploded were healed, and I was completely alone.
 
Whoever turned me left a few men, slowly dying from their wounds, and I drank from them, but after I gained my strength, I learned to fend for myself.
 
I taught myself to drink without killing, and for years, I roamed the States without much direction.
 
Ghost, the founder of Dark Company, recruited me in 1925, and I’ve used the natural abilities that come with being a vampire to my advantage.”

He listened to her even breathing and could feel her mulling over this new information with what she’d learned about him so far.
 
He didn’t mind speaking about his past—he didn’t think there was much to it—but he would answer any questions she had.

“Did you ever see your family after you turned?”

“No.
 
By the time I made my way to home, they had been notified I had been killed on the battlefield, so I let it be.”

“You weren’t married?”

“No.
 
My mother was Korean and my father white, and because of my heritage, I wasn’t accepted in society in those days.
 
There were no women who would’ve married me or even been seen with a man of mixed race at that time, so there was no chance of marriage,” he said.

The silence grew between them, and he realized he enjoyed holding her in his arms and being able to kiss her without holding back.
 
It still scared the shit out of him that her life was in danger, but he would keep her as close as he could, and if need be, trust the others to protect her.
 

Emotions that he hadn’t felt in years, maybe even ever, had flooded him when they first kissed.
 
But they had strengthened the more he learned about her, the more he could sense the natural goodness inside her.
 
He would keep her close, and try to figure out a way to tell her how she made him feel, if he could figure it out himself first.

“So…”

“Yeah.”
 
He glanced down and again was taken by her understated beauty.

“What’s with the silver eyes?” she asked.

Her casual question startled a laugh out of him, but as she rubbed his chest with soft strokes, his amusement turned into a hunger that stole his breath.
 
Gulping in several deep breaths as he closed his eyes and tried to keep his arousal from growing out of control, his mind memorized each stroke that scorched his skin.
 
To keep his body under control, he blurted out an answer to her question.

“Apparently when we’re bitten, the venom damages the pigment in the eyes, and they lighten to silver.
 
One vampire, Thomas, had a theory that it allows us to see better in the dark, but all of our senses are heightened when we’re turned, so I doubt that’s the reason.
 
Do they look strange?”

“No.
 
I’ve never seen the color before, and I was curious.
 
They are very striking.
 
What was your original color?”

“A deep blue, as far as I can remember.”

She traced the black ink around his shoulder, mesmerized by the pattern and the intricacies of the design.

“All of the assassins have a tattoo similar to this one.
 
It bonds us together.”

They grew quiet as he enjoyed her fingers tracing over his skin.
 
He found that he enjoyed her soft, smoky voice as she asked him questions, and reveled in her body pressed against his.
 
He’d never enjoyed a time with a woman as much as this.

“What’s it like…being a vampire?”

“I don’t really have much to compare it to, but I suppose it’s similar to being a human.
 
The difference is that I sleep during the day, I drink blood for sustenance, and have enhanced abilities that allow me to be deadly.”

He demonstrated his speed as he leapt from the bed in one quick motion and reached for her naked ankles.
 
She squealed when he brushed a finger on the top of her foot, but he refused to be deterred, even though the sexy sound washed over him and left him wanting her more than his next breath.
 
Careful of the pressure from his hands, he pulled her until her legs were draped over the edge of the bed and her naked body was displayed in all its glory.

“Kai?”

“My turn to taste,” he said.

She reached for the sheet to cover her nude body, but he blocked her movement when he placed his lips against her nipple.
 
She froze, mid-movement, and groaned when his tongue darted out and tasted her.
 
Her honeyed arousal struck his senses in the next second, and he couldn’t stop the growl that escaped from deep in his throat.
 

Each touch on her body proved as erotic as the next, and by the time his mouth moved down to her clit, his cock throbbed painfully.
 
Her hips jolted off the bed as his tongue caressed and stroked, savoring her sweetness on his tongue.
 
He grew addicted to her taste, and lost track of trying to pleasure her.
 
Instead, he stroked and suckled based on an instinct he’d never known existed.
 
When her body arched and his tongue was flooded with her release, he couldn’t prevent the growl that rumbled through her, prolonging her orgasm.

She scrambled off the bed and stood.
 
He reached for her, but she pushed him onto his back and climbed on top of him.
 
His hands gripped her hips and squeezed as she positioned herself on top of his cock.
 
Without a word, she sank down on him in one swift motion, leaving them both gasping in pleasure.

“So…good.
 
You feel so good,” she mumbled.

Surging deep inside her, he grasped her waist to keep her close, and watched her arch her back as she took her pleasure from him.
 
If possible, the movements intensified, and he found himself gritting his teeth to hold back from surrendering to his need to release inside her.

Her hands dropped onto his chest, and he sat up, wrapping his arms around her, and squeezed her tightly to his chest.

His mouth sought hers at the same moment he could no longer hold back his release; he could feel his cock swell as she sank back down onto him, and his release triggered hers.

“Oh, oh,” she breathed.

Mindless with pleasure, he clung to her as she slumped against his body, her energy completely spent.

It took him several minutes to move.

A unfamiliar tiredness overwhelmed him, but when she shivered at the coolness of the room, he stood and flipped on the switch for the fireplace before he headed back to bed, all while holding her close.
 
He settled them both in bed and reached for the comforter, before he flicked off the lamp.
 
As he pulled her close, she settled her head against his chest and sighed.

“Night, Kai,” she mumbled.

“Night, love.”

For several minutes, he listened to her breathing and traced his fingers up and down her arm as he relaxed into sleep.
 
Oblivious, his tongue brushed against his teeth, surprised.
 
He couldn’t remember when his teeth elongated, but there wasn’t a moment when they made love that he thought about piercing her skin.

A surprising first for him.

Chapter Ten

Olivia

Olivia blinked awake and allowed her eyes a few minutes to adjust to the darkness.
 
Glancing at the bright white numbers on the alarm clock, she almost groaned aloud.
 
She’d never been a morning person and avoided five o’clock like the plague, but when her stomach rumbled with hunger, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and reluctantly slid to the edge of the bed.

A loud gasp escaped her throat when strong arms gripped her waist, and she shivered as he lay back down on the bed with her naked back pressed against a solid chest.

He settled back into sleep.
 
His breaths caressed her neck, causing a shiver to pass through her, but she lay wide awake.

Every moment of the night before rushed back to her, and she flushed as desire inflamed her, inside and out.
 
Her body tensed, and she moaned aloud as her achy muscles made themselves known.
 
Her thighs were sore and as she pressed them together, she could feel some abrasions that weren’t there the day before.
 
Her nipples pebbled as pleasure tore through her body, and her clit was swollen and sensitive from his exploration using his lips and tongue.
 
Each moment seared into her memory, and as she replayed them in her mind, she could’ve sworn that she could still feel every stroke, every touch.