Kai (A Dark Assassins Novel Book One) (14 page)

“That would be me.”
 
Gunnar held a plate full of food as he walked back into the living room.
 

Her eyes widened as she took in the new shifter.
 
Gunnar’s wise hazel eyes stared back at her unabashedly, before he ran his fingers through his light brown hair and forked some food into his mouth.
 
Three other huge men walked in from the kitchen, and she started in his arms.
 
She moved to stand, but he pulled her back down, and held her in a way that the others wouldn’t miss his possessiveness.

“When you become immortal, do the gods turn you all into male models or something?” she asked.

Laughter rumbled across the room, and he tucked his face under her hair and chuckled along with the rest of them.
 
Reaper joined the group and she smiled at the wolf-shifter, causing his heart to lurch in his chest.
 
He could feel her uneasiness at such a large gathering, but he whispered reassurances in her ear until she relaxed against him.

“So, you and the vampire, huh?”
 
Xander asked her.

“I don’t…understand.
 
Kai and I have come to an agreement.
 
He promised not to kill me and I promised him that I would find an antidote for this bio-weapon.”
 
He spotted her gaze travel to Xander’s shock of white hair several times, before her gaze settled on his face.

They all laughed at the simplistic summary of their relationship, but Xander wouldn’t let the subject drop.

“I’m Xander, and I meant that you have his scent all over you.
 
Are you a couple?”

She opened her mouth to deny that they were in a relationship, but Kai cut her off.

“Yeah, she’s mine.
 
Don’t even think about it.
 
That goes for all of you, especially you, Ax.”

She followed his gaze to the gigantic blond man, and he spotted her eyes widen as her gaze wandered over the lion-shifter.
 
He squeezed her, and when she glanced at him, he shook his head.

“I wasn’t.
 
He’s huge, bigger than Reaper, and I didn’t think that was possible,” she mumbled.

“I like her.”
 
Ax chuckled.

“You like all women,” Kai grumbled.

“Yeah, but she’s honest.
 
There aren’t too many women out there who are that blatantly honest.”
 
Ax paused as he eyed her up and down.
 
“Are you sure that you won’t share?”

Reaper clicked his tongue at Ax.
 
“It’s your funeral, man.”

She must’ve sensed his rage as his muscles flexed underneath her, ready to stand and possibly rip the shifter’s head clean off, but she distracted him in the only way possible.
 
She kissed him.
 
His mouth opened and her tongue searched for his, and in a matter of minutes, he plundered her mouth as though he was dying of thirst and she offered him his salvation.
 
It wasn’t until a loud clearing of throats that he pulled away, remembering where they were.

“Holy shit, that was fucking hot,” Ax shot out.

“No kidding,” she mumbled under her breath, and another round of laughter erupted.

Hunter walked up toward the stack of paperwork that she’d already compiled, and looked over at Liv.
 
“Do you mind if I look at this?”

She moved her gaze to Hunter, and perused his black hair and his dark olive skin.
 
She shook her head before she spoke.
 
“No, go ahead.
 
The original formula is on the laptop in front of you.
 
I’m working on a way to combat the bio-weapon, including any possible tweaks they might come up with.”

The other shifters finished their meals and gathered by the pile of paperwork, and tried to read her scribbled work.
 
Before long, all of them had given up, except Hunter.
 
Whenever he asked her a question on how she’d come up with her calculations, she answered him, but even this was over his head.
 
When he’d finished looking them over, Liv scrambled over to the stack of papers and grabbed an armful.
 
She chucked them into the fire, and while the other shifters gasped in surprise, Kai chuckled as he rose and helped her with the rest of the papers.
 
When they were finished, he wrapped his arm around her waist, and turned back to the stunned group.

“I remember everything I’ve written down.
 
I haven’t gotten closer to solving it yet, but burning the work keeps it safe until I find the correct solution.
 
When I do, I will give it to you, and create the antidote so even if you are exposed, it won’t have any effect,” she explained.

She squirmed in his arms, as they continued to stare at her as if she were an anomaly.
 
Five large shifters were enough for anyone to bear, much less a woman not used to being around people.
 
But again, she’d shown him how brave she was, facing their questions head on.

“Why are you working so hard on this?” Ax asked.

He could feel her body shiver with emotion, and he froze, shocked the moment he spotted tears in her eyes.
 
He moved to comfort her, but she shook her head once, and cleared her throat.
 
Her gaze met each one of the shifters in the room, before she settled on him.

“It’s because of me, because of my work, that all of you are in danger.
 
This drug is so dangerous that a man ripped out his own throat because the rage that they’d injected him with couldn’t be contained, even after killing five people.
 
I will find a way to prevent it.
 
I just need a little more time.”
 
She choked on the last word.

Mumbling an excuse as she wiped the tears from her eyes, she darted upstairs to their room, and shut the door with a soft click.
 

He traced her movements until she was out of sight.
 
He turned back to the group in front of him.
 
They all looked as determined as he felt, and although she’d left the room, the weight of her words still hung in the air.

“She has no clue how much trouble she’s in.
 
They won’t stop until they have her, Kai.
 
You know they won’t,” Gunnar said.

He met each of their eyes—Reaper, Gunnar, Hunter, Axel, and Xander—before he spoke.

“I can’t lose her.
 
I don’t know if the legends are true, but I feel that she’s my mate, and I will do everything I can to protect her.
 
She didn’t even flinch when I told her about the contract on her life; she just asked that we continue the research to protect ourselves.
 
If they come, we have to stop them.”

His words had barely settled before Gunnar spoke.
 
“We’ve got your back, and we’ll protect her with our lives.”

The four other shifters nodded their agreement without hesitation, and just like that, they had a pact.
 
He felt something shift deep inside him, and something close to gratitude filled his chest.
 
But he knew it was much more than that.
 
They were his family, his brothers, and they were willing to protect a woman they’d just met.
 
His emotions were jumbled as he nodded his thanks, unable to find his voice to say the word of appreciation to each of them.

He knew he was a selfish bastard for putting their lives on the line, but he knew he would do the same for each of them.
 
He glanced to where she’d retreated and heaved out a heavy sigh, relieved that he and his family had come to an understanding.
 
Protect her at all costs.
 
But she had been unpredictable, and when the time came, he hoped that she wouldn’t go looking for danger.

Chapter Twelve

Olivia

Warmth seeped into her cold body, and she turned toward the source and blinked her eyes open.
 
The moment her eyes landed on his face, the night before rushed back.
 
Kai’s arms tightened around her, and for a reason she couldn’t fathom, guilt swamped her.

The image of the shifter on the video replayed in her mind, and she couldn’t stop them.
 
Just as vampires had been an abstract thought until she’d met Kai, meeting shifters and seeing how close they were to each other and Kai had driven home the need to figure out the antidote quickly.
 

Not wanting to disturb Kai, she slid off the bed and walked into the adjoining bathroom, glancing at her face in the mirror.
 
Tears stained her cheeks and her hair tangled in a curled mess, but yesterday, after working sixteen hours and with the emotions finally catching up with her, she’d crashed as soon as her head hit the pillow.
 
As much as she wanted to blame the tears on her weariness, she knew they sprung up because of the danger that surrounded them.
 
She cried because as much as she had experienced death, she couldn’t stand to have even one more on her hands.

She couldn’t remember when Kai had joined her in bed, but she enjoyed waking up to his warmth and the comfort of his arms around her.
 
She shed her clothing and stepped into the powerful spray, closing her eyes and savoring the warm water that washed away evidence of her emotions from the night before.
 
Using the shampoo and conditioner he snatched from Jade’s room, she rinsed her hair, before she picked up a dark amber bottle and sniffed.
 
Her body heated as his non-diluted scent struck her nose, and her eyes closed at the intense scent.
 
She dabbed some on her palm, and quickly washed and rinsed herself, loving how his scent remained.

Reluctantly, she shut off the shower and toweled off, wrapping it around her before she went in search of the clothes he’d found for her.
 
The white blouse that happened to be on the top of the pile fit her snugly around her chest, but the yoga pants were comfortable and warm.
 
As she left the closet, her eyes raked over his sleeping form, and she remembered that he hadn’t fed the day before, despite making love in the morning.
 

Walking toward the bed, she knelt and took a few seconds to examine his face, relaxed in sleep, before she leaned forward and gently kissed him on the lips.

His eyes snapped open, and the next second she found herself on her back, cocooned in his arms, as his body pressed hers down on the mattress.

“Why are you dressed?” he growled.

“I needed to get started, but I realized that you haven’t fed in a day.”

His answering kiss left her breathless, and her body taut with need.
 
She knew that he could smell her arousal.
 
But he needed to feed, so she pressed her hands against his chest, trying to lever him off her; he refused to budge.
 
His mouth sought hers, and this time, she gave in and kissed him back.
 
Her arms wound around his shoulders and held on to him.

“I love your mouth,” he said.

“Kai, please, you need to eat,” she begged.

Buttons flew as he ripped open her shirt, and he groaned aloud when he spotted her stiff nipples pressed against her bra.
 
His tongue traced the lace around the cups, teasing her with each lick, and she arched her back, trying to get closer.
 

The moment his tongue swiped against her skin, her breaths became choppy and she moaned.
 
With deft hands, he removed the remainder of her clothing, followed by his, and as they came together, skin to skin.
 
She found that she could finally breathe again.

“Forgive me,” he moaned.

Opening her mouth to ask why, he drove deep inside her, stealing her words and her breath.
 
At the same time, he bit down on her breast, sending erotic pulses throughout her body, and soon, she felt her body clench with its first release.
 

With desire swirling throughout her sensitized body, she clung to him as he sought his own release, but instead of the quick movements she expected, his movements slowed.

Her eyes widened as she watched his teeth retract from her breast, and moaned again as his tongue swiped the punctures closed.
 
His hands and lips savored her body, kissing every inch, until it brought tears to her eyes.
 
She understood the frank need that they shared, but with his slow, methodical motions, her heart beat painfully in her chest as she fell deeper for him.

Closing her eyes tight to hold back the emotions that threatened to spill over, she breathed deeply as he continued with his relaxed, yet passionate thrusts.
 
Soon, she was swept away in another release, and she heard him roar.
 
A moment later, she felt his warmth flood inside her.
 
Breathless and sated, she clung to him as he pulled her into his side, and wrapped her in his arms.
 
After a few minutes of silence, he leaned back and glanced down at her.

“Look at me, love.”

Her eyes blinked open, and when she spotted the seriousness on his face, she tumbled out of bed before he spoke a word and scanned the floor for her clothes.

There were more shifters in the house, so she knew what he was about to say had everything to do with keeping her distance from them.
 
The night before, she had watched as Kai and the others tease one another mercilessly; yet she sensed the closeness among the group.
 
They acted more like family than friends.
 
In stark contrast, she understood her place in the group, but she still didn’t want to hear that she didn’t belong.
 
She didn’t want to promise him that she wouldn’t get to know the others, so when she spotted her torn shirt and held it up for inspection, she shook her head and wandered over to the closet to get dressed again.