Sharpest Edge: Mercenaries and Magic

by Alessa Thorn

  Iz frowned. “If your intuition is making that much noise, it’s God and the universe trying to give you a sign. You need to go, even if it’s for closure. Maybe that’s all it will be, but it’s worth the trip.”

  “And you’re not going to do it alone, Cub, so if you’re looking at tickets, you better book them for all of us,” Dante replied.

  Athena grimaced. “Except Silas doesn’t want to go.”

  “He’ll go even if he hates every second of it,” Iz replied, reaching over to squeeze her hand. “Don’t forget, chica, that place doesn’t only hold horrors for you.”

  9

  Silas took the first flight back to Istanbul and arrived in time to almost crash into Dante, who was coming out of the apartment.

  “Jesus, Hill, you’re up early,” Silas commented, looking suspiciously at Dante’s too tight singlet and shorts. “What’s going on?”

  “I had an idea on how to get Leo out of his own head,” Dante said, stretching his arms.

  “By wearing your shortest shorts?”

  “No, smartass. I offered to train him last night, and he very reluctantly agreed. I’m about to go wake him up for a run,” Dante said and looked down. “And these shorts aren’t too short.”

  “Sure they aren’t. I bet you’re showing off that much muscular thigh for your own benefit.”

  Dante snorted at him and then noticed Silas’s arm. “What happened?”

  “Nothing. Just a scuffle with some locals. Anything happen while I was gone that I should know about?” Silas asked.

  “Yeah, Leo found out some stuff, nothing major yet, but Iz can catch you up.” Dante shifted on the balls of his feet. “Look, it’s not my business, but just so you know, she was upset that she woke up yesterday and you had left without saying goodbye. It might be a good idea to make her some breakfast so she doesn’t hold it against you.”

  Silas gave him a nod. “Noted. I’m starving anyway. You want some?”

  “Nah, I’m going to force Leo to come to breakfast on our run. I’ll be back in a few hours,” Dante replied.

  “Try to refrain from doing too many deep lunges in those shorts. The kid has been traumatized enough.”

  “He has the option not to look,” Dante said with a shrug.

  Inside, Silas dumped his bag in his room and headed into the kitchen. He pulled out the ingredients for pancakes, something he always had on hand in case Athena turned up. He got to work, mixing batter and brewing coffee.

  Silas tried to tell himself the strange butterflies in his stomach were hunger and not anticipation. He had to talk to Izabella about what had happened, no matter how uncomfortable they both were about it. Fuck, he wasn’t even sure how to date a woman anymore.

  Confident of you to think she would want that at all. She might just want to use you to get off.

  Silas frowned at the thought, but even if that was true, it wasn’t like he had the willpower to deny her anything.

  “Hey, you’re back,” a husky voice said, and he turned in surprise. God, she was so beautiful, with her hair bundled up and looking all soft and sleepy in her kimono.

  “I am. You want some coffee?” he asked, as his hungry butterflies turned into horny ones.

  “Better make it a big cup,” Izabella replied, coming into the kitchen and helping herself to the bowl of mixed berries he had put out for pancakes.

  Silas could smell her spicy perfume and rose shampoo, and he wanted to bury his face in her hair to breathe it in.

  “How was Athens?” she asked with her back to him.

  “Boring, but Julian was happy for the sales, and I was happy to get off my ass and do something even if it’s running errands,” Silas said, placing the mug of coffee down beside her and stirring in the two sugars she always wanted.

  She grabbed his arm. “What happened to you? Are you okay?”

  “One of those assholes in the photo I sent had a knife that nicked me. It’s really nothing,” he assured her. “They were a convenient way to take some of my frustration out on.”

  Izabella slowly let his arm go. “What were you frustrated about?”

  Silas felt the air between them charge. “You really need to ask?”

  “As I remember it, we both got off that night,” she replied, turning to eat some more berries. Silas’s hands went to the counter on either side of her.

  “Getting off does not equal satisfaction, Izabella.” Silas ran his lips over the shell of her ear. She inhaled but didn’t move or tell him to back off. “Truth is, I haven’t been satisfied in five fucking years.”

  Izabella hummed and tilted her head back to look up at him. She was so small, fitting neatly in the cradle of his large body.

  “If that’s so, then maybe you should have tried to get a blow job for yourself instead of bargaining two away to me.”

  Silas’s fingers stroked over her neck and jaw, tilting her head back further. “Maybe you should open that smart mouth of yours so I can kiss you good morning.”

  Izabella’s pupils flared wide as she obeyed, lips parting for him in a way that made his cock hard in a heartbeat. Silas leaned over her and slowly licked the berry juice from her full bottom lip.

  Her eyelashes fluttered, a small sexy sound coming out of her. He had waited five years to kiss her, and he was going to take his time doing it.

  Silas didn’t want to spook her, so he went slow, carefully tracing her lips with his tongue, slipping into her soft, berry-flavored mouth.

  Her hand moved to clasp behind his neck, pulling him closer. Silas’s body burned as her gorgeous round ass rubbed up against his dick, and his grip on the side of her neck tightened.

  “You taste so good,” she murmured, leaning her head back on his shoulder. She bit her lip. “I don’t really know how to do this anymore, Silas. You…you should know that.”

  “And you think I do?” Silas stroked the curve of her brown cheek, noting the way her eyes grew even more unsure. “Talk to me, Izabella. Tell me what’s really got you spooked.”

  “Ever since Minsk, I haven’t been good with intimacy. It’s not just my hair. It’s all of me,” she said, her hand slipping from his neck. “I tried a few times to go on dates and have hookups after I went back to Barcelona. It never worked out. Everything would be okay until I got naked with them, and I’d just lock up. I’d be back in that room, you know? I forced myself to go through with it a few times to prove my body was mine, but I wasn’t there when it was happening. I know how stupid it sounds.”

  Silas felt sick that she would do that to herself. Force herself to go through with something that she wasn’t into or enjoying.

  She was still pressing into him, so he looped his arm around her waist, bringing her in for a hug.

  “Hey, it’s not stupid. It’s trauma,” he said softly. “You went through something terrible, and you don’t have to feel bad about that fucking ever because it wasn’t your fault. You don’t apologize to anyone for how your body reacts, especially not to me. I know what you went through, and you know I’d never do anything to hurt you. And please, Izabella, promise me you won’t ever fucking force yourself to go through anything you’re not into. Ever again. Not with me, not with anyone.”

  Izabella turned her face to nuzzle against his collarbone and breathed him in. “I know I’m safe with you for everything, Silas. It’s why the other night I could finally let go and enjoy myself. It’s the first time I haven’t frozen or freaked out.”

  “Oh, thank fuck. I’d never want you to go along with anything you weren’t into,” he said, relief rushing through him.

  “Don’t worry, I was into it, and this.” Izabella went up on tiptoes to kiss him. “I only want to be honest with you, give you a chance to walk away before things go further because I can’t guarantee I won’t ever freak out on you.”

  “If you do, we’ll deal with it. We can do as little or as much as you want, Silversmith.” Silas leaned down, so they were eye level. “But just so we are clear, I have no fucking i
nterest in walking away. It took me five years to get you right here in my arms, so unless you tell me to fuck off, I’m not moving.”

  Izabella’s cheeks went dusty pink. “If that’s how you feel, Jefe, then you better kiss me again.”

  Silas didn’t hesitate. He pulled her back up against his chest and took her mouth in a deep and thorough kiss. She tasted so damn good and felt like heaven in his hands. She met his intensity head-on, her tongue stroking further into his mouth, hungry and searching.

  Izabella’s hand wrapped around his and guided it inside her kimono. Silas let out a low, involuntary sound as he cupped and stroked her bare, heavy breast. He rolled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, smiling when she let out a little moan that made him do it again.

  “Oh, fuck, that feels good,” she gasped, her grip on his forearm tightening.

  Silas moved to kiss her neck, his other hand curling possessively over her hip. A dark, irrational part of him liked that she could relax with him and no one else. That she would surrender this part of herself to him.

  “You tell me when you’ve had enough, or if you want more,” he said, tugging the silk off her shoulder so he could cover her carnation tattoos with kisses.

  “More, definitely more,” she said breathily, taking his other hand and putting it in her robe. “Touch me everywhere.”

  Silas was hard enough to hurt, but he kept his caresses light, fingers skimming along the soft curve of her stomach. Izabella let out a sound of frustration, grinding up against him.

  Silas wanted to undo her, to see her skin covered in marks from his mouth, her breath too rapid, and those sounds she made…fuck, he couldn’t get enough. He finally went lower, his fingers going down to cup her in a firm clasp.

  Izabella’s mouth found his, her breath ragged against his lips. Silas stroked his fingers over her and felt just how aroused she was.

  “Fucking hell, are you this wet over me?” he asked, a little dazed.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  Silas kissed the cries that fell from her lips as his fingers circled her clit before dipping into her pussy. He was going to blow in his pants if he got any more turned on. That knowledge wasn’t enough to make him stop pleasuring her. The feel of her on his hand was too good to stop. He needed more.

  Silas tugged her kimono off, letting it pool at their feet. Izabella with clothes on was gorgeous; naked, she was a work of art. Brown skin, pretty tattoos, and curves for days. His free hand stroked down her spine to the two dints above her ass that were made for his thumbs.

  “Fuck, I need more,” he said hoarsely.

  “Then take it,” she replied, challenging him.

  It was all the invitation Silas needed. He bent her over the kitchen island.

  “Hold onto that counter and don’t move,” he commanded, waiting for her nod before he dropped to his knees behind her.

  Silas moved his hand away from her pussy, only long enough to get his mouth in its place. Izabella cried out in Spanish, but Silas was too lost in her sweet taste and heat for his brain to translate.

  He scraped his teeth over her clit, and she went up on her toes in surprise but didn’t tell him to stop. Silas took the opportunity to slide a finger deep inside her.

  “Oh God, Silas, don’t stop. I’m so close,” Izabella begged, thrusting back, fucking herself on his finger. Silas grabbed her hip tight and pressed a second finger into her, working her harder as he licked her.

  Fuck, he was in heaven. He had wanted her for so long, he could barely believe she was letting him touch her at last. Silas was determined to make her so happy that she never asked him to stop.

  Izabella cried out, her inner walls clamping hard around him, and hot wetness rushed over his fingers.

  Silas lapped at her through her orgasm, dragging it out until she was breathless, legs trembling. He gently pulled his fingers free and pressed kisses along the curve of her perfect ass and hips. Izabella slowly straightened. Her pupils were blown out wide with lust.

  “Come with me,” she insisted, pulling him to his feet. Silas followed, mesmerized by her lush naked body as she guided him into her bedroom.

  He let her unbuckle his belt and jeans, the first brush of her hand over his too-hard dick making him bite back a curse. “Gentle, Silversmith, or I’m going to last about thirty seconds.”

  Izabella bit her bottom lip to stop her cheeky grin. “I suppose I better make it the best thirty seconds of your life then.” That smile, that hand on his dick… He didn’t know what he had done to deserve it, but damn, it must’ve been good.

  Izabella dropped down on the bed, stretched out, and tilted her head back over the edge. Her hands went to the back of his legs and pulled him closer. Silas’s brain stopped working with the first tentative lick of her tongue.

  “Fucking hell,” he groaned as she sucked him deep into her hot mouth, her large, soft lips stretching around him. He ran his fingers over the smooth curve of her neck, unable to look away. She sucked him deeper, pulling him closer each time until he was almost cross-eyed.

  Silas resisted the urge to fuck her mouth, wanting her to set the pace until she was more comfortable. It didn’t stop him from reaching for her breasts, stroking and teasing them the way she had two nights ago. Izabella moaned around him, the vibration sizzling his nerve endings.

  “God, your mouth is perfection. It feels so damn good. You might actually kill me,” Silas said breathlessly. Izabella’s hand went between her legs. “That’s it, make yourself feel good too. Fuck, I’m going to blow if you keep doing that.”

  She only sucked harder until Silas’s orgasm punched through him. Instead of letting him go, Izabella pulled him closer and swallowed him down like she loved the taste of him.

  When he got too sensitive, he pulled himself free of her mouth. Her lips were swollen and eyes heavy. She looked so damn decadent, it should’ve been illegal.

  Silas dropped to his knees and gave her a dirty, upside-down kiss.

  Izabella’s sly, sweet smile hit him in the chest. “What are my chances of you still cooking me breakfast?”

  “After that, I’ll give you whatever the fuck you ask for.” Silas laughed and kissed her again. “Let’s eat, and you might even get that foot massage.”

  10

  Iz sat on the couch, a plate of pancakes balancing on her lap and her feet resting on Silas’s thigh. That, she decided, was the only way to start mornings.

  She hadn’t woken up with the plan to get bent over the kitchen counter or to suck Silas’s glorious dick, but she wasn’t going to question it. She could still feel the heat and taste of him on her tongue, still wanted more of him like she always did.

  “Tell me what Leo found out about Gadal,” Silas said, running the pad of his thumb over the arch of her foot.

  He was making good on his foot massage promise, and Iz had to stop herself from moaning like a pornstar. She had already done enough of that for one morning and would’ve been self-conscious about it if it had been with anyone else. Silas seemed to take it as a challenge to make her louder.

  The man had strong, talented hands that was for damn sure, whether they were used for murder or massages.

  Between bites, Iz updated Silas on everything he had missed out on the previous day. His shoulders slumped a little when she told him about Athena’s plan to go to Russia.

  “I kind of hoped Kon would’ve talked her out of it by now,” he said, leaning back into the couch.

  “I know, but she’s being guided to go. You can’t deny that there is magic involved all through this, and maybe it’s a dormant instinct of hers that is urging her to go,” Iz said, resting her hand on his shoulder. “It wouldn’t hurt you to go either to get your own closure. We’ll all be with you, Jefe. You’re not going to do this alone.”

  “What if she does remember her past, and it fucks her up?” he asked, green eyes filled with fatherly worry.

  “Then we all deal with it and help her get through it. She’s a pain
in the ass, but we all love her,” Iz said and was rewarded with a small smile. There wasn’t much she wouldn’t do for that smile.

  Iz was still in awe of the fact she hadn’t frozen earlier. She’d had only a brief second of panic when she had gone down on him. She had reminded herself that this was Silas. She didn’t need to panic because he wouldn’t hurt her. He had also not touched her hair or forced himself onto her.

  She would never be able to express what that meant to her. Silas understood her, and it terrified her as much as she loved it.

  “Did Cub say anything about when she wants to leave?” he asked, resuming his massage.

  “I got the impression it was sooner rather than later. I’m sure once she figures out that you’re back, she will come and see you about it.”

  “True, and she will probably turn up ready to fight me,” Silas said with an affectionate grin.

  “Without a doubt. It’s going to feel like shit, but you’re doing the right thing. You’re a good father, Silas.” The best one Iz had ever seen, in fact.

  He lifted her foot and placed a kiss on the inside of her ankle. “Thank you, Izabella.”

  Iz never thought of ankles as sexy spots, but she went hot all over. “Don’t you think it’s time to call me Iz?”

  Silas frowned. “Why?”

  “But you call everyone else nicknames. I always thought you called me by my full name because you didn’t like me as much or wanted to keep a distance between us,” she admitted, her body growing hotter as disbelief transformed his face.

  “Seriously? That’s not it at all, and I’m sorry if I made you think that,” he said, his green eyes turning a heated emerald. “Your name is excellent. I told you that the first night you told it to me. I have always loved the feel of it in my mouth.”

  Iz blinked. “Huh, I never looked at things like that.”

  “Clearly, if you thought I didn’t like you when you’ve always been my favorite. I can call you something else if you like,” he said, thoughtfully. “But it won’t be Iz. That’s the sound a mosquito makes.”