“You’re not going.” My eyebrows hit the ceiling.
“I’m what?” she snapped.
The room fell into an awkward silence as Valor and I stared each other down.
“You’re not getting near that building,” I said slowly. “The only female they’d love to kill more than Lyric is you. And I don’t think they’d make quick work of it, lass. They want the information in your head.”
“She’s my cousin!”
“You’re my mate!”
Valor scoffed.
Benedict’s chair squeaked as he slid back. “And I think that might be our cue to…”
“Yep. Right on it.” Ransom shut the monitors down.
“Agreed.” Alek stood and headed for the door.
“Oh, come on, it was just getting to the good part,” Hawke muttered.
“Now,” Alek ordered.
Through the commotion, Valor and I didn’t look away from each other’s eyes, both determined to glare the other into submission.
Fucking. Stubborn. Woman.
The door closed, leaving us alone, and Valor shoved at the table, pushing herself back so she could stand. “I can’t believe you think I’m going to sit at home while you walk into that!”
“I can’t believe you think I’d let you put yourself in harm’s way!” I bellowed, rising to my feet.
“Let me? Lachlan, I’m not sure you’ve caught on yet, but you don’t let me do shit. I decide for myself!” She jabbed her finger in my direction and strode around the table, putting it between us.
“Oh, I’m well-the-fuck-aware of what you get to decide.” I gripped the thick, black onyx to keep from going after her. Putting my hands on her would only lead to one thing, and it sure as hell wasn’t the solution to this fine mess. “But this isn’t it.”
“You’re being a ridiculous, chauvinistic Neanderthal!”
I grinned. “You’re catching on.”
“Ugh!” She rocked back on her heels, frustration pouring out of her, the scent bitter and harsh. “You can’t just leave me here like some damsel.”
“I never once said you are a damsel. Bloody hell, you’re the most capable woman I know. I could probably fire you at the enemy like a bullet, and you’d take them all out with your brain and bare hands.”
“Then it’s settled. I’m coming with you.” She folded her arms across her chest, and that stubborn glint came into her green eyes.
If I didn’t love her more than my own life, I would have chained her to the fucking chair.
But I did. That was the problem.
“You’re not coming. There is no negotiating power here. No wiggle room. The choice is mine, and it’s been made.”
“Because you’re my mate?” Red stained her cheeks. “I thought mates were equal, Lachlan. I thought they took care of each other.”
“Because I’m the second in command of the vampires and the fucking general.” I slammed my hands on the table. “Because it’s an operation and I outrank you.”
“I’m not in your little army!”
“All the more reason for you to stay here while we extract Daphne. You can’t follow an order to save your life.”
She sputtered.
“It’s true! And you’d probably defy my commands just to fuck with me. We might be equal here,” I motioned between us, “but out there, I have a few hundred years of experience and a special skill set that trumps your need to personally see to Daphne’s safety.”
“So you’re just going to leave me here.” Her eyes narrowed. “Like I’m some liability.”
“Yes! Because that’s exactly what you are out there, Valor! You’re my liability. If you go with us, I won’t be focused on the mission and my men. I’ll be focused on you.”
“Well, that’s your problem. I know the layout of that compound—”
“Then tell me what I need to know, because you sure as hell won’t be in the line of fire.” I shook my head. “I can’t…” The words failed.
Her shoulders slipped slightly. “It’s not any easier for me to send you out there night after night.”
“As if you’d care if I come back.” I lifted my lips in a wry smile. “At least you’d be free of our little arrangement sooner, right?”
Hurt flashed across her eyes. “Of course, I care. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Just like that, all the fight drained out of me. She cared. I knew that. But I loved her, and that was the difference. “It’s not a want with me, Valor. I need you to stay safe. I need my head clear while I’m in the field, and if you’re there, I’ll only focus on getting you out alive.”
She swallowed, and the air between us grew tense, not just with the words we’d hurled at each other, but the ones we hadn’t.
In twenty-four hours, we’d have Daphne back and hopefully one less Sons of Honor facility to worry about. In twenty-four hours, the hunt would be over, but so would the bargain that Valor and I had struck. She’d take her cousin and walk away without even bothering to look back.
It shouldn’t have hurt—I’d known the terms when I’d agreed to them—but my chest felt like someone had sliced me open just to shred my heart. There was nothing I could offer Valor to keep her here. She was slipping through my grasp like sand.
“Please, Valor.” Please what? Stay? Love me? Accept the bond the way I knew I already had?
“Fine. Call them back in. I’ll tell you what you need to know.”
I made my way around the table and took her face in my hands. “Thank you. I wouldn’t be able to breathe if anything happened to you.” My lips brushed a kiss over hers.
“I’m still pissed at you.”
I kissed her again. “I know.”
16
Valor
Ice raced through my veins, drenching every last inch of me in undiluted terror.
I’d spent the last hour of the night explaining all I could to the assassins about the facility I’d designed—and had no idea had actually been built. Because they couldn’t possibly stage a rescue mission during the day, they’d have to wait out the sun, and I was doing whatever I could to help…because that’s what Lachlan needed to hear. To see.
An agreeable—if not angry—mate.
But now, back in Lachlan’s room, waiting, my heart and mind aching from the plan I’d formulated…fuck, I could barely breathe around the pain clogging my lungs.
The facility they held her in wasn’t about protecting Daphne.
This was about hurting me.
Torturing me.
This was a trap for Lachlan. For the Order. My new family.
My mate.
I held my hand over my chest, acid crawling up my throat. I couldn’t lose Lachlan. I would not survive the blow his loss would deliver. And somehow, it seemed, my brother knew that. Knew about my mate. Whatever leak the Order’s royalty and aristocrats had—some weak link my brother had exploited, no doubt—had informed him of this.
And now he knew I had an even bigger weakness than Daphne, as close as my love for both of them was, Lachlan…he was…
Everything.
He’d become everything.
From enemies, to partners, to friends.
To mates.
I couldn’t live in a world where he didn’t exist. And he and the Order thought themselves invincible. Sure, they had good reason. They’d been the power of the supernatural world for centuries. But they were vulnerable. My hand in rediscovering Night Thistle had seen to that, and the fortress I’d designed? It didn’t matter that I’d told them everything I knew. Kyle had no doubt improved on the deadly design.
And even though the assassins had seen firsthand what the poison could do, I had no doubt my brother had every team under his control working endlessly on perfecting and weaponizing it. Upping the potency of the poison, synthesizing it to make the effects last longer even with just a graze.
I knew this, because I’d suggested it all those years ago.
Fuck my life.
&
nbsp; Fuck me.
I was going to be the reason everyone I’d ever truly loved would die.
Another stone settled in my stomach, a bolder joining it on my chest. I couldn’t, wouldn’t let that happen.
Not when I could stop it.
When I could finally put an end to this.
A loved one needs to die, but it won’t be Lachlan.
I’d take his place, Daphne’s place...Kyle wanted me more anyway.
Tears stung the backs of my eyes as I waited in Lachlan’s room. Waited for him to come to me like I knew he would.
How could he not? When after our argument, I’d done nothing but send my deepest longings and desires shooting straight down our bond.
Our bond—that delightfully, beautiful thing that had the capability of burning us both. Searing our souls until one could not exist without the other.
I’d reached that point, I knew it in the very depths of my soul because of what I was about to do. The absolute betrayal I would deliver.
Stay strong. It’s the only way. I whispered the words of courage to myself, willing my spine to straighten. Willing my face into a sharp mask of equal parts lust and anger. The Valor Lachlan had crossed every line to get a taste of.
“Are you still angry with me?” Lachlan’s voice slid over my skin like a blanket of warmth to chase away the chill clinging to my bones.
“Always,” I said in my most teasing tone. I took a slow, steady breath and then turned to face him with nothing but need in my eyes.
Hiding the desperation, the anguish, from my mate, was no easy feat. If he looked hard enough, he’d see right through me.
He always had.
And shame on me for not instantly recognizing how amazing we could be together. How perfectly matched.
And now it was too late.
“You understand why I can’t allow you to go,” he said, sliding out of his leather jacket. There were a few hours left in the day, but none of them had slept. I had this last chance with him before I needed to carry out my plan.
“I’m human,” I snapped, stalking toward him. He tracked every step toward him, those eyes churning with a silent plea for me to submit. “Breakable. Weak—”
Lachlan’s growl cut me off. “You are not weak,” he barked right back, his arms flying to my shoulders and squeezing gently. “I am.” I tilted my head. “Don’t you see that?” he asked. “If you’re there, I’ll think of nothing else beyond your safety. I can’t…”
Lose me.
Yes, that I understood all too well.
I glared up at him, letting him see all the anger that stormed my soul in that instant. And I shoved at his chest, as hard and fast as I could. He actually budged an inch, startled by my sudden attack.
“Valor—”
I threw a right hook toward his face, and he caught my fist an inch before it made impact. His hand covered my entire fist, and he arched an eyebrow at me. “Lass?”
Using what Olivia taught me, I dropped my weight, snapping a leg out and sliding it beneath his booted feet. He didn’t have time to think or react. His back hit the floor, and before he could blink, I leaped atop him, my knees pinning either of his hips.
My fingers lashed out, gently squeezing his throat as he stared up at me with wide eyes. “I just took down a highlander general,” I said, my heart beating furiously within my chest. “Is that proof enough that I can run with your Order?”
Hardness swelled beneath me, and I trembled on top of him. He leaned up, slowly, inching until we were chest to chest, face to face. My breaths came faster as he held my gaze, a challenge and a plea.
I saw it all there—he knew how strong I was, how smart, and how invested I was in getting Daphne out safely. But it didn’t matter. Because I was his, and he would do anything to protect me.
Goes both ways, I thought. Lachlan tilted his head, studying my gaze just a bit too intently—
I slanted my mouth over his. No soft preamble, no teasing flicks of my tongue. I crushed my lips on his, plunging my tongue inside his mouth to claim it as he had done to me so many times.
Instantly, his arms encased me, held me to him tight enough that I couldn’t breathe without brushing against his hard body. I rocked my hips, seeking out that delicious hardness that pressed between my thighs.
“Lachlan,” I practically whined his name between our kiss. The highlander had always driven me crazy, but now? Knowing what I knew? He was impossible.
He was perfection.
He was my undoing.
I tore my mouth from his, tangling my fingers in his hair. I jerked his head back, exposing his neck, and set my mouth against his skin. I nipped at his neck, and he groaned, thrusting his hips upward. I moaned at the feel of him, but quickly jumped back, rising to my feet.
He looked up at me, curiosity and challenge in his eyes.
I gave him a come hither motion.
Two heartbeats, and he was before me. I fisted the hem of his shirt, hauling it up and over his head before tossing it across the room. I kissed his muscled chest, trailing my tongue over the beautiful tattoos covering his skin, all while unbuttoning his leather pants. He finished taking them off, tossing them over his shoulder to join his shirt. My mouth watered at the sight of his cock springing free—hard and long and enough to fill me, consume me, claim me.
All of which I wanted right that second.
Enough to make me forget everything that was about to happen.
Enough to make me forget what I’d hidden under the bed minutes before he came to his room.
“Doesn’t look like you want to take a swing at me anymore, lass,” he said, his voice dripping sex and confidence.
I tipped my chin, slowly pulling my shirt over my head, then let my shorts fall to the floor at my feet. I stepped out of them, relishing the way his eyes heated at the sight of me completely bare to him.
“Never assume you know what I want, highlander,” I said, half tease, half challenge.
He stepped toward me, leaving only an inch of space between us. “Then take your best shot.”
I did.
I swung with my left—a fake—and then barreled into his face with my right. I hissed at the pain that stung my knuckles as they snapped across his hard-as-granite face.
“Want another?” I asked, breathless, my breasts heavy and full as he slowly brought his face back to meet mine. His gaze was delighted and predatory, and it did things to my body. Wonderful things. Deliciously dark things.
“It’s been centuries,” he said, his voice low and raspy. “Centuries since a human has landed a hit on me.” He smirked at me, wholly unfazed physically by my hit. I knew that. Knew I’d never truly be able to hurt him, but this wicked game we were playing? It was all leading up to—
No. I couldn’t think about it. He’d see through me.
“Maybe you’ve met your match then,” I said, gasping slightly as he traced my pert nipple with his fingertip.
“Oh, I have no doubt,” he said, then slowly dropped to his knees before me.
The sight of him there, his fingers delicately brushing my hips and drawing me closer…God, it made me tight and loose at the same time.
And then his mouth was on me, his tongue sliding between my thighs. I tangled my fingers in his hair, arching into that mouth, into the way he moaned at the taste of me.
“Lachlan,” I breathed his name, my fingers tightening in his hair as he feasted on me. “I punch you, and you do this?” I laughed between my moans. “Maybe I should battle you more often.”
He leaned his head back, those eyes flickering up to mine. “Every day, Valor,” he growled, his fangs descending. “I’ll battle you every fucking day.”
“I—” My words broke off to a moan as he plunged in again, jerking me toward him as he fucked me with his tongue. Deep thrusts and teasing flicks. Torture. The highlander was pure torture. And then he slid one of his hands between my thighs, sinking two fingers into where his tongue had just been. He filled me, thrus
ting and pumping, and then he sucked my clit into his mouth, and I burst around him.
Shattered.
Trembled so hard I nearly fell over, but he held me steady as I came around him.
He grinned up at me and licked his lips. The sight…God, my knees shook. I yanked on his hair, hauling him up and up until I had to arch my neck to meet his eyes. He lowered his mouth, but I gripped his shoulders and shoved at him.
He let me move him. Let me push with a frantic need until his back hit the mattress. I shoved and tugged at his body of pure muscle and power until I’d positioned him right where I needed him. Right where—
“I love it when you get feisty, mate,” he said, and the word shot through my soul like a lightning bolt. The bond purred and arched into the word, into the title we’d danced around since the day he found me in that shit-awful werewolf hotel.
We may have agreed to be with each other on a purely sexual basis until we brought my cousin safely home, but that plan had been incinerated the moment he’d claimed my heart.
Couldn’t he see that?
Did it even matter now? With what I was about to do?
I swallowed around the emotion clogging my throat, drawing up my best smirk as I gripped his massive thighs. “You haven’t seen me feisty, yet,” I teased, then drew down to kiss his hips, the V-lines, and lower.
“Fuck!” He hissed as I took his cock into my mouth.
I moaned around the taste of him—all heat and pine and pure Lachlan. Damn him for tasting so good, for feeling so good, for being so good. I fisted his length, pumping up and down while I sucked at his head, swirling my tongue around it before popping him out of my mouth to glance up at him.
His jaw was tight, his eyes like liquid fire as he watched me devour him. I kept my eyes on him, drawing him back in my mouth, slowly, torturously taking him in and out until his muscles tensed beneath me. I lightly grazed my teeth along the length of him, then gave his head another long swirl before shifting and settling atop him.
Lachlan gripped my hips as I took him inside me to the hilt. My heart and soul and body were so fucking full—with him. With this amazing vampire who not only understood me but challenged me, pushed me, made me better, stronger.
Crimson Highlander: An Onyx Assassins Novel Page 19
