by Sharon Kay
Impatience and excitement threatened to make her leap out of her seat. “Which was?”
“Written in the margins, probably in blood, are four words. Renata holds the key.”
“Key?” Ria scrunched her nose. “So there’s a key hidden somewhere in the statue?”
“Possibly. Or maybe not a key, but some other object.”
“Hmm.” Ria leaned back in her chair and tracked a puffy cloud floating across the sky. “If it’s a key, what’s it for? A safe? Something that belonged to Verdak?”
His tone was grim. “That’s a good guess.”
“Wait.” Ria stared at him. “You don’t think…this is about that sword, do you?”
He stared straight ahead, silent.
“Arawn.”
He turned to her.
Ria kept her tone soft, quashing the incredulity. She hadn’t expected him to believe in rumors of fantastical things. “Do you believe that the sword is real?”
“There’s a chance.” A muscle ticked in his forearm and he tapped two fingers on the armrest.
Ria waited, knowing there was more.
“Considering the fact that the Solsti were supposed to be a myth, but they’re very real, I have to allow for the possibility of another legend turning out to be true.”
She nodded. The legend of the Solsti, four women who controlled the elements, was well-known on Torth. “But why search for the sword now? The crazies have been camping out in cemeteries at this time of year for ages.”
“Because the message was recently found in a Ghazsul spell book, and the statue was recently bought by a Ghazsul. If the sword is real, it can be activated by one of Verdak’s bloodline.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “If it truly exists, I want it in our hands and not theirs. And if it doesn’t, we can all forget about it.”
“Okay. Makes sense.” The man was nothing if not thorough. “So, Saturday night. What’s my cover? Are you sending anyone with me?”
“You’ll be alone.”
A solo job? Her heart warmed. He trusted her enough to know she wasn’t kidding when she said she felt ready to go back to work. “Okay.”
“He’s having a party this weekend to show off the statue, but the guests will be close friends that he’ll recognize. You’re going in as one of the cocktail servers.”
“Got it.” Blending in as hired help should be a piece of cake. Serve drinks and hang around by the statue. If other males noticed her, they’d probably just be staring at her chest.
“You won’t be able to carry any large blades, but we’re looking into what kind of weapons you can hide on your body. They’ll probably require you to wear gloves.”
“Yeah. No problem.” It was a common security measure, since all Lash demons could summon demonfire in their hands. In sensitive negotiations between clans or species, or in delicate diplomatic situations, Lash demons agreed to wear ensorcelled gloves to show that they wouldn’t abuse their power. And if she were to walk right into a wealthy and possibly corrupt predatory demon’s home, she expected no less. “So I’ll brush up on my hand-to-hand.”
“And meet with Sebastian to go over hidden compartments and concealed mechanisms.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
He shrugged. “It’s your job.”
“Thank you for trusting that I’m ready to go back into the field. Alone.”
“It’s not trust, Princess.” He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “It’s knowledge. This job has your name all over it. And you’ll have a team nearby, if you need them.”
That was standard protocol. “I won’t let you down.”
His dark eyes glittered. “I know.”
High spirits churned through her body at the thought of getting back to work. She grabbed her tablet and pulled up an image of the statue. “Renata holds the key,” she mused. “Well, she’s holding a flower.”
“What kind?”
She knew he knew the answer. “A stargazer lily. Not the black lily from Evena. And her other hand is on the ground. Hmm.” She’d go over every inch of every photo she could find, from every angle. But first she had to channel the energy that was making her body hum.
“I want to work out.” She scooted to the edge of her chair. “Right now…you in?”
He arched a brow. “Is that an invitation or a warning?”
She placed a hand over her heart in mock indignation, but couldn’t suppress her grin as he echoed her words from the other day. “Warning? You know no one can beat you. And besides, weren’t you hoping I’d ask you to be my punching bag today?”
Predatory delight flickered across his chiseled features. “You’re on, Princess. Meet me in the underground training room in fifteen.”
C
HAPTER 8
IN THE GYM, RIA BOUNCED side to side on her toes. Anticipation made her giddy. Not just to get down and dirty with Arawn, but at the prospect of her assignment. Good old fashioned espionage, with the danger of going in alone, unarmed, and without her fire power.
It was a rush.
And the fact that Arawn held even the slightest inclination that the sword existed made it that much more serious. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more that he hadn’t told her. Something that persuaded his tactical mind to allow for a kernel of truth within the old legend. Then again, she wasn’t part of his inner circle, so she wasn’t privy to every last detail.
A few other Watchers were lifting weights, but paused as Arawn strode into the room. He gave them all cursory greetings, as was his usual, but never took his eyes off Ria.
Around the free weights and past the resistance machines he stalked. Ria willed herself to look him in the eye as an opponent, not as a male who made her heart flutter. Not as the one male she was never able to forget.
He stepped onto the blue mats and yanked his shirt over his head. Gods. She would never tire of looking at him. Enormous shoulders flowed down to biceps as big as her thighs. His pecs formed a lickable wall of muscle that made her mouth water. And those abs…rock hard and leading her eyes lower, to where her body wanted to go. Too quickly, a scowl took over her face before she quickly shook it off.
As usual, he missed nothing. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit.”
“Fine.” She sighed. “You’re distracting.” Never mind that the males commonly sparred without their shirts. She wasn’t lusting after any of them. Only the one who’d set his sights on her.
“You don’t know who’s gonna be at this shindig, babe. Might be a good looking male who flirts with you. Could be a distraction.” His words were clipped as a growl started in his throat.
No one could look hotter than you. “Ha. I’ll be on the job. I won’t notice if they look good, bad, or ugly. Though if they get in my way, I can’t promise they’ll stay in one piece.”
“That’s what I like to hear.” He dropped his T-shirt on the floor and moved closer. “Ready?”
“Ready.” Ria wasted no time. She charged forward and aimed a high kick at his ribs. Knowing he’d try to grab her foot, she immediately kicked again lower down. Her foot landed solidly at his hip bone and she darted away.
Before she could turn around he was diving for her ankles. His strong hands locked around her feet and she landed on her ass with a thud. A heartbeat later, she was flipped and caught in his chokehold.
Dammit! She smacked her palm angrily on the mat two times and he released her. This was not a good start.
On her feet again, she focused her energy into bringing him down. What if he’s armed, a predator, what if she had to defeat him to escape…she ran several scenarios through her mind. All involving him not being…him.
She waited for him to come to her this time, ducking down and throwing all her weight against his lower legs. Oof! She may as well have rolled into a brick wall. Her only way to avoid another pin was to play dirty.
Still on the mats, she kicked at his knees. Not enoug
h to hurt him, but it put him off balance enough for her to bring him down. She leaped on top of him immediately, pinning him in a facedown chokehold.
“We’ve been here before, haven’t we?” he managed to say, though her forearm was pressed tightly to his larynx.
“Many times,” she said. “And no fair that you can still talk.”
“I’m not your average opponent, Princess,” he drawled, as if she weren’t sitting on his back. “I suggest trying an arm bar if you run into a demon my size.”
Arm bar? Well, shit. He was flat on the mat and she’d need to get him up on hands and knees to do it from behind. “I’ll surprise you with it,” she said and leaned back, hoping to increase the pressure on his windpipe.
Abruptly, she was airborne, her arms wrenched free of his body. He caught her midair and rotated her so her back was against his chest, finding herself in his chokehold. Again. Frustration rose, but this time she decided not to give in to it.
Instead she focused on the heat of his bare chest at her back. She let her muscles relax instead of tensing. She leaned into him, as if this was a romantic and not a lethal embrace.
She registered the slightest shift in his muscles, the slightest loosening of his grip. Then she ducked and turned, grabbing his arm and pulling it behind him. She wrenched up and twisted at the same time, as hard as she could.
He let out a hiss but didn’t let her push farther. “That’d probably pop another guy’s shoulder out of its socket,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Good.” She kept her grip on him, managing to resist the urge to lick his thickly muscled back. “Ready to tap out?”
“Never.” He bent sharply at the waist, so fast her feet left the ground before she could adjust.
She snarled in frustration as she was forced to hang on by clamping her legs around his waist. There was no way she was ending up on the floor again. She tried to wrap her arm around his neck again.
His fingers slid to a pressure point at the base of her calf and she let out a curse. She knew he was only reminding her how this lock could be broken, but it still hurt like a bitch and she loosened her grip. She fully expected to be on the mats with his hands at her throat—
Slam! Metal met metal on the other side of the room as the gym door closed with a bang.
Whoosh!
Cool air caressed her skin and the room spun. She blinked, surprised to find herself flipped around like a doll but held against Arawn’s chest, her legs still around his hips.
“Uh…you…win.” Breathless and shocked at their intimate position, she gulped air. Oh my gods…what was he doing…people might see… She wiggled to get down, but couldn’t move.
“Where you going?” His eyes glowed with a faint amber light as he held her in place. Pressed chest to chest, in his arms, she could barely form a coherent sentence.
“We’re, uh...in the gym…” She looked over his shoulder.
“Alone.” His deep voice spoke quietly but so intensely she froze.
“Oh,” she whispered. Alone. Holy shit. Her muscles melted.
They’d been alone before, but this seemed different. Loaded with promise as he held her tightly. Her breath hitched as heat rolled from his muscular chest to hers.
He walked them across the mats toward the locker rooms. “You might find yourself on your own with one of those bastards. I trust you know what to do if anyone gets grabby.”
She nodded, unable to make room in her mind for even the concept of another man.
He walked into the women’s locker room and into one of the shower stalls, where he set her down on the tile floor. In one swift move, he grabbed the bottom of her tank top and pulled it up over her head.
Ria gasped, mind reeling as her top swished to the floor behind him. He was close, in her space, eyes glowing with an amber heat. Sexy, dangerous, and all she’d ever wanted.
“You’re probably gonna be wearing some skimpy outfit. They’ll be drinking.” He leaned down to her ear. “What are you gonna do if someone tries…this?” One hand came up to cup and squeeze her breast over the fabric of her sports bra.
Her eyes slid shut and she couldn’t hold in a moan.
“Ria.”
She opened to see his eyes dark and demanding. “I’ll…knee him in the balls.” Her voice came out as a barely audible, breathy sigh. He was still testing her. She lifted a knee, angling it toward his groin but giving him plenty of time to block her.
“Too slow, babe.” His fingers traced the top edge of her bra and her breasts ached for more.
She willed at least some of her composure to return and managed to speak like she wasn’t some swooning nymph. “Injuring your balls is not what I’d like to do to them right now. Or ever.” She leaned toward him, pushing her chest into his hand and her hips against his, feeling his hard shaft against her stomach. She dropped her hand to his waist, dying to return the sensual tease in some way.
He grabbed her. “No. Not this time.” He moved her hand to his shoulder. “I touch. You come.”
Her jaw dropped. “You think you can order me to have an orgasm?”
“I know I can.” The slightest smirk danced across his eyes before his mouth descended on hers.
Ria gasped at the onslaught of Arawn’s hungry kiss. But she welcomed him, opening wide and wrapping her arms around his neck. Him, now. Her whole world distilled down to two words.
He overpowered her senses as he pinned her against the wall. Huge muscles, powerful shoulders that were so much wider than hers. He made her feel like she was a small female, something she rarely experienced but didn’t mind. It added to the crazy pleasure of submitting to him.
He rocked his hips and she moaned into his mouth. Gods, he was even harder now than two seconds ago. So big…lust surged through her at the thought of how he might taste.
He tugged her hair free from its tie and ran his hands through her curls. It had to be a tangled mess but she was past caring. His hand massaged lightly up her nape, sending shivers of pleasure down her spine. She pulled back to take a breath. “Mmm, that feel—”
Abruptly his fingers tightened, closing into a fist with a secure lock on her hair. Using his grip, he held her so that her lips were just millimeters from his. Dark eyes bored into hers. “Been wanting to do this for a while, Princess.”
She exhaled sharply as his words and actions made her abdominal muscles clench. “Wh-what?”
“Get my hands in this hair of yours. Wrap it around my hand. Pull it.”
Oh my gods. “It’s sweaty.”
“Don’t care. And we’re in the shower.” He flicked a glance to the showerhead above her. “I’ll wash it.”
The thought of big bad Arawn shampooing her hair should have made her giggle. But his words were so loaded with promise that she only melted more. His nearness was an intoxicating lure. Her lips buzzed with need to be up against his again, but she couldn’t move. “Kiss me,” she whispered.
The fingers of his free hand curled into the V at the center of her bra. “Take this off.”
Oh my gods. There was no going back now, as if there ever had been. No way of things being like they were before. No pretending that there wasn’t a goddamn wildfire burning between them.
He released her hair and took a half step back. Ria took advantage of the small space and dropped her eyes to his pants. Holy huge erection. His rock-hard length was pushed to one side of his groin and her eyes greedily tracked it to the rounded tip—
“Love that you’re looking at my dick like it’s candy, babe. But right now, eyes up here. Bra off or I’m tearing it off.” His growled command was laced with equal parts need and demand.
She slid her fingers under the lower elastic band and slowly pushed it up and over her breasts, then over her head. She pulled it free of her unbound hair and dropped it on the floor. Her nipples hardened to stiff points—from the slide of the fabric or from Arawn’s attention, she wasn’t sure.
Arawn stared at her body like she was din
ner and he was a starving predator. “Fucking beautiful.” Strong hands landed on her hips and started a torturous, slow path up her torso.
She couldn’t hold back a shudder. His fingers were teasing and gentle, sending goose bumps across her shoulders and arms.
“Give me your mouth.”
She tilted her head up to meet his lips, as she clutched his shoulders and thrust her tongue into his mouth. Her breasts ached for contact. She pressed close to his bare chest and rubbed back and forth.
“Fucking hell,” he growled into her mouth. Before she could breathe, his hands were cupping her flesh, lifting and massaging. His rough thumbs swiped over her nipples and she jerked from the sensory overload.
Moisture pooled between her thighs. Her arousal pushed higher, and the need turned into an ache. Decades of pent-up feelings rushed to the fore. Decades of doubt erased, swept away by Arawn’s tsunami of raw desire.
Ria knotted her hands into his hair and her breath turned erratic. One of his hands dropped to her ass and yanked her flush to his groin.
“See what you do to me?” His words were rough and rumbled against her lips.
“I already peeked, remem—”
She gasped as he pinched one nipple, then the other. Her body went wild, trembling from the sensation. “You may have looked, but I get to touch you. Taste you.” He leaned down to her ear. “Hear you moan for me.”
She nodded, way past the point of surrender, way past the point of no return.
He yanked her pants and thong down, kneeling to get her feet free. He stayed where he was, staring at her. “You’re so beautiful,” he said. One finger traced her hip bone, moving down oh-so-slowly toward her mound. “Bare,” he whispered. “So goddamn sexy.” His fingers skimmed her sensitive flesh and her whole body jerked. She bit her lips to stifle a moan and hoped like hell no one would walk back here.
“I can smell how wet you are,” he went on, sliding two fingers between her legs.
Oh gods. She was naked, exposed, turned on so bad she was about to explode, and he was only touching her with two fingers. “No fair.” She spread her legs wider and tried to push against his hand.
