So on the walk to the SUV, he tried to calm his growing need and his inattention almost cost Ara her life.
Taking a deep breath to get his body under control, he thought back to the moment after he’d shut Ara’s door and rounded the car.
“I headed around the hood after Ara was seated, and the force of the bullet slammed into me. I found myself pinned against the SUV. I tried to get to Ara, but the hits kept coming until my body shut down to heal itself. I can’t remember anything after that.”
Other than Ara’s voice.
“We heard the shots and ran out onto the porch, but by that time, the gunman was working on unjamming the gun. Before anyone could intervene, we watched as Ara calmly walked toward the man. When he spotted her, he cursed, working harder to dislodge the casing. Ara waved her hand at the man, and he seized for a split second before he dropped to the ground, screaming in pain. By the time the sound ended, he was dead,” Liv said.
She paused and looked thoughtfully at Ara before she gasped. Rushing to her lab table, she palmed a scalpel and a syringe before she ran up the stairs. Liv was back in within ten seconds. It dawned on him that she had gone upstairs for a sample of the gunman’s blood, and he turned his attention back to Ara, not caring what the man’s blood revealed. He heard the clink of slides as she slid the sample under the microscope, and he heard her breathing ratchet up by what the sample revealed.
“Holy shit,” Liv muttered.
Reaper had never seen Liv so surprised, and he couldn’t tell whether what she had found was good or bad news.
“She scorched his blood. She heated his blood until the plasma evaporated, and because of lack of blood flow to the heart, his heart stopped beating.”
The silence in the room stretched for several long minutes, as they thought about what Liv had told them.
“She has really strong offensive and defensive weapons. She was able to heal Reaper within minutes, but only after she’d defended herself and killed the gunman. It seems that her powers grow stronger when someone she cares about is in danger. Another curiosity is that when Ara healed you, your enhanced healing abilities became strengthened. I think that from now on, you’ll be able to heal at a quicker rate than the others,” Liv finished.
“How do you know that?” Reaper asked.
Liv understood that he’d meant Ara’s feelings and rolled her eyes before she answered him. “You didn’t see the way she was looking at you through dinner. Probably the same way you were looking at her.”
Reaper nodded at Liv. He cared for Ara in a way that he never thought possible.
He had been alone for most of his existence, and although he had grown close to the assassins he considered family, something was missing that left a hollow space inside. It wasn’t until he laid eyes on Ara that the loneliness, the hollowness, disappeared, and tonight, he’d almost lost her. That one thought had fear shiver over his spine. The other was that Ara hadn’t woken yet.
“Why doesn’t she respond to me?”
“I have my suspicions,” Liv replied.
He almost roared out his frustration, but he took a deep breath and was grateful when she continued without prompting.
“Until I can test Ara’s blood, there is no way to speculate why she can use some powers without draining her energy, but others take everything she has. It could be related to what she was injected with, or it could be latent. I won’t draw blood until she’s healthy and gives her permission to do so.”
“I don’t understand.”
Liv gently lifted Ara’s right hand and straightened her arm. He noticed some bruising near where Liv would have to draw Ara’s blood, something he hadn’t noticed before. As he touched the area gently, he noticed the skin was cool to the touch. He glanced at Liv for an explanation, and he could see the hesitation as she tried to mask her expression.
“The scientists must have drawn from her several times a day, because they are in bad shape. Although blood vessels have grown to replace the damaged ones, she’s had several collapsed veins in the area. I don’t want to take away her choice and if she prefers another method, I still have to wait for her to wake.”
Fury unlike anything he’d ever felt before left tremors shaking throughout his body. He couldn’t prevent his thunderous growl that echoed throughout the cavernous basement. Blackness edged into his vision, but before he could destroy whatever he could get his hands on, he sensed movement on the couch.
“Reaper.”
Before he could sit on the couch and reach for her, Ara launched herself in his arms and held on. For a long moment, he held her as relief left him weak, but pain ripped through him when she pushed against his chest, forcing him away from her. He thought that she was upset because he had done nothing to protect her, but her hands searched his chest for wounds that had healed and disappeared.
“I heal. We all have the ability to heal ourselves.”
Her tortured eyes rose to meet his, and he understood at the moment that her worry had been centered on him.
“I didn’t mean to scare you, beautiful. I didn’t tell you about my ability to heal earlier because I thought that I heaped enough information on you. I’m sorry about not telling you. It turns out that you healed me faster than I could have recovered on my own.”
Before he could think of the ramifications of his actions, he leaned toward her and pulled her in for a kiss. When she pulled back, shaking her head, a deep crevice opened in his chest and pain that he’d never felt before throbbed in time with his pulse.
“I told you I was dangerous. You were hurt because of me.” Ara pulled away from him and started to rise, but he refused to let her go.
“No, you’re not. I was hurt because I hadn’t been paying attention to our surroundings. I should have sensed that fucker long before he shot at us.” He paused and cupped her chin, lifting her gaze to meet his. Lowering his voice, he spoke a little of the need for her. “Even if you were a danger to me, I would never, ever leave you.”
For a long moment, he held his breath as she thought about his words, and when she pressed her forehead against his and cupped his face, he breathed a sigh of relief. He kissed the tears from her cheeks, before he settled her against his chest. Movement reminded him that they had company.
“They want to know you’re okay,” Reaper said.
Ara started in his arms, but when she glanced up, he could see that her tears had dried. Concern for the others was evident on her face, but they had let her know that they were in awe of her powers and as Gunnar so aptly noted, they were glad she was on their side. By the time each of the assassins had been assured that she was fine, the tension in the room relaxed.
“Are you okay?” Liv asked.
“I think so. What happened?”
Liv and Gunnar were animated when they told Ara of her power to heal and what they had witnessed when she had taken care of the gunman. Ara tensed in his arms as they continued to praise her for saving both of them.
“I’m sorry. I turned off the motion sensors before you arrived. It won’t happen again,” Kai snarled.
Fear flashed on Ara’s face.
“What is it?” Reaper asked.
“Aren’t you going to turn me in?”
Loud, abrasive voices rose as the assassins expressed outrage at her sentiment.
“He was trespassing on private property, wishing to do us harm. You stopped him and it was self-defense. If you hadn’t killed him, we would have taken care of it.” The viciousness in Ghost’s voice had relaxed Ara and she sagged against him.
“Liv, is Ara well enough to go home?”
Liv nodded, and he wasted no time lifting Ara in his arms before he stood. His heart skipped when she laid her head down on his chest and breathed a sigh of relief. Before he could ask to borrow one of Kai’s cars, he glanced up in time to catch the key fob thrown by Kai.
“Take care of each other.”
He nodded a quick thanks before he sprinted up the stairs, ready for time a
lone with Ara. She had scared the shit out of him when she hadn’t woken, and he wanted time to reassure himself that she would be fine. Listening to her heartbeat and her deep, even breaths had gone a long way in that reassurance, but he knew it would take him a long while to get over almost losing her.
The entire way to the house, he scanned his surroundings, making sure that he hadn’t been followed. Thirty minutes later, he pulled into his garage and shut the door.
Without waiting for her to do it, he unbuckled her seat belt and then his, before he pulled her across the seat and onto his lap. He carried her into the house and sat her down on the kitchen counter, giving her a quick kiss.
“I’m going to secure the house. I’ll be right back.”
Moving quickly, he secured the locks, the shutters, and activated the motion sensors before he returned to the kitchen to find Ara in the same spot he left her minutes before.
Unable to help himself, his hands roamed over her, looking for any signs of discomfort or pain. Her body responded to his touch, and soon, her back arched toward him and a low moan escaped her throat.
She took him by surprise when her hand slid around his neck and pulled him close for a kiss.
“Reaper,” she breathed.
The instant their lips met, the kiss grew out of control. Heat and desire flooded through him, and he couldn’t stop the growl from escaping. She reacted to the sound by clutching him closer while he plundered her mouth. Her hands clawed at his back, driving his need higher. Several breathtaking minutes later, she pulled back and he started when he spotted the tears in her eyes.
“I thought I lost you.” Her voice broke.
This kiss was meant to be reassuring, but his body responded and he pressed his hardness against her. He swallowed her moan, and when they broke apart to catch their breath, he knew that he needed to reassure her with words, not actions.
“You will never lose me, ever. I could’ve lost you tonight because I hadn’t been paying attention to our surroundings. I underestimated the asshole, but when I find him, I’ll rip his head off and he’ll no longer be our problem.”
Unable to stop himself from touching her, he lifted her off the counter in hopes of making it to the bedroom, but after two steps, his mouth found hers and he pressed her against the wall, unable to break the connection between them.
When they came up for air, her mouth sought his again.
He had to slow down.
He couldn’t rush her despite his desire, and if he didn’t pull back, they would be naked in the kitchen and her first experience would be against the wall.
He peppered kisses on her cheeks, on her forehead, before he buried his face against her neck. He concentrated on slowing his breathing, but her body surged and a choked sound escaped her.
“Please,” she begged.
A groan rumbled through his chest but the sound cut off when he glanced down and caught the look on her face.
She feared that he didn’t want her. She thought that he would change his mind.
“I’m yours, beautiful. Never doubt that, and as soon as I carry you to the bedroom, I’ll show you how much I want you.”
With her legs around his waist and her sweet bottom firmly in his grip, he pushed away from the wall and carried her through the kitchen to the stairs.
She buried her face in his neck, and when she brushed her lips against his hot skin, he claimed her mouth in a kiss that scorched both of them. All his rational thoughts ceased as he laid her on the bed and followed her down.
His need to claim her sucked the air from his chest, and as he glanced down at the woman who made him feel complete, he knew that he would have to find the words to explain.
But no matter when he claimed her, he knew one fact. She was his mate.
Chapter Eight
Ara
Desperation and need clawed at Ara as Reaper settled himself on top of her. She savored the weight and his strength as he surrounded her, and couldn’t help her urge to touch him, to reassure herself that he was alive and well. Her hands traveled underneath his clothes and over the smooth skin of his back, not brave enough to explore any further.
His loud groan shivered over her, and she clutched him tighter.
Her life had taught her that time was never a guarantee. Hours before, she thought that Reaper had died from the wounds she watched him receive and it almost stopped her heart. When she had woken, a panic hadn’t allowed her to understand that Reaper was alive as he tried to pull her into his arms. It was only after she felt his pulse and noticed no residual pain in his features did she allow herself to relax and fall into his embrace.
She had been given a second chance with him. Whether it was from her intervention or because he would have healed himself in time, he had survived, and she refused to waste another minute.
Her movements were frantic as she tried to pull his black sweater up and off, but thoughts of bullets striking him kept repeating over and over again as she tried to block the images from her mind. She tried to convince herself that all was well, but she didn’t know whether she truly believed it. She became distracted from the horrific thoughts when he tugged his sweater off without moving away from her, and tossed it behind him, forgotten. Her hands traced the solid muscles on his chest, searching for any damage, but she couldn’t find anything but smooth, taut skin.
“I love your touch, beautiful,” Reaper mumbled.
She closed her eyes as the endearment slipped through his lips. Every time he had referred to her as beautiful, a part of her wanted to believe him, but she’d learned throughout her life that no one cared for anyone more than they did themselves. When he told her that she was his, panic flared and she had to remind herself that nothing in life was permanent. Her parents hadn’t wanted her, and when the danger passed, she had a feeling that Reaper would move on as well.
Over the last few days, she had lectured herself about getting too attached to Reaper. They shared kisses before Reaper had been shot, but they’d never gotten so heated that she ached for his touch. She rationalized that his attraction to her had been a result of the intense experience they had gone through. He would realize sooner rather than later that she was a danger to him and his friends and that he truly wouldn’t want her. Her feelings for Reaper, however, were much more complicated.
“What are you thinking about?” He pressed her hands harder against his chest and held them tightly.
She raised her eyes to meet his and blinked to clear her vision. Realizing that tears filled her eyes from her thoughts, she struggled out of his grip to wipe them away, but Reaper trapped both of her hands in one of his and lifted her arms above her head. With his other, he gently wiped away the tears that had fallen on her cheeks.
When he repeated his question, she refused to answer and instead lifted her mouth to his for a kiss. She pressed her lips against his, and moaned when he kissed her back. In his arms, she felt safe and wanted, but she knew that her time with Reaper was limited. Part of her knew that it was selfish to take advantage of a situation that he might regret later, but if he wanted her now, she would remember every touch and kiss and live off the memories for the rest of her life.
“I need you,” she begged. “Can I touch you?”
The intensity of his gaze as he searched for more tears drew a sigh from deep in her chest, but the next second, he took her by surprise when he flipped over onto his back. His fingers threaded together and rested beneath his head in a casual pose.
Her eyes roamed over him and although his posture was relaxed, the tension could be seen in the tightness of his jaw and the flexed muscles of his arms.
His gaze followed her as she rose to her knees. Tired of being tentative, she reached out and ran her hands over his chest, loving his intake of breath when her fingertips brushed against one of his nipples. Sliding her hands to his side, she leaned in and brushed her lips against his chest, savoring the growl that caused her to shudder. She lifted her head to see his reactions to h
er touch, never taking her mouth off him. His eyes blazed with a fire that heated her skin and clenched her core. As she kept his gaze in hers, she licked his nipple with a long, even stroke.
At her touch, his fingers threaded through her hair, and he pressed her tighter to his chest. His reaction filled her with a hunger she’d never experienced, and she wanted more. With each of his moans or growls, she grew bolder. This time as she kissed his nipple, she pursed her lips and sucked lightly. She loved when a long, low moan erupted from his throat. The suction increased, and when her tongue shot out to flick his swollen skin, his hips bucked against her, letting her know how much he desired her.
“Fuck.”
She smiled against his chest and without giving him time to change his mind, she smoothed her hands down his firm stomach until she reached the button on the black jeans he wore. All the while, her mouth tasted the skin on his chest and neck, distracting him before he stopped her from her mission. As her fingers released the top button, his hips thrust up, trying to buck her off. She refused to budge, grateful for her curvy body for the first time in her life. When she had lowered the zipper on his jeans, she slid down his body and hooked her fingers in the waistband and started to tug.
“Wait.” He sounded winded.
She ignored his command and blew out a relieved breath when he lifted, giving her permission to lower his jeans and shove them off. When his jeans hit the floor, she turned back to him and couldn’t help but lick her lips when her eyes landed on his erection. His moan almost made her glance at his face, but when a drop of liquid appeared at the tip of his cock, she moved without knowing what she planned to do.
Emboldened, she wrapped her hand around the base of his cock while her tongue darted out and tasted him. She closed her eyes and savored the salty taste, and when the taste had disappeared, she opened her eyes, determined to draw more from him while giving him as much pleasure as she could.
She teased the base of his cock with short, darting licks, before her tongue flattened and she licked him from base to tip.
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