By the Horns

by Rachael Slate

  Nat’s parents had screamed at each other, but Kassian’s were of the passive-aggressive variety. They lived together in an enormous beachfront property in Australia, but “together” was an exaggeration. They sat at the same table day after day and never once acknowledged each other. Attended the same charity auctions every year and strapped on those same damned fake smiles.

  Both of their fathers were college frat brothers, and kept each other’s secrets well. No one but he and Nat knew how screwed up their families really were. Their parents’ shitty lives had bound them. Now, here she was, asking him to be as heartless toward her as her parents had been toward each other.

  Damn her for ever thinking he could.

  Ox’s ears perked. Nat’s pulse quickened. Her muscles tensed. Nat was waking up and, hell, she was still in his arms.

  Naked.

  She opened her mouth and her warm breath spread across his abs. Beneath the sheets, his cock jerked to attention, inches from her face with nowhere to hide.

  Nat inhaled the most decadent scent of pure man. Spicy, earthy, rich.

  Temptation. That was what he was. While she was used to denying herself luxuries—a home, a family, possessions—doing so was on her terms.

  Kassian had rejected her offer and she didn’t handle rejection well, even if she grasped the reasoning behind it.

  Her eyelids fluttered open. Sensation lit her fingertips as they pressed against a hard wall of masculine flesh. On instinct, her fingers curled, testing the firmness of those carved abs. Damn. The muscles in his stomach jerked like she’d tasered him. Or maybe her fingers were cold.

  She cleared her throat as her perusal shifted lower to his recurrent problem. Rejection she could handle, but being teased…

  The man was a sadist.

  She scowled and dragged the sheet to her chin. No sense in playing a game they wouldn’t follow through on. As much as she hated his reluctance, she refused to be accused of derailing him from his vows.

  “Hey!” He grumbled as she tore the sheet off the bed with her, sauntering into the bathroom.

  Well, if she couldn’t enjoy the fire, at least she could burn away the fuel. Nat tugged on her workout clothes. A run and a chance to scope out her targets—Price and his slutty harem.

  The Matchmaker had tasked her with a mission and Nat never failed. She’d uncover the truth behind this inconsistency and report back promptly.

  After braiding her hair, she strolled out of the washroom. Her gaze landed on Kassian—nude—and pain exploded through her shin. She winced, hopping around on one foot. Damn, she’d walked straight into the bedpost. He sat cross-legged on the living room floor, hands resting on his knees. He didn’t flinch while she swore and hissed at her banged up shin.

  That would leave a bruise.

  Eyes closed, palms up, he appeared to be meditating. She paused in rubbing her shin. Who was this man? The Kassian she recalled hadn’t the patience for dull meditation. He’d been constantly on the move, whether surfing, biking, hiking or, yep, rolling out another conquest with the ladies.

  She sighed as she admired the raw beauty of his form. Kassian’s body was heavily corded with muscle. His physique ripped to the point where his veins meandered along his skin like tiny rivers. A showcase of power.

  She forced her tongue back inside her mouth. This was not the time to fall into distraction. She tiptoed past him, trying not to disturb his meditation any further. After stuffing a key into her shorts pocket, she twisted the knob of the apartment door.

  “Where are you headed?”

  At Kassian’s deep rumble, she jolted. “Out for a run. And some reconnaissance.”

  “Why don’t you join me first? Meditation will help you connect with Snake.”

  “Thanks, but I’m okay.” This hosting a spirit gig wasn’t much of a challenge.

  “Snake is more than a weapon you can wield whenever you require it. The spirit is a sentient being, one that needs your—”

  “What? Control?” She planted her hands on her hips. “I’m not going to put my spirit on a leash like the rest of you. Sorry.” So what if her spirit was quiet? That didn’t mean it was evil. Maybe Snake preferred tranquility.

  A sigh deflated Kassian’s shoulders. “I was going to say guidance, direction.” Without warning, he rose, showcasing a body even Greek gods would be envious of. “I’m coming with you.”

  She whirled to face the door. “I’m fine on my own.” The rustling in the back corner of the room suggested he was getting dressed. She huffed and opened the door, cutting into the hallway.

  “Hey, wait up!” Kassian shouted behind her.

  “If you’re going to come, you’ve got to keep up.” She jogged down the hallway and opted for the stairs. A minute later, a heavy thudding echoed above her, indicating Kassian followed.

  The buzz of the busy city engulfed her as she stepped out onto the street. Car horns honked in an unpracticed melody. The drone of traffic. Dozens of conversations buzzed from the throng of people ebbing like a current in the ocean. Most of them wore white surgical masks over their mouths and noses, giving the street a post-apocalyptic aura.

  Which might be accurate, even though the Red Death wasn’t as prevalent in Asia. As one of the Matchmaker’s Lotus members, she’d received the vaccine the second it had been engineered. With the spirit of the Snake inside her, she had no fear of the lethal disease like most people did. Still, her heart panged for those already lost.

  Rain had fallen last night, dissipating the smog. The light musk of moisture mixed with the concrete city struck her nostrils with its pungency. She veered left and broke into a jog, weaving through the crowd. Price’s warehouse lay a few miles from here and, with the energy of Snake pouring through her, she buzzed by at a decent clip.

  Heavy thudding pounded the pavement behind her. Over her shoulder, she glimpsed Ox cloaking Kassian. The spirit barreled not around or above the crowd of people, but straight through them.

  She stifled a laugh as Kassian kept pace beside her, heaving as Ox uncloaked him.

  “You’re damn fast for such a small person.”

  She shook her head. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you, Kassian? Size isn’t everything.”

  “Hmm. I’ve been told the opposite. Repeatedly.”

  She scowled at the stupid smirk on his face, but didn’t doubt it. “Well, then. I guess I’ll be the first to let you in on a secret. Finesse outscores size any day.”

  He stroked his chin. “Nope. Never had any complaints about my technique either.”

  “I’m not sure they were able to shove their tongues back inside their mouths long enough to complain.”

  “Oooh.” He hugged his side like she’d wounded him with her jab.

  She jolted to a stop and tugged him against a building’s brick wall, gripping the fabric of his black athletic T-shirt. “Seriously, Kassian. This job calls for a degree of stealth. Once we arrive, I don’t even want to hear you breathe. Got it?”

  “Yep.” His husky voice sounded confident, but her fingers rested against his chest…and his heart. The organ hammered like a jealous boyfriend on his ex’s door. Fierce, violent, and relentless.

  She let go of his shirt. This wasn’t the time to deal with their floundering boundaries. “Follow my lead and keep your mouth shut.” She broke back into a jog, Kassian beside her.

  “Where are we headed?”

  “Price has a warehouse by the water. The Matchmaker ordered us to do a bit of recon. See if we can’t find out what’s happening to our vaccine shipments. After your Kongsi smuggles them out of Penang, they head here. Price is a middleman. The Matchmaker has received intel that the past few shipments haven’t arrived.”

  “The issue might be with Price or further down the line?”

  She nodded. “Until we’re certain, he can’t be trusted.”

  “That won’t be a problem.”

  She glanced aside and caught sight of Kassian’s fist, clenched tight.

  Well, d
amn.

  ***

  Kassian relaxed his jaw. His instincts told him to pummel the shit out of Price, demand answers from the man’s bloody mouth. That vaccine meant the world to Mei. If Price was guilty of tampering with the shipments, even Ox wouldn’t stop Kassian from whipping the traitor’s ass.

  Nat eyed his clenched fist with disapproval, so he relaxed his hand. If he sought her confidence, he had to prove he was more than the brawn of this operation. Did she believe him incapable of finesse?

  Her opinion shouldn’t matter to him, but it did. Hell, yeah, it did. If nothing else, they were part of the same Chosen pack. The same family. They had to work together or they’d end up dead.

  He lagged behind as Nat approached a large, rectangular warehouse. The whitewashed posts were faded, the blue paint peeling. The steel roof slats had rusted to a lime-ish hue.

  He sniffed at the stale scent permeating the air. The Matchmaker put on a good show. Appearances were always deceiving, and the Matchmaker used this knowledge to her greatest advantage.

  What better location for an illegal and controversial business venture?

  Nat swiveled, her body coiled as though ready to strike. She crooked her fingers for him to follow her to a wooden staircase winding up the back of the building.

  The second his foot landed on the first stair, it creaked. She whipped around and flung daggers at him with her eyes. He winced. Even with careful placements of his feet, the old wood groaned beneath his weight. Each small squeak made Nat’s hands fist tighter.

  The second he made it to the top, she waved for him to duck his head and pressed a finger to her lips.

  She rather liked giving orders, didn’t she? His body certainly enjoyed being handled by her. Nat’s commanding presence shot images into his brain of what it’d be like for her to tie him up and…

  Fuck.

  He swallowed hard and focused on where Nat pointed. Through a stained, weathered-glass window, he spotted several figures on the bottom floor of the warehouse. One man carried a clipboard while the other two hauled in crates.

  Price held the clipboard. Kassian recognized the other two men. He’d dealt with them before. The two smugglers deposited their crates in the center of the warehouse and filed back outside.

  This was the middle stage of their smuggling operation, so why the hell were the men unloading the vaccine from the ship? They were supposed to dock, resupply, and head back out.

  Yep, the Matchmaker was right to be suspicious.

  Hairs on the back of his neck rose. Nat glanced at him, lips pursed as if she experienced the same tingling instinct.

  Something was off.

  Before they could scurry back down the staircase, Price lifted his head.

  And grinned.

  Fuck. Nat jerked backward from the window, but it was too late.

  “If you’d like a tour, Natalie, I’ll gladly arrange one for you,” Price called from below.

  “Dammit. I told you to be quiet, Kassian.” She flung open the window and leapt down into the warehouse. He followed a second after, landing in a crouch beside her. As he straightened, Price smirked.

  “Actually, it was you, darling. You always did smell damn good.” He winked at her, and Nat’s cheeks flamed into a furious blend of reds and pinks. Her eyes flashed with anger so bitter Kassian almost choked on it.

  “Well, I’m here and I’d like a tour.”

  Price set his pen against the clipboard. “My pleasure, sweetheart.” He winked again.

  Ah, crap. Nat would hate Kassian for this, but the motherfucker had to be taught when to shut it.

  Ox flooded him, the beast’s brute strength unmatched. He lunged toward the fiend, wrapped his hand around the bastard’s neck, and lifted him three feet off the floor. “Her name is Natalie. Unless you’ve earned the right to call her anything else, you’ll call her Natalie.” His fingers dug into the man’s flesh, and Price wheezed. His eyes bulged and his hands flailed at Kassian’s. Horse struggled to buck against him and break Ox’s hold.

  But fuck that.

  No one but Tiger could stop Ox when he’d set his sights on a target. Tiger possessed the talent because he also carried a portion of Ox’s spirit.

  Kassian glanced to the side, half-expecting Nat to be furious or hysterical that he might kill Price. Hands on her hips, she tilted her head, admiring his handiwork. Or him? Shit. His body tensed. Nat’s lips curved smugly at this revenge on Price. As he met her gaze, her eyes were dark with a different shade of thirst.

  Hell. Price’s skin faded to a bluish pallor. Did Nat condone him killing the man? It’d be damned hard, what with the Horse inside him.

  Without someone tempering Kassian’s beast, Ox wouldn’t grasp when enough was enough. Nat seemed to hand him the decision. Though his opinion of Price teeter-tottered, Kassian refused to execute the man without evidence. He sent a soothing command to Ox. A second later, his hand opened and he dropped the asshole.

  Price crashed to the concrete floor and didn’t move. If Chosen weren’t so bloody hard to kill, Kassian might have been concerned.

  The warehouse echoed Price’s first wheezy breath. His limbs flopped about like a newborn calf’s as the blood and oxygen flooded back into his muscles.

  The rush of blood would hurt like a bitch.

  Kassian shifted his gaze to Nat, who viewed Price’s recovery with a satisfied smirk. Hell, what had he missed? Since when did this gentle woman enjoy such violence?

  Had the Matchmaker molded her into a cold-blooded killer?

  Fuck him, he didn’t want to learn the answers to those questions. Better to get this mission over with and return to his life.

  A life without temptation.

  Without Nat.

  Nat sighed. No denying it. Kassian was so-o-o sexy, especially when displaying his brute strength. More than a small part of her had enjoyed watching Price suffer. Hell, he’d shot her. This was far less payback than the bastard deserved.

  Damn right. She marched to him and kicked him straight in the balls. Hard.

  He cried out like a little girl, his shriek muffling to a whimper. Her only regret was she wore running shoes and not pointy-toed heels.

  She grinned at Kassian, but he regarded her with wide-eyed caution, one hand splayed across his crotch.

  Men. She scoffed.

  “Damn, Nat. Remind me never to cross you.” He whistled low.

  “Far less than he deserves.”

  A high-pitched screeching rent the air, traveling up her spine in swirling chills. Price’s two tramps rushed into the room, scrambling to his side. They coddled him for a second before pegging their vengeful scowls on her.

  Nat removed her fan from the back of her shorts, flipped it open, and wriggled her fingers at them. “Come and get a taste of what I gave him, bitches.”

  One vaulted over Price, zooming in on her.

  Kassian tackled the creature in the air, smacking her to the ground.

  “What the hell, Kassian? She was mine.” Nat marched to them and stomped her foot on the furry slut’s stomach. Gloating, she hovered above her squirming victim. “I should finish you off.”

  “Let. Me. Go.” The whore twisted and tugged, but Kassian and Nat held her firm.

  “Or what? Your friend isn’t going to help you.” Kassian pointed out the obvious.

  “No.” The fox spirit smirked. “But they are.”

  The air around them droned and the warehouse filled with dozens of charging fox spirits. Kassian shoved to his feet, snatched Nat’s arm, and drew her to his side. “Shit.”

  She punched back out, sliding around to Kassian’s back. “C’mon, we’re going to have to fight our way out.”

  “That won’t be necessary.” Price sputtered as he rose to his feet, wincing. “Biyu, back off.”

  The fox spirit clenched her fists at her side and took an offensive step forward.

  “Biyu!” Price’s shout came out hoarse.

  The fox spirit obeyed, her lips puck
ered in a pout. “They hurt you. They deserve to die. Her first.” She jerked her chin at Nat.

  “No, they don’t. They’re my guests and you must promise me to treat them as such.” He leaned into her, stroking her head like one would a cat.

  Nat exchanged raised eyebrows with Kassian. That was one messed up relationship. If they could even call it such.

  The fox spirit rubbed against Price, emitting a purr-like sound. Ew, gross.

  Kassian coughed into his fist. “You going to call off your, uh, army? Swarm? Whatever the hell you call these things.”

  “These things,” the fox lady spun on her heel and hissed, “are my family. You’re fortunate, mortal, for we would have devoured you.”

  The twirl of her tongue on the word left no question about her meaning. She would have screwed Kassian, draining him of his jīng—sexual—energy and forcing him to die a slow, tortuous death. An especially long one, since he was Chosen.

  Nat bit down hard on her lip. She wasn’t sure what irked her more—the threat to Kassian or the idea of someone else sleeping with him. A viper of jealousy coiled inside her chest. Perhaps the greatest weakness of someone born in the year of the Snake. Once she’d claimed someone as hers, she had a hard time letting go.

  She hadn’t made any such claim on Kassian…except in the past.

  In the one brief moment when they’d kissed so many years ago, had she sealed him as hers inside her heart?

  “Enough.” Price’s command broke through the dangerous trail of her thoughts. “Be gone.” He waved off the swarming spirits, and a pouting Biyu departed with them. “I may have deserved that.” The intensity in his regard suggested he was reassessing Nat. “Damn, I was a fool for letting you slip away.”

  “Slip away?” She snorted. “You nearly killed me.”

  “I didn’t kill you and I didn’t intend to. I missed on purpose.” He folded his arms and the display of sexy maleness in front of her caught her breath for an instant.

  “Why would you—” She bit her cheek. The circumstances wouldn’t change a damn thing. He’d still shot her. “Never mind. You can shove your pathetic excuses up your ass.”