A voice. Someone was calling to him. It sounded far away…and sad.
A female? He tried to concentrate on it, but he couldn’t make out the words.
“Speak up,” he tried to say. “I can’t hear you.” But his lips wouldn’t move. With an enormous amount of effort, he was able to make his eyelids flicker open for a moment.
A swirling mist of gray surrounded him and he could make out a few vague shapes.
“Asher, please,” one of the voices called. He really wanted to go to her. He loved her.
Please, what? What did she want from him?
But then another voice called out to him. Another female, from the opposite side. It was much clearer, much easier to understand. “No, come to me, Asher. I’ve been waiting for you. We both have.”
Jenny? Was that her?
He tried to sit up, but that fucking elephant wouldn’t move. Something began to loosen inside him. He could feel it. Hidden tethers were coming undone. He had to get out of this body. It was broken. It couldn’t hold him any longer.
“Yes, that’s it,” Jenny called. “You can do it.”
“Asher, come back to me,” the first voice called.
Olivia?
“I love you, Asher,” she said. “Please come back. We have a whole lifetime to live together.”
A whole lifetime? But it was too late for that. He was too tired. He had to let go. He couldn’t do it anymore.
“The baby, Asher.” Jenny’s voice was loud in his ear. “It’s a girl. She looks just like you.”
He had a daughter? Jenny had been pregnant with a girl?
He coughed. How was that possible? Jenny was…dead.
Something hit his face. Hard.
Why was someone trying to hurt him?
“Leave me alone,” he wanted to say, but he couldn’t get his lips to move.
A burst of warmth raced through his veins like wildfire. An instant shot of something wonderful. Energizing him. Heightening his awareness. It was something he wanted more of. Something he desperately needed.
“Asher! Don’t you fucking die on me.” There was another slap.
“Olivia?” He wasn’t sure if he was talking or thinking.
Jenny was saying something else too, but he couldn’t make out the words. She sounded distant, standing at the end of a long tunnel.
The knots around the tethers were getting tighter now, not loosening. The weight on his chest…it wasn’t an elephant. It was…Olivia. She was trying to keep his soul anchored to his body.
“Goodbye, Jenny,” he called. “I’m not ready yet.”
CHAPTER 26
“You sure he’s not going to be standing there, waiting for us to step through the portal?” Alexandra Crawford pulled the tie on her robe tighter. “I really don’t want my future son-in-law to see me naked.”
Olivia laughed. She and Asher weren’t officially engaged yet. There were a few things she needed to accomplish first before that could happen.
“Mom, he’s waiting, but he’s not going to be right there. I promise.”
“And if the lad is, I’ll kick his arse for you, Mrs. Crawford.” Rickert stood behind them, his hands on his hips. There was no mistaking that he was a Cascadian assassin, with that leather kilt and the two long knives affixed to his back.
Asher and Neyla had gone through the portal about an hour ago in order to have clothes and transportation waiting for them when Olivia and her mother stepped through. “It’ll just be Neyla there, along with her friend Petra.”
“I hope there’s not a fanfare or anything. This body isn’t what it used to be.”
Olivia snorted. “So you’re saying that when you were younger, there was fanfare when you were naked?”
Her mother rolled her eyes. “There are some things that are not appropriate for a mother to share with her daughter. Now come on. I’m getting cold standing here. Let’s get on with this. I’m anxious to meet the Cascadian branch of our family.”
When Rickert had first seen Olivia and then her mother with their mismatched eyes, he’d told them of a family in one of southern regions where all the women were born with eyes of different colors. Their village had been the target of several deadly raids by Pacificans decades ago and it was possible that Olivia’s mother had come from there.
“Ready, Mom?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Clasping hands, the two of them stepped up to the tiny alcove. Instantly the rock around them began to hum. The vibration seemed to seep under her skin and travel along her spine. Before she knew it, the wall in front of them was gone…it was now at their backs. And their clothes were gone, too.
Her mother crossed her hands over her breasts, but she didn’t need to. Neyla and a beautiful woman with long black hair were waiting with large blankets to cover them up.
Neyla introduced them to Petra and gave them their clothes, but before Olivia’s mother could take them, Petra dropped to her knees and took the older woman’s hands in hers. “My family and I will forever be in your debt.”
“I don’t understand,” Olivia’s mother said, looking confused.
“The evil man killed in your home was one of those responsible for my beloved brother’s death. We miss Fallon every day, but we can rest now, knowing justice has been served.”
“I…I didn’t do much. I just incapacitated him for a time, giving Olivia time to heal Asher.”
“But it was enough and my family is very grateful. Our home is your home for as long as you wish.”
Olivia pulled on a pair of butter-soft riding breeches, a purple cotton tunic with intricate embroidery at the neckline, and leather boots. “These are beautiful clothes, Neyla. Did you make them?” Rickert had told her that Neyla used to own her own clothing design business.
“Yes, except the boots. We bought those in town. How does everything fit?” She examined both of them with a critical eye.
“Like they were made for me,” Olivia said.
“Me too.” Her mother craned her neck around, admiring the blue sari-like outfit she’d just put on. She turned to Neyla. “And now it’s my turn to thank you.”
“My pleasure,” Neyla said, pride and excitement reflected in her eyes. “I’m glad everything fits.”
“And I’m not talking just about the clothes, although they’re lovely. I’m referring to you using your army contacts to find out what happened to my son.”
“I just hope the army’s fixer wasn’t lying to us,” Olivia said. That was the last thing they needed. To have their hopes raised that Vince might be alive only to be dashed again if they found out he wasn’t.
“As soon as I hear anything, I’ll let you know,” Neyla said. “Now, I’m sorry to rush everyone, but Rickert will be coming through the portal at any minute. And unless you want to see him naked…” She paused. “Let me rephrase that. No one but me gets to see my man naked, so we need to hurry.”
Petra scoffed. “Will you ever change?”
“What?” Neyla protested. “So I’m still clinging to my non-exhibitionist, Pacifican ways. Big deal.” She turned to Olivia and her mother. “They’re less inhibited over here when it comes to…well…sex. Let’s just say I was a little surprised on my first trip over here. So don’t be surprised if you see—”
“A few cocks and balls?” Asher strode into the antechamber like a rooster strutting into a henhouse. “Everyone decent?”
Olivia just about melted. The man—her man—was gorgeous. He wore a leather kilt and a white linen shirt with a deep V that hung open at the neck, showing the muscular plane of his chest.
As Petra and Neyla doted over her mother, helping her into a cart pulled by two handsome horses with flowing black manes, Asher grabbed Olivia and shoved her against the wall. “I thought you’d never get here.”
“What are you talking about? It was only an hour.”
“But it was too long. I missed you.” His mouth came down hungrily over hers. She reached under his kilt and found he
wasn’t wearing anything underneath.
CHAPTER 27
Two months later
“So you think I’m ready?” Olivia asked.
The woman with the raven-black hair nodded. “Yes, it’s time.”
Olivia retied the strings of her tunic. When she entered the circle, a few people clapped and Conry barked. Neyla and Rickert stood on the far side, his hand on her protruding belly. Petra and her husband were there, along with a few others she’d met. Olivia’s mother had learned she was from the town of Derry’s Folly and had met her biological sister there. Her parents had been killed in the raid when infiltrators had breached a portal, invaded their village, and kidnapped her as an infant sixty-two years ago.
She was there now, which was good, because if she were here with Olivia, she wouldn’t let this happen.
Asher stood on the other side of the ring, a crazy grin on his face. “You don’t have to do this, Olivia. You’ve already proven yourself very capable. And besides, if you stay over here, you’ll be safe. There’s no need for you to become a fighter.”
“No, I want to do this. You didn’t think you could let yourself fall in love with me because you thought I wasn’t capable of defending myself. And frankly, I was pissed that I hadn’t been able to defend myself a little better against that sonofabitch in Mom’s house.”
She did exactly what Mariah had taught her. She’d been practicing every day with the woman who used to be a member of the Taghta Sisterhood, a religious order tasked with protecting and defending sacred relics since before the Obsidian Wars.
Olivia circled to Asher’s left. He was right-handed, so this was his weaker side. He’d be expecting her to attack him here.
She darted left and sure enough, he blocked her. Good. He was thinking he was on to her. This went on a few more times and then she saw her opportunity. He had let down his guard on the right side.
She darted in again, but this time she went right. Using a move Mariah had shown her, she grabbed his hand, cocked his wrist hard, and brought him to his knees. Several people around the circle clapped and cheered.
“Ahhhhh,” he groaned. “Let go.”
“Do you submit?”
He didn’t answer right away. She twisted harder. “Don’t make me have to heal you,” she said.
“Okay, okay. I submit.”
She didn’t let go. “Good. What else?”
“I’m madly in love with you and want you to be my wife.”
“I know that already, Ash.”
“Then what?”
“Don’t you remember our deal?”
“Um…”
“It’s your turn to be my slave. When you’re not away on a mission, you’ll have to do everything I say, both inside and outside the bedroom.”
“Just say yes, Asher,” Rickert called from the sidelines.
“Pussy,” said a man they called Big Thom.
She twisted harder.
“Of course I agree. Ouch.”
“And…?”
“And I think you’re totally capable of defending yourself. I submit.”
She let go of his hand, dropped to her knees and pushed him onto the ground. “Good,” she said, crawling like a cat on top of him. “Because I want you naked and in our bed in ten minutes. Think you can do that?”
Instead of answering, he cupped the back of her head and pulled her down to meet him, his lips crashing against hers.
It was a punishing, bruising kiss. His tongue delved into her mouth, claiming her and making her head spin. Feeling his erection, thick and hard beneath her, she ached to have him inside her.
She almost forgot they had an audience. Almost forgot about her agenda.
She pulled back slightly, breaking their connection. They were both breathing hard, his breath became her breath. He had a smudge of dirt on his cheek and one of his thin braids was stuck to the sheen of sweat on his forehead. He was gorgeous. Absolutely and totally gorgeous.
“You’re mine, Liv, until the end of time. And when the earth crumbles to dust and the sun burns out in the sky, there will still be us. There will still be this.”
Her heart swelled, but she couldn’t let herself get distracted. “Yes, my love, but I’m still waiting for an answer.”
“About being your sex slave? Of course.” His tone was raspy and impatient, making her inner muscles clench with need, but she needed to stay strong.
She narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me?”
He grinned then, understanding her completely, and his smile lit up her whole world.
God, she loved this man. More than she ever thought possible.
“Yes, of course…ma’am.”
A few people clapped as she pulled him to his feet and led him across the courtyard to their quarters.
She was going to love it over here. A lot.
The End
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Keep reading for a preview of Assassin's Touch, Book One in the Iron Portal series.
Assassin's Touch - Preview
The rock formation felt cold and slightly damp as Rickert D’Angelus flattened himself against the side of Crystal Peak. He stood on a wide ledge just beneath the top of the cliff with a rain-swollen river raging hundreds of feet below. Low voices murmured in the darkness—at least three or four Pacifica soldiers. With the Iron Portal no more than a furlong away, the enemy was too close. He’d have to take them out here.
Silently, he drew his blade and held it between his teeth. He found a toehold, but as he began to pull himself up, a warm sensation flitted across the skin of his forearms and he stepped back onto the ledge.
Damn. A Talent.
How could he have been so foolish as to not check for one of their army’s rare para-ability soldiers before he got this close? Even though it had been months since he’d encountered a Talent on this side of the portal, it was inexcusable for a Warrior of the Iron Guild to make a mistake of this magnitude. A mistake that could cost not only his life, but the lives of his men scattered throughout the area.
Not daring to breathe, he hoped the bloke wasn’t a Telepathy-Talent or a Psychic-Talent. He’d sense Rickert for sure. When he realized the idiocy of that thought, he allowed himself a grim smile. If their Talent could read minds or see the future, Rickert would already be dead.
With his body pressed against the rock wall, he wondered what tricks they were up to. Usually they kept those with para-abilities back with the commanding officer while the regular men did the fighting. They were too valuable to risk out in the field.
And then the reason occurred to him.
The portal.
Of course.
He glanced in the direction of the hidden entrance halfway down the cliff face. The Pacificans had to know it was nearby, and were using this Talent to pinpoint the exact location. Finding it must be worth that risk.
Footsteps crunched on the path above him. Two soldiers had left, but by his estimate, two others remained. Rickert couldn’t pull himself up to the top and kill them quite yet. Not until he knew they were retreating. At that point, he’d slip silently behind them and slit their throats. They’d be dead before they hit the ground.
“Hey!” A man’s voice rang out—so close that Rickert considered grabbing the bloke’s ankle and sending him plummeting to his death.
But if he did, the second soldier might have just enough
time to sound an alarm, alerting others before Rickert could climb the rest of the way up and get to him. No, he’d wait as long as it took, then kill them both.
“Me and the guys are tired of you slowing us down,” the man was saying to the other soldier.
Although he couldn’t be sure, Rickert didn’t think the one speaking had para-abilities—the night air would’ve felt faintly charged when the guy spoke. Not all of his people could sense someone with Talents the way Rickert could, which was one of the reasons he was in charge. That and the fact that he was the group’s most lethal assassin. Revenge made him take personal risks that no one else would. Or should. He would never order his men to do the things he did. A few of them had families back home, while he, on the other hand, had nothing to lose.
“The R-Dubs lost the A-1 ranking because of you.”
“I admit that was my fault, but you think I had a choice?” At the sound of the woman’s voice, a subtle tingle skated over Rickert’s arms.
Bloody hell, their Talent was female? He hadn’t been expecting that.
She continued, but this time her voice took on a ragged edge. “Do you honestly think I enjoy stretching out my mental senses to shield you from harm? I can think of a million other things I’d rather do, but you lived, didn’t you? That should count for something.”
“Danger is something we live with—mediocrity isn’t. And given our status as the best fighting unit in START, your talents are unnecessary. We don’t need your protection.”
Rickert heard a scuffle and a few tiny rocks skittered over his head.
“Smythe, don’t.”
The metallic sound of a blade being unsheathed cut through the quiet night air, and the man grunted. “Damn you. Why won’t this work?”
“Because I’m a Protection-Talent, that’s why. When I see Captain Gravich, I’m going to file a formal complaint against you this time and— Wait! Wait!”
Dark and Deadly: Eight Bad Boys of Paranormal Romance Page 76
