by Jeya Jenson
I want him to make love to me.
A frown creased her face. Since the night Adrien had given her oral sex in the sunken gardens, that’s all he would agree to. Sure, she liked it, too, but it was like getting the entrée and dessert with no dinner in between. Highly unsatisfying and unfulfilling. She wanted to feel his cock inside her. She knew he wanted her. They kissed, fondled and did everything but have sex. He would never tell her why he was holding back.
Though he seemed to enjoy her company and the time they’d spent together, Adrien never spoke of his past. He was just as vague about his future plans and refused to obligate himself to anything beyond the next day. He was a man who played his cards close to his vest; too careful, too coordinated, too controlled.
She hadn’t pressed for answers and certainly hadn’t tried to pry any commitment out of him. He wouldn’t allow it and she couldn’t bring herself to try it. A future together—they couldn’t have that. Just as he seemed unwilling to confide in her, well, she hadn’t exactly been honest either. Like two ships passing in the night, they’d enjoyed what the other had to give. Now it was time to move on. They each had a separate path to walk. She doubted they would ever meet again. Upon learning of her cancer, Cassie had sworn she would not let her illness burden another person. It was a brave choice, but also a lonely one.
How could I ask him to give me his heart when I can’t keep from breaking it? she thought. I haven’t got long...a few more years, if that much. Headaches worsening, energy flagging, appetite going—the beginning of the slide toward death.
She’d taken what she wanted from Adrien, but not what she needed. Her emotions and sense of self were fragmented. Adrien had invaded her heart in much the same way the cancer had invaded her brain. Neither was good for her. One would devastate her. The other would destroy her.
Giving Giselle a last loving stroke, she slid on a pair of thigh-high hose, the kind that didn’t need garters, and put her feet into a pair of sexy heels. “Tonight will be one he never forgets,” she murmured.
Opening the bathroom door, she slipped into adjoining bedroom.
Adrien sat at the antique roll-top desk, leaning his elbows on the desk and rubbing his temples. Though he wore his jeans and boots, he’d not yet finished dressing. He was still shirtless. Her gaze traced the solid lines of his shoulders and back. Seeing him, her stomach tightened and her head started to throb anew. Her guts churned slivers of glass. God, she didn’t want to let him go.
If you love something, set it free…
Cassie walked over to him and put her hands on his shoulders. She could feel the tension in his muscles, the knots under his skin. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Something wrong, honey?” she asked, giving the top of his head a quick kiss.
Glancing up at her, Adrien forced a smile.
“No,” he said quickly. “Nothing’s wrong.” Breaking away, he slid the letter he’d written into the pocket of his jacket, hung across the back of the chair. He headed for the bed and tumbled face down on the mattress, pillowing his head in his arms. “Just taking care of a few last minute details,” he finished in a muffled voice.
Cassie drew in a breath. She knew the letter was for her. She wondered what it said. Anything good—or the final kiss off? At least he had written her something. That was more than most men bothered with. Most just walked out and had their lawyers call hers.
Walking to the bed, Cassie climbed in beside him. She worked his shoulders a bit more, kneading his skin. She relished the feel his flesh under her fingers. “You’re tense.”
He sighed and lifted his head. “Got a lot on my mind, babe. I have to leave soon. Need to get in some road time.”
“So you’re really going?” There’s she’d said it.
Adrien rolled over onto his back. Noticing her sexy gown, his eyes mirrored his appreciation. He reached out and caressed her cheek. “It’s something I’ve needed to take care of a long time, Cassie,” he said. A shadow of regret trekked across his face. “If I could take this last year back, I would. God help me, I wish I could forget what I’ve done.”
His words brought a chilly prickle to the back of her neck. He was talking like a man in deep trouble. “Anything I can help with?” she asked. She had the resources. If he were in some kind of mess, she wanted to help.
His fingers tracked down her throat, briefly touch the pulse under her jaw. For a moment a look of wanton desire filled his face—a look that went beyond sexual desire into something else, something akin to hunger. His tongue snaked out and he licked his lips.
Adrien closed his eyes, as if struggling to regain a sense of control. “No. It’s not about money, Cassie,” he said, voice tightening. “It’s something else, something I can’t control. If I stay, you’ll get hurt, honey. I don’t want that to happen.”
She laid a hand on his bare chest. “Whatever it is, I can handle it.” She let her hand trail lower to settle on his crotch. She began to rub up and down the length of his penis. Beneath his jeans his cock sprouted, burgeoning into a long, hard rod. “In fact, here’s something I’d like to handle now.” She lay back, spreading her legs to give him a flash of her sexy thighs and the delights that lay therein.
Adrien rolled on top of her, bracing his weight with his arms. “Damn, the things you do to me,” he rumbled. “I intend to see you well satisfied and dreaming of me before I go.”
She ran her arms up his bare arms, over his shoulders and down his back. “Oh, I’m more than satisfied,” she purred. Her hands found the beltline of his jeans. She gave the material a tug. “But we haven’t really made love yet.”
Hearing her words, his mood abruptly shifted again. He drew back, sitting up on the edge of the bed. “There’s a reason we haven’t.” His voice was oddly taut.
She sat up, too, putting a hand on his leg. “Then not tonight, either?” she asked. Disappointment laced her words.
Adrien reached down to take her hand, squeezing her fingers. For the first time she noticed that his skin was oddly chilly. “I can’t make love to you the way you want,” he whispered softly. “I just can’t give you what you expect as a woman. I’m sorry. I haven’t been honest with you. I—I haven’t told you a lot of things about me.”
Cassie searched his gaze. There was agony in his eyes, an intense wounding misery that penetrated straight to his core. She could feel it in the tension that had risen up between them, a high wall neither could completely get around. Was it because she also had her own walls to hide behind?
Her eyes cut to the thin scars around his neck, going lower to the scars slashed into his chest and abdomen. There were more scars around his wrists, from struggling against ropes. Someone had subjected Adrien to some hardcore bondage in a not so faraway past.
“Somebody’s hurt you,” she whispered, tracing a scar beside his left nipple with the soft pad of her index finger. He started but did not pull away from her touch. “The abuse…was it…sexual?”
Adrien’s brow drew down, a frown creasing his face. “Yessss…” he started to say, then shook his head. “It’s not what you think.” A moment of silence ensued and then he blurted, “I wasn’t always the unwilling victim.”
Her gaze lifted to his, met it dead on. “Is that why you’re leaving?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady. “You’re going back to that life?” Her question seemed to catch him off guard. She saw him swallow, averting his eyes.
His jaw tightened. “I’m going back to end it,” he said resolutely. “Once and for all. Then—maybe—I’ll be free.”
She lifted her chin. She was trying to keep a brave face, biting her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. “Whatever you feel you have to do, I understand.” She reluctantly stood up. “If you want to come back, I’ll be waiting.” She didn’t know why she’d said the words. She’d sworn that she wouldn’t try to hold on to him. Something inside him seemed to beckon to her. It was like they were communicating on a level going beyond the physical level and into the mental.
A connection was close to being made.
Her words seemed to have some deep effect on him, like light penetrating a long hidden crevasse.
Adrien’s hands lifted, settling on her slender hips. He dragged her to stand between his legs. An involuntary groan escaped him. Tilting back his head, he gazed up at her. “Are you willing to do that?” he unexpectedly asked.
Delighted by his question, she cupped his face in her hands. “Of course, I’ll wait as long as I can.” She bent and gave him a kiss, one that told him exactly how she felt about him. When she drew back, the sting of tears blurred her vision. She blinked and drew a breath. “I’m probably crazy to say this, but I love you.”
He reached up and wiped a stray tear off her cheek. “I love you, too,” he breathed. “It’s been forever since I dared to think I could love a woman.”
Cassie was so thrilled that she flung her arms around his neck. “Don’t forget about me while you’re gone.” The flutter in her stomach was not nerves. It was anticipation.
Tension broken, he laughed. The vulnerable expression in his eyes was quickly replaced with a look of wanton desire. “With a body like yours, that’s impossible.” He took a nip at the peak of one of her breasts, which was pressing taut against her gown.
She gasped and worked one thin strap off her shoulder, baring her nipple to his lips. He drew the pink tip into his mouth, tongue flicking over the hard little bead. She moaned and offered her other breast for suckling. He readily complied. He slid his hands under the short hem of her nightie to squeeze firm ass cheeks. His penis blossomed anew; tight, sensitive and definitely stretched to straining.
She gave him a playful prod with her knee. “Mmmm, looks like something’s come up.” Before he could stop her, she slid to her knees and unbuttoned the top of his jeans. Inching down the zipper, she licked her lips. “I’ll have to take care of this myself, I think.” She glanced up, expecting to see a pleasure etched on his features. Almost on the verge of closing his eyes and giving in, Adrien’s face suddenly took on an expression of astonishment.
Cassie automatically turned her head to where his gaze was riveted, all thought of sex instantly flying out of her head. His eyes were fixed on the doorknob. It was slowly turning. A pause. Then the door easing itself open. A black-clad figure sidled in to the room most casually.
“Hello, Adrien,” an accented voice greeted. “Long time, no see.”
Adrien swore lightly under his breath. He quickly zipped and buttoned his jeans. “What the hell do you want?” His voice was a frustrated growl.
Cassie scrambled on her knees to get out of the way. It was apparent by Adrien’s reaction that he knew this stranger—and not in a good way. Her throat squeezed tight in panic.
“Who the hell are you?” she finally managed to spit out. Feeling a chill, she belatedly remembered that her breasts were fully revealed to all who cared to look. She blushed and righted her gown, embarrassed to be caught in such an intimate moment with her man.
Adrien put his hands on her shoulders and eased her back to sit on the floor. His fingers dug into her flesh. “Back off, honey. I know him—we go back a long way,” he said, words tense, eyes glaring narrowly. “He’s nothing more than a damn mercenary.”
The stranger seemed to take high offense. “Such harsh words coming from one who once practiced the same arts,” he countered dryly. He lifted the crossbow he carried. “Is your memory really that short?”
Both of them froze.
Cassie could clearly see that the bow was loaded and the stranger’s finger was squarely on the trigger. It was aimed straight toward Adrien’s heart. If he pulled it, the serrated silver bolt in the chamber would hit its mark. The weapon might have been far out of date, but it was still a very lethal thing when put into the hands of an expert. By the way he was outfitted, she immediately cast him as a hit man. Trying to set aside her fear, she studied him closely, trying to memorize every feature in case she needed to identify him later— that is, if either of this got out of this alive. She mentally repeated, Dark clothes, pale skin, shock of unruly black hair… She wondered how he could have even gotten into the house. The place was wired with the best security system money could buy. There was even a back up generator in case of power failure.
She drew herself up, forcibly calming her surge of rage. “If Adrien’s in some sort of trouble—” she said, forcing her voice not to waver, “if he owes any money, I’ll pay it. Just give me a figure.”
The stranger cocked his head. “That is a quite generous offer,” he said.
Adrien cut in. “Hush, Cassie. I told you, it’s not about money. It has nothing to do with you at all, honey.” He bent toward the end of the bed, reaching for his shirt. “You’re here for a reason, Morgan. What is it?”
Flicking back his head to clear his longish bangs out of his eyes, the man pretended to think a minute.
“Nothing against you personally, Adrien, but I have a contract to fulfill,” Morgan replied casually. “You are the merchandise and delivery is expected.”
Adrien swore under his breath. His eyes glared daggers. “Devon sent you, didn’t he?” he spat. “I thought you were on our side, that you hunted them.”
An answer was flung back without hesitation. “Get a clue, Adrien. You are one of them. You have been for a long time. Time to come to terms with that fact.”
“Like you should be the one saying that.” Adrien stared at the bow. “Terribly sporting of you to kill an unarmed man. You Irish are all terrorists at heart.”
Morgan’s smile was almost as chilling as his unfathomable obsidian eyes as he reached into his coat. Cassie stiffened in fear when he withdrew a handgun. That’s it, she thought wildly. No worry about the cancer getting me. This sucker’s going to put a bullet right in our heads. She was surprised when he tossed the pistol on the bed.
“An Englishman would say that,” came the sour remark.
Adrien reached for the weapon. By the way he handled it he was obviously familiar with guns. His murky past grew more ominous in her eyes, taking on a violent slant. Drugs? Blackmail? Murder. All possibilities ran riot across her mind’s screen, an thousand instant scenarios rising and falling to her wild imagination. Whatever Adrien had been involved in was some very bad, very dangerous shit. The man who’d come after him was a killer, plain and simple.
“Feel more secure?” Morgan asked, manner cheeky and sure. He indicated his chest. “You do know if you actually have the nerve to shoot me, you are just going to piss me off.”
“Maybe I’ll take my chances and pull the trigger anyway,” Adrien growled. “Doesn’t look like I’ve got a choice—or much to lose.” He stood up, putting his body between the two. “I know what you are and I know how to kill even a beast like you.” He lifted the gun. “I’ll be more than glad to find out how many bullets it’ll take to put you down.”
Morgan pulled the trigger first.
Cassie watched in horror as the bolt punched right through Adrien’s shoulder. The force of the hit knocked him flat onto his back. Clearly in agony, Adrien howled and kicked. His left hand scrabbled toward his shoulder even as the weapon he held skittered out of his hand.
Cassie dropped down on her knees beside Adrien. “You didn’t have to shoot him!” she screamed with a queer note of surprise in her voice. She looked helplessly at the bolt that had struck him under his collarbone, between neck and shoulder. Curls of white smoke and sizzling hot blood gushed from the wound, forming a damp circle on the carpet beneath his body. Her mind, her nerves, her senses were all screaming with disbelief. She knew what her eyes were seeing, but was too shocked for her brain to put it all into any clear order.
Adrien’s words were a cry of anguish, his face twisted by the searing bolt. “Christ, that’s pure fucking silver!” He reached for the arrow, his hand quivering violently when he reached up and struck the butt. “It’s serrated—push the damn thing through...” The rest of his words were unintelligible. He was going into shock.
/> “It does hurt, I know.” Morgan cut in coolly. He sauntered over, his face a mask of complete and utterly cold control. He knocked Adrien back onto the floor, at the same time casually levering a second bolt into the chamber. Lowering the bow, he leveled it right in the center of Adrien’s forehead. The first wound was not fatal. The second one would be. Cassie knew without doubt that he’d killed a thousand times before and would kill a thousand times again. Adrien was just another notch on his post. Her eyes cut from the gun to the stranger, then back again.
“Do not try it,” he warned, his stare never leaving Adrien’s face.
Cassie pulled her hands back. She held her breath, waiting for the assassin to unleash another bolt. But he didn’t.
“Amazing how silver reacts as a paralyzing agent on the Kynn physiognomy,” he said offhandedly, as if imparting what should be common knowledge. “Nothing drops a vampire faster than silver.”
Unsure if she’d heard him correctly, Cassie’s ears pricked up. She looked at the man like he’d just lost his mind. “A vampire?” she stammered. “You’re crazy.”
“Don’t pull her into this,” Adrien rasped. “She’s an innocent…she doesn’t know…”
“We were all innocent at one time,” Morgan countered. “Nevertheless, facts are facts. You belong to a world that does not forget or forgive easily.” He prodded Adrien’s forehead with the tip of the bow. “Now you be still and listen closely to me. The key word here is cooperation. Otherwise I will have to kill you and your poor little girlfriend here will have to Hoover up your ashes.” An aggrieved look crossed his face. “It would do my reputation no good to have to deliver you to Devon in a vacuum bag.”
