Chapter Two
Cerena Phelps was making a huge mistake, but it wasn’t like she had a choice. Her mission was clear. Flynn Marks had to die.
If he didn’t…
She didn’t allow herself to contemplate failure. There was too much on the line.
She’d stalked her quarry to this bar all the while a part of her had hoped he’d jump right back on his ship and leave Oasis. There was no way her small craft could catch his deep-space-class trader.
“You gonna sit or just stand there?”
Flynn Marks was even more intimidating in person. She hadn’t seen a picture of him, but she’d been given a very accurate description. Still, it didn’t do him justice. Tall with one eye and a robotic arm, short black hair with a streak of white running through it. All accurate, but also misleading.
He wasn’t just tall. He was huge. She’d glimpsed him earlier, and he had to be at least six and a half feet of solid muscle. Scars radiated out from behind the patch on his eye, but they in no way detracted from his rugged good looks. His hair was buzzed so short it had been difficult to see the white streak in it.
Something inside her stirred. Something she hadn’t experienced in years—sexual attraction.
“I’m sitting.” She pulled the chair around, situating it closer to him. It served two purposes—to put her closer to the wall and to allow her to sit beside Flynn.
Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves and steady her racing heart, she stuck out her hand. “Cerena Phelps.” She didn’t see any point in lying about her name. After all, he could easily discover her identity if he was so inclined. This was likely a suicide mission anyway.
Her life didn’t matter. Her son’s life was priceless. And that was exactly what the bastard who’d taken Nix had been counting on.
Flynn’s hand completely engulfed hers. Heat radiated from him and into her skin. It was a shock, but a pleasant one. This attraction she had toward her assignment was both a help and a hindrance. If it got her close to him, all the better, but it was distracting, too.
She couldn’t forget for one second that her job was to kill the man currently touching her.
“Flynn Marks,” he replied. His voice seemed to reverberate deep inside her, causing every nerve ending in her body to vibrate.
When he released her, she wanted to grab his hand and hold on. Instead, she dropped her hand back to her lap. She had a plan and needed to stick to it. It was simple really. Get him to take her back to his ship, have sex, and when he was sated and his guard was down, she’d kill him.
Cold-blooded? Absolutely. She’d never killed a man before. Knocked some heads together, sure. But this was beyond her.
But she had no choice. Nix’s life was at stake. And there was nothing, absolutely nothing, she wouldn’t do to protect her son.
“So what are you doing here?” he asked.
Shit, she’d been sitting there, saying nothing. Not exactly a great way to entice him to have sex with her.
Now that part of her assignment she could get behind. She hadn’t had sex in years. Having a son to raise and being a woman alone, she was suspicious of all men.
That part of her life was over. She’d likely never see her son again or return to her job as a bouncer in a bar much like this one, only on the small satellite planet of Noir. Tears pricked her eyes, and she glanced away, blinking them back.
Cerena dug her nails into her thighs, using the pain to center herself. “Me?” She forced herself to smile and laugh. “I’m just looking to blow off some steam. You?”
“The same.” He lifted the bottle of ale he’d been drinking and took a swallow. She found it almost mesmerizing to watch the ripple of his throat. He placed his bottle on the table and motioned to it. “Buy you a drink?” He’d leaned closer so she could hear him over the noise. The puff of his breath was warm against her ear. Goosebumps ran down her arm.
Drinking was a bad idea. She needed to keep her head straight if she had any chance of seeing this through. On the other hand, maybe some rotgut alcohol would help dull the conscience that wouldn’t stop screaming at her that this was wrong, that there had to be another way.
“Sure. I’d love one.”
Flynn held up his normal arm and held up two fingers. He kept his robotic arm under the table. She wondered if he was self-conscious. Looking at him, she doubted it. He didn’t seem to care what other people thought of him. Shit, he likely had a weapon trained on her. He didn’t strike her as the trusting type.
The waitress who’d gotten extra friendly with him earlier strode up to the table. Cerena wondered if he had something going on with the woman.
She glared at Cerena and slammed two bottles on the table. “Twenty credits.” The price was outrageous and triple what it should have been.
Flynn simply handed over the payment. “Thanks, Mabel.” The waitress sniffed and stuffed half the money down her top before turning and flouncing off.
“Hope I’m not causing any trouble.” Cerena lifted one of the unopened bottles and motioned toward Mabel’s back. The fact that Flynn knew her name spoke of familiarity.
“You’re not.” He left it at that, and silence fell between them.
She sucked at this. Didn’t know how to pick up a man. Avoid them? Scare them off? Sure, that came naturally. She’d been young and naive once. That girl had died a long time ago after being seduced and left pregnant and alone. After that, she’d gotten tough and stayed that way.
The only weakness she had was her son. And the bastard who’d fathered him was using that as leverage. If she could get her hands on Ian Reader, she’d take great pleasure in killing him. But he had her son, and she had no idea how to find him.
Not knowing what else to do, she opened her drink and took a sip. Her mouth was dry, and the bitter brew didn’t help much. Out of habit, her gaze tracked around the room, looking for possible trouble. A few were curious enough to be watching her and Flynn, but most were minding their own business.
A small dance floor was set off to the side. Several couples gyrated to the music. Then the tempo changed, and the couples came together, moving in a slow kind of seduction.
Cerena set the bottle on the table. “Want to dance?” What the hell was she doing? She didn’t know how to dance. The last time she’d danced had been with Nix’s deadbeat sperm donor. She didn’t want to call him Nix’s father, because he hadn’t spent one day with the kid or given any money to support him.
Flynn didn’t seem to be the type to dance, so she was safe. She was grateful for that one small favor.
“Sure.”
She wasn’t sure who was more shocked, him or her. He must have noticed her surprise because he gave her a quick grin, which shot him from good-looking in a rugged way straight into dampen-her-panties hot.
He shoved back his seat and rose to his full height. Cerena scrambled to her feet, not wanting to be at a disadvantage by allowing him to tower over her. It was an odd sensation for a man to be so much taller, but he had about six inches on her.
He held out his hand to her. This time it was the robotic one. She took it without hesitation. It was actually easier than having to touch his bare skin. There was a blaster strapped to his upper thigh. She had no doubt he’d been holding it on her earlier.
She was way in over her head. Flynn Marks was no easy target. If she was going to kill him, she had better not hesitate. If she missed and he survived the attempt, he’d kill her.
And he wouldn’t hesitate.
He led her through the crowded room. Anyone standing in their way quickly moved. Then they were on the tiny square of dance floor. She hesitated, but he didn’t. He pulled her into his arms, placing his free hand on her waist.
She hadn’t been this close to a man in a very long time, not unless she was threatening violence or about to get physical—not sexual. As a bouncer, she often had to manhandle customers. This was totally different.
She felt vulnerable. She didn’t like that at all.
Flynn had wide shoulders and looked as though he could handle anything.
He’s the target, she reminded herself. It wasn’t easy to remember that with her breasts pressed against his chest and their bodies aligned. She wondered what it would be like to have his hands on more intimate parts of her.
He lowered his head and nuzzled the sensitive skin of her neck. She barely stifled a moan of pleasure before tilting her head to give him better access. He caught the lobe of her ear between his teeth and lightly nipped. Heat speared all the way down to her core. Her breathing quickened and her skin tingled.
“Why don’t you tell me why you really approached me?” he whispered.
****
Flynn couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten so much pleasure out of just holding a woman. If he indulged his carnal nature, it was usually a quick fuck where both he and his partner enjoyed themselves. Great sex, but easily forgotten.
This was something totally different.
Cerena, if that was her real name, was nervous. She wasn’t the type of woman used to picking up a man in a bar. She was trying, he’d give her that, but he caught flashes of uncertainty and pain.
Maybe she was simply trying to forget something or someone. She wasn’t alone there. Most of the people in the bar were here for the same reason. Maybe he was being paranoid.
Or maybe not.
She jolted in his arms when he whispered his question. “Shh.” He spun her slowly, grateful for the dancing he’d done a few planetary weeks back. It meant he wasn’t quite so rusty. “It’s an easy question.”
Cerena had gone from relaxed to tense in a heartbeat. Again, maybe it was nothing. Maybe she just wanted to fuck and not talk. He’d like to believe that, but his instincts said otherwise.
She’d approached him specifically. If all she’d wanted was to fuck a stranger, there were plenty of interested and better-looking guys in the bar. Guys who’d been more visible than he was.
“I told you. I’m just trying to relax and enjoy the evening.” There it was again in her voice, the uncertainty, the hesitation.
He should walk away. Whatever she wanted from him, she’d have to play her hand and then he’d have to deal with the fallout.
He wasn’t quite ready to do that. Some might call him crazy, but he was actually enjoying playing the game of cat-and-mouse. Maybe he was being too cocksure, but he knew he could handle her, whatever happened.
Maybe she wasn’t alone.
He didn’t like the idea of her being with another guy. Her job could be to set him up to be jumped later.
“You alone?” When all she did was stare at him, he shrugged. “You’re not a regular, which means you aren’t from around here. Not many women travel alone.” It simply wasn’t safe, even if she looked as though she could handle herself in a fight. There were slavers who’d love to get their hands on her. Illegal fight venues existed all over the galaxies. They were outlawed, but that didn’t stop them from happening.
Not to mention floating brothel ships were always looking for new women, and Cerena was exotic enough with her size and lush figure to be enticing.
“Why are you asking?” she countered. The music switched to fast again, but they kept on swaying.
“I’m not looking to get my head bashed in by some jealous boyfriend.”
She flinched when he said bashed. It was subtle, but it had triggered a response. Maybe she was setting him up for a beating or possible abduction.
He’d worry about that later. Right now, he wanted to enjoy the woman in his arms. Didn’t really bother him that she likely had ulterior motives. He’d learned over the course of his life to take each moment as it came. You never knew when it would be your last.
He should have died a dozen times in his life but was still here. As far as he was concerned, he was on borrowed time. His family was safe and settled. It wasn’t that he had a death wish. It was more that he wasn’t afraid of death. He faced each moment as it came, wringing as much pleasure as he could out of it.
“No boyfriend.” Her voice was so low he barely caught it.
“You sure?” He shifted his hands so he was cupping her ass. It was full and firm and filled both palms. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Believe it.” She stared straight at his chest, leaving him to look at the top of her head. “Most men are looking for smaller, more feminine women.”
“Most men are idiots.”
Her head shot up, and she stared at him. He spun her into the light so he could see the color of her eyes. They were brown, dark and fathomless. He maneuvered them into the shadows with his back to the wall.
“I’m going to kiss you now.” It wasn’t something he usually announced. Most women who picked him up in a bar would have already made a move on him or expected him to make one. Cerena was different. For all that she was sturdy and tough, there was an air of uncertainty about her. Not quite vulnerability. It was as though she really wasn’t used to coming on to a guy.
He’d said it, and it was true—men were idiots. Their loss was his gain.
She licked her lips, her eyes widening. Flynn pulled her in close to his body, loving the way she fit against him. As a large man, he was usually hunched over when kissing a woman. That wasn’t a problem with Cerena.
He lowered his head and brushed his lips over hers. She sucked in a breath, which expanded her chest, pushing her breasts against him. He wanted to strip her out of that leather vest and explore the bounty hidden beneath.
Her low moan shot straight to his dick. It went from semi-aroused to hard and throbbing in a heartbeat. “Oh yeah,” he muttered. “You taste fucking delicious.”
He kissed her again, this time with no hesitation. He slammed his mouth down on hers and thrust his tongue inside. When she froze, he feared he’d pushed too hard too fast. Then she thawed like ice in the deserts of Kalaman, going liquid in his arms. Her tongue tangled with his before advancing into his mouth to explore.
“Fuck yeah,” he managed to get out before slanting his mouth over hers again. He held her head in his hands, adjusting slightly to deepen the kiss.
His cock ached. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d wanted a woman this much. Her nails scratched along his scalp when she dragged him closer.
Through the haze of music and voices and passion, some out of place noise alerted him. He thrust Cerena aside and had his blaster pulled before it was even a fully formed thought. The barrel pressed right in the belly of a man he’d never seen before.
The stranger was dark-skinned and more wide than tall. Flynn wasn’t fooled for one second. This man was solid muscle. He was also armed.
“What the fuck do you want?”
The stranger held his hands up in a universal sign of peace. Flynn kept his weapon pointed straight at the man’s gut. The music went silent, and the rest of the patrons turned to watch, sensing a fight might be brewing. Nothing they enjoyed more than a good brawl, unless it was betting on one. Already he could see the bartender taking money.
“Didn’t mean to bother you, friend,” the stranger began.
“I ain’t your friend,” Flynn shot back.
“You could be. I represent a group that is interested in your connections.”
This was about his fucking brother-in-law. He should have known. He’d thought the Rotten Rooster would be safe, as it wasn’t the kind of place cultured and rich men frequented.
Cerena went to step around him, but he reached out with his free hand and swept her behind him. He didn’t want her in the line of fire if something happened.
“You know this guy?” Flynn as
ked her.
“No.” The fact that she kept it short and simple made him believe her.
“Tell your group to fuck off,” Flynn told the man. “Approach me again and I might shoot the messenger.”
The stranger backed off. “Understood.”
Flynn kept his blaster drawn until the man left the premises. “Anybody else want to talk?” Several regulars laughed and went back to their own conversations. Eventually things returned to normal and someone started the music again. Only then did he holster the blaster.
He pulled Cerena around. “You okay?” She looked more exasperated than scared.
“I’m fine. You should have let me help you.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Wasn’t sure if you were armed or not and didn’t want you to accidentally get shot.”
Her mouth actually fell open. “You were protecting me?”
He wasn’t sure why she found that so unbelievable. “Yes.”
She dragged a hand through her hair. “Wow.”
“Is it really that surprising?” Did she really think so little of him?
“Yes. I’m a bouncer. I stop fights for a living. I’m usually the one in the middle of things.”
He could see her doing that. “You armed?” Nothing quite like a strong, confident woman to get the blood pumping.
She grabbed two decorative metal loops on the bottom of her vest and pulled. The knives slid out easily. She flicked her wrists, spinning the blades into position to defend. The way she handled them told him she knew how to use them.
Yup, she was almost definitely an assassin.
“You want to get out of here?” he asked her.
She returned her weapons to their hiding spots so fast it was a blur. “Okay.”
Her easy acceptance didn’t surprise him. This likely had been her goal from the beginning. He was aroused and wanted to fuck her, which he planned to do at leisure. Then he’d find out who the hell she really was and who had sent her to kill him.
Chapter Three
Things were moving so fast Cerena wasn’t sure she could keep up. Flynn had tried to protect her. Her head was still spinning over that one.
Flynn's Assassin (Marks Mercenaries Book 5) Page 2
