Her Assassins: A Reverse Harem Fantasy (Kindred Souls Book 1)

by Helene Gadot

  Whist growled and gripped the back of his vacant chair. "I do not like this plan. It's foolhardy and dangerous."

  "Too bad." I shrugged and shot him a challenging look.

  Whist glared at me, his knuckles whitening. "I have conditions or I'll tie your pretty ass up and leave you here."

  Of course he did. Blasted man couldn't stand not being in control. "What are they?"

  "You will not perform if it's obvious there are guards everywhere searching for us."

  Fair enough. I didn't actually want to be arrested and then executed. "Fine."

  "I'm not done. You will also do whatever I tell you when I tell you. I'm not just trying to keep you safe, it's for the rest of us as well." His gaze softened the slightest bit, giving me a peek at the pleading lurking in his eyes.

  In the moment, I completely understood him. He wanted to give me what I wanted, but it warred with his desire to keep me and the others safe. He was honoring his words to me, but it was going against every instinct he had.

  Damn, he was a man I could easily love. Even without the bond.

  "All right." I peeled my eyes away from him and watched the brandy swirl in my glass.

  "No political songs, no matter how much you're tempted. I admit I am curious if the king has ordered all the bards to be brought to him. I want to know how much he wants you. If there's already a performer in the town we go to, we just watch. And last, we both are going disguised and keep your ukulele hidden in your pack." Whist wasn't asking me for anything I wasn't willing to give. He was more than meeting me halfway.

  "Agreed." I tried not to smile, not wanting him to think I was gloating. It was hard when I noticed Sky and Saber's wide-eyed surprise.

  Whist stepped forward until he loomed above me. "I mean it, gorgeous. You must obey me every step of the way." Something in his eyes made me think he wasn't just talking about our little trip. Something that made my insides tremble with excitement.

  SEVENTEEN

  I forgot to knock on the bathroom door and instead barged right in on Saber stepping out of the bath and was treated to a full eyeful. Of everything.

  My mouth gaped as my eyes roamed up and down his brown, glistening body. Rippling muscles covered his chest and arms, marred by the occasional scar, but it just made him hotter. His cock grew even larger under my gaze. My wide eyes rose to meet his and he was watching me with a rare glint of amusement mingling with the heat in his expression.

  "S-sorry. I should have knocked."

  "That's all right, love. There's nothing I want to hide from you."

  I nodded so hard my teeth snapped together. "Right. Right. Of course."

  He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist and I breathed a little easier even while a small pang of disappointment shot through me.

  "Didn't you have a bath this morning after training with Sky?" He still had signs of amusement crinkling the corners of his fathomless eyes.

  Like he forgot. He was the one who prepared it for me.

  "I did. I came in to brush my teeth."

  "By all means." He gestured to the sink where my brush and paste had joined theirs.

  We shared a space over the sink while we freshened up, the smell of mint overpowering up the scent of his soap. Our arms kept brushing against each other, raising goosebumps along my skin.

  Awkwardness filled me as we finished up and turned to return to our own rooms. Part of me wanted to draw it out, part of me wanted to run away, the largest part of me wanted to grab him and drag him into my room and into my bed.

  The largest part of me won.

  I stepped in close to him, eying the droplets of water trickling down his chest. I wanted to lick each one off his skin.

  "Stop looking at me like that, love. I don't know if you're ready for what it will mean if you don't." His voice came out deep and rumbling.

  I tilted my head and placed my hands on his chest. "I'm ready."

  He peered down at me and searched my face. "Are you sure?"

  "Yes." And I was. So sure. So ready.

  "Good." He kissed me softly, barely a peck before sweeping me up off of my feet and into his arms like he was some hero from a story. I refused to acknowledge even to myself how hard it made me swoon.

  Saber carried me into my bedroom and laid me with heartbreaking tenderness on the bed, then laid down beside me on his side, hovering over me, staring down at me.

  "I'm going to ask one last time if you're sure you're ready. I'm not going to stop like Sky did last night. I won't stop until I have you."

  I gulped, trying to consider seriously. But my entire self --- body and soul, screamed out at me how much I wanted him. My brain might have disagreed, but I couldn't hear it over the longing inside me.

  "I don't want you to stop."

  I didn't know if this is what they planned as they teased me all day or if they just couldn't help themselves, and right then I didn't give a shit. They hadn't pressured me or tried to force me or even manipulate me. And it didn't mean I was in love or had decided to stay.

  But perhaps I was one step closer to making that choice.

  With a groan, Saber covered my upper body with his and took my lips in a kiss brimming with hunger. He was gentle, but still firm, demanding I open to him. His tongue slid inside my mouth, flirting with mine, drawing me into a teasing dance. I sighed into his mouth and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer. My hands slid down his back until I reached the towel and I yanked it off him.

  Saber kissed me harder, his hands roving up and down my sides, but keeping his touch innocent. I squirmed beneath him and grabbed at his ass, squeezing with needy fingers.

  He chuckled against my lips and pulled back so he could trail kisses across my cheeks, down my neck and down, down, down as he unbuttoned my shirt. Baring my breasts to his view, he hissed out a breath before falling on my left one with tongue and teeth.

  I arched against him with a desperate moan. He continued his journey down my body with his mouth all the way to my waistband. With a few flicks of his tongue, he teased me until I writhed and grasped at the blankets beneath me. He slid my trousers down my legs, taking my underwear along with them and we were both naked.

  He was so fucking gorgeous. I wanted to explore every inch of him.

  My legs fell open and he scooted down my body until he could bury his face in my core. I almost leapt from the bed. No one had ever done this to me. I'd heard about it whispered in the back of taverns and read about it in books, but most of my encounters were of the quick, one night varieties.

  Saber grabbed my hips to keep me still as he pressed kisses on the inside of my thighs, opening me up even wider. He swept a long, hard lick right up the center of me before returning to nibble at the juncture of my thighs. The whimpering sigh escaping me was embarrassing, but I was too far gone to really care.

  Every single nerve ending on my body buzzed with life and need and want.

  He released my hips and spread my lower lips so he could suck and flick at my bud. I dug the heels of my palms into my eyes, trying to stay quiet, trying to stay still.

  Candlelight danced across his skin making it glow. The muscles in his back and shoulders rippled as he continued pleasuring me.

  Saber licked me harder and faster and slid two fingers inside me. I panted and trembled, a sheen of sweat rising on my skin. He fucked me with his fingers and teased me with his tongue until I was a mad mess, desperate and aching.

  "I need you, Saber. Please." I needed him inside me, I needed to be filled with him, surrounded by him, pressed down by his weight.

  He raised his head from my pussy, but didn't slow the thrust of his fingers. "I'm right here, love. Trust me to take care of you."

  I nodded frantically. Anything he wanted to bring me back to the edge.

  He smiled. "Sky told me you tasted like heaven, but I didn't realize how right he was. I can't get enough of you."

  All I could do was whimper again in response. His eyes flared
and he dove back into my pussy, his tongue lashings messier, wilder. He kept making little sounds of enjoyment and bliss, his free hand reaching up and play with my nipple.

  My breathing quickened and the heat in my belly boiled over and my entire body locked tight. I grabbed the pillow and stuffed it over my face to muffle my scream and I shook and bucked.

  Saber gave me one last lingering lick and crawled back up my body, removing the pillow from my face to smile down at me.

  EIGHTEEN

  Never in my life had I climaxed so hard. I wasn't sure if it was his skill or because he was my kindred. He covered my body with his and pressed his lips to mine.

  He brushed strands of hair from my face. "You're beautiful when you come, love. Don't hide your face from me."

  Still panting, I kissed him quickly. "I wasn't hiding, I was muffling my screams."

  "Definitely don't hide those. I want the others to know how well I'm treating you." He nibbled at my jawline.

  "I didn't want to wake them." My breaths still came in pants and gasps.

  He chuckled softly. "Oh, love. They're not asleep."

  They were listening? I hadn't considered that. "Well, then I didn't want them to come bursting inside."

  "Why? You don't want them to join us?" He dropped a kiss on my collarbone, the same spot his kissed Sky the other night.

  My mind went blank as I imagined it. Me, with the three of them. It excited me and terrified me all at the same time. "I might need to work my way up to that."

  "Fair enough."

  I enjoyed his weight on mine, but I wanted more. I squirmed a little to hint at my renewed interest.

  A smile quirked the edges of his lips. "Don't worry. I'm nowhere near finished with you yet."

  I shivered and trailed my hands idly down his back. "Good."

  "I told you I wasn't going to stop. After tasting you, I'm not sure I ever can." He rolled us over to the middle of the bed, settling me on top of him so I straddled his waist.

  Saber grabbed me by the back of the neck and pulled my lips down to his, his hard cock twitching against me. I ground against him, making him groan. Already wet and aching again, I lifted up and grabbed him, stroking him up and down. His eyes squeezed shut and his hips rose. I aimed his cock at the right position and I slid down on him, slowly since I'd never had anyone as big as him. He stretched me to my limits, stole my breath. It hurt a bit, but it quickly morphed into pure pleasure.

  Saber remained still, giving me control, letting me set the pace, his teeth gritted against his need to thrust against me. When he reached the hilt, buried deep inside me, my head dropped and my eyes rolled back in ecstasy. Nothing had ever felt so good, so right.

  Saber let out a string of muttered curses. "Fuck, love. You feel even better than you tasted. Take your time. Take what you need."

  My heart melted a little at his words. No one had ever cared whether I got off or not. No one ever gave me control like this before. How did he do it? Know what I needed. Know what I wanted.

  I circled my hips and drew him even deeper inside me. I leaned down to grasp his shoulders and he grabbed my ass to keep me steady as I worked him in and out of me, faster and faster, harder and harder, until we were both breathless and sweaty.

  I leaned down and plastered myself against him as I kept pumping my hips. His fingers dug into the flesh of my ass as he met my thrusts with his own. Tension knotted in my stomach, winding tighter and tighter and I flew higher and higher.

  Our grunts and moans created a sultry harmony, rising in crescendo as we neared release. I clutched his shoulders harder, my nails sinking into skin.

  I came first, singing out my climax into his mouth. Once my pussy started grasping and clenching at him, he was right behind me.

  With a gasp, I collapsed against him and rested my head on his shoulder, fighting to get my breath back. Saber's hands trailed along my back with lazy strokes.

  "You're amazing, love."

  I huffed a laugh into his skin. "Can't say I have any complaints either."

  He kissed the top of my head. "Can I stay in here with you tonight?"

  "Won't Sky miss you?" I assumed Saber would head back to Sky.

  Saber chuckled and hugged me to him. "It's not like that. He'll be jealous I got to spend the night with you, but he won't be upset I'm with you instead of with him."

  "I don't want to come between you." The thought made my stomach hurt.

  "You won't. You'll just join us."

  I kept my face hidden in the crook of his shoulder. "Whist mentioned you and Sky were worried about being separated when you found your kindred."

  Saber rolled me off of him and curled me into his side, yanking the blankets over us. "We were. We wanted desperately to find you, but we always assumed we'd have different kindreds. It would change things between us because we would never be unfaithful. And then when we found you and realized we share you, there was still the fear it would cause problems. Some multiple pairings get awkward with jealousies and backstabbing. But you, love. You didn't have the slightest jealousy when you saw Sky and I dance. In fact, you liked it. You're the answer to every hope we've ever had. For all three of us."

  "Even though now you've lost your jobs and are on the run from the king?" Perhaps Whist had come to terms with it, but Saber and Sky must have had people they wanted to see again.

  "We hate our jobs, love. It's no sacrifice. And we'll figure out a way to work everything else out. Don't worry. Even your determination to continue railing against the royals."

  "But how?" Whist had his plans and ideas, but would they really work? I was terrified I'd get one or all of them killed.

  "I don't know yet. We need more information which is what you and Whist are going to do tomorrow. From there, hopefully we'll have an idea of our next move." He kissed the top of my head again. It's like he couldn't help himself, couldn't stop touching me, kissing me, holding me tight.

  "I'm surprised he agreed." I had a hard time focusing on our conversation instead of basking in the afterglow. My body had never been so relaxed. I'd never felt so at ease and fulfilled. I could get used to the feeling.

  "He's a bit of a...well, he's stern and dominant and wants his own way, but he's not controlling. He will never try to force you into anything you don't want to do. And he won't stop you from doing what you do want to do. He'll try to talk you out of it. Strenuously. But he'll respect your choices."

  Choice. Is that what kindreds really were? Perfect matches? The missing pieces? I always heard it described as such, but I never really believed it or understood its power.

  I was starting to believe kindreds could be a true gift. One I wasn't prepared to walk away from.

  With Saber's continued strokes up and down my back, his scent lulling me, sleep came for me on swift feet.

  NINETEEN

  Sky and Saber watched Whist and I with worry darkening their eyes.

  I smiled and patted Saber on the arm. "We'll be fine. I'll make sure Whist doesn't get into any trouble."

  A growl rumbled from Whist while Sky laughed and Saber pulled me into a gentle hug. "You have until nightfall and we're coming after you."

  "Better make it morning." Whist adjusted the pack on his back.

  "Morning, eh?" Sky smirked and wagged his eyebrows.

  Whist rolled his eyes. "She wants to perform. It'll take us three hours there, three hours back, at least a couple hours spent in town. I doubt we can make it back before tonight. Don't worry until morning."

  Sky sobers. "Fine. But try to make it back anyway. We won't get any sleep with the two of you out there with no backup."

  I shouldered my pack and shot Sky a cheeky smile. "I'm sure the two of you can figure out a way to pass the time."

  Sky laughed and swatted me on the ass. "Brat."

  Whist held the door open for me. "Come on. We should have left an hour ago."

  Like it was my fault, the plonker. "You were the one who insisted on a big breakfast. And you still
haven't guessed it, by the way."

  "I will." Whist's tone was harsh with grim determination.

  I wrinkled my nose at him. "Whatever you say."

  Whist shook his head and took the lead through the woods. He set a brisk pace, but not too quick for me to keep up. A companionable silence fell over us, comfortable instead of awkward. Whist had a restful way about him, not very talkative, which set me at ease. There was a lot on my mind I needed to sort through.

  After about an hour, Whist called a halt. "Let's take a break for a minute."

  "Tired already?" I was relieved. My body still pulsed with soreness from training with Sky and my night with Saber.

  He drank deeply from his metal bottle of water. "Sky was right. You are a bit of a brat."

  "Yep." I studied our surroundings, trying to determine where we were. With him in the lead I hadn't paid attention to our location, just followed, lost in thought. I didn't recognize it, but it looked like most of the forests. Lots of trees with changing colors. Lots of scraggly bushes. Lots of dead leaves.

  Whist snorted and handed me the bottle. "Afraid it's not brandy."

  "I'll make do." Brandy did sound delicious though.

  He subsided back into silence, a mask over his face. Something in me desperately wanted to smash his mask and read everything beneath it. He had let me in for a moment in the garden that first day, but I'd glimpsed only flashes since. The others I felt like I understood and even knew to the extent I could after only knowing them a couple days. But Whistler was an enigma. Even Saber's mysterious air I found a way through.

  "Why are you so passionate about cooking?"

  Surprise peeked through his facade for a moment before he wiped it clean. "My mother. Sky told you she works as the chef in the palace kitchens. She taught me when I was young and we learned I have a gift for it." He shrugged. "Comes in handy with my job. Easy to slip poisons inside food. I know how to hide the taste."

  "That's not terrifying at all." I shuddered and handed the bottle back to him.

  He gifted me with a rare grin that sent my heart into palpitations. I'd never seen anything so beautiful as his smile. It completely transformed his face, softening the harsh angles, lightening the dark violence in his eyes.