Assassin's Kiss (12 page)

She wasn’t afraid of him.

And that was step one.

Zeebi slunk away from her spot concealed behind some shrubs. She couldn’t hear every word exchanged between Scorpio and Tessa, but she considered it progress that her friend went willingly to the killer’s cage.

Gods knew Zeebi was pushing for it.

And who knew how long he would remain behind bars? As much as she wanted his freedom, she knew it would mean loss of privacy to some degree. The dude could hear and smell from miles away.

She crept back up the path to her cabin and ducked inside. Grabbing her phone, she dialed a familiar number.

“What the fuck, Zee?” Damien’s deep voice growled, instant and angry. “I’m not paying you to get my guards killed!”

“I’m sorry. I had no chance to warn you.” She paced her living room. “The decision to take the demon happened fast and I wasn’t privy to Hallon’s meeting about it.”

“Five of my mages,” he snarled, and she imagined how his dark eyes were probably flaring right now. “Five.”

Heat stirred in her belly. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I’ll make it up to you.”

“You sure as hell fucking will.”

Her breath hitched, picturing how he’d punish her. Would he use a flogger? Or fuck her in front of his men? Or maybe make her take them into her body, too? Her skin flushed with anticipation. Not knowing what he planned ratcheted her arousal higher.

“But first I need to fix this mess,” Damien’s bark cut into her perverse fantasies. “And I need you to tell me every move way in advance. No more surprises. Or you’re not getting any more help from me.”

“Let me come see you now,” she purred, toying with the opal pendant he’d given her. Not only was it pretty, but it masked her aura and projected one of happy, friendly, trustworthy Zeebi.

It was her only way of fooling Tessa and Winston, two of the most perceptive people she’d ever met.

“No. I’ve got people screaming for retaliation on both Bronwy and now the Lash demons. The last fucking thing I want is the goddamn Watchers up in my ass.”

“How do they know the guards were killed by—”

“Don’t be an idiot. The earth was disturbed. There were scorch marks everywhere and some of my men were just piles of ash. Shit, Zee. It’s not hard to figure out.” He huffed out a breath. “What’s Hallon’s next move?”

“Don’t know yet. The demon was going to be kept for practice, to test how some new torture spells worked, but then an Elder wanted to send him on guard dog duty today. In Hallon’s mind, Scorpio had proved himself useful.”

“Figure it out. Or your pretty little ass won’t get the gold you love so much.”

It’s not just the gold.
But she didn’t say that. Damien believed in power and brokered arrangements, all to enhance him and his coven. But mostly him. He took his pleasures along the way. He cultivated partnerships that would benefit him long term. But love wasn’t part of his vocabulary.

“Okay. I won’t let you down.”
Never, ever.

He ended the call without a goodbye, and she sank into her favorite wingback chair. She closed her eyes and held on to the lingering tenor of his voice. She loved it, didn’t matter if he was yelling at her or someone else, if he was whispering in her ear the dirty things he would do to her, or if he was complementing her body, or praising her for the secrets she bared about her own coven. He was sexy, dark, dangerous, and addictive.

Aligning herself with him could only be good for both of them. Even if he was about to marry Tessa. It was for show and everyone knew it.

Damien would still warm her bed. No doubt there. Zeebi would do anything the man wanted. Anything his dark mind dreamed up. And she knew her friend would never ever go along with Damien’s level of kink and depravity, his need to humiliate.

Maybe she wouldn’t have to share him with Tessa. Not that Tessa would speak to her once she learned of Zeebi’s involvement with Damien. She didn’t really want to lose her longtime friend. But years ago, Zeebi had decided power had more value than friendship. And now, if she could get Tessa to give Scorpio a chance…

The Lash demon was a complication Zeebi didn’t need. His enhanced hearing and smell would hinder her efforts, force her to be more stealthy. And the guy seemed in no rush to leave. His intense interest in Tessa could be a blessing in disguise, though. If he was as determined as she knew Watchers could be, he would stop at nothing to get her in his bed. Zeebi just needed to help things along.

She honestly didn’t care who he’d killed, in the past or recently, or if he’d do it again. She just needed him gone, and preferably with Tessa at his side.

Then Zeebi could have more of Damien to herself. She’d also be the best metal elemental in the coven, and one day, with Vespera’s help…

She’d be its leader.

C
HAPTER
10

K
HARV ESCORTED
S
CORPIO BACK FROM
his daily plunging bath in the river. The water was frigid, but Scorpio had been used to the same conditions in Dalamos’s enclave. It was the day after the crystal-gathering mission, and a few brief ice baths hardly registered as a problem. Not compared to years of enslavement. Plus, he’d rather be clean around his lovely mate.

She still didn’t trust him. That perturbed him, but his soul was calmed by the fact that she no longer seemed horrified or disgusted by him.

Instead, waves of confusion shadowed her face. He needed to take that away.

Inga met them at his cage, smiling, with a bowl of scrambled eggs and a tall glass of juice. Huh. This was a change from the usual oatmeal or porridge.

“Thanks. Special occasion?” He took the items from her.

She shrugged. “The hens were very productive this morning. You may as well benefit from it, like the rest of us.”

He stepped into the cage and Kharv locked it behind him. “Looks and smells delicious.”

The red-haired witch squared her shoulders. “I also wanted to thank you for what you did yesterday.”

Scorpio paused with his fork stabbed into a fluffy mound of eggs. “I did what was asked of me. And I’d do it again.”

“Injuries could have been so much worse,” she whispered. “I can heal a lot of things. But the dark magic...sometimes it worms its way into a body and waits to spread.” She shuddered. “I hate to lose men. But it’s better that Fenrick and Samuel died quickly rather than succumb to that awfulness.”

“The magic is sentient even after the user is no longer near?” This was a new, unwelcome trick.

Inga nodded. “We can’t underestimate Vespera.”

He blew out a breath. “That has endless lethal possibilities. But it’s good to know. More information results in a better plan to bring them down.”

Kharv grunted. “You’re not talking like a prisoner.”

Scorpio met the man’s gaze. “Vespera has your coven at a disadvantage and I have some responsibility to fix it.”

“I, for one, am glad you’re here,” Inga said. “I am a healer and I cannot condone torture. I don’t know if that’s still the plan for you, but I have asked Hallon to rethink it.”

“And any man who can fight like you is worth having around,” Kharv added. “No sense wasting your skills.”

Scorpio’s eyes widened. He could handle torture spells, sure, though it would suck. But he never expected any of the witches to be in his corner. If Inga and Kharv could take the long view, maybe the rest could too—even Tessa. Hope and determination flared at the thought of his feisty little witch. He had to convince her. “Thank you,” he said with heartfelt gratitude.

Soft feminine voices carried on the wind, accompanied by Tessa’s sweet scent. Scorpio, Inga, and Kharv turned to see her and Zeebi drawing near, wearing boots and jeans, backpacks slung over their shoulders.

“Oh good, breakfast,” Zeebi said. “Eat up.”

“Are we going somewhere?” His gaze settled on Tessa, drinking in the green T-shirt that hugged her breasts and made her eyes turn a new mix of emerald-azure. Her hair was once again in a ponytail, baring the column of her neck. So goddamn beautiful.

“We need to retrieve iron ore.” Zeebi’s eyes flicked from him to Tessa. “Normally we go alone. But not today.”

“Alone?” He leaned forward. “You should never be alone outside your own boundaries. Too many dangers.”

“We’re not helpless, remember?” Tessa’s words were clipped, but the edge didn’t reach her eyes. She looked resigned. In her hand was the collar she’d placed on him the previous day.

“Vespera might be on alert after the crystal harvesting situation,” Kharv said. “Even though you eliminated all of them, they’re not stupid. We can’t take the chance that they
won’t
think it was us. Can’t assume anything. They know we use those crystals.”

“Hell, no, you can’t assume anything,” Scorpio growled. “Plus there’s the increase in the dire wolf population. It’s not safe.”

“It’s not like Vespera’s going to hurt
me
,” Tessa muttered. “Though I don’t want anything to happen to Zeebi.”

“But they could take you sooner, dear heart,” Inga said.

Tessa swallowed and swung her gaze to Scorpio, settling at his shoulder and not meeting his eyes. “Well, we’re bringing you with us today. That should make you happy.”

“It does.”
On more levels than you know.
He’d relish the opportunity to be with her, out of these bars, but it was more than that. The thought of her traipsing around these woods without adequate protection made him crazy. “It’s a common sense move. You should never be alone. No reason for that.”
Not when I’m here.

But his last thought lingered unspoken, and the air thickened with tension. Kharv shot Scorpio a curious look, but Zeebi interrupted with a cough and a hurry-up gesture. “Finish your breakfast so we can go.”

He shoveled the rest of the eggs into his mouth as Tessa and Zeebi told Kharv and Inga of their planned route. Except for the metal collar, he didn’t see them carrying any restraints.

Jinx trotted toward them, tail in the air, eyes on Scorpio as she darted into the cage. She rubbed her body across his legs and mewed plaintively. “Bad timing, cat,” he grunted.

“Such a little beggar.” Tessa frowned.

“She’s apparently chosen her new favorite in the group,” Zeebi said.

“She just wants food. As if we don’t have enough mice to kill.” Tessa shook her head.

Scorpio chugged the juice from Inga. “Ready.”

Tessa held a hand up near the lock and murmured soft words to a spell. With gentle clicks, the mechanism shifted and the lock released. She opened the door and stepped aside to let him exit.

“Can you do that with every lock, or only the ones you create?” he asked. Her ability was truly amazing. She should have round the clock protection for that reason alone. Any bastard would want to use her for her skill.

“Usually just the ones we create here.” She looked down at the collar in her hands, her fingertips rubbing across the pewter surface. “But I can manipulate common basic locks. The ones where the pins and gears are all in standard formation.”

A robin sang high above in a tree. Jinx pleaded once more, rubbing Scorpio’s legs, before sitting down to wash her face. Tessa shifted her feet.

“I have to put this on you.” She spoke so softly he would’ve had trouble hearing it if he’d been in the cell. But outside, his body hummed with power and the nearness of his mate. He dug his nails into his palm, fighting the urge to draw her close.

Trust. He had to allow her trust to keep building. “Okay.”

With a sigh that sounded all kinds of reluctant, she met his eyes and he leaned forward like he’d done the other day. She opened the collar and reached up, clasping it behind his neck and holding her hands in place as she invoked the spell that would dampen his strength.

Hell if he cared. Her arms were around his neck, and he could just about feel her skin. Heat pulsed from her torso, and his senses screamed for her.

Her heart rate sped up and her breath came shakier than a second ago. And this time, her shirt didn’t gap to give him any peeks. But it was tight, so tight he could see the outline of her bra. His dick twitched. Gods, she had no idea the effect she had on him.

Or did she? He clenched his teeth in an effort to remain still, when every nerve in his body exploded at the near contact.

She finished and stepped back, releasing a shaky breath. “Hallon’s orders,” she said quickly.

He straightened slowly, as slow as she was quick. “I understand.” He gazed down at her from his full height, loving the way the sun found the chestnut streaks in her hair and brought them out to play.

Her eyes dropped to the collar. “If…” her voice cracked. “If we run into trouble…”

He nodded. “I’ll handle it.”

She let out a breath and looked at Zeebi. “Guess we’re ready then.”

He looked them over. “No tools?”

Zeebi grinned. “No need, demon. Watch and learn.” With a wink, she turned and headed into the trees.

“We can draw the ore up from the ground with our minds.” Tessa angled her head, signaling him to walk with her behind Zeebi.