Assassin's Kiss (14 page)

“How would you have gotten this back home?” He scowled as he easily pulled a large rock from the ground.

“Usually, if we find ones like that, we have to leave them and come back with the men and a cart.” She shrugged. “We usually don’t find rocks this size, though. They’re almost always sma—”

He abruptly dropped the rock and jerked upright. He held out a hand to indicate she should stay quiet. Tessa froze, unaware of anything except the two of them.

“The wind just changed. We have company. Let’s gather what we can and get out of the open.” His voice was preternaturally calm.

“Who is it? Vespera?” Nerves on edge, she shoved the tools and smaller rocks into her pack, while he got the big rocks into the larger bag.

“No. Wolves.”

A gust of wind stirred her hair, raining chills all along her arms. “No. Can’t be.” Panic surged, tightening her chest. “It’s daytime.”

“Kharv said their population is increasing, and they might venture out in the day.” He cursed as the wind swirled. “Too late. We’ll come back. Up.” He extended his hand.

She stared at it. Not wolves. Anything but them. Her breath came in choppy puffs. Her muscles refused to function.

“Tessa.” He took her hand. “I won’t hurt you. We need to move.”

She longed to tell him it wasn’t him that had her rooted in terror, but words wouldn’t form.
Need to move.
His hand was warm on hers, his voice urgent, and that’s what she focused on. He would protect her. The fledgling trust broke through her mind-numbing fear and she stumbled to her feet.

“Trees. We need cover. Now.” He pulled at her hand.

A howl split the air. Tessa shook as she followed Scorpio’s gaze straight ahead.

Two huge dire wolves stood at the tree line, near where she and Scorpio had emerged. Their eyes gleamed yellow and shone with hunger. Scraggly gray fur covered their lean bodies.

“Shit.” Scorpio stepped in front of her. “New plan, you stay with me. Stay right behind me. They’ll try to separate us. Get your knife ready. Or your fire, whichever you prefer.”

She pulled her blade from her thigh holster, gripping it as if it could give her confidence. Her mind was too scrambled for her to focus properly on summoning witchfire. What kind of witch couldn’t bring forth witchfire in a moment of crisis? Only her. Frustration tried to gain a foothold, but another growl split the air and panic engulfed her. Her only choice was to rely on the magic she’d already instilled in her knife, and on the demon who kept surprising her.

One wolf charged. Scorpio let go of Tessa’s hands, only to summon demon fire in his own. He threw the first ball of flame, which the wolf dodged. Its feet thudded across the pebbles as it neared, moving at crazy speed. Scorpio threw the second ball underhand. The wolf leaped up, trying to get to Scorpio and avoid the fire, but it couldn’t correct in time. The fire slammed its hind leg and the animal fell with a vicious snarl.

The second wolf howled and sprinted forward. It was smaller than the first, but faster. By the time the first one was up, the second was fifteen feet away. Scorpio threw another fire ball at the injured wolf, and this time hit it square in the chest. “One down,” he grunted, and whirled to the second. “Tessa, move!”

The canine was going to run right into them. Its jaws dripped, saliva flying as its huge paws landed closer and closer. All Tessa could see were eyes, fangs, and memories soaked in blood.

Scorpio’s voice registered dimly. Her hand loosely held the blade. Her head swam with the image of being pinned under a huge black wolf, certain she was about to die. She dropped to her knees. She’d never been this close to a wolf since then—

“Tessa!” Scorpio’s voice was a roar. “Get up!”

As if in a dream, she turned to see him collide with the second wolf. The thing stood as tall as his chest, and she guessed they were closely matched in weight. Scorpio twisted and brought the wolf down onto its back. But the animal was clever, snapping at him with its terrible fangs. He shifted to the side and lost his grip on the thing.

A new snarl had her whipping her head around in terror. A third wolf, white as snow, growled as it stalked close. Its green eyes were pinned on her and its breath rumbled in hungry gulps. Oh gods. How many were in this pack?
I don’t want to die.

“Tessa!” Scorpio’s voice carried through her terror. “Use your knife!” He still rolled around with the wolf, whose claws and jaws slashed in constant motion.

Knife. She had to use it. He was doing his best, but the wolf was mean and tough. She glanced back at the white wolf. The thing was ten feet away. Her knife was spelled, one she had worked on herself, thinking she’d need it against Vespera one day. Not a huge freaking dire wolf.

The wolf leaped at her. She drew her hand back as fast as she could and threw the blade.

It sank into the animal’s chest. Red blood welled, stained the thing’s snowy fur. It gave a yelp, but landed right in front of her.

Tessa turned and bolted. It was as if every second of fear she’d had morphed into a triple time rocket-fueled boost to her feet. Somewhere she’d heard you should never run from a wolf, or a pursuing predator, because it would energize them or something. But she didn’t care. Rational thought was long gone, replaced by the need to escape in any way possible.

Her boots stomped over loose gravel as she headed toward the trees. Twenty feet. Ten feet. She heard panting behind her and didn’t dare turn around. Almost there.

She needed a tree with a low branch. Wolves didn’t climb.
They don’t hunt in the day either!
No. No time for that.

Spying a maple with a branch she could reach, she beelined and grabbed on. The thick treads of her boots gave her traction against the rough bark. The tree was massive, with several possible places to go.

She kept going up the central trunk, figuring the higher she went the better.
Don’t look down.
She reached the last thick branch extending off the trunk and slid onto it. From here, she could see out into the field. Scorpio still wrestled with his wolf. But he gained the upper hand with a punch to the creature’s jaw, and he finished it off with a ball of demon fire to its belly.

Thank the gods. A flare of relief started in her heart, until she looked down her own tree.
No!

The white wolf was halfway up the trunk.

Oh no. She was too far up to drop. “Scorpio!” she screamed as loudly as she could. He was her only hope.

He turned in her direction and she had no idea if he could see her among the leaves. But he took off at lightning speed toward her tree. She lost sight of him as he drew closer, but before she had time to worry about it, a scuffle broke out below.

Two strong hands grabbed the white wolf and yanked it down. They tumbled to the grass below. The animal scrabbled to its feet, but of the three wolves, it was the smallest. Scorpio caught it as it jumped toward him, bringing it down.

The ground shook as he slammed the wolf to the earth. The crunch of bones reverberated off the trees and the wolf squealed. Before it had a chance to move, he grabbed its head between his hands and twisted savagely. The animal went limp.

Scorpio stood over the wolf, panting, like a god of war. He raised gleaming eyes to her, then began to climb. Danger rolled off him and his shoulder muscles bunched. One hand then the other, he drew closer and closer as she remained motionless on her branch. Not afraid. She could only stare at the male who owed her nothing, could have let her die, yet saved her. Twice.

“Tessa.” He was five feet below her. His T-shirt was ripped in triple slashes and blood trickled from a cut at his eyebrow. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head. She had no idea if she was or not. Everything slowed down as her body finally registered the absence of any threat. Head suddenly heavy, she blinked and leaned on the trunk.

He moved higher. “Don’t you dare fall. Can you climb down?”

“Just want to stay here a minute,” she whispered.

“No. You look like you’re gonna pass out.” He maneuvered closer, stopping a foot away from her. “Grab onto my back. I’ll get us down.”

Slowly she scooted on her branch toward the central trunk where he waited. She slid her arms around his neck, where muscles corded thickly beneath tanned skin. Linking her hands in front at his throat, she stopped, unsure how to move the rest of herself.

“Good.” His voice was gentle, steady, and commanding. “Now hold on tight. Whatever you do, don’t let go. Don’t worry about squeezing me too hard. Just hold on and swing your body down, then wrap your legs around my waist.”

She steadied her arms, then did as he said. One strong hand caught her leg and tucked it closely, giving her an anchor. She slid her other heel around to his abs and pressed her chest to his back. Heat radiated through his shirt, and his shoulders stretched wider than she’d realized until she was this close.

“Good girl. Hang on and I’ll have us down on solid ground in two seconds.”

She closed her eyes against the shocking sensation of feeling him talk as his voice rumbled over her clasped hands, and at the same time hearing him with her ears. He was solid muscle under her arms, between her legs, moving with a grace that belied his size. Warmth emanated from the back of his neck and she took a greedy second to rest her head there, exhausted. Overwhelmed. He was safety. That was the last thing that should have ever been true, but the fact shone with startling clarity in her adrenaline-soaked mind.

C
HAPTER
12

T
HEY REACHED THE FOREST FLOOR
, and Scorpio crouched to allow Tessa’s feet to reach the ground. “Made it,” he said.

Solid ground met her feet and logically she knew she could let go. But it was all too much. Shudders raced along her arms as she loosened her lock on his neck and her legs went ragdoll-limp. “Catch me?” She slid backward.

He spun blessedly fast and scooped her into a cradle hold against his torso. “I got you,” he whispered.

She sighed and curled into him, still too shaky to process anything. He walked away from the trunk and she wondered idly if he planned to carry her all the way home, but he stopped at a different tree and lowered them both to the soft grass. Tension leached out of her muscles as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, shielding her and soothing her with a tenderness she could never have anticipated.

“I got you,” he repeated, stroking her hair. “It’s over. I don’t detect any more wolves.”

She raised her head to look around, but all she saw were trees. She realized he had positioned them to not see any wolf bodies. “Thank goodness.” Laying her head on his chest, she listened to the strong steady thump of his heart and breathed in the clean scent of him, now tinged with the smoke of his demonfire. Thank the gods he’d been here today. What if it had just been her and Zeebi?

They’d both be dead. She shuddered.

His hand was warm on her arm, and his other was draped across her legs, holding the back of one knee. She studied them, noting several tiny scars, evidence of a life lived harshly, and also seeing the strength that could snap a neck. The push-pull tugged at her heart.

Those hands had ended hundreds of lives.

Those hands had just saved hers. Again.

How was this possible? He held her as though she were a priceless jewel.

Tessa tilted her head to look up at him. She had never noticed how long his eyelashes were. Stubble dusted his square jaw, and she wondered again at the mix of color in his hair.

He met her gaze, those incredible golden eyes simmering with a hotly sensual light. She knew about Lash demons, that their eyes gleamed when in battle, or when experiencing strong emotions. Including lust.

Something pulsed in the air between them, and slowly she reached a finger up to trace the line of his jaw. Rough, warm, stubble-dotted skin met the pad of her finger. He sucked in a breath and released it just as slowly, his lungs shuddering beneath her torso. “I…” she whispered. “I don’t know what to think around you.”

He caught her fingers and held them in his. “Yes, you do.” His tone was soft and coaxing. “You said it before. You know I will never hurt you. And I will never leave you alone and unprotected.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles, one by one.

Her heart stopped again at the softness of his kisses. If she had been confused before, she was officially over the cliff now. No idea which way was up. Heat from his mouth warmed her, shooting up her arm like fire.
Nothing
about this man said soulless murderer.

She tugged her hand away, unable to take any more of the sensation, the devastating preciousness he lavished on her. Her mind was already starting to imagine those warm lips on hers, and that brought her up short. She couldn’t go there. The thought terrified her as much as it seemed like the absolute best idea in the world right now. But she curled her hand into his T-shirt anyway, wanting to stay pressed close to him.

Why?
His kisses pushed her off kilter, but she had no desire to leave the safety of his hold. Physical contact with him registered with the same importance as breathing. Her limbs wouldn’t obey even if she’d wanted to. Something had shifted deep inside, something she couldn’t hope to explain. It should scare her. It
should
…but instead her mind was filled with wonder, curiosity, and temptation.

Needing to redirect her rambling thoughts, she eyed the ripped cotton of his shirt. Dried blood peeked through, but he didn’t seem like he was in any pain.

“I’m guessing you’re already healed?” she asked.

He nodded. “Just scratches. Tess.” He slid a finger under her chin. “What happened back there? It was like you froze up. But you didn’t do that when we were taking down Vespera.”

She dropped her gaze to examine a leaf stuck to her pant leg. “Because this time, it was wolves.”

He caressed her bicep. “Wolves are vicious, yes. And a daytime attack is rare.”

She sighed, knowing what was coming.

“Is there more? Something specific?” His voice was so calm, so gentle. He wasn’t prying, she somehow knew. He just wanted to understand her.