Kai (A Dark Assassins Novel Book One) (15 page)

When she emerged, Kai’s brows were furrowed.
 
“Is the mark still here?”

She moved closer and noticed that the bruise from her mouth had darkened instead of yellowing or even disappearing.
 
Her fingers smoothed over the spot, and she glanced up to see his reaction to her touch.
 
His teeth were gritted, and his fists clenched at his sides.

“It’s darkened, almost black.
 
Does it hurt?
 
What does it mean?” she asked.

She ran her fingers over the spot one more time, but instead of a groan of pain, he moaned.
 
His hand slid around her neck and he pulled her close, their lips melding together.
 
This kiss felt almost desperate, and he plundered her mouth until they were both breathless and shaking with need.

“It looks like a bruise.
 
Are you sure I didn’t hurt you?”

With a shake of his head, he dropped back down on the pillow and sighed.
 
“I don’t know what it means but it doesn’t hurt.
 
Come back to bed.”
 
With blood in his system and sleep pulling him under, he closed his eyes and settled into bed.

“I’m going to go down and cook breakfast for everyone.”

“Liv?”

“Yeah?”
 
She tucked him in.

“You can trust them,” he mumbled.

“I know.”
 
She kissed him once more before she turned and closed the door with a gentle click.

Jogging down to the stairs and into the kitchen, a sudden thought had struck her as she mentally reviewed the formulas in her head.
 
The night before, she’d been too tired to connect the dots, but with a good night’s sleep, she had put the pieces together in a way that led her in a new, but promising direction.
 

Mechanically, she brewed coffee and drank half the cup before she turned to the fridge, hoping that she had enough food to feed everyone.
 
When she opened the door, she blinked at the restocked shelves.
 
Shrugging, she pulled out everything she needed, and started.
 

As she finished setting everything to cook, she grabbed another cup of coffee and leaned against the counter, going through the calculations in her head that might prove her epiphany could be demonstrated.

But her mind wandered to the the vampire upstairs.
 
Being next to him every night, sharing the most intimate moments she’d ever had with him, had given her a sense of belonging that she’d never experienced before.
 
She smiled into her coffee cup, and with her mind occupied, she didn’t hear the stranger approach.

A growl, different than those of the shifters she’d met, had her freezing with her coffee cup halfway to her mouth.

“Who are you?” a feminine growl erupted.

“I’m—”

She heard the female sniff the air, and cursed under her breath.
 
“You’re Liv.”
 
It was a statement, not a question.

“Yes,” she squeaked, flinching at the sound.

A small hand grasped her upper arm and whipped her around.
 
Her eyes widened as she peered at the exquisitely beautiful redhead with stunning green eyes and a toned, athletic body.
 
She moved with a graceful ease of a dancer, and her eyes traced the woman’s light, lithe movements as if she were in a trance.
 
It wasn’t until the redhead hopped up on the counter and reached for her that she snapped out of it.
 
The woman’s grip was strong, and she yanked her forward, despite her digging her heels in.
 
She was no match for the shifter.
 
She stiffened as the woman buried her face in her neck and sniffed.
 
A bark of laughter made her jump, and when she jerked back to look at the woman’s face, pure happiness shone from the stunning face.

“You smell delicious.
 
Well, your scent combined with Kai’s.”

“Thank…you,” Liv squeaked.

“I’m Jade.”

“It’s nice to meet you.
 
Oh, oh, I’m sorry, Kai borrowed some of your clothes and toiletries, but I’ll pay you back for whatever I use.”

“Don’t worry about it.
 
You can use anything I have.”

“Thank you,” Liv said.

“Hey, little one,” called someone behind her.

She watched as Jade rolled her eyes, and stiffened when the woman wrapped her arms around her waist, and settled her cheek against her back.
 
She must’ve had a humorous look on her face, because Gunnar chuckled.

“Jade is a red fox shifter,” Gunnar said, as if that explained everything.

The confusion must have been written on her face, because he continued with his explanation.
 
“They need a lot of contact, love touching, and are very sexual.”

A blush heated her face, and she tried to step out of Jade’s arms, but the woman held tight.

“Have you smelled her scent?
 
I’ve never…” Jade mumbled.

Axel smiled at her and sauntered her way.
 
“I have, but I think Kai would rip my arms off if I touched her.
 
He’s very protective.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but the serious look on all their faces had her words die in her throat.
 
There had never been any clue how Kai had truly felt about her directly from the man, so she refused to get her hopes up.
 
She knew that he loved touching her, making love to her, but that wasn’t a basis for a relationship.
 
He worried about her well-being, enough to safeguard her in his house, but the look on the men’s faces told her that she might be off on her assessment.

“Jade,” Kai said from the doorway.

Jealousy spiked somewhere deep in her chest, and she pulled herself out of the woman’s grip and turned back toward the food.
 
She didn’t want to delve into why she might be jealous, but she couldn’t help but think about their possible relationship.
 
Obviously, Jade had her own room and left her things behind, but she had no idea whether the woman shared Kai’s bed when she stayed, and didn’t really want to find out.
 

Turning her mind back to the problem at hand, she plated everything.
 
She settled down at the table and ate quickly, ready to rush back to work and ignore the pain that threatened to overwhelm her.
 
Aware of the boisterous talking around the table, she kept her eyes on her plate, and breathed a sigh of relief when she finished.
 
Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she slipped behind the group.
 
She cleaned up after breakfast, and grabbed another cup of coffee, ready to head back to work.

“Hey, what’s your hurry?” Xander asked.

“I have to get to work.
 
I missed something last night, and I think it’ll get me closer to solving this.”
 
She started toward the door.

“I thought as a scientist, you would be curious about us.
 
For instance, shifters can’t mate or even have sex with vampires.” Xander winked at her.

Relief and embarrassment warred inside her.
 
She remembered that they could sense her heartbeat and pulse speed up, and he must’ve watched her when Kai had spoken to Jade.
 
She caught his eyes, and Xander gave her a gentle smile, letting her know that only he had noticed her reaction.
 
She sat down across from him as her curiosity grew.

“I am curious.
 
You don’t mind if I ask?”

Xander smiled at her as he finished his breakfast.
 
He rinsed the plate and slid it in the dishwasher before he turned back to her, shaking his head
 
“Ask away.”

“What type of shifter are you?”

“Snow leopard.”

“I’m a grey wolf,” offered Gunnar.

“Lion-shifter, sweetheart,” Axel said.

“Who’s about to get his fucking arms ripped off,” Kai snarled.
 

They ignored him and she turned her eyes to Reaper.
 
Reaper, who had been quiet since the others had arrived, raised his brows at her.
 
His eyes twinkled, and although he’d been silent and not touching her other than their first hug, she related to him in a way that she hadn’t with the others.
 
She smiled at him, and he returned it with the side of his mouth lifting a fraction.

“You don’t have to tell me,” she said.

“Timber wolf,” he said, giving her a true smile.

She beamed back at him, happy that he trusted her, before she glanced at Hunter.

“Panther,” he said.

She glanced around the group and tried to picture each of them by their descriptions, but her memory failed her, and asked another question.
 
“Do your eyes stay the same when you shift?”

They all nodded, even Jade, who had moved closer to her when she hadn’t realized it.
 
She ignored the woman, relieved that she wouldn’t have to compete with the beautiful woman.
 

Several questions assailed her as she glanced around the kitchen table.
 
Would the shift be to scale or would they grow?
 
Would Reaper’s brown eyes would complement his fur, and would Hunter look as dangerous as she imagined, completely black with piercing green eyes?
 
Xander could seduce any woman with his coral-blue eyes and his bright, white hair, and Gunner’s wise hazel eyes would stand out with his fur.
 
As she looked at Axel, her heart jerked in her chest at the thought of the other lion-shifter, with the same light-brown eyes, ripping his own throat out, and determination washed over her.
 
She wouldn’t allow any one of them to be hurt because of her.

“Does it hurt?” she whispered.

“No, it’s never hurt.
 
When you first shift, it’s uncomfortable because your bones elongate and your mass grows, but it doesn’t hurt,” Hunter said.

“Would you like to see?” Axel asked.

Her gasp echoed through the quiet kitchen.
 
As she stood there, stunned at Ax’s question, Kai had moved closer to her, lifted her in his arms, and sat back down behind the kitchen table with her secured in his lap.
 
She relaxed as he wrapped his arms around her waist, and didn’t miss the look the shifters shared.
 
She glanced back at Axel, and nodded slightly.

“If you want to show me, then yes, I would like to see,” she mumbled.

“Don’t scare her, Axel.
 
Maybe a Reaper or Gunnar first,” Hunter said.

“Nah, she’s tough.
 
Ready?” Ax asked Liv.

She nodded, and the table and chairs were moved against the counter, giving him room to shift.
 
Her eyes bore into Axel’s, and he smiled at her, drawing another snarl from Kai.
 

“Close your eyes, love,” Kai said.

She glanced at him, confused, but when she spotted movement out of the corner of her eye, she realized why.

Axel had taken off his shirt and reached for the button of his jeans.
 
Hands blocked her eyes the moment Ax started to lower his pants, but for a split second after he shucked his clothing, she was able to see his taut, muscular body.
 
Kai snarled and turned her against his chest, and squeezed her closer to him.

The shift must’ve happened fast, because the moment she was able to see again, a lion stood in front of her.
 
His gigantic tongue darted out and licked his lips, and without realizing her actions, she pushed herself off Kai’s lap and stood abruptly.

“Ax?” she asked.

The giant lion head bobbed up and down, and a burst of laughter erupted from her throat.
 
She reached for the lion in front of her, but hesitated.
 
She had met the shifters the day before, and for all she knew, they grew irritated when people wanted to touch them like a domesticated animal, like a dog.

“Can I…touch you?”

“No,” Kai growled.

“Oh, okay.”
 
She jerked her hand back and stepped away from Ax.
 
Her curiosity had gotten her into trouble before, and she shivered as embarrassment swamped her.

A booming roar had her covering her ears, and for the first time since she arrived at the mountain house, she felt fear knowing that she’d crossed the line.
 
She shouldn’t have asked, as she realized her mistake too late.
 
The lion, Ax, stalked toward her, and she stood frozen.

“I’m sorry.
 
I didn’t mean to be rude.”

Ax shoved his huge head against her stomach, and purred, loudly.
 
When she stood frozen, her hands by her sides, he wrapped his paw around her legs and pulled her closer, bumping his head against her stomach again.

Jade appeared next to her, wrapping her small arm around her waist, and Kai snarled.
 
The fox shifter leaned toward her ear.
 

“You can touch Ax; he wants you to.
 
Kai was just being a jealous jackass,” Jade muttered.

As she looked down into Ax’s eyes, he bumped into her stomach again; her hand reached down tentatively, and brushed against his mane gently.
 
He purred loudly, and she scratched him behind the ear, laughing as his head turned into her hand, silently begging for more.
 
His fur was downy soft, and when she glanced down at his paws, she noted that they were close to the size of her head.
 
He stepped back and she thought he was going to shift back, but he flipped over and exposed his stomach.

“Don’t even think about it,” Kai snarled.

She dropped to her knees and ran her fingers through his mane.
 
“This is wicked.”