Kai (A Dark Assassins Novel Book One) (18 page)

A sharp nod was all she would allow herself.
 
Her eyes were on Kai, who had yet to open his.
 
His wounds had stopped bleeding, but she couldn’t tell whether the bullets were still in his body, or whether they’d passed clean through.
 
She almost gagged at the obvious break to the ulna on his right arm, but she bent in front of him and knew one way she could get him to respond to her.
 
When her lips met his, his eyes popped open, giving her a sense of relief.

“Liv.”
 
He groaned.

She pressed her wrist to his mouth, but he turned his head away.

“Drink,” she demanded.

His eyes widened, but he shook his head slightly.

“Fine, then,” she mumbled.
 

She reached for a scalpel and without thinking about the consequences, she slit her wrist near the vein and held it up to his mouth.
 
Unable to stop himself, he gripped her wrist and licked the blood that dripped steadily from her wrist, sealing the cut.
 
The next moment, his fangs pierced the spot next to it and she breathed a sigh of relief as he drank.
 
It startled her when she heard his bone snap back into place.
 
When she glanced at it to see that the skin had sealed over the wound, another shiver of relief passed through her and she closed her eyes.
 
He released her wrist and sealed it, before he pulled her up onto the couch with him.

“What happened?” she asked.

“It was a simple extraction, and the plan went exactly as you laid out.
 
But when we reached the basement level where they were being kept, there were several more armed guards than we predicted.
 
Thomas and Isaac subdued them quickly, but I heard your name from one of the scientists and became distracted.
 
When I turned, a guard had a gun in his hand and fired, holding someone behind him.
 
I glimpsed a woman for a moment before she disappeared from view.
 
I reached to push the guy out of the way to reach for the woman and that’s when he slammed the gun down on my arm.
 
The woman disappeared, but Reaper is out looking for her.
 
The other captives went with Ghost to be debriefed.”

“Were they hurt?”

“No.
 
The vampire was half starved, but other than that, they were left untouched.”

Glancing down at the rips in his black vest and shirt, she skimmed her hands over his skin, searching for any open injuries.

“The bullets—did they go through or are they still in you?”

“They went through.
 
I’m regaining my strength,” he mumbled as he slid her onto his lap and kissed her.
 
“They know by my reaction that we’re protecting you, and that puts you in greater danger than ever before.”

“I don’t care.
 
I have some news—”

A loud gasp echoed as he reached for the button on her jeans and without stopping, he managed to strip her in a matter of seconds.
 
It took her a little longer to unbutton and unzip his jeans, and she grew impatient as they caught around his thighs, but his cock was free.
 
She gave up, and reached for the hem of his shirt; when he was free, her lips met his hot skin.
 
This time she was frantic, needing him inside her as much as she needed her next breath.
 
She kissed his chest, and his moans drove her crazy as she continued with her exploration.

His fingers slid against her clit, and she moaned against his chest.
 
Her hips moved forward, seeking more friction and heat from his fingers, when he plunged them deep inside of her.

“So wet for me,” he growled.

Her response stuck in her throat, so instead she sat upright.
 
When he removed his fingers for a moment, her hips dropped down and she moaned as she took all of him with one smooth slide.
 
The desperation at the thought of losing him made her movements jerky at first, but when his hands settled on her hips and showed her how to please him, she lost all cognitive thought and allowed herself to feel the pleasure he brought out in her.
 
The next time she lifted, she twisted her hips back down, and drew a deep groan from his chest.
 
She staggered her movements, finding each time that she dropped down, a tingle of pleasure shot up her spine.

He brought her mouth down to meet his, and instead of the deep kisses she was used to, he nipped her lip with his fang.
 
Blood oozed from the wound.
 
He sucked her lip into his mouth and sent a jolt of pleasure throughout her body.
 
His hand slid behind her neck and kept her in place as he plundered her mouth, and at the same moment, his hips shot up and he drove deep inside of her.
 
Their rhythm changed; with the downward twist of her hips and flex of his hips up, their breathing quickened and soon, she could feel her body start to splinter apart with pleasure.

“Kai, now.”

His lips sucked on her bottom one as his hands splayed on her waist.
 
With one last drive into her, his warmth flooded into her, setting off an orgasm that stiffened her body.
 
Her inner muscles tightened and held him deep inside her, not wanting the moment or the feeling to end.

With her body sated and her energy spent, she sagged against him and smiled against his skin when his arms clamped around her and held her tucked into his chest.
 
For a few minutes, she relaxed in his arms, until he reminded her of her early declaration.

“What was your news?” he asked.

Guilt swamped her again, and she took her time to stand.
 
She couldn’t meet his eyes as she gathered her clothes and dressed, before she turned to him.
 
He must’ve noticed her hesitation, because he slid his tee back on, pulling up his jeans, before he took her hand in his.

“I’ve finished the formula, and I had some time so I created the antidote.
 
I just need some of your blood for testing—”

“You what?”

“I was able to finish…”
 
She trailed off at the anger that radiated from him.
 
“What’s wrong?
 
I have everything saved on the laptop in the safe, and when I know it works, then I will be able to immunize all of you.
 
I even made a tiny amount of the bio-weapon so I can test it.”

“You’re finished?” he growled.

Confused by his reaction, she nodded.
 
“When you’re feeling better, maybe I can test some of your blood.”

Stalking away from her, he shook his head and entered the code in the keypad.

“You’re leaving?” she choked out.

“No, I won’t help you with your experiments.
 
Find someone else.”
 
With those parting words, he ran up the stairs so quickly that she didn’t even see his feet touch the stairs.

Sinking to her knees, she thought over the last few minutes and concluded that she had been wrong in how she asked him to help her.
 
She thought that he would be thrilled with the news that he and his fellow assassins would be protected from harm, but she had told him in a way that must’ve been offensive.
 
As she sat on the cold floor and thought about what she could have said to cause his reaction, her mind couldn’t settle on any one reason.
 
Maybe because she had worked out the formula in a week he now believed she had something to do with creating the weapon in the first place, and he couldn’t trust her any longer.
 
Or he was angry because she created the bio-weapon without talking to him about it.
 
But his reaction had been before she told him about that particular piece of news.
 
Or he was relieved that she could claim that she was done, because he could get rid of her sooner than later.
 
Although that caused a rupture of pain in her chest, she couldn’t think of another possible reason.

“Liv?”

Hearing her name in the distance, she couldn’t pull herself from her thoughts, not until strong arms pulled her up from the floor and held her to a hard chest.
 
Instead of the smell of cedar and citrus, she smelled moss and pine.
 
When she blinked, her gaze focused on Hunter’s face.
 
His frown marred his handsome face, and she reached out her hand and smoothed out the creases on his forehead.
 
His eyebrows rose at her actions, but he allowed her to continue, hugging her tighter to his chest.
 
He held her as if she were fragile, and although she felt nothing other than friendly affection for him, she was grateful to be held.

“Hi, Hunter.
 
Did you say something?” she asked.

“Did he hurt you?” he growled.

Unable to explain why she sat, weak and lethargic on the floor, she choked at his question and shook her head.
 
“He would never do that,” she whispered.
 

But as the words left her mouth, she flinched.
 
The funny thing was, although he promised to protect her, he never promised to love her the way she wanted him to, and that was entirely her mistake.
 
It was ridiculous the amount of hurt she felt when he’d left her without explanation, but again, she had hoped for more than he could give.
 
Soon, she would be out of his hair, and he could go back to his own life, and she would figure out how to live hers.

“I think that I offended him when I asked him for his blood.
 
Or something else is going on.
 
Maybe he’s relieved that he will finally be rid of me,” she said.

Hunter looked at her for a long moment, and then shook his head.
 
“He’s an idiot.”

For a reason she couldn’t fathom, a sharp laugh burst out of her throat, and she snuggled her head into his chest as she laughed at his blatant statement.
 
When she felt him shake, she glanced up and watched as Hunter laughed with her.
 
She wiped her eyes, and with one last pat on his cheek, she pulled herself away from her friend.

“Do you think that I could draw a vial of your blood, since I’ve finished?” she asked.

He had blanched at her question, and she couldn’t help the laugh that escaped.
 
He smiled at her, but rubbed the back of his neck, looking for an excuse to get out of being her guinea pig.
 
But she decided to admit her weakness in hopes that he would follow.

“Are you afraid of needles, too?” she asked.

“Hell no, not afraid, just…”

“Wary?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, little one, but I hate fucking needles.
 
We have regenerative healing and we can’t get sick, so I’ve never had my blood tested before.
 
But I’ve seen it on TV and it looks brutal.”

She reached out and squeezed Hunter’s hand.
 
“I understand.
 
I don’t like needles either, and I work with blood.”

“We don’t mind.”
 
Jade skipped into her lab.
 
Reaper followed close behind her, but he seemed distracted and edgy.

“You okay, Reaper?
 
Did you find the woman?”

“No, I lost her scent.
 
I’ve never lost a scent before,” he grumbled.

Without a thought, she wrapped her arms around Reaper’s waist and hugged him for a quick moment.
 
She wanted to offer him comfort, but as he returned her hug, Hunter brought up the subject she had been trying so hard to avoid.

“Something happened between Liv and Kai,” Hunter said.

Reaper’s arms tightened around her, and she heard him growl, the sound loud to her ears.
 
“What the fuck did he do now?”

Flinching, she pulled out of his arms and reluctantly looked at Reaper.
 
“He must’ve reacted badly to my news since he was so hurt…”

Reaper looked at Hunter, as if he had the information that she neglected to share, but when the man shook his head, Reaper turned back to her, waiting for an explanation.

“Are you doing the mind link thing?” she asked.

“Yes.
 
Now stop changing the subject,” Reaper said.

“I’ve completed the formula, and I’ve created both a minuscule amount of the bio-weapon along with several vials of the antidote.
 
I asked to test his blood to make sure that it worked, and he became really angry and left.
 
I know that I should have spoken to all of you before I created something that is such a threat to you, but…I couldn’t sit around and wait.
 
I understand his anger at me, but I wish he would talk to me,” she finished.

Jade hugged her, and this time, it was for comfort.

“I’ve seen how he looks at you, Livvy, and I know that he feels something for you.
 
But vampires are loners and they don’t express their feelings very well.
 
We’ve been friends with him for close to a hundred years, and he would rather walk into the sun than come to us for advice or even to talk.
 
He trusts you, and he cares for you—he’s just horrible at showing it,” Jade said.

“It’s because he promised to protect me, and that doesn’t mean he actually has feelings for me,” she said.

Jade squeezed her tighter, and although she had never enjoyed people touching her, hugging her, she did enjoy how her friends pulled her in whenever they thought she was sad.
 
Although she knew that her friends would defend her, and they were happy to be around her, she had no idea how Kai felt about her, and it seemed, neither did his closest friends.

Their silence indicated that they couldn’t be sure what Kai had felt for her, and it cemented her thoughts.
 
And now that she completed her work to keep them safe, there would be no need for Kai and the others to protect her.
 
She would be going home soon.
 
She knew that she couldn’t go back to Standard, and that meant she would have to leave Snowfall.