Angel's Assassin (17 page)

“I will see to this,” her father insisted,
his voice stern.

Aurora bowed her head and backed to the door.
She hesitated. She cast a glance at her father, wanting to know his
plans, wanting to know more about what he was going to do, but he
had fallen into a chair, his head in his hands. She knew their
discussion was over.

Aurora sat in the Great Hall, staring at her
meal. She had ripped a hole in her loaf of bread and the pieces lay
scattered below her fingers on the table. She was exhausted,
mentally and physically. Damien had distanced himself from her,
locked himself behind a wall of silence. He had not spoken to her
since their return from the forest, not since their encounter with
Ormand. He watched her from across the table. She could feel his
stare on her. And even though he sat a few feet from her,
loneliness surrounded her.

A few people began to trickle into the Great
Hall to break their fast. It would only be time before the castle
woke and started the day. Aurora couldn’t face her people. Not now.
She planned to finish eating and be asleep before the day fully
started.

“My dear.”

Aurora lifted her gaze to see Count Ormand
taking the seat beside her. Her throat tightened. She looked back
down at her meal. “My lord,” she mumbled the standard courtesy.

Ormand placed a hand over her arm.

She slid her wrist from his hold.

A golden eyebrow lifted. He cast a glance at
Damien and back at her. “I’ve been away far too long, my sweet
lady.”

Aurora bowed her head as guilt settled in her
chest. Ormand was her betrothed, the man her father had chosen for
her. She knew very little about him, only the few things her father
had told her. He was a very successful lord with a vast holding of
lands, well-farmed and well-kept. Their betrothal still did not
seem real to her. There had been no courtship. The only thing that
bound them together was a piece of parchment filled with words and
her father’s signature and stamp.

“Now that I am here, there will be no more
attempts on your life.”

Aurora’s gaze snapped to him. “You’ve found
the man who hired the assassins?”

Ormand brushed away her statement with a
flick of his wrist. “No one will harm you when I am around.” He
pressed a reassuring hand to her back.

Her mouth dropped open at his arrogant
boast.

He cast another glance at Damien. “It must
have been hard for you being trailed by such a… vagabond.”

“Not at all. Damien is quite resourceful. He
is very observant and –”

“Yes, yes,” Ormand said. “Just like a good
dog should be.” He grabbed a chunk of meat and tossed it on to
Damien’s trencher. “Here’s your treat, boy.”

Damien slowly set his dagger down on top of
the table.

Ormand stared at the blade, then back up at
Damien. “Are you threatening me?”

“Count Ormand!” Aurora said. “That is quite
enough!”

Ormand slowly turned to her and watched her
speculatively. “You’ve taken quite a fancy to him. Some of his
wildness seems to have rubbed off on you as well. We shall have to
remedy that.”

Aurora looked down at her food, fighting to
keep her anger down. She knew better than to respond to his obvious
baiting.

Ormand leaned over to Aurora and whispered
loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear, “When we are married and
retire to my castle, his services will no longer be needed.”

Panic flared inside her, tightening painfully
around her heart. She looked to Damien.

Coldness crept around her with the absence of
his stare.

Ormand took her hand into his and pressed a
kiss to her knuckles. “When we are married, you shall be all
mine.”

Sitting nearby in the Great Hall, Alexander
stared at the dagger Damien had set down on the table. It was a
plain looking dagger, but something tugged at the back of his mind,
tickling and nagging. He had seen that dagger somewhere before, but
he couldn’t remember where. He absently took a drink of ale as he
studied the blade. He knew it would come to him eventually.

The absence of Damien’s gaze was numbing.
Loneliness surrounded Aurora and confused her. After finishing
their meal, she excused herself from Ormand and headed out of the
Great Hall. Damien followed in silence. She walked into the inner
ward, automatically taking the path she had tread thousands of
times before. These were familiar steps to her.

Aurora entered a tower that bordered the
northern edge of the castle. When she was younger, she used to come
up here weekly. Darkness consumed them as the door shut behind
them.

Damien halted her by stepping before her.
“Where does the princess wish to go?” His voice was hard and
cold.

“Damien,” she began.

“Where?” he demanded.

“The very top of this tower.”

Damien moved up the steps slowly, carefully,
feeling his way up the dark passageway. She followed slowly. They
moved in the darkness up the stairs until they reached the top.
Damien pushed open the door. He stepped through the opening onto
the northern tower. He held up a hand for her to wait. His gaze
scanned the walkway he stood on, and then the inner ward. When he
was finished, he looked at her and signaled her to come up with a
bend of his fingers.

Aurora moved onto the northern parapet. She
did not look into the castle, but out over the castle wall. Sadness
etched her gaze. There was distance between her and Damien. He had
erected his defenses against her.

The sea reflected the bright sun back and
mirrored the blue sky above. The sky seemed to blend into the
horizon, meeting the water, making it seem as if the world went on
forever.

They watched the morning sunrise on the
water, the reddish orange light sparkling and pure.

Damien swiveled his gaze to Aurora. He stared
at her, long and hard.

His gaze sent shivers up her spine. Or
perhaps it was just the beauty of the place that still continued to
affect her so.

He reached out to touch her cheek, but his
fingers froze inches from her skin. Aurora did not pull away. She
could not. She wanted him to touch her.

But the touch she felt next was not that of
his warm fingertips, but that of a cold blade pressed against her
throat.

D
amien watched
the startled expression cross her eyes, heard the gasp stop in her
throat. His fingers trembled. One quick move… How innocent she was.
How trusting. How foolish. Foolish in her blind faith and trust in
him.

He had waited a long time for this moment.
His freedom was within striking distance.

Her lips parted in a silent gasp and she
lifted her chin beneath the pressure of the blade. “Damien,” she
whispered.

Betrothed. Anger flared through his veins at
the thought of Ormand laying his hands on her, at the image of him
kissing her and tasting her as he had. Is that why Roke wanted
Aurora dead? So no one else could have her if he could not? Were
Roke’s thoughts thick with jealous rage just as his own thoughts
were now? Did that make him just as evil and twisted as Warin
Roke?

He had to do it now. He felt himself
swirling toward oblivion. He was becoming lost. Lost to his
mission, lost to his freedom, lost to everything he held dear
except for her. Damien looked at the silver blade he held to the
white skin of her neck.
Your freedom means
everything to you
. He pressed the dagger up tighter
against her throat. Her beautiful, smooth, white, flawless
throat.
Do it
.

She should be afraid. Why wasn’t she moving?
Why wasn’t she running or trying to talk him out of it? Would she
stand so motionless before another assassin like this? All of his
victims had struggled and fought for their lives, especially when
they knew their end was near.

Aurora stood before him, her chin held high,
unflinching, unmoving. Unafraid.

Damien clenched his teeth tighter. Trusting,
he thought with bitter disdain. No one trusted him. No one. Not his
father. Not his colleagues. No one. And rightfully so. He was an
assassin. He brought death. He was death.

And yet… Aurora stood before him,
imperiously, bestowing goodness on him with a simple glance.

His hand shook, his fist tightening around
the handle of the dagger. “You’re wrong about me,” he snarled.

In her eyes, in her stunning blue eyes, he
saw absolution. Damien could not move. His freedom was at hand.
Just a little slash with his sharp dagger. But this was Aurora. She
was so damned pure and innocent. He wanted desperately to kiss her.
He wanted to have her. She was dangerous to him. So dangerous. That
thought could not save him from his desperate need for her. Damien
growled low in his throat.

He threw the dagger aside and grabbed her
shoulders, pulling her against him tightly, pressing his lips to
hers. It was a frantic, despondent kiss. A punishing kiss. He would
not give up his freedom. Not for anyone. It was all he wanted. It
was all he needed. She would not stand in his way.

His tongue delved into her hot mouth, his
hand cupping her breast through the fabric of her dress. He pushed
her back against the stone wall, thrusting his knee between her
legs, against the very core of her being.

She would not stop him from gaining his
freedom. She didn’t know who he was. He was not good, as she
believed. He was bad, evil to the core. And he was going to prove
to her how evil. He had killed without a second thought. He had
taken lives without a care for the misery it caused.

He nipped her lips with his teeth, ran his
tongue over her moist lips and thrust it into her mouth. He pushed
her back against the wall with his body, pinning her there. He felt
her breasts pressed hard against his chest, his leg thrust up
against her womanhood. Damien pressed her head back with a fierce
kiss, ravishing her mouth.

He would take what he wanted and then he
would complete his mission. Despite his anger, despite his evil
intent, he felt her sweetness, her innocence answering his need.
She was as pure and untouched as an angel freshly descended from
heaven.

No one is that pure, the beast inside him
snarled. No one is that innocent.

Despite the beast raging within him, his kiss
softened, coaxing her to participate. He brushed tender yet
reckless kisses down her neck to the hollow of her throat. His
tongue flicked over the skin above her dress. He pushed the
neckline down further, licking and nipping the very tops of her
rounded breasts.

And then she responded, gasping, her breasts
heaving up for his taste. Her hands encircled his back in sweet
surrender.

Damien pushed a hand inside her dress to
encompass her breast. Squeezing, he felt her hard nipple against
his palm. He pulled back slightly to look into her dreamy, dazed
eyes, eyes that took his breath away. For a moment, as he palmed
and caressed her breast, he wanted to get lost in those eyes. She
groaned and he could feel her body moving against his thigh.
“You’re as evil as I am,” Damien whispered. He wanted her to
realize what she was doing. To understand what she wanted.

And slowly, her cloudy half lidded eyes
opened as reality invaded her thoughts. Passion drained from her
eyes and frantic realization dawned.

Slowly, he removed his hand from her breast.
“I can give you pleasure beyond anything you have imagined,” he
told her. He was so hard, it was almost painful. He wanted her. And
he wanted her to give herself to him. “But to do so, you must give
me your soul.”

She gasped and struggled, pushing against his
chest. In her large eyes, Damien could see her passion was gone.
Fear and desperation shimmered in her orbs. He released her
immediately, stepping back.

Aurora almost tumbled forward, but righted
herself. She raised herself up, staring at him with a mixture of
confusion and lust.

In his anger he had gone too quickly. He
thought to complete his mission right here and now, but he could
not do it. He could not watch death claim her before he did. And he
meant to have her.

He took a step toward her and she whirled,
almost running down the stairs to the inner ward. Damien followed
her, knowing full well he intended to seduce her and take her. Only
then could he complete his mission. Only then could he gain his
freedom.

Aurora raced down the stairs and across the
inner ward as if she were being chased by a demon. Tears rose in
her eyes, blurring her vision. Villagers coming to work in the
castle stepped out of her way as she crossed the courtyard, running
full out. She didn’t care if Damien was following. All she knew was
she had to get away from him. His touch had frightened her, because
she had been so powerless to stop the overwhelming feelings of
pleasure saturating her body.

Aurora burst into the Keep and rushed down
the hallway toward the safety and sanctity of her chambers. She
could lock Damien out there. She could be alone to regain her
composure so she could face him again. She ignored the startled
glances of two servants, knowing she had to compose herself. She
had to sort out the feelings whirling inside her, feelings that
bombarded and confused her.

Aurora raced up the steps, taking them two at
a time. At the top of the stairs, she dashed to her chambers and
slammed the door shut behind her, drawing the bolt across it.

She stepped backward, away from the door,
knowing at any moment Damien would come… and demand entrance. It
was an entrance she could not give. Not now. She stepped back, away
from the door. Her wide gaze was glued to the wooden barricade,
waiting, anticipating.