To Mate an Assassin: The Lost Alphars Series, Book 1 (22 page)

“I know she ate before we got to The Mansion, she had a frostie and some fries.” At Kerrick’s raised eyebrows Cimby smiled, familiar with the reaction to the odd treat. “She likes to dip salty fries in the sweet frosties.”

“Do you like that?” Kerrick asked, placing his hand over Irisi’s chest to call her back from sleep.

“I have been known to indulge in some unhealthy food combinations every now and then.”

“Only because I force you,” Irisi muttered, raising her hand to rub her eyes. Once fully awake she looked at Kerrick with narrowed eyes and a disgruntled groan. “You hypnotized me.”

“No, I simply gave your body what it already desperately needed.” Cimby’s heart squeezed tight as Kerrick set a large hand to rest on Irisi’s head, the girl sighing deeply, relaxing farther into the pillows. Whatever Kerrick had said or done with her while Cimby was out dealing with her tantrum, it had earned Irisi’s trust. It had taken nearly a year for the young girl to trust Cimby and Kerrick had managed it in a few hours.

“You could have warned me,” Irisi grumbled.

“Don’t you know, child?” he asked, puffing his chest out like a preening peacock. “I’m the Alphar, I can do whatever I like.”

“All right enough of that,” Lottie said, pulling up a stool and checking Irisi’s vitals. “Your pulse has slowed, thank goodness. You were having quite the panic attack before, even after Kerrick put your body to sleep. You are going to drink this entire thing.” Lottie handed her a giant plastic cup topped with a straw and cap. “I will come back and make sure you drank all of it. I have three young boys so don’t think you can pull anything over me and try to dump some in the sink. I
will
know.”

“What is it?” Irisi asked, taking the cap off the cup to sniff the contents.

“Fruit smoothie enhanced with essential vitamins and nutrients. We are also going to be giving you vitamins every day. No excuses. I’m doing various tests on the blood I took earlier.”

“Tests?” Cimby asked.

“Well, our kind doesn’t get sick but there are strands of Hep C and tuberculosis we can get, along with other shifter-based diseases.”

“Hep C?” Cimby asked, fisting her hand in the covers at Irisi’s hips. “Why do you think she has that?”

“I don’t,” Lottie said absentmindedly, marking down something on Irisi’s chart. “It’s just a precaution from that tattoo on her hip.” She raised an eyebrow at Irisi with a very mom-like look. “Too young for that, missy.”

“What tattoo?” Cimby asked, standing and staring down at Irisi. How could she have missed a tattoo?

“The one on my hip.” Irisi tapped the spot in question. “It’s been there for as long as I can remember.”

“Did you ever ask your father about it?”

“You think I went out of my way to speak to him?” Iri asked with an incredulous scoff, biting the end of the smoothie straw.

“Let me see.” Cimby gestured at Irisi’s body, a sense of urgency taking over her instincts. This was important.

“Cimby,” Irisi whined.

“Now.”

Lottie and Cimby removed the sheet and Irisi lifted her T-shirt on her left side. Cimby pulled down her shorts just enough to see the black tattoo. It was sparse, and poorly done. There was scarring a shifter should have been able to heal. In reality, a shifter shouldn’t have been able to get a tattoo unless it was magically spelled to overcome the healing process or to fuck with it. She traced her hand over the mark marring Irisi’s pale skin. Two sticks crossed each other like an X. One had a curved top, the other had what looked like a tassel.

“This looks familiar,” Kerrick said, leaning over her shoulder to get a look.

“It’s Osiris.” Iri supplied, gaining their attention. She looked uncomfortable, having this many eyes on her body.

“What?” Lottie asked, sounding alarmed.

“It’s the symbol for the cult of Osiris.”

“The cult your dad was in?” Cimby asked.

“Wait, I thought you said he was a religious zealot.” Kerrick pulled back up to a standing position, crossing his arms and frowning at Cimby.

“He was, I just didn’t say which religion,” Cimby said, not allowing herself to get annoyed by his tone.

“He put this on you,” Lottie said, examining the mark. She put her nose against Irisi’s skin and breathed deep, user her shifter senses to aid in detecting the magic. “It looks stretched, like it’s warped as you grew.”

“Well, I didn’t grow much.”

“Something that we are going to fix,” Lottie reassured her with a smile and pointed to the smoothie. “Keep drinking.”

“I want this off her,” Cimby said, feeling angry and helpless. What was most likely sucking Irisi’s energy had been right in front of her face all these years. How had she missed it? “Can we get it off her? Is that okay, Iri?”

“No complaints here,” the teenager said as she sipped on the thick smoothie.

“We’ll have to cut it off,” Lottie said to Irisi with a wince in sympathy. “I’ll numb you and put you under. If that is what is preventing your normal rate of growth, then it is of magical origins and will most likely scar.”

“Bring Zach in to inspect the tattoo before you remove it,” Kerrick said, a hint of angry authority in his tone. Cimby could see Kerrick had become as captivated by Irisi as Cimby when she first met her, and she couldn’t blame him. There was just something about the young girl that drew you to her, made you want to take her side.

“Got it,” Lottie said, dialing in a command on the wall-mounted touchpad.

“Cimby,” Kerrick started and Cimby could already hear how that particular tone was going to bug the hell out of her. “You should have Lottie look at your face.”

“I don’t need her to.”

“So you want to look like Quasimodo the rest of your life?” Irisi asked, attempting and failing to look innocent.

“It’s not quite as bad as all that and yes, maybe I do want to look like Quasimodo. He was strong as shit. Now finish your drink, pest.”

“At least go get some rest,” Irisi said after a particularly loud slurp of the smoothie. “You look pretty terrible, scar not included in that observation.”

“This coming from the bedridden teenager?”

“I’ll make sure she gets rest,” Kerrick said to Irisi with an overly obnoxious wink, placing his hand on Cimby’s shoulder.

“Doubt it.” Irisi snorted into her smoothie.

“See? Pest.” But despite her words, Cimby leaned forward and placed a kiss on Irisi’s forehead, nuzzling the red peach fuzz with a shifter kind of affection.

“I’m sorry for lying about my age, Cimby,” Irisi said, sounding small and regretful once more. Cimby stroked her fuzzy head with a sigh.

“Do not worry about that. We will talk about it later. Get some rest.”

“I’ll tell you the results of our escapades tomorrow,” Kerrick said to Irisi with another wink, this one slightly less obnoxious. He entwined his fingers with Cimby’s and she swallowed hard at the feel of his skin on hers, all the lust she’d held at bay coming crashing down on her in a barely contained tidal wave.

Chapter Sixteen

Kerrick pulled Cimby from the Med Center with a final wave at Irisi and Lottie. They walked hand in hand through the hallways, listening to the various sounds The Mansion made at night. A child laughing. A couple conversing about their day. A group of people watching some TV.

“Cimby, you’re going to squeeze my hand off,” Kerrick said with a chuckle to pull her out of her thoughts.

“Sorry.” She took her hand away.

“What are you thinking of?”

“Everything and nothing,” she said with a shrug, her facial expression not as closed off as he was used to it being.

“Come with me? I want to show you something.” He took her hand again and guided her to the roof. It took about ten minutes to get there at a steady walk and he had to lead her through a major segment of The Mansion. Kerrick nodded and greeted the soldiers they passed along the way, making their rounds. Whenever one would recognize Cimby they would not only bow in deference to Kerrick’s position but salute her as well, word of her training session having traveled through the grapevine. Kerrick couldn’t help but laugh after the fifth salute. She looked like she wanted to vomit.

“Laugh now. I’ll get Iri to prank you when she’s better,” she warned, puffing out a breath of air in annoyance.

“Mm-hmm,” he hummed at her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as they ascended the final staircase that led to the roof. He placed his hand on the electronic pad to unlock the door and pushed it open.

“Welcome to my little hideaway. Any shifters with flight capability can come up here to land but other than that it’s usually empty.”

“It’s beautiful,” she said, overlooking the grounds in astonishment. Kerrick had always thought the view was priceless. The treetops were green clouds that speckled the horizon. The minimal light in their area allowed for an unmarred view to the heavens, the stars shining brightly down on them. He waited for her to say something else, but she was barely seeing the stars in front of her. Her mind wrapped in the past week’s events, no doubt.

“Irisi will be okay, Cimby. I swear it.”

“You don’t know that,” she said, pulling away from him and tucking her hands in her jeans before walking to the edge of the finished roof. He’d had grass laid down instead of asphalt or traditional flooring. Kerrick had wanted to keep The Mansion from intruding on nature to the best of his ability. Riddan hadn’t cared, by the end of his run as Alphar the place had been crumbling into disarray.

“I do.” He walked until he stood beside her. “That girl has so much spirit, like you. She’d never go down without anything less than an epic battle.”

Cimby smiled, appreciating his attempt to assuage her fears. He appeared stunning in this setting, almost regal looking as he cast his gaze across his territory. His masculinity offset by the gentle smile he gave her. He’d kicked his shoes off the second after stepping onto the roof and the grass beneath his bare feet gave way silently as he walked. Kerrick’s black hair was blowing in the breeze and his dark eyes were so open to her she felt she could see straight to his soul whenever he looked at her.

Could she really have this man to herself? She told herself over and over it was not possible. He deserved better. But, Gods, the lust she was struggling with at that moment was almost unbearable. She needed to have him. Just once before letting him go. She walked away from him to gain some distance and allow her head to clear, if that were even possible in his presence. After getting to the opposite side of the roof her Wolf interrupted and growled, the sound slipping out from her lips. Kerrick froze, hearing the unmistakable sound. They stood stock still for half a second, staring at one another, his chest beginning to heave with labored breaths.

After staring into his eyes with a need dearer than she’d ever known, she had the most wonderful thought—
fuck it
—and took what he had been offering since the moment they first faced each other down on that front lawn. She spoke in a voice stricken with need.

“I do feel something for you, Kerrick. Something that isn’t just my Wolf’s side of the mating. I felt you when we were miles apart after I left. I feel your need for me all hours of the day.” She took a deep breath, crossing that final line. “And I can barely breathe through the need I feel for you in return.”

He crossed the roof in two strides and pulled her close to his body. His hands gripped her face and Cimby’s dug into the thin material of the shirt covering his chest. Kerrick’s lips were agonizingly near to hers but he didn’t close the distance, not yet.

“If all that is true, why do you keep running from me? Even now I can feel how tenuous this is.”

“Because, Alphar, I’m afraid of you.”

His expression was stricken, desolate. He went to back away from her but she quickly wrapped her arms around his waist, not letting him budge. His expression turned confused, tinged with a minuscule light of hope.

“I’m afraid that you are the only man who can break me. I’m afraid that you’re the only man I couldn’t possibly live without. And I’m afraid…I’ll be the death of you.”

“No one could ever break you.” With a quick growl he kissed her and the world became a fire to rival the flames of Hell. Cimby slipped her hands underneath his shirt and dug her nails into his hard sides. He groaned into her lips as his mouth became more insistent. Hands stroked her back and carded in her hair, tugging her head back.

They lost contact for a moment and Cimby’s mouth parted. “That’s more like it.” He grunted and pushed his tongue inside her mouth as his lips slammed into hers. She stroked the slick skin of his tongue and mouth with her own and moaned when he bit down on her bottom lip, giving it a quick lick to cool the sting. Heat scorched her body and she felt the warm, wet of her arousal soak her core.

He stopped, taking deep breaths, resting his forehead against hers. She moved to kiss him again but he kept her away. “You’re not leaving now, you know that, right?” His voice was husky and she couldn’t ignore his hands as they played with the waistband of her jeans.

“You can’t control me.” Cimby looked up at him, her face serious. “I’m not going to change what I am and you have to be willing to want me without a leash. I will never be anyone’s pet or slave.”

“So many demands from such a small woman,” he said, smiling indulgently.

“Size isn’t everything.”

“No, but when skill and size are combined—”

“Answer me, Kerrick.” She grunted, digging her nails into his abdomen. “I don’t want to wake up tomorrow only to discover you expect me to become something I’m not.”

“I want you more than I have…more than I have needed anyone before. You make all this seem insignificant, you’re bigger than it all. I am the Alphar, Cimby. In the eyes of my people no one should be my equal. But I see you and I see my equal. I felt it from the first moment I met you.”

Instead of moving up her body, his hands caressed her ribs and trailed down her stomach to find the belt loops in her jeans. With a gentle touch she thought would have been lost to him from all the tension, he unzipped her jeans and slid the fabric, underwear included, down her legs, baring her naked ass to the world on his roof. “Nobody else can have you.”

“Kerrick.” She stopped him, placing a hand on his cheek. “This isn’t mating. Not yet. This is just us. Just us being together.”

He nodded with a smile, his lust unaffected by their conversation. As a reward for not arguing, she pulled her shirt over her head and unhooked her bra, tossing it to the grassy roof. He stared at her breasts, licking his lips and growling quietly. Kerrick turned her around, helping her step from her jeans and shoes. A wet lick pressed against the base of her spine, right above her ass. She felt him remove his shirt and stand, pressing that wickedly hot chest against her back. The hard length of his erection pushed into the crease between ass cheeks. She needed him inside her, she needed to feel that smooth and hard skin cupped in her hand. She wanted him everywhere and all at once. She wanted to consume him and be consumed by him.

“Get your cock inside me, Alphar. Fuck me now.”

Kerrick growled and moved his hands to finally grasp her beautiful breasts, she arched her ass into his groin, making his cock throb for her. Once he had his hands pinching and massaging the pale mounds to a peak, he circled the buds between his thumb and forefinger, tugging, making her cry out for him. Cimby moaned and dug her nails into his thighs, her claws coming out to play. Knowing he was the reason for her loss of control made something inside him snap.

He grabbed her breasts and squeezed again, loving the weight of them in his palms, and brought her body smashing against his chest even harder. Her hands slid down behind her to the buttons that closed his pants, which were now straining painfully against his hard cock. Fuck, he was so hard for her, his sac heavy with his seed. He could come the moment his cock thrust inside her, the sweet scent of her arousal stimulating him beyond awareness.

She started unbuttoning the damn things, one by one. He bit her neck to hurry her along, digging his teeth into her skin, but respecting her wishes and not hard enough to leave a mating mark. He lowered one of his hands to the vee between her legs, dipping a finger into the warm, wet folds of her pussy. Kerrick wanted to finger-fuck her and make his mate come around his hand, hear the sounds of her pleasure for the first time.

But he needed to slow down and keep his control for as long as possible, just so he could torture her to a flaming peak. He settled with rubbing one finger along her wet walls with slow stokes. Feeling her juices dripping around his fingers made him want to howl along with his Beast. She turned him into a true animal with animal instincts and animal needs. He would take her, make her his. Even if it wasn’t a true claiming yet, he would make sure she knew she was his physically, with a well-deserved fucking.

“Now,” she demanded, and he chuckled against her shoulder, loving the reaction he stoked in her, comforted by the thought that he wasn’t the only one riding this crazy need.

He lowered his lips to where neck and shoulder met. Her skin was so warm and tender against his teeth and tongue. He bit and explored her gently. She almost had his cock free from his jeans and it was making it harder and harder to keep his sanity intact.

Finally she freed the achingly hard shaft from his pants. He groaned with relief. Kerrick added another finger to her wet sex and by the time his pants began to fall down his thighs, he could smell her arousal so keenly he’d lost all semblances of control. His Beast broke free.

“No more waiting.” he growled into her ear.

He spun her around almost as quickly as her advanced reflexes would have allowed and pushed her onto the grass-covered roof. Her ass hit the grass hard, her breath momentarily stolen from her lungs. Even though she could see the pain he was in from the mounting need they had kindled for each other, he still took his fucking time stepping out of his pants and laying them on the ground.

She propped herself up on her elbows and marveled at the powerful creature before her. His body was magnificent. She’d seen many hard-muscled men before but this untamed animal trumped all others. Maybe it was the fact that his power level made the encounter more dangerous and exciting, he was on edge and there was always the possibility he could completely lose control with her. Whatever the enticement was, she knew she had never seen a person so beautiful before in her fifty-nine years.

Kerrick knelt his massive body on the grass and stretched out a hand for her to take. Cimby grasped it willingly and he pulled her up to his chest. Their bare flesh slapped together, pulling a groan from both their throats. Their lips met for what felt like the first time and the ferocity of need only increased, her teeth grazed his bottom lip and his hands found her ass, squeezing and probing. A tongue darted inside her mouth, seeking her tongue. They stroked each other’s mouths for what seemed like hours until she heard another frustrated groan come from him.

She looked down and saw the size of his shaft. The sheer force of it pressing against her abdomen had her shaking. She was so wet by then that she could have fit two of him inside her without a problem.

Kerrick hooked both his hands under her bottom and lifted her onto his lap, his legs folded beneath him. She wrapped her muscular legs around him, thrilled that she would finally get to feel him inside her but he had other plans.

“No,” he grunted and placed her back on the grass.

“What the fuck, Kerrick?” she yelled, trying to close the distance between them once more. He pushed her back down as if it were nothing.

“I know, but I’ve wanted this since our time on the mats.” He grabbed her legs and pulled them up around his neck, she hooked her ankles together for support. Kerrick plunged his tongue into her wet core while his hands held on to her thighs, tight as manacles. He then proceeded to slowly and skillfully fuck her with his tongue.

He sucked on her life’s fluid and flicked his tongue over her clit again and again. Cimby moaned with mindlessness and her Wolf whined with the need to have him inside her. Her hips writhed against his face from the power of his tongue caressing her folds and she couldn’t help the deep growl that escaped her breath as she came with the force of a lightning storm, the pleasure shooting through her body as if she’d been electrocuted.

He smiled and lowered her back to the ground “I needed to taste you.”

“I got that,” she said breathlessly. Cimby had had enough by now. She pulled his body over hers and guided the tip of his steal cock to her entrance. He hovered there for a few seconds, rubbing and teasing until hearing another frustrated growl contort the night air. He smiled and nodded at her.

She thrust up, taking him inside, not wanting to wait anymore. The weight and thickness of his shaft stretching her was enough to bring her to the edge once more. She howled into the night, composing a symphony with the ecstasy he wrought from her.

Kerrick pulled completely out once she’d finished writhing and with a hard and firm thrust, pushed into her again. She moaned his name. He pulled out all the way yet again and sank back in with a shove, even harder this time. Cimby growled, the feel of him remarkable, the fucking was intense but she knew she wanted him to do it to her over and over. Continuously he pulled out and pushed himself inside, making love to her, fucking her, claiming her in the purest of ways. He held her up by her legs again and this time they encircled his waist. He made sure she didn’t lock her ankles around his waist so he could separate their bodies for the long plunge inside.