Makar

MAKAR

Some murders were easy. That one wasn't. Not because of who I killed but because of who saw me do it.

Sure, she saw me kill before. But nothing like this.

I already lost my temper with Sophia and scared her enough. Then, before I could even apologize, I tortured a man in front of her.

Slowly, painfully, and without remorse for taking his life. She just saw the deepest, darkest part of me, and I was unsure how she would take it.

That's why I stood while leaning on the desk, looking at Goran's dead body for so long. I couldn't bring myself to face her. I should have sent her out into the waiting room, but the thought of even a door between us made me wild.

This is the end of us. Maybe it's for the best. She should leave. She should have never been brought into this type of danger. I should have known better than to purchase her at the club. I should have let her be free, not taken her for myself. My selfishness has ruined her life.

"Makar," she began quietly from the chair.

I didn't turn around. I couldn't. Instead, I pulled off the worm from the comm unit, shoving it into my pocket.

Focus on the job.

It was what I should have done all along.

I lifted my head to the ceiling and exhaled, collecting myself. It was time to let her go.

"Hey," she said gently. "Can you look at me?"

"Why?" I muttered, shaking my head. "You want to look into the eyes of a killer?"

"Makar," she chuckled, surprising me enough to turn my head around slightly. I only saw the outline of her in the chair through the water in my eyes. "You killed all of the applicants, the pastry chef, and now, Goran. Oh, don't forget the Voleks and those guys back at the bar when we met. You think I don't know who you are by now?"

I scoffed. "Who I am is someone you should never have met."

Something smacked into my side. Startled, I looked down to find the balled up binding on the floor by my feet.

"Don't be an idiot," she snapped, her chin high. "You saved me. Even after I fell into Goran's stupid trap." Her lips trembled, just a bit.

"I should have known the text didn't come from you. Should have checked. I was just so happy to hear from you…" The delicate lines of her throat caught my eye as she swallowed. "I'm so sorry."

"No, don't." In a moment, I was at her side, my hands wrapping around the back of her head, my fingers entangled in her hair. She did the same before pulling me into a full embrace.

I held her as tight as I could. I felt like, if my arms ever left her body, she would float out into the depths of space, and I would never find her again.

Loving Sophia was like trying to contain a shooting star. If you were to put it in a bottle, the glass would explode. She would soar right past you if you were even a second late in trying to catch her. She was a force of nature, a fleeting and beautiful piece of the galaxy that was made more precious because she was a rarity.

And like a shooting star, she would choose her own path. Regardless of what I did, said, or thought, she would make her own decision on whether she wanted to stay. I had to let her make that choice, but I needed to get everything off my chest first.

I pulled back from the embrace and looked into her teary eyes. "I need you to know what I was coming here to tell you before this all went sideways."

"Tell me? You were going to tell me something?" She sniffled.

"Yes." I pulled my arms back from her and took a deep inhale. "I love you, Sophia. I have for a while, but I was too stupid to see it until last night. The way I talked to you and raised my voice at you wasn't right. And the hole in the wall…"

I scoffed and shook my head, filled with disappointment over myself. "That should never have happened. There's no excuse. I'm sorry for scaring you. Even more…" I took her hand in mine and ran my thumb over it. "I'm so sorry I walked out. I should have stayed. You needed me, and I left you. I need to own my part in that."

"Makar, it's okay."

I sighed again. "No, but there's more."

Why couldn't I come up with a better way to do this?

"I meant what I said. I had a hunch you were my mate, but I wasn't sure. Now, I believe that you are." I cleared my throat, remembering there was a dead body behind us.

Do I really want to do this here?

"Hold on." I stood up and extended my hand to her. She looked at me with confusion. "If you'll give me the opportunity, I want to show you something."

"Of course," she replied gently, sliding her hand into mine.

Carefully, I lifted her into my arms. "Close your eyes."

I knew she saw the devastation of the restaurant already on the screens, the bodies, the blood.

But still, I wanted to cherish her, protect her from everything.

"You're silly," she answered, but obeyed, her long lashes brushing against her cheeks as I made my way through to the back staircase.

I had never been that nervous before. Everything I did seemed wrong because I wanted so badly for the moment to be right. I felt like if it didn't go off without a hitch, she would surely leave, even if my words were sincere.

Up to the highest level, the VIP room, where a single tiny table draped in a rich russet and gold brocade sat before one of the few viewing bays on the station.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"The reason Goran built his restaurant here." I pointed to the gas giant that loomed in the distance, its pastel hues swirling. "That's Kannatos."

She looked out of the window with awe. I stood beside her, wanting to put my arm around her or kiss her, anything. The best thing for me to do was to let her have her space for a moment in the silence before continuing. If she was going to leave me, I had to get used to not hearing her voice.

"It's beautiful," she said gently.

"It is," I replied, shifting my gaze to her. When she locked eyes with me, I felt my heart jolt in my chest.

Just fucking do it.

I knelt before her quickly, almost abruptly.

"Your leg!" she squeaked.

"Do you think that matters right now?" I answered. "Sophia, I love you. I want you to be my mate. I want to make you mine forever."

As the words shot out of my mouth, my chest constricted with panic.

After all that worrying, I couldn't come up with anything better than that?

To my surprise, she smiled at me before kneeling before me herself. She placed her hand on my cheek, but I couldn't make out her expression.

What was she thinking?

"Makar, I love you, too." She paused, making me think there was more to the sentence.

"But I'm an assassin," I stated quietly, looking at the floor. "I know, look what you saw back there. I know it must have been terrifying…"

"Good galaxies, Makar, can you let me talk?" she chuckled. I pursed my lips and nodded before looking at the ground. That was not the time for my babbling nonsense. "I love you, too, and you are a ruthless assassin. You killed a total of six people today, and it's not even breakfast time. You brutally tortured a man in front of me. I've never seen that much blood in my life. Yes, you also have a temper. You punched a hole in the wall of a space station. "

I kept my head down. I would rather she just say we were through than list all the reasons why beforehand.

"But you are also an incredible baker." She laughed. "You are an amazing sex partner, a wild conversationalist, a loose cannon, incredibly strong, and…" Her voice trailed off before she lifted my chin to meet her gaze. "And no one has ever treated me better than you have. I would love to be with you forever."

"What?" I asked, jerking my head away from her before shaking it. "I'm sorry, I just, what? You're not leaving me?"

"What?" she asked sarcastically while raising an eyebrow. "You think you can find a better baking and assassination assistant in this galaxy?"

"No, absolutely not!"

I sighed and hugged her while looking out of the window at the stars. As I held the woman I loved more than life itself close to my chest, I watched a shooting star pass by us.

It turned out, you can catch one, you just have to give it room to be wild. I was in love with every sense of her passionate, fiery soul, and I never wanted to shut that down.

I pulled back from our embrace, and we laughed in unison before I kissed her. Before breakfast, after a brutal killing spree, in a tiny room, I finally found my mate.

It was as imperfect as it could have possibly been and perfect all the same.