Chapter Five

A WEIRD THING HAPPENSas soon as I say the words, and when I see his dark eyes start to twinkle—-

This can"t be happening.

"I hate to be the one to break this to you—-" It"s his gentle voice again, and since I"ve always been a quick learner, I now know that sound means I"m in trouble.

"But yeah, asking me to kiss you made you blush."

I touch my cheeks, and my skin absolutely crawls at how hot they feel.

Yuck.

Just yuck, yuck, yuck—-and whoa!

I almost have my gun out from under the table when he suddenly grabs hold of his chest like he"s been shot.

"What is it?" I demand.

"You really are a killer, aren"t you?"

Has he suddenly lost his mind? Or his memory, at the very least? That we both know what it means to kill is the main reason why Thomas has set us up for a blind date, duh.

"And what makes it even more incredible is how you have no idea of what you"re doing." He looks at me with chagrin, and it"s my first time to feel intellectually disadvantaged. What, darn it? What am I missing?

"It"s your cheeks—-"

Aaargh!

This guy is unbelievably fast, and before I even realize he"s done something that can get his fingers yanked out of their sockets, he"s already managed to lean forward, pinch my cheeks, and chuckle as he leans back against his seat...and out of my reach.

"What do you think you"re doing?"I hiss.

"You only have your cheeks to blame." He shrugs as he says this, and I"m weirdly distracted by the massive breadth of his shoulders. "Seeing them all rosy like that has been fucking killing me."

The penny finally drops, and my skin doesn"t just start crawling.

The last time I felt this strongly was when I learned about Brenda and my brother-in-law being murdered. It was like having rage completely consume me, but this time...

Shit.

I feel like I"ve been thrown into a horrifying ocean of shit, and I"m just as horrified at the possibility that I might even hear more of those cringe-worthy lines in the future.

"How can you say that and still consider yourself sane?" I ask seriously. "It"s the grossest thing I"ve ever heard."

"I know," he says with a grin. "But it got the job done, didn"t it?"

What job? Is he an assassin now, and his first assignment is to have me die in disgust?

"You looked like you wanted to throw up when you realized you were blushing, and while you do look cute when you"re grossed out—-"

Did he just describe someone like me as...cute? Not beautiful, but...cute?

"The thought of you suffering didn"t actually sit that well with me—-"

Oh no.

"So I figured I should do something about it."

This is bad.

All those unexpectedly sweet and terribly misguided gestures of his finally make sense, and I look at him with genuine concern. "You"re a killer with a soft heart."

"And that"s a bad thing in your book?" His lips twitch at the end, but that only makes me worry over him more.

"It is very much a bad thing, yes." I look around us, and all the empty seats only adds to my gloom. "I know you"ve booked all the seats in this train, and I thought at that time it was great foresight on your part."

"Isn"t it?"

"I thought you were doing it to have as few witnesses as possible, in case one of us ends up killing each other."

"But instead, you realize...what?"

"That you just wanted to avoid having any innocent people get hurt, what else?"

He starts to grin, but I shoot the attempt dead with a glare.

"There is nothing funny about this."

His gaze turns contemplative, and I see his hand start to move.

Oh no. Don"t do it. No, no, no.

But he does end up doing what I fear: he"s rubbing his jaw thoughtfully, and my body"s reaction is also as I fear.

Sexy.

It"s completely baffling why I find this gesture or this posture - oh, I don"t even know what"s the proper way to call it. The only thing I know is that my heart races like an idiot when I see him like this, and now it"s even worse, with how he"s also gotten my stupid toes to curl.

"You seem to understand how my mind works pretty well—-"

And that disturbs him, naturally. No one in his right mind would be happy when finding out their mind is an open book to someone like me.

—-while I can"t even figure out why you wanted us to meet here. I want to be the one who understands you the most."

"Keep your enemies close, and your blind dates closer"is what he"s basically saying, and no words have been truer.

"I get what you"re saying," I feel obliged to acknowledge. "I know how you see me—-"

"I doubt you do."

"There"s no need to lie," I assure him. "I really do get that you see me—-"

"As my future wife?"

"As a potential threat—-" I say at the same time.

Uh. Wait. What?

I stare at him in confusion, and he laughs.

"You don"t believe me?"

"I"m not even sure what to think at this point—-"

"I can help you there," he says easily. "Just think of me, and we"re good."

No, I am not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing my lips crack even the slightest—-what the heck?

I tense up when he suddenly leans forward and clasps his hands over the lacquer table like what he"s about to say will get heads rolling.

"Now that we know where we each stand, shall we get back to discussing your reasons for choosing this place?"

And I"m right. Even with how silky his tone are, the glint in his eyes tells me he means business, and I can"t help thinking it"s my own head that"s destined to roll. It"s obvious he"s expecting me to reveal something profound—-

"Why this train ride?"

And I"m right again, darn it.

"I don"t want to lie to you..." It"s my first time to feel so humanly awkward as I speak, and I hate it.

"Then don"t. Just tell me the real reason—-"

So, so, unbelievably awkward, but if it"s the truth he really wants—-

"It"s because I have work to do at West Palm Beach."

"And?"

"And...I always take this train when going there?"

He stares at me, and it almost has me squirming in my seat.

Almost.

But not just yet, although I"m also weirdly convinced that having this guy in my life also means it"s only a matter of time before I experience some seat-squirming myself.

Another moment passes, and just when I"ve started to seriously consider lying about having another reason—-

"That"s really all there is to it?"

"Yes."

"I can"t say I"m not disappointed—-"

Is this the part he"ll tell me I"m not human enough for him?

"—-since I was kinda hoping for something kinkier."

Or not.

"I"m joking, by the way—-"

"I don"t think I can ever do kinky," I say at the same time, "but I"m very open-minded?"

His jaw snaps shut, and I"m not sure what to think when I see him go absolutely still while staring at me like I"m his teenage fantasy made real.

"Tell me more, please."

Is it just me, or has his voice turned unnaturally thick?

"Do you have any hard limits?"

And getting thicker by the second, too.

"Or can I really do anything I want with you? And to you?"

I finally realize that the thickness of his voice is all due to lust, and since I find it rather marvelously brave and indubitably crazy of him to lust after someone like me—-

"I don"t think I have any hard limits, physically speaking." The least I can do is give his question serious thought and answer honestly. "But I"m not sure I"ll ever be the type to scream "I love you" when having sex?"

He starts rubbing his jaw again, and I wonder if he"ll think I"m crazy if I tell him it"s when he"s doing that I"m likely more prone to saying those three yucky little words?

"Anything else I should know?"

"I get bored rather easily, but I can also get insatiably curious and greedy?"

"Like a cat." He purrs as he says this, and I barely manage to keep myself from rolling my eyes at the irony, which I"m sure is all deliberate on his part.

Why has no one ever told me how harder it is to date people than to kill them? Even my own family has certain lines they dare not cross in my presence, but this guy just doesn"t seem scared of me in any way.

I can"t read him at all, and more importantly-—

Why is he now laying a hand on his chest like he"s struck by Cupid"s arrow?

"You really are a girl after my own cock."

If Cupid worked for Hugh Hefner, that is.

"Or mouth."

I look at him blankly. "Come again?"

"I know our conversation has gone way off course, but surely you can"t have forgotten...?"

What is this man talking about?

"You asked me to kiss you. Remember?"

Oh.

Right.

I did forget about that, and when I see him start patting his lap with a wicked grin...

How incredible.

This man is really like no one else, with how good he is at making me feel not just human...but so, so womanly as well.

His gaze follows my every move as I swing my legs to the side before standing up.

I place my gun on the table, and he does the same.

My throat feels weirdly tight as I take a step towards him, and my heart is still racing like I"m back on the Most Wanted list, and FBI agents are nipping at my heels.

We both hear my breath catch when I"m finally standing before him, and because I"m not used to feeling this nervous and excited and confused all at once-—

I just want it to be over and done with right here and now, and a grunt slips past his lips as I plop myself down on his lap without warning.

Chemistry.

The word flashes in my mind when his big, hard cock twitches under my ass, and the folds of my pussy turn wet and swollen in response.

It"s chemistry alright, and it"s the kind that I thought was beyond reach for someone like me. It"s explosive and instant, but more than anything else, it also feels mind-blowingly and terrifyingly right.

"God, Kayra."

His voice is so, so much thicker now, and hearing him say my name still feels like a forbidden pleasure.

"You really don"t like taking it slow, do you?"

I start to shake my head.

"Then so be it."

I haven"t even figured out what those words mean when he"s already cupping my face with his big, strong hands.

"Close your eyes."

His voice is rough all of a sudden, and the sound so shockingly enthralling that I find myself doing as he commands. His head bends down as my eyes slowly drift close—-

Ooooh.

His hot breath tickles, and my grip on his shoulders tightens as his lips press gently against mine.

Magic.

It"s pure, sensual magic, but there"s no time to savor this because he"s giving me exactly what I want.

You really don"t like taking it slow...

And the next thing I know, it"s already his tongue sliding inside my mouth.