Chapter 9

Lexi

I was starting to understand Rurick a little better. He definitely had a very dented moral compass, but when he said that he'd never hurt me, I believed him. How could I not? After all he'd done for me? There was just this part of me that kept on insisting that I could believe him, I kept catching myself relaxing in his presence because it felt so right.

Crazy as it was, I was starting to believe in this Terafin mating bond thing. It was the only explanation. After being alone all year and struggling to make enough money just to survive and pay the bills… The temptation of finding this bond with someone was strong. I wanted to belong to this one person without a shred of doubt, and find that sense of home and family again.

That he'd caved on handing off those documents despite his own inclination not to made me realize that I might have far more power in this relationship than it looked at first glance. Then I shook my head when I realized I was already thinking of myself as being in a relationship with Rurick. I wondered what my father would think if he knew I was seeing a killer for hire, would he roll over in his grave? Would he think Rurick wasn't good enough? Or would he not care as long as he treated me right?

I suspected I knew the answer. To make ends meet in our tiny household, my father hadn't always worked the most savory of jobs either. I remembered seeing him come home late at night with blood on his knuckles more than once.

Rurick trapped my fingers against his chest, "Now that I've given in, how about we celebrate your little victory?" He made it sound like it was a great battle when all it had taken was an eyebrow raise in the end. He was a total pushover, and I intended to make sure he'd do the right thing more often if I felt it was necessary.

"Oh yeah, what kind of celebration did you have in mind?" I asked teasingly. I already knew where his mind had headed. With that luxurious, big bed right there taking up half the space in this small living area, it had been on my mind a lot too. I didn't feel like resisting this lure. I was already with an assassin, what did it matter if things moved fast? Really fast, but boy had it been exciting and hot so far. If there was one thing I knew I could trust, it was that Rurick would deliver me pleasure.

He moved his hand along my wrist, two calloused fingertips sliding over the sensitive skin there and just beneath the cuff of my sleeve. "Why don't I show you how a Terafin treats his mate?" he drawled huskily and he took a step, his foot ending between mine, his leg brushing my inner thighs. When he moved again I felt like he was maneuvering me like we were in a dance. Making me back up in gliding steps with him, with just his legs, the slight touch on my wrist, and one hand gently cupping the small of my back.

The back of my legs hit the edge of his bed but I didn't stumble, his hands made sure I was lowered gently down onto the soft mattress and fluffy blankets. For a man in such a hard profession, his bed was soft like a cloud, I liked that, that he enjoyed those little luxuries.

He made short work of my shoes, and toed off his own boots, his leather jacket thudding to the ground with a heavy sound. The mattress dipped beneath my body when he pressed one knee into it between my legs, his fists catching his weight on either side of my head. He looked sexy and dangerous in the skin-tight gray shirt that clung to every sexy muscle. His body was delineated by the straps of the various weapon holsters that crossed his chest.

A gun holster around his shoulder, the laser pistol hanging beneath one arm against his ribs. A belt with throwing knives around his middle, and another long knife sheath that followed the curve of his spine. My blood simmered at the sight of all that hardware, he was the ultimate bad boy, and he was ready to ravage me.

I licked my dry lips and his bright azure eyes honed in on the movement, his pupils growing larger. "Lexi, my sweet sweet Tally. Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?" he said, and then he dipped his head and kissed me. Our tongues tangled, his taste swept across my senses until all I knew was him. My body burned up beneath him and all he'd done was love my mouth.

Then his hand cupped my hip, his grip firm and possessive. It slid up my side beneath my comfy sweater and oversized shirt with one destination in mind. His hand folded around my lace-clad breast and gently squeezed but the pinch that followed was firm, sensation bolting through me so hard and fast that I squeaked and arched my back. The grin he gave me was smug and satisfied, he knew exactly what that did to me. It was a little evil too, and I knew he was going to tease me until he drove me crazy this time around.

"Bring it!" I hissed at him, reaching up to cup one of the few parts of his body notbristling with weapons. I squeezed his tight ass and laughed when that made him groan, his hips coming down on mine to press a thick, hot erection against my flesh.

"You are playing with fire," he warned. Snapping out his hands he caught mine deftly and soon I found them pinned above my head, his grip firm and unyielding. "That's not the deal tonight, not yet anyway." With a ripping noise, he freed the belt around his hips, the one holding up his pants, not the one with the knives. He yanked it from the loops in one fluid move and for some reason, I found that insanely sexy.

I wasn't sure what to think when he expertly formed a loop with the leather band that he hooked around my wrists. When the leather tightened against my skin, my core spasmed on nothing, aching to be filled. I found myself strapped to a convenient handhold against the wall, stretched out across his bed. More aroused than I'd ever been, and we were both still fully clothed.

He rose to his feet next to the bed and started pulling weapons and straps from his body; his eyes burning into me the entire time. They clattered carelessly to the ground except for the pistol which he tucked into a slot next to the bed, clearly meant for easy access. Seeing just how many weapons he wore was just another turn-on I discovered, it drove home just how dangerous he was. Playing with fire was simply hot.

Once his weapons were gone he shifted his focus to my clothing, in short order he'd taken my leggings and already-soaked panties from my body. Followed by pushing my shirt and sweater up and over my head, where they served as another tie to keep my arms in place. His expression was stern as he perused my body, focus in every deliberate movement he made.

Spreading my thighs he stared at my folds until I squirmed, nobody had ever looked that long and hard at my privates, it was making me uncomfortable. When he leaned in closer and licked with the flat of his tongue along my clit, any such thoughts instantly fled my mind. I moaned with abandon and yanked on my restraints, my hips canting to meet his mouth.

Filling me with a finger, he pumped it into me, a slick sound filling the air. That was easy, that single finger, but when he pushed in a second, I felt a stretch and burn. It only enhanced the feelings he was pulling from me with every expert flick of his tongue. I was climbing to the precipice, ready to tumble over when my body finally accepted those two digits with ease, and that's when he pulled back.

"Ah, Tally, I could do this for hours. But that's not what you need right now, is it? You already sang for me twice this evening. Now it's my turn." I didn't think he really believed that, my assassin was extremely giving in the bedroom. Withholding my orgasm now was just another way to ramp up the pleasure later. Didn't mean I liked it.

"You're a bastard," I said, canting my hips I bent my knees to plant my feet on the mattress. His eyes remained locked on my passage, the blue swirling like mercury in his gaze. Now he was the one licking dry lips but he wasn't derailed, not yet. A grin teased at his lips, hinting at the sharp fangs.

"I've been called far worse, Tally. Don't worry, I'll take care of you." I knew he would, but I wanted it now! When he shrugged out of his form-fitting shirt, that helped a little, my eyes eagerly trailing over his dusky golden skin. He was an athlete through and through, his muscles a work of art, his abs sexy as sin. I loved the little golden trail of hairs leading into his pants, and when he opened the snap and freed his rampant cock, all thoughts fled my mind.

Long and thick, the head was more narrow and arrow-shaped but the ridge that defined it was double, each a finger-thick bump. My mouth watered at the sight of the pearly hint of precum already leaking from the tip but I needed him to fill me even more. Thankfully, for this, he didn't make me wait.

He didn't even pull off the rest of his pants, just settled himself between my legs, one hand holding his cock so he could notch it against my opening. His bicep bulged next to my head as he leaned on it but I ignored that sexy view for the sight between my legs. If I canted my head just right, I could watch as the narrow cock head pushed into me. The dual ridge flaring widely below it. He was big, but I was wet and well-prepared.

My passage fluttered around him as he pushed in, my body already so primed that I was right back at the precipice once more. I felt it as those ridges scraped along my insides, stroking along sensitive nerves. "Oh…" I sighed and his eyes grew more heated, possessive.

Gripping my hip, he pinned me in place and then he pushed in with a firm, hard thrust. Pleasure spiraled through me, and when he pulled back out and did it again, I spiraled higher. The pace he set was rough, fast, and bone-meltingly good. When he bottomed out I felt it so deep, and each push and pull rubbed along a sensitive spot that made me see stars.

"Come for me, Tally," he demanded, and damn it, how did he know I was so close? When he flicked a thumb over my clit and pressed, I bowed up, pressure releasing as the best orgasm yet hit me like a tidal wave. Tears sprung to my eyes and for a blinding moment, I felt so connected, so together with him that it felt like I'd never be alone again.