AllFreeNovel
Share Us
An image flashes in my mind, a tattoo of a red dragon, but I haven’t found anybody yet. And whoever it is they better hope I don’t find them.
I nod at the gym. “We’re here to teach you a few fighting techniques, Kelly.”
“What?” she laughs. “Um, I don’t want to break into your dream land or anything, but I’m not much of a fighter.”
“We’re all fighters. It’s just most of the time we get a choice. But sometimes, we don’t, and then we have to be ready.”
“Is that what you are?” she says, moving closer. “Ready?”
“I was supposed to not be touching you, hellcat.”
“Oops,” she giggles. “So do you know some martial arts, huh, big impressive ninja man?”
I groan and laugh at the same time, deep voiced, husky. “I can box and I can do a bit of wrestling, and that’s been enough to see me through these forty-two damn years so far.”
“So, what, you’re going to teach me how to karate chop somebody into a coma?”
I smooth my hands down her body, tickling her.
“You won’t stop, will you?” I smirk. “I can show you how to throw hands, sure. But really, this was just an excuse to get close to you. Because I don’t intend on you ever having to lift a finger to defend yourself. The second a threat appears, I’ll savage it, like a starving wolf tossing its catch side to side to snap its neck, that’ll be me, on any bastard who touches you, or tries to touch you. Or even thinks about fucking touching you.”
Her eyes go wide, flaring, under the velocity of my words.
“So you always knew you’d just know her – me – when you saw me?”
“Yes,” I say. “I did. I don’t know why, but I always had this feeling. I trusted my instincts.”
“It just seems so crazy. I don’t know if I ever believed in soulmates or anything before, but I felt the same. The second I saw you, I’m not saying we’re soul—I’ll shut up now.”
She mimed zipping her lips shut and chucking away the key, and I mimed bending down and picking the key up, and unlocking her lips. And for a brief instant I felt what it’d be like to properly be with a woman. Even if that woman is Jace’s daughter and hell might very well get unleashed on Aslado when he finds out.
“I know what you mean,” I say. “It shouldn’t make sense.”
“But it does,” she says in wonder. “It’s just this feeling, this inner-body thing, it’s just telling me this is right. Do this.”
“Me too. It’s my seed. I can feel it, my hunger to pump a baby into you. And yours is your womb, I bet, just as desperate for my seed.”
“It is,” she moans. “I don’t want you to think that just because I have, you know, issues or whatever, it doesn’t mean I don’t want you, Kane.”
“When the time comes,” I tell her. “We’ll listen to our instincts. Our primal fucking instincts. But don’t you dare feel guilty about making me wait, because it’ll only be sweeter when you’re ready. But I warn you, I’ll be hungrier, too.”
“I want you starving,” she whispers, eyes flickering, lips parted as though she half wants to take the words back. Her shyness slackens and her eyes fill with confidence. “Wild. Savage.”
“I will be with you,” I growl. “Just for you.”
We stare into each other’s eyes for a long time, our noses touching.
I feel like I can see our future in her luscious green eyes, me walking out onto a lawn and there she is, my queen, with five or six children around her. Her wearing a long skirt that does nothing to hide the perfect curves underneath, and turning to me and smiling, hair long and blonde, and it’s all goddamn perfect.
“What are you thinking about?” she whispers.
“Just us,” I growl. “Just … the future.”
“Care to share with the class?”
“Maybe,” I say. “But we should probably go inside. We’re not going to get any training done out here.”
I take her hand and together we head for the gym, walking to the entrance.
I reach inside my jacket for the key and then, from the town behind us, three bang-bang-bang noises ring out.
Gunfire.
I spin and look up just in time to see men walking around the corner, tattooed men wearing gang colors and with a Cartel look about them.
They’re holding guns and when they see us, they lift them.
I grab Kelly and tackle us through the door, shielding her and taking both of our weight onto my back, the door swinging open with the key dangling in the hole.
I just managed to get it in and turn it.
A second later and one of us might be dead.
I grab my gun from my shoulder holster and aim it at the open doorway, heartbeat slow, veins ice cold.
