The chill left with the tide. His eyes found mine. “The harp?”
“Yeah, and I’ll brag: I’m certifiably amazing.” I knocked my elbow into his side and started walking parallel to the ocean. He kept up with ease. Didn’t pull away when the back of our hands skimmed against each other, fingers wondrously close to intertwining.
Ahead of us, a couple lay tangled together across a blanket, dying firelight bathing them in an orange glow. Lost in passion, the man traced the length of the woman’s neck with his lips and pushed her clothing aside. She caved in to him, not caring that they were in public. Not caring that we could see.
Their boldness struck me. “I can think of another thing I’m good at.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop myself.
Noc tensed, but something wonderfully hot flared within his obsidian gaze. “That so?”
We reached the far end of the beach, and both of us stilled, only inches apart. If I wanted to, I could reach out and graze his cheek. Lock my hands behind his neck and angle his face toward mine. I tipped my head up, heart thundering madly.
“Yes.” My gaze darted back to the couple just out of sight. He didn’t need to follow my eyes to know what I was looking for.
Noc clenched his hands. Released them. His stare shone bright. So much turmoil. Yes, this hadbad decisionwritten all over it. He was an assassin. I was his bounty. There were so many things that could possibly go wrong—for both of us. And yet, no matter how hard I tried to fight it, I found myself drawn to him. Pulled to him like the ocean waves were guided by the moon.
My breath caught as he inched closer.
“You’re trouble.” The words were a deep hum purring from the back of his throat, and he dipped his head low, almost as if he couldn’t help himself.
I traced the inside of my lower lip with my tongue, and his eyes targeted the motion. For the first time, I noticed a small crescent-moon scar above his left cheekbone, faded bone-white. I wanted to run my fingers over it. To lose my hands in the mess of his hair. To taste his lips and skin and feel the contours of his muscles hidden beneath his clothes. “I know.”
He was so close now, his lips inches away from mine. “I don’t think you realize what you’re doing to me.”
Heat from his breath scorched my skin, and a delicious chill swept across my neck. “I knowexactlywhat I’m doing. Let me show you.”
My fingers skimmed the side of his face, ghosting over that small scar.
“If you were smart, you’d stay away from me.” His voice was pained. I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was begging me to give up. To walk away. But I just couldn’t. Not when he was looking at me with enough heat to set the world on fire.
“Why? Because of the bounty? I’ll hold up my end of the bargain, I promise. We can enjoy each other, Noc. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
His body went rigid, playful eyes suddenly distant and unfeeling. “It’s a risk you shouldn’t take.”
“Risk?” I’d assumed being with an assassin would involve danger. But his edged words hinted at something else, as if his work was the least of my worries. What could possibly be more threatening? “I think you might be reading into this. I’m not looking for something permanent. Just maybe—”
“No, Leena. Find enjoyment elsewhere.” Darkness surged, and Noc disappeared, leaving behind nothing more than his honeyed scent.
Angry heat bloomed in my chest, and I scrubbed my lips with the back of my hand to try to wipe away the feeling of his nearness. But that was the problem with honey—wiping was more like smearing, and suddenly I was covered in the sting of his rejection and wishing I’d thought twice before flirting with a harbinger of death.
Twelve
Noc
Leena had a hidden talent—shadow walking. Throughout the day, our group meandered through the town while she hammered locals for information on beast sightings. And while she was there, walking just in front of me beside Ozias and Calem, she wasn’t. She never looked at me. She never spoke directly to me. And I couldn’t blame her. I’d left her high and dry, even if it was for her own good.
But gods, had it been hard. I’d wanted to kiss her so very badly.
I just wasn’t sure I could without killing her. A risk I’d never taken again since Bowen. Could I really detach enough to simply enjoy her touch?
My stomach tied into knots again at the thought. Anything more than trivial conversation opened the door for emotions, and those couldn’t get involved. Not with a bounty and a curse to consider. The former becoming a more pressing issue, given we were being watched.
My hands curled into fists. I didn’t like being monitored, and the mere thought of that smug prick studying us made me want to spend my hours locked in the shadow world.
We’d abandoned the crowded beaches of Ortega Key for a more remote inlet in search of a beast Leena had sensed. The waning sun set fire to thousands of smoothed crystals mixed in with the white sand, and the pastel-lilac sky slipped toward a deep blue. The night air was calm. Quiet. The constant ebb and flow of the ocean waves masked the muted conversation between my comrades, and Leena halted. Gaze lingering on the horizon, she studied an island in the distance shrouded in mist.
Everything around us reminded me of last night. The call of the ocean. The slowly darkening sky and the first smattering of stars. Her gaze, lost and longing, as she looked out over the sea. How close I’d come to kissing her.
“What kind of beast are we looking for?” Calem sidled in closer, and their shoulders brushed. My fingers twitched.
