But he was the last of his mother’s sons. If he walked away from his lineage, it would destroy her. She would be honor bound to kill herself. It was acceptable for one son to leave their lineage.
Not two.
While his mother no longer cared much for him, she cared about her lineage and honor. He couldn’t buy his happiness for such a cost. The one thing he’d learned in his life was that no one could build a better future over the corpses of others. Better he should suffer for eternity than save himself at the expense of his family.
It was the Andarion way.
And he was an Andarion War Hauk.
It was his duty to serve his family and people. To honor them no matter the personal sacrifice.
But in the back of his mind was an image of Sumi in his family paint. And a burning in his gut to have a female, just once, accept him as mate-worthy and not look at him as if he was a total piece of shit.
CHAPTER 12
Sumi came awake slowly to a deep warmth. When she reached to rub her eyes, her hand brushed against rock-hard skin. Startled, she jumped and slammed her head straight into Dancer’s face.
He muffled a curse as he moved his jaw to make sure it still worked. He frowned at her. “Morning, mia.”
Horrified at what she’d done, she cupped his jaw in her hand. “Oh, Dancer, I’m so sorry. I forgot where I was.”
“It’s fine. You’re not the first one to slap me awake. Doubt you’ll be the last.”
That didn’t make her feel a bit better. Before she could stop herself, she pushed up in his arms to place a chaste kiss on his lips then one on his cheek where she’d inadvertently struck him. “Better?”
He brushed the back of his finger over her face. “For that, mu tara, you can hold my head in a grinder.”
His offer amused her. “By Andarion standards, is that better or worse than a toilet?”
He arched a surprised brow. “You heard that yesterday?”
She nodded. “So how many times did your brother dunk your head, anyway?”
“Enough that Fain swears the oxygen dep gave me permanent brain damage.”
Laughing, she rolled her eyes at him. “You’re terrible.”
“Fain’s words, not mine.” He took a deep breath as his eyes teased her playfully. “I wish I could keep you here against me, but the kids are waking.”
Which meant Darice would stroke if he caught them like this. She would say screw it, but didn’t want Dancer in trouble with Dariana.
Reluctantly, she withdrew from him and stood up just a few heartbeats before Darice came bounding out of the cave as if the little booger knew she was standing too close to his uncle.
I swear that little bastard has radar.
He gave them a suspicious look, but for once kept his mouth shut. “Is there any of that stew left from last night? It was good.”
Sumi tsked at him. “The surprise in your voice as you say that almost offends me.”
Darice grinned at her. “Yeah, but —”
“I’ll have it heated in a few minutes.”
Yelping in happy delight, he ran off toward the stream to wash and dress.
“Wow,” Sumi breathed at his uncharacteristic enthusiasm. “I had no idea it was that easy to reprogram his attitude. I should have made stew my first night.”
Dancer laughed. “They say the quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. For Andarions, it’s even more true.”
“And here The League taught me that the quickest way to a man’s heart was through the chest cavity. Shows what they know, huh?”
With the sexiest smile she’d ever seen, Dancer scraped his fangs against his bottom lip. “I love it when you talk assassin to me.”
Laughing, she wrinkled her nose at him. “You’re so sick. Why am I so attracted to you?”
They both sobered as those words left her lips. For several heartbeats neither of them moved as the words hung heavy between them. And lit a fire in his eyes that made her heart quicken.
Finally, Sumi cleared her throat. “I know you’re pledged, Dancer. I didn’t mean to trespass.”
He looked away, but not before she saw the regret in his eyes. The sad torment. “I should check on Darice. He has all the hygiene of a wild torna.”
Sumi wanted to kick herself as she watched him walk away. Why did I say that? What is wrong with me?
She knew better. But something about Dancer sucked all her common sense out and made her forget everything, except the beauty that was a fierce Andarion male and her desire to make him laugh and smile.
Leaning her head back, she glared up at the sky. I swear I’m going to keep my hands away from him.
Her thoughts, too.
She had no choice. Even if she wasn’t here to gather evidence against him, she knew that there was no chance in hell for a future with him.
His love for Fain would never allow it. It would kill his brother to see them together, knowing they had divorced because Omira refused to have Fain’s children. That would be the cruelest blow of all.
No, come hell or high water, she would stop this before it went any further.
Sumi had almost convinced herself of that when Darice returned to eat the stew she’d warmed for breakfast. Thia had just awakened and was still yawning as she sat next to the fire.
As Sumi went to get some food for herself, she heard the dreaded symphony of a war zone. Both of the kids bolted to their feet beside her. Her heart hammering, she motioned for Thia to cover her, and return to the cave for protection while she headed for the battle.
And a battle it was. Near the stream where he’d gone to bathe, Dancer was pinned down near a short outcropping of rocks by three men. She could tell by the dimness of the blasts that Dancer was almost out of ammunition. It was what the assassins were waiting for.
As soon as he was empty, they’d end him.
What they didn’t know was that Dancer had a secret weapon. And she was about to unleash hell on them for daring this. Moving silently and with every bit of League training she’d mastered, Sumi closed the distance between her and Dancer’s attackers.
She caught the first one completely unaware. Shooting him in the back, she rolled and dropped a bead on the second one. He dodged her blast and returned fire. Anger pounded through her that she’d missed what should have been an easy mark.
Grinding her teeth, she threw a fully charged blaster to Dancer and then laid down cover fire for him so that he could reach it. As soon as he had the weapon, he took the one on her left and she finished off the third.
Crouching low, he closed the distance between them. “Thank you.”
“Any time, big guy.” She clapped him on the arm as she skimmed the bodies around them. “Is this all of our party crashers?”
“Think so.” Still wary, he went to search the body closest to him. “They’re a little more high-tech than our last batch of friends. These came with short-distance radios.”
Given the magnetic field here that played havoc with electronics, they’d have to have some serious credit invested in those radios for them to work. “How many?”
“Dozen. I was trying to get them farther away from your position when they cornered me. Told you this place sucks for defense.”
“Sorry.” Sumi holstered her weapon. “You’re a little hard to move when you’re unconscious.”
Instead of being offended, he actually grinned. “So I’ve been told. Least you didn’t wrench my arm out of its socket trying.”
Her gut clenched at the thought of how much that would have to hurt. “Happen to you often?”