“More times than Nyk wants to admit.”
“Nyk?”
“Thia’s father.”
It was the first time he’d used Nykyrian’s name with her, and he was way too cautious, even wounded, to let it slip out. Dancer was learning to trust her.
Sumi didn’t know why, but that sent a rush of warmth through her. When he turned, she saw the blood on the back of his shirt. Worried about him, she went over and lifted the hem to investigate the blood’s source.
He tugged it down, out of her hands. “What are you doing?” he asked in an agitated tone.
She gave him a droll stare. “Oh, I don’t know… I was considering molesting you on top of these grotesque dead bodies. Ripping your clothes off and running my hands all over that long, hard body until you beg for mercy. What do you say, babe? Want to add something exotic to your diet?”
He gaped so widely, it exposed his fangs.
Laughing, Sumi tsked at him. “Oh my God. So that’s what stark terror looks like on that gorgeous face. Who knew?” She winked at him. “Relax, sweetie. I was joking. Just wanted to check your wounds. See if you pulled the stitches out.”
“Oh.” He finally relaxed as he flipped her rifle up to hold it over his shoulder. “Only a few.”
A few?
“Dancer!”
“What?” he asked in an equally irritated tone. “If you’d cauterized it, I wouldn’t have done it.”
Oh yeah, this was so her fault. “I was trying to save you the pain of a burn wound.”
“Pain is pain. Does it really matter if it’s from a burn or a stitch?”
He had a point, but she didn’t want to admit it. “How are you feeling?”
“Hungry.”
She arched a brow at the unexpected answer. “Killing humans makes you hungry?”
“Killing, breathing, bathing, basically everything makes me hungry. Syn swears I’m still in my growing phase.”
Sumi snorted. One day, she really wanted to meet this Syn. “It’s good to have Your Snarky Highness back. I’ve missed you.”
When she started away, he gently caught her arm and held her by his side. Unsure of what he needed, she stared up into those haunting, eerie eyes. He looked as if he wanted to say something to her. Instead, he bit his lip then placed his cheek against hers in the tenderest of gestures.
Hauk closed his eyes and savored the warmth of her skin on his and the scent of her hair as he fought the craving inside to kiss her. It was absolutely searing.
More than that, he wanted to bury himself deep inside her body. To have her do exactly what she’d teased. To ride him until he begged her for mercy.
Stand down, soldier. You belong to another.
Yeah, but Dariana didn’t want him. Not for anything other than target practice.
Grinding his teeth, he forced himself to step back. But as he did so, he made the mistake of looking at Sumi. The hunger in her eyes matched his own. More than that, it stoked the heat in his body to a frightening level.
One kiss…
He could already taste it.
Don’t! Dariana waits for you.
But it wasn’t Dariana he wanted. She had been Keris’s love, never his. And in this moment, he totally understood why Keris had been willing to slit the throat of any male who glanced at her. Why Fain had denied them all to be with Omira.
He felt the same way for Sumi. A fierce protectiveness to keep her safe from all others.
The memory of the concern on her face when she’d found him pinned down and the way she’d handled herself in the fight…
He would kill to have the honor of lying inside her.
Just once.
But he knew better than to let such thoughts tempt him. That path led him straight to death.
Sumi held her breath as she waited for Dancer to deliver the heated kiss his eyes promised her. Never once in her life had she felt this kind of craving for any male. All she wanted was to bury her hands in his braids and straddle him until neither of them could walk without limping.
Kiss me…
Instead, he blinked twice then went to review their attackers. That aggravated her enough that she actually kicked the assassin’s body at her feet.
Damn, stupid Andarion customs! It was so unfair that she didn’t dare encroach on a male it was obvious Dariana had no intention of accepting. Ever. She didn’t believe for one second that the bitch would make good her promise to take him.
She had no doubt that Dariana would find a way to turn him away again.
You’re a League assassin, Sumi. Remember that. She was here to hurt him, not straddle him.
Yeah.
Even more frustrated, she kicked the assassin’s legs again, just for spite.
Dancer flipped one of the bodies over to search the man’s pockets.
“Incas?” she asked.
Nodding, Dancer moved to search another body. “Who are these bastards? Why are they coming for me now?”
“I don’t know.” She sighed as she scanned their civilian clothes. “But I know The League wouldn’t do this.”
“They would if I gave them cause.” He clicked his tongue teasingly. “But I’m not quite that stupid. At least not yet.”
She didn’t comment. As she searched the body at her feet, she froze. His armband had a receiver on it.
Was that…
Frowning, she pulled it off to study it and see if her suspicions were right. She angled it in different directions to pinpoint what it was tracking.
Sure enough, it went straight to Hauk.
Every time.
“Dancer?”
He faced her with a harsh grimace. “Why are you using a name you know annoys me?”
“Bitch about it later. I have something more important.” She handed him the tracker.
He scowled at it as he realized the same thing she had. “Shit.”
“Yeah. They’re definitely tracking you.”
And if this one set of assassins had a trace on him, others most likely did too. Or if they didn’t, they could hone in on this frequency.
Dancer angled it toward the cave where the kids were hiding, then to her. As before, it only pointed to him. His frown deepened as he shook his head. “This makes no sense. I’m not tagged. I would have known had I been implanted… unless…” He handed her the tracker then began disrobing.
Oh, hello…
She definitely liked this new turn of events.
Heat scalded her cheeks at the sight of all that rippling muscled flesh as he unwound all the leather straps from his arms and braces and then dropped his shirt to his feet.
Dear gods. Even scarred, he was a fierce, fabulous male.
His gaze met hers expectantly.
What did that look mean? Was it an invitation? Oh yeah, baby. Gimme!
Her throat suddenly dry, she couldn’t think. All she could do was gape.
“Well?” he asked.
“Well what?”
“Is it in my clothes or my body?”
Ah… so that was why he’d given her this show. A slow smile curved her lips as a very naughty thought went through her mind. “Maybe we should remove your pants to be sure. What do you think?”
He laughed, flashing a bit of fang at her. “This is serious, Sumi.”
“As am I,” she mumbled as she moved closer to him. “We really should be very thorough. Just in case.”
But he wasn’t so accommodating.
Pouting, she scanned him. The signal strengthened. She aimed it to his clothes and it lessened. “Bad news, big guy. It’s not your clothes.”
Using the tracker, she ran it up and down his back to see where the signal was strongest. “It seems to be right in the center of your spine.” She put her finger on the exact location. “Could it be your League chip reactivated?”