Authors: Monica Burns

Assassin's Heart (18 page)

BOOK: Assassin's Heart

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The sound of Phaedra’s soft breathing reminded him of her immediate response to his breaking the wineglass he’d been holding. She’d not hesitated to reach out to him. Her selfless act had terrified him more than anything else could. The Praetorian side of him had been feeding his anger, and he’d instinctively known he wouldn’t be able to keep her from discovering his secret if she’d touched him. The darkness had been too close to the surface.

It had been an uncharacteristic response from him, and while regrettable, it had reinforced the fact that as Le
gatus
he wouldn’t tolerate disloyalty or disobedience. He frowned as he acknowledged one of the driving forces behind his reaction to Angelo’s conversation.

Technically, he was still a Prim
us Pilus
. When he’d accepted this mission, he’d gotten Atia’s promise that he could return to Chicago as Ares’s First Spear. And the fact that he was a half-breed Praetorian hunting for the Tyet
of Isis
made him uneasy about
Consul
Julius’s prophecy. He’d never really believed in prophecies or past lives, but tonight’s dinner conversation had pulled everything together in a way that made him desperately wish he’d never accepted this assignment.

Accept? He snorted softly at the notion. Atia had literally forced this mission on him. She’d been insistent to the point of threatening him with a demotion if he refused. Staring up at the ceiling, he remembered the dreams he’d been having for so long. He didn’t like it, but it was far too easy to recall how the woman in his dreams had called him Maximus.

He groaned at the thought, and Phaedra shifted beside him at the sound. Afraid he might wake her, he bit the inside of his cheek. Now that she was asleep, maybe the best thing to do would be to catch a few hours’ rest in his own room before he went searching for the enemy.

The soft floral scent of Phaedra’s hair filled his nostrils. Maybe he could hold her just a

little longer. There was no harm in that. Actually, it was crazy to stay here. It would only sharpen the pain of leaving her. Yawning, he ignored the thought. He just wasn’t ready to let her go. It was the last thing he remembered as he drifted off to sleep. That and the softness of the woman curled up against him.

SHE was still damp from her bath and smelled of blue lotus. The intense floral fragrance
was an intoxicating smell. It didn’t surprise him that his cock hardened at the sight of
her. She was beautiful. He stretched out his hand to her as she approached the bed. The
sight of her mischievous smile drew a low growl from him as she slipped her small hand
into his. It obviously amused her to see him aroused. He grimaced and she laughed.

“Just a few more weeks,
mea amor
.” Cassiopeia pressed her palm to her large belly. “I
miss loving you just as much as you do me.”

He gently tugged her down onto the bed. She uttered a soft grunt of discomfort as she
laid down and rolled onto her side to face him. His touch tender, he brushed a strand of
silky black hair out of her eyes. There was a glow about her that lit her up from the
inside. He’d never seen her more beautiful, and it made him ache for her.

The babe was due soon, but it had been six long weeks since he’d last lain with her. He
missed her. Although she’d satisfied him with her mouth whenever she sensed his need, it
wasn’t the same as burying himself inside her. Still, he wasn’t about to risk the life of his
son.

She’d even suggested he use one of the slave girls, but it had been easy to read her
thoughts and know she wanted him to refuse. It had been easy to say no. Not so much
because she wanted him to, but because he wanted no other woman but her. His hand
stroked her rounded stomach, and he chuckled as the child inside her kicked hard.

“He’s strong, isn’t he?” He laughed at her annoyed frown.

“You laugh because you’re not the one carrying this restless little one,” she said in a
nettled voice. “And how can you be so certain he isn’t a she?”

“Because my wife is dutiful and obedient.” He caught her hand in his and kissed her
fingers before grinning at her. “She wouldn’t think of bearing me anything but sons.”

“Now, you are acting like the skilled, confident general who expects all to go according
to his plan and no other.” The mischief in her statement made him chuckle.

“You exaggerate the skills of a simple soldier,
mea amor
.”

“Never. Maximus Caecilius Atellus, adopted son of Gaius Quinctilia Atellus, is Rome’s
greatest general,” she said with confidence. “After all, as his wife, I know it to be true.”

“A wife who, like any good legionnaire, will do her duty and produce a healthy son for

her lord and
dominus
.” He laughed loudly as she poked him in his shoulder at his
teasing.

“So if you’re so certain I shall bear you a son, what do you propose we call him?”

“Demetri.” The name came to him without hesitation.

“Demetri? But that’s a Greek name. Why not something like Augustus or Tiberius?”

“I wish to honor the man who brought us together.”

“But Octavian was the one who introduced us when he brought you to meet my father.”

“Yes, but it was a tribune by the name of Demetri Septimius who pointed you out to me
when we were at the Colosseum to see the chariot races. You were the most beautiful
creature I’d ever seen.” His soft words brought a smile of joy to her face as she touched
his cheek. There was no need to say anything more. He knew she could easily read his
heart.

“Then Demetri it shall be,” she whispered. A somber expression crossed her beautiful
features as she raised her hand to study the long scar on her palm. “Do you think he will
have your ability? I never received any special power from our bonding.”

“Perhaps not, but your blood will run through our son’s veins. That is a special power of
its own design.” He rolled onto his back and looked up at the fresco on the ceiling. “And
I confess I’m not sure I want him to. My abilities are more often a curse than an asset.”

“It’s not a curse,
mea cor
. It makes you stronger than your enemies.”

“You”—he turned his head and wrapped his arm around her shoulders to pull her close to
him as he smiled down at her—”are prejudiced.”

“Yes, I am. But that is because I love you so much.” The deep emotion in her voice made
him tighten his embrace.

“And I you,
mea dulcis
,” he murmured as she yawned and closed her eyes.

Moments later, he heard Cass’s soft breathing as she fell asleep. She was all he needed in
life, and the thought frightened him. If something were to happen to her and the babe—he
pushed the thought from his head and kissed her brow. He wouldn’t beg trouble. He’d
make an offering to Vesta tomorrow asking protection for Cass and their child. He
yawned. Vesta had always answered all of his prayers. His last thought as he fell asleep
was that he had no need to believe the goddess would do otherwise now.

HER touch made him stir as her mouth brushed against his. Delicious and enticing, the tip of her tongue laced against his lips, teasing him to open his mouth and give her entry. Still half asleep, he didn’t resist. It was a kiss of temptation, and he groaned softly as her tongue danced with his. She tasted sweet and far too tempting. The scent of her swept across his senses until his body was hard with need.

Deus
, he’d missed her. His fingers glided down a silky smooth arm to the wrist he’d held so tightly with his telekinetic ability earlier. With a gentle twist of her arm, she freed herself from his grasp and reached up to touch the demonic side of his face. He stiffened at the caress, but she deepened their kiss and pressed her body into his with an insistence he wasn’t capable of rejecting.

He grew rock hard, aching for the heat of her. Need barreled through him as he rolled her onto her back without breaking their kiss. Crushing his mouth against hers, he demanded a response that matched his. She answered his summons with a passion that made him hotter than he’d ever thought possible. Desire whipped through him, tugging at every cell in his body.

He wanted to touch her everywhere, bury himself inside her until he couldn’t tell where he ended and she began. A blinding need engulfed him, making him slide his mouth off hers and down the side of her neck to her shoulder. Nipping at her skin, he heard her suck in a sharp breath of pleasure as his thumb circled a hard nipple beneath satiny material.

Eager to reach the taut bud, he caught the narrow strap of her bra with his teeth and dragged it off her shoulder until the cup of the lingerie released the plump breast it cradled. He restrained himself from taking her in his mouth the instant she was free. He wanted some sign from her that her blood was running as hot as his was. Slowly, he brushed his mouth across her skin, waiting for her to plead with him to suckle her.

“Please.” Her whisper was hoarse with desire. “Please don’t tease me.”

“Am I teasing you, c
arissima?
” He edged his tongue close to the darkened skin near her nipple then blew lightly against her wet skin. Another mewl whispered out of her.

“You know you are. For the love of Deus, Lysander, please.”

The soft cry sent satisfaction sailing through him. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her. He answered her plea, gently nibbling on the tip of her until her hands cradled the back of his head and urged him to take her into his mouth completely. He obliged, savoring the incredibly sweet taste of her against his tongue.

With each stroke of his tongue, she writhed against him, her hips thrusting up against his erection in a silent demand for the ultimate pleasure. The scent of her desire drifted up to tease his nose, and still suckling her, he slid his hand down to the wisp of material that barely covered her. His fingers slid under the maroon slip of fabric to the core of her.

Heat greeted his fingers as he parted her velvety folds and touched the small flesh of her sex. A low cry of pleasure escaped her the moment his thumb rubbed across the sensitive nub.
Christus
, he wanted her. Suddenly, she pushed up against him until he obediently rolled onto his back. She followed him, straddling him until the seat of her was rocking back and forth across his cock.

The action shot a needy blast of desire through him, his body taut with a need to explode inside her. Her hands made short work of removing her bra, and he sucked in a quick breath at the beauty of her breasts. The moment she bent over him, he instinctively stretched out his hand to touch the silky black curtain that brushed the sides of her cheeks.

Cool air brushed his stomach as she pushed his knit sweater upward to give her mouth access to his waist and then his chest. All the while her mouth caressed him, her hips continued to rock over him, teasing his cock until it was ready to break through the leather pants he wore. Blind to everything around him, he visualized pulling her up over his chest as his hands shoved at his pants. In that instance, her sharp cry filled the air, and he saw a look of panic flash in her wide eyes. Fuck, his telekinetic touch had brought back the trauma she’d endured only hours ago.

“
Merda.
I must be out of my mind,” he rasped. His words were an understatement, and he knew it.

“Don’t, Lysander. It’s not your fault. You just startled me, that’s all.”

He ignored the pleading note in her voice.
Christus
, he should never have let it get this far. No. His first mistake was getting into bed with her. As gently as he could, he pushed her off him. She was simply reacting to what had happened to her at Hadrian’s temple. By initiating the sex, it was a way for her to be in control. Something she’d not had when that Praetorian
bastardo
had touched her.

“No,” he growled as he sat up. “This should never have happened. You put your trust in me to keep you safe, and I took advantage of that trust.”

“Deus, will you listen to yourself. You’re like some martyr unwilling to accept the fact that what just happened had nothing to do with that asshole.”

“No.” He jerked his arm out of her grasp and got off the bed. His hand grabbed a boot and tugged it onto his foot. “You’re the one unable to face the truth, Phaedra. You had no control over what he forced you to endure. Now you’re compensating.”

He pulled the other boot over his foot then stood up and headed toward the door. He didn’t believe for one minute that she wasn’t trying to regain some sense of control over her body. Over her mind, even her soul. And even if his mental caress might have just startled her, the moment had been sobering enough to bring him to his senses. He couldn’t believe how close he’d come to giving in to his need for her.

Behind him, he heard her scrambling off the bed. Fuck, if she stopped him now, he was

going to have to hurt her. Something he
desperately
didn’t want to do. She caught up with him before he was halfway across the room and gripped his arm with a strength that surprised him.

He flinched as he sensed the anger flowing through her fingers into his body. He recognized that anger. It was the same kind of fury that was with him every day, and he wasn’t sure it would ever leave him. He hoped for her sake that she would find a way to let her rage go.

“I’m not compensating for what happened to me. I’m not about to give that son of a bitch that much satisfaction. You’re using what happened to me as an excuse.”

“An excuse for what?”

“You’re running away from me—from what happened between us just now.” Her words were a dash of icy water in his face.

BOOK: Assassin's Heart

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