The Virtuous Assassin (4 page)

She was his everything.

His love.

Chapter Four

Cateline’s eyelids flickered, and he pressed her hand to his chest, squeezing her fingers. Outside, the moon was reaching its peak, and weak light filtered in past the bars on the cell window. The faint smell of a dying wild fire touched his nose, and he closed his eyes momentarily. They’d come so close.

Gently, Josse wiped Cateline
’s neck with the corner of his shirt, trying to clean the blood away from the thin cut marring her otherwise perfect skin.

“
That tickles.” Her eyes opened, and she stared up at him with the calm of somebody who was yet to recognise their hopeless predicament.

“
Does this?” And he lowered his head, brushing his lips against her neck.

She giggled, and the sound r
everberated through his body, awaking his desire. The last few hours had taught him that this woman was special. Brave as any warrior, she was loyal to the core of her soul. He wanted to possess her entirely, to make her his own. He moved up, trailing kisses across her chin until his mouth found her lips.

Cateline sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He smiled against her mouth. Yes, she wanted him too.

She wriggled. “Wait a moment. There’s something—” She released him, fishing for something under her back. “A rock. We’re . . .” She pushed against his chest, and he straightened. Her eyes flickered over the wooden walls, the barred window, and the locked door. “No! No, no, no.”

“
It’s all right.” He gripped her shoulders, already missing the taste of her. “We’re alive. That’s something.”

“
We’re captured!”

“
Yes, the Brickendens found us before we could reach the forest and—”

“
I remember.” She touched the back of her head where her hair was matted with dried blood. “I lost the fight.” Her eyes jumped to his, and her face crumpled. “I’m so sorry. I should have fought better. Harder. I should have—”

“
It wasn’t your fault.” He spoke more harshly than intended, and she winced. He softened his voice. “This was never your fight, yet you did everything you could to help my family. That’s bravery beyond the call of duty.”

“
Duty? Have you forgotten? After the downfall of your family, mine will follow. I couldn’t stand aside—”

“
But nor did you have to join our fight. You could have aligned with the Brickendens, offered to help them defeat us in return for your family’s safety.”

“
I . . .” Cateline struggled to her feet, and Josse stepped back, giving her a little space. She pressed a hand to the cold wall, steadying herself. “I never considered . . . As soon as my brother intercepted the Brickendens’ messenger and discovered Elric’s treachery, I set out to kill him. At the time, it had seemed the only logical explanation. But perhaps—”

She glanced at him over her shoulder, her eyes darkening,
then pressed her face against the window bars.

“
If you’d struck a deal with the Brickendens, your family would be safe,” he finished for her. Instead, she’d risked everything trying to protect his family too, people she’d never even met before. Not for the first time, her honour and nobility stunned him. There was so much more to Cateline than simply being an assassin. She was everything he could ever want in a woman. And so much more.

He closed the distance between them with a single stride and rubbed a hand down her back. She pressed her face into his shoulder, and his breath caught as something deep stirred within him. No matter what came with the morning, he would
n’t let this night pass without claiming her for his own.

Josse ran a hand down her curves, admiring the smooth line from waist to hip. She shifted against him, pushing closer so that even through all their layers of clothes, he could feel her breasts agai
nst his chest.

He drew a shuddering breath then gently kissed her hair, her forehead,
her perfect cheeks.

She looked up at him, blinking slowly in the soft light of the moon.
“I’m not sure . . .”

“
I’ve wanted this since the moment you crashed into my arms,” he said a little hoarsely. He could hardly think straight. She was flooding his senses, and he didn’t think he’d ever be able to get enough of her. A lifetime together would be too short.

The pain in his leg all forgotten, he threaded his fingers through
Cateline’s hair and pulled the braid undone so soft locks fell down her back. She tilted her face up, seeking his lips with hers, and he rose to the occasion. The taste of her was sweet, sweeter than anything he’d had before. His tongue captured her mouth, running along her teeth, playing with her tongue until she responded with her own tentative explorations.

The kiss deepened, and his hands dropped down her neck to the collar of the borrowed shirt, then to her breasts, one for each hand. He cupped them,
stroking the nipples through the fabric. They tightened and hardened, welcoming his touch. She moaned into his mouth, and he growled in answer, a purely primeval sound.

Her knees weakened, and she had to wrap an arm around his neck to keep herself upright.
His hands kneaded and moulded her breasts, playing with the hardened nubs. She arched her back, pushing herself deeper into his hold, giving him full access.

The feeling of elated joy was so new to her. She
’d never felt like this before, never been held like this.

The hardness of him rubbed between her legs, and everything inside her tingled.
It was like she was melting from the inside out, and her toes curled with delight. In that moment, there was nothing but Josse. The scent of him, the feel of him, the taste of him.

She had to pull away then to watch as his hands roved across her chest. He looked more dangerous than any man she
’d ever seen, wild and unpredictable. There was a wicked gleam in his eyes, and his breaths were coming in short, shallow pants.

Because of me.

This was a new type of power, one that had nothing to do with her ability to kill. This power came with her femininity and brought with it a new type of excitement.
Her heart missed a beat, and the pit of her stomach filled with fire—a burning passion only Josse could fulfil.

She shifted against him, rolling her hips so the place where her thighs met her body rubbed against his manhood.

“
Hell damnation
,
”
he cursed, but there was no hint of reprimand in his voice, and she knew he was pleased.

“
Does it tickle?” she asked, repeating his own question back at him.

He gave a serious shake of his head and then smiled.
“It does so much more. Let me show you.” And he tugged at the lacings of her shirt, peeling back the fabric to reveal her skin. Nothing was missed. His eyes rolled over her entirety—from collarbone, to breast, to hip. “Beautiful.”

Josse
’s gaze heated her skin wherever it fell. Suddenly shy, she lifted a hand to cover herself, but he caught it, kissing each of her fingers. Her legs trembled, and Josse wrapped an arm around her waist, lowering her to the ground.

A moment later, he was beside her, his own shirt tossed carelessly into a cell corner.

He dropped his head, the tip of his tongue skirting her nipple. She sighed, and he pulled the hardened bud into his mouth, sucking softly.

Her hands wandered across his chest, stroking his stomach, brushing the top of his breeches.

He nipped, shielding his teeth with his lips, and a wave of pleasurable pain seared through Cateline. The pressure at the pit of her stomach increased. She arched her back, seeking friction.

The low rumble of a laugh vibrated through Josse
’s chest. “You’re a wild woman,” he murmured then shifted, covering her body with his. One hand smoothed back a strand of hair from her face, while the other loosened her borrowed breeches and slipped down to her most private parts. “Is that want you want?”

“
Oh—” Wordless sounds of ecstasy escaped her lips. Time passed with a horse’s velocity, yet it froze. Her mind stopped working, and her body took control. Her eyes closed, and her back convulsed as the pressure exploded. Waves of pleasure speared through her body until she could no longer tell up from down or right from wrong.

Later, as everything calmed, she opened her eyes. Her
own breaths came in heavy puffs, and heat travelled up her face, colouring her cheeks. “That was—” There were no words.

“
Really?” He smiled, a mischievous glint in his eyes; and a moment later, he had stripped them both of their breeches. “And this?” The tip of his manhood pressed against the place where her legs met her body.

She gasped.
“That’s—it’s—”

He lowered himself, entering her. Unbelievable tightness, a stab of pain then . . . He thrust again and again, and she rose up to meet him, matching his sp
eed as new waves of desire cascaded through her. She would surely die from the experience. Nobody could survive this much intensity.

             
The world seemed to fade away, and as Josse called out in triumph, stilling within her, she knew she could never leave his side. She’d found her place in the world, and it was beautiful.

After, his first words were of concern for her.
“Are you all right? Did I hurt you?”

She stretched, rubbing her naked body against his.
“Not at all, Josse.” It was the first time she’d said his name, and a thrill travelled up her spine. In this moment, he was hers.

He paused,
then gently removed his arm from under her. “We should—” He pointed to their clothes. “I don’t want anyone else seeing you like this.” He stroked a hand over her head, smoothing her hair. “Nobody but me.”

She glanced towards the window. With his words, the truth of their situation had returned. They were trapped, likely to be tortured then killed as soon as the sun rose on a new day. The moon was already beginning to sin
k below the horizon, and streaks of red touched the hilltops.

Cateline struggled to her feet, a little unsteady, then pulled on her dark clothes.

“I’m not going to tell anyone.” Josse broke the silence.

“
Tell them what?” She frowned.

“
About you. That you’re an assassin. And I’m not going to stop you. I can see now sometimes circumstances dictate a more sensitive approach.”

“
Oh.” She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She decided on the truth. “I was kind of hoping that after all this, I wouldn’t really need to kill again.” She flicked a hand towards the walls of their prison. “Well, that was the plan before we were captured. I guess I didn’t think it through very far—I just wanted to punish Elric for being a traitor. After that . . . I’m just not really sure what I planned to do with the rest of my life. Maybe you were right. Maybe there’s nothing more to me than death.”

He shook his head, pulling up his own breeches.
“I never said that. I’m sure you can do anything you set your mind to. Perhaps, when this is all over, you can help create an alliance between our two families. There’s been bad blood in the past. Perhaps you and I can fix that.”

“
Perhaps.” She rebraided her hair. Did he mean to marry her, or was he talking about a purely advisory position? Her stomach churned. With her father’s death and her brother’s accession to power as well as all her own secret training, she’d never had much time to think of marriage. She glanced at Josse through her lashes. He was brave and caring. And he didn’t want to fence her in or change her in any way. She blushed. He was just want she wanted in a husband.

“
Do you know where we are exactly?” she asked, moving the subject back to safer ground.

“
We’re not at Brickenden Castle. We didn’t travel nearly far enough. I’m guessing we’re with the main siege camp outside my home.”

“
Really?” She strained to see what was just out of sight. It made sense: if the Brickendens were planning to use them as examples, they’d need to be close enough to the Gabriel estate for their bodies to be seen.

So all that was left to the imagination was the act itself. Were they to be hung, drawn, and quartered, their heads impaled on stakes outside the portcullis? Or maybe their corpses would be catapulted over the battlements and cut into hundre
ds of pieces so they were indistinguishable from each other?

She covered her face with her hands. To be killed right when she
’d discovered true happiness was unthinkable. Her body shook uncontrollably, and tears glistened in her eyes.

“
There’s still hope.” He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. “When you don’t return, your brother will send help. He’ll find us.”

Cateline shook her head, her knees giving way, and she sunk to the ground.
“He doesn’t know where I am. He doesn’t even know I’m an assassin.”