Page 25 of Assistant to the Assassin

I point behind me with my thumb. “My beanbag chair. That’s where the picture is too. And a rosary I found.”

Without another word, he stands up and leaves the kitchen. I hesitate, then I follow after him, doing my best to keep silent and let him take all of this in. Midway through the living room, he stops walking and turns around, making me bump into him.

“How much did you read?” he asks, his expression hard.

Uh oh. “Just a couple entries, all of them about me…Why didn’t you say anything?”

He stares down at me, still expertly masking his emotions. I can’t tell if he’s pissed off or not. “It was for your safety. If anyone discovered what you are to me, they would use you to get to me.”

That makes sense, I guess. “And what exactly am I to you?”

He takes a step closer towards me, crossing his arms over his chest…which is still bare. “You already know the answer to that.”

I let out a little whine of exasperation. “For fuck’s sake, can you put a shirt on?”

He just stares at me, not a muscle in his body moving.

I scowl up at him. “Give me an honest answer, H. I’ve read what you wrote, and I know you’re attracted to me, but what do you want?”

His Adam’s apple bobs. “You. I want you.”

I step closer, and now only a couple inches separate us. “Is it just sex you want? Or is it more?”

“I want you,” he repeats, leaning down so our faces are as close as our bodies. “In every way. I want your body, your mind, your heart, your laughs, your tears, your jokes, your optimism, your childish dancing that never gets better no matter how often you do it. I want all of you.”

Someone pinch me. This has to be one of my slow-day daydreams or the fantasies that haunt me each night. How can this be real? “Ditto.”

His eyes flicker down to my lips, then he goes ahead and licks his own. “I’m going to retrieve my items from your room while you finish breakfast, then I want you to meet me in the gym.”

“What?” Is he joking?

“I want to start training you. Including Ian, there’s two of us against nine highly trained ex-military mercenaries that are out for revenge. I’ll need you to be my eyes and ears like always, but if things go to shit, I need to know you can defend yourself.”

Makes sense. “What will you teach me?”

“These guys are highly trained and they aren’t here to fuck around. If they see you, they’ll shoot you. I’m going to teach you how to disarm someone, how to shoot, and how to fight. Given where we are, it will take them a while to track us down. They’ll island-hop for a while, but they will land here eventually. I’d estimate a month or so, which doesn’t give us a lot of time. I’m not going to hold myself back, B. I’m going to prepare you as fast as I can, which means going at it hard.”

That’s what she said. “But do we have to start right this second? We just confessed our harbored feelings and now you want us to go punch each other?”

Henry takes a couple steps back, and I swear I feel colder without him standing so close to me. “Like I said, we don’t have much time to get you ready for a fight. Everything needs to come second to training until the threat has been dealt with. We can’t afford to be distracted.”

It takes all my willpower not to pout. “But—”

“I won’t lose you.” His voice is strained, making me pause. He sounds just like he did the other day when he thought his mother’s blood was staining his hands. “I can’t.”

I give a slow nod, knowing I shouldn’t press him. “I’ll meet you in the gym.”

Without another word, Henry disappears down the hall, and I make my way back to the kitchen to eat my derpy pancake, still trying to process what the fuck just happened.

Lions Sit in Solemn Lines

I try my hardest not to stare at Beth as I walk into the gym. Somehow, I missed her going into her bedroom to change, because now she’s wearing a sports bra patterned with daises and black sweatpants, with her hair pulled up in a bun. She looks simultaneously adorable and sexy, making my cock swell in my own pair of sweatpants.

When she sees me enter, she starts to do a boxer-like jog in place, shaking out her hands. “Alright, I’m ready. Let’s do this shit.”

Cute and sexy. I join her over on the wrestling mats, gesturing for her to stay still. “If we had more time, I would start at the basics and work our way up to the more complicated shit, but we don’t have that luxury. I’m going to teach you how to react if one of the mercs tries to grab on to you and what do to if they succeed. Then I’m going to teach you how to use a gun, which should always be your number one defense method.”

“Do you think they’ll try to capture me?” she asks, placing her hands on both of her hips.

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