Page 19 of Assassin's Heart
No. No no no no.
John undid the cord. I caught a glimpse of Angelo as I was jerked to my feet, and what I saw chilled my blood. Resignation. Fire. Grief.I love you, he mouthed. A tear wet the corner of his eye.Take care of her.
And then a mask descended over his face and he charged, chair and all. Joe and I were knocked off our feet by the impact.
I had to get away. I knew it, told my feet to move, stumbled around the breakfast bar to reach the apartment door—but all the while I braced myself for a grip on my shirt, dragging me back. A shout to stop or they’d fire. A gunshot sending agony through my body.
Only the last actually came, but it was Angelo who screamed in agony.
I shot upright in bed, that scream—the last sound I’d ever heard from the man I’d loved—mingling with my own. I couldn’t tell which was real and which was a memory. Both echoed in my ears, the sound of a life being ripped apart.
And then the door to the room slammed open, bouncing off the wall to almost hit the man filling the doorway. “Leah?”
I brought my hand to my chest, fighting to slow my breathing, to bring my body back under control. To hide the things that made me vulnerable. “I’m all right.”
“Like hell you’re all right.” Remi crossed the room to loom over the side of the bed, his silhouette blocking the light. “You were screaming like a banshee.” He thrust his fingers through thick, messy hair. “Nightmare?”
I nodded, not wanting him to hear how hoarse my voice was. My throat felt like someone had sandpapered it. I knew from experience that I’d have that deep phone-sex quality to my voice for the next day or two. Too bad it wasn’t sex that had caused it.
The sound of that gunshot, the remembered smell of heated blood came rushing back. A whimper escaped against my will.
“Fuck!”
The word sliced through the air, and then the covers were lifting and Remi’s big body was crowding me back from the edge of the bed. “What are you doing?”
“Getting in. What’s it look like?”
He wasn’t wearing his shirt. I couldn’t see much in the dim light of the room, but I didn’t need to see; all I had to do was feel. I brought my hand up to ward Remi off—and met hard, hot flesh that pebbled with goose bumps beneath my fingers. Remi hesitated for barely a second, then used the bulk of his body to force me back onto the pillow.
Now both my hands were on his chest, and my heart was racing triple time for a whole different reason.
“Get out of my bed!”
I managed to keep the hysterical virgin out of my voice—I passed that stage a long time ago—but the indignant sex kitten came through loud and clear. Talk about mixed signals. I could read a five-page drug formulary in this voice and it would sound like a come-on. It also hurt like hell, so I shut my mouth and scrambled for the opposite side of the bed.
Remi’s log of an arm blocked my retreat before I could escape. “Be still,” he growled.
I was pulled firmly back until my spine hit his stomach, until the heat of his breath washed over my neck.
Until a solid rod nestled between the cheeks of my—
“Hey!”
Remi pushed his opposite arm beneath my neck, surrounding me, laying back a bit so I was forced to use his body as a pillow. “Hey, what?”
“Hey,this.” I wiggled my butt against his erection.
Remi grunted as if I’d kicked him in the gut. “Ignore it. I am.”
As if I could ignore a bat jutting into my backside. I mean, I’d seen Remi naked, but he’d been unconscious, relaxed. I knew he was built proportional to his body, but I hadn’t expected this.
Maybe you’re just out of practice.
Of course I was, but still…
Remi’s broad palm flattened over my stomach, his heat seeping into me as he rubbed up to the underside of my breasts, then down to my pelvis. Up and down. Up and down. He was so warm.
God, it felt good. I could feel my muscles trying to relax, to give in, and I stiffened up again.
