Page 49 of Shielded Heart 1
“What happened?” she asked, lowering her arm. “Who were they? Why were they looking for you?”
His tail—which had been stroking her leg—curled around her calf. His smile tilted, becoming a gentle smirk. “Some people decided to use you as bait to lure me out, I don’t know, and I don’t know. But we’re working on figuring it all out.”
“But…why? You’re a…a…a document verifier, aren’t you? What could you have done to have people shooting at you?”
Arcanthus’s smile shifted into something rakish. “Well, you know how you’ve been somewhat vague in answering some of my questions? I might’ve been somewhat vague in explaining what I do. And…who I am.”
Unease bloomed in Samantha, rapidly thickening as it spread. She backed away from him.
No. Not again. Please no, not him.
He flattened his hand on the bed, pushed himself up, and curled his other arm around her waist. Her attempt to resist was futile; he dragged Sam closer and positioned himself over her, caging her between his arms. His dark hair fell in a silken curtain around his face, its tips tickling her cheeks.
Intending to push him away, Samantha flattened her palms against his chest—his warm, hard, enticing chest. Something small and hard pressed against her hand; his nipple piercing.
Her will to resist suddenly faded.
Still wearing his mischievous expression, Alkorin stared down into her eyes. “Just listen, Samantha. Allow me at least that much. I promise it’s not as bad as it may seem. Or at least I thinkit’s not as bad.”
Samantha swallowed thickly. Despite her unease, despite the way he’d trapped her with his body, she…trustedhim. She wasn’t sure what to make of that. Was she doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over? Was she doomed to suffer simply because she was a poor judge of character?
But he hasn’t done anything to hurt me.
Alkorin had been her lifeline since she’d met him, her protector, her…friend.
“Tell me the truth,” she said, forcing herself to hold his gaze.
His lips parted, and his tongue slipped out briefly. There was hunger in his eyes, and his body seemed to heat. The markings on his skin glowed a little brighter.
“Alkorin is one of several aliases I utilize to mask my identity,” he said. “My name—mytruename—is Arcanthus.”
Samantha’s brows lowered, and she frowned. He’d lied about his name? It felt, suddenly, like the very foundations of their relationship were in danger of shattering. She recalled when she’d first entered his hovercar—Drakkal had called himArcbefore Alkorin interrupted him. She hadn’t thought anything of it at the time.
“Why?” she asked.
Holding himself up on one arm, he moved a hand to her face and slowly combed his fingers into her hair. “Because I’m a criminal, Samantha, and it’s safest if other criminals—and the authorities—do not know who I really am. Information is power in my world. I prefer to control the information that’s available concerning myself. Very few know my real name, only those I trust…and I trust you. I should have told you sooner.”
There was so much she should’ve been concerned with in that moment—that he’d lied to her, that he could very easily harm her, that he’d just admitted to being a criminal—but sheunderstood. What he said made sense; he’d just been protecting himself.
“You had no reason to trust me,” she said.
“When they came and asked you about me, what did you tell them?”
Samantha’s heart skipped a beat. “I-I didn’t tell them anything. I swear. I couldn’t—”
Arcanthus pressed his thumb over her lips, silencing her. He held it there for a moment before he brushed it back and forth across her lower lip, following its path with his eyes.
A shiver coursed through Sam’s body.
“I believe you, Samantha. You risked harm to yourself to protect me. That is more deserving of my trust than anything I can think of.” He lifted his gaze to hers. “Which you areneverto do again, is that clear?”
She nodded, though she knew she’d put herself in danger to protect him if a similar situation occurred. She’d risk herself for him again and again, even having learned of his deception. “Do you…kill people? I mean, apart from what happened at the complex…”
Oh God,Ikilled people.
The thought struck her with a blast of shock and guilt.
“I…I shot them, Alkorin. I…”
