Page 31 of Savage Assassin

From the look on Elena’s face, they’d be well within their right to assume that. Her free hand grips the edge of the velvet sofa as her lips part slightly at the feeling of my fingers brushing against the soft skin of her upper thigh, just inside of it, trailing down to her knee and back up again. To me, it’s a fairly innocent caress, but her expression looks as if I might as well have reached between her thighs.

I need to get her upstairs soon, before one of us combusts.

Fortunately, within the next hour, as I’d predicted, the party starts to wind down. The more elderly of the guests fold first, taking their new ‘purchases’ upstairs as they get too drunk or exhausted to keep partying with the younger associates of Diego’s. But one by one, all of them start to peel away, heading off to either sleep off their substances or keep fucking in private.

When only a few are left, I take that as my cue, and help Elena up off the couch.

“We’re going up?” she asks, her voice trembling a little, and I nod.

“We have to stay here tonight,” I tell her quietly as I put an arm around her waist, fingers possessively pressed against her hipbone as I lead her towards the doorway. “It’s expected, or I’d take you out of here right now. But we’ll be behind a locked door, and I won’t leave you alone. Tomorrow, we’ll be out of here for good.”

She nods as we reach the stairs, headed up to the room I was shown earlier would be ours for the evening. It’s a two-room suite, with a huge bedroom and an attached separate sitting area with couches and a fireplace, and an attached bathroom as large as the sitting area.

I’m not unaccustomed to luxury, having spent plenty of time in five-star accommodations throughout my life and in Viktor’s home, but Diego’s mansion borders on obscene.

The moment we’re alone, the door securely locked behind us, I press my finger to her lips as I look at her. It looks like a caress to anyone watching, but she takes it for the meaning it is, giving me an almost imperceptible nod.

Once again, I’m wholly impressed by how quickly she catches on.

I make my way around the room, looking for any hint of microphones, small cameras, or any other way that the room might be bugged. It takes longer than I’d like, but once the first pass is complete in every room, and I find nothing, I make a second round with a small, palm-sized device that will make sure of it.

The room is empty. No one will see or hear us, and I feel some of the tension finally leach out of me as I turn to her, finally able to speak plainly for the first time since I’d arrived here.

“Diego will expect that I’m going to take your virginity tonight,” I tell her gently. “The kind of man I’m pretending to be wouldn’t wait any longer.”

A sudden, terrified expression flashes across her face. I realize too late that she’s misinterpreted what I’ve said–that she thinks I’m implying that Iwillhave to take her virginity tonight, not that we’ll have to fake it. But before I can explain to her what I meant, she lurches forward suddenly, her hands grabbing at the front of my shirt as she pushes herself up on her toes and presses her mouth hard against mine.

It’s a clumsy, forceful kiss, lips and teeth shoved against mine, but I can’t fault her for it. I can feel the fear trembling through every inch of her body. And yet, even so, as she arches against me with her hands in my shirt, her tongue teasing the edge of my lip as she kisses me with the sort of furious inexperience that has never turned me on in my life.

And yet, I feel a wave of almost dizzying arousal as her mouth crushes against mine, my cock surging against my fly, straining with need as my hands close on her waist for one brief moment of weakness in which I envision everything I could do to her. Everything I could teach her in that huge bed only steps away from us.

No one to see. No one to hear. Only the two of us, and the rest of the night to enjoy it. I can feel the nervous desire in her too–but I remember the look of fear on her face, and my hands tighten on her waist as I gently set her back away from me as I break the kiss and step back too.

That’s not what I’m here for. And no matter what my mind tries to come up with, I can’t rationalize it.

“That’s not what I meant,” I tell her gently. “I meant that we’ll have to fake blood on the sheets, so that there’s no suspicion raised before we can put a good distance between ourselves and this place. That’s all. I’m not going to have sex with you tonight, Elena. I’m not even going to sleep in the bed with you, so there’s no chance of temptation.”

To my utter surprise, I don’t see relief on her face. Instead, a look of hurt settles there, and I can see her almost draw in on herself, her lips pressing together as she looks up at me, her arms wrapping around her waist.

“Is it because of me?” she asks, her voice taking on that slight tremor again. “Because the kiss was too clumsy? I can try it again. I just–I’ve never kissed anyone before. Or been kissed.”

A wave of guilt that threatens to drown me washes over me, saturating me in it.Her first fucking kiss, you asshole. You should have caught her before she did it.That’sgoing to be her first kiss forever. And you were stupid enough not to see it coming.

I know that the next thought that enters my mind isn’t one I should have. Iknowit’s not going to help matters. I know I’m rationalizing things that can’t be.

But god help me, I can’t stop the words that come out of my mouth.

“We’ll try it again, then.”

I can’t let that be her first kiss. That’s all. Who knows who will be next? She deserves to have it be good, after everything that’s happened to her. One good first kiss.

I step closer to her. In the cool silence of the room, I can smell the sweet floral scent coming off of her, mingled with the warm, soft scent of her skin. It makes my mouth go dry, my chest ache as I reach for her waist with one hand again, gentler this time, pulling her up against me.

Her body goes soft against mine, pressed against me, her breasts brushing against my chest, hips to hips, thighs to thighs. My cock throbs, straining, and I wonder all over again how I can be so fucking aroused by a woman that I’ve barely touched. Barely kissed. I haven’t felt this way since–

Don’t you dare fucking think of that. Not now. Not fucking now.

I slide my hand along the side of her jaw, my thumb brushing over her lower lip, her cheekbone, my hand curling around to the back of her neck. Her hair falls like silk through my fingers, and in the silence of the room, punctuated only by her quick breaths and mine, I swear I can hear the sound of my own heartbeat.

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