Page 60 of Savage Assassin

“Too much,” I gasp, hips twitching away. “Too sensitive–”

“Oh!” She backs up, her hand wiping at her mouth in an automatic gesture that’s as adorable as her biting her lip had been earlier. “I’m sorry–”

“You havenothingto be sorry for,” I tell her as firmly as I possibly can. “That was fucking incredible, Elena.”

“Was it? I didn’t know–”

“Come here.” I reach for her, adjusting my clothes back into place and helping her tug her shorts back up before I pull the blanket over us both, maneuvering her so that she’s lying in the crook of my arm with her head on my chest. “You did such a good job,” I tell her gently, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as she snuggles against me, holding her with one arm around her. “That felt amazing.”

“What you did felt amazing too,” she mumbles sleepily, as I feel her body go lax against mine, all of the tension drained out of her.

I should fall asleep immediately, too. But I lie there awake for longer than I should, feeling the warm weight of her against my chest, pressed against me in a way that feels far too good.

I’d missed this more than I’ve ever been willing to admit–the feeling of someone next to me, holding someone as I fell asleep, the knowledge that I’ll wake up tomorrow with them curled against me.

When I sleep, it’s dreamless and heavy, and for the rest of the night, Elena stays in my arms.

—

In the morning, when the bright, harsh sun wakes me up first, Elena’s head is still pillowed on my chest. I don’t move for a long time, letting her stay that way, until she finally groans in her sleep and rolls over to her other side, taking the rest of the blanket with her.

I takethatas my cue to get up, moving carefully so that she can sleep a little while longer. A quick perusal of the supply bag confirms what I noticed last night–we’re already low on both rations and bottled water. If our only chance is waiting on someone to come within view of the shore to rescue us, we’re likely to run out of both before that happens.

I hate the idea of frightening Elena. But she’d asked me to be honest with her, and I know she’s not going to let me leave her on the beach while I go off foraging. I know her well enough by now to know what her reaction to that would be.

I also know how she’s going to feel about the other conclusion I’ve come to–that what happened last night can’t happen again. But I also suspect that she expects me to say that.

When she finally wakes up, bleary-eyed with her hair tangled from the night before, she sits up slowly, narrowing her eyes at me.

“Are you going to tell me how adorable I look first thing in the morning?” she asks grumpily, taking the ration pouch that I offer her. “Because I don’t feel adorable. I feel like there’s sand in my mouth.”

I hand her the water bottle without a word, refraining from commenting on whathadbeen in her mouth last night. As tempting as it is, I know it’s not wise to talk about it unless I want to have to explain to her right now why we can’t have a repeat.

The moment I think about it, my cock twitches. That part of me, at least, is clearly not on the same page.

She alsodoeslook adorable first thing in the morning.

Elena eats a few bites of food in silence, watching me from where she’s sitting cross-legged on the blanket. “Is there something you want to talk about?” she asks finally, shifting uncomfortably. “You look upset.”

“I don’t know ifupsetis the right word,” I tell her slowly, taking a contemplative bite of my own breakfast.

“Worried, then.” She leans forward. “What’s going on?”

There’s no point in beating around the bush. “We’re low on supplies,” I tell her frankly. “I think it would be a good idea to look around and see if there’s any source of fresh water, anything that might be safe to eat that we could bring back. If we’re going to try to hang on until there’s some kind of rescue, we need food and water.”

Elena’s eyes widen slightly, and she swallows hard, but she nods. “Alright,” she says finally, taking a breath clearly meant to steady herself. “So after breakfast, then?”

As I look at her, I wonder if I’ll ever stop being surprised by how tenacious she is.

I wonder if I’ll get the time to.

“Yes.” I take a quick sip from the water bottle, handing it back to her. “That way, we can take our time. The less strain we put on ourselves, especially in the heat, the better.”

I have some survival skills. The Syndicate taught us how to last in situations like this, but on our own, and not in any great depth. The kind of jobs we were meant to do were jobs that required us to get in and get out. Wilderness survival was not high on the list.

But I’m determined to keep Elena alive if there’s any possible way. And if not–

I can’t let myself think about that.

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