Page 5 of Rescued By the Alien Assassin

His golden eyes were much softer and kinder now, “We’ve been over this, sweetheart. I’m not here to kill you. I’m here to save you. I’d always save you, don’t you know that?” My silly heart went all gooey and soft in my chest, though rationally I tried to tell myself that I couldn’t trust a single thing he said. That was an absurd declaration coming from a freaking assassin that I’d met only a few hours ago. We’d kissed, but I was under no delusion that my kisses were so phenomenal that I’d bewitched him.

“I mean that Lexi. I’m Terafin remember? My kind mates for life, and you are my mate. You can trust me. And now you need to get your sexy ass in gear. We don’t have long before they locate us.” I was still reeling over this ‘mate’ thing he’d just dropped on us when he threw the next puzzle at me, what us? Who was going to locate us?

Rurick turned his back on me, flipped the blanket casually from the couch, and picked up my purse like he’d known it was there. “Agosta wants his papers back, and he’ll have you killed for what you know. Pack only what you can’t replace, we need to move fast.” He waved those damn papers around like that was all the evidence he needed to prove his point.

Actually, it kind of did. If Rurick knew I had those, and he didn’t mean to kill me, Agosta definitely did. That the assassin wasn’t here to kill me was something that I just kept on wanting to believe no matter what. Each of our interactions had been one bizarre experience after the next, and it left me hot and bothered, and completely confused. Maybe there was actually something to it, this declaration that we might be mates.

Lowering my bat, I gave him a suspicious glare and he flashed me a fanged grin that made my belly flutter with butterflies. Dang it, he was sexy when he did that. Why did I have to find him so damn attractive? And here he was, standing in the middle of my living space, appraising my tiny pile of belongings. I felt a twinge of embarrassment over how abysmal this place was but then shoved that thought away.

Honestly, what did I have to lose if I went with him? I had no job and terrible prospects of getting another. If I remained here, I had no doubt that Agosta would find me sooner rather than later and punish me for taking those papers. If I raced over to the nearest police station right now with them, I still might be in major trouble, it wouldn’t be hard to run into a crooked cop, most of them were on the take in this neighborhood.

Springing into action, I grabbed my gym bag and did as Rurick had advised. I packed things that were irreplaceable to me. My stuffed rabbit from when I was a little girl, a photo album, my datapad with all my important files, and with it some more knickknacks from my life before my father’s death. Rurick stood next to me at some point, silently handing me my purse with the damn file. “Don’t bother with clothes, I can procure anything you need,” he glared at my wardrobe as if it had personally offended him. “Better things than that.”

I glanced at him, did he mean that? When did a girl find herself with an assassin who wanted to buy her new clothes? What kind of strange rabbit hole had I fallen down in? I found I didn’t even care, if Rurick wasn’t here to kill me, and I actually believed that, then I really wanted his words to be true.

He took my bag and slung it over his shoulder, then his warm hand folded around mine and he started urging me from my apartment. I went willingly and I didn’t even glance back when we stepped outside. I had a feeling I’d never see that place again, and I was pretty good with that. Excitement thrummed through me, what kind of adventure had I embarked on?

Chapter 7

Lexi

Hiding out in the abandoned super’s office on the bottom floor of my building was not what I expected. The space was smelly, with a stinking, soggy mattress on a cot against a wall. A broken window was above it, bars still valiantly attempting to hold the outside world at bay. What was left of a filing cabinet leaned against another wall but other trash, clutter, and water damage had done a number on this place.

Considering we hadn’t had a super running this place since as long as I rented here, I was surprised nobody had tried to camp out in here. Maybe the possibility of rain or the fact that the door was half off its hinges had stopped people. More likely, the very suspicious brown stain that covered a large portion of the room’s floor was the culprit. I was pretty sure that was blood.

“Why are we in here again?” I whispered accusingly at Rurick’s wide back. In his black leather coat, his body strapped full of weapons, he looked far less charming and easygoing. If this was what he’d been wearing when we first met, I didn’t think I’d have let him kiss me. Then my eyes skirted down his body to how the leather cupped his very fine ass and I shook my head. Who was I kidding? That dangerous vibe was totally doing it for me.

If only I wasn’t squatting behind a broken cabinet in the smelliest room in this damn building. I thought he was here to take me somewhere safe, this didn’t look safe. I was worried I’d get tetanus just from staring at a splinter.

“I shook Agosta’s tail when I left him, but they found me here anyway,” Rurick said quietly. His deep voice was pitched low, not quite a whisper, but definitely meant not to carry far. “Funny thing, they actually think I was the one who stole those files.” He still had my gym bag slung over one shoulder, but I was the one carrying my purse with the papers. My hands twitched around the leather handles. I felt the desire, once again, to pitch those files into the trash. It was too late to pretend I hadn’t seen them.

“And you think they’ll leave if we wait here?” I shot back. I was really tired of sitting there while he got to stand at the door and peer outside. My legs were starting to cramp up and this place stank. If this was what his job as an assassin was like, count me out. “Tell me again why you chose this career path?”

Rurick flashed me a grin, a hint of a sharp canine tooth showing at the corner of his mouth. “I might have a slight problem with authority and a certain addiction to adrenaline? I don’t know, my brother calls me a psychopath but somehow, I’m still welcome at all the family dinners. So I don’t think he really means it.”

I tried to imagine Rurick just casually sitting down for a family dinner and couldn’t really picture it. Since I’d met him, he had appeared incapable of staying still, some part of his body was always moving or fidgeting. He was like this mass of energy, barely contained by his body. And it wasn’t just that he couldn’t sit still, I was pretty sure his mind was always racing too.

“Are you close with your family?” I asked, unable to hide a wistful note in my tone. I’d only had my parents, and my mother had died young. Last year, my father succumbed to a long round of illness and expensive treatments. I’d been a total daddy’s girl, raised just by him since I was eight.

His loss had hit me hard, as had all the financial troubles that followed. I missed family, I missed having that kind of bond with someone. Was that why I was clinging to this idea that Rurick was a good guy and that he was right about being my mate? Humans didn’t have mates, just because he said so… I couldn’t tell if it was true or not.

“Not as close as I’d like. I’m working a lot,” his gaze went from the door to me when he spoke. He seemed to relax a little, his azure eyes growing warm and soft when he looked at me. “Now that I met you though… I imagine that might change. I think they’re not on this floor right now, but my scanner still indicates two goons waiting by my bike.”

He walked over and casually dropped to a crouch in front of me, his knees bumping against mine. “What do you think, shall I just kill them so we can get out of here, or do you want to wait?” From the look in his eyes, I was pretty sure he knew what my answer was going to be. You’d think he’d ask me this to either test or mock me, but I was pretty sure he was just letting me know that I had to resign myself to waiting.

“How about I distract you just a little, hmm?” he said with a wicked smirk. He was like an imp with his sharp features, his skin this dusky gold. The hair that flopped over his forehead messily was a few shades darker but still shimmering a far more luscious, bright gold than was humanly possible.

I narrowed my eyes at him but still came willingly when he curled his hand around the back of my neck. His mouth covered mine in a spine-tingling, toe-curling kiss that left me panting for more. It should be illegal how well he could kiss, but I had to admit that hiding out from mobsters while he did it, added a certain edge. Maybe I was a bit of an adrenaline junkie myself. No wonder my life had seemed totally flat and boring, an absolute drag from one day to the next. I’d been missing out.

Carelessly, I dropped my purse between us on the floor so that I could reach out and slide my hands under his jacket. His chest was lean and packed with muscle, crisscrossed by several leather straps that held various holsters in place. When my thumb brushed over a nipple, I discovered a hard little edge, a ring. He was pierced, and now I really wanted to know if he had any more.

He pulled me against his body, his knee dropping to the ground so he could cradle me on it. I appreciated that he was making sure no part of me touched this foul place as he made out with me. Lifting one hand from his chest to tunnel it through his hair, I flicked a finger against the daintily pointed tip of his ear. He shivered as if that tickled which made me giggle, a sound I hadn’t heard come from my mouth since before my father even fell ill.

“You’re cute,” Rurick said against my mouth, “And I want to fuck you so bad right now. But I’m pretty sure I’d rather do you in a bed the first time. I’m told that’s more romantic.” I laughed out loud, and then winced from how loud the sound was and clutched my fingers over my lips.

“You’re terrible,” I said to his smiling face. He raised a shoulder as if to say, what can I do? He didn’t seem concerned that we’d be discovered so I leaned back in and kissed him. It was, after all, the best way to pass the time. This close to him, his arms around me, and his scent filling my senses, it was easy to forget exactly where we were.

Of course, this guy always took things to the next level. When I felt his hand slide up my thigh and over my leggings all the way to my core; heat spiraled through me. Seriously? In here? I only considered putting a stop to this for all of two seconds but then I found myself throwing all caution to the wind. I’d been living the most boring, dull life I could imagine, now it was time to live. What better way to come alive than in the arms of a man like Rurick?