“So when did you gain the symbols?”
“When I was twenty.” They’d come with a side order of pain, followed by a dessert of lust and rage. Oh, yeah… good times.
She used a square fingernail to trace the outline of the arrowhead symbol in the crook of his elbow. His erection throbbed as though it hadn’t just enjoyed the most intense orgasm of its life. “And how long ago was that?”
“If you want to know how old I am,” he said, “you can just ask.”
“Fine. How old are you?”
“I was born in 1880. You?”
Her grin transformed her face from beautiful to drop-dead gorgeous. “I’m considerably older than you are.”
“Yeah?” He waggled his brows. “I’ve always had a thing for older women.”
There was more muttering about incubi as she dropped the cloth into the laundry basket. “I was born the day Julius Caesar died. That’s very old.”
“So you really were born. And on the Ides of March,” he mused. “Is that what you’re named after?” When she nodded, he settled back and gave her a sleepy, seductive look. “It’s a pretty name. Pretty, like you.”
She snorted, totally calling him out. “I’m not going to fall for any of your tricks. Especially not when they’re so obvious.”
“Give me a break. I don’t have a lot of experience seducing women.”
“Yeah, right.” She frowned when he didn’t react. “You’re serious. How can you be an incubus and not have that kind of experience?”
He shrugged, unwilling to tell her about his death touch. “Guess there are anomalies in every species.”
“Seeing how you’re a sex demon who kills, I’d say that’s true.”
“There are incubi that use sex to kill. But it’s not like I want to kill anyone,” he added, and though it was true that he was playing up to her soft side, it was also just… true. He wasn’t a killer because he wanted to be.
No, you kill for money. That’s so much better.
“Good,” she said. “Then I need you to not kill Kynan.”
“Yeah, okay. I won’t.”
Her eyelashes swept down, creating shadows under her eyes, and she suddenly looked tired. “I know how assassin masters work, Lore. You can’t just ignore your orders.”
“Then why are you asking me to not kill Kynan if you know I have to?”
“I just want your word that you won’t kill him while I’m trying to find out who hired you, and why.”
“So you think that if you take out whoever hired me, the hit will be called off and Kynan will be safe?”
“Yes.”
It was a nice thought, but it wasn’t going to happen. The Assassins’ Guild had built its rep on its vow of discretion and silence, and no one learned the identity of any party who had hired an assassin. It had happened only once, several hundred years ago, when a client had been betrayed by an assassin master, and that master had been made an example of.
His wrecked body, preserved in wax, graced the entrance to the Guild Hall, his flesh peeled like a banana away from the bone. But the worst part was that somehow his soul had been trapped with the body, and his screams could be heard by every demon who entered.
But he wasn’t going to tell Idess that. Nope. He’d play along.
“You’ll need my help,” he said.
She swiped at her brow, which glistened with a fine sheen of sweat. “I can manage on my own.”
“Really? You know who my master is? You can contact him?”
Pink mottled Idess’s cheeks, because he had her there. “Will you tell me?”
“Will you let me go?”
She wobbled on her feet, and a lightning strike of panic zinged through him. “Cookie? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She lifted her chin and straightened her back in a show of strength, but a trickle of perspiration ran down her temple.
“You want my help? You tell me what the fuck is wrong. Right. Now.”
She hesitated, and he got that. Vulnerability was not easy, especially in front of an enemy. A whimper escaped her as she sagged, catching herself on the dresser.
“Idess? What is it?”
Her jerky gaze tracked to his, a little glassy and a whole lot desperate. “It seems,” she whispered, “that I need to feed.”
Seven
I need to feed.
Had she really said that? The words were still ringing in Idess’s ears as an undying echo. It grew louder and louder, until she slapped her palms over her ears. She heard Lore calling her name, his deep voice a mere buzz.
Calm down… calm down…
Oh, this was bad. Her utter hatred of feeding had led her to ignore her body’s needs for too long, and the battle with Lore and subsequent injury hadn’t helped anything. As the nausea waned, she tentatively peeled her hands away from her head.