Free To Honor: Vampire Assassin League #22 by Jackie Ivie Page A

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    Takeshi was one sexy man. And then some. He was beyond dream-worthy. That body of his...naked... Holy hell . Her legs were turning into mush at the mere thought. She needed to pull herself together. Stop thinking of him and that lovemaking session. No matter how wondrous it had been. But it had been so awesome. She’d never been so out-of-this-world pleasured. This entire experience had gone beyond her wildest imagination. As if every fantasy she’d ever had had come to life, received a perfect form and function, and then got doubled.
    Oh my .
    Takeshi was the entire package. Too bad he was psychotic. Or something worse.
    Well, Christine . It was time. She’d wasted as much of it as she could. The only thing she could think to delay further was to do her nails. But Takeshi had slipped as a host in that arena. The only manicure item he stocked was a nail file. Christine slid it along her nails as she left the bathroom, advanced across the bedroom floor, stopped for a moment at the door. Took a deep breath. Watched her hand on the door handle. She turned it. And walked out.
    Oh, good night .
    She’d forgotten his attire. Or lack, thereof. He was pacing. In those low-slung pants? On that physique? Hell’s bells . The man needed a warning label on him. Or a ton of security. And he had the ability to move faster than the eye could track. He’d been at the wall leading presumably to the pilot when he saw her. The next moment he was standing in front of her. She looked up. Her jaw dropped. So did the nail file.
    “ Watashi no ai. You took forever. And you are so beautiful. So. Very. Beautiful.”
    She couldn’t think of one reply. Not one.
    “I do not deserve such beauty.”
    “Uh. Takeshi?”
    “ Hai? ”
    He stepped closer, violating any idea of personal space. Christine said the first thing that came into her mind.
    “You...have a lot of scars.”
    He glanced down as if verifying. Looked back. Snagged her gaze with his. She might as well just melt in place. That’s what it felt like. She only hoped it didn’t look it.
    “We used real weapons in the dojo .”
    “Real. Weapons.” They weren’t questions. It was all she could manage.
    “I was not always as proficient as I am now. We all had scars from failures. They...bother you?”
    She shook her head. “They’re like desecrations to a work of art.”
    He smiled. Her heart gave a flutter that almost pained. She told herself he was an assassin. A killing machine. That should be enough to halt any desire for contact with him. But. Oh! She could so very easily fall for him.
    Hard.
    And far.
    “Come. Sit. It is time to tell you everything.” He held out his hand.
    “Must you?”
    She didn’t think she’d verbalized it, but his sharp glance indicated otherwise. Christine took his hand and snapped back with the same motion he used. An electrical charge, or something as powerful, had zapped them both. His shocked look probably mirrored hers.
    Oh. This was going downhill. Fast.
    She might need a stiff drink. And she never drank.
    “Perhaps we should not touch...just yet,” he offered.
    Christine nodded. She felt so odd. She was even starting to tremble. It was three steps to the reclining chairs. It looked like four times that. She dropped into the closest one. Leather surrounded her, warming from contact with her body. Takeshi took the one beside her. Swiveled it to face her.
    Damn . He really was gorgeous. A knot formed in her throat. It was going to be hard to swallow around it. But then he opened his mouth and gave her some Neo-Confucianism bullshit that cancelled out some of the sensual allure he wielded.
    “There are several stages to existence,” he said.
    Christine lifted her brows. Swallowed. She’d been right. The knot hurt with the motion. “I’d like to know about the here and now. Okay?”
    “It is a...tangled story. I am trying to find a good starting place.”
    She closed her eyes. Took a deep breath. Counted to five. Clichés raced