Lucius (Acquisition Series #4) - Celia Aaron Page 0,3
there’s no doubt in my mind she’s all woman based on the way her dark jacket and jeans hug her curves. Don’t they say that people in life-or-death situations always stare at the gun? Right at the barrel? Not me, apparently. I stare at the woman holding it.
“Drop your gun.” She squares her stance as if she’s at a shooting range.
“You first.” I smile but don’t raise my weapon. I’m curious to see how this goes. A little danger can be the best aphrodisiac.
“I’m not kidding, asshole.” Her accent is local. She’s from here, or at least nearby.
“Okay.” I take a step toward her.
She doesn’t move. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
“Why not?”
“Because if you come any closer, I’ll drop you. I didn’t want to kill you tonight. Not yet. But you had to go and get nosy.”
“Sounds like you’re going to have to shoot me no matter what.”
Her eyes narrow, though I can’t tell their color in the shadows of her mask. “You want me to kill you?”
“Don’t flatter yourself. You have no idea how many have tried to take me out. Each one has failed. Though I admit, you’re the first woman.” I try to glimpse her hair, but she has it tied up beneath the mask. “I should’ve known anyone as patient as you had to be a woman. I only wish I’d seen you sooner.” My gaze travels down her body once again. Damn, even in black, in the dark—she’s stacked. “Just look at you.”
“Are you … flirting?” Her finger caresses the trigger.
“Just stating facts.” I can feel the blood thrumming through my veins. This little taste of danger hits me in all the right places, and I wonder what my would-be assassin looks like under the mask. “Let’s drop this whole murderer routine and head back to my house, darlin’.” I give her my most disarming smile. “We can talk about whatever beef you have over some cocktails, and then I’ll show you why killing me would be a great disservice to the women of the world.”
“I knew it wouldn’t be hard to pull the trigger, but you’re making it so much easier for me.”
“So you’re a hardened killer?” I take another step toward her. “I’m not your first?”
“Stop.”
“Because I think you’ve never killed anyone.” I take another step.
“Stop!”
“If you had, I’d already be dead. You would’ve shot me in the back before I even turned around.” I chance another step.
She pushes the gun out toward me even farther. “I’ll do it!” Despite her bravado, I can hear the tremor in her voice. She isn’t ready to take a life, not even mine. What the fuck is she doing out here? And who is she?
I have to decide whether to rush her or shoot her, so I run my mouth some more to buy time. “I’ve killed plenty. With a gun, my hands, a cane knife.” I shake my head. “That last one is pretty brutal. You ever seen a cane knife? It’s what you use to harvest sugar cane, sort of like a machete crossed with a meat cleaver. Sharp, heavy. A skull cracks like a coconut if you hit it just right.”
“I already know you’re a monster.” Her tone burns like acid. “You don’t have to do any more convincing.”
“Not a monster. Just efficient. And if I’m threatened—” I advance again, close enough to tackle her. “I react. And I keep reacting until the threat is room temperature.”
She lets out a deep breath, as if she’s trained for this moment. “I told you to stop.”
“How about you put the gun down, we get out our aggressions on each other, and then—”
Her glare intensifies. “You’re still trying to make a pass?”
“Not a pass. I’m offering to fuck you, to give you what you need so hard that you beg me to stop. Something tells me you need a good, rough fuck to knock some sense into you. Because you aren’t a killer. You’re something else. Something I want.” The black hides her, but not enough. I can see the swells of her full breasts, the flare of her hips, the way her pants hug the sweet spot between her thighs. Damn. “How about this—let me get you off, then you can shoot me. Sound good?” I edge closer.
“I said stop!”
I give her a smirk, the one I already know tends to infuriate its recipient. “Darlin’, I never stop.” I lunge for her.