2020, July 28th
(Imperium, Stormhold)
AIDEN
"Delish," said the redhead before me, dragging a blood-red nail across my chest. "No wonder Nate and Gray couldn't bring Keira home. Welcome to Imperium, Prince of Assassins."
She held out her hand for me to kiss. I looked at it and considered my conundrum for a moment. To kiss the hand of the assassin in front of me was to risk life and limb getting caught by Keira. She and her friends had me surrounded though. What exactly was the thing to do here?
"Don't go poking the bear, Kendall," said one of the men, batting Kendall's hand away from me. "Word is she's even more attached to this one than she was to Ethan. Don't mind Kendall, Prince of Assassins."
Kendall threw the man in question a nasty look, then turned back and offered her hand to me again.
"If you're going to compare me to an animal Cameron, I'd much rather be a cheetah or a lioness. Maybe a tigress. You know, something that rips wolves like the ones in front of me limb from limb."
A killer, unnatural smile played on Keira's lips. Her eyes darkened as she walked up to us. Cameron and another man took two steps back each. Of the party of four, only Grayson stood his ground. Keira put herself between Kendall and I. Then she grabbed Kendall's hand a second before the latter could retract it.
The tension was thick between the two women. I knew I should probably intervene, but my dick took charge. Two chicks fighting over you was one thing. Two assassins facing off over me was a whole different turn on. I was mesmerised and couldn't help wanting to see how it played out.
There was no malicious intent behind them surrounding me. Morbid curiosity at best. That being said, perhaps Keira was right and I was too cocky. Since the moment we arrived, Keira kept getting called away. Every time she warned me not to interact with the people around us without her.
She was living in a dream world. The banner said "Welcome home Keira", but it was clear that I was, if not a guest of honor, at least one of interest. People approached me, not vice versa. Aiden Condron didn't blend in. I stood out and captured attention everywhere I went. The House of Assassins was no exception.
Our little circle watched as Keira glared at Kendall like she was a target marked for death. I wasn't sure if my not g-word was prepared to give Kendall her hand back while it was still attached to the rest of her body.
"Play nice with the other kids, Keira. They just came over to say hi. I was getting bored anyway," I said, tapping her hand lightly with the tips of my fingers. "Isn't that right, boys and Keira's lady friend?"
Cameron and the as yet unidentified man bowed their heads. Every now and then they would sneak little looks at the scene unfolding before them to see how it unfolded. The two men were a few years younger than the rest of us.
Mischief loomed in their exchanged glances at each other. Seeing Kendall's face redden, they snickered. I tucked a stray lock of dark hair behind Keira's ear and flashed her a flirtatious, amused grin.
My heart softened at her overprotectiveness. She was squeezing Kendall's hand so hard it looked like she would fracture bones if she held on much longer.
"Baby, look at me. I'm fine," I reassured her.
I had half a mind to tell Keira about my hardening dick, but thought better of it when an alarmed expression danced across her face. She abruptly let Kendall's hand go. Kendall winced in pain. Clinging to her afflicted hand with the other, she backed away.
I had other concerns. Why was my assassin still freaking out? Jealousy clearly coursed through her veins, but there was something else too. My eyes stayed decidedly on Keira.
"For the record, she hit on me, not vice versa," I said, trying to lighten the mood.
Keira stared into my eyes longingly without a word. If I weren't so caught up in the way she was looking at me, I would have laughed and told her we had only been apart for a few minutes.
As it was though, I couldn't speak the words. My chest tightened. .
"I missed you," I said, the words tumbling from my lips without permission.
Fully expecting her to ridicule me, I braced for a bruised ego. Instead, she surprised me with a bright beam and said, "Missed you too."
"Forgive the impertinence, My Lady. I'm sure my sister meant no harm," said Grayson, ruining our moment.
The man's existence irked me. I bit back a sharp retort and took the hand Keira had been using to crush Kendall's hand in mine as a trophy. Just in case Grayson somehow missed the fact that we were fucking.
If he did have thoughts about Keira and I, Grayson wasn't sharing. He gave Kendall a sharp look before pulling her to his side.
"Of course, Kei. Just saying hi. My name is Flynn, House of Simpson. That's Cameron, House of Whitmore and of course you've met Gray and now Kendall, House of Hunter. Good to meet you, Prince of Assassins," said the man who had yet to speak until now.
"Kei?" My face softened into an elated smile.
When was I ever going to get to see her like this again? So completely in her element, inspiring genuine terror in the hearts of men. How did I convince myself that I was okay with not knowing this side of her?
I squeezed my trophy and offered my other hand to Flynn. He gave me a reluctant, sheepish grin.
"Go on Flynn, he doesn't bite. Not like Kei anyway," Nathan said with a chuckle, showing up like a ghost to join us.
He put his hands on Keira's shoulders and kissed her forehead.
"Loosen up a little. We're not all trying to kill the Prince of Assassins, remember? Just Katie," said a nonchalant Nathan.
"Might as well be all of us then," Cameron mumbled under his breath.