Chapter Seven
Whistler.
He scowled at me. “Are you finished being a stubborn, hard-headed ass?”
I tossed my head. “For now. No promises on tomorrow.”
Whist tried to hide it, but I still saw the smile haunting his eyes. His really beautiful eyes. They burned through me like starlight every time he looked at me. Everything about him was beautiful. His dark red hair, pale skin with a scattering of freckles in delightful and surprising places, the lean muscles bulging against his shirt, the hard, stubborn jaw and sharp cheekbones, his plush and kissable lips.
Kissable lips? What was I thinking? Why were my thoughts constantly running away from me? I did not want to be overtaken by lust and the kindred bond until I was mindless with wanting them. I hadn’t even known them a full day yet. It was way too soon for any kind of commitments.
Saber pressed into my side, his arm brushing against me. “We need to get moving. It will take us a few hours to get to the safe house.”
“We’re going on foot? And we aren’t going farther than a few hours from here?” We should have been getting as far away as fast as possible.
Whist retied his boot. “Yes, on foot. We can’t travel on main roads. And it’s well-hidden and we need to be out of sight now. Better to lay low than to remain out in the open.”
I shrugged. “I’m used to traveling on foot.”
“Good. Let’s go.” Whist and the others suddenly had packs on their backs. When did that happen? Where did they come from?
Whist took the lead and Sky took the rear, leaving Saber walking next to me. He remained close, his body almost in constant contact with mine. It both calmed me and wound me up somehow. I couldn’t get as good a read on him as the other two assassins. Sky was all cockiness and humor with the occasional flash of deadly dominance. Whist was pure angry alpha, the determined leader. But Saber, I didn’t know. He’d shown flashes of humor, but he said little, choosing instead to observe and follow the other’s leads. What did he see when he watched everything so closely? What did he see in me?
That was another problem I had with kindreds. Supposedly, the magic joining us together meant our personalities were perfect matches. But how was I supposed to be a perfect match for three such different men? I wanted to be loved for who I was, not because some mystical forced us together. Like my parents. They chose each other. Over and over again, they chose each other. They might not have been perfect matches in the eyes of our world, but they were to each other.
Was I supposed to ignore everything I learned from them, everything this cruel world taught me and give in like the masses? Just because I found three gorgeous men who made my heart pound and palms sweat and every inch of me crave their touch?
My parents could never describe how overpowering it was since they never experienced it. And it’s not like I had extended family or friends to explain it. My parents were banished and disowned as soon as they got married.
Lost in my morbid thoughts, I stumbled over a root and Saber reached out to steady me, then tucked my arm into his.
“I can walk on my own.”
“I know. But I like touching you. It eases me.”
I refused to admit it eased me too. I breathed him in, almost closing my eyes in rapture. He smelled smoky and smooth, like campfire and my favorite brandy. I wanted to lick him all over. His brown skin was a few shades darker than my bronze tone, his black hair cropped close to his head, a nasty scar cut into the middle of his cheek from his eye to his upper lip made him seem dangerous and mysterious, his body tall and broad with a tapered waist leading to tight trousers showing off his other assets.
I pressed closer into him and he looked over at me with a soft smile, his dark brown eyes overflowing with secrets. Secrets I wanted to uncover.