He unclipped my belt, then flicked the button of my high-waisted cargo pants.
“Kai.” I uttered his name on a tense sigh. “What do you think you’re doing right now?”
He didn’t even hesitate a second, dragging my zipper down. “Calling your bluff, ātaahua.” His hand dipped inside my panties, his fingers immediately finding my heated pussy and making me gasp. Encouraged, he pushed on, sliding his long fingers into my cunt while his thumb searched for my clit. “That’s what I thought,” he murmured, playing with my own wetness and making my whole body tremble in need.
“That”—I managed to say despite how shallow my breath had suddenly become—“proves nothing.”
He just laughed. No, he didn’t laugh, he fucking chuckled a deep, smug sound that warmed my neck as his fingers pumped harder. Shit, it felt so damn good.
He was hard as granite against my back, and I couldn’t help bucking my hips slightly. The fact that he still held my wrists pinned was only heightening the whole sexy scenario, reminding me how much he enjoyed being my captor. How badly he craved control. I hadn’t forgotten that first night when he chased me through the abandoned house. When he’d forced me to suck his dick, then fucked me with the barrel of his loaded gun.
My pussy tightened around his fingers, my whole body trembling as I came. And I wondered what Kai would think, knowing Leon had listened to that whole encounter back on Halloween.
“That’s it,” Kai murmured in my ear, his fingers still stroking inside me as I shuddered and groaned. “Good girl. You come apart so pretty under my touch.”
Fuck. That almost made me come again. Especially when he slowly withdrew his hand from my pants and brought his wet fingers to his mouth, sucking them clean with a moan of appreciation.
“You’re in trouble, Siren, and you’re gonna let me help you. Are we clear?” His tone offered no room for negotiation, even as he released my wrists.
I twisted around to face him, licking my lips and fighting to catch my breath. Fuck, that had been hot, and all I could think about was kissing him now. Kissing those full lips and tasting myself on his tongue.
“I don’t want your help, Kai,” I told him in a husky whisper.
His lips tipped in a sly smile. “No, but you need it. You know what they say, ātaahua, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Right now, I’m the Guild’s worst enemy, which makes me the best friend you’ve got.”
13
Trusting Kai had to be one of the worst ideas I’d ever entertained, I was absolutely sure of it. But with Leon off doing god knew what, and my friends too loyal to the Guild to be trusted… there weren’t many allies left. And the few I had, I wanted to keep as allies rather than bring the ire of the Circle down on their heads.
So, I reluctantly agreed. Kai would help me deal with Emmanuel Blanchet and clear my name with the Guild. In exchange… well, I wasn’t totally sure what he planned to get out of our arrangement. I wasn’t so arrogant as to think he just wanted to spend time with me and make me fall in love again. No, he had something to gain, and I was willing to bet it related to that necklace Hermes had given me.
“Holy crap, you’re both alive,” Mo commented as we exited the old church. She was sitting on the hood of her Mustang and hopped off when we approached. Her curious eyes darted between us, like she was trying to guess what had gone down.
Kai went straight to the trunk and popped it open, pulling out my guns. “Turns out, my girl has a hit out on her and needs our assistance,” he announced.
I snatched my guns from his hand and secured them in my empty holsters. “I’m not your fucking girl, Malachi. Cut the bullshit.”
“Uhhmmm…” Mo looked like she was scared to blink in case she missed something good.
“Fuck me, how many weapons were you carrying?” Kai grunted, handing me another gun and a handful of knives.
I shrugged. “It’s almost like I’m a mercenary and get paid to kill people.” Sarcasm dripped heavily from my words.
Mo cleared her throat dramatically, like she was covering a laugh. “So, you’re coming back with us then, Danny?”
“Yes,” Kai said.
At the same time, I scoffed. “Hell fucking no.” He glared at me, and I just glared right back. “You think I’m going to willingly return to your fucking prison, Malachi? You must be dumber than you look. I’ll be heading back to my secure location, and we can meet in neutral territory or communicate by dark web.”
“How’s that going to work when the Guild is sending assassins after you?” he argued, folding his impressive arms. He wore a black, long-sleeve top, but it was skintight and did nothing to hide his bulging muscles.
I gave a frustrated sigh. “I can handle it. I’ve survived two Guild executioners in the last three weeks and the notorious Ares himself. I think I’ll be fine.”
Kai’s glare darkened and he reached out to tug my collar down. “You call this surviving?”
“Yeah, dickhead,” I snapped, smacking his hand away, “that’s exactly what I call it. Because I’m alive and he’s dead. Pretty much the definition of surviving.”
Mo gave a worried shake of her head. “Sorry, Danny, I’m with the idiot on this one. You need physical backup.”
I gritted my teeth in anger, hating that they were teaming up against me. “I only need your connections in tracking down the man pulling the strings on this. That’s it. Once I deal with him, my name will be cleared and everything can go back to normal.”
Mo didn’t look convinced, and Kai… fucking hell, I already knew I wasn’t escaping that easily. Not tonight, and probably not ever.
“Well… consider it a two for one,” Mo said with forced brightness. “You can access our contacts and get a big, dumb hunk to watch your back twenty-four seven. What a bargain!” She punched her brother in the shoulder, and he barely even twitched.
I shook my head, searching for another great reason to decline. But really, all I had to offer was no, I can’t be trusted alone with Kai because I’m pretty sure I’m still a little infatuated and am scared of that getting worse if we fuck. Which we will. And then Leon will cut Kai’s fingers off, and he has such pretty, talented fingers; it’d be a shame to waste them like that.
Out loud, all I managed was, “No thanks.”
Kai smirked like he could read my mind. “You scared to be alone with me, Siren?”
“Um?” Mo gave a small wave. “What am I? A side table?”
“You need to go back to the team,” Kai told her with a small shrug. “Debrief and let them know that delicious Danny DeLuna will be helping on our vendetta.”
Curiosity sparked. What was their vendetta? And how could I help?
“So… should I bring them out here?” Mo asked, frowning around at the abandoned town.
“No,” Kai barked at the same time as I shook my head. “No, I don’t want them anywhere near Danny just yet.”
I scoffed. “The feeling is mutual, though I’d love a rematch with Sam now that I’m not pretending to be a weak, helpless victim.” I flexed my fist, the leather of my fingerless gloves creaking while I pictured beating the snot out of Sam. Regardless of how heartbroken he was at losing Mauricio, he still tried to kill a woman who wasn’t fighting back. That spoke volumes for his character, and I was more than happy to dish out some karma.