“Wake me when we get to the restaurant,” Elora said to no one in particular.

“Elora, it will take all of five minutes to get to a place to eat,” Lisa pointed out.

What Elora wanted to say was, that’s five minutes too many to be stuck in this ride with the only guy she had ever met that made her want to bat her eye lashes and giggle like a moron, but what she actually said was, “Five minutes of sleep is better than none.” Witty? No. Drama free? At least on the outside she was.

Chapter 4

“I feel like I’m sitting on the precipice of something great and potentially terrible. I don’t know what that something is, and for all I know I’m going to be shoved off of the edge, but I know that something is coming—something big. And for the first time, I have something worth losing. I’d be lying if I told you that I wasn’t scared because the truth is, I’m terrified. I’m terrified that I will let her down and her life will be the price.” ~Trik

“I know for a fact that Syndra gave you your own room, Trik,” Cassie teased as she came out of the bathroom, freshly showered and looking much too innocent to be with the likes of him.

He smiled suggestively as he lay sprawled across her bed, for her viewing pleasure of course. “Yes, but your room is so much nicer,” he teased back. She stopped just out of reach for him to grab her, which he was sure was her intent, and crossed her arms.

“How is my room any nicer than yours?” She frowned at him and even her blasted frown was sexy.

“Baby, I would think that would be obvious,” he paused and nearly laughed when she gave him an impatient huff. “Your room has you, while my room has a decidedly lack of you.” He watched as her cheeks flooded with heat and she fought her obvious desire to come to him.

“Cassie, love, come here. I’ve always been a perfect gentlemen in the past, have I not?”

She tilted her head to the side and considered him. Finally, and with him almost shouting in victory, she shrugged and closed the remaining distance and climbed up on the bed. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to his body. He pushed his power out into the room, blowing out all of the candles.

“Neat trick,” she giggled.

“This is where you belong,” he whispered to her. He felt her body gradually begin to relax and then her small hands covered his.

“I’m ready for all of this to be over, for things to…,” she paused.

“To what?” Trik prompted.

“Well, I was going to say for them to go back to normal,” a small laugh escaped her. “But things will never really be normal again will they?”

“You could look at it as a new normal. Is it a bad change? Me, my world?” He wanted the answer, and at the same time, he was terrified of it.

She didn’t answer right away and he didn’t go seeking out her answer in her mind. He wouldn’t invade her privacy without her permission, no matter how tempting it was.

“No,” she finally answered. “It’s not a bad change. It is, however, a big change. I mean, I’m missing school right now that I know I’m going to have to make up. My parents are…well…crap, I don’t know how they are but I miss them.”

Trik propped himself up on an elbow so that he could look down at her. He pulled his hand out from under hers and reached up to trace her jaw line. “I know you do, and I will fix this, Cassie. You will be able to do whatever it is that you want to do. I will make it right.” He wanted to give her the world. He wanted to make her safe and happy but he had a feeling there would be much pain and strife before that happened.

“You have the weight of a people on your shoulders and yet you are worrying about me?” Cassie asked as she stared up at him in the dark room. Light from the moon shone through the windows and cast a soft glow on her face.

“You’re mine, Cassie, my Chosen. I cannot do what it is I have to do without you.” He felt emotions that seemed to have been building all day begin to rush through him and he was nearly overwhelmed. He cupped her face and leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. He shouldn’t be lying here with the most incredibly sweet woman he’d ever met. He didn’t deserve her, and yet, he wouldn’t let her go, not ever.

Cassie moaned as Trik kissed her. If there was one thing her assassin could do, it was kiss. His lips worked a spell over her as she parted her lips for him. The taste of him rushed into her and she pushed closer to him, needing to feel him against her—needing to know that she was safe and that Trik wouldn’t let anything happen to her. His arms wrapped around her and he rolled them so that she was on top of him. She laughed into their kiss at the quick motion, and when she opened her eyes, she saw his silver ones staring back at her.

“You’re so beautiful, A’maelamin,” he whispered to her.

She felt his hands run down her back and stop at the lowest point of the small of her back. She would like to say that she was feeling virtuous, but that would be a big, fat lie. She wiggled against him and Trik groaned and gripped her hips suddenly, holding her still.

“You know what they say about those who play with fire?” Trik asked her in a dangerously low and utterly seductive voice.

Cassie leaned down until her mouth was next to his ear. “That they’re begging to be burned?”

Trik smacked her on the bottom–not too hard, but hard enough to get his point across.

“You have no idea how appealing you are even without trying, but then when you put some effort into it, damn woman, you are dangerous.” Trik nearly growled at her. She had to bite her lip to keep from smiling. She knew she shouldn’t be pleased with herself, but she was because Trik still wanted her.