Page 54 of An Assassin's Death
“How do you have that much money?” It’s the worst question I’ve ever heard anyone ask aloud. I can’t believe I actually asked him that, but I literally couldn’t stop myself.
The morning sunlight makes his dark eyes almost black as he stares down on me. A few women pass us by, and I almost shout a word of warning as they enter the pricy boutique we just left.
“We have jobs, Alexa.” The ghost of a smile is in his features, not allowing him a look of real happiness but making his sharp features appear softer and kind. “We have a name for ourselves. We’ve used our skills from the League and we track people. Mouse is insanely good at finding missing persons; people who have skipped town, people who don’t want to be found. We have real jobs.”
“So you’re a law abiding, tax paying citizen now?”
His dark brows pull together.
“Don’t be silly. You can’t tax an assassin.” He winks at me, still clinging to that look of seriousness.
A smile pulls at my lips. I love when his serious side slips away. When he leans closer to me, his stomach hard against my body, my smile falters, replaced by a consuming sense of senselessness.
“Maybe after everything settles down for a bit, we could teach you how to be an almost respectable citizen as well.”
Fuck, my little fluttering emotions are doing that thing again. I swallow hard and hope like hell he’s not making me blush.
I think… I think he trusts me.
I can’t tell if that’s what I really want or not.
Twenty-Five
Sex Between Friends
Another roundof training with Rory has my body aching and my limbs too tired to even stand. He was just as polite to me as he was before. Barely at all, that is.
It’s late. Tomorrow is the day. It’s what we’ve all been working for; them more than me, I suppose.
The television is bright and flashes light across the dark living room walls. I quietly make my way to the couch. Tylin sits in a beige chair, his head tipped back, his eyes closed, legs spread wide as he sleeps. Jameson sits in a similar position at the end of the couch. Mason walks by me and his palm skims against the back of my hand as he passes me a smile. He doesn’t speak, not even a word of hello, but he glances back at me once more before he leaves.
The music of the movie becomes ominous as lightning flashes around the house, revealing a man with a knife lurking in the darkness of a woman’s bedroom.
I settle in at Jameson’s side, letting his smooth arm brush against mine. A bowl of popcorn is in his lap and I steal a piece before he even offers. The saltiness hits my tongue and I’m suddenly eyeing his water bottle as he takes the lid off. Just as it meets his lips, I steal it away too. A wide smile pulls over his lips as he watches me chug all of his nice cold water.
A beat passes as I happily take another bite of popcorn. When I look up, he’s still looking at me and I slowly shove the popcorn into my mouth in the most unladylike way.
“You’re friend zoning me, aren’t you?” His arm moves to the back of the couch, touching my hair but not my body.
I don’t know why I suddenly wish he was touching me.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
He’s still smirking, but it feels different now.
“We kissed, but it wasn’t really a kiss. You kissed me back, but it was for your powers, not for you.” He pauses for only a moment before continuing his rambling. “Sometimes, I think you’re flirting with me, and sometimes, I think you’re just tolerating me. And now, right now, I feel like you’re big brothering me.” I shake my head at him. “People tolerate me a lot, Lex, I know what it feels like.”
I don’t know why his last statement twists my stomach. I always pictured him as the golden boy without a care in the world. Maybe he does care what everyone thinks.
Maybe he cares what I think.
His fingers start to twist through the ends of my hair and his attention is held there for a moment. A sinking feeling drops through my stomach. I remember how douchie he seemed when we first met. He isn’t douchie, he’s just… different.
“I’m not big brothering you, Jameson.”
“So you can, hypothetically, imagine us having sex?” He cocks a pale brow at me and I have to look away from him as the hulking outline of his dick flashes through my mind.
“No. No I can’t.”
