Page 58 of A Skirl of Sorcery
‘I am. Keres is lucky to have us on her team.’
I wasn’t so sure about that but I didn’t disagree.
The corners of his mouth quirked up. ‘I’mlucky to be on your team.’
That part was definitely true. I grinned, then I hooked my arms around his neck and kissed him.
Tiddles growled from her place on the table, though it was a half-hearted effort for her. This was a fait accompli and we allknew it. She huffed faintly, jumped onto the floor and padded away.
Thane deepened the kiss, his hands reaching for my waist so he could pull me in closer. I allowed it for a moment then I stepped back, pulled my T-shirt over my head and dropped it to the floor. It was followed immediately by my sports bra.
‘Bathed in moonlight,’ Thane whispered, watching me. He gave me a questioning look and I nodded. He moved closer, dipped his head and trailed hot kisses from my neck to one breast then the other. His tongue lapped gently at my nipples, circling each one with agonising slowness, while the base of his thumb caressed the long silvered scar along the edge of my ribcage.
‘Knife?’ he asked.
‘You’d think so, but actually it was a parasol.’
‘With a concealed blade?’
‘No.’ I grimaced. ‘It was a bog-standard parasol, inasmuch as any parasol can be considered standard.’ They were hardly everyday objects, especially in this chilly part of the world. ‘I’d been contracted to take out a druid. He had several bodyguards, each of whom I’d clocked beforehand and managed to finagle my way around – but I didn’t pay any attention to the woman by his side. She was far more lethal than her manner and bearing suggested.’
Thane raised an eyebrow.
‘Yeah, I fucked up,’ I admitted. ‘I was still pretty new to the whole assassin thing. Let me tell you, though, that after being stabbed with the blunt end of a damned sunshine umbrella I never made that mistake again. I also never again made the error of thinking I was invincible.’
‘She must have put incredible force behind the blow to pierce your skin.’
‘I felt every ounce of that energy.’
Thane crouched down until his mouth was level with the scar and kissed it gently, making me shiver, then he stood up and pulled off his own T-shirt. He didn’t make any move to pull me to him; instead he gestured towards a scar located perilously close to his heart.
‘Bullet wound,’ he whispered. ‘It was supposed to be silver and if it had been, I’d be dead. But my aunt who pulled the trigger had been scammed and it was a dud.’
My eyes widened. ‘Your aunt?’
‘To be fair,’ he said, ‘she found me standing over the bloodied corpse of her husband, my uncle.’
‘Thane…’
He turned around so I could see his back. I’d caught glimpses of those scars before but I’d never really examined them. Although they were clearly old, they still told a brutal tale.
Thane pointed to a long thin mark that wrapped around his back and reached under his armpit. ‘This was the first one – I lost track of the others. But you always remember the first time you’ve been whipped to within an inch of your life.’
A sound escaped my mouth. It wasn’t a whine or a squeak, it was a growl because it wasn’t pity for Thane that I was feeling but rage. ‘How old were you when that happened?’ I bit out.
‘It was the day after my tenth birthday.’
Every single one of my words vibrated with fury. ‘Your uncle did that to you?’
He nodded.
‘Why? For God’s sake, why would he do that? Andkeepdoing it?’
Thane ran a hand over his head. ‘I’ve asked myself the same question many times. He was the Barrow beta and my mother was alpha. Perhaps he wanted to make sure I stayed in my lane and wouldn’t ever think I could make a bid for her spot.’
‘He wanted to succeed her as alpha,’ I spat.
Thane shrugged. ‘It’s a theory. But they were a similar age and he wouldn’t automatically have taken her place if something had happened to her. He might have been beta, but he wasn’t popular with the rest of the pack – not all of them, anyway.’ He paused. ‘So sometimes I’ve wondered if it was my fault.’
