Page 39 of To Crave Darkly
I was almost disappointed there wasn’t a moat surrounding the place.
Jasper led me into the house and the gothic décor continued inside. There was wood panelling as far as the eye could see, a huge crystal chandelier, suits of armour and portraits of people that looked important and imposing.
“This place is fucking awesome.”
Jasper just sighed. It was one of his you’re-fucking-unbelievable sighs and it worried me that I was starting to tell the difference. Jasper didn’t need words to communicate his disbelief, discontent or displeasure. Nope. He had a plethora of sighs to do that for him.
We rounded a corner and walked into the lounge. A large fire roared at the far end and a collection of people took up residence on the far side of the room. A girl and three guys. This must be the rest of Jasper’s team.
The laughing camaraderie that I heard as I walked in fell to pin-drop silence as all eyes turned towards me.
That was intimidating.
“Lori, these are the rest of my team, and now, your new protectors.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” The scornful voice belonged to one of the most terrifying men I had ever seen. He was tall with white blonde hair that was short at the sides and long on top. He wore it swept back off his face and it accentuated his high brow and sharp features. With his athletic build and smouldering good looks, he looked like he’d just stepped off the film set of an epic Viking movie, but it was his eyes that had me wanting to run for the hills. There was no emotion in them. At all. They were completely dead.
My heart gave a sudden lurch as he continued to fix that cold stare on me.
“Stop scaring the poor girl, Cassian,” a black-haired Adonis to the left chided light-heartedly.
Cassian strode over to Jasper and got right up in his face. He didn’t even flinch. I, on the other hand, was ready to pee my pants. This guy looked ready to rip my throat out and bathe in my blood.
“You can’t expect me to degrade myself in such a manner.”
Wow. Rude much?
Jasper stood his ground. “Back the fuck down, Cassian. We have our orders to protect Miss Monroe and you will follow them.”
Cassian flicked his gaze toward me and, instinctively, I took a step back. He scared the shit out of me.
His lips curled maliciously. “This is bullshit.”
He brushed past Jasper and out the room, slamming the door behind him.
Jasper pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ll go talk to him. The rest of you introduce yourselves and show her around.”
The door slammed behind me again as Jasper left me.
Alone.
In a room full of highly trained assassins.
I glanced over them again and decided they didn’t look so bad. The dark-haired guy who spoke earlier smiled and I relaxed slightly. He seemed friendlier than the Viking at least.
“Guys, come on. Quit staring at her.” It was the girl who spoke first, breaking the awkward silence that accompanied our little stare-off. “Hey, honey. Come and sit down.”
She indicated the spot on the sofa opposite her. But I still wasn’t inclined to sit quite so close to them. I didn’t know them, and I certainly didn’t trust them.
“Don’t look so terrified. We aren’t going to hurt you. Besides, if either of these guys scare you, I’ll kick their asses.”
The two men in question scoffed. I raised my eyebrows. She was a dainty little thing and the two men looked like monoliths by comparison. She had bright red hair that fell in soft waves around her face and her cornflower blue eyes sparkled as I finally approached the sofa and sat down.
She placed her hand on her chest. “I’m Saskia. This pig next to me is Alec, and next to you is Fenris.”
Alec turned out to be the guy with the grin and the black hair. Although now that I was a bit closer, I realised it wasn’t just black but had shimmers of deep blue in it like the wing of a raven. He stuck his hand out in greeting.
“How do you do, Miss Monroe?” Alec’s grin widened. His voice was smooth and a flush crept up my neck as his eyes raked over me from head to toe. They were a fascinating shade of amber, like two pools of rich, dark honey. They held my gaze unwaveringly and I could tell he was trying to assert his dominance over me. He was attempting to make me cave under the sheer power that emanated from his beguiling eyes, but I wasn’t one to back down from a challenge.
