Page 15 of The Assassin
Ardan glanced back to the mirror in front of him and Gabriel didn’t miss the twitch of irritation on his mouth. Or maybe it’d been pain because the cut on his upper cheek had started to bleed again.
Gabriel pushed himself off the counter and opened the cupboard beneath the basin, tugging out a first aid kit he knew was hidden in there. Louis had been hurt when they’d first met, and Gabriel had protected him. When Louis brought him back to the clubhouse, he’d led him straight to this bathroom and dragged out the first aid kit. While there had been no feelings between them—not love anyway—Gabriel had cared about him. They’d been friends, and his death had been abrupt. Gabriel wasn’t completely heartless and the news of his loss had hurt.
Ardan watched as Gabriel unzipped the kit, that suspicious look back in his eyes, as though he’d pull out a knife from the red pouch and stab him in the neck right there.
Gabriel smirked and ripped open an alcohol wipe, raising it to one of the cuts on Ardan’s forehead. Ardan winced away from the pressure, his jaw tight, but when Gabriel went to do it again, he stilled. As soon as Gabriel pressed it against the wound, Ardan hissed through his teeth. The noise wasn’t loud, but the pain was obvious in the way his eyes fluttered closed and he bared his teeth.
“Hold still. Let me clean you up.”
“Why?” Ardan’s eyes snapped open again and the narrowed glare was back. “I might not be able to kill you now, Mancini, but as soon as you leave this house, you’re mine.”
Gabriel gave him a crooked smile. “So romantic.”
Ardan’s cheeks flushed, which was unusual for him. Gabriel had known him long enough to not expect something like that from him, yet here he was, blushing like a teenage girl.
“Am I embarrassing you?”
“No. I’m thinking about ways to smother you in your sleep, make it look like you died from natural causes.”
“There’s plenty of ways to do that. I like to use digoxin. It causes a heart attack. Have you used it before?”
Ardan stayed silent for a moment and winced when Gabriel touched the alcohol strip against another cut, this one on his cheek. “No. I use strychnine.”
Gabriel hummed. “Not a bad choice. It’d do the job.”
“I don’t need your approval.” Ardan moved his head when Gabriel went to wipe at his cut again. “And I don’t need your help. This isn’t the first time I’ve been in a fight.”
“No, I suppose it’s not. But I’m the one who caused it, so shut up and let me help.Cazzo!”
“I know some Italian, so don’tfuckme.”
Gabriel raised his eyebrows. “What if I want to fuck you?”
“That’s not what I meant.” The flush was back, but this time it spread down his neck and under his blood-stained shirt. He shoved at Gabriel, but Gabriel held strong, not moving.
“Voglio scoparti.”
“Stop speaking in fucking Italian.” Ardan went to shove him again, but Gabriel seized his wrists, slamming them back against the mirror behind him. The entire thing wobbled but didn’t fall.
Gabriel leaned in closer, his breath dancing across Ardan’s ear as he whispered, “It meansI want to fuck you.”
“Fuck off. That’s in English.” Ardan tried to move his hands, but Gabriel’s grip tightened. He didn’t miss the way Ardan’s eyes darkened, or how he leaned in subconsciously, almost like he was begging to be touched. Gabriel wanted to more than touch Ardan, though; he wanted to destroy him. Make him beg like Gabriel was sure Ardan had never done before.
Ardan was famous in the Society crowd. Everyone knew the assassin who took life without a second thought, who moved with such proficiency that his targets should make funeral arrangements as soon as possible. While Gabriel wasn’t disappointed, he also knew how Ardan worked, and made their chase a dance. Every time Ardan moved forward, Gabriel shifted back and waited for his next step.
Gabriel ghosted his lips over Ardan’s and he hovered them there, not quite touching. He was close enough to feel the puff of air from Ardan’s mouth, and they stared at each other.
“Are you in pain?” Gabriel slid his tongue over his lips and let his gaze dip down to Ardan’s mouth, where his bottom lip was split from their fight.
“I’ve had worse.” Ardan’s head snapped forward and collided with Gabriel’s, and his hold on Ardan’s wrists faltered. Ardan took the chance to throw himself at Gabriel, and they went stumbling to the ground, Ardan on top. His hands wrapped around Gabriel’s throat, squeezing until Gabriel actually felt the air being snatched from him, but by that time his surprise had disappeared and his fight-or-flight instincts kicked in.
He drove his knee forward and managed to get Ardan in the stomach, and he used Ardan’s momentary huff of pain to turn them so he was once again on top. He used his weight to hold the other man down, while grabbing Ardan’s wrists again and shoving them over his head, keeping them there.
The sound of blood thumping in his ears made Gabriel grin, his cock already hard from the scuffle, and with Ardan’s tight body pressed against his own, he couldn’t control the reaction. Ardan smelled like sweat, his masculine scent mixed with Gabriel’s, filling the large bathroom. Ardan panted hard, eyes dark with fury as he struggled beneath Gabriel.
“Get off me, Mancini,” he hissed.
Gabriel laughed. “You’re a deadly assassin, Ardan, but only when your target doesn’t know you’re coming. You can’t beat me when it’s hand-to-hand combat.”
