Page 16 of The Assassin
The fury made Ardan tense, and his labored breathing was the only sound in the otherwise quiet room. If he could breathe fire, Gabriel imagined there’d be flames licking at his nose. He always imagined Ardan as a ticking time bomb and Gabriel was the lucky one who always managed to set off the normally reserved man. He had a talent and Gabriel enjoyed seeing the assassin come undone.
Excitement made his skin prickle, and there was no way Ardan couldn’t feel Gabriel’s cock now, not with it pressed so firmly against his stomach.
“Admit it, you’re curious,” Gabriel whispered with a smug smile. “You want to know what it’s like to sleep with me.”
“I’d rather let you kill me than touch me like that.” But Ardan’s gaze dipped and the interest was there, albeit briefly, before he glanced away.
“Bugiardo.” Gabriel kept his hold of Ardan’s wrists in one hand and with the other, he trailed a finger down his cheek and jaw. “You’re such a liar.”
Ardan went to bite Gabriel’s finger, but Gabriel’s palm came across his cheek in a sharp slap that elicited a gasp out of Ardan. His hips jolted up, and Gabriel got a good feel of Ardan’s cock against his thigh, hard and trapped in his clothes.
“Well, hello.” Gabriel grasped Ardan’s face between his fingers and squeezed at his wrists. “You don’t want to kill me. You want to fuck me.”
Ardan hissed and he was beginning to sound more and more like a wild animal, waiting for someone who could tame him. That someone was Gabriel.
“Tell me you want me,” Gabriel whispered, licking a long stripe up Ardan’s cheek.
Ardan bucked against him and wiggled, but Gabriel had more weight, and as much as he acted like he wanted to be free, Ardan wasn’t trying—not really. Gabriel hadseenhim try and he wasn’t even using fifty percent of his skills to escape. He wanted this as much as Gabriel did. Seeing Thor and Loki fucking had done something to both of them.
“Tell me.” Gabriel squeezed at Ardan’s cheeks harder. “You can chase me again after tonight, but right now, we’re stuck here with a peace treaty, which you agreed to. So think about it, Ardan, instead of killing each other, for a short time, we could feel something else. I can feel how much you desire me,tesoro.”
Ardan blinked and his body relaxed under Gabriel’s hold. He turned his gaze to him, and it softened. This wasn’t him, though, and warning bells sounded in Gabriel’s head. “Okay. I want this.”
Gabriel laughed. “Yes, you do, but you’re not going to give in easy.”
Ardan’s tongue danced over his upper lip and his attack came quick and hard. Gabriel was ready for it when Ardan bucked and managed to get one of his wrists free, and he dodged the punch. By doing so, he had to release Ardan completely, and fell backward onto his ass.
Ardan rolled, jumping to his feet and when he came at Gabriel from his standing advantage, Gabriel braced for an attack. What he didn’t expect was for Ardan’s mouth to slam against his own with a bruising force. The cuts on Gabriel’s face stung and throbbed when Ardan grabbed his cheeks between his hands and flung himself at him, causing Gabriel to land on the ground on his back.
There was nothing sweet about Ardan’s tortuous kiss. He didn’t want to make love, but rather fuck, and Gabriel couldn’t say no to that. He’d dreamed about this moment numerous times before, got hard at the thought of Ardan making him bleed before they threw off their clothes and went at it rough and hard. He had never understood Ardan’s obsession to track him down, but he relished the attention because there was something enigmatic about the assassin, a kind of untouchable attractiveness that made Gabriel’s body buzz with need.
Ardan wanted to kill him, but he also wanted to fuck him. They were nothing more than predators in the wild. Hunt and kill, the only instincts that kept men like them alive.
Gabriel felt too hot, his collar around his neck the weight of lead, and Ardan felt good against him. Ardan clawed at his shirt, tugging at the bloody white cotton like he wanted to tear it off Gabriel, something that Gabriel wasn’t going to deny him. The sound of ripping material filled the bathroom when Ardan finally yanked it hard enough. Buttons flew across the room, scattering across the tiles.
Ardan nipped at Gabriel’s bottom lip and it hurt because of the cut already there. “Get your fucking clothes off.”
“All this cursing. Does your mother let you kiss her with that mouth?” Gabriel knew he hit a sore spot, he’d purposely chosen it.
Ardan’s face turned a sickly shade of white and the punch landed square across Gabriel’s chin, making his world spin for a short minute.
“Don’t mention my mother, Mancini.”
Gabriel laughed and touched his chin. “So sensitive.” He used Ardan’s momentary anger to flip them again, this time putting Ardan on his back. “But that’s okay. I like it when you fight me.”
Ardan went to headbutt him, but Gabriel caught his face between his hands and slammed his mouth against Ardan’s. They kissed with angry passion, the kind that had hatred bordering on desire. Ardan loved to hate him. Wanted to fuck him. It was all too perfect.
Gabriel broke the kiss and rose to his feet, hauling Ardan to his and then slamming him against the bathroom counter. Ardan’s hands splayed across the marble, catching himself on it. Gabriel reached around to undo the belt keeping Ardan’s pants tightened before he expertly undid the button and zipper, yanking the pants down around his ankles. He shoved Ardan’s shirt up his back before undoing his own pants enough that he could open them and pull out his dick.
“Lube, second drawer.”
“How the fuck do you know?” Ardan hissed.
“Get it.”
“Fuck off.”
Gabriel growled and spun Ardan around, slamming him against the counter again. He opened the first drawer, tugging out a gun he knew the Lords kept in there. Ardan froze, his gaze narrowed on the steel handgun.
