Fire Bound (Sea Haven Sisters)(23)

She stiffened. Her free hand went to his chest with the idea that she’d move him back, away from her, but the moment she touched him, she knew it was a terrible mistake. He had no shirt on, his chest bare. His body was inflexible. No give whatsoever. All male. All muscle. Hot as hell. So hot her palm seemed to melt right into his chest. Her breath slammed out of her lungs, leaving her burning for air. Raw with need.



She couldn’t see his chest, not really. But she could feel it, his skin so hot. So tough. Her hand could feel his muscles, defined and rippling subtly beneath his skin, like a tiger, still, but coiled and ready to leap on her and tear her to shreds. She could move her hand. It was madness to leave it there, because he was more than a tiger, or a jungle cat, he was at the very top of the food chain and he was hunting. She knew he’d set his sights on her – he’d admitted it. He’d set a trap with that book and she’d stupidly walked right into it.



Lissa moistened her lips and tried to stay on target. “You met with your brothers?” She knew he had six brothers. All trained in the same way he’d been trained. An assassin, a product of those brutal schools no one ever talked about. No one wanted to admit they had ever existed. So much so, that Sorbacov, both father and son, wanted to make certain the existence of those schools never saw the light of day. They had put out a hit on all their graduates, men and women who had served them and were now considered disposable.



It hurt that his brothers would hold a secret meeting about her, that Gavriil would betray a confidence. She considered them family, at least the ones who lived on the farm. Lev, Rikki’s husband, in particular. He’d been there the longest, and she’d spent quite a lot of time in his company. They both had worked with her other sisters on self-defense. It had taken a lot of discipline to keep Lev from knowing she was far better than she let on. Still, she had developed genuine affection for him.



“Gavriil was worried, I could tell. The others just wanted you safe, they have no idea who you really are. I’m certain Gavriil knew, but he just told me that I was to stick with you, no matter where that led. He didn’t come out and say you might go after the Sorbacovs, but he alluded to the fact that he was a little worried, that you were a fire element and unpredictable. He said you were very close to Lexi and now that he was there on the farm as a Prakenskii, you knew that Uri Sorbacov would send anyone he could after him and the others. He also was afraid Uri would use you to get at our family. He would know you meant something to us. We protected one another in the schools by allowing them to torture us to keep the others alive; of course he’d know we’d do the same for you.”



She lifted her chin. “Essentially, he told you enough that you could figure out my past. You know that my parents were murdered.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. Her chest felt tight, as if it was impossible to breathe. The burn behind her eyes surprised her, as did the sudden clogging in her throat. She hadn’t allowed herself to think about her parents and that terrible day in a very long time and now, over and over, that door seemed to creak open.



Casimir’s hand, anchored in her hair, slid lower. His palm curled around her throat as if feeling her pulse beating there. Warm. Bringing fire to her skin. To the nerve endings so her body couldn’t settle – didn’t have time to do anything but react to his touch.



“My parents were murdered as well. My family was torn apart,” Casimir reminded, his gentleness disarming. “I know what it feels like to need to bring those who committed those crimes to justice. My brothers, Viktor and Gavriil, hunted down the men who had been there that night, the ones following Kostya Sorbacov’s orders. It took them a long time, years, to find out which ones pulled the triggers, but in the end, they killed every one of them. Only Kostya remains. None of my brothers could get near him. They’re too well known.”



She knew then. There was no getting air. No getting her breath back. “You become different people. You were that horrible man on the plane, bugging me every time I turned around just for your own amusement.”



Above her head, he nodded.



Her lungs burned. Felt raw. “You were Tomasso and then the man in the cappuccino bar and now you’re someone else. You’re planning on going after them both. To keep your brothers safe. That’s why, when you had the chance, you didn’t put your mark on me.”



She knew all about that claiming mark. She’d seen her sisters rubbing their palms. She knew they each could press their thumb into that mark and call their man to them. They belonged. They were cherished. They were loved. She wanted that and yet… She didn’t have the personality needed to be with a man that dominant. The Prakenskii brothers, each and every one of them, were extremely dominant men. Total alphas. How could they not be, trained in the schools to become essentially weapons?