The Torturer and the Assassin Part 3
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The next morning, I met Tim in front of his house. The man was still bound and beaten. More than just what I’d done. I was pretty sure the patrol had wailed on him a little.
Tim just stared down at him. He looked resolute as he flagged down the patrol who was walking the street. The men nodded toward me in greeting.
“I want this man taken to the second cellar and strapped to the table there. Wear gloves. The straps are made of silver and so are his cuffs. I found this key on the ground near his scraps of clothes. Today he’s going to find out why I’m not a hindrance to the collective.” Tim said with a scowl.
The patrol picked up the man and dragged him off, after taking the key from Tim. I tried to act nonchalant. Tim wanted to pretend we hadn’t made out last night. I could do that.
“You ready to train?” I asked.
“If you’re still willing to train me.” He replied.
“No reason not to. In fact, that man attacking you just shows that we need to make sure no one else gets any dumb ideas. Come on. I’ll show you my private training spot. That way no one has to see you while you’re still learning.” I told him.
Tim looked into my eyes. He was searching for something again. I tried to think friendly thoughts. Not the thoughts that had been racing through my head all night.
The thoughts about the taste and feel of his skin. The ones about the sound of his breathing and moans. The thoughts that made me unbearably hard.
He smiled a little. “I thought you would be upset about last night. Thanks for saving me. I know it’s probably against your nature as an assassin. Thanks for still wanting to be my friend.”
I led him toward the private clearing in the woods surrounding the ranch. He thought I would be mad about last night? I wondered why. There was really only one way to find out.
When we reached the clearing, I turned to him and smiled. He smiled back. It was much brighter than the one earlier this morning which seemed almost regretful. I wanted to see more of it.
I instructed him on sparring and told him I would mostly block, but I wanted to see what he could do in a fight. I told him to fight me as if I were an attacker and he couldn’t get to his potions. He nodded and we began.
Tim’s motions were fluid. His punches didn’t have much power behind them and he wasn’t grounding enough, so he stumbled as he swung. He was like a child trying to fight based on what he saw on television. I sighed. I had a lot of work to do.
“Pretty pathetic, huh?”
“I think it was very good for as much training as you’ve had. Now, you have me. I’ll make sure you get better. Soon, people are going to treat you the way you deserve.” I told him.
“I’ve never had a friend before, Silas. I don’t want this to be ruined. Do you understand?” He asked.
“Tim. Do you think that I’m only using you? That I’m not serious about you… about us? I don’t know what I did to make you feel like that, but let me try to fix it. Let me show you I’m serious.” I said.
His eyes widened. “You mean, you meant to do that last night? You’re not going to accuse me of using a potion on you or say that it was all because I’m weak like a female? You really wanted to kiss me?”
“I want to do more than just kiss you, Tim.” I moved closer to him and put my hand on his shoulder.
“You’re messing with me, aren’t you?” Tim laughed. “King Fuller put you up to this. Find my mental weakness and exploit it. Everyone knows I can’t fight back physically, he wants to make sure I never fight back in any other way either. He told you to act like you want me.”
I shook my head. “No. He told me I needed to pick out a female to mate with so I would loosen up. I had no idea that you liked men. I bet he didn’t either.”
“I thought he saw how I looked at some of the men on patrol and deduced it. I was here for two weeks and suddenly this hot assassin comes back and starts standing close to me and licking me all the time. Then, you save me from someone who attacked me in a place no one else could have seen.” He scoffed. “There’s no way that isn’t manufactured.”
“Kingston is a feared and revered king for many reasons, his powers of observation aren’t one of them. I’m loyal to my king, but I would never w***e myself for him. If he had ordered me to kill you I would have done that. I would not kiss you because he ordered it.” I insisted and pulled him to me.
Rubbing my cheek against his, I sniffed him again. Wolf seemed to calm down from his agitated state. He’d been upset that Tim couldn’t protect himself.
“Let me stay near you. Let me train you. Let me learn from you. Don’t push me away, Tim. Wolf hates it when you get that cold look in your eyes.” I murmured as I buried my nose in the curve of his neck.
“Sy. I don’t know you. I don’t know what’s going on with you. I’ll let you stay near me. Maybe your fascination with me will wear off and you’ll go back to being with women. King Fuller wouldn’t suggest you mate with a female if he thought you were gay.” Tim said sadly.
“He doesn’t know anything about me. I slept with females, but I was never really attracted to anyone. You’re the first person I’ve ever wanted to be close to. You’re the first person Wolf has ever wanted to be close to. If I were a pack wolf, I might even think you were my fated mate. Wolf loves the idea of offering for you.” I whispered as I kissed his neck.
Tim pushed away from me and stared into my eyes. He looked seriously shocked. He even started blushing.
“I… I think we need some time apart. That’s crazy. You only just met me. You can’t just say you want to offer for someone after only knowing them for a day.” He insisted.
“No. I’m a feral rogue. Instinct is what guides us more than you tame rogues. I know what I want. Wolf knows what he wants. I will stay next to you and learn. I will remind you every day that you are mine until you accept it and let me offer for you. Now, we should practice some stances and punching, then I will give you a kiss and take you home. I’ll meet you in the dungeon, don’t try locking me out. I go where I want, when I want. I have that spell all memorized and I’m ready to make it. You can show me your work on the man who tried to kill you last night. When you’re done with him, I’m going to kiss you again. Then, I’ll walk you home at the end of the day and give you a final kiss before we part ways.” I told him, staring into his eyes intensely.
He managed to get even redder and I couldn’t help but smile. Once I decided it, and Wolf agreed to it, nothing in the world sounded better than making Tim my mate. I would keep him safe and protect him. I would love him forever. And I would kill anyone who hurt him.
“You’re saying that you’re going to kiss me three times today and one of them is going to be out in the open where anyone can see?” He asked.
“Yes. They will all know that messing with you, is messing with me. The entire collective knows who and what I am and they know they don’t want to f**k with me. We’ll work on building your reputation too. No one will dare to attack you again.” I promised.
“And I don’t have any say in this?” Tim pressed.
“You have a say in it. The way you leaned closer as I told you what would happen today. The scent of your arousal while I was kissing your neck. The fact that you just said I was a sexy assassin. All tells me that you want this.” I winked.
“I said a hot assassin, not a sexy assassin.” He huffed.
“Baby, it doesn’t matter what you call me. As long as I get to kiss your sweet, pouty, mouth and gaze into those sapphire eyes, it will only be the sweetest song to me.” I purred and leaned in.
Tim turned his face away from mine. “You said we’d work on training before you kissed me.” He murmured.
“And so we will. You better not try to escape me. I felt how aroused you were last night before you pushed me away. Even if you’re still imagining that this is a joke, your body is craving mine. Your wolf wants this too, doesn’t he?” I smirked.
He swallowed hard and nodded. I watched his tongue dart over his lips. He was remembering our kiss the night before.
“Let’s get started, then.” I told him and started his training.
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