GUARDED BY THE SNAKE

Monster Security Agency

Layla Fae

Copyright © 2024 Layla Fae

All rights reserved

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

CONTENTS

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Author’s Note

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Kim’s Epilogue

Asan’s Epilogue

Afterword

Free Romance Novel

Books By This Author

Books In This Series

DEDICATION

If you can’t get a man who’ll kill for you, pin you to the ground with his heavy snake coils, and take you with his double D, don’t despair.

He’s waiting for you in this book.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

This is a bodyguard monster romance with an action plot and a romance plot. For the action scenes, be prepared for the use of guns and other sharp objects in a fight, death of side characters, and torture without gore.

As for the romance plot, I have one recommendation for the maximum enjoyment of the spice. Please, suspend your disbelief while reading chapter 15, chapter 16, chapter 19, chapter 20, chapter 21, chapter 25, chapter 26, and chapter 27. If you need a logical explanation for why the puzzle pieces that have no business fitting together actually fit, it’s provided later in the book.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER 1

Asan

“I tried to dissuade her,” Egad said from the edge of the underground pool. No introduction, no hello, no explanation who the person he referred to was. Typical.

I swam over with a few powerful twists of my body and flung water from my eyes. It trickled down my scales easily, their smooth surface repelling water like it did most things. Neither water nor dirt clung to my scales, and bullets couldn’t penetrate.

It was dark here because I hadn’t turned on the lights. The pool was just warm enough, and I swam for an hour already, luxuriating in my free time. I had a rare break between assignments and used the time to work out.

“What did I tell you about starting from the beginning?” I asked, not really annoyed. I was close to molting, and spending most of my time in the dark, warm pool was deeply relaxing.

Though something told me my rest was over.

Bracing my hands on the edge of the pool, I pushed myself up, thrusting my torso onto the tiled floor. Egad stumbled back, eyes widening in surprise like they always did when he saw me naked, even though there wasn’t anything inappropriate about it.

My spikes were tucked away in their pocket, only a faint line down my underside indicating the place. They emerged when I was aroused, so Egad was safe from seeing them.

Like all humans. They didn’t do it for me.

It wasn’t about my nakedness, anyway. Wearing clothes made me look more civilized, my scale-covered upper body and thick arms partly hidden, my light-gray belly covered by a bulletproof vest. It made me look less monstrous, even though my lower half was decidedly serpentine, a long, sinuous body and a tail covered with dark gray, matte scales.

My torso was anthropomorphic, my lower body that of a snake. I moved like a snake, twisting in serpentine waves. I suspected the snakelike parts of me triggered some latent instinct in human brains.

Snakes were predators, after all. And even though I was not a snake but a shehru, the similarities still terrified most humans. I didn’t mind. Inspiring fear was useful in my line of work.

Water slid down my scales, my body drying fast, and I reached for my T-shirt discarded on a bench. A human size XXL, it fitted tightly over my broad shoulders. When I tasted the air with my forked tongue, I sensed Egad’s unsettled sweat. But tension eased out of him as soon as my T-shirt was on.

There. A monster, civilized. At least on the outside.

“Well?” I asked sharply. “Dissuade whom from what?”

I had no idea what Egad meant, but if he made the effort to find me here, in the bowels of the agency’s HQ, it could only mean one thing. I had a job. The sooner he got to the details, the faster I could get on it. If it was a quick one, I definitely wanted to get it done before my molting came on.

“Kim Schmidt. From picking you.”

That name told me nothing, but Egad didn’t elaborate. His eyes tracked down my face, widening in startled shock when I bared my teeth at him, my two thin fangs sliding out of their gum pockets.

Ever since Egad asked me to treat him like a friend, I made a point of not holding back. Fangs out was a perfectly normal social cue for my species. It was how shehru bros showed each other their annoyance.

Not that I had many shehru bros. Just a few old school friends whom I met once a year for drinks and shallow gossip, and then a neighbor or two in Shehru Town on the west side of LA, where I lived.

I was private about my life, preferring to wind down in solitude after my stressful job as a bodyguard, and didn’t really like small talk. Sometimes I thought Egad was my only friend, because he knew the most about me.

But that made sense. Egad was my coordinator, so he had to know things other people didn’t.

My job made up three quarters of my life, after all.

Even though we’d known each other for five years, ever since he started working for the agency, he still couldn’t handle some aspects of me. Like now. His scent of fear intensified, letting me know fangs out was too much for him.

I tucked the fangs away and took an irate look at the pool, giving Egad enough time to compose himself. Really, he should have gotten used to me by now. It wasn’t like I’d attack him or something. Shehru didn’t eat humans, just like they didn’t screw them.

“Would you kindly explain from the start?” I asked.

He took a deep breath and squinted in the gloom, wringing his freckled hands nervously.

Egad was thin and tall, with a mop of curly brown hair and a perpetual tick in his temple. He wore impeccably ironed suits, religiously followed an intricate filing system, and never started from the beginning without being prompted.

“Right. I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “And… for getting startled, too. I know it’s how you express yourself. Anyway, let’s go. I’ll tell you everything on the way.”

We set off toward the elevator. I could’ve used the stairs all right, but the elevator was more comfortable and big enough to fit even the largest monster species. I loved this about the Los Angeles Monster Security Agency base. Everything here was perfectly adapted not to humans, but to us, making the building comfortable to use.

Egad rented a studio apartment in Mid-Wiltshire, a mostly human-populated district. Visiting him was a pain because of how narrow and small everything was: narrow sidewalks, narrow streets, small doorframes. Parking spaces unsuited to large shehru cars.

Not that I visited often. I liked my solitude and quiet.

“Kim Schmidt. No records available apart from her name and face, even in the secure government databases. All we’ve got is her ID—it checks out. She exists as a person, but she’s a total blank. No school records, no relatives, no address, certainly no social media. We only know what she told me, which is not much.”

I frowned. Immediately, alarm bells pinged in the back of my brain, making the scales on my head tingle. Checking a client’s identity and background was routine. It let us assess the risk involved in protecting them.

While her ability to wipe her digital footprints was impressive, I couldn’t help but be annoyed. I depended on the background checks for valuable information on a client’s enemies, weaknesses, areas where they couldn’t be trusted. No person was infallible, and I preferred to be forewarned about their vices.

I wondered why she’d taken so much effort to hide so thoroughly. Ordinary people didn’t bother.

“Why does she need me and why do you think I’m a bad fit?”

It stood to reason he thought that since he tried to dissuade her from picking me. Though it was even more interesting why Kim didn’t heed Egad’s advice. Clients usually weren’t too bent on a specific bodyguard unless they knew us from a previous assignment, and I had never met Kim Schmidt.

Egad fidgeted when the elevator chimed, indicating we arrived. Instead of answering at once, he led me to an empty conference room. There were three on this floor, as well as a reception and a waiting area for clients. I suspected my pending principal was in another conference room, waiting for Egad to fetch me.

“It’s more like she is a bad fit for you,” Egad said when we were alone in the gloomy conference room. The shades were drawn, hiding the interior from the bright sunlight outside. The AC was set a tad too low, making me clench my jaw against the cool air.

Damn, I already missed the warm pool. But there was more to my quickly growing foul mood, like Egad’s certainty that the job wasn’t for me. How could it not be my kind of assignment? I was a bodyguard, for fuck’s sake, and a damn good one at that.

All I needed was a body to guard.

“Could you just be blunt with me?” I asked through gritted teeth, making Egad wince. He shot a quick look at the door, making sure it was closed, and gave me a sharp nod.

“All right, fine. It’s better that you know now so you can reject her at once. Because you should.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, folding my arms. The cold, coupled with the irritation of having my workout cut short, was getting to me. Egad’s evasiveness didn’t help the matters.

“Just say what you think,” I hissed, already deciding I’d give this client a chance, no matter what he said.

“She’s a thief,” Egad finally said, making me scoff.

That was unfortunate but hardly a reason for me to reject her if she could pay.

“No, there’s more,” he added as if he knew exactly what I thought. “She bungled her last job and now the victim is after her. It’s Maximilian Rossi. She robbed Maximilian Rossi, and now she needs around-the-clock protection from his people.”

I didn’t react, even though the revelation filled me with annoyance. Egad was right, I’d most likely hate protecting the client. Not because Maximilian Rossi, the owner of Vanguard Cyber Systems, was one of the most powerful humans in LA. Not because he led one of the biggest, most influential cybersecurity companies in the world and thus had access to resources that would make flying under his radar extremely difficult.

These were important factors but I’d never use them as grounds for rejecting a client. A challenge didn’t daunt me.

And yet, Egad was right. This job would be torture.

I’d hate it simply because I couldn’t respect Kim Schmidt now.

I loathed arrogant, incompetent people, and she proved to be one by trying to steal from the most powerful person in the area. That in itself was cocky beyond belief, because as the owner of Vanguard, Rossi most likely had the most advanced security in the country.

The fact she failed meant she’d wildly overestimated her skills, too. So she was incompetent and yet entirely too self-assured. Protecting a person like that was always a nightmare.

Cocky clients often tried to do my job for me. They thought they knew better and then landed themselves ass first in danger, making my work ten times harder and more annoying.

Spending time in her company, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, would be an ordeal. My head already hurt at the amount of effort it would take me to remain professional. Getting shot at on the job? Easy. Eliminating threats and losing tails? Sign me up.

But being stuck with someone you had no respect for and couldn’t trust? Fuck. This. Shit.

“Are you telling me I’m not good enough to protect her from Rossi?” I asked, my tongue flicking out angrily.

It most likely wasn’t the reason why Egad didn’t want me to take the job, but I had to remove all doubt.

He looked appalled.

“God, no! You’re actually perfect. Well, I mean, profile-wise. That’s why she wants you. But you know it’s not just about shielding her from bullets. You’ll have to spend a lot of time together. She estimates it will take up to a month until she gets Rossi off her back. In that time, she’ll actively work against him. So not just hiding.”

A month. That meant I’d molt while on the job. I’d done it before, so it was possible, but also a total nuisance. Especially while protecting a female.

The fact she was human and thus unable to entice me at least meant I wouldn’t get attracted to her. Molting shehru weren’t picky, but it was unheard of to consider humans for mating.

Not only was it a social taboo, we were also anatomically incompatible. Or, so I heard.

Yet, I knew from experience I’d have a strong urge to mate, and I wouldn’t be able to while protecting her. That was bound to be a pain. Goddammit.

“Then why do you think I shouldn’t work with her?” I asked, holding back a snarl. I was seriously cranky, and I hadn’t even met her yet. This didn’t bode well at all.

“She’s talkative, optimistic, and she fidgets a lot,” Egad said at once, counting Kim’s faults off on his fingers.

All things I despised.

“She also requested that you only protect her in the event of an attack. She wants to move freely and won’t give you time to scope out places before she visits them. That’s a huge risk. Plus, she’s an arrogant idiot. She stole from Rossi, right? And got caught. Admit it, Asan: you already hate her.”

Damn, but he knew me too well. He was right—I already hated Kim Schmidt on principle. Then again, if she needed to be on the move while possibly getting shot at by Rossi’s mercenaries, I was the right male for the job. A dull feeling of duty pulled at the back of my mind, telling me I should grit my teeth and accept the assignment.

If I didn’t, someone else would get it. Someone less suited to the task, like Mahru or Sarsala. If they got hurt or killed protecting the client who was supposed to be mine, I’d never forgive myself.

Shit. I really wanted to say no. But I had already dressed, come up here, and gotten seriously pissed off on account of Kim Schmidt—if that was actually her name. The least I could do was talk to her and assess her for myself. Maybe Egad was wrong.

As I followed him to a brightly lit conference room, my head throbbed with the impending knowledge that I deluded myself. Kim Schmidt would be a nightmare.

And I would still take her on because I’d never force an unpleasant, dangerous client on my colleagues. She picked me, so she was my duty, whether I wanted it or not.

I would be professional. I would be courteous. And I’d help her efficiently get her job done as fast as possible so I could molt in peace, without an unappealing female by my side.

It would all work out, I told myself, my tongue flicking out in anticipation. Everything would be fine.

Yet when I saw the small brunette who welcomed me with a bright, almost blinding smile, I wished I never left the pool.

CHAPTER 2

Kim

I tapped my foot against the tiled floor, scrolling through the camera feeds on my phone. I hacked the CCTV network to keep an eye out for Rossi’s men.

I didn’t expect them to actually attack in broad daylight—or in MSA’s local headquarters, for the matter—but what did I know? Rossi was capable of anything. After all, he sent eight people after me only because I took an ugly gold sculpture from his home.

A sane person would have let it go. The sculpture wasn’t objectively important even if the sheer weight of the gold made it expensive. At almost two hundred troy ounces, it was worth 400 thousand dollars.

Rossi spent that kind of money approximately once a month to get his wife a new car or an outrageous set of jewelry to make up for his latest affair. I knew because I kept track of his personal expenses.

I also knew from years of watching Rossi that no sentimental value was attached to the piece. It was just a tacky ornament he kept in his office at home.

A sane billionaire with important things on his mind would have let the police handle a common thief. It boggled my mind he decided to send his elite paramilitary forces after me.

I didn’t even steal it for money. It was the anniversary of my dad’s death, and I was just so angry, I wanted to stick it to Rossi. I broke in and took the most ostentatious thing I could find so he knew it as soon as he entered his office.

That someone got in despite his top-tier security system. That he wasn’t safe.

And it almost worked. I was so well prepared after years of watching him, I got in without a problem. I climbed the wall of his pretentious mansion and snuck inside the house through an open window on the second floor. Rossi wasn’t home, and his wife, who was an insomniac, always left her bedroom window open before she went into the kitchen to get drunk.

She usually passed out on the sofa in the music room downstairs. I knew that after I hacked into the internal camera network Rossi had installed in the house, for security reasons but also to watch his wife.

A serial cheater himself, he was paranoid about becoming a cuckold. He liked to keep an eye on her when he was out of the house.

And that was why his security system, despite the state-of-the-art tech and round-the-clock human protection, failed. Because of human mistakes.

He screwed up by making his internal surveillance open to access from outside networks. His wife failed by leaving the window open.

And I benefitted from their errors.

Entering through the bedroom was a safe bet and only took a quick climb up the wall. There was an alarm on the window, but I had a tool that disabled it in seconds. Another tool jammed the camera signal, so neither the guard watching the screens, nor Rossi if he happened to look, would see me.

The jammer looped the camera feed, which gave me a few minutes to get in and out. Piece of cake.

The guards were outside and not very alert, so once I was in, it became painfully easy. Especially since I had prepared for months to work with the specific alarm system Rossi used. I got the same one installed in my apartment and regularly broke into my own place to keep my skills sharp.

I found his office, disabled the alarm on the door, got in. As soon as I saw the gold sculpture sitting proudly on a little plinth by his desk, my hands itched with the urge to take it. Not because I suspected it was important but because he clearly valued it.

It was gold and phallic, an obvious symbol of his wealth and power.

Of course, I took it.

Except, the stupid sculpture was hooked up to a secondary, well-concealed alarm that I hadn’t anticipated. As soon as the sound of it blared in the house, I knew I had to run.

But I couldn’t climb down from Rossi’s office, because the windows were locked, and I had no time to unlock them. By the time I made it to the open window in the bedroom, Rossi’s guards were almost on me.

One of them managed to tear my mask off my face before I kneed him in the groin. The cameras were already online at that point. My face got recorded.

I climbed out of the window and threw a sleep gas grenade inside, getting most of Rossi’s security force.

In the end, I made it out of the estate, but they got my face. I was caught, and for what? For a stupid gold paperweight that was probably nothing but a crutch for Rossi’s fragile ego.

Yet, I wasn’t sure how big of a trouble I was in. It wasn’t like my name and address were tattooed on my forehead. Just as a precaution, I decided to go into hiding, so I went straight from Rossi’s place to my apartment to pack.

He was fast, though. Just as I reached my building, an armored car stopped by the curb, spitting out mercenaries. I didn’t know how they found me, but Vanguard had access to illegal facial recognition software, so that could have been it.

It didn’t matter, anyway. My apartment was burned, my face a liability, and the hunt was on.

I ran, followed by gunshots. I hid in the sewers and trekked under the city to my safehouse, one of the two I maintained exactly for situations like this one.

There, I hid, desperately trying to come up with a plan. It was the first time in my life someone sent paramilitary forces after me. Normally, it ended with the police.

Which just proved my point: Rossi had a screw loose. Nobody sane would spend so many resources just to get a thief who stole a relatively insignificant piece of décor.

Not that I was all in there, either. I screwed up. The old Kim from just a few years ago would have never been so careless.

For eight years, I lived with one purpose only: to bring Rossi down for what he did to my father. I spent that time polishing my skills, gathering resources, and broadening my network so I was ready.

And now, I wasted all that effort with one hasty decision. Like I said, old Kim wouldn’t have done that. I used to be much more disciplined and focused. But the goal, the job, the time and devotion I poured into it chipped away pieces of me.

I was always on my own, without real friends, family, or any goals apart from vengeance. Everything I did, every part of my life, was devoted to ending Rossi. A person couldn’t live like that and come out unscathed.

Soon, all that remained of me would be that insane drive. And who knew, it might even get me killed. Obsession alone wasn’t enough to survive. I needed something else, something apart from the cause, but I had nothing.

Maybe it was already too late.

Point was, I was furious with myself for doing such a sloppy job. Normally, all my heists were meticulously planned. I took weeks to prepare for one job, but that night, I got reckless. I took my half-baked plans and decided I was ready, because my heart burst with pain and my lungs hurt for air.

Grief choked me and made me act rashly. It was eight years since Dad died, and the pain was still as sharp, still as dark. I knew on an instinctive level it wouldn’t let go until I was done, and I stupidly wanted to speed it up.

But all I managed to do was tip Rossi off that I was after him. I painted a target on my back, making everything more difficult, possibly setting myself back months, if not years.

I didn’t have years.

I’d never been further from avenging my father, my life was in danger, and I just didn’t care enough. I didn’t care whether I lived or died, only that I got my revenge.

That was why I needed a professional. Someone who would care in my place. Someone who would be cautious where I was careless, smart where I was stupid. Logical where I was human.

I needed Monster Security Agency.

They were wickedly expensive. Even with my small fortune, I only had enough funds to cover a monthly salary of MSA’s top personal bodyguard who worked solo. After that… I didn’t even want to think about it.

No, I had to get it done soon. And that was why I needed Asan. A trained professional who would keep the mercenaries off my back while I worked. A bulletproof, lethally fast predator who was his own backup. Someone whose blood was cool and mind clear, unmuddled by grief and vengeance.

It had to be him. I couldn’t afford a team of men to protect me, not because of the price, but because they would slow me down.

I needed iron-clad protection that would let me move fast, stay low, and come and go as I pleased. Asan was the only available monster who checked all those boxes. But for some reason, the coordinator I talked to tried awfully hard to push me toward someone else.

That was why I put on my brightest smile when the door opened and Egad walked in, followed by the shehru bodyguard. I was desperate, and I would do anything short of blowing him to get Asan to work for me. Even if, for some reason, he was reluctant. That just meant I had to try harder.

“Hi, nice to meet you! I’m Kim.” I barely looked at him when I walked over, my hand eagerly outstretched in a cheerful greeting.

When Asan didn’t move while I looked up—and up—finally taking him in, my hand dropped back to my side as I did my best not to gape. If the scornful look on his face was any indication, I failed miserably, and he minded.

Though maybe that was his neutral expression. Christ. I’d never seen a shehru up close.

I knew they were massive, but somehow it didn’t look so bad from a distance. From up close? He was a mountain.

At five foot seven, I wasn’t short, and I still had to crane my neck to look at his face. The hem of his T-shirt was level with my chin, so his entire human-looking torso was above me. I knew shehru could keep a large portion of their snake body upright but knowing and seeing it were two different things.

God, he was intimidating.

Below the hem of the T-shirt, he was naked, long serpentine body blocking the wide doorway. It trailed after him, narrowing until it ended in a sharp-tipped tail that was poised high over the floor.

The sheer mass and bulk of those snakelike coils made my mouth go dry, fear swooping in my belly until I had an urge to hide.

Instead, I gritted my teeth, touching up my smile to add more radiance, and focused on his face.

His features approached human and yet, they were decidedly alien. He had a wide, dark gray nose with even, dark spots on either side of it. His bald head was covered in scales, eyes narrow. His pupils were black slits cutting vertically through red irises. He had no eyebrows, yet darker patches of scales on his brow ridges formed an impression of them.

In that gray, scaly face, his mouth was full and wide, lips soft and a shade lighter. Right now, they were twisted in an impatient expression that finally jolted me into action. I stepped away, knowing I spent too much time ogling him. But I refused to blush with shame or lose my smile.

I needed him. Shehru scales were supposed to be bulletproof, and I’d already been shot at when Rossi’s men ambushed me by my apartment. He was what I needed, except…

There was one problem.

“You’re not exactly inconspicuous, are you?” I asked, doing my best to sound friendly. I didn’t want to seem like I complained when I so desperately needed this particular bodyguard. My cheeks ached from keeping up the smile.

He cocked his head to the side, making my stomach roil. His neck was more flexible than human necks, his head effortlessly twisting in a predatory manner. I swallowed, keeping my expression frozen, and took a slow breath as I waited for his reply.

“You can either get someone small or someone who’ll shield you from bullets while you run for cover. You can’t have both.”

His voice, oh god, his voice. It was quiet and dry, the sound susurrating like the ominous rustling of leaves in the dark. It didn’t reverberate deeply like male human voices, yet it carried, piercing straight into my lizard brain.

It was a lethal threat on the wind, a sound that told me to run, to hide, to pray.

I stood frozen at the spot, looking at the shehru and telling my brain to calm down.

He won’t kill me. He’s not a cobra in the jungle. I’m all right. I’m safe.

Slowly, my shoulders unclenched and knees unlocked. I turned the smile up a notch, my cheeks twinging in protest, and nodded.

“You’re right, of course. It’s not a problem. This is a big city, after all. Easy to get lost even with a big-ass shehru.”

The words were out of my mouth before I could bite my tongue. I managed to keep back the wince, though my gut cringed with unease when Asan slowly lowered a part of his body, now only towering about two heads above me. His eyes narrowed in displeasure.

Something told me he didn’t like my way of speaking, which was too bad. I ran my mouth when I was nervous.

He released a long, hissing breath as his eyes fell closed in exasperation. The air he let out tickled my cheek, cool and dry, and I raised my hand to rub the place. It felt like a touch.

“Do you have any other concerns?” he asked, his blood-red eyes popping open.

I didn’t startle, only because I braced for it. Still, I couldn’t keep my fingers from tapping out a rhythm on the side of my thigh. Asan’s eyes flickered toward the movement and away, focusing on my face.

“We might be forced to stay in a safehouse,” I blurted. “Not for long but… I have a few hideouts in the city, and they are rather small. That’s a contingency plan, of course, because I’ll do my best to keep us both comfortable while we work. It’s just that you’re so big, and if we have to get into hiding, I’m not sure how much of a problem it will be.”

Asan didn’t speak, but his body moved. His torso stayed eerily still while the snakelike part slithered and twisted, the scale pattern blurring, the movement hypnotizing. Round and round his body went, tightening and wrapping around itself until it became a mass of scaly coils, so much more compact than before.

“Good enough?” he asked, his muscular arms folding on his chest that stretched his T-shirt thin.

I nodded, blinking fast to remove the sight of his twining, blurring body from my mind. God, the slither. It was mesmerizing. Like watching your death stalking closer, paralyzed from fear and unable to run.

“Are you bulletproof all over?” I asked, because the MSA database was vague on that point. “I know your scales are, of course, but there was that shooting last year when the Brahta gang killed a shehru, so you clearly can get hurt from a bullet. And the scientific papers I read failed to specify the extent of your bulletproof ability. Although Palta et al. noted that… Ugh, I’m sorry. I’ll let you answer.”

Crap. I just admitted to doing extensive research on shehru combat abilities. Which I did as soon as I decided to get a monster bodyguard and looked up available options in MSA’s semi-private database.

It was two days now since I found Rossi’s mercs waiting to ambush me at my place. I’d spent a big part of that time reading up on MSA and the shehru and trying to convince myself I could work with a bodyguard.

Because I usually acted alone and I hated including other people. They got in the way.

Asan pursed his lips and shook his head, the movement jerky and small. Like he didn’t want to waste any energy on this conversation. I tapped my fingers again, faster and faster in agitation.

I forced my legs to keep still, but my body needed an outlet. His eyes flicked down and away, his nostrils flaring.

“My underside isn’t bulletproof. That’s why I usually wear a vest to cover vital organs. But no worries, Kim,” he said with emphasis, as if my name was somehow offensive. “I know how to keep my principal from getting shot.”

I scanned his body again, still coiled into that tight, serpentine mass. The sheer flexibility of him was impressive, but I focused on his skin. Indeed, the underside of his body, meaning the part that usually pressed to the ground, was lighter in color, the scales covering it fainter.

My eyes fixed on a vertical slash below the hem of his shirt, a thin line of darker scales. I stared, intrigued. It almost looked like there was something there.

A sharp hiss made me flinch and glance up guiltily. Fuck, I was ogling him again.

Asan gave me an icy look, his body uncoiling into its massive, serpentine form. He made no comment, but I knew he saw me staring. I only imagined what that slash was from its placement on his body and this time, I couldn’t help blushing.

Well, fuck him for not covering himself. Not that there was anything to cover. Damn. I’d have to read up on shehru anatomy, but… After. Once my job was done, our ways parted forever.

I was so not going to look up shehru pricks with him breathing down my neck.

“And you’ll stay with me full time, twenty-four hours a day? You’ll follow where I go and protect me if needed?” I clarified, suddenly deeply aware I’d have to share everything with this stranger now.

My safehouses, my methods, the details of my vengeance. He’d follow me everywhere and my life would literally depend on him.

He nodded, and I searched his eyes for a glint of kindness or reassurance, but there was none. His nostrils flared slightly with every fast breath, his body rigid and tall, muscles tense. God, he made me nervous.

“Okay then. I’m ready to sign the contract,” I said, pushing my qualms deep down.

I’d deal. It would be uncomfortable, but so was dying, and whether I liked it or not, the intimidating shehru bodyguard was my best chance at survival.

Now that I finally saw him, I was itching to get his protection. So when he shook his head and eyed me from his height advantage, my gut plummeted with foreboding.

“Not so fast. I have questions for you, too.”

CHAPTER 3

Asan

Everything Egad told me about her checked out. The fidgeting, the filterless mouth, and shit, the rabid smile. It was even worse since I suspected she was on her best behavior. Her body practically vibrated with tension, and I could tell she kept herself still with sheer willpower.

And yet, she kept tapping her fingers.

Once she let go of that control, and she’d have to sooner or later, she would jump around like a squirrel on speed. And I was programmed to notice movement. Stuck with a freaking fidgeter twenty-four seven, I would be constantly irritated, my body ramped up for action.

She stared, too, openly ogling my slit. In shehru culture, if a female looked at a male’s pocket, it was an open invitation to mate. Of course, a human woman wouldn’t know that. She was completely clueless, her gaze not an invitation but simple curiosity.

It was still annoying.

Everything about her grated on my nerves. And yet, I couldn’t help but notice her good qualities.

If keeping a low profile was her goal, she was well-dressed for the part. She wore loose dark jeans and a baggy T-shirt that hid the outline of her body and made her look forgettable.

I sensed heat patterns with the small pit organs on either side of my nose, so I saw the exact shape of her under the clothes. She was slim, her body seeming agile and trim. It made sense if she was a professional thief. She likely trained specific skills for the job, and her form reflected that. But humans and other species who relied on sight alone wouldn’t notice it under the unflattering clothes.

Her hair was a dark, lusterless brown, gathered in a low ponytail, her head covered with a gray baseball cap. Something like a beige handkerchief was looped around her neck, a pair of big sunglasses tucked at the neckline of her T-shirt.

Overall, she looked like a nobody. I suspected the handkerchief could be pulled up to cover the lower half of her face, the sunglasses hiding her brown eyes. She’d be masked and invisible because nobody would look twice at her drab clothes.

But even without the mask, she wouldn’t stand out. Her skin was tanned and lightly freckled, but it was LA. Every human had a tan. Her eyes were brown, soft yet average, and her face was oval and utterly unremarkable. Small nose, plump lips, a rounded chin. I supposed she might look pretty with makeup on, for human standards, of course. Without any paint, she looked washed out.

Which I suspected was her aim. It told me her professional goals took precedence over vanity. Good.

“Is Kim Schmidt your real name?” I asked, slowly moving closer. She glanced down at my slithering body and away, swallowing hard before she raised her chin to look at my face.

“Kim is, Schmidt isn’t,” she said, surprising me with her immediate honesty. Her temperature and slightly elevated pulse didn’t change. She wasn’t lying. “I can’t reveal my real surname. But you can call me Kim. It’s short and sweet.”

Behind me, Egad coughed to cover up a laugh. I refrained from shooting him an annoyed look over my shoulder. He was probably waiting for me to bare my fangs at her and tell her to get lost, but that wasn’t going to happen.

Even though I already disliked the taste of her name in my mouth. I abhorred sweetness.

She watched me, tapping away with her fingers, the constant movement making me want to twitch. I forced myself to ignore it and asked, “And what are your weaknesses? I need to know what to compensate for.”

Her lips pulled down at the corners, that smile finally shrinking to normal proportions. She brought her hand up, tapping her lip, and I averted my eyes.

Seriously, why couldn’t she stay still? It wasn’t like I wanted to stare at her body parts with predatory intensity. Especially her lips.

“I’m usually rational and plan for all contingencies,” she said slowly, brows pulled low as she thought, her finger tap-tap-tapping. It made a small dent in her pink lower lip every time it touched down.

I stopped fighting my instinct and let my eyes focus on the fluttering rhythm. Finger to lip. Finger to lip.

“But not always,” she said, squaring her shoulders as her hand fell away. My eyes stayed on her lips, following their movement as she spoke. I was utterly still.

“Truth be told, I can be impulsive and rash, and that’s how I screwed up recently. I would have died, you know, except Rossi’s home security must have had an order not to shoot. One of them had me, but I kneed him in the junk and ran. Which brings us to my other weakness.”

I released a slow, controlled breath. A rash, impulsive client was the worst kind. I wouldn’t have to just protect her from her enemies but from herself, too.

I desperately wanted to leave, back to my pool where I could dive to the bottom and stay there, soothing my senses and cutting off the world.

And yet, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her. She was like a spectacular car crash, fascinating to watch.

“I can’t fight or shoot. I don’t carry weapons,” she said with a self-conscious shrug. “I know I should in this line of work, I even went to some krav maga classes, but I just… I can’t. I’m hopeless. So I do my best to avoid conflict, but if I get in trouble, I rely on a good knee to the groin. You don’t have to tell me how stupid that is.”

I had to give it to her: she was self-aware.

“Next question,” I said, swiping my hand down the back of my head. “Are you actually skilled at what you do, or is the job that brought you here a representation of your skills?”

She frowned, moving her lips like she was silently repeating my words to herself, and then she leveled a fiery glare at me. I bit back a sudden urge to smirk. Dang, she was so much more pleasant when she was riled up.

“It’s my first fuckup, all right? And I’ve been doing big jobs for four years. That’s how I can afford your services. In all that time, I never got caught once! How’s that for a representation of my skills?”

“Touchy.” I couldn’t help but comment, at which she gave me a fake smile that was only slightly less creepy than the sincere one.

“Add touchiness to my weakness list. What else?”

She folded her arms on her chest. Her fingers tapped out a rhythm on her bicep and her leg bounced angrily, and oh dear fuck, they were out of sync. My tail twitched as I watched her keenly, focusing on the skin shifting over her knuckles, the heat her body generated, the still elevated heartbeat drumming in her chest.

“Could you please be still?” I asked through clenched teeth, staring at her hand.

Her fingers were short and even, nails unpolished. Really, there wasn’t a splash of bright color on her. Everything was brown, beige, and gray, and suddenly, I decided she wasn’t washed out, after all.

The pink of her lips, now twisted in a small smile, really stood out against the bleak backdrop.

“I’m afraid not,” she said. “I fidget constantly. Even when I sleep, my legs keep moving. It annoys people a lot. Hope it’s not a deal-breaker.”

I stared at her, blinking heavily. For fuck’s sake. Everything about this job was a deal-breaker, from her wiped records, through her fidgety talkativeness, to her reckless, unpredictable nature.

That she expected to just flit around the city, exposed and vulnerable, with me taking her bullets for her, was especially bad.

But it wasn’t my first task of this nature. That was why Egad said I was objectively perfect for it.

My head pounded with the knowledge I was going to take this assignment.

The agency’s policy allowed for rejecting a prospective client if we had good grounds for it. And I had no logical reason to send Kim away. I definitely didn’t want to force her upon one of my colleagues.

She came to me. This job was mine.

“We’ll have to discuss the full extent of my duties before we sign the contract,” I said, slithering closer, my tongue flicking out to taste the air. She didn’t wear perfume, and the natural scent of her skin was easy to find. It was surprisingly pleasant, warm and fresh, soothing my annoyance.

When she realized I just agreed to protect her, Kim’s face brightened with a smile so happy, I had an urge to shield my face from its impact. At that instant, I understood all her previous smiles were fake or tinged with discomfort.

This was the real deal, and it was radiant. Like the fucking sun.

Warmth seeped into my body despite the AC keeping the conference room cool. It traveled down the length of me like a caress until I pursed my lips and looked away. I just agreed to shield this woman from her powerful enemies. I wasn’t here to watch her facial expressions but to make sure she lived.

We spent the next hour hashing out the details of the job. Kim informed me bluntly we’d visit the criminal underworld and spend time in the seedy parts of the city, which gave Rossi’s mercenaries fantastic opportunities to attack.

She was used to working alone, and I had to fight for every inch of control so I could actually do my job.

By the time we finally signed the papers, I was cranky and on edge. Frankly, I welcomed some armed mercenaries just then. They would do nicely to unload some tension.

Kim, on the other hand, grew bubblier and happier the longer we discussed the details. She talked more, bouncing around the room instead of sitting in her chair, and when Egad brought us coffee and doughnuts, she wolfed down three, licking powdered sugar off her fingers with the tip of her pink tongue.

I didn’t stare, studying a list of hotels in the city so I could vet them. She chatted amicably with Egad when I finally looked up, uncoiling my body to stretch out.

“Egad. I’ll need information on Vanguard. Every business that employs them for cybersecurity is off limits.”

Without looking up, Kim tapped away on her phone. “Sent it to you.”

Egad, who was halfway up, sat back in his chair. “That was fast. How did you do that? Hope you won’t try to take my job,” he joked.

I knew how. She gathered information on Vanguard, then. Had she done that to prepare for robbing Rossi? Or was she planning something else?

Kim shrugged and looked into her cup of black coffee, avoiding my eyes. I quickly scrolled through the list, crossing out hotels that had Vanguard security software.

A thug like Rossi would have backdoor access to all his systems. If he wanted Kim, his people likely monitored all networks he had access to so as to keep an eye on her. We wouldn’t make it easy for them.

But that left only smaller hotels for us to use, which didn’t bode well. We’d have to keep moving and changing accommodation often while staying in the city.

Holing up in a safehouse would have been much safer. But Kim needed to move around freely, so switching our location often was the next best bet.

When I looked up, she was watching me, her face closed off and without a smile for once. I itched to ask her more questions—about her real name, her reason to steal from Rossi, her research on Vanguard—but I kept my mouth shut.

We would spend enough time in close quarters, breathing the same air, living through the same experiences. I’d uncover her secrets.

One by one until none were left.

CHAPTER 4

Kim

I bit back a groan when we rounded a corner and a snotling startled with a sharp shriek as soon as it saw Asan. I was right, the shehru attracted attention. Especially here, in an area inhabited mostly by humans and gnome creature types.

The small, green snotling chittered in fear, it’s rheumy eyes tracking the slithering shehru body. Asan didn’t even spare it a look, his head turning subtly from side to side as he scanned the area.

There wasn’t much to see, honestly. Skid Row was the poorest part of the city, with tents lining the sidewalks and neglected buildings looming sadly on either side of the road. It had the highest rate of homelessness in LA. I blended in with my baggy clothes, but Asan, who wore a black tactical vest and a backpack with his stuff and weapons, stuck out.

As soon as Rossi knew I had a shehru protecting me, it would be so much harder to hide. Especially in places like this one.

I was pretty sure the Skid Row population of shehru was zero. Like all powerful, long-living species, they inhabited wealthy neighborhoods that were more suited to monsters, with spacious architecture, wide roads, and acres upon acres of greenery and wildlife.

“Slow down,” Asan hissed in a low voice, stopping in a pool of shadow under a broken street lamp. It was nine pm, already dark, and the air finally cooled somewhat, though it was still stuffy. September this year was even hotter than normal. I dreamed of a shower but I had to do something first before we clocked out for the day.

I knew why we stopped. There was a crowd blocking the sidewalk up ahead, a band of scruffy people drinking and getting rowdy, by the look of it. I gritted my teeth. Normally, I’d have crossed to the other side of the street, but it was lined with tents, some of them glowing faintly with electrical lights turned on inside.

“Get on my other side,” Asan said, grabbing my arm and tugging me so I walked around him. Now, I was on his right side, and when he slithered off the sidewalk, forcing me onto the road as well, he became a wall between me and the drinking party.

“They are probably harmless,” I muttered, glancing at three gnome ladies who laughed loudly with their mouths open, showing off black gums and missing teeth. Each had a human-sized beer in her small hand, holding the bottle by the neck.

“’Probably’ isn’t good enough for me,” Asan said as we moved down the road, passing the drinkers. Their smell wafted up in the warm evening air, sweet odor of unwashed bodies, and I forced my face to stay blank as they stared.

Loud and laughing before, they fell completely silent when they saw Asan. He looked ahead, seemingly ignoring them, but I suspected he was aware of the smallest movements and sounds from the crowd. Not that they moved or made noises. All of them, a dozen humans and gnomes, were completely frozen in fear.

“It’s like I have a scary dog privilege,” I muttered under my breath after we passed, entering another pool of shadow while the party got back in swing, people talking again. “Apologies. Scary snake.”

Asan snorted, touching my arm so I’d follow as he moved back to the sidewalk, his powerful body slithering in even, sinuous waves. “That’s one way to describe a bodyguard.”

“I guess. Okay, we’re almost there. It’s just around the corner, and I’m going in without you. You can wait on the street.”

Asan stopped, scaly arm shooting out to hold me back.

“That’s not going to happen,” he said calmly, though his eyes narrowed in a threat.

I gulped. Just like those people back there, I had an urge to freeze and somehow avoid his attention, which was ridiculous. He was my bodyguard, goddammit. I shouldn’t be afraid of him.

“Look, it’s small, it’s private, and I’ve dealt with Archie for years. I’ll be fine,” I said, my foot tapping out a nervous rhythm.

Asan shook his head, his grip on my arm tightening. It didn’t hurt, but I had no illusions I could slip out of it. “We talked about this,” he said, his thin, forked tongue flicking out fast, almost making me flinch. “I go where you go. I can’t protect you if I’m not by your side, Kim. You signed the papers. You know the drill.”

I rubbed my forehead with my free hand, my upper lip sweating under my mask. I really didn’t want to have Asan follow me inside Archie’s shop. The space was tiny and filled with stuff, and I just knew if my bodyguard accidentally broke something, I’d have to pay for it.

Archie was my fence, and I wanted to get his opinion on the sculpture I stole from Rossi. There was a faint possibility he wasn’t insane and the thing was more valuable than I thought. Maybe his going after me with so much force was justified. If that was the case, I had to know so I could plan accordingly.

“Asan, please. I promise it’s safe,” I said, looking pleadingly into his eyes. “Archie likes me. He even asked me out a few times, though I never said yes. I don’t sleep with people I work with.”

His body dropped suddenly until his face was inches away from mine, wide nostrils flaring, red snake eyes focused on me with predatory force. Behind his head, I just saw the sharp tip of his tail poised high, twitching with agitation. I froze, my heart hammering faster and faster.

His tongue flicked out, long and quick, almost touching my mask over my lips before it retreated back into his mouth.

“I go where you go,” he said, his voice sending an icy spike of fear deep into my brain, my legs shaking. “It’s in our contract. If you don’t let me fulfill my duties, I’ll consider it broken and go back to the base.”

His tongue showed up again, a dark ribbon flickering at me. His monstrous eyes shifted, lowering. My breath caught. I swore he looked at where my lips were under the mask, and I pressed them together in reflex. My throat was tight, my mouth parched, blood rushing fast with adrenaline.

“I’m here to protect you, Kim. Let me,” he said, voice gentling as he pulled away, rising to his usual height, two heads taller than me. His body shifted, long slithering coils fanning out across the sidewalk.

I breathed a sigh of relief, the burning tension easing up once he left my personal space. A bizarre, liquidy feeling spread through me, something like helplessness, only it felt warm and relaxing instead of desperate. I nodded, my worries suddenly wiped away in the face of inevitability.

“Okay.”

Asan was coming, and it was the only option, so what was the point worrying? Who cared if he broke something at Archie’s? I could pay.

Besides, wasn’t it what I wanted—to be protected? Well, I did, but only in case of danger. I could handle myself when mercs didn’t shoot at me. I’d navigated LA’s underworld since I was eighteen, after all. Since my father’s death.

But this was a give and take kind of situation. Asan couldn’t protect me if I didn’t let him. I had to rely on him at least a little, too, even if it was difficult to switch gears.

I’d been on my own out here all my adult life. Of course, I balked at the thought of leaning on anyone, especially a bodyguard I hired for just one month and would never see again after that time ran out.

Still, I had him for this month and I’d have to learn to use him. Even if it was difficult to trust a stranger who scared the shit out of me with a look.

I rubbed my eyes, my sunglasses put away for the night. Damn, I was tired. I practically hadn’t slept for the last two days, working out what to do, evading Rossi, and doing my best to track his people. Even tucked away in a safehouse, I slept with one eye open, and the exhaustion caught up fast.

Asan made an impatient noise. I took a deep breath, craning my neck to look at him. I still had the baseball cap, the peak throwing shadow on my eyes, so I tipped my head back to look at his alien face.

“I haven’t thanked you for accepting this job yet. You have no idea how grateful I am,” I said, deciding this was a good moment to build mutual trust.

Because I would need that trust. I minded sharing the details of my work with a stranger, and yet, I had to take Asan with me everywhere. The obvious solution was to get to know him so we weren’t strangers anymore.

He cocked his head to the side, studying me. When I waited for his response, his tongue flicked out, lips curving up in held-back amusement. “No, you haven’t.”

I cringed. Of course, he had to mock me because I hadn’t spelled out my thanks.

Though maybe that wasn’t it. Maybe his kind processed language very literally. I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and smiled.

“Thank you, Asan. You’re saving my life and I’ll do my best not to make it harder than it has to be.”

The faintly amused expression slid off his face, the scales over his brow ridges tightening in a frown. “Right. Come on. Do what you have to do and then we should get off the streets.”

I sighed wistfully. So that was what I got for being friendly. Then again, he was right. There weren’t any CCTV cameras around this block, but Rossi had Vanguard’s power at his disposal, plus the paramilitary services to shoot his enemies for him. I had to be careful.

“Just this way,” I said, rounding the corner. I headed for a dilapidated five-story building down the street, its faded sign above the door reading “Gnome Rescue Mission”. We passed the building to a rusty gate. I glanced up and down the street, and when I didn’t see anyone, I quickly opened the gate.

Despite its neglected look, the hinges didn’t make a sound. We both slipped into a narrow, dirty passage between the Mission and the neighboring building, and I closed the gate as soon as the tip of Asan’s tail passed it.

I had to squeeze past him, my back brushing the wall while my chest almost touched him. Damn, he was big.

“It should be empty at this time, but he’ll be in,” I murmured, leading the way to the back entrance. Asan followed, looking even bigger with two walls pressing close. He practically filled the entire space, and I wondered with a cringe how he’d even get inside Archie’s tiny office.

“Here.” I stood in the dirty, scratched doorway, moving aside a rusty grille that hid the intercom. When I pushed the button, the ringing tone switched to static almost at once, indicating Archie was listening.

“The password is ‘I love krakens’, and FYI, it’s stupid,” I said.

“I know.” Archie’s tinny voice came from the speaker at once. “But I love making Butch say it. He’s a fucking xenophobe. Come in.”

The door buzzed, and I swung it open, casting a worried look at Asan. His face was wiped of emotion, eyes bright and alert. His tongue flicked out as soon as he ducked to go in, raising his arm to keep me from going first. “Stay behind me,” was all he said.

“Down the stairs,” I directed him when he stopped in the doorway. There was a corridor leading ahead to the front of the building, a narrow tiled staircase leading up, and raw concrete stairs going to the basement. Archie had his shop there.

The walls were stained. A few patches of fresh paint covered old graffiti that was just visible under the thin layer of white. Asan’s scales rustled drily over the concrete, his body moving with sinuous grace. I realized with a jolt he held a sleek handgun by his side. I didn’t even know when he took it out.

“Go left and around the corner. I’ll alert him since you’re going in first.”

He nodded and moved down the low corridor, ducking his head, more of his serpentine body flattening to the floor. “I came with someone,” I called out just loudly enough for Archie to hear me. “I vouch for him, so don’t shoot.”

“All right.” Archie’s voice drifted from the far side of the basement.

Asan sped up and I followed, around the corner and through the small door leading to my fence’s premises disguised as a pawn shop. Asan slithered inside, and I hovered by the door, looking in over his shoulder as I tugged my mask down.

Most of the snake part stayed outside, and if I wanted to get in, I’d have to squeeze past my bodyguard, probably knocking stuff off the rickety shelves that lined the passage. Fucking fantastic.

Archie stood behind the counter, a fake grin fixed on his face, his hands hidden under the countertop.

“Since when do you make business with fucking shehru?” he asked, eyeing Asan with wide, watchful eyes, his moustache twitching nervously.

I sighed and walked inside, stepping over Asan’s bulky tail. I was right. The place was cramped as fuck, but if I wanted to deal with Archie, I’d have to somehow go in. I braced my shoulders, clenching my teeth, and tapped my bodyguard. I had to stand with my feet on either side of his snake body, because there wasn’t enough floor.

“Told you it was cramped.”

He twisted toward me, his torso suddenly facing me squarely, his massive chest right in my face. My lower belly pulsed, my body leaning in, as if magnetized, before I checked my inappropriate reaction. A flash of hot embarrassment squeezed my gut, and I looked down, right at his massive coil rising between my legs until his scales brushed my inner thighs.

“Watch out.”

That was my only warning before Asan’s strong hands gripped my waist and pulled. He lifted me square off the floor without even a hint of effort, pressing me close to himself, and twisted his torso, putting me safely in front of him.

It only took seconds, yet in that snap of a moment, a world of sensations happened that I would need hours to process. I was behind him, having a ridiculous urge to run my fingers over his scales, and then his tail rose between my legs like an exaggerated phallic symbol and his hands were on me.

His strong, capable arms handled my weight so easily even when stretched out.

And then I was pressed flush against him maybe for two seconds. But that was enough for me to feel the bulk of him, the power coiled in his body. His scales were smooth and hard, and yet, there was a faint warmth radiating from underneath.

And he had a scent. I hadn’t noticed it before, yet now, my nose was filled with it. A cool, dark smell that brought to mind clean water and something else, something earthy and comforting. It was surprisingly strong for something so subtle.

I cast around, desperately trying to get my mind on task. I’d process it later. Not now. I had a job to do.

As I quickly glanced around the shop, I saw that not one of the knickknacks crowding the shelves on either side of us were disturbed. Asan’s control was incredible. I definitely didn’t need to worry about him knocking something off with his bulk.

Finally, somewhat calm, I looked up at Archie, who gaped with an open mouth before snapping it closed.

“What can I do for you?”

CHAPTER 5

Asan

Archie’s heart beat too fast for a casual encounter, and the air rapidly soured with a strong scent of fear. I watched him closely, wondering if he was that afraid of me or something else. His dislike of xenophobia indicated he wasn’t prejudiced toward other species, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be afraid. For all I knew, he might have never seen a shehru up close.

“This is Asan, my scary snake,” Kim said, her voice a tad too loud, like she was nervous. “I’m here to get an appraisal on an item. Not selling for now.”

“Fine,” Archie said, sniffing. He wiped his nose with his long, black sleeve and extended the same hand to reach for whatever Kim wanted to show him.

“Give me a minute.” She crouched, her hip brushing against me, and put her tattered backpack on the floor to rummage inside. “How are you doing, Archie? How’s business? We haven’t talked in ages.”

“Oh, you know. Same old.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. He wasn’t very talkative for someone who wanted to go out with Kim. If his game was as weak as his conversation skills, no wonder she said no, business relations or not.

Besides, he was quite off-putting, even for a human. Definitely out of her league.

While she searched, I stared at Archie, taking in his floppy moustache, dirty blond hair, and bloodshot eyes. He was in his thirties, his body wiry and small, fingers of one hand tapping over the makeshift plywood counter crowded with things. I spotted an ornate butterfly knife, a basket of various coins, and a row of monogrammed, stainless steel lighters in various shapes and sizes.

His other hand was under the counter, hidden from view, but it twitched faintly with movement, like he was doing something. Before Kim straightened, I reached over and gripped his elbow, pulling it up.

“What have you got there?” I asked, already seeing the phone in his fist, the cracked screen alight. Before I saw what was on the screen, he dropped the phone to the floor, his mouth widening in a grin that didn’t touch his shifty eyes.

“Just texting my girl,” he said, voice easy. “You know how chicks are, man. Be late with a reply and you won’t fuck for a week.”

Kim snorted, straightening. She held a gleaming gold sculpture in both hands. It was the size of her forearm but thicker, with a bulky rectangular base and an uneven cylindrical shape that ended in a thick, gold globe at the top.

Archie stilled, his eyes going wide. He ducked for his phone while Kim put the object on the counter with a clang. The old plywood sagged under its weight. I tasted the air, noticing Archie’s fear grew much stronger, but even through the sour smell, the scent of real gold was unmistakable.

“Okay,” Kim said, dusting off her hands. “What does it look like to you? How much is it worth?”

For a moment, Archie didn’t move, squeezing his phone in his hand so hard, his knuckles blanched. Then his face shuttered as he shook his head. “Don’t know what it is. Would have to research. If you could wait here, I’ll just…”

Before he finished, I gripped his throat and tugged him closer. Archie’s eyes bulged with terror, Kim gasped, and I slammed his head into the counter, scattering the knickknacks. I lifted the gold sculpture with my other hand, giving it to Kim.

“Put it in your bag.”

She didn’t react, staring at me as her body shivered. She drew in a shocked breath, and I thrusted the sculpture at her chest so she was forced to take it.

“Who’s coming?” I gritted out at Archie. He moaned, shaking, and I lifted his head by his hair and slammed it down. The plywood cracked in two halves, the sound of it muffled by Archie’s scream of pain.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Kim shouted, gripping my arm with both hands and pulling to no avail. “Let him go! He didn’t do anything!”

“He lied to you, he reeks of fear, and he just notified someone you’re here. We don’t have time. Answer the fucking question! Who’s coming?”

I lifted him up by his hair, making him scream in pain. He was limp, his legs desperately shuffling for purchase so his full weight didn’t hang by the hair. I shook him and raised him higher as soon as he stood. Now he was on tiptoes, breathing hard, eyes full of primal, mindless terror.

I bared my fangs at him and unhinged my jaw, opening my mouth wide in a hiss. The smell of fresh urine hit me as he pissed himself, and I locked my jaw so I could speak. “Last chance. Talk or I’ll eat you.”

“Rossi!” he cried out, voice high-pitched and trembling. Kim gasped, but I wasn’t surprised. “He put up a reward for Kim! H-h-her and the g-g-gold thing. They are w-worth t-two m-million d-dollars.”

“Fuck.”

I threw him down on the floor, glancing at Kim. She stared at Archie’s crumpled body with raw hurt on her face, clearly more interested in his betrayal than the danger she was in.

“She was alone,” I spat at him, taking Kim’s arm. “She was alone and she sniffed out your pathetic lie. If you tell them anything else, I’ll find you and swallow you whole. I’ll start from your feet so you can watch.”

I didn’t wait for him to confirm he’d do as I said. Eyeing the cramped aisle leading out of the room, I picked Kim up, making sure her backpack was on, the gold thing hidden inside.

“Hold on tight.”

She didn’t say anything but grabbed my shoulders as I pressed her closer, racing down the corridor, up the stairs, down another corridor to the building’s main entrance. I didn’t pick up any sounds from the street, which meant we still had time. But the main door was better.

There was no way I’d let them trap us in the narrow passage to the back of the building. That would be a suicide.

“Close your eyes.”

She pressed her face into my chest, and I held her with one arm, using my other shoulder to ram the door. It took just one slam of my body and the weak lock burst open. I shot out to the street, listening keenly as I moved fast to the other side.

There was a narrow passage between a building and a wire fence. No streetlamp there, so we wouldn’t be too visible. Perfect.

I held Kim’s shivering body to me, gripping my Cobra 19 in my other hand.

I’d just made it to the dark passage when a violent screech of tires came from the corner of the street. Kim whimpered, and I gritted my teeth, moving fast. When car doors opened and slammed shut—four, five, six—we were at the end of the passage, already disappearing into another street.

“Six people,” I said, slithering fast. The cars came from the east, so I headed west, building up the distance between us. They’d waste a few precious minutes talking to Archie.

We passed a drunk human holding on to the wall and a pair of young gnomes leading a snotling on a leash. Its black tongue lolled out as it tottered on its spindly legs, the gnomes glancing at us with clear interest. I kept pushing, further and further away from the chase until we were well into the downtown.

“Put me down,” Kim said when I stopped by a row of dumpsters in a dark alley, listening for the sounds of pursuit. I was almost certain we weren’t followed, but that didn’t mean I could let my guard down.

“Sure.”

I let her stand, my hands lingering on her elbows as she caught her footing. She wasn’t shaking anymore, which was good, and her face was grim. Her scent and warmth lingered on my scales, and I forced myself to ignore them even as my shoulders, where her hands were, tingled with the memory of her touch.

“We have to assume they know you’re with me,” Kim said after a moment when I looked out from the alley, scanning the street. It was well after ten pm on a Wednesday, but the streets were fairly busy.

“Yes. Even if the slimy bag of bones doesn’t say anything, which I doubt, they will ask people in the neighborhood. We were seen.”

Kim stared at me and then let out a shaky laugh, reaching up to grab my arm. She pulled her hand back at the last moment, her eyes glittering with shaky mirth. She hadn’t put her mask back on, and my eyes briefly strayed to her pink lips.

Focus.

“Slimy bag of bones? Yeah, suits him.” She straightened, amusement flickering out of her eyes as she set her mouth in a savage line. “I’ll make him pay. Don’t know how, don’t know when, but he’s gonna suffer.”

I nodded, giving her a sharp grin. “I can visit him once this is over.”

Making the slimebag piss himself was so gratifying. I itched to do it again.

She shook her head, though, rubbing her arms with antsy hands. “No, you’ve done enough. Fuck. Do shehru actually eat people? Can you swallow a person whole?”

I shook my head, coming closer. The stench of rotting food was strong in the alley. We were probably behind a restaurant of some sort if the dumpsters were mainly filled with bad food. Yet, even against that choking odor, I smelled Kim’s scent. It was stronger when I moved closer, and I let myself focus on it.

It grounded me.

“No, we don’t. We have to get off the streets now. And possibly find out more about the reward for your head. We’re also getting a car from MSA tomorrow. Like I said we should.”

Kim didn’t own a car and maintained she preferred to move on foot. I let her have this one during our negotiations, but the circumstances just changed. She’d have to agree. MSA owned armored vehicles suited to bigger species.

“Fine. Jesus. I can’t believe he’s offering so much money for me. At least I found out what I needed. That’s a silver lining.”

“And what’s that?”

She looked up, mouth stretching in a grim smile before she tugged her mask back up, hiding her face. “That the gold thing is actually important and worth far more than the gold it’s made from. I thought I stole a fucking paperweight. Or, you know, a crazy-rich-fucker version of a paperweight. But if he’s paying so much for it, it must be important. I’ll have to find out what it is.”

She pulled out her phone, quickly locating the nearest hotel while I watched the area. She clicked through the CCTV feeds on her phone, mapping out a route that would get us to the hotel without being recorded. I was grudgingly impressed by her foresight and skills.

“Let’s go.”

The nearest hotel whose cybersecurity wasn’t provided by Vanguard was a small, two-star establishment with a restaurant on the first floor. The reception area was shabby but clean, and I could tell from the door that it was a human-centered hotel. Everything was small, the stairs I could see at the far side of the lobby narrow and steep. No elevator in sight.

The receptionist eyed us warily as we approached. She was a short human woman and smelled strongly of sweet perfume. After giving me one furtive glance, she kept her eyes on Kim.

“We need…” Kim began, but I interrupted.

“One room for the night.”

Kim flinched and looked at me but said nothing. I shook my head faintly while the receptionist tapped on the keyboard. I would explain when we were alone.

“We have one option left if you don’t have a reservation,” she said, looking up with an artificial smile. She addressed Kim and studiously avoided looking at me.

“We’ll take it,” I said.

“Um, it has a king-sized bed and it’s our biggest…” she began, still looking at Kim, so I snorted and broke in.

“I said we’ll take it.”

The receptionist frowned, still not sparing me a glance, and Kim nodded. “That room, please. For one night. I’ll pay cash.”

The receptionist’s eyes widened, her cheeks growing hotter. My lip curled. She clearly thought we were going to fuck in there and I didn’t care enough to disabuse her of that notion. It wasn’t my job to explain shehru didn’t fuck humans.

Once Kim paid and showed the receptionist a fake ID, she cast a longing look at the open restaurant door down the hall. A smell of food wafted from there, reminding me I was starving. She had to be, too.

“Can we order dinner in the restaurant and take it to the room?” she asked.

“Of course,” the receptionist said, still blushing. “You can order now and they’ll give you a call once it’s ready.”

Kim thanked her and took my hand, pulling me toward the restaurant.

“Come on, we’ll order first. God, I’m so hungry I could eat three burgers. Or pasta with lots of creamy sauce full of butter. Hope they have something like this here. What will you have?”

She stepped through the glass door, her hand still in mine until my fingers spasmed in a reaction I couldn’t control. Kim dropped my palm like it was a hot coal, giving me a spooked look over her shoulder.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to… you know. I’m all weird after everything that’s happened. It’s been a day, right?”

I flexed my fingers, her warmth lingering over my scales, and nodded curtly. Kim gave me a quick smile and jogged down to the counter, grabbing a menu while I stared at her, my annoyance growing by the second.

What was she doing, distracting me like this? Fucking hell.

CHAPTER 6

Kim

Once the room’s door clicked shut and we took off our bags, I turned to Asan, giving him the best glare I could manage in my current state.

“All right, why one room? Am I in danger from, I don’t know, the pillows? Will the towels attack me when I sleep?”

He didn’t even crack a smile, which I found offensive. I personally thought my joke was quite funny, but Asan only stretched, raising his arms so high, his palms pressed to the ceiling. For the first time today, he looked tired as he took off his tactical vest, leaving only a black T-shirt on.

“Everyone who knows about that reward is your enemy,” he answered. “That receptionist might be one—though she’s not, there were no signs of recognition or excitement. But we have to be wary of everyone, Kim. A manager. A janitor. Restaurant staff.”

I nodded with a defeated sigh. He had a point. “Right, I get it. Plus, I did ask for round-the-clock protection.”

Only, I had no idea it would be so uncomfortable. Asan had a robust presence that was more than just the sheer size of his body. I felt trapped with him in the room, the walls closing in. The feeling of sweet helplessness that I had before we saw Archie returned, making my limbs weak and pliant.

He nodded, his frown smoothing out. “That’s right. Besides, this hotel doesn’t have accommodations that would suit me. I’ll sleep on the floor, anyway. Might as well do it here.”

I winced, eyeing him guiltily. He stretched his neck, his body coiling behind him as he moved, the scales blurring hypnotically. “Shit, I’m sorry. Should have thought about it, but I just wanted the nearest place. Maybe we can find another…”

“Sssstop,” he said, his voice a dry hiss as his torso bent backward, his shirt riding up to reveal a strong stomach stretching taut. Whoa, hot abs alert. He straightened with a grunt. “It’s fine. I don’t mind sleeping on the floor.”

I nodded, though I promised myself I’d take his needs into account next time. And maybe if we found a more inclusive place, the staff wouldn’t be so weird about us showing up together.

“Have you seen the receptionist’s face?” I asked, lowering my voice to a conspiratorial murmur. “She was clearly appalled. She thinks we’ll fuck in here.”

I looked up with a grin, but his expression sobered me up. He looked annoyed, nostrils wide, eyes narrowed, and I realized my mistake.

“Fuck, sorry. Again. I shouldn’t… I just thought it was funny, that’s all. Cause, you know… Us fucking, right? Like that would ever happen.” Stop talking. I had to stop talking. “Anyway, I’ll shower while we wait for the food. Or do you want to go first?”

He was silent for a moment, the harsh expression tightening on his face before he shook his head once and turned away to draw the curtains closed. I bit the inside of my cheek in embarrassment. Honestly, what was wrong with me? Grabbing his hand, joking about us having sex… This was all so completely inappropriate, especially now that we shared a room.

I blamed it on everything that happened. Asan picking me up, reacting so fast when he suspected Archie, and then racing with me in his arms across ten blocks like I was a princess or something. I fancied I still felt the imprint of his scales against my naked arm, and it was… weird. And strangely pleasant.

God. I was all fucked in the head.

The way he slammed Archie’s head into that counter was hot.

I trapped a whimper in my throat, biting down on my lip. I was clearly out of it and badly needed that shower. And to process everything. So much had happened, and I just needed time to put it all together in my head. That was all.

Without looking at Asan again, I got my backpack and crossed the room to the small bathroom, wondering idly if he could even fit inside enough to close the door. Did shehru go to the bathroom? They had to, obviously, because they ate and drank.

I was halfway through typing the question into the search bar on my phone when I shook my head and put the phone away.

So inappropriate.

I started the shower and stripped, mentally counting how many changes of clothes I still had in my backpack. Three. Maybe next time, we’d pick a hotel with a laundry room. If not, I had emergency bags stashed in my safehouse. My apartment was off-limits since it was under surveillance.

When I stepped under the spray of hot water, I finally relaxed and stopped deflecting. I knew what I was doing, focusing on Asan’s abs and bathroom habits, and then laundry. It helped me avoid the most important topic.

But I had to deal with it sooner or later.

I was worth two million dollars. That was, me and the gold sculpture were worth that much. Inadvertently, I had stolen something that was extremely valuable to Rossi. And I had no fucking idea why. All these years spent preparing and watching him, trying to uncover his deepest secrets—for nothing. In the end, dumb luck led me to his most prized possession.

Well, maybe not luck. I wasn’t lucky. My life was on the line.

Not only was Rossi on my tail and almost had me today, he also turned my friends and close contacts against me with the reward he offered. That was a serious setback.

I had no illusions that anyone in the criminal underworld would resist that much money. Everyone I knew, every last person, would sell me out, just like Archie.

God. If Asan wasn’t there, I would have ended up in Rossi’s hands. Asan saved me and there was no hesitation, no calculation in him. He acted fast and got us both out of there unharmed.

I shampooed my hair, groaning with pleasure, but froze as a thought hit me. What if he got tempted by the money? My life was literally in his hands. If he decided to betray me, there was nothing I could do.

A cold shiver rocked me despite the stream of hot water warming my back. What if he was already plotting to sell me out? Maybe the single room was part of the ploy. Maybe he wanted to keep an extra eye on me before Rossi’s goons arrived to nab me?

“Get a fucking grip,” I growled at myself, though I washed fast now, desperate to get dressed and confront Asan. “He won’t do that. He’s honorable. And a good person.”

The image of Asan slamming Archie’s head into the counter flashed in my mind, my body reacting with an excited flutter of butterfly wings. Not a good person, then. Good people didn’t beat others with callous efficiency.

But he had integrity. I had to believe that.

I threw on a pair of loose pants and a dark T-shirt, not bothering with a bra. Still drying my hair with a towel, I stepped out of the bathroom to find Asan coiled on the floor by the bed, an enormous plate of roast chicken in his hand. He looked at me for a few seconds, face impassive, and then nodded at a desk by the window.

“Your food.”

I gulped down some water and grabbed my plate of creamy carbonara, taking it to the bed so I could sit by his side. I kept a respectable distance between us, mindful of my creepy behavior earlier. Asan crunched on a chicken leg, biting right through the bone.

“Is it good?” I asked, quickly twisting pasta onto my fork. He grunted in response, and I shrugged, stuffing the food in my mouth.

“Mmm. So good,” I said after swallowing. “Fuck, I’m hungry.”

He didn’t comment, the tip of his tail flicking from side to side. He kept his eyes on his plate, and I ate more until the worst of my hunger was sated. I turned to face him.

“Hey, I have a question.”

He moved, uncoiling until he reached the desk and put the plate away. Without a word, he headed to the bathroom, and I thought in outrage that he completely ignored me. After washing his hands, though, he came out and faced me.

I couldn’t help noticing he left the bathroom door open while he washed, most of his body still in the bedroom. The tiny bathroom was so small, he couldn’t close the door when he was inside.

I forced that thought out of my mind when his brow scales tightened with impatience. He nodded at me to speak.

“Two million dollars,” I said without beating around the bush. “It’s a lot of money.”

Asan folded his arms on his chest, muscles bulging under gray scales. “So?”

“So everyone I know will try to sell me,” I said, forcing a smile onto my face.

That knowledge hurt. I had friends in this life, and good acquaintances, but I wasn’t really close with anyone. They didn’t know what drove me or the mission I devoted my life to. They didn’t know my deepest griefs and nightmares. I played a part for them, a fake, bubbly girl who just liked to steal shit from rich people.

It was that Kim they betrayed. Not the real me.

And yet, it hurt so much.

Asan nodded. He offered neither comfort nor judgment, and somehow, I found it soothing. He was there, he listened, and that was it.

“So. Don’t you want to get rich fast? You could. It would be so easy,” I asked, pushing lightness into my voice, even though my heart fluttered anxiously, my hands twisting in my lap.

My toes curled and straightened convulsively.

Asan hissed, his tongue flicking out like a ribbon as he watched me with narrowed eyes. Finally, his mouth tipped into a smirk. “Are you trying to convince me? You sound like a slogan. ‘Get rich fast’.”

I shrugged, desperately trying to contain my fidgeting, but as soon as I calmed one part of my body, another started to move. Soon, I bounced on the mattress like a kid on sugar.

“Come on. You must have thought about it,” I said, trying to glare. But I didn’t have it in me. Christ, I wanted to fall down to my knees and beg him not to sell me. I was ready to bare my soul, tell him everything if it kept him from handing me over to my enemy.

“Relax, bouncy squirrel,” Asan said, his sharp teeth flashing in a quick smile. “I signed the contract. You’re safe with me.”

I bounced one last time and was still, my butt landing heavily on the bed. It was as if all air whooshed out of me with his words, and suddenly, my body slumped, gravity tightening its hold on me. I looked at him, feeling my exhaustion keenly. It was in my blood, in my bones, and all I wanted was to sleep.

Because I finally could. Because he said I was safe and I believed him.

“Wow. That was… wow. Thank you. Okay, then. So glad we had this talk. You can sleep on the bed, too. If that’s more comfortable. Fuck, I don’t know. Sleep however you like. Good night.”

I crawled under the crisp, white sheets, my eyes falling shut. A muffled huff of amusement drifted over, followed by a hissed, “Good night, squirrel.” Then I was out.

When I woke up, light streamed inside through a gap in the curtains. I groaned softly and reached for my phone on the nightstand. Seven thirty. I couldn’t remember the last time I slept in so late. Usually, nightmares or my restless feet woke me, and I was up before the dawn.

Now, though, my body felt heavy and relaxed.

“This mattress must be made of angel down,” I muttered, patting the bed. Then I noticed my legs felt… odd.

I slowly raised myself up on my elbows, looking down my body. My eyes widened in shock, and I bit my lips closed to stop myself from making a noise.

At the foot of the bed, Asan lay on his belly, his anthropomorphic torso resting sprawled on the mattress. His massive arm was flung over his head, gray palm loose. His face was turned to me, softer and gentler in sleep, yet still as alien as always. His mouth was closed, brow smooth.

Most of the snake part of his body was on the floor, coiled underneath him to keep his torso level with the mattress. But his tail was wrapped around my legs, two tight rings of warm, scale-covered muscle encircling my calves.

“Shit,” I muttered, slowly trying to pull my legs out. My skin rubbed against the scales, and Asan hissed, tongue flicking out as his hold tightened. “Fine. Okay,” I breathed, wondering what to do. “Keep sleeping. Good bodyguard.”

I gasped when his eyes popped open, demonic red glaring at me in the gloom. “Shit, sorry,” I whispered. “Could you, uh, remove your tail?”

Instead of slithering away, Asan’s tail trailed higher up my legs, a third ring forming around my feet as the upper rings moved past my knees.

My loose pants rode up in my sleep, and he touched my naked skin. I shivered from the alien feel of it. The scales were hard but smooth, the powerful muscles underneath pulsing with life and warmth. For a moment, I wondered what it would be like to be wrapped in those coils completely, my whole body in his tight hold.

Then I shook my head. So inappropriate. “Asan? Are you still asleep?”

He blinked a few times, finally raising himself with a hiss. When his tail still didn’t let go, I cleared my throat.

“Hey. My legs. Do you mind?”

He glanced at my calves, blinking again. For a moment, he looked confused, all hardness gone from his expression, and I almost melted. It was so adorable. Unfortunately, the cute moment passed at once.

In a flash, the scaly tail uncoiled and slithered off the bed, and now I was the confused one. Asan was already by the door to the bathroom, watching me with an impassive expression.

“I apologize,” he said, his body still, even the expressive tip of his tail poised and rigid. “You kicked me in the face. I must have… restrained you. It won’t happen again.”

“No, honestly, it’s fine,” I said, the skin on my legs tingling pleasantly. God, the friction. Scales on skin felt divine. Who knew?

“I usually wake myself up, you know. Restless leg syndrome. But I slept so well last night, so I guess it’s fine. You can do it again.” I cringed because what was I doing? We had a working relationship, for fuck’s sake.

“Or, don’t,” I added hastily. “Whatever you want.”

Asan’s expression shifted to impatience, and he huffed, rubbing his forehead with his knuckles. “I have to use the bathroom.”

“Fine, of course, my bathroom is your bathroom and all that,” I said, heart still fluttery from the way I woke up. Honestly, what was happening to me?

Asan pursed his lips and slithered inside the bathroom, leaving the door open. Massive coils of his body were still out, and I realized it would stay that way. He’d piss with the door open.

Or did shehru piss? I didn’t check last night, and I didn’t want to find out now. My legs tangling briefly in the sheets, I hopped off the bed and hurried to the window, opening it to let the sounds from the street inside.

I grabbed a bottle of water and gulped it noisily. And yet, the honking of the car outside and the sound of me drinking failed to muffle the continuous splash from the bathroom.

At least I had my answer. And a whole load of other questions.

CHAPTER 7

Asan

“Look at this.” Kim beckoned me closer. She sat cross-legged on the bed, a small laptop in her lap. It was almost noon, and she paid for another night in the room so we could stay here and plan. It was safe for now, and it was smart not to show our faces during the day, anyway.

Kim suspected the entire LA underworld would be on the hunt for her by now. Nowhere was safe.

I came closer, leaving a tablet displaying the CCTV feeds from around the area on the table. Kim set it up for me, and I was grudgingly impressed. My own precautions were focused on the inside of the hotel, but with the CCTV access, we’d have an earlier warning if anyone came for us.

I stopped by the bed, and Kim turned the laptop to face me. I saw a simple black website with a short column of text, Kim’s ID photo that only vaguely looked like her, and a grainy image. The number “$2,000,000” stood out, bold and red. It was Rossi’s ad, then. “Is that…?”

“From Archie’s last night,” she said, pointing at the image. “He must have a hidden camera installed above the counter. I didn’t know. Before, they only had my ID pic, and I took care not to be too recognizable on it. Now they have a good photo.”

I took a closer look. The picture showed Kim’s face clearly and nothing more. It must have been cropped out of a bigger image, and I was conspicuously absent, even though I was certain the camera must have caught me.

“So, they know I’m with you.” I moved back, searching Kim’s face. “We should stick to less human-centered areas. I’ll blend in easier. What do you want to do?”

She closed the laptop and leaned back against the cushions, giving me a small smile.

“I’ll do what I do best. Stay low and research. I might need to make a few calls, find out more before I do anything. I can’t afford to act carelessly again. God. I really need to know why that sculpture is so important.”

My body coiled and uncoiled. I was restless, stuck in the hotel room with Kim’s scent filling my nose, the memory of her skin tingling over my scales. It didn’t help I had to piss with the fucking bathroom door open.

Then again, she was paying for round-the-clock protection. I’d put some of my own disposable cameras in the hall outside and in the lobby, and with the CCTV feed from the street, I knew everything that went on in and around the hotel. But knowing a threat was coming wasn’t the same as being there to handle it.

One room it was—for the foreseeable future.

When I hovered by her side, saying nothing, she put the laptop away and stood up, tilting her head back to look at me. She wore tighter clothes today, a top and a pair of shorts, and it struck me how small she was.

I could wrap myself around her until she disappeared, her warmth and scent trapped inside my coils. I already knew it would feel good. Last night, when I carried her across the city to move as fast as possible, she was warm and light in my arms. Barely a burden.

If I wanted to, I could throw her easily, she was that compact. Completely at my mercy.

For some reason, my instincts prompted me to pick her up. Like in Archie’s shop. I didn’t think, I just reached for her when she wanted to pass. It was the most efficient way to move her fast, but if I was honest with myself, there was something more to it.

She was just so… small and mobile. Like prey. I wanted to catch her. Hold her tight so she wouldn’t wiggle out.

Which wasn’t something I should think about my principal, but here I was. I blamed it on the molting.

Every shehru molted, twice a year when we were young, once when we grew older. We could tell when it was coming. Our skin grew tighter, more sensitive, the scales dulling to matte a few weeks before it happened.

The molting itself didn’t take long, maybe an hour to slowly push out of the old skin. Most shehru kept their skins, but they could be sold, too. Our scales were bulletproof after molting, too, and some companies sewed vests or suits out of them. Shehru skin was thinner and more flexible than Kevlar.

Personally, I’d never sold my skin, though I’d sewn it into shirts when I was younger. It was a fad, and most shehru my age wore clothes from their own skin at the time. That was the only purpose I was ready to use it for.

The shed skin was a part of me, something intimate I didn’t want to share with nameless strangers, even if they were ready to pay thousands of dollars for the privilege.

Anyway, shedding skin wasn’t the problem. The hormones were.

Molting revealed new, bright, shiny scales. A freshly molted shehru was at their most attractive, and that was why molting set off a hormonal reaction that led to increased libido.

Usually, I took time off for at least a week after molting. I hit the clubs, seeking out casual partners, because a relationship didn’t interest me.

I didn’t have to try hard. A peek of shiny scales and a whiff of pheromones was enough for shehru females to lose their minds. All they wanted was sex, no talk, no commitment, and it suited me.

Only now, I wouldn’t be able to do my molting routine unless Kim hurried up with whatever it was she wanted to do.

“Look, maybe I can help,” I said. “What’s your goal?”

She sighed, crossing the room to the window. She stood to the side, looking out on the street while remaining unseen. Smart.

Fuck. I already knew Kim wasn’t the arrogant idiot I had taken her for, and the grudging respect I had for her complicated things further.

“You already know I stole from Rossi,” she said, turning to me, her usual smile on her face. “And you’ve probably wondered why I didn’t just give this stupid gold stick back when it turned out he was so bothered.”

“Aren’t your victims usually bothered?” I couldn’t help but ask, crossing to my tablet to check the camera feeds.

Kim rolled her eyes, laughing under her breath. “You’d be surprised. And ‘victims’ is the wrong word. I don’t steal from innocent people.”

I snorted at that, her defensive attitude piquing my interest. “So, you’re a noble thief? You steal from the wicked?”

My sarcasm was harsh, but Kim shook her head with a grin. “Well, I do, though I wouldn’t call myself noble. I keep most of the money for myself. I donate some to the Penguin Rescue Foundation. I love penguins. Right, that was off-topic. Point is, I’ve stolen things worth more than this gaudy paperweight, and the victims, as you called them, never bothered with me. You know why?”

I crossed my arms, and she huffed out a soft laugh. “Because they are so filthy rich, losing half a million doesn’t touch them. That’s why. Sure, they called the police and picked up the insurance money. But apart from that? They didn’t care.”

I found it hard to accept, but then, it made sense, too. Especially if she stole insured assets. “Fine. So why didn’t you give it back when Rossi sent his mercs after you?”

She looked away, smile shrinking. “I’m not a thief just for the fun of it,” she said quietly. “I have a fucked up reason, and my endgame is getting Rossi. I want to end him.”

I sneered, watching her restless fingers tapping out a rhythm against her leg. “End him? You picked the wrong career, then. Or do thieves kill people these days?”

She faced me, body tense, stilling in a way I found disquieting after seeing her fidget all the time.

“I won’t kill him. I’m not a murderer. But I want him to suffer. He has to pay for what he did. The only thing I want is justice, but you know what? Pricks like him, who have policemen, judges, and politicians in their pockets never face justice. That’s why I had to become a thief.”

Her breasts heaved with agitated breaths, her cheeks growing hot, anger heating up her chest and arms.

I frowned, surprised by her reaction. “I don’t follow. What can a thief do that a judge can’t?”

“Expose him,” she hissed, my tongue flicking out at the viciousness of it. “I spent eight years honing my skills. I can track people, dig out information, crack digital locks and safes. I can enter a building with the most advanced security, search the rooms, and come out undetected. And I learned all that so I can find evidence that will put Rossi in jail.”

“Why not become a cracker, get digital dirt on him?” I asked, still unconvinced actually breaking into Rossi’s house made sense for her goal.

Kim gave me a grim smile. “Well, that’s the funny thing. Rossi doesn’t trust his own software. He doesn’t believe in cyber security. That’s why he doesn’t put the important stuff on any servers. He’s much more likely to keep sensitive business information on a computer in his house, disconnected from all networks. He’s quite a hypocrite.”

Yes, that made much more sense now. Rossi’s brand of extravagance wasn’t even that surprising.

“Fine. Why do you hate him so much?”

She had to have a powerful reason to be this committed to revenge.

The question hung between us, heavy and dark like a storm cloud. Kim pursed her lips, giving me a tight smile, and turned away.

“Can’t tell you.”

I let out a slow breath and shook my head. That entire conversation built tension between us, a passionate force that grew and grew, and now it was broken, unresolved. Kim combed her fingers through her hair, loose and wavy after she washed it yesterday. Her scent intensified, making my nose itch.

Fuck. I could blame the nearing molting for all I could, but it never made me feel like this before. So restless. Agitated.

“I can’t give it back precisely because it’s so precious to him,” she said in a quiet voice, her back still turned to me. “Because his reaction tells me something. This thing is not just an ornament. It’s something far more important, only, I don’t know what. But I’ll find out.”

We spent the next week in hiding. Kim made a ton of secure phone calls, getting in touch with her contacts to try and find out more about the gold sculpture. Each person she talked to was overly friendly, delirious with joy to hear from her, and desperate to know where Kim was.

Everyone was suddenly a fucking bounty hunter.

She didn’t go out in public almost at all, and when she did, she constantly fiddled with her mask to make sure it was on. In hotel rooms, we kept the curtains closed most of the time. Kim finally realized how deep of a shit she was in. With each phone call, she grew grimmer, her smiles gaining a hard edge, and no wonder.

She learned over and over that everyone in her life was ready to betray her.

All of her acquaintances and contacts knew about the reward money, though few admitted to it openly. The sum was so high, word spread like a fire.

Meanwhile, I used my sources to track Rossi’s movements. His mercs thankfully didn’t terrorize the city. They seemed to rely on the reward money, enticing criminals to hunt Kim for them, and I had to admit, it would likely work.

When Kim wasn’t deep in the zone, researching the gold sculpture, she tracked Rossi as he moved through the city. She clicked from one street camera feed to the next on autopilot, knowing all his commute routes by heart. Rossi’s car took him to work, to the bank, to a date with his wife or to his mistress’s apartment, and there Kim was, following along, invisible like a ghost.

I realized she most likely did this often. It calmed her down. Only when seeing Rossi’s car on her screen was she still, not even curling her toes convulsively.

The rest of the time, she fidgeted, her entire body a vibrating ball of energy. It didn’t bother me as it did at first, but I still found it deeply annoying. Not because her frenetic movements drew my attention but because of what she made me feel when she was like this.

She slept fitfully, waking up multiple times a night. I didn’t dare sleep near her again, knowing I might lose control of my urges when I was half-conscious. I didn’t want to wake up with my coils trapping her, or worse yet, pressing her close to me.

Sometimes, when she bounced around the room, bursting with febrile energy and chattering fast, I had this tight, dense urge in my stomach. To capture her. To hold her still. Trap her under me, my body absorbing her vibrating tension.

These were just predatory instincts, made more potent by the molting cycle. When I was conscious, I controlled myself with iron will. The trick was to keep the urges from surfacing when my control waned.

We changed hotels twice, and Kim took care to find places with more diverse accommodations. Our current room had a huge bathroom with a tub so big, I soaked in it completely. The dark décor helped soothe some of my restless energy, and the enormous, nestlike bed promised good rest.

Kim took one look at the circular bed with raised edges and lowered middle and claimed the couch. I didn’t blame her. Shehru beds were very different to human ones.

“I don’t know what to do.” She turned to me once she was done eating dinner on the couch. I couldn’t help but notice she left half her food untouched.

“Every lead I follow is a dead end. Nobody wants to help me, no one knows anything, and I can’t go and talk to them in person. They’d just pull an Archie.”

Meaning: try to sell her to Rossi.

I put away my plate, piled with the shells remaining from my delicious seafood dinner. “Are you asking for advice?”

She shrugged, smiling ruefully. She was pale, the circles under her eyes like purple bruises, but her smiles remained the same. I could count on the fingers of one hand the instances when she looked at me without a smile.

At least it didn’t irk me so much anymore. I was used to her by now.

“I guess, though I probably won’t like your advice. No offense.”

That made me grin in turn, and Kim’s eyes widened. Unlike her, I smiled rarely. More often with her than with other people, but I’d never tell her.

“No, you won’t like it. My advice is to contact Rossi, arrange a secure way to hand over the sculpture, and get rid of the problem. Security-wise, this makes the most sense.”

She fell back against the back of the couch, fingers tapping out a frantic rhythm on the upholstery.

“Yes, I hate it. For multiple reasons. One, I refuse to let him win. Two, I don’t believe he will just let me go. He’ll suspect I discovered his secret, whatever it is, and try to eliminate me. That’s what he does. Also, three: if there’s no threat to me, I’ll have to let you go. And I’ll miss you terribly. My scary snake.”

She grinned, clearly joking, but my insides twisted with the now familiar urge. To pin her down to the floor and wrap myself around her. To hear her whimpers, her eyes on me, body completely frozen under my weight. To bury my spikes inside her and…

I rose jerkily, heading to the far side of the room as my cockpocket pulsed with sudden arousal. Fuck. Where did that come from? I was completely unprepared for the sudden bout of lust pounding in my blood. Lust for a human.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. It came from nowhere, without warning, slamming into me with debilitating force.

For fuck’s sake. Why did I feel this way? It didn’t make any sense.

I didn’t even like Kim. Sure, I tolerated her, respected her to some degree. Enjoyed her scent. But that was all. She was a thief and a chronic fidgeter with an obsessive personality and shitty personal life.

And human. Never forget human.

“What’s wrong?” Kim asked, her concerned voice stirring my blood faster.

I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes, reaching deep inside, into my sacred place. It was a kind of meditation, a way to slow down my heartbeat and keep a cool head. I did it fast, especially in the heat of the moment. When instincts rose, guns blazing, and my feral nature threatened to take over, I sought out my inner sanctum.

There was a deep underground lake inside me, a place of deadly calm and cold numbness, and I eased myself into it, letting go of tension and arousal.

A minute later, I was calm enough to face Kim again. “Everything’s fine. Just… A digestive reaction.”

She frowned, glancing at my dinner plate. “You sure? I thought you were put off by my tactless rambling. If so, I’m sorry. Truth be told, I don’t spend enough time with other people normally. I don’t always know what is okay to say and what isn’t.”

I held on to my meditation, looking at Kim with impassive eyes, my body under control. “It’s fine,” I said curtly. “Do you need me for anything else?”

She sighed and shook her head, stretching her legs in front of her, bare toes pointed. I sank deeper into my mental lake. “No. I’ll just putt around some more. Look at more dead ends. Go to sleep if you can. I’ll keep an eye on the cameras.”

I nodded and headed to the bathroom for a soak. I needed to tighten my control so no more freaky reactions occurred.

It wasn’t natural to want a human. Especially one who was my principal.

CHAPTER 8

Kim

It was dark in the room, the only light coming from my screens. I scrolled through the hidden web, checking out my usual haunts for any information I could use, or maybe another ad from Rossi. By my hip, the tablet with camera feeds glowed, and I flicked through them disinterestedly. It was long past midnight and the area around the hotel was quiet. As it should be.

In the enormous nest in the middle of the room, Asan stirred. I glanced at him, smiling fondly. His massive body was sprawled over the entirety of the bed, coils arranged loosely around his torso. His face was relaxed, eyes closed, but his tongue flicked out from time to time. It was adorable.

Not that I’d ever dare tell him. Especially when he was awake. Asan was only cute when he slept. I stole enough covert glances at him to know this for certain.

I groaned quietly and rubbed my face with the heels of my palms. God, I was such a creep. Ogling my bodyguard when he was asleep. I cringed with embarrassment, remembering what I told him today. That I’d miss him. It was completely one-hundred percent true, but I was so glad I pretended it was a joke.

Especially since he reacted so angrily, shooting fast to the other side of the room like being near me burned him or something. I suspected he couldn’t wait for the day he’d be free of me.

With that in mind, I shook out my hands and stretched my fingers and aching neck. It was high time I did something. I paid exorbitant money for Asan’s services, and for what—so I could sit in a hotel with him? So I could glance furtively at the dark slit in front of his body where, I now knew after doing some secret research, he kept his two cocks?

Down girl. Don’t be creepy.

I couldn’t help it. Asan intrigued me. I was mostly curious about him, but also, I depended on him far too much. Ever since he let me know he wasn’t interested in selling me out, I was a little in love with him.

Platonically, of course, but still.

Especially since I realized literally everyone in my life cared about that reward money more than they cared about me. Asan was the only person who was loyal, but he was my bodyguard.

I paid for his loyalty.

I shook my head, forcing my thoughts back on track. There was no way I would give that gold sculpture back. But I also had no idea why it meant so much to my nemesis. The only person who knew its significance seemed to be Rossi himself, and he would never tell me.

Still, I wished I could talk to him. Maybe he’d let something slip. He was my only untapped lead at this point, but approaching him would be a suicide.

Although…

I opened my eyes wider, focusing on my screen. Shit. Maybe Asan was right. Maybe talking to Rossi and arranging a handover was exactly what I needed to do.

I shook out my fingers once more and got down to work.

When morning came and Asan rose from his nest, I was still bent over my laptop, smoothing out the details of my plan.

“You haven’t slept,” he said, his voice even more hissy in the morning. I lowered my head to hide a smile. Asan’s sleepy adorableness stretched to the first minutes after he woke up.

“I followed your advice,” I said with a smile, looking up.

He straightened, his body winding tighter, massive serpentine coils shifting until the scale pattern blurred. “What? You’re doing it? I thought you said you’d miss me.”

I looked up, mouth open in disbelief as I searched his face to see what he meant. Asan’s expression turned sour, mouth twisting in displeasure. I didn’t know what to make of it.

“Well, not quite doing it like you said. I want to talk to him and see what he says about the sculpture. I’ll pretend I want to give it back.”

He slithered off the bed, heavy body landing on the floor with a muffled thump. I averted my eyes, doing my best to focus. I really should stop staring so much.

“Talk me through it,” he said, disappearing for a moment in the bathroom, where he filled a big glass with water from the tap. He drank, his throat working as a few drops slid down his scaly skin to soak into the collar of his T-shirt. Suddenly, my throat was parched, too.

I drank from my water bottle and told him my plan.

“Okay, so I sent him an untraceable message. There was encrypted contact info in my bounty ad, and I used that. Someone responded right away, and he’s ready to video call. But there’s a catch.”

“Of course there is.” Asan came closer, leaning one hand on the back of the couch so he could look at my screen. He was so close, I could lick his wrist if I twisted my head to the side.

His scent wafted down to me, clean and cool, and I swallowed. Despite drinking, my throat was still dry.

“Okay, so he wants to talk using Vanguard software. ‘Encrypted, ultra-secure video calls’ is their slogan,” I said with a snort. “Which means, he’ll have my location as soon as I log in. It’s his company’s program, so of course, he can decrypt and trace everything done through it. It’s a trap.”

“You’ll do it anyway.” Asan’s voice was matter-of-fact, not a trace of question in it.

“Yes, I will,” I said, looking up with a grin. “And I’ll make sure to make it as hard for him to find me as I can. I’m setting up a little something to put a block in his path, but even with that done… We’ll have minutes. I can’t call from here. It’s a nice hotel and I don’t want to burn it for us.”

Asan’s mouth curled in a mocking smile. “I wouldn’t say you’ve enjoyed it here. You haven’t even slept. Or eaten.”

A warm glow pulsed in my chest. So he noticed. He cared about me. But I forced myself to calm down and not read too much into it. He was just protecting me. Maybe making sure a principal didn’t drive themselves into burnout was a part of a bodyguard’s duties.

“Well, I’m dying to swim laps in the bathtub,” I said, putting on a cheeky smile. When my treacherous brain added, with you, my smile grew fixed as I looked away, irrationally afraid Asan could read my mind.

He definitely heard my heartbeat and saw how heat distributed inside me, though. Crap. I really needed to rein myself in before my body betrayed my creepy thoughts.

“So, yeah, I thought about another location. Possibly something crowded where we could disappear fast. Or is that too risky? Are they likely to shoot even in a crowd?”

Asan regarded me for a moment, his face impassive as he thought. As if realizing he had no need to keep hovering over me, he pushed away from the back of the couch, making it dip under my shoulder. I soaked the movement up like it was a touch, painfully aware of how pitiful I was.

God. Desperate for phantom touches from a bodyguard.

“I don’t think so, but yes, it’s a risk,” he said slowly. He watched me for a moment, and I stared back, helpless to resist the pull of his red, snakelike eyes. Then, Asan’s face widened in a bright, satisfied grin, and my heart did a fucking somersault.

Shit. He had no right to look so handsome when he smiled. With those sharp teeth gleaming in an even row, his scales scrunching up, and his eyes crinkling, he was a vision.

I was officially gone head over heels for my bodyguard, and I didn’t know what to do with it.

Or maybe it was just sleep deprivation talking. Yeah, that had to be it.

“Tell me,” I said, desperately urging my brain cells to stop drooling and focus on the job.

“I have an idea. We should go to Shehru Town.”

***

Shehru Town was in western LA and contrary to its name, it wasn’t only inhabited by shehru. A variety of other large species, including minotaurs, trolls, and a few ursa families also lived in the district. The architecture reflected that, the wide streets and comfortable pavements lined by sprawling, one or two-story buildings with sizable yards.

Asan’s reasoning was that the risk of civilian casualties was much lower in a monster district. And since we were doing it late in the evening, there wouldn’t be any kids or vulnerable adults out in the streets.

He still promised to take me somewhere semi-secluded so no passersby got hurt.

It was Friday, and even in late evening, the streets in the center of the district were packed. We left the car a few blocks away and went on foot to his selected location.

Muffled music boomed from an underground nightclub, while further down the street, a group of minotaurs watched a street performance. A siren sang, sitting decorously on the ground with her glistening tail on display, a group of pixies dancing an aerial dance with perfect symmetry.

Their wings glowed in various colors, shedding beautiful light on the faces of the onlookers.

“Can you believe I’ve never been here before?” I asked, giving Asan an awed look. “I had no idea what I was missing.”

He didn’t answer at once, eyes scanning the area watchfully. When he was satisfied we were safe, he held my elbow to steer me to a little square with lush grass and a few benches.

“No criminal contacts in these parts?” he asked, getting it in one.

I didn’t visit places merely to sightsee or enjoy them. Everywhere I went, I went with one purpose: to do my job so I could get Rossi.

“It’s almost scary how well you know me after barely a week,” I said, shaking my head. “Can you tell what I’m thinking now?”

He snorted, head swiveling as he assessed the area again. I stole a secret peek at him, which was a compulsion at this point. He looked really good, the bulletproof vest hidden under his black T-shirt adding bulk to his already massive torso.

For a moment, I wished we were there not on a suicidal mission but on a date. Just two people enjoying a pleasant evening together.

Alas, that would never happen.

Asan looked back at me with a nod. No one was nearby, most people flocking to clubs and restaurants, and I knew from checking earlier no cameras pointed at the square.

“You’re rehearsing your little speech in your head because you’re afraid you’ll forget what to say and blurt out something stupid.”

I gasped, clutching my chest dramatically. Because, again, he got it in one. I was nervous and strangely giddy. I only talked to Rossi once in the past, which was weird considering how big a role he played in my life.

My father didn’t take me to any business functions when he was alive. He was very strict about keeping his family life separate from his job, and it made me wonder whether he’d known back then what a viper Rossi was.

I glanced at Asan’s coiling body, a curve of his tail almost touching my ankle. No, not viper. Vipers were okay. Rossi was a piece of shit.

“How did I do?” Asan asked with a faint smirk even as his eyes narrowed on something behind me. He relaxed a moment later, looking back at me.

“Ten out of ten,” I said, taking out my laptop. “I also think I should treat him like a mark. Before I had all the fancy decoding tools and tech, I worked the old-fashioned way. Getting people’s passwords or answers to security questions out of them. You have no idea how forthcoming drunk, cheating assholes are when a girl shows them some cleavage.”

Asan’s eyes flicked to my chest and up, his body shifting until his tail brushed my bare ankle. It was a hot night, and I wore shorts.

“Are you planning to show Rossi your cleavage?” he asked, looking around again. Before I had time to answer, he hissed. “We should start. How much time do you estimate?”

“Three minutes, tops,” I said, turning on my cloaking program. I perched on a bench and took a deep breath, shaking out my fingers. “Okay. You ready?”

He nodded, and I opened the Vanguard Calls app.

CHAPTER 9

Asan

Kim was completely still, her entire being focused on the laptop screen. Her fidgeting always stopped when she was deep in the zone, working out a problem or concentrating hard, and that explained to me how someone with so little control over her body could be a successful thief.

Only the faintest tightening in her jaw marked the moment Rossi came online.

“Good evening, Kim,” he said, his voice cultured and pleasant, as if this was a casual conversation over drinks. “How can I help you?”

I wished I could look at him, but this was a video call, so I stayed opposite Kim, glancing at her face basking in the cold light of the screen. I knew what Rossi looked like, anyway. A white man in his sixties, he was tall and lean, with dark hair heavily salted with gray. His eyes were pale blue and cold.

“Mister Rossi, what a pleasure,” Kim said, her face perfectly neutral. “I believe I have something of yours.”

I bit back a snort, looking around to make sure no one came our way. This was like a farce. She hated his guts. He sent armed mercs after her. And yet, they conversed like a pair of cultured acquaintances. Their exaggerated politeness was comical.

“Do you mean the solid gold sculpture made by none other than Christina Faddani? I hope you’re taking good care of it, Miss Davis.”

Kim didn’t react, but I gave her a sharp look. Was this her real surname? How did he know it?

Before she could answer, Rossi continued, “Yes, I know who you are. I didn’t realize it at first. Your face seemed familiar, but I couldn’t put a name to it. After a good night’s sleep, though, I had it. You have his eyes, you know, and the same misguided determination. Anthony would have been proud of you, my girl.”

Something flashed across her face, something raw and feral, but Kim schooled her expression almost at once. Only her eyes burned with hate.

“It must be a sign of old age,” she drawled in a calm, almost bored voice. “The inability to stay on topic. I thought we were talking about your gold paperweight, not reminiscing about people long gone.”

I grinned, delighted by her sharp tongue. Professional Kim was so different from the adorable, rambling mess I’d gotten to know, and the change was impressive.

“Paperweight?” Rossi spluttered, his genteel façade cracking. “It’s a solid gold piece created by the most revered kitsune sculptor of all times. It’s worth millions!”

“And yet, it’s entirely unknown. I found that so interesting when I looked for information about this piece. The artist must not have been very proud of it since she never published a single photo of the sculpture.”

A crackling sound came from the speakers, most likely Rossi breathing out with force. Damn, Kim was good. She really got under his skin, and now he had trouble staying calm while she watched with seeming indifference, her eyebrow mockingly raised.

“Little girl, this is not a game,” Rossi said, his voice gaining a steel edge. There he was. The callous, remorseless businessman who was ready to get her killed. “That sculpture is priceless, and not just because it’s made from solid gold. I want it back. Or do you need a demonstration of what happens to people who get in my way?”

Kim’s voice was hollow when she answered, “I already got a demonstration eight years ago. Look, Maximilian. I don’t want to be your enemy. I’m ready to negotiate handing over the sculpture.”

He was silent for a moment, and Kim tensed, a muscle in her jaw working. I suspected she saw something in his face.

“That won’t be necessary. See you soon.”

The glow lighting Kim’s face changed, and she looked up with wide eyes. I did a full visual sweep of our surroundings, but there were no signs of danger. When I glanced back at her, she was frantically stuffing the laptop in her backpack.

“He must have gotten through. He knows where we are.”

I believed her, and yet, there were no signs of any hostile forces around. The square was peaceful, the only bustle coming from a street to the west where the club and some restaurants were. Across the street from us were apartment buildings standing side by side, the type that usually had yards in the back.

Most windows were dark, and there was scaffolding by the wall of one building, indicating an ongoing renovation. My senses pinged and I looked closer, searching the wide, dark doorways and black windows.

Finally, I caught movement in a doorway next to the renovated building. Acting on instinct, I threw myself in front of Kim just as the first pop of a silenced gunshot came. It went wide, not hitting me, but Kim squeaked in fright.

“They must have come in through the backyard,” I said when another gunshot popped, and this time, it got my shoulder, the bullet bouncing harmlessly off as my muscle screamed with pain. I kept my face turned to the side so they couldn’t get my eyes. Not that it was likely from that distance.

Kim gasped in obvious shock, so I pressed my tail to her shin to keep her calm. “Stay where you are.”

I winced when another gunshot hit my vest and then my lower body. Being bulletproof was handy, but the fact the bullets didn’t penetrate didn’t mean getting shot was painless. Gripping my Cobra 19, I sighted and returned fire with quiet popping, the gun kicking in my hand.

The shape in the doorway vanished, taking cover.

Another shot came from above. I was right. They were in the building, one human merc shooting from the upstairs window. I shot back, pieces of concrete splitting off the wall. A sheet of tarp fluttered on the scaffolding next door, alerting me of another shooter there. I shot in their direction, forcing them to drop low.

“Easy now.”

Still facing the shooters, I wound my tail around Kim’s body. She yelped but stayed put, and I quickly secured my hold on her and made my way backward. Here in the open, we were easy targets, and I couldn’t absorb bullets indefinitely.

We needed to take cover and lure them out.

I couldn’t move as fast as normal while holding Kim with my tail, but we made good progress. My scales slithered over dewy grass and then the asphalt of the road. Another bullet hit my chest, making me hiss from pain and annoyance.

A shadow rippling in another doorway caught my attention and I shot at it. A muffled cry of pain told me I got someone. Good. One down, three to go—or as many as there were hiding in the dark building.

I grunted when another bullet hit below my waist, unpleasantly close to my cockpocket. Fuck. Kim whimpered from fright in my tight hold, and an angry mist crept into the edges of my vision. For a moment, I had an urge to shoot all the mercs between the eyes, eliminating them one by one so they’d never make her scared again.

Then again, I didn’t kill people if I could avoid it. Corpses meant paperwork. And it wasn’t wise to leave a trail of bodies in our way, escalating the already tense conflict. No, Kim would be safer if I delivered non-lethal wounds.

But damn, I wanted to rip them apart.

A shot came from an upstairs window, then another from the scaffolding. Emptying my clip, I shot at each window and door where the shooters hid, forcing them all back. Using the few seconds of calm, I let go of Kim, turning fast to take her in my arms.

She was silent, but as I raced for the far street corner while more pops filled the air, hitting my back with increasing impact, she whimpered in terror.

My body absorbed the force of the shots, and she felt each one like a vibration traveling from me to her. She shook with each shot, and suddenly, it stopped mattering that the bullets caused me pain. All I cared about was that they made her afraid.

I gritted my teeth, my fangs aching with the need to slide out and bite into everyone who shot at us. The red mist in my vision spread, blood pumping fast through my coils.

Kim gasped, and my venom glands swelled with readiness. They pulsed with her every shiver, ready and eager, my instincts raging to take over.

Damn. Not good. If I didn’t keep myself in check, I’d turn into a savage beast.

I never felt so out of control on a job before.

The more Kim trembled, her hip pressing into my abdomen, her face hidden in my chest, the more I wanted to kill them all. Pump their bodies full of venom so they’d die agonizing, tortured deaths.

As she released a shaky breath that skirted over my scales like a frightful touch, I snarled with fury, body convulsing with the need to kill, to maim, to shred, and butcher.

Fuck. I had to get out of there.

My control was frail, my mind busy wrestling with my inner beast that howled for blood and viscera. The only thought that held it back was that I had to protect Kim. She needed me to be sane and cool, so I had to get a grip.

“Hold on, pet,” I gritted out, doing my best to soothe her.

Kim’s head rubbed against me in a frantic nod. I forced myself to take a deep breath, pulling in her scent as I raced for cover. Fresh and warm, it was enough to ground me, making the red mist retreat to the very edges where it lurked. Ready, but not in control.

“Just a bit longer.”

We burst around the corner and I let her go after quickly scanning the area. Deep, rhythmic music blasted from the entrance of the underground club, an echo of my thunderous heartbeat. A group of monsters and humans walked down the street toward us. Two shehru smoked in front of the club, watching us with disapproval. Fuck, of course. I carried a human woman in my arms and it offended them. Judgmental pricks.

At least the coast was clear. No mercenaries.

Still, I wound my tail around Kim to shield her as I leaned around the wall and sighted. Like I predicted, Rossi’s men followed us, no longer hidden in the building. I loaded a new clip in and shot. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.

All four of them were down, bleeding from non-lethal wounds. Behind me, someone gasped, and there were sounds of running feet, thudding hooves, and slithering scales. When I glanced back, the street emptied rapidly. Even the smoking shehru slithered away, shooting me wary looks.

Good. Let them fuck the fuck off.

“Come on. Reinforcements will be coming. We can’t go to the car now, it’s too far away.”

She was pale in the yellow street light, her eyes huge, lower lip trembling even as she bit down on it to keep it still. I unwound my protective coils from her and took her hand.

“The club. It’s dark and crowded. We’ll hide there to wait them out.”

She gripped my hand hard, her palm cold and trembling, but she walked steadily. When we entered the club and followed the wide slope of the ramp leading to the underground level, Kim let out a shaky breath that I just heard over the throb of music.

“Did you kill them?” she asked, her voice surprisingly even.

“No. I do my best to avoid paperwork. One body equals seventeen fucking forms, and I get cramps from typing them out.”

I was perfectly serious, but Kim burst out in high-pitched, hysterical laughter. I squeezed her hand, and when she looked up, tears fell from her eyes scrunched tight in desperate mirth.

“Wouldn’t be so funny if you had to fill them out,” I said, understanding this was her reaction to extreme stress. At least she wasn’t catatonic like some clients got after a rough situation.

Her laughter quietened to soft snorts as she trustingly followed my lead. The slope was easy, the way in long and comfortable. Old posters were stuck to the walls, soft purple lights flickering in the floor to mark the edges of the ramp.

Kim’s hand was warm in mine, no longer shivering, and I looked behind us, my scales prickling with awareness. Nobody was on our heels, a tight surge of relief winding up my spine. We probably had at least a few minutes before the reinforcements came to sweep the area.

With a bit of luck, we’d be safe.

As profound relief poured down my back, my calm shattered, the adrenaline crash coming on hard. It hit harder than ever before, making me desperately scramble for control as I reached my inner sanctum. For some reason, though, the cool numbness of my mental lake wouldn’t penetrate through the thick layers of emotion. Every shaky breath rushing out of Kim shattered my peace.

Fuck.

They shot at us in a public area. And they were smart enough to avoid detection until the last moment.

If not for Rossi’s arrogant farewell, I might have missed that first shooter. He might have gotten Kim. If he was really lucky, he might have shot her dead. Panic roiled in my gut, followed by sizzling fury.

Never again.

I’d never let them get so close to hurting her again.

I released a long breath, focusing on the warmth of Kim’s lithe body by my side and the fluttering pulse in her wrist that I stroked reassuringly with my thumb. She was alive, she was here, and I’d keep her safe.

I had to.

And yet, my insides tightened with bitter fear, the image of Kim’s pale, lifeless face flashing in my mind’s eye. I knew then and there that what I felt for her was more than a sense of duty. It was more than just wanting to do my job well and protect my principal.

I cared about her as a person.

When we reached the bottom of the ramp, passing the shehru bouncer who waved us in, Kim was silent and no longer trembled.

Meanwhile, I was a wreck.

Up there, my instincts and experience took over. I knew what to do and did it, saving us both. But we were far from safe still. I was certain those men weren’t Rossi’s full force and more were on their way.

They could find us, even here. They could hurt Kim, and that filled me with a sense of urgency greater than I’d ever felt on the job. I knew instantly there was nothing I wouldn’t do to save her.

With a grim smile, I realized I’d kill the next person who so much as looked at her wrong. My judgment was compromised.

Fuck. Get a fucking grip.

When we entered through the double metal doors dividing the club proper from the ramp, music hit us with full blast. It was a thrumming dance track with a powerful beat. Kim stumbled next to me, slowing down as she looked around with wide eyes glistening in the strobing lights from the dancefloor.

“Where will we hide?” she asked loudly so I could hear her over the beat.

I’d been in this club before, so I knew the layout. On the far left, a long, tall bar took up the entire wall. It was packed, shehru, minotaurs, humans, and a few other species taking up every inch of the long counter, jostling to get the bartenders’ attention.

The bar area was lit brightly with sensual pink lights, so I turned right. Onto the dancefloor.

“Come with me. I’ll keep you safe.”

CHAPTER 10

Kim

I’d never been to a proper nightclub. By the time I turned twenty-one, avenging my father became the sole purpose of my life, and I didn’t even consider going out to party. My job didn’t require it, either. Tricking sensitive information out of people was much more comfortably done in quieter spaces.

Now, my lack of experience made me woefully unprepared for the assault to my senses. The music was so loud, it reverberated in my pelvis and ribcage, the sounds penetrating into my marrow. It felt as if my heart, already beating fast after everything that happened, tried desperately to sync its pulse with the music.

The beat flowed in my bloodstream, intoxicating and dark. My vision seemed sharper than normal, the strobing lights casting the scene in harsh contrasts, people of various species looking hard-edged and unreal in the light.

There were humans here, but not many. I saw quite a few shehru and an ursa couple dancing fast, their furry, bearlike bodies rubbing against each other.

It almost looked like foreplay. I averted my eyes, but there was no escaping the sensual sights. Two shehru were next to the ursa, their snake coils entwined so tightly, I was positive they could be fucking in there and no one would be the wiser. Their scales glistened wetly in the lights like they were oiled. Their faces were pressed together in a fiery kiss.

The few humans I spotted stuck to the small tables on the outskirts of the dancefloor. It didn’t surprise me. With so many large creatures moving passionately under the strobing lights, puny humans might get trampled or pushed.

And yet, the dancefloor was where Asan led me. His arm was around me, pressing me close as he lowered himself enough to hold me. As we pushed our way among the dancing bodies, hot skin, scales, and fur brushed against my naked arm. I hung on to him.

I only sought comfort, I told myself firmly as I wrapped my arm around his back, right below his T-shirt, pressing my fingers into warm scales. I was just shaken and overwhelmed, so it was natural I clung to my bodyguard.

It wasn’t because I wanted to feel him against my naked skin. Or because the sight of two shehru tangled in a sexual embrace made my pussy clench. No, that definitely wasn’t the reason, and my reaction was so out of place, anyway. We weren’t here to dance but to hide.

And yet, I couldn’t help it. The pulsing music made me pulse, too. The onslaught of scents, perfume and pheromones made me want to bury my nose in Asan’s skin. Because he smelled the best. Like strength and safety.

“Here,” he said right into my ear, stopping between two shehru couples. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll hide you.”

My heart drummed in my chest and my hands were sweaty, but not from fear. As Asan lifted my chin and looked into my eyes, I was mesmerized by his alien, yet so familiar features etched in a flat relief of the white, strobing lights.

I swallowed convulsively, trying to loosen my dry throat.

Oh god. I wanted… I didn’t even know what. But a volatile urgency filled my belly, pushing me to do something. To be closer. Or maybe to run.

Before I could make a move, Asan’s coils wrapped around my legs. I gasped as his scales slithered round and round my bare calves, reaching higher with every circle. He watched me with a small frown as the spiral of his body reached my butt and tightened around it.

I shook again, but this time not from terror.

He yanked me closer until my cheek pressed into his chest. The bulletproof vest was hard under his T-shirt, and yet I didn’t mind, too focused on everything I felt being so close to him.

Closer than I’d ever been before.

His tail climbed higher, wrapping around us both. Damn, it was heavy. It pressed me to him and down, the heaviness not oppressive, but relaxing, like a gravity blanket.

Sweet helplessness washed over me like a warm wind blowing through my body.

I couldn’t help it. My lips parted, breath rushing out as a powerful beat of arousal thrummed in my belly. Asan’s tongue flicked out, the tip tasting my temple with a faint touch. He kept going, his slithering coils wrapping higher up us both.

My T-shirt rode up from the friction and his scales pressed to my naked back.

“Asan,” I breathed, looking up pleadingly.

I was pressed so close, I only saw his long, muscular throat and the scaly underside of his chin. I didn’t know what I was asking for, only that a sweeping sensation I couldn’t control burned inside me. It burned so fucking good.

“Almost there, pet,” he said, lowering his face to my ear.

His breath tickled my earlobe, warm and pleasant, as his sibilant voice overshadowed the music for a moment. I shivered, the burn inside me tightening when he called me “pet”. He did it earlier, too.

Calm the fuck down, I told myself. It most likely meant something different to a shehru. Not an endearment like it was in human culture.

Yet now, with him wrapped around me, his coils pressing to my shoulder blades and making my breasts flatten against his chest, I wished with all my might it meant something.

He’s your bodyguard. You have a working relationship.

My brain tried to make me see reason, but I was too far gone. Adrenaline sloshed in my veins, lust pounded in my belly, and the music, the lights, and the scents made everything more intense.

I wanted to disappear inside Asan’s powerful coils. He was the only person in the world who truly cared about me.

And he was so intoxicatingly attractive. I didn’t even care he was a different species from me. Right now, with his powerful muscles looping around my body, making me feel safe and restless, I wanted him so much it hurt.

“There you go,” he said, his body twisting and rearranging around me until I was completely hidden in a cocoon made from his serpentine coils. Part of him pressed to the back of my head, pushing my face deeper into his chest as he wound tighter around me, hiding me whole.

The music muffled, the lights flickered out. I was trapped in him, my lips pressed into his T-shirt, my nipples hard and sensitive. I was so glad for his vest right now. At least he couldn’t feel them.

But I was painfully aware of everything happening inside me. The powerful response of my body to his proximity was shocking, but in the turmoil of everything that happened, I couldn’t even try to understand my emotions.

All I could do was feel them.

I yelped when Asan rocked from side to side, slowly at first. I was so ensconced in him, I had no choice but to follow. I rocked with him, our bodies moving in unison. His coils kept sliding over me, twisting and turning, but not once did the strobing lights penetrate my cocoon.

“Very good, pet. Just like this,” he hissed as we sped up, our movements matching the rhythm. My nipples rubbed against his clothes, his scales slithering over my ass and naked legs, and fuck, I wanted to run.

It was too much. I couldn’t contain the flood of arousal tinged with fear, because even as we danced intimately like the couple next to us, we were here for another purpose.

Not to fuck. You’re not here on a date.

I faltered, losing my balance. The want inside me was so hot, it hurt. My heart beat so hard, I feared it might bruise my ribs.

“Keep moving. You’re doing so well,” Asan said, his tail coiling tighter around my thighs and ass.

Fuck, why was this so hot? There was nothing sexual to his words, and yet, they made me want to whimper. I bit my tongue to force the sound back but I could do nothing to stop my pussy from clenching greedily. I was slick with arousal—and mortified.

God, oh god. Hope he doesn’t smell it on me.

“Are… Are they here?”

My voice was muffled and croaky, but he heard me. His coils shifted, tightening reassuringly, and he hissed in confirmation.

“Yessssss. But we’re okay. They took one look at the dancefloor and swept further back. Probably checking the bathrooms. Keep dancing, pet. Just like this.”

I bit my lip hard, gulping sharp, shallow breaths. Why did he keep calling me “pet”? Oh god, the things it did to me. His quiet instruction. The praise. The feeling of being completely overpowered, trapped in his powerful body as he watched over me.

It was too much.

Everything ached. As his muscular coils undulated around me, my entire body burst with sensitivity. My skin tingled, my nipples burned, and I was desperate to widen my stance and feel him between my legs.

I was so wet, so ready, it would take one smooth pass of his fingers against my clit, and I’d come. I was sure of it.

But Asan held me tightly, my legs just far apart to let me keep my balance. His movements were even and controlled as we swayed, and I had no illusions this affected him as much as it did me.

Until something hard and slick pressed to my bare midriff.

I yelped in shock. Asan’s coils tightened around me.

“I apologize,” he said, voice low and hypnotic. “Can’t let you go yet, they haven’t left. We have to stay like this. I’m ssssorry, pet.”

“What…” I started but before I could finish, I already knew.

He was hard. We were pressed intimately close, not an inch of space between us, and he got hard. He was so aroused, he couldn’t control his body.

Everything inside me froze, like a disaster happening in slow motion. My insides tightened, my breathing stopped, and my heart gave a thudding, painful beat. Then it all shattered, euphoria surging in my veins.

I made him hard. He wanted me.

I said nothing, desperately focusing on how his erections felt. He was slick, the double lengths thick and throbbing against my belly. Big—so big, my mouth went dry even as my pussy gushed with mortifying eagerness. I knew from my research shehru could fuck with just one cock at a time, but they preferred to use both.

I could tell just from feeling him that even one would be too much to handle.

When I shamefully looked up descriptions of shehru anatomy, I refrained heroically from searching for pictures, too. Now I regretted it with all my heart. I had no idea what his cocks actually looked like, but based on the sensation alone, they were different from human ones.

For one, they were deliciously slick. Oh god, how easily he would slide inside me, even despite his enormous size. Not that I wouldn’t make it easy for him, too. I’d never been wetter in my life.

The texture of the skin sheathing his cocks seemed patterned, not entirely like scales, yet not like smooth human skin, either. And I wasn’t sure, but something about the heads was different.

Definitely not like human cocks.

Duh. Of course. He’s a different species!

That thought should have cooled my pounding lust, but it didn’t. Unthinking, I pressed harder into him, testing out how stiff he was. His cocks bucked against me in response, swelling bigger. Asan froze for the briefest moment, his breath rushing out.

“Fuck,” I mumbled, trying to spring away even as he tightened around me with a convulsive, whole body movement. “I’m sorry. Oh god. What am I doing?”

He was silent, his hold so tight, I had difficulty breathing. And yet, it felt exhilarating. His cocks pulsed against me, warm and mind-blowingly wet, while his coils moved faster and faster, shifting restlessly over my skin. If I didn’t know better, I’d think it was a caress.

“Are you horny, pet?”

I stilled, mortification spreading in a blush from my cheeks down. I clenched and unclenched my fists, but all that did was give me more friction, more scale-on-skin contact with my bodyguard.

It was so frustrating. He felt so good, yet he was off-limits. I should get away from him so I could clear my head, but that was impossible.

“Yes,” I admitted, shame choking me up.

Asan’s cocks bucked against me in an immediate reaction, making me gasp. Oh. He liked the fact I was horny. Oh god.

Heat bloomed across my skin, delirious and sticky. I didn’t know what I wanted anymore. To get away so I could control myself? Or to drag him somewhere private so I could map out his cocks with my tongue?

“So that’s how it smells when you’re aroused,” he said, his throat vibrating. “You smell so good, little pet.”

My breath hitched, the last vestiges of my control falling apart. I pressed closer with a moan, wiggling my hands in the tight space to put them around him. Asan shivered, his coils shifting with fast, back-and-forth movements that made me think of sex.

My legs were so weak, I only stood because he held me.

“Asan,” I begged, not even knowing for what.

No, I knew what I wanted. Him between my thighs. Fuck. Was I desperate enough to ask for it?

“I’m here, pet. You feel so good like this,” he said, making my body break out in hot and cold shivers. All my senses were in overdrive. He was everywhere and everything. “What do you want? Tell me.”

I shook my head, the words getting stuck in my throat. Nuh-uh. No way. I couldn’t say it.

“You first,” I blurted out. “What do you want, Asan?”

“To fuck you against the wall.”

His answer was immediate and harsh, and I choked on my inhale. Fuck. I wanted it, too.

Now that he put the idea in my head, it was all I thought about. Him fucking me here, in this dark, loud club, while other people danced around us.

“Your turn,” he said, his voice growing raspy. His coils pressed into my lower back, making me arch until his hard cocks dug into my belly. It would have been uncomfortable if it wasn’t so deliriously good.

“T-touch me,” I said, all reason fleeing. “Between my legs. Please.”

I had to bite back a shout when his smooth, agile tail pushed between my thighs from behind. It passed over the fabric of my shorts, powerful and controlled, and I sagged from pleasure.

Fuck, his tail was everywhere. It rubbed my pussy, clit, and ass, going back and forth in fluid, even movements. I shook, barely breathing. Everything happened so fast, like a car skidding over an icy road.

Like we lost control and couldn’t stop, both heading for an inevitable, tragic crash.

“There you go, pet,” he said, voice coming as if from afar. “Does it feel good? Tell me.”

Oh, fuck. “Yes! It feels so good,” I sobbed, my nails digging into his unyielding scales.

“Good girl. You’re doing so well. Just like this. Put your delicious scent all over me.”

I seized and cried out, pressing my open mouth to his chest to somehow muffle the sound, even though the music was too loud for anyone to hear me. The knowledge that we were in public knocked at the back of my head, but I was hidden away, wrapped so securely in him, it felt like it was just the two of us. I was completely certain no one saw me.

“Will you come for me, pet?”

My limbs turned to liquid as I shuddered, coming all over his rubbing tail, my scream turning into a series of needy whimpers as he slowed down. His touch rocked me gently through my climax. When I slumped against him, breathing hard, he stopped the movement but kept his tail there, pressing into me.

Soft, dazed mist filled my mind and body, all tension leaking out of me. My heart hammered, pushing my buzzing blood around until every part of me glowed. I didn’t even realize how big of a strain I carried until it released.

And all it took was the orgasm my bodyguard gave me.

“There. All better,” came his rustling voice. “You feel so good when you come from my touch.”

I stilled, a sharp bite of shock piercing through my bliss. What did we just do? How was this possible? Even as my belly pulsed with relaxed heat, my thoughts swirled in my head, everything tinged in disbelief.

It couldn’t have happened. But it did. I felt the evidence inside and all around me.

I flinched when Asan moved fast, his coils unwrapping from my head and upper body even as they kept my hips pinned to him. His cocks pulsed against my bare belly, a degree or two hotter than the rest of him.

The unmuffled noise assaulted me like a crashing wave, and I released a shaky breath. My brain came back online, and I realized why he must have uncovered me: the danger was gone. I didn’t have to hide anymore. And yet, he kept me pinned to him. Probably so I would cover up his erections.

I kept my eyes down, mortified, ashamed, exhilarated. It was too much.

“Kim.”

He didn’t say anything more, just my name. I knew what he wanted—for me to look at him so we could communicate. I didn’t want to, but it had to be done.

Raising my eyes to look at his face might have been the bravest thing I did in my life. I was terrified of what I’d see there. Would it be regret? Anger? Or, worse yet, indifferent calculation?

My lower lip trembled as my eyes found his, my grip on his forearm so tight, it probably hurt.

Asan’s expression was none of the things I feared. His face was tense, red eyes alight and eager, lips parted in lust. We stared at each other, my heart fluttering madly. Slowly, like he was afraid of startling me, he reached for my cheek and cupped it in his large palm.

My breath stuttered out of me as he leaned closer. And closer. His face obscured the club, filling my field of vision, when I finally realized what he was doing. As his cool lips pressed to mine, I gave a small cry of surprise, opening my mouth. His forked ribbon of a tongue flicked inside, meeting my tongue.

I shuddered, knowing this was going to change everything. I shouldn’t do it. It went against my principles and common sense. I knew all that, and I did it anyway.

I kissed him back.

CHAPTER 11

Asan

Kim’s aroused, pleasured scent drove me crazy. It filled my nose, tingling on my tongue, and clung to my scales like the most delicious perfume. I never imagined a creature of another species could smell so good. After all, we didn’t fit, neither anatomically nor genetically.

And yet, here I was, drunk on her scent and the sweet sounds she made. I panted for more like a lust-crazed fool.

At least I didn’t get her off while the mercs were still sweeping the club. I wasn’t completely reckless. Just as Kim admitted to being horny, I saw the last of them leave. Of course, I should have let her go then. That would have been reasonable and prudent. Professional.

Yet, I kept her trapped, my spikes throbbing against her hot skin. Because she wanted me, too, and that changed everything.

After she came all over my tail, her wet arousal seeping through her clothes and onto me, I gently untangled myself just enough so I could see her face. My spikes throbbed, so hard, they felt uncomfortable, and yet, I didn’t want to ever let go. Being pressed to her like that, even if there was no way for me to come, felt glorious.

I never wanted to let her go. I’d keep her pinned to me forever.

And it wasn’t like she could escape. I was a predator, Kim was prey, and all my instincts purred with satisfaction that she was here, trapped in my tight embrace, shaking from an orgasm I gave her.

But then she tensed, a powerful shiver going through her as her head and body emerged. She didn’t look at me, and I only saw the top of her head, her dark hair etched with the strobing lights. Her fingers dug into my forearm.

A sense of foreboding rolled through my spine as I felt her discomfort.

I fucked up.

I should have controlled myself. Even though she clearly said she’d wanted me to touch her, it was still a mistake to give in.

But it felt so impossibly good. The wet heat of her, scalding even through her clothes, was intoxicating. I knew her body temperature usually ran higher than mine, but she was positively burning up between her legs.

And it felt too good to stop.

I knew it was my fault. I turned an uncomfortable yet innocent situation sexual by getting hard. But then, it wasn’t like I’d done it on purpose. I tried to hold my erections back, but as Kim pressed into me, hot, warm, and trusting, nothing could keep my cocks from sliding free.

Shit. I had to fix this mess.

“Kim,” I called her name, unease roiling inside me. What did she think about this? I knew I made a mistake, professionally speaking. Fuck, I was her bodyguard. Of course she’d fire me now.

The thought of her requesting another bodyguard, of someone else being entrusted to protect her, made red creep into my vision. No. I was the only one who’d keep her safe.

But if she didn’t want me as her bodyguard anymore, how could I stay? Fuck.

It seemed dire, but I couldn’t bring myself to regret it. I’d do it again. And again. As many times as she let me.

Kim wouldn’t want that, though. We had a working relationship, and I remembered perfectly well how she said she didn’t mix business and sex. Not to mention the species differences between us.

There was a reason why fucking humans was a taboo.

But when Kim lifted her blushing face to me, her pupils widening in a rush when our eyes locked, I couldn’t care less about anatomy, social stigma, and all that.

Fuck. She looked beautiful.

Her cheeks were hot, dark eyes wide open and glistening. Some of her hair stuck to her sweaty temple, making her look deliciously rumpled. I had an urge to mess her up even more so everyone would see I took her.

I pushed that urge aside as relief poured into my chest. She didn’t regret it. She didn’t hate me. If anything, she looked slightly unsure, her pink tongue darting out to wet her lips.

She was pliant and open, her skin warmed, her mouth welcoming. Exactly like I wanted her.

Slowly, as if pulled by an invisible force, I reached out to palm her cheek. Her eyelids fluttered and she leaned into my touch, giving me another sign of her desire.

That was enough to push me over the edge.

I forgot where we were and what we were doing here. All that mattered was the woman trapped in my body, looking up with fearful want on her face.

When I leaned in to kiss her, it wasn’t a conscious decision but a natural outcome of everything that happened. We built up to something, and all that lust, all that attraction, had to find a way out. So I focused on her lips, which were even hotter than the rest of her face, red and beckoning in my thermal vision.

I swallowed her cry of surprise when my mouth pressed to hers, unable to keep my tongue from darting in. Swift and eager, it slicked into her mouth for a taste and retreated, my spikes growing painfully hard.

She tasted so good. So fucking right.

I was ready to pull back to check her reaction when Kim melted in my hold. Her body sagged in complete surrender, mouth opening wider as she licked inside my mouth. A choked sound burst free from my throat and into her as she kissed me with fire and passion that short-circuited my brain.

My body moved with the need to pull her closer, my coils pressing in and undulating until I swept her off her feet. She yelped when I pushed insistently at the backs of her knees, making her fold and sit on me. As soon as she was secure, I raised her higher, bringing her face up to mine so I could kiss her like I wanted to.

Her lips were hot and soft, moving with mine in a messy, consuming kiss. My hands roamed, tangling in her hair and stroking down her back until she moaned with pleasure.

Even though her face was smaller than mine, everything out of proportion, we found our rhythm almost at once. Her tongue, shockingly short compared to mine, was slick and hot, and I groaned, sucking on it when she pressed it greedily against mine.

I couldn’t stop moving. My body was restless, long coils working to tighten around her legs, opening her for me. I rearranged her with ease, making her straddle me as I held her up, scales pressing into her naked skin. Her hands clutched my neck, blunt fingernails digging in as she shook, growing even hotter. Feverish.

Her pussy was still hot and wet, seeping through her clothes onto my thick coil supporting her ass. I held her with my arms and slid my body under her, back and forth, obsessed with the idea of getting that scent she made for me all over my scales.

I had to be covered in her arousal. Had to claim all of it.

When Kim pulled back with a shuddering moan, I pressed my mouth to her throat, my tongue lashing out to taste her pulse point. Her blood pounded so fast in her veins, and I just held my mouth there, my fangs hurting with the need to slide out.

It should have been confusing, that urge to bite her, but it wasn’t. I understood with perfect clarity I had to be inside her with every part of me. Spikes, fingers, fangs, tail—all of me wanted to claim Kim and take her so well, she’d never want anyone else.

Fuck. I had to get her naked. Now.

“That’s fucking disgusting!” A loud shehru voice boomed close by, breaking the spell.

I jolted, the awareness of where we were like a bucket of cold water. Shit. I forgot.

I would have fucked Kim then and there, or at least tried to. I wasn’t certain we could actually fuck, but that didn’t make me want to stop.

Yet the fact we were in public, and in fucking danger, did.

What was I doing?

Breathing deeply to calm my raging instincts, I looked around. All the dancers moved away from us, creating a wide circle. They stared, the faces of the shehru full of disgust that flashed on and off to the rhythm with the lights. The ursa male, though, sported a big erection tenting his pants. He grinned and gave me a thumbs up when our eyes met.

Fuck. I was in public. With my principal. Practically fucking her for everyone to see.

When I looked at Kim, she hid her face in her hands, obviously embarrassed.

My fault.

Hot guilt rose in my gut like bile, fury at myself making my lust disperse enough for my cocks to retreat back into their pocket.

If Kim didn’t hate me before, she certainly did now. I had to get her out of there at once.

I gritted my teeth, uncoiling from her enough so I could move while still holding her, and slithered off the dancefloor without sparing anyone a second look. In any other circumstances, I would have confronted the shehru about his comment, but getting Kim out of there was more important.

But fuck, I got why he said that. Until tonight, the idea of a shehru with a human was outlandish to me. It still didn’t seem right.

Even now, the disgusted expressions of the shehru stuck in my mind like a stark reminder of all the rules I broke. If I had any common sense left, I’d never do it again. Never touch Kim like that.

I wiped the thoughts away, focusing on my job. Keeping her safe was the only thing that counted right now. Everything else had to wait.

By the time we emerged from the club, all my inner turmoil was securely tucked away for later. I purged everything that happened with Kim from my mind, submerged in my mental lake, and scoped out the street with numb coldness.

“We’ll move faster if I carry you. Is that okay?” I asked, my voice so detached, it almost sounded robotic.

Kim flinched and gave me a jerky nod. Even though I still held her in my arms, she seemed to shrink away from me, curling in on herself. I studiously ignored her aroused scent clinging to us both.

When I glanced at her, racing down the block to where our car was parked, she stared past me with unfocused eyes, her face closed off.

She waited by the car while I did a standard sweep for tracking devices, her fingers curling and uncurling compulsively. The car cleared, we got in and drove away in silence. I sprawled in my seatless driver’s space, my hands tense on the wheel as my tail, still tingling from touching her, operated the controls.

The drive was longer than normal despite the late hour and low traffic. I took an elaborate route to make absolutely sure we weren’t followed, and every minute of it dragged with unpleasant slowness.

Kim didn’t say even one word to me since we left the club. She sat in her seat in the back, rigid apart from her bouncing leg. Her eyes were glued to the window, stubbornly looking out. Not once did she look at me or catch my eye in the rearview mirror.

It was frustrating, so I locked that feeling away, too. One by one, I cut off all the personal parts of me, leaving only the professional bodyguard behind. Training and experience took over, and for a while, I even felt normal.

Kim was my principal. Nothing changed.

Before we arrived at the hotel, she took out her tablet and busied herself with it. Once I parked, she looked up, not entirely meeting my eyes, and said cooly, “The area is clear.”

I managed to keep my professional side in charge until the hotel room’s door closed behind us. We were safe, hidden away, and locked together. There was no need to protect Kim actively now.

And with that focus gone, all the feelings and instincts I held back came rushing in.

CHAPTER 12

Kim

“You’re going to just loom there?” I asked Asan.

He stayed by the window, motionless and tense, for over an hour while I tried to figure out what to do with my gold paperweight. It was our third day since the nightclub disaster, and we were both frustrated and tense.

We also hadn’t exchanged more than a handful of words. Being so close to him, yet separated by an invisible wall, was infuriating. But I was willing to endure it if it meant not having to talk about what happened.

I clenched my jaw, refusing to be embarrassed. Yes, that night was a disaster. We made out like crazy teenagers riding the hormone high. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he made me come with ridiculous ease in a public place full of other people.

I’d never come so fast for anyone before. It boggled my mind, quite frankly, and a part of me felt like I gave in too easily. He moved and I responded, he demanded and I gave, and in the light of day, it felt simply humiliating.

To be so tuned in to someone else. Like a helpless puppet in his grip. But even as I loathed my complete submission, I had to admit, it felt incredibly good.

He wanted you, too, I reminded myself to force the blush from creeping up my cheeks. Yes, he wanted me, too, and we were both consenting adults. There was nothing essentially wrong about what happened.

Apart from the mortifying ease with which I shucked my principles out the window. I almost fucked my bodyguard, someone I hired to protect me. That was simply wrong and I had to do everything in my might to keep it from happening again.

Not that he seemed interested in a repeat performance.

We were back to our professional relationship, all cold and business-like. Done and dusted, that insanity was over.

Except, my body didn’t stop wanting more. I didn’t stop wanting more.

Every time I looked at him, flashes of that night burst deep in my brain, forcing me to relive memories of all those sensations. The heavy weight of him, restraining me so I couldn’t get away. The slick, hard lengths pressing into my belly.

His scales, so smooth, deadly coiled power pulsing underneath.

And his mouth, so eager and demanding, devouring me. The feel of his lips crushing mine, his forked tongue pushing in, its movements fast and controlled.

For the millionth time, I wondered what it would feel like on other parts of me.

And then I stopped that thought, forcing myself to think about animal carcasses ripe with maggots to clear my mind, and calmed the fuck down.

Because if I got horny, he would smell it on me.

God, this was hell.

“Loom,” he repeated, barely turning his face my way. I couldn’t be totally sure, but it seemed like he hadn’t looked directly at me even once since we came back to the hotel. “Is that what you call it?”

He was tense, with a bigger portion of his body lifted off the floor than normal, definitely looming taller than usual.

“Yes, you’re looming. It’s distracting,” I said, also doing my best not to look at him.

“How is it distracting?” he asked, his voice so neutral, I had an urge to bite him just so he’d lose his cool.

Because it wasn’t fair he was this composed while I was freaking out.

“It just is!” My voice rose in irritation, but I still didn’t look directly at him, instead focusing on the perfectly still shadow his coiled body cast on the wall.

“I don’t move at all,” he replied, voice so cold, it gave me chills. “So what do you find so distracting? Because I deal just fine with your constant fidgeting.”

There. A crack in his calm, his hiss growing vicious on the last word.

“You don’t have to move to distract me when you loom so aggressively,” I spat, pushing the sculpture off my lap. Damn, I was itching for a fight. “And what the fuck is wrong with my fidgeting?”

“It makes me track all your movements,” he said, suddenly whipping to face me. “Every time your little finger twitches, every time your toes flex, I have to look. I’m a fucking predator. When I see a bouncing squirrel, I react.”

He almost looked calm, but I knew him well enough by now to see the signs betraying his fury. His red eyes were narrowed, brow scales pulled together, his lips tight. When he stopped speaking, a muscle in his jaw fluttered with tension.

“Squirrel? Is that what I am?” I asked, pushing back from the couch where I slept and worked while he still occupied the big nest bed.

“Yes. You’re a fucking squirrel, and it’s taking all I have not to squeeze you hard to make you still.”

Fuck. The memory of him coiled around me while his erections bucked against my belly overrode my brain, and my knees went weak with a debilitating urge to feel that again. To feel overpowered, trapped, and yet safer than I’d ever been.

You can. Please, squeeze me hard.

I almost said that, but I bit my tongue at the last moment. Asan was clearly over whatever had happened, and I wasn’t going to humiliate myself.

Besides, I had other priorities. I still hadn’t figured out why the sculpture was so important, and I was sure as hell it wasn’t because of Christina Faddani. Her pieces were pricey, but definitely not worth losing two million over.

“You know what?” I said, forcing myself to sit down. “Fine. Loom all you want. Squeeze me if I annoy you. But if you haven’t noticed, I’m in deep shit and no closer to working out what this fucking gold dildo is. So do me a solid and let me work so I can put us both out of our misery.”

Asan’s nostrils flared as he rounded on me, slithering across the room with breathtaking speed. I refused to cower, and truth was, my heart drummed faster and faster, not with fear but excitement. He stopped barely two steps in front of me, so tall, the top of his scaly head brushed the ceiling.

I was certain he raised himself so high just to piss me off.

I was about to ask him what the fuck his problem was when suddenly, something clicked in my brain. The words I just spoke echoed in my mind—Do me a solid—followed by a memory of Rossi saying “solid gold” on repeat.

Asan opened his mouth to speak, his tongue flicking out, while I sat back, landing heavily on the couch. He paused, frowning at me.

“He said it three times,” I whispered, terrified my discovery would fly away if I was too loud. “Solid gold. Solid gold. Solid gold.”

Annoyance flashed across Asan’s face, quickly followed by comprehension. Damn, he was fast on the uptake. He slithered closer, lowering to his normal height as he gestured at the sculpture.

“You think it’s not? And he was trying to see your reaction when he said it?”

I shook my head, not completely sure what I thought, only knowing that I had something for the first time since all this started. Something solid.

“I don’t know. Maybe it was subconscious. Maybe he was trying to convince me… But it’s not like he even had to try. It weighs so much, no one would actually suspect it of being hollow. I mean, it’s obviously not. Fuck, I don’t know. Maybe he just really likes that word.”

The burst of euphoria died down, replaced by despair. I weighed the sculpture in my hand. It was definitely heavy and felt solid. Like a dumbbell.

“May I?”

When Asan reached out, I handed it over without a hint of hesitation. That was how much I trusted him. With my mission, with my life, with everything.

My heart thudded painfully, and I told it to shut up.

“It doesn’t feel hollow, you’re right,” he said, scrutinizing the sculpture with narrowed eyes. “But maybe it’s only partly empty? Maybe all he needed was one small chamber to hide something.”

He raised it to his ear and knocked on it with his knuckles, listening intently. He did it a few more times, slowly moving down the length of the sculpture. When he was done, he shook his head and handed it back to me.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” he reassured me. “Can you think of more precise ways to check? It’s a lead, after all.”

I sighed. “There aren’t that many ways to see through metal. I’ll have to think about it. This might be a dead end, so don’t get your hopes up.”

Asan’s sudden grin made me blink in surprise. All tension melted out of his face as it crinkled in amusement, growing handsome and predatory, his sharp teeth flashing between his lips.

“I’ll be glad whether it is a dead end or not. I’ll either help you get what you want or stay with you longer. Win, win.”

I blinked at him stupidly, my brain growing useless as my belly warmed with attraction. His words replayed in my head, “win, win”, and I wondered what exactly he meant. Did he consider guarding me for longer a win? Why? I thought he couldn’t wait to get rid of me.

“Right. Ways to see through solid gold,” I said, rubbing my eyes in an attempt to focus. “Without damaging the potential scoop inside.”

Asan nodded and slithered back, hesitating by the bed. He faced me with a grimace.

“I’ll do my best not to loom, Kim. And I don’t really mind your fidgeting.”

It was an offer of truce after the spat we just had, and I took it gratefully.

“I don’t mind your looming, either,” I muttered. “Was just frustrated. Sorry I took it out on you.”

A speculative look crossed his face, his body coiling suddenly into a compact spring, as if he wanted to launch himself at me. His tongue tasted the air, his face tightening in a look that was a stark reminder of that night. I gulped, eyeing him with unease as my body reacted, warmth spreading freely with my thrumming blood . “What?”

After a tense moment, Asan uncoiled, shaking his head. “Nothing. I just wanted to say something imprudent about how I could… help with your frustration.”

“Huh?” I stared at him, his serpentine coils making my gut clench with lust. Oh my god, calm the fuck down.

Asan unraveled slowly, spreading out as he turned away from me. “Doesn’t matter, Kim. Tell me if you need my help.”

Yet when I finally got an idea half an hour later and told him in detail how he could help me, he huffed with anger.

“No.”

I threw my hands up, rounding on him. “What do you mean, no? This is what I pay you for. To protect me.”

His nostrils flared as he folded his arms on his chest. “Which is what I’m doing. I won’t let you walk into a trap.”

“It’s not a trap if she doesn’t even know I’m coming,” I reasoned with him, trying to stay calm despite his annoying attitude.

“No, squirrel. That person will fuck you over. You can’t trust her. Or did you forget literally all your friends are trying to sell you out?”

I snorted, coming closer until I was a step away from him, stubbornly staring up. “That’s why I need you with me. If it was safe, I’d go alone.”

My plan was perfect, and even though I understood Asan’s concerns, it was the only way I could think of to check the sculpture’s interior without destroying it and anything that was potentially hidden there.

I was going to meet with a professional safecracker down in Vermont Harbor. She was the only person I knew who could look inside a metal object to check for valuables. Yes, she’d probably try to sell me out for the reward money, but that was why I wouldn’t call ahead. I’d just come and ask her to look into the sculpture while Asan kept an eye on her.

“I’m not invincible,” he hissed, his coils shifting in a hypnotic mass. “You just told me this Irene is competent, ruthless, and motivated by money. I can’t guarantee I can keep her from alerting Rossi that you’re there if I can’t restrain her.”

I nodded, sighing with frustration. “I know that. And no, you can’t restrain her or she won’t be able to drill into the sculpture.”

“Try to think of something else,” he said, slithering closer. The movement drew my eyes down to the vertical slit on his underside. Even though I tried to control myself with all I had, I couldn’t keep my eyes from straying there. The innocent line of darker scales hid so much.

Before he caught me staring, I whipped my eyes away as my body warmed. I wanted to growl with frustration. Even now, when I was furious with him, I didn’t stop wanting to see his cocks, kiss him again, feel his body tightening around me…

Fuck. I was definitely wet and there was no way I could hide it from him. It was time to go, because I wasn’t sure how much more humiliation I would survive.

“I’m going. You can follow me or not.”

I grabbed my bag and turned to the door, tripping over my own feet in my haste. An angry hiss behind me was the only warning I got. Before I even reached the door, a powerful, slithering length circled my knees and wrapped up my body, pulling me back.

“You’re not going anywhere, squirrel,” he said, his voice dark with authority.

I dug my heels in, trying to pull free, but it was useless. Asan dragged me away from the door, his body pulsing around me. I growled and fought, but the more I resisted, the more his grip tightened. He finally turned me and I found myself staring right into his red eyes.

He raised his hands and gently held my face in his large, scaly palms, his face coming closer and closer until I inhaled his breath.

Asan cocked his head to the side and looked at my lips.

“Stop running from me, pet.”

CHAPTER 13

Asan

I almost groaned with pleasure at the feel of her. Here she was again, trapped in my coils, still, terrified, and so aroused, the air was thick with her scent. My slit pulsed eagerly, spikes ready to slide free.

We were trapped together day and night, and the unresolved tension between us grew and grew. For two excruciating days, everything inside me heated with the hunger for things I wanted to do to her but couldn’t. Now that she was in my arms, eager and trembling, I hung on by a thread.

One word from her and I would let loose.

Kim licked her lips, the sight of her pink tongue making a shudder rush through me. My own tongue flicked out in greeting, almost touching her plump lower lip. Her breath caught and she squirmed.

“Asan.”

I looked at her lips, bringing my face closer.

“Yes, pet? What do you want?”

She was silent, watching my tongue as it flicked out again, tasting her scent in the air we shared. She shivered, her heart drumming with panicked speed. Finally, she raised her eyes. Soft and pleading, they drove me feral.

“Please, Asan.”

“Whatever you want,” I murmured, my slit slowly opening to let my cocks slide free.

I was ready to fuck her. No matter the consequences. If she wanted me, nothing would keep me from claiming her. My job and hers be damned.

Everything be damned. I wanted her too much to care.

I brought my face closer yet, my nose brushing hers. When she finally said she wanted me, I would eat those words out of her mouth. They would be a part of me forever.

“Please, let me go.”

I didn’t move, a faint tremor racing down my coils as they squeezed convulsively around her. I was certain she couldn’t have said that. Maybe the aroused blood rushing in my ears made me mishear. I stared at her as my body tightened around her, refusing to do as she asked.

Kim winced, maybe from fear, maybe from pain, and that broke the spell.

I unraveled rapidly, backing off as far as the room allowed. My instincts raged, gum pockets pulsing with the need to release my fangs so I could sink them inside her. They would be my anchor, a tether that would keep us together.

My spikes were hard and heavy inside, but Kim’s rejection cooled me enough to hold them from sliding out. The swollen arousal throbbing in my cockpocket was so uncomfortable, it hurt, but I repressed the sensation so I could focus.

“I apologize,” I said through gritted teeth, hating myself for being so whipped by her. Damn. So many apologies. All I did, it seemed, was push her too far then apologize.

Over and over.

Kim shook her head, her hair flying from side to side. “No, it’s fine. I mean… Thank you. For letting go.”

Fuck, who did she think I was? Of course I let her go when she asked. I just wished she hadn’t done that. If she hadn’t… We could be fucking right now.

Damn it all to hell. I had no business thinking about it.

“Um. I will go to see Irene now,” she said, not looking at me. Her cheeks were hot with a blush, and the air smelled of her intoxicating want, practically scrambling my brain. I wished I could stop breathing just so I wouldn’t have to smell her.

Because it was right there. The proof she wanted me. Yet, it meant nothing when she said no.

The stubborn, infuriating squirrel. Not only would she not follow her instincts, she rushed straight into danger and no matter how much I wanted to protect her from everything, I had to let her make her stupid decisions.

“Are you sure this is the only way?” I forced myself to ask, pushing down the raging need to tie her up and never let her leave again so she’d be safe. “I still think this is a bad idea.”

Kim smiled ruefully, still not looking at me. She sighed and rubbed her forehead, her skin wrinkling under her frantic touch.

When she looked up, her eyes were soft and open, the luminous brown of them like a warm invitation. She wet her lips and smiled with certainty. “I’ll be safe with you. I trust you.”

My heart thudded with something hot and painful, and I stared at her, an overpowering feeling rising inside me like a wave. It poured into my chest and gut, squeezing hotter and tighter with every breath.

I didn’t know what it was, only that I never felt this way before. It was excruciating and so powerful, my thoughts winked out, buried under the roaring onslaught. Hot tightness and pain, it was nothing pleasant, and yet, there was a sweet inevitability to it.

I knew it couldn’t be stopped. I was doomed.

“I’ll do my best,” I said, the words falling out numbly, like my voice box was detached from the hot mess inside me.

Kim’s face brightened in her most sincere, beaming smile, and my chest squeezed tighter until there was no room for air. I blinked, trying to shake off the daze. Damn, I had to deal with that, and fast, or I wouldn’t be able to do my job.

Right now, if anyone threatened Kim, I would strangle them with no hesitation and rip their corpse apart. But that wasn’t the objective. My goal was to keep my principal safe, and going on a murderous rampage wasn’t the way to do it.

While I wrestled with my instincts, Kim checked inside her bag, rearranging her things for a minute before she straightened.

“Let’s go, then. It’s best not to give her a warning. Um. You might have to grab her the second she opens the door, because if she sees me, she’ll want to call Rossi.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, my body twisting to follow Kim as she made for the door. It was still way too risky, but she was right. She was paying me to protect her wherever she went. I didn’t get to forbid her from going somewhere just because every time I thought about her getting hurt, a red mist clouded my vision.

That was my problem, not hers.

Kim kept fiddling with her tools in the car while I drove us to Irene’s place. In her bag, Kim had a set of small electronic devices, as well as a leather case of slim metal tools I recognized as lockpicks. Before we reached the right building, she switched on something she called a jammer.

“Doesn’t work for all systems and the range is shit, but it should mess up Irene’s cameras enough not to give her a warning. We should have a few minutes before her system reboots.”

Irene lived in a small but well-off looking house with a big yard. As I pulled over, Kim pointed out a camera hidden in a tree just inside the tall fence.

“She’s paranoid. Cameras everywhere. The trick is to get her to open the door for us without her knowing I’m coming.”

“How will you convince her to drill into the sculpture for you?” I asked, scanning the street from inside the car. “Hope you aren’t counting on the goodness of her heart.”

Kim snorted, tossing the jammer in her bag. “I’ll ask nicely,” she said with a wink. “You’ll see.”

I let her lead the way, though I was right behind her, ready to react if anything happened. Opening the gate took just one swipe of a small black device, and the lock clicked open. Inside the yard, Kim led me straight to the front door.

All windows were covered from the inside, so it seemed Irene relied on the cameras. I noted all the possible exit ways, frowning at how tall the fence was. I’d have to throw Kim over if push came to shove. Not ideal.

“She’ll ask who it is. You’ll have to speak,” Kim said distractedly while scanning the porch and then checking something on her phone. “All right.”

I got in front of her and rang the doorbell. We waited for a moment until a clear female voice came from the speaker, sounding annoyed. “Who is it and how did you open the gate?”

“A client,” I replied, deciding to be vague. I knew from Kim that Irene liked challenges, so I added, “One who hates waiting out in the street.”

“Entitled,” she said at once. “Fine. Can you handle waiting a few more seconds?”

I didn’t reply, looking steadily into the intercom camera lens. I was close enough to hide Kim behind me, which was the point. Ten seconds later, the door lock clicked, and I moved to face the doorway, standing close enough that I could react if Irene did anything when she saw Kim.

“You did something to my cameras, too,” Irene said in lieu of greeting as soon as she opened the door. Her thick blond brows were drawn tight in a frown. She glared at me for a moment before her eyes flicked to the side and widened.

She saw Kim, and her reaction was instant. Irene reached for her phone.

When she pulled it out of her pocket, I was ready. I gripped her wrist and pushed inside, forcing her back. Kim entered behind me and closed the door.

Irene shrieked and kicked me. I turned her around so her back was pressed to me, my coils trapping her fast. My hand covered her mouth just as she tried to take a breath to scream, and she fought me silently, thrashing.

I could tell she had some fighting training from the organized way she moved, trying to hit me with her elbow until I coiled around her so tightly, she couldn’t move. Her heart beat frantically fast.

I braced for that familiar predatory instinct to hit. It wasn’t often that I had to wrap around human females, and a part of me expected to feel something similar to what I felt when Kim was trapped in my coils.

It didn’t happen. I remained clearheaded, the woman just a threat I had to keep from hurting my principal. My body didn’t respond to her squirming nearness in the least.

“Hi, Irene,” Kim said, walking around me to face her.

Irene tensed and stopped thrashing. Kim nodded, her polite smile growing fixed.

“I bet you’re very happy to see me. So many people would kill for my whereabouts, you know. It’s an honor.”

Irene tried to jab me with her elbow, but I kept her arms pinned to her sides. Kim nodded.

“I know. You can’t wait to grab your phone so you can get a shot at that reward. Thing is, I don’t really want to be sold to Rossi. So here’s what will happen. I will ask you nicely to do me a favor. If you refuse, my shehru here will tie you up and gag you. By the time you get free, we’ll be long gone, and you’ll never get another chance at those two million.”

Not even one muscle twitched in Kim’s cool expression when I shot her a furious look, understanding what she was doing. Fucking baiting the safecracker with that reward.

Irene was still, watching Kim with utmost focus. Of course, she would take the bait. And then she’d try to contact Rossi any way she could, because Kim gave her this opening. Practically offered herself on a silver platter.

“If you say yes and help me out, you’ll have a chance, though,” Kim said with a fucking wink. Like it was a joke. “Because I need you to do something for me, and you’ll need to move freely for that. Who knows? You might be able to call Rossi. Though I assure you, my bodyguard will do his best not to let that happen. So, what is it? Will you help me out? I’ll pay for your services, of course.”

Irene gave a sharp nod despite my hand pressing to her mouth, and I gritted my teeth. If we survived this, I’d make sure Kim got a red flag in her client profile, indicating she should be charged double for being a risk to herself and others.

“Perfect!” Kim clapped her hands, her voice ringing with false brightness. “The shehru will let you go now, and I will hold on to your phone. And then I’d like to go to your workshop downstairs.”

When Kim pocketed the phone that fell to the floor, Irene didn’t even protest. It was suspicious. She probably had other means of communication.

Kim nodded to me, and I removed my hand, letting Irene speak.

“You’re working while there’s a bounty on your head? Fuck, Kim. That’s dedication. I approve. By the way, he raised it to five million this morning.”

Kim whistled, though I saw the way her shoulders tensed just a tad. The stakes just got so much higher.

“Jesus, I had no idea. Well then, you have an even better incentive to help me out,” she said, motioning for me to let go. I released Irene completely but didn’t step away, her casual tone of voice not fooling me at all.

She was clearly sharp enough to roll with the punches, which made her dangerous. A normal person would tremble from fear in these circumstances, but Irene brushed off the event with disturbing ease. She led the way down to the basement and through another heavily secured door, asking Kim how she was doing as if nothing outrageous happened.

I stayed between them, ready to grab Irene at the slightest threat, but all she did was walk through the house with ease and confidence. Yet the very fact she agreed to do this meant she was ready to give Kim away to Rossi.

I wanted to bite her head off just for considering that.

“These are new,” Kim said as soon as we entered a bright, spacious room that had to be Irene’s workshop. It was lit with white, blinding lights and completely windowless. Air streamed in through narrow, secure vents.

This place was a vault, sealed off from the rest of the house. Before the heavy metal door shut, I blocked it with a stool.

“This stays open,” I told Irene, who shrugged like it didn’t matter. But her pulse was too fast, indicating she wasn’t as composed as she appeared.

The room was tidy and professional. A few high benches stood by the walls, tools, safes, and naked locks arranged in even rows. A large cabinet in the corner held a plethora of labeled tools, and another, smaller one, held vials of chemicals.

Kim pointed at one of the benches that sported two small safes. I recognized one of them as a vampire made, state-of-the-art new model that a previous client of mine used.

They were supposed to be uncrackable, yet this one sported a gaping hole in the magic-reinforced casing. It might have been made with some kind of acid.

Fine. So Irene was good. That made her ten times more dangerous on top of already being a threat.

When Kim made to approach Irene, who waited by an empty workbench with her arms folded and a brow expectantly raised, I shot my arm out.

“Stay behind me at all times.”

Kim released a frustrated breath but obeyed while Irene laughed with derision.

“Out of all people, you’re the last I’d suspect of needing a handler,” she said, mocking Kim openly. “You could always handle yourself, which I admired. Guess everything changes.”

She baited Kim, and for now, my principal didn’t take the bait. Kim grinned without looking up, her eyes focused on the content of her bag.

“A good handler is worth his weight in gold. Incidentally, here.” She handed the gold sculpture to me, and I passed it wordlessly to Irene, just catching the hungry, intense look in her eyes.

I knew what it meant. Kim on her own was worth a fortune, but her and the sculpture? Jackpot.

Just knowing Irene thought that made me want to break both her arms. I forced the urge down and called my mental lake forth, trying to embrace the numbness of its cold waters. It didn’t help much.

“So this is what the fuss is all about,” Irene said, studying the sculpture. “My, my. Do you think Rossi’s compensating for something?”

That startled a laugh out of Kim, and I hissed in warning. I didn’t like the way Irene tried to put Kim at ease and blur the lines of our current power balance. She tried to make Kim act like they were friends, and fuck, it was working.

At the sound of my hiss, Irene’s crafty eyes flitted to me and back to the sculpture, her body tensing for a moment before she consciously relaxed her shoulders. Good. At least she was afraid of me.

“I need you to look inside it without damaging anything that’s potentially hidden there,” Kim said. “I know it seems solid. It might be. But if it isn’t, I have to extract whatever it holds.”

Irene frowned and put the sculpture on an empty workbench, opening a drawer to take out a large magnifying glass with a built-in light.

“And I suppose if I break it in the process, Rossi won’t pay so much for getting it back, right?”

Kim shrugged with feigned nonchalance. “Sorry. It is what it is.”

Irene leaned over the sculpture, studying it from every side through the glass. I slithered closer so I could react if she made a sudden move. I didn’t know what she kept in those drawers. Hell, even that magnifying glass—or the sculpture, for the matter—could be a weapon.

“I don’t see any seams,” she said after a moment. “Though that doesn’t mean anything. I’ll put it through the scanner if that’s all right.”

Kim nodded, and I followed on Irene’s heels as she approached a piece of equipment with a dark box hooked up to a computer. She put the sculpture inside and turned on the scanner. A moment later, a completely white shape appeared on the dark screen.

“Solid gold,” Kim said, slumping slightly.

“Not necessarily,” Irene said with a  frown. She zoomed in, slowly scrolling the image of the sculpture back and down until she stopped and clicked a few times. A faint, rectangular shadow appeared right in the center of the globe. “There. Look.”

Kim came closer, her eyes growing wide, but I stopped her with my arm. “That’s close enough.”

She nodded and craned her neck, looking at the screen. “So there is a hollow space in there. Holy shit.”

“That explains it, you know,” Irene said, looking over at Kim. “No offense, but you’re not worth five million dollars. Neither is that tacky thing.”

“I know, right?” Kim said, her eyes gleaming with excitement. I snorted. She wasn’t offended in the least. “Okay. We need to get it out without damaging that hidden thing. I don’t care about the dildo. You can break it for all I care.”

Irene laughed, taking the sculpture out of the scanner while her printer hummed, spitting out an image with lines and measurements layered on. “Yeah, it’s a bit much. Nobody sane would want to shove a thing like that up their hole.”

She hefted the sculpture in her hand, winking at Kim, and I hissed in annoyance. “Keep it professional.”

“What’s the fun in that?” Irene asked, her crafty eyes turning to me. “Or did I offend you? Your bad boys are probably about this size, right?”

Kim choked and coughed violently while Irene gave me a wink and crossed over to a cabinet, picking out a drill and an array of thin bits. “We’ll drill a small hole and feed a camera inside to look first. See if it’s worth destroying the sculpture over.”

“It is. That thing inside is worth five million dollars,” Kim said, her voice unsteady. When I glanced at her, her face was hot.

It’s just from the coughing. Definitely not from thinking about the size of my junk.

“Don’t try anything funny,” I said, slithering over to the table. Kim followed but stayed behind me and to the side, the table separating us from Irene.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already used up my best jokes,” the safecracker said, glancing at Kim. “You didn’t laugh, though. Did I offend you, then? No shade if you’re a size queen. Everyone has their kinks.”

I slammed both hands on the table, making the drill bits jerk.

“Stop fucking around and do your job.”

CHAPTER 14

Kim

My blush was so hot, it felt like my cheeks were on fire. Irene was always this blunt and I dealt with her just fine, but something about her comments really hit hard today. Maybe because of all the tension brewing between me and Asan. Or because of the prospect of seeing the thing that was so precious to Rossi, whatever it was.

I just couldn’t stay calm.

Now, Asan sneered, baring his teeth at Irene. He was furious and that comforted me. He was on my side, not only protecting me from danger, but from insulting comments as well.

Irene flinched in fear, her face hardening before it split in a malicious grin. “Hit a nerve there, didn’t I? Really, Kim. Fucking a shehru? I never expected you to slide so low. It’s disgusting.”

I opened my mouth, taken aback by her rudeness. Normally, I’d have a riposte on the tip of my tongue, but Irene’s comment hit an oddly vulnerable place.  And that didn’t make sense, because I didn’t fuck Asan.

Yet, I wanted to. Was it truly disgusting? Fuck, I didn’t care, but Irene’s attitude grated on my nerves hard. I hated that it made me feel so unsure.

Asan hissed in rage, raising his arm to bar me from coming closer. Good call because I wanted to confront her.

“What are you trying to do?” he asked, bringing his face closer until she took a jerky step back.

“What?” she asked defensively. “Just making conversation.”

“No. You’re trying to do something here, and I don’t like it. So shut the fuck up and do your job or I’ll cuff you to this fucking table before we leave.”

My heart swelled with gratitude, an appreciative flutter tickling in my belly. Asan was perfect, and damn, why was it so hot when he threatened people who wanted to sell me out?

“It’s none of your business who I fuck or not,” I said, regaining my self-confidence. “Right. Drill or I’ll go to see somebody else.”

“Fine. Jesus,” Irene muttered, securing the sculpture in a vise clamp.

For the next ten minutes, she was hard at work, drilling, consulting the image from the scanner, swapping the bit, drilling again. She wore protective goggles and looked invested in the task. I relaxed, standing with my arms folded, my fingers tapping out a nervous rhythm on my bicep.

Asan watched Irene with terrifying intensity, his body vibrating with tension. Just from looking at him, I knew he was ready to attack the moment she made a wrong move.

That allowed me to relax further. He had this. All I had to do was wait for Rossi’s big secret to be revealed. My heart thumped painfully hard in my chest, my guts tightening with excitement that made me almost nauseous.

This is it. Soon, I would have something precious of his, something Rossi badly wanted back. I hoped with all my might it was the one thing I always wanted—something that would destroy him forever.

“Almost there,” Irene said, heading to the cabinet again. “Need a smaller drill for this part.”

I realized I was bouncing on the balls of my feet so I forced myself to stop. Excitement bubbled in my veins, fizzy and intoxicating like champagne. All that energy wanted out and I held it in, breathing fast.

Soon. I’d know soon.

Irene came back with a slim, black tool she could easily hold in one hand. Leaning close over the hole she drilled, she worked with the smaller one until her hand jerked slightly. She pulled back the drill and opened a drawer.

“I’m in. Let’s look inside.”

I watched anxiously as she fed a camera on a thin cable into the hole. It was hooked up to a small screen Irene held, watching with a frown.

Fuck. I’ll know. In a few seconds, I’ll know.

Irene stepped back and shrugged. “Okay… I don’t know what it is.”

I rushed ahead without thinking, all that energy and anticipation propelling me forward. Asan jerked, his fingers skimming my back, but I was already on the other side of the table, looking hungrily at the screen.

“What do you mean, you don’t…” I began, because I could clearly tell it was a data card in a clear protective case.

Irene didn’t reply. She hooked her arm around my ribs, holding me from behind while the tip of the black drill pressed into my neck.

“Don’t you fucking move or she dies!” she barked at Asan, who was frozen just on the other side of the table, his arms outstretched, body taut. Irene grunted. “Move back! Back, back, back.”

“Easy,” Asan said evenly as he lowered his arms. “I’m going.”

He slithered away, still facing us, his body moving with tense precision. Irene breathed harshly into my ear, shaking. The drill bit dug into my neck, and I knew she had her finger right on the switch.

If she turned it on, she’d drill right through my neck. I’d die on the spot, gushing blood all over the place. And it was all my fault.

Somehow, Irene made me feel at ease enough to stop seeing her as a threat. That, coupled with my obsessive need to know what Rossi hid in his sculpture, made me act without thinking.

I fucked up.

“I’m so sorry,” I said to Asan, looking at him pleadingly. “You can leave before she calls them in. No reason for them to find you here. Please, go.”

“You make me sick,” Irene spat, dragging me back so I was forced to follow her to the wall. “A fucking shehru, Kim? Really?”

Asan ignored her, his eyes focused on me. His teeth were bared, two sharp fangs dripping with clear venom jutting past his lip. His entire body was coiled with vicious tension.

“I’m not going anywhere, squirrel. Hold on.”

Irene snorted, pausing as she faced him. “And what the fuck will you do, you disgusting monster? Cause there’s nothing you can do. You will stay right where you are unless you want me to drill your girl another hole.”

“Please, go,” I urged him again, tears welling in my eyes.

I was terrified Irene would turn on the drill, and I didn’t even want to think what Rossi would do to me once he got me. I’d end up tortured and dead, most likely.

And yet, my biggest fear that eclipsed all else was about Asan. If he got hurt because of me… I couldn’t even stand the thought. Imagining my body, torn apart and bloodied, didn’t even bother me now, because the image of Asan chained, screaming from pain, spitting out blood, made me want to wail.

“Go!” I urged him desperately when Irene dragged me further back to a black panel in the wall.

Asan shook his head, his body coiling tighter and tighter.

“This is too precious,” Irene laughed, turning me to face the panel. “Let him stay and watch. Now touch the panel or I’ll fuck up your neck.”

I did as she said. Immediately, the touch panel lit up with the Vanguard Cyber Systems logo.

“Shit,” I cursed, watching as the settings popped up. A red button pulsed on the bottom of the screen.

“Right?” Irene said, sounding gleeful. “I don’t even have to call. I can just alert them of an emergency and they’ll get all the feed from my home. They’ll see you’re here. Tap ‘Live’ for me now.”

I did, and the screen split into four rectangular boxes. I jerked when I saw Irene’s back as she restrained me in the left bottom corner. The camera showed the scene live.

“Perfect. Go back to main. And tap the red button.”

I shook, my hand trembling so hard, I had trouble keeping it up. I was terrified, and I hated Asan for sticking around when he could save himself. I would do anything to keep him safe.

Yet the only thing I could do was beg.

“Irene, please. You don’t have to do this. You know he’ll kill me, and he might kill you, too. Simply for knowing about the sculpture. He’ll know you drilled into it. He’s ruthless.”

I gasped softly when something nudged my ankle, but Irene’s loud laughter drowned out the sound. With the drill pressing hard into my neck, I couldn’t look down. I had no idea what touched me. It could’ve been Irene’s foot.

“I don’t believe you, little… What was it? Squirrel? My, my. You have weird kinks. You know snakes eat squirrels, right? Tap the button and get ready to wave at the camera.”

That thing nudged me again, and this time, I didn’t react. I hoped like hell it was Asan getting ready to do something while Irene was distracted, because if not, we’d both die. I tried to move as slowly as I could to give him time in case it was really him, but finally, I couldn’t put it off any longer.

The button lit up a bright red when I touched it. Irene tightened her grip around me, breathing out with satisfaction.

“Now we’ll both turn, nice and slow, and you’ll wave at the… what the fuck?!”

The pressure on my neck vanished and Irene cried out in pain. Something crashed. I twisted in place. Asan’s tail was coiled around her throat, the drill shattered on the floor.

“You. Will. Never. Touch her. Again.”

Asan’s hissing voice made goosebumps race down my arms, my stomach turning with primal terror. I watched with an open mouth as he tightened his tail around Irene’s throat, squeezing harder and harder. Her face was red, mouth gaping open. Her eyes looked like they were about to pop.

“Stop!” I screamed, launching myself at Asan. My feet slipped on the floor and I cried out. “Please! Asan, stop.”

He turned his red eyes to me. His face looked horrible, features twisted sharply with anger, his fangs out and teeth bared. I flung myself at him, pressing my body to his.

“Please. You can’t kill her. It’s on camera and who knows what Rossi does with it.”

I didn’t care what happened to Irene, because she clearly didn’t care if I lived or died. But everything that happened in the room streamed currently into Vanguard’s servers, and Rossi was devious. If he got a recording of Asan killing somebody, who knew what came out of that.

I wouldn’t let Asan get hurt for me.

A horrible, choking sound split the air. Asan wrapped his arms around me so tightly, I had trouble breathing, but I never wanted him to let go. He buried his face in my hair, taking a shuddering breath.

“All right. Since you asked,” he hissed, his tail racing convulsively up my body in tight coils.

“We have to go,” I choked out, starting to shake as the familiar helplessness seized me. It felt so safe and good when he squeezed me like this. “Asan.”

“I know.” He uncoiled from me but didn’t let go. When he turned with me in his arms, I saw Irene curled up on the floor, wheezing and clutching her throat. Her face was still red and she looked completely incapable of hurting us again.

“I’ll fucking kill you if I ever see you again,” Asan hissed with such vicious cruelty, I flinched.

Irene shuddered, raising her head to look at him. Tears streamed down her face and she tried to speak, but only a pitiful squawk came out of her throat. Asan turned away from her.

“I’ll get the sculpture,” he said. “You find something to open it with.”

While he loosened the vise, I frantically searched through Irene’s drawers, finally finding a jeweler’s saw set that I threw in my bag. Asan picked me up without a word and raced out of the room, leaving Irene behind without a backward glance.

He found the back door and we shot out of the house.

“They aren’t here yet,” I said, listening for the sounds of rushing cars.

Asan didn’t answer. He stopped by the fence, raising himself so tall, his entire torso was above it, and lowered me to the ground on the other side. I watched in fearful awe as he braced his hands on the top of the fence, his muscles bulging with effort, hard tendons popping. He grunted and suddenly, he flew above the fence, heavy coils of his snake body soaring through the air.

It was majestic.

The earth trembled under my feet as he landed with impact. I still stared in disbelief as he picked me up and rushed through the yard we landed in, bursting out on the street seconds later.

Shots rang out from the right, a black armored car skidding to the side. Asan turned sharply, shielding me with his body, and raced down the street. The car followed, shots raining on Asan until he hissed with fury and pain, but he never slowed down.

I felt every bullet that hit him. The vibrations of each impact passed through him to me. Each made me want to scream with rage.

Because he was in pain.

We turned the corner, the car keeping close. Asan veered right into a neglected, overgrown lot with a crumbling fence. We shot through the yard and into the next one, emerging in another street.

The car would be here in seconds.

“I have a safehouse. Around twelve blocks away. Head north-west,” I said as Asan tore down the street and around another corner just as the car chasing us emerged. “Can we make it?”

He grunted in response. He breathed hard, his body coiled with power and tension. A round of shots rang out, going wide, and Asan burst into another yard. He slithered faster and faster, jolting me in his arms.

We were almost to my safehouse when another car joined the chase. Asan groaned with pain when a round of bullets tore into his side, and he veered off the street, going through a narrow passage between two houses.

“There. That tall building,” I said through clenched teeth, my heart in my throat. I was terrified for him. He slowed down just a tad and was clearly in pain. I just wanted to get him to safety.

Asan didn’t acknowledge my words in any way and moved in the opposite direction, disappearing into an alley just when the cars blocked the street from two ends. He pushed through, knocking an old chain-link fence aside, and instantly dove into another yard in the next street.

Slowly, he made his way toward the building I pointed out, doing his best to lose the chase.

Ideally, they wouldn’t see us enter that building. We could still hide fairly well inside, because my safehouse was truly safe, but it was better if they had a bigger area to search.

When we finally made it to the right street, none of the cars followed on our heels, though I knew they had to be close. I directed Asan with clipped words to a side entrance and then guided him to my door.

My safehouse was in an old troll apartment building. I accessed it through a hidden staircase, and the space wasn’t in any building plans. If Rossi’s goons searched the place manually, they wouldn’t find the secret entrance, and building plans wouldn’t help them.

The minus was, it was tiny. Barely enough space for one person, not to mention a human and a shehru.

“Okay. I can stand,” I said when we squeezed through to the hidden staircase, the rusty panel covering it sliding into place on well-oiled hinges.

Asan didn’t let me go. In a strained, husky voice he said, “Tell me where.”

“Up. And then through the door.”

The staircase was so narrow, his muscular arms pressed into the walls. He grimaced and tore up, finally stopping in front of the door.

It was small. I had to stoop to go through.

“Are you sure you…” I said, but Asan huffed and let me stand, his hands lingering to help me catch my balance.

“Go in. I’ll follow you.”

I nodded and punched my code in the keypad, the door swinging open. I got in and hit the switch, lighting the small, windowless space.

There was a narrow bed by the left wall, a small desk opposite the door, while shelves holding my tools lined the right wall. Right by the entrance door to the right, a narrow doorless frame led into the bathroom that included just a toilet and a miniscule shower.

Drawers under the bed held towels and my clothes.

I got inside and in the bathroom, figuring Asan would fit best in the room if I wasn’t there. He slithered in, his body undulating and compressing until it filled almost the entire space, his coils stacked to fit inside.

Only then was he able to close the door.

“You weren’t kidding,” he said in a husky voice that made my heart break. “It’s fucking tiny.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said, coming closer until my shins pressed into his coils piled on top of each other in a flexible mass. “Are you in much pain?”

He turned to me, his red eyes glittering under the lights. “I’ve had worse.”

I shook my head, the sorrow and guilt inside me growing until it burst. I clutched my stomach, desperately trying to contain the flood that rose. I almost got us both killed today. Asan took all those bullets, all that pain and effort, because I couldn’t fucking listen.

“I’m so sorry,” I said again, sounding like a broken record. My voice broke, too. “Asan, I’m so sorry. I made it worse. It’s all my fault.”

I fully expected him to hiss “I told you so” or sneer at me. I didn’t anticipate the slightly pained grin that stretched his face.

“Squirrel, I knew what we were getting into. Which was why I told you no in the first place. But it was worth it. You got the thing you wanted and you’re fine. Not even a scratch. It’s all good.”

I stared at him, the shame and pain inside me demanding release. I still felt the impact of the bullets hitting him in my bones.

“It was my fault,” I repeated, looking at him like he was dense. “Why aren’t you angry?”

“I am angry but not at you,” he said, hissing in pain when he twisted his torso, trying to stretch out in the small space. “I’m angry at the bitch who tried to get you killed for money. I’ll strangle her the next time I see her, so if you want her to live, let her know to leave the country.”

I flinched, watching him warily. I half-expected to see a sign he was joking, maybe a smile or a huff of amusement, but Asan’s face remained steely.

He was deadly serious.

“I’ll let her know,” I said faintly, my heart thudding with something that was like gratitude, but far more powerful. “So you don’t mind the paperwork after all?”

He huffed this time, his eyes dimming as the skin around them crinkled. “That kill won’t be on the job. I’ll actually have to hide it. Sew stones up in her stomach and throw her in the ocean.”

I shook my head, the morbid image failing to ignite my moral scruples. Fuck. Asan wanted to kill my enemies. And I was on board.

“Oh god. Fuck. I’m just so sorry,” I said, pleading with him. I wanted something. A hint of anger, a way to pay, or maybe a punishment.

He gave me none of those things.

“I am not, pet. You know why?”

I shook my head and he grinned, showing off his sharp teeth.

“Because you can’t run from me now.”

CHAPTER 15

Asan

Everything hurt, and yet, I couldn’t be more pleased. Adrenaline still pumped through my body, eager and hot. I knew just how I wanted to use it.

Because all the walls were down. I almost saw Kim die today. I almost lost her.

And I was done denying myself. I wanted her and so I’d have her.

“Shit,” she whispered, watching me with wide eyes as I lowered my face to hers. “Asan… I… It’s not a good idea.”

“What’s one more bad idea on a day like this? We’ve already fucked up plenty,” I said, letting my tongue out. The tip barely brushed her cheek, and yet she gasped as if I kissed her hard.

“That’s true,” she said, growing breathless. Her eyes glistened, dark and inviting. I tasted the air she breathed out.

She was intoxicating.

“I’ll kiss you, pet,” I said, watching her face with complete focus. I wanted to see what my words did to her. “And after I kiss you, I’ll wrap myself around you until you can’t move, can’t run, can’t resist. I’ll make you come like I did in that nightclub, and then I’ll strip you bare and fuck you.”

She gasped loudly, her pulse a wild flutter in her throat. Her pupils were blown so wide, her eyes seemed black. When her tongue darted out to wet her lips, I groaned at the memory of how it felt in my mouth.

I couldn’t wait.

“Tell me, pet. Tell me you want it.”

“I want it,” she said at once, her voice shaky with lust. “I want you. Oh my god. Please.”

That made me hiss in pleasure as my spikes pulsed in my pocket, hard and slick and ready. “You don’t have to beg, but I like it when you do.”

I kissed her.

It was a hard, demanding kiss, and she was ready for it. She opened her mouth to me, her tongue meeting mine with hungry urgency. I moved my body and tail, rearranging my coils until they wrapped around her, pushing under her ass so I could raise her higher.

She straddled me, her warm fingers gripping the back of my head as I dove into her with my tongue, over and over, until she was breathless and weak. She shivered, moaning into my mouth, and I let my hands roam. Up and down her back until they settled on her ass.

I pulled her violently against me, her breath rushing out in a gasp. Her pussy pressed to my vest, and I growled with annoyance. I took my hands off her, still holding her with my tail, and quickly disposed of the vest and the T-shirt underneath.

“Oh, fuck,” she breathed when she saw my bare chest.

“Come back here,” I said, even though she had no agency left. I controlled her every move, and she was sweet and pliant in my hold, giving in completely.

I brought her back, taking her lips in a kiss while my coils put her legs around me below my waist. This time, I felt her. I felt how hot she was between her legs, her scent growing stronger by the second, and that finally pushed me over the edge.

My spikes slid free, hard and rigid, pressing into her from below. I yanked her higher up so she straddled my waist. My cocks stretched to their full length.

“Oh my god,” Kim almost sobbed, breaking the kiss. Her mouth pressing to my cheek, she breathed hard. “You… We can’t. It’s not… We don’t fit. God, I want you so much.”

I hissed at her discomfort and kissed her again, gripping her ass with my hands while my coils slid under and around her. I was desperate to touch as much of her as I could. I wanted her warmth and scent everywhere.

“We’ll fit. As much as possible. Fuck, pet. It couldn’t be simpler. You have a hole, I have a cock. We’ll fit.”

“Two!” she cried out, shaking her head. She gripped my shoulder convulsively, shaking harder, so I slowly ran my coils down her back, pressing her closer to soothe her.

“I won’t use both. Easy, pet. Breathe for me. A deep breath. Now.”

She did as I said, taking a long, shaky breath through her mouth. We did a few more until she stopped shaking, her grip on my scales loosening.

“Okay,” she sighed, tracing my bottom lip with her thumb. “I’m okay. But I’m still afraid to see them. Which is fucked up, because I also want to… touch and lick them and everything, but… You know. It’s complicated.”

The thought of feeling Kim’s mouth on me made fireworks go off in my brain. I never wanted a blowjob so much, and at the same time, I didn’t want it now. I wanted to fuck her pussy and fill her with cum. The vision of her spread open in my grip and dripping with my release obsessed me.

“I’ll tell you what they look like first,” I forced myself to say. Kim needed me. I would fuck her, I’d make her take me, but first, she had to stop being afraid. “Will it help?”

She gulped nervously. “It might.”

I pushed her slightly away from me so my tail fit between her legs. I was so fucking glad right now that my scales repelled dirt. After racing down so many streets, I would have been filthy otherwise.

But my scales were clean like always, and so I touched Kim without hesitation. I pressed the length of my tail to her hot vulva, still through her clothes, and we both hissed at the sensation. With slow, easy strokes, I rubbed over all of her, and Kim moaned, throwing her head back.

“They are called spikes,” I said, my eyes glued to her beautiful face. Fuck, she was so gorgeous when she experienced the pleasure I gave her. “One on top of the other, so when I fuck you with both in the future, I’ll hold you exactly like I’m holding you now. They will go in both holes.”

“Fuck!” Her thighs tightened around me, her eyes flying open. She was a vision, red-cheeked and disheveled, pleading without words.

I moved slowly, stroking her as her wetness seeped onto my scales.

“They stay in my cockpocket when I’m not aroused, and it’s hot and wet inside,” I said, my cocks pulsing with every word. I turned myself on even more, just as I did her. “So when they come out, they are well-lubricated. The better to take you with.”

Kim tried to laugh but it turned into a broken moan when I pressed harder into her, slowing down my pace. I slithered over her clit, pussy, and ass in powerful, even strokes. Her panties and shorts were soaked.

“The tips are pointed,” I continued, imagining my spike pushing inside Kim. First would be the head. “Narrow at the very tip, shaped like a spike, but not sharp. They’d never hurt you. In the tips, there’s a slit at the front of the back spike and at the back of the front one. They face each other. So if, for example, I fucked your pussy with both…”

I broke off because she cried out, shaking so much, I felt it deep in my muscles. She was close, I could tell, so I slowed down even more. Now, my tail was pressed to her hot flesh and it just moved slightly front and back. Teasing.

She frowned in displeasure, and I gave her a gentle kiss.

“Pay attention, pet. If I fucked your pussy with both, cum would come out of both slits and combine into a thick stream to fill you to the brim.”

She whimpered, her eyes fluttering closed before she opened them again. All her muscles were tight with pleasure, shaking from the effort of riding that edge.

“Slim at the tips, they grow thicker below the heads,” I continued, imagining the tips disappearing inside her, the rest of the shafts following slowly. “They are covered with delicate scales. They shimmer silver when they catch light. Sometimes, you might see hints of other colors. Like prisms in a diamond.”

Kim braced her hands on my shoulders and focused with effort, her face twisting cutely as she fought her blissful haze.

“You have shiny holo dicks,” she said without inflection. “Now I have to see them.”

“Patiencccce,” I hissed, giving her a faster stroke. “That’s not all. The final third of each shaft, closer to the base, is covered with thicker scales. Still shiny, but rougher. I’m told the friction from those is so good. A shehru favorite.”

She shivered, moaning when I sped up gradually. I dug my fingers into the soft flesh of her ass, kneading it.

“When they are hard like this, they are parallel to my stomach. They point straight up now, pet. I could just lower you down and slide right inside you. Impale you on my spike.”

Her eyes dazed with a lusty fog and she shook harder. “Really… Want to see now.”

“You have to come first,” I said, building up a powerful rhythm. She whimpered and tensed, her legs on either side of me quivering with pleasure. “Just one orgasm, pet. I just want one for now.”

She threw her head back with a drawn-out moan, and I fixated on her bare throat. My gum pockets pulsed, fangs needing to slide free. God, I had to be inside her with as many parts of me as I could. Maybe she’d let me bite her. As long as I didn’t release the venom, she would be fine. The fangs were really thin and sharp.

They would leave deep but harmless little holes. Then they would scar over, and she’d wear a reminder of me for the rest of her life.

I shuddered with the pleasure that idea gave me. I knew some species bit their mates to seal a union, but I never felt that urge.

Until her.

“There you go, pet. I’ll make you feel so good. So beautiful,” I said, stroking her faster.

She opened her mouth wide, her body tensing sharply as the orgasm rippled through her. I saw all the heat her body released, painting her chest and belly red, deep crimson pulsing between her legs.

“You did so well,” I whispered, going mindless with the need to be inside her. “Such a lovely orgasm. All for me.”

“Asan,” she whined, slumping against me.

Her sweaty forehead pressed to my throat, her legs shaking on either side of me. I moved around her, thick coils holding her legs and pressing to her back. Now, there was no more resistance left, all her tension gone with that orgasm. The feel of her like this, so trusting, soft and open with complete surrender, drove me crazy.

“We’ll take this off,” I whispered, rucking up her T-shirt. “There you go.”

She lifted her shaky arms and I pulled it off, throwing it to the side. The corner of the bed dug into my coils, and my back throbbed from the bullet hits, but none of that mattered. I was going to see Kim naked.

Not long ago, the thought of being aroused by a naked human body would have been preposterous. Now, there was nothing more natural. Because it was her body. And I wanted everything of hers.

She wore a sports bra underneath, and I pulled it off, messing up her already messy hair. I loved this rumpled look, but I didn’t focus on that now. Her breasts were out, each a small handful, her dusky nipples hard and pointed. Another proof she wanted me, and I hoarded it greedily.

“So pretty,” I whispered. “Up you go.”

I raised her higher, bringing a breast to my mouth. I sucked the hard nipple in, wrapping my forked tongue around it, and Kim cried out with a violent shudder. The softness drained out of her, shaky tension taking over.

The taste of her skin felt so right in my mouth. I held her firmly, feasting on her while she bucked her hips as much as my tight hold allowed, humping my torso. She rode me with an instinctive, powerful need, and I couldn’t wait any longer.

With my mouth still sucking on her nipple, I undid her shorts and pushed them down her legs, shifting her body to make it easy. She moaned when I got rid of her panties. I sucked off her nipple so I could look.

I wrapped my coils under her knees, hooking her legs up and spreading her open while my tail supported her back. She breathed hard, watching me with open lust as I pulled her away from me so I could see every detail.

“Damn, pet.”

She was fully on display, her wet pussy scalding in my thermal vision. Her entrance beckoned, wet and pulsing, her clit hot and swollen with blood. Her asshole looked way too tight, but I read up on this, just like I researched human female anatomy when I realized I wanted to fuck her.

I knew her ass could be penetrated with the right preparation.

“Asan, please,” she said, her blush deepening. “You… You’re staring.”

“Yes,” I said, tightening my hold under her knees to spread her even wider. “You’re gorgeous. Fuck. Pet, you’re beautiful.”

Her muscles tightened just enough for me to see, clenching with pleasure. Her scent was everywhere, making me drunk. Tremors ran through my body, my spikes pulsing with mind-numbing need.

“I have to fuck you, pet,” I rasped, my voice harsh and not like my own.

She nodded frantically, her pussy clenching again. And then, her eyes trailed down my torso. They widened when she saw my spikes.

“Oh… Oh, shit. Okay. I don’t know,” she said, her eyes glued to my double erection. My spikes jerked under her attention, and I looked at them, too.

I was so fucking slick. Not just wet with my natural lubrication but with the precum that flowed down the silvery shafts almost in rivulets. I’d never been so hard and eager in my life, and my spikes practically wept with the need to be inside her. Now.

I let go of her leg, wrapping my tail securely around her waist. I grabbed that leg with my hand, hooking my elbow under her knee. I brought her closer so her exposed, hot center was right over my spikes, ready to take me.

“Asan, I don’t…” she began, looking down at the narrow tips pointing straight up between her legs.

“Look at me, pet.”

She did. She breathed so fast, a loose lock of hair fluttered madly by her lips, her eyes wild and dark. “I don’t think…”

“I’ll go slow,” I interrupted. “Very, very slowly. Just with one spike, okay? Look at the tip, pet. Look how narrow it is. How wet. It will go right in.”

She looked down obediently, her breath catching. I brought her closer still. Another inch, and I’d notch myself at her entrance.

“Do you trust me?” I asked.

Her head jerked up and she nodded, licking her lips. “Fuck, yes. Oh my god. Yes, I trust you. Okay. Do it.”

I lowered her, aiming the outer spike to go inside her pussy. When the tip nudged between her hot lips, I hissed, her wetness meeting mine. We were both dripping. Fuck, this was so easy.

Like a knife sinking in soft butter.

“Just the tip for now, pet. You can take the tip.”

She moaned when I slid inside, forcing myself to stop when the head was in. My entire body locked, a shudder raging down my spine. Fuck, she was so hot. She engulfed me, so welcoming and wet, and I had to focus on my mental lake to stop myself from plunging deep.

The control it took was enormous. I shook with the effort of holding back.

“There.” I closed my eyes, leaning low to press my forehead to hers, our breaths mingling. “See? It went right in. You feel so good, pet.”

She didn’t make a sound, breathing so shallowly, her exhales barely tickled my scales. When I pulled my head back to see, her eyes were wide open and desperate.

“Kim? Are you in pain?”

She shook her head, her hair dancing around her face. “I don’t… I… More. Please.”

I kissed the corner of her mouth, and she moaned when I lowered her just a bit further. Now, my thick shaft covered with faint scales pressed into her, stretching her opening. She cried out and I stopped, my heart hammering with lust and hope.

Fuck. I didn’t care if I got to fuck her with my entire cock. I just hoped like hell she could take some of me, at least.

“Kim?”

“Good,” she choked out. “So good. But you’re big. I’ve never… Please, Asan.”

“What are you asking for?” I asked, my voice sharp and demanding. “Tell me.”

She looked up, mouth opening wider as her face twisted with desperation. “More. B-but slowly.”

“Shh.” I soothed her, lowering her further down until we both gasped. “There you go. You’re taking me so well, pet. So good.”

I almost didn’t know what I was saying, the searing heat of her frying my brain. She squeezed my shaft tightly, and even though I was barely half-way in, it felt like I would come any moment.

“It feels like too much,” she sobbed, clutching at me with her hands. “Is it… All in?”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. Shh, pet. It’s enough for now. Does it feel good?”

“So good.” She nodded, laughing even as a tear slid down her cheek. “It’s… like… I’m so full. So full.”

Another tear fell, and she wiped it away with a jerky movement. I cocked my head to the side, watching her in puzzled wonder. Everything inside me was tight and rearing to go, my cock pulsing with the need to move, but fuck, I didn’t want Kim to cry when I fucked her.

“What’s wrong? Tell me.”

She shook her head, laughing thickly as more tears fell. “Fuck. I don’t know. It’s just… I felt empty, and now I’m full. God. I want more, but I don’t know… Asan, please. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

“Shh, sweetheart. It’s all right. I have you. It’s all right. I’m here. I’ll fill you right up. Is this what you want? You like feeling full?”

“Yes!” she cried out, then buried her face in the crook of my neck. Hot tears slid down my scales as she shivered. “I’m sorry. It’s not… I’m fine. Fuck me, please.”

I tightened my hold on her, keeping her firmly in place, and started moving.

CHAPTER 16

Kim

I held on to his arms, my fingers digging into smooth scales. My open mouth was pressed to his chest, gulping shallow breaths as he slowly fucked me. His body moved up and down, muscles tense, and I could tell he was holding back.

The range of his motions was small, yet it felt like he filled me to the brim with each thrust. I knew he didn’t go all the way in, of course not. Still, it felt like too much, his girth stretching me more than anything had ever done. Yet somehow, it wasn’t enough.

I sobbed, unable to stop because it felt so good. It wasn’t just the sex, it was something more, only I couldn’t tell what.

I loved the friction, his delicate scales massaging me inside with every slow thrust. And I loved how slick he was, how cool at first, though his cock quickly warmed to match my temperature. He felt like a part of me now, equally hot, pressing so close, it felt like we were fused together.

Yet the best thing was the fullness. And it wasn’t just about his girth or how long he was. Somehow, the sensation transcended the physical. It felt like he was filling a hollow place deep inside me. Something so empty, I never even knew it was there.

But now I knew and it hurt so fucking good. That emptiness filled with him.

“Want more,” I gasped. “B-but I can’t…”

“Shh,” he hissed immediately, his coils slithering over me, his grip tightening and releasing in a hypnotic rhythm. “You’re okay, sweetheart. I’ve got you. I’ll give you what you want.”

I nodded frantically, relaxing at his words and touch. He touched me all over, and it was beautiful.

Having sex with him was a full body experience. He was inside me and all around me, scales rubbing over my skin, heavy muscles pressing to arch me the way he wanted. I was so helpless, pliant with utter surrender, and it felt better than anything.

Because I trusted him with all I had.

“You can take a bit more, baby. Now. Take it for me.”

I cried out when the pressure inside me grew, my pussy spasming around his shaft. It spasmed again, tightening when he fucked me slowly. An orgasm shot through me, making me arch as I moaned in pleasure. Asan held me through it, thrusting deeply.

“So gorgeous. This is where you belong, pet. With my cock inside you. This is what you’re made for. To come all over me when I fuck you. Now be a good girl and take a bit more. Just a little. You can do it.”

I was still reeling from the orgasm when he thrust deeper. I whined, pressing my mouth into his scales to muffle the sound. It kept going until I ran out of air.

I felt like I was bursting. He hit a spot deep, deep inside me, each thrust nudging the tender place until it flared with sensitivity. Tighter and tighter it wound, not unpleasant and yet unfamiliar. I whimpered, shaking in his hold, my pussy stretched to its limits.

The harder scales he mentioned now rubbed my entrance with each rhythmic thrust, ramping up the pleasure. God, the friction. It was everything, and it all combined into an overwhelming need. Like I wanted to release something. The pressure grew and grew, insistent and hot, until I couldn’t hold it in.

I came with a cry, squeezing his cock as wetness gushed out of me in thick squirts. Asan rumbled, speeding up, my orgasm tightening until all I could do was hold on and let it rock me. I was suspended, filled to the brim, and it went on and on, careening up my spine and exploding like a flurry of stars behind my closed eyelids.

“Fuck, baby. Not long now. You’re taking me so well. Just a bit more.”

He thrust in, my inner thighs flattening against his body. I opened my mouth, unable to draw air or speak. He was all the way in.

And I couldn’t breathe.

“Pet. My darling. You’re okay. I’ve got you. You took it all. There, my love. You’re okay.”

My breath came rushing in, and I released it with a low, broken moan. Asan held me close, our bodies pressed together, the fullness inside me impossible, too much, too good. His other cock was squeezed between us, a slick, pulsing length pressing into my belly.

“Such a good girl,” he said, kissing my hair, his hands trembling over my back. “Fuck. So good, sweetheart. You feel so good. The best. The fucking best.”

I wanted to tell him he felt the best, too, but I couldn’t. My throat felt loose, my mouth hung open, everything so relaxed, I couldn’t move. I was in a free fall, and I didn’t understand what was happening, only that I wanted it to last.

I never felt so sated before. Drowning in bliss.

“I’ll fill you up,” he whispered, starting to move. His cock slid inside me, back and forth, while his other spike pressed to my belly and clit, rubbing me with every thrust.

I shook, feeling like I couldn’t take another orgasm, yet helpless to stop it. It built and built, weakness spreading into my limbs until my body was one raw nerve screaming with pleasure.

The sensation was violent. I whined, desperately wanting it to stop and yet hating the thought it might.

“You can take it,” Asan whispered, his voice growing ragged. His breathing was uneven and harsh, his scales rubbing easily in my sweat. His movements grew chaotic, thrusts frantic. I felt him deep, stretching me wide open until I spasmed with another orgasm.

“Yesssss,” he hissed, speeding up. “There. Take it all, love. It’s yoursss.”

He stilled, pushing all the way in. In the tightness filled completely with him, I felt it as he came. The pressure grew until I cried out, my muscles milking him with the aftershocks of my orgasm. More wetness gushed out of me, his this time, trickling down his body.

“Fuck, baby. I want to give you more.”

I couldn’t take it. Even now, I was half-conscious, so utterly relaxed and loopy with bliss. And yet, I nodded faintly, because I wanted everything. Whatever he gave me, I wanted it.

Asan slowly raised me higher until his cock slid out, followed by a thick trickle of his cum. The air smelled of musk and salt. He lowered me again, impaling me on his other cock that was still completely stiff.

Stretched again, I shook my head violently as another deep burst of pleasure tightened my insides. God, I couldn’t take it.

“Just a bit longer, love. It won’t take much,” he said, cupping my cheek with his hand. “Look at me, sweetheart. There you are. You can take it. Nod yes. Just give me a nod.”

I stared into his red eyes, gasping softly when his ribbon of a tongue flicked out, licking a tear off my cheek. I nodded.

He moved at once, fucking me fast and deep. His other cock wasn’t as hard anymore, but it wasn’t limp, either. It slid between my ass cheeks with every thrust, teasing my asshole. I gulped hungry breaths, another orgasm building deep.

God, I felt him everywhere. Everything between my legs was wet and messy with my and his fluids. His hold on me was tight, shifting and teasing. He held me wide open, plunging into me with a vicious hiss.

The tip of his spike pushed into that place deep within me again and again, building me up until I came in another squirting orgasm. I was silent now, shaking in bliss, all my muscles sore and trembling with exhaustion. Yet, it felt so good. I wanted to cry, but no more tears fell.

“Just like this. Give me all of it.” He panted, his pace stuttering as he drove deeper and deeper until he stilled.

I watched his face with half-closed eyes, his orgasm twisting his features into a terrifying mask that I loved because I knew what it meant. His teeth were bared, his fangs out, eyes closed tight. The tendons in his neck were taut with effort until he released a breath. He opened his eyes as his body relaxed.

“You took it all. Such a good girl,” he murmured, raising a shaky hand to touch my lips.

We stared at each other, both breathing hard. His thick cock was still inside me, cum flowing down the sides. I couldn’t believe how much there was. Even more, I couldn’t believe he truly fit all the way in.

It was impossible, yet it happened.

Slowly, afraid of what I’d feel, I trailed my hand down my body and gently cupped my lower belly. There. I realized with a gasp I felt the faintest outline of him inside. He reached almost up to my belly button.

“It’s… How is this possible?” I asked, looking at him with wide, awed eyes.

It was shocking, and yet I wasn’t afraid. It didn’t hurt, though I was sore and shaky, and I’d definitely feel it tomorrow. But nothing was broken inside. Of course not. I’d be bleeding and screaming if it was.

That thought unsettled me. I jerked my hand away. Asan’s hold tightened around me, scales sliding up my back until I relaxed.

“I don’t know, pet. But I’m glad. We fit, after all.”

He kissed me gently, his tongue flicking inside and retreating, soft lips molding to mine. I sighed and leaned into the kiss, my body melting until I felt like halfway between waking and sleep.

“Easy now,” he whispered, pulling me up until his cock slid free. “There. I’m so slick with you. Will keep it inside me.”

He lowered me onto a thick mass of his coils that undulated and moved until it was the most comfortable nest, perfectly shaped to fit my body. I lay on my side, languidly watching his cocks as they shrank and pulled back into his slit. It remained slightly open and wet, a flash of silvery scales peeking out.

“You like the look of it, don’t you, pet?” he asked quietly. “You stared at it when we met.”

I snorted softly, too relaxed to really laugh. “I knew almost nothing about your race. So when I saw it, I was intrigued.”

He shifted, making me fall more comfortably into his coils. Somehow, when I was on top of him, the tiny space of my safehouse was enough for us both.

“In my culture, when a female looks at the male’s slit, it’s an invitation,” he said, a satisfied ring to his voice. “So look as much as you want. I’ll always want your eyes on me.”

I gulped, suddenly uneasy, although it faded fast. My body couldn’t take any tension now, it seemed. I was floating.

So I just ignored the “always” that sounded like a declaration. It was just a heat-of-the-moment kind of word, anyway. Like all the others he’d said.

Pet. Sweetheart. Baby. Darling.

Love.

Something sweet and fragile fluttered in my belly when I remembered the way he’d said that last one. It was a demand and a plea, his hissy voice turning it into something special. One-of-a-kind word that I would treasure in my memory even though it meant nothing.

He was my bodyguard and we both almost died today. It made sense we fucked each other’s brains out after that ordeal. I shouldn’t read more into it.

But that reminded me. We still weren’t completely safe.

“Can you switch it on?” I asked him, waving a weak hand at the screen hanging over the desk. “I have a few cameras around the building.”

He did, and I relaxed again, seeing no goons beating down the main door. A black armored car passed down the street. They were still looking for us.

“We’ll have to stay a bit longer,” I said through a yawn. “Hope they leave soon. I don’t have food in here. Ate it all the last time I had to stay in hiding.”

Asan’s scales pressed to my thigh, his tail stroking my skin. “We’ll be fine. Go to sleep now. You’re exhausted.”

“More like kinda boneless,” I said, yawning again. “Is this what you feel like all the time? So flexible.”

Asan snorted in amusement. “I have bones, pet. Shehru are vertebrates. Obviously.”

“No, I know,” I said, snuggling into his scales. God, they were comfortable. Kinda cuddly, which was a surprise. “It’s just… I don’t know.”

“Go to sleep,” he said again, a stern note creeping into his voice. “I’ll keep you safe.”

“You always do,” I said sleepily.

We stayed silent for a while. I lay on a bed of him, feeling heavy and warm. My body was sticky and a total mess, but if Asan didn’t mind, I didn’t care, either. Anyway, I was too weak to shower. I’d probably slip and break my neck. It would be so anticlimactic if I died like that.

I huffed quietly, Asan’s eyes flicking to me.

“Sorry,” I said. “I don’t know. I’m not exactly sleepy. Just… so relaxed. Hey, want me to tell you something?”

He twisted his torso in an impressive show of flexibility, facing me. “Tell me, squirrel.”

I swallowed thickly, suddenly unsure. I’d never told anyone before, but… I trusted him. I wanted him to know.

“So do you sometimes wonder why I hate Rossi so much?”

CHAPTER 17

Asan

I watched her, naked and relaxed in my coils, and a vicious satisfaction swelled in my chest. This was where she belonged. I didn’t even mind the small room now, even though the furniture dug into me. I was too sated to care.

After all, I’d just fucked Kim, my human principal who was a thief and a fidgeting mess. Kim, who ran into danger like it was her fucking job and annoyed me so much with her too-bright smiles and irreverent chatter.

It was the best sex of my life.

“I’m curious, yes,” I said, though it was more than that.

I wanted to know all the things that drove her, and whatever Rossi did seemed to take the number one spot on that list. Kim had secrets and hidden layers, and just like I flayed her open just now, baring her body and pleasure to me, I wanted to peel back all those layers to see her raw and real underneath.

“Tell me.”

She shifted, fidgeting with her hands, her foot pressing into my scales and releasing rhythmically. Now that her body lay on top of mine, I didn’t mind it at all. It was cute, the way she couldn’t stay still.

“My real name is Kim Davis,” she began. “But you already knew that. Because Rossi recognized me.”

I nodded. Kim swallowed thickly, shifting again. Whatever she wanted to reveal, cost her.

“My father was Timothy Davis,” she said after breathing out with force. “He founded Vanguard Cyber Systems and built most of the company’s core software.”

That I didn’t know. I only took an interest in Vanguard when Kim hired me. “Was?” I asked. “He passed away, then. I’m sorry.”

“Me, too,” Kim said quietly. “It was eight years ago. I just turned eighteen.”

She fell silent and I let her think. Her fingers tapped out her trademark rhythm on my scales, and it gave me a surprising jolt of pleasure.

“Rossi was my father’s partner,” Kim took up her story. Her voice was hollow, but her fingers tapped faster and faster in growing agitation. “They worked together for a few years until Rossi decided he wanted to expand. My father didn’t want that. He dealt with cyber security, but Rossi wanted to go into broader surveillance and other services. Rossi also wanted to support some shady businesses with Vanguard software.”

I nodded. Vanguard was the biggest and most prestigious cyber security company in the area, but some businesses avoided them precisely because of the underworld connections.

“He also disliked my father’s inclusive approach to hiring. You know how some species are very good with tech, like medusas? My dad didn’t discriminate against anyone, because he was only interested in acquiring talent. But Rossi is a fucking purist. He constantly tried to get my father to introduce a human-only hiring policy. God, how my dad ranted about this. Finally, he started to look for ways to cut Rossi out.”

She took a deep breath and released it slowly, her fingers stilling.

“Rossi found out what Dad was trying to do. Two weeks later, my father was dead. It was ruled as a suicide.”

I coiled around her instinctively, the pain in her voice feeding my rage. Kim gripped me, blinking fast. I was silent, waiting to hear the rest.

“He left a note,” she said, sniffing. “But, uh… Fuck, sorry.”

She broke off, sitting up with a groan. I handed her a tissue from the desk, and she blew her nose. After taking a few deep breaths, she settled back on top of me.

“The handwriting was just slightly off. Just a bit. Enough to tip me off. And it was a note to me, too, because I was his only family, but… Uh. It just said ‘Dear Kim.’ Just that. And my father always called me his little thiefling. Shit. Can I have another one?”

I gave her a fresh tissue. “You can cry, you know. I won’t judge you,” I said, but she shook her head.

“I’ll cry after I end him,” she said, determination steeling her voice. “Where was I? Ah, the note. My father didn’t write it, but the police didn’t take me seriously when I told them. An eighteen-year-old girl who just lost her only parent isn’t reliable, I guess.”

“And your mom?” I asked.

“Got cancer when I was five,” Kim said with a shrug. “I barely remember her.”

I nodded, tightening around her protectively. She had no one, and yet, that didn’t stop her. The grudging admiration I felt for her for some time turned into a hot, possessive awe. She was magnificent, and I wanted all that fierce beauty for myself.

And not just that. I hated that she was so alone. I wanted… I didn’t even know. To keep her close. To be there when she came home in the evenings. To wake up with her, and…

Fuck. What was I even thinking? I was her bodyguard. I couldn’t just… keep her.

“He drove off a cliff,” Kim resumed the tale, saving me from my confusing thoughts. “The car was totaled, so there was no way to prove any foul play. Not that the police were eager to investigate. They just wanted to close the case. I found out later, after I started watching Rossi, that he keeps most of the authorities in his pocket, so it’s not that far-fetched to think he paid them off.”

She took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes furiously. I didn’t interrupt as she gathered her thoughts.

“He came to Dad’s funeral,” she said, her voice shaking. “And I was just so desperate, so lost, I simply confronted him. After the ceremony, I just came over, my eyes red, my throat scratchy from crying, and I asked him if he’d had my dad killed. I was so fucking stupid.”

I winced when she laughed with derision, so bitter and scornful. But I understood that lost, orphaned eighteen-year-old Kim.

“It was brave of you to ask,” I said gently. She just shook her head.

“And you know what he did?” she continued, her voice growing hollow, her eyes far-away as she relived the memory. “He smiled, all fatherly, and hugged me. I was so shocked, I didn’t push him away at once, and he whispered, right in my ear.”

She broke off and got up with a heavy sigh, going into the bathroom. Water splashed in the shower, and Kim came back a moment later, her face wet.

“Sorry for the suspense. It’s just… I never told any of this to anyone. And it just seems… so ridiculous, you know? Like it can’t be real. I’m scared you’ll think I’m crazy.”

I didn’t mind the break, because it gave me time to compose myself and calm the rage that coursed in my bloodstream like burning gasoline.

“I won’t. What did he say?” I asked, my body tight with the need to find Rossi and break all his bones. It didn’t even matter what he said. Just the very fact he touched her meant he had to die.

“He said, ‘Smart girls know when to let go. You don’t want to end up like your daddy.’” She broke off, and I called forth my mental lake, drowning the instinct to kill Rossi. It was useless right now, and she needed me to be calm.

Kim continued the story, sitting completely still on top of me. “I pushed him away, and he gave me this polite, insincere smile and said he was sorry for my loss. And he walked away. And… for some time after that, I didn’t even think it was real. I thought I was crazy.”

I shook my head, hurting for her even as my venom sacks pulsed with the need to kill him.

She looked at me sharply, searching my face. “I know it sounds flimsy,” she said defensively. “All I have to go on is a note and a whisper, but…”

“I believe you,” I interrupted. “I think he had your dad killed. That’s Rossi’s MO. I had Egad look into him. People who threaten his business or wealth disappear quite regularly, and it’s always swept under the rug.”

Kim sagged, her defiance deflating as she pressed her face into my scales.

“Right. Wow. I didn’t think you’d believe me. That’s why I don’t even bother telling people. Not that I can exactly say it in a normal conversation, you know? Nothing kills a vibe like someone saying they’ve devoted their life to getting revenge for their father’s death.”

She laughed softly, and I moved closer to stroke her hair with my hand.

“Thank you for telling me. We’ll make him pay. I’m on your side, Kim.”

She covered my hand with hers and snuggled into my coils with a sigh. “Thanks. Anyway, Dad was the reason why I decided to become a thief and get my revenge this way,” she said with a soft smile.

“When I was little, I, uh, stole treats out of cabinets and stuff. It became a sort of game I played with my dad. He’d hide candy or chocolate around the house, and if I wanted any, I had to sneak around under his nose and get it myself. That’s why he called me his little thiefling. And when he died… It felt apt.”

“He sounds like he was an amazing father,” I said, playing with her hair.

“He was,” she confirmed with a soft smile, looking up at the ceiling. A moment later, the smile morphed into a bitter twist of her lips. “Until he got himself killed and left me alone. Not his fault, but, uh… A part of me can’t help but blame him. I’m horrible.”

“No, you’re not,” I said at once, tilting her face toward me. “It’s natural to blame your parents when they fuck up. He died and left you alone with all this grief and helplessness. You are stronger for it, but being strong is fucking exhausting, isn’t it? Sometimes, you just need to let go and let someone else handle the weight.”

She blinked sleepily, then raised her hand to grip the back of my head. She dragged me down for a kiss. Our lips met in a soft press, but I pulled back a moment later, kissing her forehead instead.

A part of me started to worry about all the boundaries we crossed and what it meant for my assignment.

Was I too compromised to protect her efficiently? Fuck, I didn’t know. But I was certain I would never entrust someone else with the task, so the point was moot.

Kim was mine. At least, until this job was over.

“Do you feel like sleeping now?” I asked. “You need to rest.”

She yawned and nodded. “I’m so glad I told you. You have no idea how much I… Anyway, thank you. For everything.”

She used the bathroom and came back, curling up in the nest I arranged myself into. She still smelled like me, and for a moment, my gum pockets tingled with the itch to mark her.

But another itch grew more and more insistent under my skin, which was why I wanted Kim to sleep. I was about to molt, and doing it in the tiny space was bad enough. I didn’t want her to watch me through it in case it disgusted her.

Though to be fair, she wasn’t xenophobic in the least. She never gave me any indication that anything about me creeped her out. Still, I wanted to do something after I molted, and it required some time and peace. Better let Kim sleep through it.

She drifted off quickly, and I let her sleep on top of me until I was sure she was deep under. I transferred her to the bed then, moving with slow precision to avoid bumping into walls or waking her up.

The itching grew worse and I badly wanted to curse but held it in. Normally, I would stretch out long at this stage, helping the molting along with small muscle movements that would make the old skin detach completely.

Here, I was all coiled up, cramped and squished. I deliberated whether I could slip out if the coast was clear but shot the idea down almost at once. Well-hidden or not, Kim wasn’t safe. I wouldn’t let her out of my sight for anything.

Which meant I was going to suffer.

I moved as much as the room allowed, slithering over myself, coiling and uncoiling, rubbing against the furniture and floor. The itching got so bad, I had to grit my teeth not to make a sound. Kim slept so peacefully, I would hate myself if I disturbed her.

Finally, after about half an hour of that, my old skin unpeeled in enough places for me to try slithering out of it. I rubbed my face and head, the skin loosening. I grabbed the edges that came loose around my eyes and ripped it as much as I could. The seam split down my face and underside, which wasn’t bulletproof and thus, was much easier to damage.

Through the split down my torso and stomach, I glimpsed the fresh, silvery scales underneath. They gleamed bright silver. I admired them in the dim light, wondering if Kim would like my freshly molted look.

Then I pushed that thought down, frustrated with myself. Since when did I care what my principal thought of me? As long as she remained safe and unharmed, that was all that mattered.

But of course, I cared about what she thought, now more than ever. It was all my fault for letting myself want her. Fuck, the things I said when I was inside her. I only hoped she was too out of it to remember.

Fuck, I had to purge all this sappy stupidity out of my system. The only way to do that was to draw clean lines between us and adhere to them.

Kim was off limits, and somehow, I’d have to explain it to her tomorrow without hurting her. Hopefully, my gift would lessen the blow.

Or maybe I was deluding myself. Maybe this was all nothing to her, just a purely physical thing that she would brush off easily. It didn’t sit well with me, that idea, but I forced that feeling down.

It would be better for us both if it ended. No more fucking. No more touching. We’d work on our tasks, finish the job, and then… And then we’d both go our ways, and I would be assigned another client.

A clean cut.

I swallowed a frustrated groan and worked the old skin down my body. It took a lot of maneuvering in the tiny room, but twenty minutes later, I was out of it, my fresh scales gleaming while the old skin lay on the floor, rumpled in a heap.

My cocks pulsed in their pocket. The hormones unleashed, and I gritted my teeth, already suspecting I was doomed.

How would I keep my hands off Kim when my body raged with lust? Lust that, I already knew, no one else would satisfy. I wanted her. Nobody else.

But if I wanted to keep her safe, I had to stay professional.

“Fuck,” I whispered, getting my bag to find my sewing kit. I had it delivered to the hotel a few days ago when I got this idea.

I was going to sew Kim a bulletproof shirt.

I already knew it wouldn’t be perfect. My sewing skills were rudimentary and dusty, but I had sewn up a few shirts from my skin in the past, so I knew which parts could be easily cut up and pierced with a needle.

It would cover her vital organs, and I decided to simply use the skin from my torso and arms, tightening it to fit her.

She slept spread out on the bed, so I got her rough measurements without a problem. Then I got down to work.

Sewing the shirt wasn’t hard, and I got lost in the task, contemplating a moral dilemma. I badly wanted to sew my smallest tracker into the shirt, just as a precaution. But I also didn’t want to tell Kim about it.

Because I hoped she’d wear the shirt even after Rossi was dealt with. And I was going to use that tracker to check on her. I’d be out of her life for good then but I wanted to keep at least one way open. So if she was ever in danger, I could find and save her.

Because I never wanted to see her hurt.

And I had to do it in secret because Kim was proud and independent, and she wouldn’t let me follow her movements just because I asked.

Now, she trusted me in such an open, endearing way, and if she ever discovered I secretly tracked her whereabouts, that trust would be broken. So I deliberated on it. Was her safety more important than her trust?

It was an impossible choice.

When I stitched up the final seam, hissing when the pains and strains in my body got worse, Kim kicked with her legs. I looked over, my sewing instantly forgotten at the signs of her distress.

Her face was tense, hands tightened into fists, and she kicked the blanket I covered her with like it was an enemy she was fighting off.

I remembered our first night together and the way I woke up, with my tail wrapped tightly around her legs. She said then it helped her sleep, and now, I desperately wanted to do it again. Restrain her legs so she could rest.

So I could feel her bare skin against my fresh scales.

And yet, I couldn’t do that. I was supposed to be professional with her, and holding her legs through the night was not a part of my duties. I held back, even though the sight of her, tense and frantic in the crumpled sheets, urged me to act. To protect her.

Then a broken moan of fear tore out of her throat and I was fucking done.

CHAPTER 18

Kim

I woke up sore yet happy. Little bubbles of joy burst in my chest, my body feeling heavenly despite the soreness, all warm and cozy. I didn’t open my eyes yet, savoring this. It happened so rarely, sleeping through the night without waking myself up with my restless legs or a nightmare.

And this bed was so comfortable. Warm and perfectly molded to me, it held me like a cocoon of warm safety. A heavy blanket covered me, a solid, warm mass at my back cushioning my body.

A familiar scent registered, clean and male, and my eyes popped open.

I lay on Asan, his coils draped over my legs, his chest pressing to my back, a heavy arm over my stomach and ribs. He breathed evenly, his scales shifting against my back with every breath. And lower down…

I blushed, feeling his erections pressing into my ass.

The room was dimly lit with just a nightlight, and I couldn’t be certain in that light, but something about his scales was different. They looked shiny or oiled, just like those two shehru in the club looked.

“Oh god,” I murmured. Asan was here, naked, holding me, and his cocks were out. We slept together.

But I was way more clear-headed now than I was last night, and my conscience pinged with alarm. Because he was my bodyguard. I paid him, for fuck’s sake. Not only was it inappropriate for me to fuck him, it was probably also illegal. Maybe. Fuck, I didn’t know.

Not that I cared about breaking the law, but I did care about my professional integrity. Fucking people you worked with tended to, well, fuck things up.

I had to stop it. If only he didn’t feel so good. So warm, and safe, and oh god, those cocks were gorgeous. Just the memory of him inside me made me wet.

No. Not happening. I had to shower.

“I had a little freakout last night,” Asan said, his voice husky from sleep.

I jerked, clamping my hand over my mouth in shock. I was convinced he was still asleep. But no, he was awake, holding me like this, being hard against my body, while completely aware and conscious. That made it worse. And also, better.

Shit, I was a mess.

He shifted, his coils pressing me more firmly into him. I didn’t even try to get away because it was pointless. The familiar helplessness rolled through me, making me languid and relaxed.

He flexed his lower body, slowly humping my back.

“What freakout?” I asked, my voice a bit squeaky.

“I decided I would never touch you again and be very professional and proper,” he said, nuzzling his face into my hair.

I paused, analyzing the situation and wondering what I was missing, because none of it made sense. He pressed his cocks into me with a hiss of pleasure. My lower back was slick with his natural lubrication.

“Um. Your brain must be broken. Because you’re definitely touching me and there is nothing proper about this,” I managed to say, rallying my brain cells to fire up. All I wanted was to get lost in him, maybe let him fuck me again, but I had to think.

“I know,” he said, his hand palming my breast. “Because you had a nightmare. I had to hold you, pet. I couldn’t help it. And that made me realize I can’t do this. I can’t not touch you when we’re locked in a room together. We’re doomed.”

“Oh,” I said, something inside me melting. I couldn’t help it, either. I swooned at the thought of him rushing to my side when he saw me thrashing in bed. “Well… Uh… But shouldn’t we…”

“Yesss, pet?”

“I don’t know,” I said helplessly, arching my ass into his erections.

“Fuck,” he grunted. “But you’re right. We should. I mean, you should. Have your freakout if you need to, just like I did. If you decide you don’t want me to touch you, I’ll sssstop. I think I can handle it if that’s what you want.”

It took me maybe three seconds to decide. “Fuck, no. I don’t care. Touch me all you want. Please.”

He huffed with amusement, his fingers pinching my nipple. “I’d love to fuck you, but I’m pretty sure you need a break.”

I was about to say that I could take him just fine, but then remembered how it felt last night with him. He turned me into a total wreck, not just physically, but emotionally and mentally, as well. And shit, but I had work to do. For one, I had a priceless sculpture to saw in half.

“Yeah,” I said with a rueful smile. “But you make me so horny.”

He hissed, cupping my breast in his warm, large palm. “Likewise, pet. And it doesn’t help that I just molted.”

I blinked a few times, wondering if I heard him correctly. “Molted?”

“I molt once a year,” he said, his hand sliding down to caress my stomach. “Shed my skin. It’s a natural part of shehru life.”

“Oh.” I processed it for a moment, deciding it made sense. He was very snakelike, after all. “So that’s why you’re so shiny?”

“Shiny,” he repeated with amusement. “Yesss. Fresh scales are supposed to attract a partner. We get very horny after molting.”

“I see,” I said, because the evidence of that horniness pressed intimately to my back, leaking precum all over me.

Asan was quiet, and I frowned. Suddenly, my heart gave a painful thud, my chest constricting. For a moment, I couldn’t figure out where this new, desolate feeling came from. I was warm, I was held closely, and I just had the most mind-blowing sex of my life last night.

I woke up criminally happy. Yet now, my chest heaved with pain.

And Asan’s evident desire for me didn’t make me happy anymore.

Finally, I understood what he said and the implications of it. He was horny because he molted. It was a purely biological reaction, and it had nothing to do with me. I was just there, conveniently available.

Of course. And I knew that. Even yesterday, I was fully aware us fucking was just a catalyst after almost dying. I knew that.

But why did this knowledge hurt so much?

“What’s wrong?” Asan asked, tightening around me. His tail wound around my ankle and raced up my calf as if to make sure I wouldn’t get away.

“What do you mean?” I asked because I didn’t say or do anything, and he obviously couldn’t read my mind.

“You were fidgeting, playing with my scales, and now you’re completely still. What’s wrong?”

I breathed out with force, my chest squeezing tightly. He knew me so well. Better than anyone. I realized with a jolt that I never let anyone as close as him. Not in my adult life. Now it made perfect sense why I cried yesterday when he was inside me.

Because I’d been so lonely for so long, it was a shock to my system to suddenly feel someone there, with me. Inside me, but not just in the physical sense. That sex wasn’t simply a physical act. It was so much more to me.

I let him in. I bared myself to him. Whereas to Asan, it was just… biology.

“So, yesterday, uh…” I started, wondering if I should even mention it. Would I survive it if he confirmed what I thought? That I was just a convenient fuck?

Then again, it would make it easier to detach and go back to being professionals. I took a deep breath and asked my question.

“So it was just, uh, hormones or whatever? You… You just needed to fuck somebody. Which, like, fine. It’s okay. Just… Want to make it clear and all.”

I yelped when he suddenly turned me, moving me around with ease until my face was inches away from his, his red eyes boring into mine.

“No, that’s not what it wassss,” he hissed viciously. I jerked, not from fear but from the intensity of it. I wasn’t afraid of him anymore, not even when he was angry. “I wanted you long before I molted.”

My brows furrowed as I watched him, not entirely convinced. Granted, I didn’t know how the molting stuff worked, but it kind of didn’t make sense for him to actually want me.

“You don’t even like me,” I said.

Asan released a long, hissing breath. “Well, you are aggravating,” he said, startling a smile out of me. “And human. I don’t know if you realize, but fucking humans is a big taboo for the shehru. It’s just not done. Not ever.”

I nodded, my heart slamming hard. “I suspected as much.”

He looked at me for a moment, his gaze so intense, I stayed completely still. It was hypnotizing. I felt like a mouse watching a snake, knowing it would pounce yet unable to move.

“And yet, here we are,” Asan said, his tail winding tightly around my leg. “Despite anatomical differences. Despite cultural norms. Despite everything else. I didn’t fuck you because you’re just here, pet. With all the reasons not to, it’s a wonder it happened at all.”

I snorted, nodding in agreement. He was right. There were so many reasons for us not to fuck, he really had to want me bad for it to happen. My desolation lifted, leaving behind just a tiny, dissatisfied kernel that I refused to examine.

I wouldn’t admit it even to myself, because it was ridiculous, but a part of me hoped to hear something more. Something… No, I couldn’t go there. It would be stupid to hope, and I really, really shouldn’t.

Asan wanted to fuck me because he desired me and that had to be enough.

“So what now?” I asked, dreading his answer. Wasn’t he required to drop a client if something like this happened? God, I didn’t want anyone else. He was the only person I trusted in the entire world.

“Now we find out if we can leave here safely. We need to eat and then get out whatever Rossi hid in that sculpture,” Asan said, his scaly fingers skimming down my spine.

“It’s a data card,” I said at once, relieved he didn’t even mention resigning from the assignment. “Probably encrypted, so getting it out is just step one.”

“Can you decrypt it?” he asked, still holding me tightly, his cocks pulsing against my belly.

“No, but I have great software. Medusa-made,” I said proudly. “It can decrypt anything if given enough time.”

His tongue flicked out, tasting my cheek. He didn’t say anything else and didn’t make a move to let me go.

A part of me itched to get started, because I was so close to getting my revenge now. Everything I’d worked for since I was eighteen was just in my grasp. I had Rossi’s precious, encrypted data that had to be incriminating as fuck. It would put him in jail for a few life sentences, I was sure.

The greatest goal of my life was within reach, and yet, I didn’t move. Because somehow, the reality of Asan wrapped around me was better even than attaining that goal.

“I should probably let you go,” he said softly, tucking my head under his chin. My nose pressed to the smooth, glistening scales on his throat, and I breathed in his scent.

“You really should,” I said, snuggling in.

His coils moved, swallowing me. He was everywhere, wrapped around me, pressing in from every side. It wasn’t even sexual, his cocks tucked away back in his pocket. It was simply a comfort so deep, I wanted to sink into it and keep falling. Forever.

In the end, my full bladder got me to move. I used the bathroom and took a shower, putting on a T-shirt and shorts. When I came out, Asan held out something that looked like a garment made of dull, gray snake skin. His skin, I realized with a jolt.

“For you.”

I didn’t take it, staring at his face instead. For the first time since I met him, he looked slightly unsure, and it was so jarring. Asan was the most confident person I knew.

“What is it?” I asked.

“A shirt. Kind of. It’s bulletproof. I want you to wear it.” He grimaced, lowering his arm. “Unless it disgusts you, but…”

I snatched the shirt out of his hand so fast, I surprised even myself. “Of course not! You made it? For me? It’s… It’s yours?”

He nodded. “Try it on. It’s much lighter and more flexible than a Kevlar vest. It should be easy to move in.”

I held the shirt in both hands, spreading it out to take a look. It was long-sleeved and light just as he said. It didn’t look like it could stop a bullet, but I knew shehru scales were unique.

The stitching was painstakingly small, and the collar would protect my throat, too. The size looked right, and I couldn’t believe he made it in the middle of the night while I slept. I blinked, tears gathering in my eyes.

“You made it for me?” I asked again, looking up in disbelief. “It had to take hours! And you got shot so many times yesterday, and then I kept you up with my nightmares. You must be exhausted!”

He grinned, sharp teeth flashing as he wiped a tear off my cheek with his thumb. “You didn’t keep me up. As soon as I wrapped around you, you fell into a deep sleep. Put it on, pet, and stop worrying about me. I’m fine, and I’ll be even better when you’re bulletproof.”

“Bulletproof?” I snorted, doing my best to keep my sappy mood in check. I couldn’t keep crying around him like this. “They can still get my legs or head.”

“I can sew you a helmet,” he said at once, looking completely serious. “And pants, though they might be tricky for me to get right. Though, if I get to explore some more, I’m sure I can manage.”

He looked meaningfully at my bare legs, his grin growing sharper. Shaking my head with a laugh, I pulled the shirt on. I was surprised by how well it fit, molding to my skin, cool and pleasant. The feel of it made me shiver.

God, I’m wearing his skin. And loving it. Is that fucked up?

“Damn, pet,” Asan said in a low rustle, slithering closer. “This looks good on you.”

“It feels good,” I admitted quietly, my heartrate picking up. The way he looked at me was scorching and intense, making me think about all the things we did last night. “We have to go.”

Asan nodded, wrapping around me, his tail keeping me in place while he buried his hands in my hair.

“In a minute.”

He kissed me with a hiss, his forked tongue meeting mine in a demanding press. I moaned into his mouth, trying to get closer, until I finally hooked my leg around him. His tail pushed between my thighs and rubbed me through my clothes.

“Oh fuck,” I moaned, breaking away. “No. Come on. I just showered. You’re making me wet again.”

He hissed in displeasure, tilting my head back so he could kiss me again. His tongue flicked over my lip, the touch light like a tickle. “Ssssso? I like your scent.”

I shook my head, laughing helplessly. Asan nipped my lower lip and kissed me again, his hand settling on my ass while his tail moved between my legs.

“Just a bit, pet. Just a moment longer. While we’re still in a safe place.”

I understood then. As soon as we left here, we’d be exposed. The area might be clear, but with the reward money doubled and Rossi’s people likely pissed off by another failure, we were in more danger than ever.

After we left, there would be no more intimacy and touching for us. We’d have to move fast and look out for threats constantly.

“Just a little, then,” I said, kissing the scaly corner of his mouth.

In the end, it was more than fifteen minutes of kissing and groping. Asan made me come without removing my clothes, and I felt sticky and hot all over despite taking that shower. But when I tried to touch his slick cocks that pushed out during our make-out session, he caught my wrist and kissed my knuckles.

“Not now, pet. If you start, I’ll just fuck you again.”

So I didn’t touch them, even though I badly wanted to. When he was done with me, he combed his fingers through my hair, smoothing it out, and righted my rumpled clothes for me. His eyes flashed appreciatively every time he looked at my scaly shirt.

“There, pet. Ready to go?”

CHAPTER 19

Asan

We checked into another hotel with a new fake ID Kim got from her safehouse. This one didn’t have any accommodations suitable for me, so Kim got us the biggest, most expensive room.

“So you can stretch out after last night,” she whispered through her mask when we got into the big cargo lift the receptionist kindly let us use.

“It wasn’t that bad,” I said, putting my arm around her shoulders after the door closed. “But thank you.”

I set up my security perimeter in the hotel while Kim settled down in the room, looking for information on sawing through gold. We got room service, ate, and finally, she got down to work.

The jeweler’s saw Kim pinched from Irene’s place came with additional blades, which proved useful when the first one broke. Kim sawed for half an hour before she finally accepted my offer of help. Even then, she sat completely motionless by my side, watching my progress with complete focus.

Finally, the top half of the gold orb on top of the sculpture was gone. Kim held the data card in her shaking fingers and looked at it like it might bite her.

“I fucking hope it’s not his personal porn collection or something,” she said, a nervous smile creeping onto her face. “Can you imagine? All that work.”

I scoffed and wrapped my tail around her calf to comfort her. “He wouldn’t pay five million to get it back. Unless it’s child porn, in which case, he’s going to jail.”

Kim grimaced. “I didn’t think he could be any more vile than he is, but I stand corrected. No, I don’t think it’s porn. God, I’m shaking. I should check what’s on there. Right?”

She was uncertain, and I understood it. She had the thing she’d been working for so hard, and now, everything was about to change. It was daunting.

I unraveled from her, slithering away. She needed space, and here, she could have it. The room was indeed big, although the bed was definitely made for humans. We’d both sleep on the floor tonight. Well, I would sleep on the floor. Kim would sleep on me.

“Don’t ask me, pet. You know what to do.”

She nodded sharply and went to get her laptop. When she sat cross-legged on the bed, staring at the screen while her hands shook, it was my turn to watch her without moving. I focused on her expression, waiting for triumph or disappointment. My heart beat fast in anticipation, because either outcome meant something else.

Either Kim got what she wanted and soon, she wouldn’t need me anymore. Or she didn’t, and I’d get to protect her for longer.

I didn’t know which I wanted more. A part of me selfishly hoped the files were useless so she was forced to keep me.

Because she wouldn’t want me in her life when she was safe again, that was obvious. A lifetime of getting condescending looks from humans and shehru alike? Who would want that?

I would, I thought to myself. I would want that if it meant I could be with her. Not that anyone would dare to sneer at us twice. I’d take care of the assholes.

Kim’s face tightened in a grim smile, interrupting my maudlin thoughts. “Encrypted, of course. I’ll run it through the program.”

She set the laptop up on the desk and turned to me with an uncertain smile. “And now we wait, probably for hours. Stuck here. Together.”

We stared at each other across the room. I coiled my body slowly, something in her anxious posture nudging my instincts. She watched me with wide, expectant eyes, like prey frozen in terror.

Except, she wasn’t afraid.

“When I sewed your shirt, I thought about all the ways I want to take you,” I said softly, taking off my vest.

She gasped, a shudder running down her body. “You did?”

“There are so many,” I continued, tightening myself into a spring until I had a good base for a quick, violent jump. I was naked. “Ways to take you slowly, fucking you for hours until you lose your mind and voice from screaming my name. Or fast, heated ways. Stolen moments, stuffing you full and leaving you dripping.”

“Oh my god.” Kim took a convulsive step back, her hip hitting the corner of the desk. “You just went from zero to a hundred. I can’t keep up.”

“I think you can,” I said, tasting the air with my tongue. I already smelled her fresh arousal, and it made my cocks throb painfully. “Do you want me to take you, pet?”

She wet her lips and nodded. I pounced.

Her eyes grew wide and mouth hung open, but she didn’t move, completely frozen as I flew through the room. I landed with a thud, my body already moving to her. I caught her face in both hands while my tail raced up her legs, restraining her so she couldn’t move.

“Asan,” she choked out, her eyes locked on mine.

“I’ll take all the time we’ve got. Milk every second out of you,” I said, tasting her cheek. “It will be slow and long, and I’ll drive you insane. Last chance to back out.”

She shook her head and I froze. Was that a no?

“I trust you,” she said, looking at me with those soft, brown eyes. “I want you. Please.”

“Of course,” I hissed, already diving for her lips while my tail pushed under her shirt, making it ride up her back.

I kissed her slowly, just like I said I would. She went pliant at once, giving in completely as her mouth opened to me and responded with sweet surrender. I held her precious face in my hands, sucking on her lower lip while my gum pockets tingled.

She was right there, her skin so soft. I could bite her so easily.

I reined that instinct in, because Kim would never be mine for life. But she could be mine for the hours we had left. I was going to take all that time we had, every last minute of it, and put as much of me inside her as she could take.

“Mmmmfuck,” she moaned when I bared her throat and kissed my way down to the edge of her bulletproof shirt. I loved how it looked on her. It was like a mark of ownership, even if only in my head.

I never considered sharing this part of me with anyone, but giving it to her was so natural. She belonged in my skin, inside me, on top of me, and in my coils.

“Promise me you’ll wear it,” I said on an impulse, pushing my hand underneath to pinch her nipple.

“What?” she asked, looking at me with heavy-lidded, dazed eyes.

“The shirt. Promise you’ll wear it, even after this is all over.”

She blinked, breathing hard, and then nodded. “Of course. It’s the coolest thing I have. And it’s yours. Of course, I’ll wear it.”

“Good.”

I took it off her then, partly satisfied that I would be in her life in some way after this. But I craved more. It wasn’t just the molting instinct. Not once in my life had I wanted someone like I wanted her.

Molting made me horny. She made me obsessed.

“This has to go,” I said, pulling her T-shirt off, followed by her bra.

Her hair was a curly mess, dark against her blushing cheeks. I took her chin between my finger and thumb and kissed her slowly until she squirmed, clenching her thighs. My cocks slid out, hard and slick.

“And this.”

I dragged her shorts down her hips together with her underwear, discarding them on the floor. As soon as she was naked, I wrapped my tail around her waist and under her ass, picking her up. She gasped, choking on her breath.

She looked half-mad already.

“All right, pet?” I asked, moving over to the bed.

“Yeah.” She nodded, her cheeks burning hot. “Asan. What are you…”

She broke off in a gentle cry when I raised her higher until she was over the bed. I tilted her entire body slowly until her head and shoulders rested on the bed, her ass and legs high in the air, trapped in my coils.

I lowered my torso to put my shoulders under her knees while my coils wrapped around and underneath her, giving her support. Her wet pussy was right in my face now, and I lost no time tasting her.

First, I just let my tongue out, tasting her scent, so heavy here. I hissed with pleasure, a tremor running down my spine. She moaned wordlessly, her legs already shaking, hands fisting in the sheets.

“So pretty,” I said and let my tongue flick out further to touch her, just lightly at first. She shivered, her legs spasming on my shoulders.

“Asan, please,” she whined.

I’d never get tired of hearing her beg.

“Be patient with me, pet. I’ve never eaten a pussy like yours.”

She laughed breathlessly, letting go of the sheets to grip my coils winding around her waist. “I’ll tell you when you find the clit. The rest should be easy.”

“Oh, I know where your clit is.”

I took it in my mouth and sucked gently to prove my point. She jerked, her fingers tightening on me as a strangled sound tore out of her throat. I pulled back, my tongue instinctively reaching out for more. She tasted so right in my mouth.

“And?” I asked, grinning. Fuck, but I felt smug. Good thing I did all that research.

“Found it. Please, keep going,” she said weakly, her grip on me loosening.

When I lowered my head to run my tongue over her, her hands tightened right back up. I licked her wetness greedily, exploring her for now and enjoying her taste and heat. She was in my power, completely restrained, and I adored her like this.

When my tongue flicked to her asshole, she moaned brokenly, her thighs trying to close.

“What is it, love?” I asked, pulling back.

“I don’t think… You shouldn’t… Mouth on ass… is kinda taboo,” she said, her voice shaking.

I looked down at the small, tight hole. I was going to put my cock in there if she let me. It was only fair that my tongue paved the way.

“But I don’t care much about taboos,” I said. “Unless you don’t enjoy being touched there.”

She exhaled a shaky breath, running her hands back and forth over my scales. “I don’t know. No one’s ever… done that.”

“Let me try and then decide if you like it.”

I itched to put my tongue on her but waited. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded, her eyes dark and vulnerable.

This time, I didn’t just tease her with my tongue. I pressed my mouth to that hole and kissed it, making her gasp. I kissed her long and hard, lips and tongue insistent while she panted, releasing small, choppy moans.

When I pulled back and looked down her body, her chest was heaving, her head craned back, eyes squeezed shut.

“What’s the verdict, sweetheart?”

“I like it,” she said, opening her eyes.

I nodded, that smug feeling growing. I was already addicted to making her feel good, and every time I did something right, I got a shot of my drug.

Even now, I was starving for more, so I brought my mouth down and worked her clit, focusing on how hard she squeezed my coils, the sounds she made, the wild pulse that I just heard under the sound of her harsh breathing.

Soon, I figured out a rhythm that drove her crazy, making her thrash and whine in my grip. I filled her dripping pussy with my finger, then two, and worked her clit the way she liked, gradually speeding up.

“Fuck. Like this,” she moaned when I sucked on her clit continuously, my tongue tapping it fast. “God, Asan. Please. Please, like this. Please…”

She tensed, her taut body arching, and came all over my tongue with a strangled cry. When she relaxed, I pulled back, licking my fingers clean.

“So good, pet. You came beautifully,” I said, my cocks pulsing with the need to stuff her full. I planned to put them both inside her if I could, but I wasn’t going to tell her yet. It would just freak her out.

“I want to blow you,” she said, her eyes glassy with pleasure. “I want you in my mouth.”

I lowered her to the bed and untangled enough to let her sit on the edge of the mattress. She looked up at me, and I slowly pushed closer, nudging her knees to widen enough to let me in. I was upright between her legs, the tips of my spikes level with her mouth.

“I won’t say no, pet. Whatever you want.”

She took a shaky breath and then gripped the spike closer to her, squeezing me as much as she could with her fingers. I hissed, reining in the instinct to thrust. She looked up, and the sight of her face right there, her hand on me, made me shiver with pleasure.

“Guess right back at you,” she said with a small smile. “Be patient with me. I’ve never sucked a cock like yours.”

I shook my head, stroking her hair. “I can be patient. Anything for you, love.”

She lowered her head and took me in her mouth.

CHAPTER 20

Kim

I was still weak and loopy from my orgasm, and yet greedy for more. Asan towered above me, his shiny scales catching the light. I wasn’t a shehru so I probably couldn’t appreciate them properly, but he looked hot as fuck.

When I took him into my mouth, slowly at first, I was surprised by how cool his cock was to the touch. He hissed, his body jerking, and I lowered my head, taking him deeper. There was no way I could take all of him, that was certain, but not for the lack of trying.

I pushed as deep as I could and pulled back up before I choked. I licked my lips, trying to compare his taste to something I knew while I gave his cock a long stroke with my hand.

He was slick with lubrication, the scales on the top two thirds of his shaft smooth and thin. They thickened further down, where he grew girthier, too. I struggled to accept the fact he was inside me last night, all the way in.

It felt unreal, yet it happened. I remembered the way I felt him through my belly.

How he said that we fit, after all.

I brought my hand back up, stroking the slit in the tip. It faced away from me, but I saw the one on his other cock. It looked swollen and tender, his flesh dark gray inside. Clear precum trickled out.

I still couldn’t place his taste, so I dipped down for another lick. I wrapped my tongue around the narrow tip, slowly stroking up and down. He hissed with pleasure, so I sucked him into my mouth again, swallowing the wetness.

He didn’t taste like a human man. And not like anything I ever had in my mouth, I was pretty sure. It felt good, though, and I couldn’t get enough—because it was his taste. And I couldn’t get enough of him.

I bobbed my head to the rhythm with my hand, and his spike slowly warmed in my mouth. I moaned at that, enjoying the way his temperature adjusted to mine.

“You feel so good, pet,” he said in a low, rustling voice, and I grabbed his other cock in my hand, stroking both in tandem as my mouth swallowed as much of him as I could. His tail wound tightly around my waist and then slunk up my back, loosely coiling around my throat.

“Fuck,” he said, shuddering. “I have to fuck you. Now.”

I sucked off him and looked up. “I was just getting started.”

His eyes flashed red, the coil around my throat tightening just a bit. “And you’ll be done in thirty seconds if you don’t stop, pet. Fuck, your mouth is so hot. But I want to come in your pussy. I want to watch it drip out of you and then push it back inside once you fall asleep. So none of it goes to waste.”

I froze, the pressure at my neck combined with his words rushing through me in a jolt. Arousal burned hotter in my belly, butterflies taking flight. I stared at him, sinking into his red gaze, until his cocks jerked in my hands.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, the coil around my throat loosening. At no point did it actually choke me or hurt, but there was definitely pressure, and god, I loved it.

“That was hot,” I blurted out. “Okay. Fuck me.”

He grinned, showing off his sharp teeth and the two fangs that were out. I knew they were retractable, living inside his gums most of the time. The fangs only came out when a shehru went in for the kill.

Or when he was very horny, it seemed.

I only had a moment to admire them before Asan wound around my waist and thighs, picking me up. The ease with which he handled me was still surprising and shockingly hot. But only because I trusted him so completely. If anyone else tried to manhandle me like that, they would get a knee in the groin.

He turned with me in his grip, pressing me close until I straddled his torso. His cool scales against my hot pussy felt divine, and I moaned into his neck while he took pillows from the bed and threw them on the floor.

“I want you to close your eyesss and trussst me,” he hissed.

“Yes,” I said at once. There was no question about it at this point. I trusted him with everything. “Please.”

His coils wound around me, scales rubbing the sensitive skin of my inner thighs and belly. He turned me away from him, lowering me face-down on the pillows. His coils wound around my breasts and waist, piling under me, until I was completely suspended.

My head and arms were on the pillows, resting comfortably, but my ass was high in the air, legs bent and spread wide open. He held one knee with his hand while the other was firmly pushed to the side with his massive snake coil.

“Oh,” I breathed, my face getting hot from being exposed like this. I couldn’t move or really see, but he had an excellent view of my everything.

“Easy, pet. You already know you can take me. I’ll go slow. Just a bit at the time. Like this.”

His slick, narrow tip pressed inside me, and I gasped at how cool he was. His other cock was pressed to my clit, wet and hard, and I whimpered with anticipation. The friction would be so good once he started thrusting.

“Ssssee, love?” he asked, moving shallowly, the head of his spike pushing just inside and retreating almost completely with each gentle thrust. “You’re doing so well. Taking me like this. Fuck, you’re so hot inside. So smooth.”

I sobbed from delirious pleasure when he went deeper with the next thrust. His smooth, delicate scales rubbed inside me, the girth of his shaft stretching me open.

“I thought… it might get easier… the second time,” I said, panting as my pussy clenched around him, the pressure and fullness just as intense as it was before. He couldn’t be even halfway inside, I knew. How the fuck did I take him all before?

“But it’s so easy,” he hissed, fucking me with slow, controlled thrusts. “You’re so wet, love. Making it so easy to slide home.”

I shook my head, hot shivers running up my spine. It felt unbearable, too much, but oh, so good. He came deeper with the next thrust, and I cried out, spasming around him as I came.

I squirted all over his other cock that pressed to my clit, massaging it with each stroke. Asan hissed, his free hand grabbing my ass cheek and spreading me just a bit more open while I shuddered in his grip, all wet and messy, my insides choking on bliss.

“P-please,” I sobbed out when he sank deeper, hitting that tender spot. “It’s too much.”

He stilled, buried inside me, the tougher scales near his base teasing my opening. “You’re so good for me, pet,” he said, his coils moving under and around me in a comforting caress. “You’re taking almost all of it now. Such a good girl. So generous. Will you let me fill you up? I want to fill you to the brim. Make you so full of me, nothing else fits. Will you let me?”

I was crazy, I knew I was, but it was like he put a spell on me. I couldn’t say no when he asked like that. And the images he conjured with his words—full of him, so full there wasn’t room for anyone or anything else—made my chest constrict with want.

I needed him deep inside me, filling all those hollow places.

“Okay,” I sighed, letting go.

I trusted him, and so I gave up control completely. All resistance and fear bled out of me, only the thrumming need and the fullness remaining.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” he said, slowly pulling back. I whimpered, the friction so good. Too good to take. Another orgasm buzzed in my veins, ready to unleash, and I suddenly remembered what he said. That he would fuck me until I went mad.

I sobbed when he slid back in.

“Shh, love. You’re good. You’re safe. I’ve got you, baby. Just a little bit. Just a bit longer.”

His wet slit pressed to my pussy lips and I shivered, stretched to the brim. Tears streamed down my face as the pressure inside me grew and grew, overwhelming, like a shadow obscuring the sun. Everything shrank and disappeared until only one thing mattered.

Him inside me, filling everything.

I came with a violent gush, soundless and frozen as the pleasure coursed through me in powerful waves. He hissed viciously and moved faster, fucking me through my orgasm until I hung limp in his coils, restrained, spent, unable to speak.

He slowed down, a part of his tail passing over my face to wipe away the tears. Next, it pressed to my mouth, nudging my lips.

“You can bite me if it helps. Bite as hard as you need. I can take it, love,” he said in a dry, raspy voice.

Another tear fell. I was spread open and so full, I couldn’t hide anything. In that vulnerable state, the word love pierced me like a knife. I couldn’t resist it, couldn’t remind myself it didn’t mean anything.

And so I let it in, knowing it would hurt later when I had to rip it out.

“W-why b-bite you?” I asked him. “T-the worst… or the best… is over. You’re all in.”

He was silent for a moment, moving slowly, each excruciating drag of his cock making little bursts of bliss fire off inside me. God, it was insane.

“Not quite all,” he said, pushing in until our bodies met. I shivered, pleasure pooling deep. “You’re only taking half of me.”

I had to think about that for a moment because my brain was all fuzzy. It was like all my energy and focus was in my body, all thoughts scattering, lazy and languid as I drifted in a pool of euphoria.

But it finally clicked. Half of him. Because he had two cocks.

“Nuh-uh. Not gonna happen.” I shook my head while he stroked my lower back soothingly, his fingers massaging my dimples.

“Let’s just try, pet. Just a little bit. To see if you like it.”

A shaky laugh tore out of me even as my pussy clenched appreciatively around his thick cock. Damn, a part of me wanted to try, but it was insane.

“I’m not letting that monster in my ass. No way.”

He moved all around me, smooth, glittery scales caressing my skin in relaxing strokes. Despite myself, I couldn’t even tense when he surrounded me like this, so I fell into him with a sigh of surrender.

“I wasn’t thinking about your ass, sweetheart.”

That took another moment of frantic thinking before I finally got what he meant. My pussy clenched at the image that pulsed in my brain—two monster cocks stretching my pussy to the brim, oh god—and I squirmed in his grip.

“Will you let me, pet? Just the tips at first. You know how narrow they are. How slick. It will be so easy. Can I put them in your pussy, love?”

There again with the “love”. I whined, shaking while he still fucked me, so slowly. So good. It seemed easy now, my body taking him as if I’d done it hundreds of times, everything relaxed and melting for him. Bliss trickled down my spine, followed by a relaxation so deep, it opened me whole.

My mouth felt full of cotton when I spoke. “J-just the tips.”

Asan pulled out of me with a satisfied hiss, and my mouth hung open. I felt suddenly empty, gaping and hollow, and it was the worst thing in the world. I didn’t even have his cum inside to fill me.

“P-please,” I gasped, my lips moving over his scales. That part of his tail was still there by my mouth, ready to take my bite if I needed it.

“I’m here, pet. Already here. There you go.”

He pushed back inside, just a little bit, and I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. True to his word, he didn’t go further. Only his narrow heads were inside, and it wasn’t too bad.

That emptiness stung, cold and needy, and I tried to move my hips to take in more of him, but his hold on me was relentless.

“M-more,” I said, delirious with the need to be full again. “God. But slow.”

“Of coursssse, baby,” he hissed, gripping my hip in his large, scaly hand. “There you go. Just a little bit more. You can handle it.”

Could I? I didn’t know, but if he said so, I believed him.

My pussy stretched with a sting as he slowly thrust in, stopping when a guttural moan tore out of me. He stopped, tense and trembling, his harsh breaths mingling with mine.

“Say something, love. Baby, please. Are you okay?”

I tried to laugh, but my body didn’t work properly. Everything was so loose now, all my muscles like jelly, and I could only gulp deep breaths and hold on. When his coil moved away from my mouth, I whined in disapproval, and it pressed close again.

“I’m fine,” I said, slurring. “It’s so weird. But good.”

I licked his scales, sighing in pleasure. My pussy clenched and relaxed, working him, like it was getting used to the girth. The sting was gone, just the immense fullness remaining.

It was bliss.

“If you could sssee yourself, love,” he hissed, pulling slightly back and thrusting in, but no deeper than before. I melted, euphoria pouring through now that I was used to this. “You’re so wide open for me. Taking it all. My beautiful girl. Ssso lovely.”

“Please,” I whined, pressing my open mouth to his scales. “Asan, please.”

“What is it love?”

“More.”

CHAPTER 21

Asan

I stared between her legs, drunk with the sheer sight of her. She was stretched wide with me, her pussy entrance taut and glistening around my shafts. They were squeezed so tightly together, I had to stop moving for a moment, ready to come just from the sight and feel alone.

She took both of them. And she loved it.

Fuck, I wanted to pump her full of cum. I wanted to see it drip out of her and then stuff it back in. Or even hold her upside down so it couldn’t escape.

The idea of her being so filled with me drove me crazy, but before that happened, I wanted to see if she could take both my spikes to the hilt.

Half of my length was still outside. It didn’t seem possible, but fuck, I had to try.

“Are you sure, love?” I asked, unable to censor myself. I would call her all the pretty names, all the nice words I knew, because she deserved every one of them.

I meant them all.

“N-no,” she gasped, spasming around me. “B-but I’m about to come and I’ll do anything t-to get there. T-talk me into it.”

I hissed with pleasure, my tail tightening around her thigh. I pushed her leg more to the side, opening her further, and she whined, clenching tighter around me.

Fuck. I saw stars.

“I’ll make you come so good, sweetheart. This pretty pussy will drench me with all you’ve got. Just let me in a bit further. Just an inch more. You can take an inch. Say yes, pet. It’s just an inch.”

She groaned, her muscles fluttering around my tightly squeezed spikes. “Yes!” she barked in frustration.

I pulled back, so slow in her impossible tightness, and thrust back in, giving her probably more than an inch. Fuck, I didn’t know. I barely held myself together, and the faint possibility of fitting inside her whole made me obsessed. I’d do anything to fill her so completely.

“Ah!”

Kim came with a squirt of wetness that splashed over my scales. She squeezed me so tightly, I hissed, my body convulsing and out of control. My vision blinked out and I bared my teeth, forcing my rushing orgasm back, back, back. I wasn’t all in her. I couldn’t come yet.

“There, pet.” I forced myself to speak so it would distract me from how insanely good it felt inside her. “You came so sweet for me. Was it good? Would you like more?”

She shivered, panting harsh breaths as her pussy caressed my spikes with the aftershocks of her peak. I gritted my teeth, biting back an angry hiss. Fuck, oh, fuck, how I wanted to slam home.

But Kim’s pleasure was more important than mine.

“Talk to me, my love. Please. Say something. Do you want to stop?”

It physically hurt to ask her that, but I would do anything she wanted at that moment. She was so beautiful and so completely trusting. I would never dare to break that trust.

“Don’t stop,” she said weakly, her breath fluttering over my scales. “T-talk. Keep talking.”

“You want me to talk you into taking more?”

I was two thirds in. She took almost all of me, and even though she looked completely intoxicated, she was coherent and well. Fuck. Maybe this would actually work.

My cocks tried to buck at that, but there was no room. She had me in a chokehold.

Kim nodded weakly, her messy hair shifting. I coiled around her, stretching and reaching, until I moved the hair off her face with my tail. Her eyes were barely open, glazed and vacant, and she breathed fast through her mouth. All of her weight rested on me, unbound and relaxed.

Open to receive.

“It’s just a little bit more, my perfect, beautiful pet,” I said, staring at her face, completely mesmerized. “You almost took it all. I’m so proud of you. So sweet to give in like this. So magnificent. Please, sweetheart. I want to fill you with all of me. I want to give you everything. Will you take it for me, love?”

“Yes,” she whispered, a tear falling down her cheek.

I was poised over her, my body spread all around and under her, and for a moment, I just stayed in that perfect moment, taking it in. She wanted all of me. She trusted me and gave in with such sweet ease. I wanted to tattoo this memory all over my brain so the perfection of it would be with me forever.

“There you go, baby,” I said, pulling slowly back. She broke out in soft, hiccupping sobs, her open mouth pressed to me. I almost pulled out, letting her experience all that space I was about to fill.

When I pushed in, she clamped her teeth over my scales, a choked sound escaping her. But I didn’t bottom out, not yet. When I was almost there, I pulled back again, moving so slowly, every muscle in my body was tense and trembling.

She bit down when I thrust back in. I watched in fascination as her pussy swallowed me. She was so wet, so hot with pumping blood. I didn’t go all in yet, clenching my teeth to prolong it. Just a bit more.

When she whimpered, drooling over my scales, I made shushing noises, caressing her back and ass with my hand. “There, love. I’ll fuck you good. Just a little bit longer. I’ll give you everything. Just a bit longer.”

But even though I told her to wait, I couldn’t hold back anymore. With a slow, inevitable flex of my body, I drove all the way into her. My slit pressed to her pussy lips as she took all of me. She shuddered, her spine arching up. Her pussy clutched me painfully tight as she came, barely a trickle falling out of her, and that was that.

I came with a feral snarl, pumping hard to go even deeper, to push all my cum deep inside her, embed it in her body. She shook, arched so taut, she trembled with the effort, and I convulsed, all my coils, all of me, experiencing the ecstasy of filling her with both my cocks.

It took long seconds before my pleasure poured out and settled, like a glow deep in my heart and marrow. Kim was completely boneless, breathing hard and deep, her body glistening with sweat. Her belly looked bloated, and I reached down in fascination to caress the curve of it.

She was full of me.

“T-t-too m-much,” she stuttered out.

“It’s okay, love. I’ve got you.”

I pulled out slowly, my cum following in a steady trickle. Fuck, there was so much. I wanted to fill her to the brim, and so I did.

When it stopped flowing, I lay her down in my coils, moving gently and slowly. She was so loose, her body was like clay I could shape at will. She didn’t move at all, and I looked her over with worry, but her temperature patterns were fine, her pulse strong, her breathing coming back to normal.

“How do you feel?” I asked, remorse settling in now that my fog of lust gradually dissipated. Fuck, what had I done? I pushed her so much over the limit, and it seemed so insane now. Yet, it made perfect sense just minutes ago.

And she wasn’t hurt. She was fine.

“Perfect,” she said so quietly, it was barely a breath. “Sleepy.”

“Then sleep. I’ll watch over you.”

I arranged myself into a comfortable nest for her, and by the time I was done, she was already asleep. Her breathing evened out. The deep blush seeped out of her cheeks until just a healthy flush remained. She slept soundly, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her.

I looked at her face, memorizing the curve of her cheek and the perky line of her nose. I stared at her eyelashes, fanning out over her cheeks, and her brows, slightly uneven, yet so pretty.

Her legs were loosely open, and when I saw my cum trickling out, I couldn’t help it. I bent over her and gathered it on my finger, gently pushing it inside her. Just like I told her I would. Her pussy was still stretched open, a proof of my insane invasion, and I loved the sight of it.

I kept it up for some time, stuffing her with my cum and thinking.

There was a problem I had to solve.

I was in love. And I was pretty sure she didn’t love me back.

But how was I supposed to let her go now? It was impossible. I couldn’t lie to myself anymore and pretend we would part ways after my job was done, because I couldn’t do it. I would take her and have her, and fuck, I didn’t care what anyone thought about that. All the judgmental shehru and humans could go fuck themselves.

She was mine. It was all that mattered.

But Kim wouldn’t want me, that was certain. She let me fuck her, let me call her all those sweet names, but she never said anything in return. Maybe that was because she was too out of it to speak, granted, but I didn’t want to delude myself.

She wouldn’t want me for anything more than sex. And where did that leave me?

I snorted, pushing my fingers coated in cum inside her while she slept with her mouth open, completely relaxed.

I’d talk her into taking me, I decided. Just like I did now. I’d make her let me into her life, or maybe drag her into mine. And if she didn’t let me, I’d fucking stalk her and scare everyone else away until she finally agreed to be with me.

I was certain I could wear her down. She liked the sex, obviously. I was sure I could entice her to give in.

All that stood in the way was her mission to put Rossi in jail. I grimaced. Personally, I wanted to pump him full of venom and watch him writhe in pain as his internal organs dissolved. No one who hurt Kim got to live.

Either way, it would soon be over. We had to get ready. Rest as long as we could because we were both exhausted.

With that in mind, I dragged the comforter off the bed and draped it over her. She’d be cold once her sweat dried. I lay down comfortably by her side, putting an arm over her, and fell asleep, content with the knowledge my spikes, now tucked inside, were coated in her scent. She was here, dripping with me, and I would get her to be with me forever.

Somehow.

We woke up to the sound of insistent beeping coming from Kim’s laptop. She groaned, throwing her arm over her face, and I lifted myself up to squint at the screen.

“It says ‘Decryption Complete’,” I said, already untangling myself from her so she wouldn’t trip on me.

It was the right call. Hearing my words, Kim sat bolt upright and scrambled up to her feet, launching herself across the room. She perched on the chair in front of the desk, her eyes glued to the screen. Already motionless and tense, she dove right into her deep focus zone.

I left her to it, checking my perimeter and the feeds from Kim’s network. All was good, so I called for room service.

I was clean, dressed, and sipping my tea when Kim swiveled to me on the chair, already tapping out a rhythm on her bare thigh. She was still naked, and my hungry eyes zeroed in on her thighs. I loved the sight of my mess on them.

“I’ll shower in a minute,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “Asan, we did it. I got him. I fucking got him.”

She stood up and paced, and I hissed in displeasure because she paraded right in front of the window. I shot out my tail, wrapping it around her waist, and dragged her closer.

“Away from the window, pet.”

“Right, I know,” she said, instantly settling into me until she sat on a pile of my coils, with my arm around her shoulders. “It’s just that I’m so close now! I can almost feel it. God, I’m so ready to bring him down.”

She calmed down in my hold, tapping her rhythm out on my pec, which I didn’t mind in the least.

“What’s in the files?” I asked, curious what Rossi deemed worthy of so much money.

“He keeps a list,” she said, a vicious grin spreading on her face. “It’s all the stuff he has on people. Politicians, other company owners, the chief of police, but even better—all the crime syndicates he did business with. It’s basically all the dirt he blackmails people with.”

I shook my head, burying my fingers in her messy hair. “I don’t follow. How does it help you?”

“These files aren’t cleaned up, and they clearly show his involvement in half of the stuff he keeps over people’s heads. Extortion, bribes, embezzlement, land price speculation… There’s a lot. Enough to put him in jail for many, many years.

“And you know what’s best?” she said, her grin widening with mischief. “All the other people he incriminated will go to jail, too. Everyone who counts in the underworld will know that it’s Rossi’s fault they were sentenced. How long do you think he’ll survive?”

Yes, that made sense. I nodded. “So you want him dead?”

“I want him to suffer,” Kim said, her smile turning into an angry grimace. “This way, he’ll piss himself from fear when he goes to jail. He’ll fear every shadow, every other prisoner, every guard. He’ll be stripped of his power, his connections, his wealth. That’s what I want.”

I kissed the top of her head and tightened my arm around her. So, this was it. It would be over soon. And then… Then I’d ask her out. Or should I say something already? I itched with the urge to do so, just confess what she meant to me.

But just when I opened my mouth to speak, Kim slipped out of my grip and headed to the bathroom.

“Should take that shower before my coffee gets cold.”

When she came out ten minutes later, she wore the bulletproof shirt and a pair of jeans. I grinned, seeing my skin on her. Fuck, it would never get old. She looked so good like this.

She looked like she was mine.

“Anyway, I uploaded the data in the cloud, and soon, I’ll release it. And watch him burn,” she said, drying her hair with a towel. “What did you get us to eat?”

“Have a look. I got you pancakes and bacon, but there’s more.”

On her way to examine the food on the table, she stopped and squinted at the window. “What’s that?”

I just caught a bright glint somewhere in the building opposite when the glass shattered and Kim cried out in pain. I whipped to her, watching with terror as she fell. My body coiled on instinct, rushing to her, when a horrible pain split the back of my head.

Everything went black.

CHAPTER 22

Kim

He fell so slowly.

All that coiled mass, that powerful body going lax, took an impossibly long time to fall. I watched as if in slow motion, the way his head recoiled from the bullet, his torso slowly folding back, his coils spreading loosely around him.

I only screamed when he went still.

My ribs hurt so fucking much, but it was nothing compared to the pain of seeing him lifeless on the floor. I crawled to him, ignoring the pain in my side, and patted his face with trembling hands.

“Asan? Asan! Baby, please. Please, wake up!”

Nothing. He didn’t move, his closed eyes didn’t even twitch. I patted his cheek harder, finally slapping him, but all it did was hurt my hand. His head turned loosely to the side under the impact and rolled back, expressionless.

Dead.

“Come on!” I screamed, tears rolling down my cheeks. “You’re supposed to be bulletproof. That was a fucking bullet! You’re fine, so wake up!”

He didn’t move. I looked wildly around, noticing the glittery glass shards on the floor under the window. I knew we were under attack, and any minute now, Rossi’s people would barge in the room.

We had to get away. But how the fuck was I supposed to move him?

I looked desperately at Asan’s muscular torso lying on the floor and his thick, long snake body spread all around. There was no way I could run with him.

And I couldn’t leave him behind.

“All right. Fine. You’re fine,” I told myself frantically, trying to calm down and think while I patted his face again.

Nothing.

So I put my ear to his mouth, the way I’d been taught long ago in a first aid class at school, and listened for his breath while looking at his chest to see if it rose and fell.

When the door to our hotel room burst open, the lock shredded with gunfire, I was draped over his chest, my body wracked with sobs. I didn’t resist when men in black tactical gear carried me out, still sobbing and screaming. I didn’t put up a fight when they threw me in the back of a car and bound my wrists and ankles.

When we arrived at Rossi’s mansion, the opulent place I stole the sculpture from, I was still crying.

Because Asan’s chest didn’t move and no air came out of his mouth.

He was dead.

***

I was chained to a chair in a tiled room in Rossi’s basement. A masked man in full tactical gear stood by the door, facing straight ahead. He ignored me, but that was all right. I didn’t even try to talk to him.

Nothing mattered anymore.

I was no longer crying. Instead, everything was hazy with a sort of numb stupor that I knew was deceptive. A moment of reprieve from feelings that roiled deep in my gut, circling like sharks.

I could ignore them for now, lost in the fog, but soon, they’d be out. Biting and shredding. There was no escape.

Or maybe there was. I snorted to myself, looking up at my guard to see if he found it equally amusing.

Because I’d be dead, too. Soon. Maybe even before the worst of the grief hit me.

That would be a blessing.

The door clanged open, and I looked up without much interest. Rossi stepped in, followed by two goons. These weren’t dressed like paramilitary troops. One wore a suit and sported a vicious red scar running diagonally across his nasty face. The other was slim and pale, with short blond hair and eyes that roamed me with cold interest.

Something about his expression screamed “psychopath”.

“I told you you’d end up like your father. Though I’m going to enjoy playing with you much more,” Rossi said with a sick smile, folding his hands in front of his stomach. He wore a white shirt with embroidered cuffs and collar, a pair of black slacks, and sunglasses that perched over his forehead.

He looked like a wealthy gentleman heading for a meeting in a country club. Only the cruel expression didn’t fit.

But I had my confirmation, at last. He killed my dad, just like I knew for all those years. Pity I could do nothing about it now.

“You didn’t dress the part,” I said, my voice sounding bored and detached.

Good. Maybe I’d at least die with some dignity.

“Au contraire, Kim,” he said, settling down in a chair by the wall, crossing his legs. “I’m only here to watch. Or did you expect me to wear a butcher’s apron?”

I shook my head, my face frozen into its expressionless mask. “I expected you to be draped in gold. Clearly, you have more taste than I thought. Doesn’t matter. Could we get on with this?”

“In a minute,” he said, waving the blond man to an empty table that I could just see if I twisted my head to the side. “You can set up while we talk.”

“What’s there to talk about?” I asked, my heart beating faster. What was he supposed to set up? Was I about to be tortured? Fuck, I wished he’d just shoot me between the eyes.

“I try to celebrate my wins,” Rossi said, examining his manicured nails. “And this was a difficult race, my dear. Who knew a harmless girl like you could do so much damage? But I’ve got you now, and as the winner, I have a right to gloat. At least while Vanya sets up.”

He watched me with a mild smile, probably waiting for me to ask about what Vanya was doing. I pressed my lips together and refused to indulge him, although fear twisted in my gut like nausea.

But even that terror of torture, the desperation of being tied up and at Rossi’s mercy, was dull and off-tune.

Because Asan was dead, and nothing mattered compared to that.

And it was my fault. I got him killed. Maybe because I didn’t keep away from the window. Maybe I made a mistake somewhere along the way. It didn’t matter, anyway, because he died protecting me.

And I’d never forgive myself.

My side throbbed with a dull pain. The place where the bullet hit was probably covered in bruises already. But I was fine. Really, that pain was just an inconvenience. If not for his shirt, I’d be bleeding out in this chair right now.

Asan saved me. And I got him killed.

Rossi sighed, sitting back in the chair when I said nothing.

“I have to tell you how I found you. It’s brilliant, and I’m sure you’ll see the irony,” he said with a mocking smile. “I don’t even have to pay out the reward money. Fortunate, ah?”

I swallowed, refusing to react, even though I was mildly curious. We were so careful about avoiding surveillance, we used fake documents and basically sat in that hotel room ever since leaving my safehouse.

Also, I hadn’t contacted anyone I knew after Irene. I wore my mask in public to avoid being recognized by any bounty hunters who were after Rossi’s reward.

We were so careful, and yet, he got us. How?

“The receptionist who checked you in was so shocked about a mixed couple getting a room together, she just had to share it all over her social media,” Rossi said with a laugh, and my heart sank.

Of course. Because it was so out of the ordinary.

And it was my mistake. Somehow, as soon as my attraction to Asan started, I stopped thinking rationally. People noticing us and reacting strongly didn’t seem like a danger to our safety, because all I focused on was how it affected us.

“She even said in her post, ah, what was it…” He took out his phone and scrolled while I clenched my teeth hard, furious with myself for being so fucking stupid. “There it is. ‘OMG, they got the biggest room! Can you imagine that poor girl after the shehru's done with her? Who would do this to themselves?’ See? That’s why I always say even the best security fails because so many people out themselves—or others—on social media.”

I didn’t remember him ever saying that, and I knew quite a lot about Rossi. But that bitter thought came and went, leaving me hollow.

There was nothing I could say to him, nothing I could do. A feeling of helplessness overcame me, but not the sweet, warm kind that I felt when Asan wrapped around me. This felt cold and suffocating, like death reaching out.

Rossi’s eyes flicked up and his smile sharpened. “Ready? Do the honors.”

I didn’t even twist to look, the numbness freezing me to the spot. I couldn’t escape, anyway. Even if I somehow broke the chains, the three trained killers would stop me from running while Rossi watched.

All I could do was take it.

I didn’t even wince when the needle pierced my neck, cool liquid pushing into my vein.

I took a breath. My heart gave a heavy beat.

And then my body burst into flames.

CHAPTER 23

Asan

My head pounded when I woke up. I was cold, my body numb after lying in a prone heap for too long. Dazed and groggy, I took a deep breath to help my blood oxygenate faster. When I slept deeply or was unconscious, my breathing usually slowed down to one breath per minute to conserve energy.

“Kim?” I rasped, not entirely sure where I was yet, only that I had to find her first. “Say something.”

She didn’t answer. The only sound in the room was the faint whisper of traffic from the street, rushing in through the open window.

No, not open. Shattered.

I opened my eyes and sat up, my head swimming from the rapid change in position. I looked around the room and cursed.

It was ransacked. I could tell at once Kim’s laptop was taken, the charging cord hanging limply off the desktop. Our things were strewn around the floor, clothes and tech mixing into a big mess.

Her scent was stale in the air. She was gone.

When fury and despair hit, I was already looking for my phone, frantically searching through the mess on the floor. What if they took it, too? Fuck, what if it was too late even now? I didn’t know how much time passed since they took her. It was still light out, so hopefully, not that much.

Where was my fucking phone? Fuck, fuck, fuck… There.

My phone was whole, and I unlocked it with my heart hammering. The tracker was in the shirt I made her, and she was wearing it when they started shooting, that much I remembered. But what if they stripped her?

I waited for the tracking app to load with bated breath, only releasing it in a rush when the map appeared, Kim’s red dot sending a strong signal.

Right from Rossi’s mansion.

That arrogant prick.

I almost left right then, guns blazing, ready to get her back. But no, I had to be smarter than that. I was bulletproof, but I just got a big, fat demonstration that it didn’t make me invincible.

A well-aimed shot to the head put me out of commission for hours. And I knew my skull was fucking thick, but too many bullets hitting my head could make the bone shatter.

And I had to be alive and conscious to save Kim.

I allowed myself a few minutes to look over the mess on the floor, picking out a few things. I holstered my gun and packed a bag, then looked out on the street to check the car.

After the one we left in front of Irene’s place got burned, because Rossi’s goons definitely saw it, I got MSA to send us a new one that would blend in better. It was parked in the street, one of three big vehicles there. Inconspicuous enough.

I checked the clock. Three pm. Fuck, the traffic would be deadly.

The fastest route to Rossi’s mansion promised to get me there in forty minutes. I spent the whole ride perfecting my plan, though there wasn’t really much to improve on. It was simple.

Get in. Kill everyone. Save Kim.

But I had to keep thinking about the practicalities of getting her out. Because if my mind slipped for just a second, losing its focus, a deep, yawning chasm of despair opened. I saw Kim’s face then, glassy-eyed and still, blood trickling from a hole in her head.

It made my eyes haze over with red, my body locking in a pure, primal rage that I had no outlet for.

So I kept it in. I would unleash it all once I got there.

I left the car hidden by a clump of trees and approached the wall surrounding Rossi’s estate. I used Kim’s jammer, hoping it would work to scramble the surveillance network. I avoided the cameras in case it didn’t.

The wall was high and topped with barbed wire everywhere apart from the front side, which was surely watched around the clock.

Going in from the front would be a suicide. They would see me at once, giving the guards enough time to get ready for me. And I had much better chances dealing with only a few attackers at a time.

I had to go in from the back and over the barbed wire, but that wasn’t a serious obstacle. I coiled myself into a tight spring and jumped, easily shooting over the top of the wall. I landed on the other side with a thud, something crunching under me.

I looked down. I just destroyed a blooming rose garden, completely squashing the bushes. Never mind.

I saw the house from here, about one hundred yards away. Just as I looked up, a guard doing his rounds emerged from around the corner. I launched myself at him.

He started shooting as soon as he saw me, but I was already halfway over the flat lawn, covering my eyes with my arm to shield them from the bullets. The guard had an automatic rifle that fired shot after shot as I ran. His accuracy was very good, and by the time I reached him, pain bloomed all over my chest and arms, some bullets getting my tail, as well.

It didn’t save him.

I wrung his neck as soon as I reached him, his spine snapping with a dry sound. I left him crumpled on the grass, belatedly realizing I should have asked where they kept Kim.

No matter. More were coming.

Two more guards rounded the corner at full pelt. They only got a few shots in before I was on them. I wrapped my tail around the neck of one guard, lifting him off the ground so he hung, kicking while he suffocated. I grabbed the other one by the throat and slammed him into the wall.

“Where is she?”

He gurgled something, so I eased my hold on his throat. The other guard stopped moving. I let his body fall to the ground.

“Tell me or I’ll bite you.”

My fangs were out, dripping with venom. I knew humans were stupidly afraid of snakebites, and the threat worked.

“B-basement,” he choked out.

I wrung his neck and dropped his body, heading toward a back door further down the wall. A bullet to the back halted my progress, and I whipped around. Three more guards were shooting, so I gritted my teeth and rushed at them, killing them as soon as I got there. Necks snapped, heads cracked, and all was still.

My body screamed with pain now, but that only fueled my rage. I looked around the corner to see if more were coming. When I saw no one, I raced to the door and burst through. An alarm blared somewhere inside the house, but that didn’t matter. They already knew I was coming.

And they couldn’t stop me.

I was in an elegant sitting room, the crystal and glass around me raining into shards as shots fired from the door. Bulldozing over the furniture, I reached the door and grabbed the barrel of a gun, tugging it to me with the guard holding it.

This one didn’t wear full tactical gear, and his neck was uncovered. My gum pockets itched under my fangs, venom sacks bursting full, so I sank my fangs in his throat. He screamed when I let him go, curling up into a ball on the floor.

I watched him for a few seconds, knowing what was happening. My venom traveled fast through his bloodstream, paralyzing him and shutting down his systems. It didn’t affect his heart or brain at first, so the man would feel everything and live for over an hour before death took him.

In that hour, his internal organs would slowly liquify, and he would feel it all. Death from shehru venom was one of the most painful in the world.

“That’s for taking her away from me,” I hissed, moving down the corridor.

I met three more guards and I asked each of them where the basement door was before the last one finally told me. He even offered me a card to open the door, begging for his life. I took the card before snapping his spine in half.

He didn’t deserve to live. None of them did when Kim was being held in the house they served to protect.

I opened the door and slithered down the stairs, finally slowing down my rampage to think. What would I find down there? If Rossi was sane, he would have evacuated as soon as he realized I couldn’t be stopped. Would he kill Kim before that? Or would he take her with him?

Or maybe she was already dead.

There was a tall, wide corridor where the stairs ended. It led down to an open door.

Kim was chained to a chair in the middle of the room. Her head lolled back, her throat exposed. A knife pressed to it, held by a dark-haired goon with a scar slashed across his face.

Behind him, a blond man held a gun in a steady grip, aimed at my head. Rossi stood next to him, wiping his hands with a handkerchief. He looked utterly unbothered by the wreckage I caused in his house.

And no wonder. He had Kim. I was powerless, because if I threatened them in any way, they would just slice her throat open.

Rossi knew that. He had all the leverage in the world.

I didn’t move, frozen to the spot. The goon holding a knife to Kim’s throat grinned in satisfaction. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his filthy hand holding her hair in a tight grip.

But even over the distance, I saw the rapid flutter of a pulse in her bare throat. She was alive. There was still hope.

“How good of you to join us,” Rossi said with a sick smile, putting his handkerchief away. “I was running out of ideas on how to get the little bird to sing. You’re just in time. Come over here. No sudden movements or she dies.”

I didn’t move for a second, my eyes running over Kim once more. Her face was sickly pale and clammy with sweat, hair sticking to her temples. Despite her obvious unconsciousness, tremors ran through her hands. Her mouth was open, eyelids fluttering.

Even though there were no signs of blood or trauma, it was obvious she was tortured. I saw red.

All I wanted was to charge down the corridor, pump all three of them full of venom, and watch them die in agony. But before I made it, Kim would die, so I reined my instinct in and approached slowly, wondering what that was about.

What could Rossi possibly want from me?

When I was almost inside the room, he raised a hand to stop me. “That’s far enough. I don’t want an animal like you any nearer.”

I pushed back the instinct to bare my teeth at him, my eyes glued to Kim’s neck. Rossi chuckled, clearly enjoying the power he held over me.

“That’s what you are. A beast. I saw what you did up there. Uncivilized, primitive monster. You can’t even kill like a man. And you dare to challenge your superiors? We’ll put you in your place, once and for all. Vanya, wake her up.”

I flinched when the blond man stuck a syringe in Kim’s neck, but the scarface guy bared his teeth at me, pressing the knife deeper into her skin until a trickle of blood flowed. I was completely still, watching the crimson ribbon as it unveiled, soaking into the shirt made of my skin that she still had on.

Rossi watched me with a satisfied smile, nodding at whatever he saw in my face. Probably everything. I didn’t have any resources left to hide my reactions. Kim moaned in pain, her eyelids fluttering as she struggled to lift them.

Everything in me tightened with the need to save her, but I was helpless.

“Get lower,” Rossi said to me, his smile vanishing as his eyes glittered with cruelty. “Lower. That’s enough.”

I was now at equal height with Vanya, the blond one, who approached me, holding a gun. I still had no idea what was going on, all my attention focused on Kim. She made a pitiful, high-pitched sound in the back of her throat, and I forced back a violent spasm.

Fuck. This was unbearable.

“Open your mouth, monster,” Rossi said, a sick note twisting his voice. “Wider. That’s enough.”

I obeyed helplessly. The muzzle of Vanya’s gun pressed to the roof of my mouth.

“No protection there, eh?” Rossi said, his fingers tightening into claws. He was excited. “Wake the bird up.”

Scarface pulled the knife away and slapped Kim across the face. I tried to hiss, but my tongue was blocked by the gun, lashing against it uselessly. My brain was submerged in a hot flood of fury, and I held on by a thread.

She’ll die if you move.

Kim shook her head, as if flinging water from her eyes. She moaned, shivering harder. Her pulse skyrocketed, faster and faster as she panicked.

“You have a guest, dear,” Rossi said, motioning the scarface guy away.

I shivered with anticipation. Kim was safe for now, no blade at her throat. But there was a gun in my mouth that would go off the moment I moved. Fuck. I was still useless to her. Couldn’t protect her.

When she saw me, she cried out, tears welling in her eyes. “Asan! You’re alive!”

Her voice was shaky and weak, and my anger boiled hotter at the thought of the things they did to her. My fingers itched with the urge to whip the gun out of my mouth so I could reassure her, but I didn’t dare. I was fast but not that fast.

“Yes, you were under the impression he died,” Rossi said with a cruel laugh. “Cried hard enough to fool my people, too. Idiots should have put a bullet through his brain for good measure.”

“Let him go!” Kim cried out, tears streaming down her blotchy face. “He’s just a bodyguard for hire. He’s no one! You don’t need him. Please.”

I knew why she said that, and I also knew Rossi wouldn’t be fooled. He already knew I cared about her enough to let him put a gun in my mouth.

“I do need him, my dear. Because you refuse to cooperate,” Rossi said while the scarface guy brought Kim’s laptop and settled it in Rossi’s lap. He then stood behind Kim, his knife held loosely in his hand.

My venom sacks itched so bad now. I had enough venom to bite them all and make them suffer in the worst agony imaginable.

But the gun in my mouth didn’t waver. For now, I was helpless, my jaw hurting with the effort of keeping my mouth wide open.

It would be more comfortable if I unhinged my jaw, but any sudden move like this was out of the question. Unless Vanya got distracted for just a split second.

“I’ll do anything,” Kim said desperately, shaking so hard, her chains rattled. Her hands were chained to the sturdy armrests, her bare feet bound together.

“Yes, you will,” Rossi said with absolute certainty. “Because if you don’t, Vanya will blow his brains out.”

Kim nodded frantically. “I will. Anything. Just let him go.”

Rossi turned to me at that, grinning when he saw me so subdued.

“I really like putting monsters in their place,” he said with satisfaction. “And I must say, your little thief is quite resourceful, snake. She put my files into a cunning little trap. If anyone but her tries to log into her cloud, the files will be automatically published across a number of platforms, and we can’t have that. So Vanya here tried to give her some incentive to log in and destroy the files herself, but she resisted.”

Damn, Kim really was resourceful, just as he said. She evidently prepared for the eventuality of being captured, and from the looks of it, refused to delete the files even under torture.

And of course she did. It was her life’s mission. She spent eight years working toward her goal and nothing, not even the threat of death, would force her to give it up.

Cold inevitability poured down my spine, freezing me in place as understanding dawned. I knew why Rossi wanted me. What he tried to do.

I also knew with complete certainty Kim would never choose me over her vengeance. Who was I? Just a bodyguard she liked to fuck. A man she could never be with because public scorn would make that relationship unbearable.

I had nothing on her eight-year-long mission to destroy her father’s killer. I couldn’t even compete.

So this was it. I was about to die.

I wished I’d told her I loved her when I had the chance.

CHAPTER 24

Kim

Everything hurt. Rossi was squeamish and didn’t like the look of blood, so he had Vanya inject me with a drug that affected pain receptors in the brain. I spent a few hours screaming in agony that made me wish for death.

And yet, I held strong.

But now, Rossi had Asan, and there was a gun in my shehru’s mouth. I didn’t even have to think about it, because there was only one choice for me.

“I’ll ask you one more time, Kim.” Rossi’s voice grew hard and impatient. He spent hours here, listening to my screams. He was pissed. “Log in.”

“You will let him go if I give you access?” I asked, a tear rolling down my cheek. I knew that as soon as Rossi had what he wanted, I’d die. But that didn’t matter anymore. All I wanted was for Asan to be safe.

When I looked at him now, his eyes flashed with something, the end of his tail twitching. He looked like he wanted to speak, and my heart broke.

I’d never hear his voice again.

“Yes, I’ll let him go,” Rossi said easily. “As soon as the files are deleted.”

Fuck, I didn’t trust him. But then, I was in no position to negotiate or doubt. I had to take his word for it.

“Okay,” I whispered, my tremors subsiding.

I was ready. Ready to have my plans thwarted. Ready for my vengeance to fail. Ready to die. Because if Asan got to leave here and live a full life, it was all worth it.

Asan made a guttural sound in the back of his throat, like he tried to say something. He seemed panicked when I looked at him, eyes wide, tail twitching madly. I swallowed my sobs and forced myself to smile.

“Thank you for everything.”

He made another sound, desperate and harsh, and Vanya hissed in annoyance, pushing the gun deeper until Asan choked. I couldn’t stand to look at it.

“I’ll log in. Please. Give it here.”

My password was a complicated process that required me to look into the camera and say a string of letters and numbers with a certain cadence and rhythm. It was my dad’s software, something he didn’t release under Vanguard but made for fun.

The fact Rossi couldn’t crack it gave me vicious satisfaction, but the feeling was gone now. Everything was gone apart from the inevitability of my death.

Asan’s choking grew worse, so I swallowed hard, looked into the camera, and said my password. The screen lit up, my protected files unlocked.

Rossi snatched the laptop off my lap and deployed a program that destroyed everything in seconds. There it went, my vengeance for my father and my life’s work. All gone.

I looked at Asan, trying to say goodbye with my eyes alone, because my throat was too tight to speak.

But then Rossi laughed an evil little laugh, and the world around me tilted. I knew then. Of course, I knew.

He wouldn’t keep his word. It was all for nothing.

“Kill him.”

“No!” I screamed in despair even though it was useless. There was nothing I could do. I would watch the man I loved die, this time for good.

Vanya looked at me over his shoulder, grinning like a psychotic maniac. Gloating.

Next thing I knew, his entire arm disappeared down Asan’s throat. The shehru’s mouth was open unnaturally wide, his jaw unhinged, his lips stretched wide over Vanya’s shoulder.

I blinked. Vanya turned his head to face Asan. Asan’s throat moved, his fangs embedded in Vanya’s skin.

The perfect moment of shocked silence shattered when Vanya screamed. Asan pushed him away, Vanya’s arm emerging from the gaping maw, wet and gunless. He crumpled to the floor and Asan slithered over him, crushing him with his weight.

Something thudded.

Mario, the scarred goon, screamed next. He was somewhere behind me, and Asan reached him fast. The scream cut off, followed by a crash. Asan turned to Rossi.

“Stay back,” Rossi said, standing by his toppled chair with his arms placatingly raised. “I’ll let you leave now. Both of you. I can pay you. The five million dollars. It’s yours.”

Asan snorted, hinging his jaw back in place so he could speak. “You can keep your dirty money. Maybe they’ll even line your coffin with it.”

“Stay back!” Rossi barked, but he had no gun, no weapon, nothing.

I watched in frozen fascination as Asan wound his tail around Rossi and raised him high, gripping his hair with his hand. Rossi screamed and begged in wordless terror while Asan looked at him, something so cold and terrifying in his eyes, it gave me a jolt of primal terror.

Here he was, the predator about to kill.

“For my girl,” he said softly and brought Rossi closer, tugging his hair sharply to bare his throat. He pushed his fangs deep inside Rossi’s flesh and stayed like that for a good few seconds before he unwound and dropped him to the ground.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the man who killed my father. He wasn’t dead yet. His entire body convulsed, his eyes closed, mouth open in a silent scream. Tears ran down his face, bloody foam appearing in the corner of his mouth.

“Kim.”

I slowly looked away from Rossi and up at my shehru. He looked terrible, raw wrath on his face, his fangs still out and bloody. I shivered when he cupped my cheek.

“Never do that again,” he said, his voice raspy and furious.

“What?” I asked, leaning into his hand.

God, he was alive. He was alive, I was alive, and soon, we’d be free. I couldn’t believe that.

“You will never sacrifice yourself for me again. I forbid it. Next time, let them fucking kill me.”

A sound that was part-laugh, part-sob broke free from my throat, and I closed my eyes, pressing my face into his large hand for comfort.

“You can’t make me,” I sobbed out, hysterical laughter bursting out of me next. I shook, laughing while tears fell down my face. “Oh my god. We’re alive. You’re alive.”

I couldn’t stop repeating that. It was like my brain was stuck in the horrible torture loop, where the pain induced by the drugs mixed with my grief for Asan, twisting it all into something so terrible, I wanted to die just to never feel it again.

But he was here, alive and well, and we were going to be fine.

I still couldn’t believe it.

“We’ll talk about this later,” he said, leaning low to examine my chains.

“V-Vanya has the keys,” I said through my unhinged laughter, glancing at the man who tortured me.

He lay in the doorway, evidently dead. His body looked kind of flat, and I remembered Asan slithered over him.

Now, my bodyguard quickly fished the keys out of the dead man’s pocket. When he came over to free me, a guttural, choking sound made me look back at Rossi.

He was paralyzed, bloody foam coating his mouth, his face twisted. He knew he was dying, and he was in agony.

Good.

Somehow, it was even better than putting him in jail. He tried to kill Asan, so he deserved to die. It was simple.

My chains clinked open and Asan picked me up, hugging me hard to himself while his body wound around me in heavy, possessive coils. I shivered hard, relief pouring out of me in waves. All the terror, pain, and fury bled out, leaving behind a hollow, numb helplessness.

But it was okay. Asan had me now, and I could let go.

“My stupid squirrel,” he hissed in my ear, making me hiccup with a laugh. “I’m serious. Don’t do it again or I’ll bite you.”

“You can bite me all over,” I whispered back, clutching him close with my arms. It didn’t make any sense, because I just saw what his bites did to people and would never want that to happen to me. But I was so happy, I didn’t know what I was saying.

“Careful, little squirrel,” he said, moving toward the exit with me in his arms. Then he stopped, looking at Rossi. “He’s dead. I gave him too much so it was fast. Sorry, pet. I know you wanted him to suffer.”

I shook my head weakly, pressing my face into the scales on his throat. “It’s okay. I’m just glad he can’t hurt us anymore.”

“That makes both of us,” he said, rapidly leaving the house. We didn’t meet anyone apart from dead guards.

“Do you need, uh, to wipe everything that was recorded or something?” I asked when we were out of the building and I suddenly realized this was over.

Over in a good sense, because Rossi was dead. But also, in a bad way. Because there was no reason for Asan to guard me anymore.

He grimaced, shaking his head. “No, it’s okay. They kidnapped you, and I acted in my capacity as your bodyguard. If there’s trouble, MSA’s lawyers will get me out of it. But I’ll have a shit-ton of forms to fill out.”

“I’ll help you,” I said instantly, jumping on the excuse to spend more time with him.

I was in a strange place mentally. My hysteria extinguished and I slowly came to terms with the fact I was free and no one was after me anymore. My body was exhausted from hours of screaming in pain, but adrenaline pumped in my veins, winding me up.

My gut tightened with a feeling of urgency. Everything that happened in Rossi’s basement kept flashing in my mind, the worst image of all being the gun in Asan’s mouth.

“The forms can wait,” he said, carrying me out through the main gate that he opened from the empty guardhouse. “I’ll take you to see a doctor and then home so you can rest.”

Oh, no. My heart thudded painfully. Seriously? Did he mean that—that he’d just drive me home and leave me there? Was this truly over?

“How did Vanya put a gun in your mouth?” I asked, that urgency tightening into something stupid that was about to unleash. I tried to hold it back, so I focused on filling in the blank spaces in my memory.

Asan moved fast, not looking at me. “I let him do it so they wouldn’t kill you.”

I was silent, digesting this. Was it a normal thing for a bodyguard to do? To let someone threaten them with death like that just to protect their principal? I wasn’t sure, and it was killing me.

I wanted so much for it to be more. Like I was ready to die for him in that basement. I wanted his gesture to mean the same thing.

God, I had to do something.

While I struggled to figure out what I wanted, he brought me to a car parked a few hundred yards outside the estate. Rossi’s luxurious house was hidden now by a small grove. When Asan set me down, putting my bare feet on his muscular coil, I turned to him.

“Is this over?” I asked, already clutching my stomach in preparation for the pain.

He looked at me, his hand on the door handle. “Yes, it’s over.” My chest caved with pain. “He can’t hurt you anymore. You’re safe.”

I shook my head violently, growling at my inability to express myself. I was pretty sure a part of my brain was fried by the drugs, but I needed to do this now.

“No, I mean us!” I said. “Is it over?”

He watched me for a moment and then suddenly, he was there, picking me up and pressing his mouth to mine. I kissed him back, relief and uncertainty mixing in my chest. Because what did it mean? We kissed before.

I had to somehow make myself clearer.

He pulled back and looked into my eyes, his scaly body winding tightly around me. I opened my mouth to speak so he would finally understand what I meant. He opened his.

“Will you go out with me?” I asked.

“Will you live with me?” he said at the same time.

We blinked in unison until Asan looked away, rubbing the back of his head. “Or we could date first,” he said, avoiding my eyes.

“No, I’d love to live with you.” I was glowing. God, oh god, there was so much light inside me, I was about to burst from happiness. “I mean, we did for a few weeks already. I’m so used to you, I don’t think I can handle being on my own.”

“Thank fuck,” he said and kissed me again. His lips pressed to mine, hot and eager, and his tongue met mine in a demanding glide. “I want to fuck you in my bed,” he said, kissing down my throat. “Our bed. I want to show you all around Shehru Town. And flip off our neighbors when they stare.”

He kept kissing me while I laughed, all that happiness flowing out into the twilit sky.

I let it flow. I had so much more to give.

Later, when we were in the car heading to his doctor that was well-versed in violent cases like torturing drugs, one thing kept nagging me. I finally asked, “Did you really swallow the gun?”

Asan grimaced, his hands tightening on the wheel. I drained the last drops from my bottle of water, finally quenching my thirst.

“Unfortunately. I swallowed a loaded gun with the safety off, and it was the dumbest thing I did in my career. But I’m pretty sure my stomach acid has dissolved it by now. It won’t go off.”

I pressed my hand to my lips, watching him with wide eyes. Asan scoffed. “It’s okay, pet. I can digest bones. I’m pretty sure a gun won’t survive in there.”

“What the fuck,” I muttered. When he didn’t respond, I turned my whole body to him. “Seriously, what the fuck? Was the fucking gun made of bone? You have to see a doctor, you idiot! You have a loaded gun in your stomach!”

Asan made a face and muttered something under his breath.

“Speak louder,” I demanded, my heart racing with fear. Suddenly, all I could think about was that gun inside him. It could go off any moment, and my formidable, bulletproof bodyguard would die. From a bullet.

Right after he asked me to live with him.

“I don’t want it to go on my record,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I’ll be a laughing stock when my colleagues find out I swallowed a fucking gun. They won’t let me live for months.”

I hiccupped, a fresh wave of terror flooding me. Was he always this cavalier? “You’re seriously… You…”

He looked at me with concern. When he saw my face, he cursed and pulled over. He reached for me, but I put up my hands to stop him.

“Don’t touch me! What if a sudden movement makes it go off? Oh my god, you can’t move. You can’t… We have to call an ambulance. Now!”

He took his hand away and watched me with a pained expression, finally nodding in defeat.

“All right, pet. I’ll let the doctor check me out, too, okay? But you have to take a deep breath for me. Come on. A nice, good breath.”

I did as he said, and when my heart rate slowed down enough to satisfy him, he pulled back into traffic.

“But they have to treat you first,” I said, folding my arms. “I’m serious. I won’t let anyone check me out until that gun business is dealt with.”

Asan shot me a furious glare. “Fuck, pet. Are you always this difficult?”

I laughed. “It’s like you don’t know me.”

He shook his head, rubbing his forehead with his knuckles. “Have it your way. But you’re going home with me after this. Is that clear?”

I nodded, flexing my bare toes while my fists curled and uncurled around the edge of my seat.

I couldn’t wait.

CHAPTER 25

Asan

In the end, it turned out my stomach acid could dissolve guns, albeit much more slowly than I thought. Laura, a no-nonsense vampire doctor who oversaw MSA’s medical unit in LA, gave me pills that were supposed to increase the potency of my acid for a few hours to speed it up.

“Unless you want it surgically removed?” she asked, looking at me over the glasses I knew she wore only as a fashion accessory. Most vampires had excellent eyesight.

We were in the open infirmary area, with Laura sitting behind her massive desk and Kim on the couch by the door, flipping through some magazines. Laura just gave me a quick scan to take a look at the gun. According to her, it was corroded enough not to be dangerous by now.

There was no reason to get surgery, then.

“Fuck, no,” I said, swallowing the pills at once. “Thanks, Laura. Will you take a look at Kim now? She was injected with something that amplifies pain receptors.”

I motioned for Kim to come over. She wore fluffy infirmary slippers Laura gave her when we came in.

“She was tortured and you only tell me now?” Laura took a flashlight from her coat’s pocket and shone it into Kim’s eyes. “How’s your coordination? Are you dizzy?”

“No, not dizzy. And I forced him to actually get treatment and go first, because, you know. Gun in the stomach,” Kim said sheepishly.

Laura tsked. “Asan forced to get treatment? I never thought I’d see the day. Okay, come with me. I’ll run your bloodwork and a few tests.”

When they came back twenty minutes later, Laura pronounced Kim healthy but in need of rest.

“Plenty of fluids, no work for at least a week, and try to take one leisurely walk a day. Your nervous system is a bit battered, but otherwise, you’re good. I’ll prescribe you some vitamins, too.”

“Thank you,” Kim said with a smile, taking the prescription. “You were very kind. Asan, I’ll just use the bathroom and we can go, okay?”

I nodded and turned to Laura, who watched me shrewdly, her brown eyes narrowed. Since I had time to negotiate, I decided to take my shot.

“Look, could you maybe keep the gun business out of my file?” I asked, rubbing the back of my head.

She gave me a long, hard look and finally cracked a smile. “Well, I have to put something down. Will you handle being diagnosed with indigestion?”

I grimaced with annoyance, wishing I could glare at Kim. It was all her fault. “Like I’d ever see you because my tummy hurt. Can you come up with something more badass?”

Laura snorted and tapped her chin, thinking. “No, sorry. Swallowing a loaded gun to protect your principal is the most badass thing I can think of.”

“More like the dumbest,” I muttered while Kim came back. “But fine. Okay. You can put the gun in the file.”

“Mmm,” Laura said, watching Kim with a small, crafty smile. “So, she's your principal.”

Here comes. I wiped my face with my hand, something anxious twisting in my stomach. Probably the pills started to work.

“Not anymore,” I answered, glancing at Kim. We didn’t talk about this in detail yet, but… Fuck it. “She’s my girlfriend. We’re moving in together.”

Kim jerked and shot me a wide-eyed look before her eyes creased with a beaming smile. I couldn’t help but smile back. So worth it.

Laura laughed quietly, and I narrowed my eyes at her. I knew for a fact she was open-minded, especially since she had a ghoul girlfriend, which came with its own social stigma. But if she tried to give me and Kim some grief now…

“Congratulations,” Laura said, grinning at Kim. “Did you know we call him Mister Solitary behind his back? He has one,” she held up one finger, “I repeat, exactly one friend, and he never socializes. Most rookies are afraid of him. The silent, scary shehru.”

She laughed and Kim joined in, nudging me with her elbow. I wanted to be annoyed, but when she looked at me with that conspiratorial glint in her eye, I couldn’t help but smile back.

“People used to make bets about whether you’d ever settle down, Asan,” Laura said, shaking her head. “I remember someone joking you’d only get a partner if you were locked up with them twenty-four-seven so you had no choice but to talk to them.”

My smile froze on my face. Slowly, I turned to look at Kim, who had her hand pressed to her mouth, her eyes wide and filling with tears as she shook. I had a small moment of panic before she burst out laughing, and I realized those were tears of amusement.

“Oh, no,” Laura said, watching Kim. “That’s exactly what happened, isn’t it? Well, congratulations. I wish you all the best.”

“Thank you,” Kim choked out, forcing herself to stop laughing. “I can socialize for us both. I’m very chatty.”

Laura gave me an amused look, raising an eyebrow. “Huh, who would have thought? I’m so happy for you both. Don’t let the haters bring you down.”

“We won’t,” I said with conviction. “I’ll teach them manners.”

Laura nodded, opening a drawer. She took out a blue leaflet. “And if you decide you want kids, I recommend the Hybrid Fertility Clinic. They are the best in LA. My cousin, who married a minotaur, used them. They have two daughters now.”

I didn’t reach for the leaflet, eyeing it in a shell-shocked sort of way. Kids? With Kim?

Fuck, yes.

In the end, Kim took the leaflet with a snort and thanked Laura.

“Kind of early for that, but thank you.”

“You never know,” Laura replied with a wink. “All right. You can get those vitamins in the pharmacy down the street. Take care of her, all right? Make sure she rests and drinks a lot of water.”

“What about sex?” Kim asked, making my spine tingle with a mixture of embarrassment and pleasure.

Laura gave us an assessing look. “I’d say take it easy for now. See how you feel.”

“All right, thanks,” Kim said with a wide smile.

“Hope to see you at the MSA Halloween party,” Laura added, giving me an evil grin. “He always skips those, but I’m sure you can get him to come.”

I already saw it from the way Kim’s eyes lit up that I wouldn’t be getting out of this one. Good thing she was worth it.

She was worth everything.

Downstairs, Kim waited in my car while I went to the pharmacy. When I came back, she was curled in her seat, already asleep. I drove us quietly to my apartment building in Shehru Town and carried her upstairs, pressing my thumb to the key panel to unlock the door.

Pleasure coursed down my spine when I realized I’d have to key her in, too. Soon, Kim’s thumbprint would unlock this door, just like mine. Because she agreed to move in with me. We would live together.

When I lay her down in the huge nest in my dark, cool bedroom, Kim opened her eyes sleepily.

“Asan?”

“Here, pet. I’ll bring you some water and order food. Do you want sushi or something warm?”

I knew what she liked best. Creamy pastas, pancakes, fried chicken, sushi with lots of pickled ginger, and so many other things we ate in hotel rooms. I realized with a jolt I looked forward to watching her eat. She had a way with food that was simply endearing.

Fuck, I was a goner.

“Sushi. I’m sort of queasy but hungry, too. I haven’t eaten all day.”

I nodded. “I know. There’s a place I like down the street, and they deliver. Food should be here soon.”

I brought her water and ran her a bath while we waited for the food. She still looked sleepy, and I was suddenly terrified she’d fall asleep and drown in my huge tub, so I went in the bathroom with her. I brought in the human toiletries I got for her while buying the vitamins.

All our stuff was still in the ransacked hotel room. I’d get it sorted tomorrow.

“This is really nice,” she murmured while I massaged shampoo into her wet hair, running my fingers over her scalp with fascinated reverence. “I should get kidnapped more often.”

“Don’t even joke like this,” I hissed, the memory of her tied up and hurting flashing in my mind. “This will never happen again. If you ever steal from a vengeful asshole again, I’ll kill them before they touch you.”

Kim sat up, turning to look at me. I kept massaging the foam into her hair that was piled on top of her head in a white mass.

“You know, I don’t think I want to keep stealing,” she said. “It was a means to an end. Actually… I don’t know what I want to do now.”

“You’ll figure it out,” I said, wiping a bit of foam off her forehead. “You have time. Enjoy the freedom and safety for now.”

She smiled and turned back, laying her neck over my coil that served as her headrest in the bath. “I shall,” she said with a smile. “Especially since Rossi never filed a police report about the sculpture. I really am free. And I’m with you, so I’m definitely safe.”

“That you are,” I said, leaning over to gaze at her relaxed face. “I’ll always keep you safe.”

We stayed like that for a moment until Kim’s brows tightened in a frown.

“You do. It’s almost preternatural sometimes. I mean, the way you knew they held me at Rossi’s place… Did you just guess they took me there?”

I sighed, sitting back as my fingers rubbed her head in slow circles. I had two choices. I could lie and avoid her anger, breaking her trust in the process. Or I could confess that I’d already abused it by tracking her without her knowledge.

It was a no-brainer. I’d take Kim’s anger over lying to her any day.

“I put a tracker in the bulletproof shirt,” I said, still massaging her skin. The foam was getting cold. “I knew you could be reckless, so that was an additional precaution. But not just that. I fully planned to use it even after my assignment was over. I couldn’t let you go, pet. Still can’t.”

She was silent, her face impassive. I didn’t stop what I was doing, even though my insides tightened with anxiety as I awaited her reaction. She had such immense power over me, it was frightening.

Whatever she chose to do, it would make or break my life. Every minute of suspense wound me up tighter until I could barely breathe.

Finally, Kim reached up and held my hand in her hair, slick with foam. She looked up and we watched each other upside down. Her eyes crinkled with a smile.

“That’s the trade-off, isn’t it?” she said quietly. “Surveillance for safety. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like it, but… It’s you. And I don’t mind it when you do it, because I trust your intentions completely. Though next time, tell me, please. I prefer to know.”

I released a long, heavy breath, nodding with gratitude. So I hadn’t fucked up the best thing in my life. She was still here, she still trusted me, and even better, she’d let me track her if only I told her.

I would bug every pair of her shoes, every vehicle she used, every backpack and bag. I’d bug so many things, she would forget which had trackers, so even if she got reckless again and decided to lose me one day, I would still know where she was.

Yes, I was obsessed. But I felt that was justified. After watching her almost die so many times, I had to everything in my might to keep her safe.

When she was bathed and dried, I bundled her up into one of my casual shirts that was way too big and looked fucking amazing on her body, flushed from the bath. We ate our food, and when Kim started to rock sleepily against me, I gave her vitamins and more water. Then I carried her to bed and we lay down together. I wrapped around her so completely, only her head stuck out.

I took time off from the agency and spent the next couple of days sorting out the aftermath of dealing with Rossi. I got our stuff from the hotel room and got down to work filling out the corpse forms, as they were nicknamed, on my computer.

Egad dropped in one afternoon, and he had a great time chatting with Kim while I filled out the stupid forms, giving excessive descriptions and reasons for killing faceless goons whose names I didn’t know.

I couldn’t just write down “They died because they took my girl,” even though that was the goddamn truth. I had to make up some plausible, impersonal reasons, which was the most painful part of the job for me.

Now I regretted using my fangs, because each victim pumped full of venom required four more pages of justifications on my part. I had to explain why I didn’t simply shoot them.

And yet, I couldn’t be happier. Kim was in my home, sleeping with me in our bed, teasing me and chatting with me every day. I made sure she ate and took her vitamins, and I washed her hair every few nights. It became our ritual.

But I didn’t fuck her yet. Laura said to take it easy, and of course, there was nothing easy about the way Kim took me. Every inch was hard won.

I got her off a few times with my tail and mouth, but nothing more than that. When she tried to reach for my spikes, I caught her hands and kissed them, because I knew once I started, it would be impossible to stop.

Until one night, exactly a week after she moved in, Kim sat at the edge of our big, circular bed and stared at me.

Or, more precisely, she stared at my slit.

My spikes warmed in their pocket as if sensing her gaze. I clenched my teeth and gave her a warning hiss.

“Careful, love. Don’t start something you can’t handle.”

She huffed without looking up. She watched my slit stubbornly, and I couldn’t help it. My spikes perked up, filling out, because I knew what she was trying to do. After all, I told her if she wanted to get me to fuck her, she just had to look.

“Okay, so I’m not sure if I can handle it,” she said after a moment, licking her lips when my slit parted slightly, wetness spilling out. “But there’s anal lube on the shelf over the bed.”

I stilled, focusing on her with all my being. Tunnel vision turned on, and all I saw was her.

“Anal lube, pet?” I asked slowly.

She nodded, finally looking up. Her cheeks were so hot.

“You’ll have to talk me through it, but you’re good at it,” she said, her breath fluttering faster.

Her scent spread around the room. It was like a caress right over my spikes, and that was enough to drive me over the edge. I groaned when my cocks emerged with a slick sound.

“Oh,” Kim whispered, staring. Her pulse was a fast, fluttery beat. “It always takes me by surprise. How big they are.”

“But you already know you can take them both, don’t you, love?” I said, slithering closer while she stood her ground, beginning to shake. “After all, you started it. You know exactly what’s going to happen.”

She nodded, looking up at me with wide, mesmerized eyes that were dark with arousal. “Tell me anyway.”

I wound my tail around her leg, higher and tighter until it rubbed her pussy through her clothes. She gasped, opening her legs to give me better access.

“I’ll fill you up so good, pet,” I said, reaching out to pinch her nipple. “I’ll fuck you with my two spikes, and one will go in your sweet, hot pussy, while the other will stretch your ass. I’ll stuff you so slowly. Inch by inch until you can’t take it anymore, and then I’ll slide home and fill you completely. No more space left. Only me.”

She clutched my arm, throwing her head back with a heavy sigh. I leaned down to kiss her gently but moved back when she moaned.

“I’ll fuck you as long as I can, pet. It will be deep and slow, and when you come so many times you can’t breathe, I’ll come inside you.”

My tail unwound from her leg and wrapped around her waist, racing up to coil around her throat. I nudged her lips with the tip, and she opened her mouth at once. I pressed inside and she sucked greedily, moaning for me.

“That’s my pet,” I said, watching her with mesmerized adoration. “Do you want to be filled with me, love? Is that what you want?”

I pulled out of her mouth and tightened lightly around her throat. Her hips flexed with need and she nodded, already panting. “Yes! Yes, please.”

“There you are,” I whispered, pressing her closer so my spikes were trapped between our bodies, throbbing against her. “My sweet, beautiful girl. You beg so nicely.”

I took off her shirt that was wet from my spikes rubbing against her and threw it on the floor. She unhooked her bra with shaking hands and let it fall, and I pulled her shorts down. When she stood naked, I reached between her legs with my fingers, petting her until her eyes hooded with pleasure.

I rubbed her wetness over her lips before I kissed her.

Our mouths pressed together, tongues stroking each other. Soon, she squirmed against me, her leg hooked up around my body as she hunted friction, rubbing herself over my scales. I glanced at the shelf over the bed, instantly noticing the lube.

Damn. That bottle was big.

“Such a wanton girl,” I said, licking down her throat and over her pulse point, my fangs itching with the possessive need to mark her. “I’ll fill you more than ever, love. I’ll put my spikes and tail inside you, and then, even my fangs. So you always wear the mark you’re mine.”

“Wait,” Kim gasped, pulling back. “Fangs? Where do fangs go?”

“Anywhere I like,” I said, flicking my tongue over her swollen lips. “Anywhere I want to mark you.”

She closed her eyes, and I wrapped around her, bringing her higher so I could wrap my lips around her nipple.

My beautiful girl would be fuller than ever tonight.

CHAPTER 26

Kim

“No, don’t distract me,” I said when he sucked my nipple into his mouth, making small bursts of pleasure go off in my clit. “The fangs. You said fangs. Don’t you kill people with your fangs?”

Asan pulled back but didn’t lower me. I was now above him, his face nestled between my breasts as he looked up, his red eyes hyper-focused.

“I’d never hurt you, love. You’re mine to protect. And I don’t kill with my fangs. I kill with venom.”

I breathed fast, squirming in his hold. I was already so far gone, mindless with need, but the memory of Rossi frothing at the mouth from the pain pierced through my haze.

“B-but… Fangs come out when you want to kill.”

I already knew it wasn’t entirely true, but damn, even though I trusted him completely, I still wasn’t on board with the idea.

Maybe I just wanted him to convince me with dirty talk. He was so good at it.

“Usually, yesss,” he said, his tongue flicking out to tickle my breast. I shivered. “But when I met you, they came out for you. You’re just so soft. So biteable.”

I stilled, staring at him. “Biteable? That doesn’t sound like a compliment. Fuck, so Irene was right? Is this our kink? A fluffy squirrel and the big snake that bites and eats her?”

Asan grinned, showing off his teeth, and yes, fangs, too. They were out but didn’t drip. I narrowed my eyes, looking more closely while I considered it.

When he grabbed my palm and brought it to his mouth, I flinched but didn’t resist.

“Just feel the tip, love. There’s no venom, I promise. But it’s pretty sharp. Might nick your finger.”

“Answer me first,” I said, my fingertip trembling an inch away from his sharp, narrow fang. “Is this what it is? You like… thinking about, what, hunting me?”

He laughed softly, then closed his mouth and kissed my finger. “Not hunting. But I like to squeeze you tight. Make you be still, especially when you fidget. I like overpowering you, pet. You like it, too, don’t you?”

I licked my lips, his words striking a powerful chord. Even now, my pussy clenched greedily at the thought of being wrapped in him and unable to move while he fed me his cocks inch by inch.

“Jesus. Fine, I like it.”

Asan grinned, revealing those fangs again. I fixated on them, growing more and more restless.

Fuck. I was going to beg him for that bite, I realized. How did he do that?

“I want to bite you to be inside you more,” he hissed, gently rolling my nipple between his fingers. “And I’m sorry, pet, but I want to scar your pretty skin. Just a small bite people will see and know instantly it’s mine. I want everyone to know you’re mine.”

I gaped at him, my brain turning off as lust took over. Asan kissed my wrist, his tongue pressing into my pulse there, and looked up at me, his red eyes heated with desire.

“I love you, Kim. I can get you a ring, too, but a ring can be lost. A scar will stay forever.”

My throat tightened with an overwhelming flood of affection and gratitude. I opened my mouth to speak, yet no sound came out. Asan watched me patiently, a small smile on his lips. A tip of one fang peeked out.

“Can’t speak, can you, pet? Well, that’s a first,” he said with an amused huff.

I blinked heavily, swallowing over and over to get my throat to work. Finally, it felt like I could speak.

“I love you, too,” I said hoarsely, pressing my finger to his lower lip.

I flinched when he sucked my finger into his mouth, his gaze possessive. Everything inside me tightened with more lust, more affection, more love.

He made me delirious, and I loved it.

I pulled my finger out and nudged his upper lip. He opened his mouth, revealing his fangs, and I gently touched the tip of one, trusting him completely.

He could bite down. He wanted to, and he was faster and stronger than me. Really, I was helpless and at his mercy, but the thing was, he’d never hurt me or do anything I didn’t want.

He was perfect.

“Fuck me, bite me, and get me that ring,” I said, gently pressing in until my fingertip stung when the skin broke. We both hissed, and Asan gripped my wrist, pulling my finger deeper into his mouth. He sucked on it again, running his tongue over the bleeding tip. “Oh, wow.”

He looked up, his eyes red and hungry, and a powerful shiver ran down my spine. When he released my finger and lowered me, the familiar, hot helplessness already coursed through my blood, making me relaxed and ready.

“I’ll bite you when both my spikes are in,” he said, leaning over to kiss my forehead. “One in your pussy, one in your ass.” He kissed my cheek. “And my tail in your mouth.”

He kissed my lips and pulled back, tightening around me until I was completely restrained in his grip. Holding me like this, he moved over to the wall and grabbed the lube. My pussy clenched even as unease snaked up my back. I tensed, and he smiled, missing nothing.

“I’ll take so long stretching you, pet. You’ll be warm and relaxed, so soft for me. When I finally give you my spikes, you will beg for them. Because you will feel so empty without me filling you up.”

I nodded helplessly. Yes, that did it.

Asan slithered onto the bed and laid me out in the middle. His tail coiled around my thigh, pushing it to the side while the tip of it caressed my hip. He pressed my other thigh with his hand, opening me wide.

His body undulated and moved around me. When my legs fell open wide, the sting of the stretch easing, he pinned each of my knees down into the mattress with a heavy coil. I was stretched open, but he wasn’t done arranging me. Another thick coil slithered under my ass, lifting it up. I cried out, discomfort flaring, and he adjusted at once, whispering sweet words to soothe me.

“There, my pet. So beautiful. So open for me, just like this. Fuck, I love seeing you stretched like this. So ready. So wet for me. My pretty, pretty girl. Raise your arms.”

I obeyed at once. He pushed pillows under my head so I could watch what he was doing. Then, another heavy coil trapped my wrists, pressing them to the mattress.

“Oh my god,” I mumbled, my body breaking out in goosebumps.

I was so utterly restrained. And I loved it because I trusted him with my life.

“Watch, love.”

I looked down helplessly as he brought his spikes closer to me. The tip of his tail that rested on my hip rose, his scales rubbing over me as it slithered further up and pointed at him. Slowly, it dove between his cocks, nudging them slightly out of the way as it sank inside his cockpocket.

“Fuck,” I breathed, my body covering with a lusty blush. I had a sudden urge to touch him, stroke him, put him in my mouth, but when I tried to move my hands, they wouldn’t budge under his weight. “Asan,” I pleaded.

His eyes were heavy-lidded as he watched me, slowly fucking his slit with the tip of his tail. “Stay, pet. Keep watching. I wanted to do this to you for ages.”

I licked my lips, my pussy clenching with arousal. His eyes flicked down, honing in on the subtle movement, and he hissed with pleasure. He pulled his tail out, slick with his natural lubrication, and turned it slowly so it pointed between my legs.

I hiccupped when it came closer and closer, the tip quivering. It pushed inside my pussy, wet and slick, and I moaned at the feel of it. The scales on his tail were rougher than on his spikes, but the wetness mitigated it until the most delicious friction filled me as he fucked me with it.

“How much can you take, I wonder?” Asan said, his face drawing into predatory focus, his teeth bared.

“Holy shit,” I whispered.

The very tip of his tail, so the part that was currently inside me was narrow enough. But it quickly widened so much. If he thrust more of it into me, it would stretch me until I gaped wide open.

“Don’t worry, pet,” he whispered, his eyes glued to my pussy. “We’ll go very slow. So slow. You’ll love it.”

I nodded frantically, unable to speak as I watched. He kept thrusting shallowly, his eyes flicking from my face to my pussy. I breathed hard, anticipation and the delightful friction buzzing under my skin.

“Ah,” he breathed out, thrusting deeper. “So pretty.”

I cried out, stretching around his slick tail. He didn’t stop, fucking me without going any deeper until the stretch became comfortable, and I squirmed, almost ready to come.

“Please,” I said, knowing he’d understand. I wanted him to go deeper.

“In a minute, love,” he murmured, grabbing the lube. My stomach twisted with anxious excitement. He squirted some onto his hand and coated his fingers with it. The coil resting under my ass shifted, tilting me up slightly, and then his fingers were on my asshole, massaging it gently.

“There, my pet. How is it?” he asked, voice rustling with heat.

“G-good,” I choked out. “Fuck!”

His tail pushed deeper, stretching me wider. It stilled while I panted, just sitting there, while Asan caressed my hole with slick fingers. Round and round they went in soothing circles until I melted under his touch.

I was so soft and relaxed, I felt only pleasure when his slick finger pushed in.

“You take my tail and finger so well, my darling,” he said, looking at my face. “Such a horny girl. You like being full, don’t you?”

I nodded frantically. His tail moved again, hard and slick in my pussy, the pressure at my opening driving me insane each time it thrust deep. His finger in my ass moved, too, fucking me in a slow rhythm.

My mouth was open, gasping for breath, because my orgasm was right there. I just needed a bit more.

“So hot,” he said, leaning over me. “Have more, love.”

He pushed two fingers of his free hand into my mouth. I sucked on them, running my tongue over his cool scales. My eyes fell closed, my body thrumming, right on the edge…

He thrust deep into me. The pressure broke, and I moaned around his fingers as my body heaved with an orgasm. I squirted hard, drenching his tail and hand.

“Ssso beautiful,” he hissed, pulling his fingers out of my mouth. “You came so nicely for me. I can’t wait to fuck you. I love being inside you. You take me so well, my sweet girl.”

He fucked me slowly and I shook, gazing at him in a daze. When he pulled his finger out of my ass, I whined at the feeling of emptiness.

“Shh, pet. It’s okay. I’ll fill you right up. I’ll give you everything you need. There you go, my love.”

The lube squirted, and then his fingers were back, running gentle circles over my asshole, already soft and relaxed. I panted in expectation, his tail moving in my pussy with slick sounds.

“Just like I promised,” he said, pushing back in.

This time, it stung. I cried out as he stretched me open, two thick shehru fingers penetrating me. He shushed and comforted me, whispering soothing words while he worked his fingers in, pushing deeper and deeper with each thrust until he was knuckle-deep inside me. He stilled, both his fingers and tail so deep, and we just looked at each other, wide-eyed and out of our minds with lust.

“You’ll have to take three for me before I give you my cock,” he said, moving again.

I sobbed, a tear falling down my cheek. I already accepted this was how I reacted to the way he fucked me, and Asan didn’t mind. He leaned over me, his tongue flicking out to lick the wetness off my cheek.

“So beautiful, pet. You give in so well. I’m proud of you. So proud of my girl.”

His words brought me higher until I hovered on the edge of another orgasm. He pulled his tail out of me, making me whine at the emptiness, but when he pressed it to my clit and started rubbing, the hardness of the scales coated with wetness made me go off instantly.

I came with a strangled scream, my ass squeezing his fingers tight.

When I came to, I just saw his tail pushing deep inside him again, his body shuddering with pleasure. A moment later, it emerged, dripping with wetness.

“There’s my pet,” he said, pushing his tail back into me, stretching me wide while he pulled his fingers out. “I love it so much when you come for me. Fuck, I want to make you crazy with pleasure. Make you forget everything but me inside you.”

I whimpered when the lube squirted again, knowing what was coming. My hole fluttered gently with anticipation, loose and relaxed, but damn, his fingers were so thick. Three seemed excessive, but I knew his cock was impossibly fat.

It would sting, but then, I wanted to be filled with him.

To the brim, until I couldn’t take any more.

As if he could read my mind, Asan slowly shifted around me, his muscular coils caressing my skin. He pressed his fingers to my hole, massaging gently, his fingertip just dipping inside as he loosened me up.

“Just a bit more, sweetheart,” he said, his red eyes pinning me with the heaviness of his gaze. “You can take it. It’s just one more. And then, you can get my cock. I’ll fill you so good, pet. Just a bit more, okay? Will you be brave for me?”

I squeezed my eyes shut and nodded. He hissed in satisfaction while his fingers soothed me. I exhaled, relaxing into him, letting the heavy press of him unwind me.

So warm, so relaxed, and completely in his power, I surrendered.

“Just like this, pet. Such a good girl.”

He pushed inside, and this time, the pressure didn’t hurt. It was uncomfortable at first, but my body opened and gave in. He hissed, his fingers sinking deep, his tail stretching me, too.

“I think you’re ready.”

CHAPTER 27

Asan

When I pulled out, she actually sobbed. I leaned in and kissed her tears off her cheeks. My pet loved being full, and the sudden emptiness hurt her.

“Shh, sweetheart. I’ll be inside you soon. You’ll be so full, I promise. I’ll fill you with my cocks and come deep inside you. You’ll drip for me, pet. Shh. It’s okay. Just a bit longer.”

She shook in my coils, trapped and spread open. I stared at her pussy and ass, mesmerized with the view. I really managed to stretch her for me. She looked so inviting now. So ready.

But I had to make absolutely sure I didn’t hurt her, so I wiped my hands and dipped inside my slit, spreading my natural wetness over both my cocks. They were already dripping steadily with precum and hurting from being so fucking hard. But I wanted to be completely slick for her.

She watched me with her lips parted, small sounds escaping as she squirmed. I could tell she liked the sight of it.

I inhaled, filling myself up with her scent, and slithered closer until I was poised over her, my cocks quivering between her legs.

“Only the tips for now, love. You can take the tips for me, can you?”

She nodded, her lips trembling. I notched my cocks at her entrances, one in her pussy, the other in her ass. She breathed faster and faster, her pulse hammering, but she was utterly silent now, and still.

My sweet prey froze in fright. Except, she wasn’t afraid.

“Here you go, pet. How does it feel?”

I pushed inside her, both slick tips sliding home. My body shuddered, tightening in bliss, and I stopped with a violent hiss. Kim moaned, trying to raise her hips to meet me. I shook, clenching my teeth.

“You feel divine,” I said, pulling out so I could experience it again. The way she opened for me, both her holes so wet and hot for me, ready to take me. It was bliss. “So good for me. The best in the world.”

I pushed in again, giving her just the tips. She sobbed once, the sound broken and sweet, and I wiped a tear off her cheek with my thumb.

“P-please,” she breathed, and I nodded.

“It’s so empty, isn’t it?” I said. “I’ll give you more, my pet. How could I not when you ask so nicely?”

I pushed deeper in, still not much, and she seized with a cry. My shafts were thick inside her. I raised myself to look and froze, unable to tear my eyes away from the taut, pink rings of her flesh squeezing me tightly. I pulled back, her body resisting and stretching with the movement.

“Exquisite,” I breathed, thrusting in, but no deeper for now.

She shook, her eyes wide open yet unseeing, her muscles tense under my weight. I moved slowly, keeping my orgasm in check, but fuck. I wanted to come inside her already and see her full of my cum.

“Just a bit more,” I whispered, and she shook her head, squeezing her eyes tightly. “Damn, love. You feel so good. Come on. You can take one more inch. Just an inch, sweetheart. What’s an inch? You’re so good for me. You can take it.”

She opened her eyes and moaned, blinking slowly.

“Okay,” she whispered.

I didn’t wait, pushing deeper at once and fucking her with half of my length. She cried out and seized, her neck craning back. She squeezed me so tightly, my vision burst with white as she came, squirting a hot little fountain for me.

“Fuck, love. Fuck. You’re so hot.” I talked in delirium, desperately trying to control myself. She was so fucking tight when she came.

She slumped, breathing hard, and I pushed her more. “You took it so well, pet. I’m so proud of you. I’ll give you a bit more as a reward. You’ll be so full. Nod yes. Tell me you want it.”

She nodded once, her eyes creased with something akin to pain, but I knew it was pleasure. She trembled all over, her body hot and slick with sweat.

“Good girl,” I whispered, driving deeper into her.

She cried out, shaking harder, and I kissed her temple and cheek, pumping slowly into her. It was so tight inside, I had difficulty moving, but it was okay. If I went any faster, I’d come.

She choked my cocks in the best possible way.

“I want to put my tail in your mouth,” I said, blinking fast, because my vision turned dark red with the need to come. “And then I’ll bite you, love. Soon. It’s almost over. You can take it for me. Just a bit more.”

She nodded fast, her eyelids fluttering. “P-please,” she whispered. “Y-yes. Give me… everything. So full.”

That was enough for me. The tip of my tail dove into her mouth, filling her. I thrust my cocks slowly, in and out, feeding her a bit more with each thrust. Soon, she almost took all of me, and I shook all over with how good it felt.

The rougher scales near the bases of my cocks rubbed her openings with each thrust, and she trembled, making high-pitched, muffled sounds around my tail. I pulled it out of her mouth for a moment.

“All good, pet?”

“Yes! Keep going!”

Tears streamed down her face, her body so tense. I realized she was riding the edge of another orgasm, so I pushed my tail back in her mouth, pulling almost completely out with my spikes, and glided into her until both my cocks were completely buried inside.

She arched, so tense, her back lifted clean off the bed. I pulled back and thrust in again, the deep red in my vision growing dark. I couldn’t see, completely focused on one thing only: being inside her and how glorious it felt.

I pulled back again and thrust, filling her to the brim, and Kim snapped. She choked my spikes, coming with a gush.

That was it for me. I sank my fangs into her shoulder, pushing as deep as I could, and came into her body. Thick spurts of cum kept coming and coming as I shook, strangled in her sweet heat, delirious with the pleasure, filling her with everything she could take.

When my orgasm let go, I couldn’t move. I only pulled my tail out of her mouth, and she moaned weakly, her body trembling under my weight.

A minute passed, maybe more. I finally had enough strength to move my head, so I pulled my fangs out of her flesh. She moaned at the sensation. Small rivulets of blood trickled out of the punctures, and I licked it up, unable to resist.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, my voice seeming detached. I was woozy with bliss.

“F-fucking full,” she said. “D-don’t pull out. Stay inside.”

I uncoiled from her, releasing her hands and legs. She moaned when I gently rolled us over so she was on top of me. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to keep myself from crushing her when I was on top, so this was safer.

I’d never come so hard in my life.

We stayed like that for long minutes, with her lying sprawled on top of me, completely relaxed. My cocks were delightfully warm inside her, adjusting to her temperature. They stayed hard thanks to that warmth.

“This is good,” she said hoarsely after a while. “I love it when you make me full.”

“I love it, too,” I said, shifting to peer down at her shoulder. The wounds stopped bleeding. Good.

“Do you think we can sleep like this?” she asked groggily after a while, jolting me out of a nap.

“I’m already asleep, pet,” I said, stroking her back.

“Mmm. Good night.”

“Good night, love.”

And so we slept, wrapped in each other completely, and it was perfect. Because we belonged together.

KIM’S EPILOGUE

“Oh my god, this explains so much,” I said to Raoul, our doctor in the Hybrid Fertility Clinic.

He just showed us the results of our latest lab tests and explained what they meant.

“Yes,” he confirmed while Asan slithered closer, taking my hand. “After you told us that you had successful intercourse regularly, we were naturally curious as to how it was possible. This is the answer.”

Asan scoffed behind me. “Of course it’s successful. We just fit.”

Raoul smiled a private smile and nodded. “Yes. You do. But it’s because of this.”

We’d been together for over a year, and Asan finally wore me down enough to start treatment in the clinic. I didn’t have him pegged for a family man at the start of our relationship, but for some reason, he was obsessed with the idea of having kids together.

So here we were.

“Okay, so if I understand correctly, his natural lubrication and precum,” I said, glancing at Asan, “acts as a powerful relaxant for humans? And that was how I was able to…” I broke off, my cheeks covering with a blush before I waved my hand, deciding to be blunt. “Take all of him?”

Raoul nodded. “But it’s more than that. It appears that your vagina has elongated over time. We’re still trying to see if it’s a side-effect of the relaxant coupled with regular intercourse. It’s quite fascinating.”

“Yes, I’d say my wife’s vagina is fassscinating,” Asan hissed, making me laugh.

“Down, scary snake,” I said when a worried look crossed the doctor’s face. “It’s okay, doctor. He’s harmless. Well, unless you try to kidnap me or something.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” the doctor said, not looking reassured at all. “For now, we’ll have to run some more tests. You’re the first human-shehru couple who sought treatment in our facility, and there are few scientific pursuits into the subject of human-shehru hybrids.”

He meant none. No one actually studied the subject because shehru and humans still didn’t mix. But I was hopeful it might change in the future. We were a part of the change.

Already, some of my colleagues were awfully curious about my sex life and kept talking about trying out fucking a shehru. The world kept moving forward.

“But I am optimistic,” the doctor continued, giving us a genuine smile. “There are many hybrid breeding solutions already available. We’ll look into the viability of using them for your case.”

When we left the office and stepped into the big, comfortable elevator in the clinic, Asan wrapped his tail around me and leaned down to whisper in my ear.

“Breeding is a nice word,” he said, his cool, hissing breath sending shivers down my spine. “I think I’d like to breed my wife when we get home.”

I gulped, pressing back into him as his tail grazed my nipple.

“I don’t think I can get pregnant from that, so it wouldn’t technically be breeding,” I said, trying to keep my face from blushing. We were almost on the right floor.

“We can try.”

ASAN’S EPILOGUE

I was coming late home from work when I saw her. She jogged in the dark park, her blond ponytail swinging behind her back. When I looked around, I saw no one else.

She hadn’t seen me yet, and I slithered closer, following her. When I was almost on top of her, I spoke.

“Good evening, Irene.”

She turned. For a moment, she looked surprised, and then recognition dawned. Pure terror bloomed across her face. She tried to run, but I had her restrained and gagged in no time. She didn’t even make a sound.

“What a pity,” I said, slithering off the path and into the trees in case somebody else came. “You could have left the country or even just the state. It was so easy. But you stayed, and now I have no choice. I said I’d kill you when I saw you again, and I’m a man of my word. I never forgive those who hurt my wife.”

I wrapped my tail around her throat and squeezed hard. Her spine snapped under pressure, and she hung limp. Finally, the last person who threatened Kim was dead. Soon, her body would join Archie’s, whom I dispatched two years ago.

Burying her would take some work.

I sighed, taking out my phone to text my wife I’d be late.

Have some business to take care of. Should be home in an hour. Love you, pet.

She sent me the picture of Keira and Reese sleeping side by side, their pudgy hands covered with faint, silver scales joined on the pillow. The twins were two and couldn’t be parted.

You’ll make it up to us tomorrow, she texted.

Of course.

I’d take them to the beach, I decided. The kids were natural swimmers, their short snake tails propelling them through water with surprising speed. I’d tire them out in the water while Kim read a book in the shade of an umbrella, and then we’d get ice cream. It would be a perfect day.

But first, I had a body to bury.

AFTERWORD

Thank you so much for reading this book! I admit, it was supposed to be shorter (WAY shorter) but Asan and Kim became so real to me, demanding their story to be told as it should. So, here it is—a 70k word novel. I hope you enjoyed it! Please, leave me a review to let me know your thoughts <3

There are more books by me and other authors in the Monster Security Agency series, and I encourage you to check them out.

Now, a word about the shehru. I made up this species, but the name actually has meaning, so for all the lovely nerds reading my books, here’s a quick note about it.

The word is pronounced phonetically /ʃɛru:/, or sheh-roo. Etymologically, it comes from the old Akkadian word ṣēru, which simply means a snake. Since in the world of this series, monsters have always lived side by side with humans, it makes sense to me that they were also present in ancient cultures, so the names of the species could be influenced by that.

And the Babylonians in our reality left behind some cool reliefs of winged snake guardian creatures. Asan doesn’t have wings, but who knows? Maybe his ancestors could fly.

FREE ROMANCE NOVEL

I wrote a free djinn romance novel called The Third Wish that’s free to download for everyone! Expect the following: paranormal romance, djinn / furry monster shifter MMC, bubbly sunshine FMC, high spice, knotting, suspense and action, initial enmity between the heroes, hurt and grovel by the MMC.

Premise: the FMC summons a djinn by accident. He hates being a slave so he threatens her, and to save her life, she makes a very dangerous wish that backfires delightfully, resulting in some very spicy scenes.

Download from my website www.laylafae.com. It’s free!

BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR

Devil's Deal: A Dark Fantasy Romance

The devil craves my soul. It calls to him like the scent of fresh blood.

I am not afraid.

The night of summer solstice, I do something stupid. Drawn to the power and fire of magic, I dance with the gods. I am not important enough to merit their attention.

But someone else is dancing, too. His fiery eyes burn into me as black paws circle my waist, turning me to the beat of his hooves. For one night, and one night only, I let him touch me.

When it’s morning and gods return to their shrines, he stays. His menacing shadow follows me, a dark cloak hiding me from the sun and the light of hope. Where I walk, flowers wither and children sicken, touched by his suffocating darkness.

The more I chase him away, the more he enshrouds me in his dark, powerful presence, whispering words of seduction in my ear.

He has something I badly need, but his price is too high. I can’t take the devil’s deal.

Coming on summer solstice 2024.

Wed To The Lich: Arranged Monster Mates

Every living thing is repelled by my corpse-like body… but not my wife.

Liches are almost gone, only a handful of us left. I must marry to keep my race from extinction, yet how? No living female will ever stoop so low as to marry a lich. People fear us. They say we are the harbingers of death, bad luck, rot and decomposition.

In one last bid to carry out my duty, I request a wife through the Temple. She turns out to be a neglected, sickly thing with trembling hands and downcast eyes, seeking an arranged marriage out of despair.

And she’s perfect. Her blushes burn hot, her voice rings with feeling, and her kisses taste like summer. She is life personified, all warmth, light, and sweetness, and I crave her like darkness craves the sun.

But will she sacrifice her warm, beating heart to a creature of death like me?

This book is a standalone.

Draco: A Dragon Chef Romance

My boss is a dragon and he tastes like magic.

When I say I’m clumsy, I’m not being cute. With the amount of things I have tripped over, dropped on myself, and fallen into, it’s a miracle I am still alive.

So how did I end up working in a restaurant kitchen? And not just any kitchen. It is run by the notorious chef Draco Domanski, who cannot abide people tripping on asparagus or spilling coffee down his shirt.

Draco can’t stand my klutzy ways. Sowing chaos in his precious kitchen, I’ve come to know the signs of his monstrous displeasure. Eyes gleaming red. Smoke fuming from his nose. Tail wrapping around my leg while he growls threats in my ear, making delicious shivers run down my body.

But no matter how furious I make him, he won’t let me go. Soon, I discover why he needs me. I learn his other mouthwatering secrets: that he is doubly endowed and tastes like heaven.

Draco is passionate, tenacious, and… I can’t fall for him. He is my boss, keeps calling me Rabbit, and his fangs could rip me in half.

If I ignore the tension cooking between us, it will go away. Right?

BOOKS IN THIS SERIES

Monster Security Agency

Monster Security Agency is the most elite bodyguard service in the world. These monster bodyguards are lethal, powerful, and determined to protect their clients at all costs. They shouldn't fall in love with their principals, but if they do? Things are bound to explode.

Here come spicy, romantic, and action-packed tales by your favorite paranormal and sci-fi romance authors: Cassie Alexander, Eden Ember, Layla Fae, and Cara Wylde. Dive into the world of the Monster Security Agency.

Guarded By The Vodnik By Layla Fae

She poured fire into my cold, emotionless heart. Now all I see and feel is her.

I’m a cold-blooded killer from the deep, always getting MSA’s most hazardous underwater tasks. Fear and emotion are foreign to me, which makes me efficient but too callous to work with clients.

Even though close protection is not my forte, I’m assigned a human principal–a woman running from a psychotic ex-fiancé. I take the job, not realizing my horrible mistake until it’s too late.

We end up trapped in an underwater cave, her survival hinging on being shockingly close to me. Her warm touch on my body is like a powerful current that tears my shields apart. Her trusting eyes locked with mine destroy my peace of mind. For the first time, I'm flooded with feelings.

And they're all about her. She has power over me like no one before. I’m addicted, obsessed, my heart and body throbbing with the onslaught of emotions. The only way to soothe the pain is to get more of her, more of her touches, her smiles, her affection. I crave her even though I know I’m a monster and a killer, and she deserves better.

I’m not selfless enough to let her go.

Guarded By The Golem By Cara Wylde

Morals have no place in my line of work.

Monster Security Agency stands on neutral ground. As long as the client pays, we don't question their motives. Especially when the job is as easy as the one I’m on now.

All I have to do is stand guard outside a steel door in a mad scientist's basement. I don't even need to know who or what I'm guarding.

Then one day, I peek behind the door. From the farthest corner of the basement, bright blue eyes stare at me. Dark hair, fair skin, tear-streaked cheeks, and lips sealed with duct tape. I am doomed.

This woman is my mate. I know that with rock-solid conviction, and I don't care how much I'm being paid to keep her here.

Guarded By The Chimera By Eden Ember

It’s hard for people to see my heart when I’m known for my ferocity.

I’ve learned to hide my feelings and do my job. When I’m hired to protect a billionaire heiress on a humanitarian mission to South America, I think it’s business as usual. Then I see her. I catch a whiff of her unique scent, and I know she is my mate. The mate I never thought I’d find.

She doesn’t want anything to do with me, though. She’s feisty, determined, and fully focused on her work. She has no time for romance, and even if she did, she would never choose me, her bodyguard.

Next thing I know, her life is threatened, and she still ignores me. Tough luck. I will protect her whether she likes it or not.

Guarded By The Spider By Cassie Alexander

More Double D in This One!

For my kind, to be without a mate is to be doomed. I know it is too late–all that awaits me is retirement and death, and I’ve embraced it.

But when a suicide mission lands on my old boss’s desk, I’m the one he calls. Who better to tackle the mission in the deep, oppressive mines of my own ancestral homeland, if not an Arachnae already slated to die? And it’s not a rescue mission–he wants me to retrieve the corpse of a billionaire’s daughter kidnapped by a terrorist organization.

Except our intel was wrong.

She’s alive. Tortured and injured–but alive.

And from the moment I scent her, I am certain she’s my mate.

She cowers in fear when she sees me, yet I will stop at nothing to protect her.

And now that I have a reason to live…a whole lot of people are going to die.

Guarded By The Kraken By Cassie Alexander

A kraken, a scientist, and a love under pressure….

As a kraken bodyguard, I rarely get human clients. When I do, the only way to protect them is to form a telepathic bond. I don’t like it, but after my wife’s death years ago I’ve learned to build an impenetrable shield around myself and my emotions, until I meet my newest client. She's a scientist investigating an ancient relic on the ocean floor. The abyssal plane is no place for humans, but the job is the job, so I shut off my soul, bury my secrets, and link our minds.

The flood of her emotions takes me by surprise. I thought I would be in charge, but our bond is stripping us both bare, layer after layer, until she can see my bleeding wounds, and I can taste her unspoken desires.

We cannot be together. We can’t even touch. She breathes air, and I live at high pressure at the bottom of the ocean. Our feelings bring us nothing but torment, and I know once she’s on dry land again, I’ll have to sever our bond.

But when she’s betrayed by the people she’s working for, and her life is in danger–I will not rest until she’s safe in all of my arms.

Guarded By The Talos By Eden Ember

My skin is cold, hard bronze, and I’ve never felt a heart inside my chest.

I’ve always known I’m not meant for love. I’m built to serve and protect, and I’ve poured my life into my commission at Monster Security Agency. Then she comes along…

A mafia princess turned anonymous in the witness protection program. After her “death”, she has to disappear and take on a new persona to survive. I’m her guard, standing back, silently protecting her. A monster she eyes warily, keenly aware of the differences between our species - a chasm that divides us.

Her touch makes my metal skin grow warm. Inside my bronze chest, something flutters for the first time. A heart.

Guarded By The Leshy By Cara Wylde

I am a force of nature, misshapen and untameable, until I meet her.

My mission is to deliver the human bride to her husband-to-be. She's to be married into one of the most powerful families in the state. Her husband is a spiritual leader, and he has one condition - she must prove she's worthy. Through the deepest woods, she must walk alone to meet him at the luxurious, isolated resort where their fates will be bound. The bride's father is not heartless, though. He knows the woods are dangerous, so he hires me to escort and protect his daughter.

Because I can become one with the trees...

I am to guard her from the shadows. My voice - the rustle of leaves, my hands - the branches she clings to. She must never know I'm there, even as her sweet innocence coaxes my body into taking a shape that allows us to touch. I change what I am, just for her.

This love is forbidden. She belongs to someone else, and I belong to the forest.