the delicious assault on my body. And yet I couldn't quite let the questions go. That would be giving in totally to the needs of my body and I'd done enough of that for one day.
"You shouldn't have killed Starke. We needed to question him about his partner - "
The words died as his lips crushed mine, ending all attempts on my part to continue the conversation.
I conceded defeat and closed my eyes, enjoying his caresses and kisses, until the slow burn of desire exploded and we came once again.
He kissed me a final time, soft and lingering, then said, "He needed to die for what he was doing."
"Kye, he was only fucking me. In the larger scheme of things, that really didn't matter."
Anger spurted, spinning around me, a firestorm that would not be tamed. "He wasn't just fucking you," he said, his golden eyes flashing. "He was taking what was mine, and he was draining you."
"I was dealing with it - "
"Yeah," he exploded. "I felt how you were dealing with it. Believe me, I wasn't impressed."
"He didn't end up with a knife in his back through magic," I retorted, and thrust a hand against his chest, trying to push him away from me.
He tightened his grip on my thighs and didn't budge. "I warned him," he growled. "I told him not to - "
He stopped.
Oh my God, I thought.
Not only had I been soundly fucked by one murdering son of a bitch today, but two.
"Come alone," he said, and before the meaning of his words had even really registered, his fist smashed into my jaw.
I was unconscious before my head hit the desk.
Chapter Twelve
I was awoken by the sensation of ice pressing against my jaw. It wasn't helping the ache in my face much, but at least it meant there was someone present who cared enough to try.
The sunshiny scent that teased my nostril told me it was Kade, but the musky scents that were entwined within his also said that he wasn't alone. As did the murmur of conversation.
Kye wasn't here. His scent still was, but the heated, tingly awareness that always hit when he was close was absent.
He'd obviously run.
Part of me hoped he ran far and fast, because then I wouldn't have to deal with him.
But the other part - the part so angry about being so completely fooled and used - wanted the chance to confront him.
To get her own back.
To ask why.
The surface under my hips was soft, not the hard wood of the desk, and the slide of material against my skin told me I was no longer almost naked.
I opened my eyes. Kade was kneeling down in front of me, holding the ice pack to my decidedly tender jaw. Behind him, Cole and Dusty were examining Starke's remains.
"The cavalry arrives," I commented, wincing as the mere act of speaking had pain flickering along my jaw. Not that it would actually stop me. I flicked my tongue across the left side - one lose tooth and several others feeling as bruised as my jaw. "But it arrives too late, as usual."
"Well, you will get yourself into situations where the cavalry has no option but to arrive late," Cole commented. "Next time, give us a little warning and we'll be on time."
"I'll try and remember that," I said wryly, and pushed upright. Aside from the sore jaw, I was actually feeling pretty good. But then, good sex and multiple orgasms tended to do that to you. "How did you know that I needed help?"
It wasn't as if I'd actually called for it.
"We didn't." Kade removed the ice-pack and sat back on his heels. "When the com-link went dead again - this time mid sentence - Jack feared the worst and sent us scurrying."
Meaning Kye had not only been wearing a deadener similar to what he'd placed on me, but that it had a fairly decent range. The com-link connection had been severed long before he'd kicked his way into the room.
And that was a scary thought, because it had huge ramifications for the Directorate. It could become deadly when it came to on-street personnel. "Who hit you?" Kade added.
"Kye." I hesitated, a mix of anger and hurt and confusion rolling through me. Part of me - the wolf part, no doubt - still couldn't accept the fact that my soul mate was one of our killers. Where the hell did that leave me? What options did I have? If he didn't have a