Claiming His Unexpected Baby (Assassins Guild #2) - Michelle Howard Page 0,30

could speak. Sulen sat on the familiar sofa. Everything was the same as it had been a day ago except for a stuffed toy on the floor by his feet. He picked up the pink object with four swirling eyes that jingled and set it on the cushion next to him.

Amelie joined him a few minutes later. Fear and dread emanated from her as she sat with her head lowered to her twisting fingers. Sulen placed his hands over hers to still the motion. “Amelie, it’s alright.”

“It’s not,” she shot back, raising her head. “He can’t test her, Sulen.”

Though he knew the answer, Sulen asked, “Because he’ll try and take her away?”

Her ex had already refused the child when she disclosed her pregnancy and attacked her when he found her months later. Giving him access to Fleur in any manner would be a crime.

Eyes glistening, Amelie sniffed. “Y-yes.”

She burst into tears afterward and the emotion was a far cry from the laughter of a short time ago. Sulen reached for her and pulled her onto his lap. He didn’t know what he was doing but he couldn’t let her cry as if her world was over.

“We’ll figure something out,” he whispered into the top of her hair.

“I wish you were her father.”

Stars help him, Sulen had the same wish because the thought of the sweet girl sleeping down the hall having to be exposed to that bastard as her father was not a pleasant thought.

“Roan and his wife are not well liked,” he stated and awkwardly patted her back.

Amelie gave a final sniff and settled against his chest. The action warmed him on the inside. He was an assassin, trained to kill. Gentleness was not in his make-up yet his behavior since arriving here and meeting Amelie had been completely opposite of who he knew himself to be.

Initially, his goal had been planned vengeance when he discovered the identity of the person on the other end of the bond.

Torturing or maiming had been some of his more fonder fantasies for the confrontation. Anger had guided those thoughts, though. The reality of her was far different than his expectations. Amelie Haven was a single mother working hard at a garden center to make a good life for her daughter.

From what he’d witnessed so far, she’d been quite successful at it too. He admired her courage in the face of what must have been a difficult situation. “Let’s start at the beginning. You had a relationship with Roan.”

The irony of his arrival coinciding with Roan’s was too much to take in at the moment. Maybe one day he’d laugh about it.

“Yes.” Amelie adjusted on his lap, attempting to move away but Sulen locked his hands on her hips and held her in place.

“Stay.” His voice was a deep rasp in his throat but he didn’t want her to move.

***

Amelie didn’t want to get up and was pleased Sulen refused to let her move. His body was warm and if she wasn’t mistaken by the lump at her thigh, he was aroused.

She felt better knowing she wasn’t the only one sensing the crazy attraction between them. Lifting her head to see his face clearly, her gaze caught on his. Sulen lowered his mouth and the first contact between them created sparks.

She jerked back instantly, her hand going to her tingling lips. Sulen smiled and leaned forward again. Amelie met him halfway and this time their mouths crashed, danced, and slid against one another. Her arms looped about his neck, tugging him closer on a moan.

Sulen pressed his hands to her back and held her tight against his frame. He groaned and pulled back on a sigh. “We have to finish talking. I need to know everything to help you, Amelie.”

He was right. Amelie drew a panting breath and eased back down on his lap. Her fingers dragged through the ends of his dark hair when she managed to pull them away.

Sulen’s mouth quirked. “I want to. Very much. This first, then...other things.”

Amelie flushed and swiped a hand over her hair. “I don’t know why I did that.”

“It was both of us. I’ve wanted you since I first saw you. The desire is mutual.”

There hadn’t been anyone since Roan. The last four years had been devoted to her daughter and their safety. Risking her heart with a stranger was the wrong thing to do but as he’d said, the desire was there and mutual.

Taking a deep breath, Amelie started her story. “I didn’t get