Hanna and the Hitman - Honey Phillips Page 0,49

him forever.

“If the fruits help you so much,” she continued after a minute, her voice determinedly cheerful, “why didn’t you want me to eat any of them? Are they poisonous?”

“That’s not it. We believe that it is the essence of the planet that gives us our abilities.”

Her eyes widened. “But that would be wonderful—to be able to change like you can.”

“You’re forgetting the price that must be paid. Once you eat from the riches of Pardor, you can never go without them again. You would be chained to this planet just as I am.”

She gave him a speculative glance from under his lashes, and he could swear he heard her thoughts.

“No, saachi,” he said firmly. “This is not a fit place for you. It is too dangerous.”

“Then teach me how to handle the danger.” She must have read the disapproval in his face because she hurried on. “Oh, not because I expect you to let me stay but because I don’t want to be afraid of everything.”

She had a valid argument. Not that he ever intended to let her run into danger, but he had enough experience to know that even the most careful guardians occasionally slipped up.

“And Aidon, no matter where I go, there’s going to be danger. I lived such a quiet life, a peaceful life, and I was snatched away from it while doing nothing more than gathering flowers. I know that nowhere is safe.”

Especially if you’re not there. The unspoken words hung in the air between them.

“Very well. I’ll do my best to teach you while you’re here.”

“Thank you.”

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, the sweet temptation of her tongue arousing his need once more. Her eyes widened as she no doubt felt his cock hardening between them, but then her lids went heavy, and she gave him a smile worthy of the most experienced seductress.

“Perhaps we should start our lessons with how to seduce one’s enemy.”

“Your seduction efforts are only for me,” he growled immediately. Despite what he had just said about their lack of a future, he heard the possessive note in his voice and saw her recognize it as well. But she didn’t point out his absence of logic. Instead, she licked her lips and rubbed her hard, little nipples against his chest.

“Then teach me how to seduce you,” she whispered. But as his mouth covered hers once more, he already knew there was nothing she needed to learn. He was hers.

Chapter Nineteen

That evening, Hanna stood on the deck that reached out over the water and studied the river. The last rays of the setting sun lit the surface, and it sparkled as the water rippled and swirled beneath her, both beautiful and mysterious. Much like Aidon, she thought wryly. He had so many secrets, so many hidden danger zones beneath the surface. Not dangerous to her but to himself. As angry as he had been at his grandfather, she suspected that it was pain rather than rage driving his emotion. What had happened to him as a child?

Two firm hands circled her waist, and she smiled happily as she leaned back against the massive warmth of his body.

“Kitchen all clean?” she asked. After making them a delicious dinner over a wood fire stove, just like the one his grandfather used, he had insisted on cleaning up and sent her out on the balcony with a glass of wine.

“It doesn’t take long to load the dishwasher and wipe off the counter.” He sounded amused as he dipped his head to nibble on her neck.

Mmm, even when he wasn’t directly touching her bite mark, the feel of his mouth awoke her need for him. Why had he bitten her? she wondered for the hundredth time. He had made it clear that the mating bond was only between Pardorians, but he had still marked her as his. Was it because she had been the only female around and he’d been in need?

He must have felt her stiffen because he abandoned the tantalizing exploration of her neck.

“What is it, saachi?”

She wanted to ask him, but in the last moment, her courage deserted her, and she returned to her original thought.

“Why are you so angry at your grandfather?”

It was his turn to stiffen, but then he sighed and rested his head in her hair. “My mother was not Pardorian.”

What? A thousand questions ran through her mind, but she didn’t want to interrupt him, so she simply waited for him to continue.

“I told you