Silent Blade (8 page)

Warning, contains one or more of the following: Hot, sexy thieves, pain-in-the-butt sprites, handcuffs, intriguing new uses for a silk bed curtain, and scorching, shake-the-ceiling-tiles sex.

 

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Lover Enslaved:

“What is this place?” Mara gave the building a dubious stare.

“Some vehicles end up here prior to finding new homes.”

Mara wrinkled her nose. “You mean it's a dissemble shop?”

“I won't ask how such a sheltered flower knows that term.” Chuckling, he handed his bag to Mara. “If I'm not back in ten minutes, run.”

She shoved the bag back at him. “Forget it, I'm coming with you. And what the hell kind of advice is
run
?”

“You're staying put.” He ignored her growl and tucked her fingers over the handle of his bag. “These shops are typically run by sketchy characters. I don't need to worry about your safety while brokering our transportation.”

“So don't. I'm a big girl.” She sidled around him and pushed the side door open with her valise.

She's going to be the death of me.
Gritting his teeth, he followed her into the garage's dim interior. Paint fumes and the gritty stench of engine oil fouled the air. A bald man hunched over a pod cycle's stripped-down carcass, his sagging pants displaying way too much ass crack. He turned his head, his posture going rigid.

Dash nodded and offered the traditional Mer'daca greeting. “
L'argo te
.”

The man lowered his laser torch but didn't loosen his grip around it. Dash took it as a good sign. He'd half expected to feel the torch's white-hot bite ripping through his flesh by now.

“You lost?”

“We're in need of a vehicle.” Dash didn't take his gaze off the torch's glowing tip. “A mutual friend suggested your services.”

“Ain't got no friends.” The man pointed the torch towards the exit. “Get your asses outta here.”

“We have money—lots of it,” Piper said, landing on a cart stocked with pipes and oil canisters.

Dash groaned.
No, she's going to be the death of me.

Greed sparkled in the mechanic's eyes as he stared at the two bags in Mara's hands. Licking his fleshy lips, he stepped forward, unconcerned when the torch's beam flicked dangerously close to Piper's wings. Saved from a singeing, the sprite squealed and scrambled behind a canister.

The mechanic lunged for Mara.

Here we go.
Dash leapt between them and grabbed the beefy arm holding the torch. He gave a vicious tug, but the mechanic possessed lightning reflexes and plowed a ham-hock-sized fist into his jaw.

Stars spinning in his vision, Dash staggered sideways, taking the mechanic with him. He jerked away when the torch's tip arced upward. Not quick enough. The crispy scent of fried hair competed with oil and paint fumes.
Shit
.

A rusty laugh rattled from the mechanic. Victory swam in the oily blackness of his eyes as he drew his arm back. Dash was prepared this time. His fist crunched into the man's bulbous nose.
Thunk.
The mechanic's eyes rolled back and he crumpled to the stained concrete.

What the hell?
Dash stared at his fist. “Didn't even put much swing behind it.”

“I did.”

He lifted his head. Mara clutched one of the cart's steel pipes in her hand.

“Still wish I'd waited outside?” She twirled the pipe in a flashy show.

“I had the situation handled.” Ignoring her derisive snort, he snagged the torch and clicked it off. He assessed the assorted vehicles scattered around the garage and decided on a dark blue Cloud Chaser
.
Solar powered, roomy and practical. Definitely not his style, which would throw off his enemies.

He strode to the cart and planted a knee on the floor. The third drawer contained a steel box. He made quick work springing the lock with a wire filched from another drawer and pulled out a ring of keys.

“How'd you know they were in there?”

Dash glanced at Piper as she leaned over the cart's edge. “Because even shady mechanics are predictable.” Palming the key ring, he sauntered to the Cloud Chaser. “Let's hope this baby holds some juice.” He swiped a thin layer of dust from the solar eye dome before yanking open the driver's side door.

He rifled through the keys. The sixth one in looked like a possible fit and he notched it into the ignition. A chuggish purr coughed from the engine before the Cloud Chaser settled on idle. “One of you hit the button by the doors. We need to get this outside before the sun sets.”

Piper flew forward and kicked a boot against the appropriate button. When the noisy hoist rolled the metal doors upward, Dash settled behind the wheel and coasted the vehicle from the garage. He craned his head out the window. “Get your butts in here.”

Mara fished inside her bag and pulled out several merca bills. She fanned them carefully on the mechanic's chest before she raced outside and jumped into the passenger side. Shaking his head, Dash maneuvered the Cloud Chaser out the snug alley and exited onto the main street.

He checked the gauges and decided to risk the mountains. Sun wouldn't set for a couple more hours and the solar eye hopefully held its previous charge. Both factors should get them beyond the highest pass.

 

 

 

The Cloud Chaser's warning light flashed thirty minutes after the sun sank below the horizon and several hundred feet shy of reaching Piaras's summit. Uttering a few words that would earn blushes from even the dockworkers back in Volto, Dash swerved onto the twisty road's shoulder. The vehicle collided with a low canopy of scrub pines before conking out.

“We're stranded on the side of this mountain.” Mara's voice came out a thin whisper. “Things just keep getting better and better.”

He followed her horrified stare to the murky darkness pressing against the windshield. “Look at it as an adventure.”

“She doesn't do adventure.” Piper crawled onto the center console. “Or fun and excitement.” She snatched a napkin from the cup holder. After a thorough inspection, she spread it out with a snap of her wrists and crawled beneath it.

Taking the sprite's cue, Dash reached for his seatback and fumbled it into a reclining position. He rotated his shoulders, seeking the softest part of the cushion, and stacked his arms behind his head.

“How can you two sleep?” Mara demanded.

“Simple.” The seat's rough upholstery scraped his knuckles when he adjusted the neck roll. “Lay back, close your eyes and pretend you're not sitting on a lumpy foam block.” Shifting his head, he winked at her. “Give it a try.”

“No way.” Hugging her chest tight, she shivered. “Who knows what's lurking out there.”

“And staying up all night conjuring imaginary monsters helps how?”

She gave him a fierce look, her eyes glittering. “Damn you, this is your fault.”

“Racing the sun was obviously a mistake. Will my apology suffice? Or would you care for a pound of my flesh?”

“Don't tempt me.” One corner of her mouth quirked. “But I wasn't referring to the solar dying on us. All your talk of orgeels has me seriously spooked. If anything taps against the windows, I'll probably scream loud enough to scare a banshee.”

“Good thing I didn't tell you about the vertaglion, a fanged dragon-like beast living—”

“Stop!” Mara's hands clamped over her ears. He laughed and she slid her hands free, glaring at him.

“Not funny.”

“You stopped dreading on the orgeels.” He tipped his head in challenge. “Mission accomplished.”

“Your asinine logic is more deplorable than your driving.” She yanked her harness off and after a quick peek over her shoulder, slouched facing him. Her fingers clutched the seat's edge like she was prepared to rip it from its hinges and hurl it at any ambushing orgeels or vertaglions.

Guilt bloomed in his chest. His hand curled around her knuckles and pried them loose. “The most dangerous creature found in these mountains is a Gromache toad.”

“Really?” With her cheek scrunched against the seat, she blinked at him. “I can handle a toad.”

He rubbed her stiff fingers before brushing each knuckle with a soft kiss. A feathery sigh drifted from Mara.

“You two done yapping?” Piper muttered beneath the napkin. “Some of us are trying to sleep.”

Mara's gaze met his as they shared a chuckle. The corners of her eyes crinkled in an adorable way. Like it possessed a mind of its own, his other hand lifted and stroked the side of her face. The softness of her skin fascinated…beckoned.

She closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek against his palm. Her unexpected response staggered him and he almost dropped his hand from her face. The intimate brush lasted less than two seconds, but it was enough to fire an ache deep in his gut. Deep in his soul.

He battled the primal urges surging to the fore, those pathetic cravings for hearth, home and family. This woman was a means to an end, nothing more, and he damn well better remember it.

Silent Blade

 

 

 

Ilona Andrews

 

 

 

Old hatreds die hard. Old love dies harder.

 

On Meli Galdes' home planet, the struggle for power is a bloody, full-contact sport—in business and on the battlefield. For years her lethal skills have been a valuable asset in advancing her family's interests. She's more than earned her right to retire, but her kinsmen have one last favor to ask.

Kill the man who ruined her life.

Celino Carvanna's razor-sharp business acumen—and skills with a blade—won him the freedom to do as he pleases. There's only one thing he can't seem to control—his reaction to the mysterious woman who tantalizes his senses. Her eyes alone set his blood simmering, stirring ridiculous adolescent fantasies about breasts and honey. With a few words she dissects his soul. Who is she? And how does she slide so easily under his well-guarded skin?

It's almost too easy to draw Celino within the kill zone. Meli plans to revel in him. Drink him in. Wring every drop of pleasure out of every moment.
 

And when she's sure he belongs to her, she will finally repay a decade's worth of pain—in a single, brutal dose of reality.

 

Warning: Contains a heroine who excels in moving targets, a hero who can't get into her pants fast enough, and implant-enhanced sex (no, not that kind of implant…).

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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

 

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

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Macon GA 31201

 

Silent Blade

Copyright © 2009 by Ilona Andrews

ISBN: 978-1-60504-574-0

Edited by Angela James

Cover by Natalie Winters

 

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

 

First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: June 2009

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