By the Horns (19 page)

She played with fire. If she couldn’t handle the flames, she shouldn’t have gotten him naked.

The bunk beds squeaked in protest as Nat climbed aboard. “Lay your head down. Close your eyes. Try to relax.”

Ignoring how his feet hung off the edge of the pint-sized mattress, he did as she asked. Resting his head and shutting his eyes were easy. Relaxing? Not even on a cold day in hell.

She smoothed one warm palm along the expanse of his back. The heat of her skin sent flares of anticipation shooting through him.

Nat’s actions were professional. Almost too professional. She methodically used her hands and forearms to apply firm, steady pressure down and across his body. After a few minutes, the tension eased from his muscles. He grew accustomed to the rhythm of her movements. Her platonic touches.

Hell. He’d half expected her to come on to him. Fully hoped she’d try.

Maybe three years had been enough. Maybe he
could
be with Nat. For one night. Yep, because she wouldn’t stick around any longer. The fact drained his arousal. He didn’t desire Nat for one night. Or did he? What if he let this play out? Took a break from his vows? They’d still be waiting for him once this mission ended. Ox hadn’t revoked his visions. If anything, his latest one had been his clearest.

Nat slid her palm across the middle of his back. Gentle. Fragile. She couldn’t be the killer he’d envisioned. He wouldn’t let her.

He’d protect her…from herself and, most especially, from Snake.

In the meantime, he could get this lust out of his system like she’d offered. One taste and he’d not crave her so badly.

His cock jumped back into the game. Nat’s hands glided lower, to his waist and,
hot
damn
.

“Easy, big boy.” She tapped his ass. “It’s part of the massage, I promise.”

“Sure it is,” he grated, while shifting his smothered erection. Nat continued to knead his muscles with her small, soft hands, but he sure as fuck wasn’t getting relaxed.

Her lyrical laughter washed over him. She found this amusing, did she? He bet she wouldn’t if their positions were reversed. If he massaged her, it sure as hell wouldn’t be platonic.

And there’d be nothing professional about it.

He blinked back the images of Nat’s nude body…and his hands caressing every inch of her.

She worked his arms, his legs, feet, and hands. Twenty minutes must have passed, but she continued to massage the tension from his body.

If it had been anyone else, he might have succumbed to sleep. This was Nat, so every second of every touch lit his skin on fire. Every second ticking by drove him that much closer to the edge.

His bloody balls couldn’t take much more.

As she worked back up his legs, he prayed this sweet torment had come to an end.

She slid her hands around the front of his thighs and to the back, climbing higher and higher. Well, his dick didn’t have anywhere to hide. She must have assumed he’d adjusted up instead of down, because she sucked a sharp breath as her hands wound again to his front and brushed his rock-hard length.

He froze. Her fingertips had only grazed him, yet lightning bolts of lust had shot through his body. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw. He ought to tell her to stop but, hell, he was curious where she intended to go.

His bloody curiosity would be the death of him.

After a minute, Nat removed her hand from where it rested on the back of his thigh and nudged his knee to the side, exposing him. Her breath hissed. Did she like what she saw?

Her fingers stroked his thigh, all the way down and back up again. Without warning, her warm fingers wrapped around his cock, gripping him.

Holy hell.

He shot out of her grasp to his knees. “Nat.” Had he grated a growl of warning…or pleading?

“It’s okay,” she murmured, her delicate hands caressing his back, around to his front, and gliding downward. “Let me touch you.
Mmm
? Clear this tension, and we’ll both be able to focus better.”

Her sultry tone did nothing to calm the war waging inside his head…and his body.

She grazed her fingertips across his abdomen. “This is a natural reaction to a massage.” Her hand fell to the ridge of his cock as though she awaited his permission.

Wait. What?

She’d worked as a masseuse, but not that kind. Even so…

Fuck it all. He cursed under his breath, plucked her hand off his body, and glared at her over his shoulder.

If she’d intended to toss a bucket of ice water on his arousal, she’d succeeded.

“How often did this ‘normal’ response happen with your ‘customers’?”

Her gaping jaw answered. Hell, he couldn’t be aroused while picturing her pleasuring other men.

Kassian snapped up his clothes, vaulted off the bed, and stormed out of the cabin.

So much for easing his tension. She might as well have waved a red flag right under Ox’s nose.

Because he was definitely ready to charge.

Chapter 16

Nat continued to gape at the door long after Kassian had bulldozed out of the room and the door thudded shut.

Well, damn. Kassian had issues. With jealousy.

She snorted at the unlikely scenario. Growing up, he’d worn his title of playboy like a badge of honor. Yet he threw a tantrum because other men had been attracted to her. The brute.

Huffing, she undressed and snuggled beneath the itchy blankets. She scratched at her bare thigh. Nope, better to be dressed. She threw her clothes back on. With one arm tossed behind her head, she stared at the rusted ceiling, drowned out the lapping waves and the engine’s murmur, and closed her eyes.

***

“Rise and shine.”

Nat groaned at the cheerful greeting. Kassian had put her through a number of crazy-ass training courses these past four days. Sprinting the length of the deck. Swimming laps around the ship. Even meditating.

Since the cabin didn’t have any portholes, it could be any time of day or night. Her body argued she hadn’t yet gotten enough sleep, so it must be night.

Nat peeled open one eye to confirm her suspicions. “What…time…is it?” She yawned the words.

“Training time. Get up. Get dressed. Meet me on the top deck.”

“Kassi—” The door slammed as he exited the room. Damn him.

She grumbled as she hopped off the bunk, stuffed her feet into shoes, and trudged through the dim, narrow corridors. The fluorescent lights hummed and flickered every so often as if threatening a blackout.

As she shoved open the watertight exit door, a spray of briny air misted her face. Using her forearm like a windshield wiper, she scraped the water off and squinted at the deck. Darker outside than in. Middle of the night. The bastard.

“This had better be good,” she muttered as she approached Kassian on the middle of the deck. He grinned and looked far too chipper for this ghastly hour.

“What’s wrong, Nat? You afraid I’ll push you too
hard
?”

She narrowed her eyes. Macho payback? No denying the big man had been brooding ever since his massage. While he insisted on measuring her physical and mental limits with his “tests,” he seemed to enjoy torturing her a tad too much. “Tell me what to do so I can get back to sleep.” She yawned and droned, “Like a normal person.”

“Lesson number one. You’re not normal. Not anymore.” He pointed toward the main mast. “See that? Retrieve it.”

She squinted in the direction he indicated and made out a flap of cloth at the top of the thirty-foot slim pole.

“Seriously? I’ve already been through boot camp. The Matchmaker—”

“Trained you to be a Lotus.” Kassian crossed his arms and pegged her with a stare. “I’m training you to be a Chosen. They’re not the same thing. You can’t rely on your skills anymore. It’s time to become one with Snake.”

“Fine.” She glared at the quirk in the corner of his mouth. Once she passed his tests—with flying colors—she’d savor knocking him down a few notches.

The dim lighting from the sparse lanterns separated them from the pitch-blackness surrounding the ship. The wind picked up, rolling the waves beneath the boat. Deep in the South China Sea, the water was so choppy, a smaller vessel would’ve been swallowed. Salty seawater sprayed across her face, but the cool mist served to wake her up.

“Use the Snake.” Kassian’s deep rumble called to her.

Yeah, whatever. She could climb the pole without Snake’s help. Why consume the spirit’s strength for such a mundane task? She’d require its skills later and she’d need all of them.

Nat grasped the slender metal post. Anchoring her grip, she lifted her weight, wrapped her left hand above her right, and pinched her feet on either side of the pole.

She paused and decided to give Kassian a display of her other talents with a pole. “Oh yeah, baby.” She shimmied her ass back and forth, and swung a glance over her shoulder.

Like a towering statue, Kassian stood firm, arms crossed. His expression remained hard, but the corner of his lips twitched as though he tried not to laugh.

Ha! Screw him.

Nat hauled her weight up. The pole was wet and slick. After gaining a few feet, she slid straight back down. Scowling at the pole, she shucked her shoes and tried again. This time, she managed to hang on and, inch by painstaking inch, she climbed.

The wind blasted more violently the higher she ascended, whipping damp strands of her hair around her head and lashing them together. The threads blocked her vision and her hands were busy holding her weight, so she couldn’t comb the hair from her eyes.

Her foot slipped. She scrambled for purchase, but the pole swayed in the high winds. Her bare skin squeaked against the metal as she slid back down the pole. Her butt plunked onto the deck. She blinked up to find Kassian hovering above her.

Damn, but the man was grinning. “Want to try it my way, or are you going to continue being a stubborn little thing?”

She scrunched her nose. “That’s the pot calling the kettle black, eh,
Ox
?”

His lips quirked as he helped her to her feet. “Watch me.” He stripped off his wet shirt, baring his muscled chest, and cloaked Ox. The beast leapt into the air, snatched the flag in its mouth, and landed in front of Nat. Without pausing to gloat, Ox vaulted to the top of the mast, rehung the flag, and landed again at her feet.

Kassian tossed his head back and forth as he shrugged off the cloaking.

“You done showing off?”

He brushed his hands down the sides of his pants. “Nope, not showing off. Demonstrating what’s possible if you focus.”

“Wait. Are you implying I can’t focus?” She marched toward him, lifting on her toes to meet him eye to eye.

“You can’t let go. You can’t trust, and that’s what screws up your focus. If you hope to learn to control Snake, you have to embrace the spirit first.”

She bit her lip and glanced aside, hating how he saw straight through her. Everyone else bought the image she displayed to the world, but not Kassian. Dammit, he was right. She
was
afraid of trusting Snake. What if she handed control to the spirit, and it let her fall? Sure, she’d fallen alone. Made mistakes on her own. They were hers. Only herself to blame. No one would hurt her if she never let them in.

The sole person she’d ever let knock at the door was Kassian.

***

Kassian tensed as Nat lowered her lashes, obviously needing a moment. Trusting in a spirit wasn’t an easy thing to do. Hell, he’d taken far longer to accept Ox than he gave Nat with Snake.

She didn’t have the luxury of time he’d had. Snake’s host wouldn’t remain a secret for long. Price knew. The fox spirits were aware. If someone hadn’t already alerted the Council, Kassian would be shocked.

They’d arrive in Penang tomorrow. If Council summoned them—which they eventually would—Nat would have to prove herself worthy. With so much dissension among them and so much conspiracy, the Council was more volatile than it had ever been.

They didn’t know about Lucy’s Spirit Thief talent, but they sure as hell were aware of one method to remove a spirit—kill its host.

They might order the hit on Nat without giving her a second—or even first—chance. He refused to stand by and watch that happen. Here he was, in the dead of the night on a rusty fucking ship in the middle of the ocean, training her to accept the spirit and, thereby, protect herself.

Her body was ready, her mind prepped. Tonight, he had to help her connect the missing piece—accepting Snake. At least until he could prove she shouldn’t be hosting it at all.

Shimmering scales spread across Nat’s hand and forearm. He froze as Snake cloaked her. In place of her legs, a long, thick, scaled tail coiled. Stretched out, her body would extend the length of two school buses. Her arms disappeared into her torso, the top graced by Snake’s serpentine head.

From within Snake’s cobra-like flared head, a long, forked tongue flicked out, revealing a glimpse of needle-sharp fangs. Fangs that inflicted the deadliest venom on Earth upon its victim. Coppery eyes glinted like its red-gold scales as Snake regarded him.

He nodded, pointing toward the top of the mast.

Snake uncoiled, a long, slithering body. Up and up and around and around. The beast must measure at least sixty feet in length. Its width was as thick as a man’s body. The lethal whip of its tail ended in a deadly spiked tip.