Scarlet Assassin Read Free

order, don’t you?”
    “Where did you have in mind?” Clarissa let out an audible sigh. Relinquishing control was never her strong suit, but AJ knew that Clarissa would if asked. All AJ had to do was ask. She didn’t want Clarissa to lose the independence she had worked so hard to develop, but she wanted to protect her with every fiber of her being. So, AJ walked the tightrope of protector, but not too protective. She would be whatever Clarissa wanted - lover, champion, or she would step back just enough to give Clarissa the space she needed to feel independent of AJ and her new world. A plant didn’t grow if you pulled it up constantly, checking to see if its roots were growing. AJ wanted Clarissa to flower, to grow where she was planted.
    “Tuscany?”
    “Paris?”
    “Really?” AJ was surprised by the suggestion.
    “I haven’t been back since my family was…” Clarissa swallowed hard and buried her head against AJ.
    “It’s okay,” AJ said, pulling Clarissa tighter.
    AJ gently stroked Clarissa’s back. She wished she could take Clarissa’s pain and carry it for her. AJ’s life had never and would never be as harsh as what Clarissa had endured.
    “I love you.”
    “I love you, too,” AJ kissed the side of her head and rolled Clarissa on to the couch, their bodies tightly wound together. “You’re my world now. I can’t imagine my life without you in it. Please never make me find out if I can live without you.”
     
    ****
     
    AJ’s moment of weakness pulled at Clarissa’s heart. It wasn’t often that her strong, proud lover confessed her fears. She didn’t think she could live life without AJ in it but she wasn’t as vocal. She knew she still kept her feelings close to her vest, but De Marcus had taught her not to show weakness, ever. A beating stayed with a person longer than a stroke of kindness, and Clarissa had to endure a lifetime’s worth of torture at De Marcus’ hand. She worked every day to push herself closer to AJ, to open herself to AJ’s loving touch, sometimes only to find herself craving the needed caress.
    “Careful, you might crush me under the weight of all this mushiness.” Clarissa tried to make light of the moment.
    “Hmm, am I too heavy?” AJ rolled to her side and snuggled closer on the couch.
    “No, I was only kidding. I like the feel of you close to me,” Clarissa said, pushing a strand of hair out of AJ’s eyes. Her fingertips glided over the planes of AJ’s face, her thumb rubbing against her bottom lip. AJ snapped at it, pulling her thumb between her teeth and licking the tip. The sensation sent a jolt through Clarissa before she could pull it back. Trapped, AJ continued to suckle on the tip, eliciting what Clarissa was sure was the desired response. Closing her eyes, she drifted with her lover.
     
     
     
     
     
     

 
    Chapter Three
     
    The coven was a mess. Instead of creating a path Selene could follow, their outdated mindset and ways created roadblocks that she would either have to break down or work around.  Selene knew AJ would say bulldoze down the roadblocks and to hell with the coven. Getting De Marcus was the only objective, period.
    Flipping through the yellow legal pad she kept on her desk, she studied a few notes and scratched off her last kill. Selene picked up her cell phone and fingered a few numbers.
    “He’s dead,” she said. “You should be getting a package…” Selene pulled the pocket watch from her vest and continued, “Any time now. Transfer the rest of the money, now.”
    The wise cracking voice on the other end made her want to strangle the bastard, but until he paid, she’d wait. Selene narrowed her eyes as if the person on the other end of the line could see her. After that last snide comment, she’d made up her mind. He was a dead man.
    “Later.”
    The antique watch still lay open in her palm. She ran her finger over the inscription for the thousandth time. She’d had the text re-inscribed several times after