I ran a shaky hand through my hair. My hairline was damp with sweat. “I’m sorry about, well, you know.”
He shrugged, a slightly befuddled expression marring the dark beauty of his face. “No harm done. I’ll see you out.”
I shook my head, causing hair to fall in my face. “That’s all right.”
Before he could argue I walked as fast as I could to the door. I needed to get far away from Clovis and his narcotic pheromones to clear my head.
By the time I reached the front doors, I felt a little better. The combination of blood and fresh air did a lot to restore my strength. Frank slouched by the front door, almost as if he’d been waiting for someone.
“Wore you out, huh?” He actually smirked at me.
I stopped and looked at him. “Excuse me?”
He came forward, slinking. “Clovis always has that effect on the ladies.” He winked at me. Winked!
“Whatever,” I said, reaching for the door handle. Frank’s hand landed on mine. I rounded on him. “Back off.”
“Ah, come on,” he said, toying with a few strands of my hair. “Didn’t Clovis tell you? He doesn’t mind sharing.”
I bared my fangs at him. “Back off.”
He didn’t heed the warning. Instead, he moved forward and grabbed me by the arm. “You’ll find being nice to me will help you with the boss. What do you say, Sabina?”
I grabbed his free arm and twisted it around behind his back. “I say if you ever touch me again, you’ll pull back a bloody stump.”
With most males, this threat would have been enough. But Frank obviously had training to back up his cockiness. With his feet, he shoved backward, slamming me into a wall so hard I released his wrist. He grabbed my arm and spun me around into a choke hold.
“If you wanted foreplay, you just had to ask,” he whispered in my ear.
A comforting surge of adrenaline propelled me as I grabbed his arm and hugged it to me for leverage. With my free hand, I reached back and grabbed the back of his shirt. By adjusting my weight, I managed to flip him over my shoulder easily. His body hit the ground like a sack of potatoes drenched in too much cologne. He lay still for a moment, shocked by the impact. I placed the heel of my boot against his neck.
“You need to learn some manners,” I said. “And while you’re at it, try a breath mint.”
The playful confidence had fled from his eyes, leaving only malice. I’d seen that expression before on men I’d bested. The wounds to their pride hurt far worse than any injury I could inflict.
“You’ll regret this,” he said, fangs flashing.
“Maybe, but I’d regret f**king you a lot more.”
With a final twist of my heel into his trachea that left him gasping, I turned and marched out of the temple. As the door slammed behind me, I knew I’d made a new enemy. But damned if I didn’t feel better.
23
The next evening, I woke up feeling even better. I’d slept the sleep of the dead, blessedly undisturbed by dreams. I could hear the TV in the other room and the sounds of Giguhl and Vinca talking.
I lay in bed for a few moments, trying to compel myself to get up. Adam would arrive soon for another lesson and I hadn’t had a chance to look over the book he’d given me. Not that I wanted to, but I certainly didn’t want another lecture from him.
My little episode with Clovis confused me. Instinctively, I knew analyzing it too much wouldn’t help matters. However, if I couldn’t get a handle on my stress, it could cause more complications. After all, that little anxiety attack had ruined my chance at killing Clovis and that certainly didn’t do anything to calm me.
In assassin training, the first lesson is always to remain calm. Metaphorically losing your head usually results in literally losing your head. It worried me that I’d become so affected by everything going on, I couldn’t do my job. I needed to find a way to release some of my stress before I got myself killed. The only question was how. It’s not like I was exactly the yoga type. No, the best way I’d found to fight stress was to administer a good ass kicking. But even though my skirmish with Frank helped a little, it hadn’t offered the kind of release I needed.
Then, of course, there was the possibility I’d hit some sort of slump. I’d heard of other assassins losing their edge and having to leave the field. Looking at it objectively, I’d have to say screwing up two assassination attempts in as many days might qualify as losing my edge. But I wasn’t ready to hand in my guns—yet. After all, if I wasn’t an assassin who the hell was I?
With a sigh, I picked my cell phone off the bedside table. Five missed calls. Lavinia had to be furious by now. I needed to figure out my next step, but first I needed to shower.
When I came out of the steamy bathroom, I found Adam lounging on the bed. “What the hell?” I yelped, pulling the towel tighter around my br**sts.
“Evening, sunshine,” he said.
“Get out.” I pointed with my free hand at the door.
“Who woke up on the wrong side of the bed?”
I marched over to the dresser and grabbed some clothes. Ignoring him, I walked straight back to the bathroom and closed the door.
“You’re no fun.” Adam’s muffled voice came through the door. I stuck my tongue out at the panel.
A few moments later, I emerged again, this time clothed in jeans and a long-sleeved black T-shirt. Adam was right where I’d left him, looking amused.
“I didn’t know you were so modest.”
I dragged the comb through my hair. “Yeah, well, there’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
“I’m starting to get that impression. For instance, I had no idea you and Clovis were an item.”
I swung around so fast my wet hair lashed my cheek. “What?”
“You and Clovis.”
“We’re not an item.” I tugged at a few tangles to cover my embarrassment. I so did not want to discuss my love life with Adam.
“If you’re not already, you will be soon. I saw how he looked at you last night.”
“Look, whatever you think you saw, you’re wrong. Nothing is going on between Clovis and me.” Except that he’s fed from me and I have to kill him, I silently amended.
“Okay, fine, you don’t want to admit it. That’s cool. I’m just saying even if you’re not interested, he is.”
“Drop it.”
He shrugged and leaned back into the pillows. “You’re touchy tonight.”