The Puppet Assassin [TTR sequel]

The Puppet Assassin - Ch 38 [wasn't that all?]

I bit my lip worriedly. I just wanted all this to be over.

I nearly spun out of my chair when I heard a floorboard creak at the entrance to the room. Larkin leaned against the frame, looking tired but rosy cheeked. “I’m about to head out,” he said, his eyes on Luke. I willed him to look at me but for some reason it seemed like he was purposely avoiding my eyes. “I’ve arranged a meeting with Paddy and my coach to organise a fitness schedule so that I can get back into training and work my way up to playing a game.”

Luke shifted forward slightly and lifted his hand to signal Larkin to pause. “Wait a minute, mate. Something I have to talk to you to about. I know. Now that I know, it’s damn obvious. You two are hooked on each other.”

I was over blushing. I snuck a glance at Larkin who was smiling contentedly and then back at Luke who had no expression whatsoever.

“That’s right.” Lark bumped off the door frame and took a step forward so that he stood next to my chair. He rested a hand on my shoulder and it felt like he was touching my bare skin. I was so much more aware of his touch since I’d thought I’d lost him.

Luke looked to me. It was obvious the look meant that I was to say something too.

“Yes.” My voice came out a whisper. Ah, it was so embarrassing to say out loud. It shouldn’t be, I should be proud. I just couldn’t stand the attention on me.

Luke took a deep breath. “To be honest, guys, I’m a tad annoyed by the fact that you kept me in the dark. And, Lark, she might not act like it, but Dizelde is a minor. You’re not exactly a predator and the three years may seem like nothing but it can make all the difference in court. It wasn’t like I was going to bite your heads off if I knew. And I can help…”

Larkin’s hand tensed. “I haven’t told her… About, you know, the Alpha rules.”

Luke’s eyes widened and then he placed a hand over his eyes, rubbing his temples. What were these rules? I’d heard Garth talking about them too.

“For fuck’s sake, Larkin.”

“It’s no biggie,” Lark said casually. It had seemed a big deal when he’d nearly torn Garth’s throat out for mentioning it.

“Don’t be stupid. Here. Now. Dizelde, you deserve to know.”

“What?” I asked slowly.

Larkin sighed and crouched down, balancing himself by grasping my legs with both hands.  He looked up at me and his eyes looked bigger and so innocent. Weird. I’d never thought I’d put innocent and Larkin in the same sentence.

“I haven’t been keeping this from you on purpose. I just didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. It sounds bad when someone says it but I want to say now that it is not so bad. We can get around it… if necessary.”

“Stop fart-arsing around and get to it, Lark.”

Lark rocked back onto his heels, still wide eyed. “I would if you didn’t interrupt, o’ wise Luke.” He smiled and looked slightly tentative. “You might’ve noticed that the ‘clans’ around here are pretty structured, with leaders and rules. We have schools and advanced lessons for our kids. Well, what you may not have noticed, not surprisingly as Luke isn’t about to jump toward having a lengthy relationship, is that the person who chooses to, ah, marry the head of a clan is subject to a few degrading rules.” He hurried on. “The founder of our clans, the one who organised all us shape-changers together, was pretty old-fashioned and the subsequent leader of each clan was founded through inheritance…”

He paused for a moment, taking in my expression. When he found it shocked into silence, he continued. He’d said marry.  I was sixteen!

“What Luke believes you should know, is that, if you are involved with me, the ‘Alpha’ rules apply to you. Because you aren’t a witch, there is a chance that the children we have together won’t inherit my magic. If that happens, no one will inherit the leadership role. So, the rule is, that if our first three children have no magical ability, I have two choices. The first is to step down and palm off the leadership to my next eldest sibling. The second is to have a child out of wedlock.”

“Which he would never do,” pointed out Luke.

Lark huffed, squeezing my leg. “I can stick up for myself, Luke. So you see why it’s sort of important you realise what you are getting into, as Luke and Garth keep pressing onto me. But you can also see why I didn’t tell you earlier, right?” He rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. “It can’t be comfortable to hear about your future when you were only just realising how you felt about me.”

My future… So it was set in stone now, huh? My future, with Larkin? Holy crap, I’d done more than confess. Suddenly that cemented my position as the future clan leader’s wife. Huh…?

“Don’t panic.” Larkin’s deep voice penetrated my shattering thoughts. I looked down at him. The bastard was smirking at me.

“Somehow, an assumption has been made that you and I are serious. There are still a few years til I’m no longer a minor. In the meantime…”

“Are you trying to say that you’ll get bored of me…?” Lark asked slowly.

I simply raised a brow. Teasing was a lot harder than he made it seem. I seemed to want to blush, laugh and apologise at the same time.

 “But we haven’t got to the fun part yet.” His lazy grin slid into appearance.

Luke sighed loudly. “For crying out loud, Lark. Didn’t you have somewhere to be? You’re such a flirt.”

“Am not.” In contradiction, Larkin’s hand slipped over my knee and down my shin as he stared up at me. His hands stopped at my ankle and began to massage my sore lower calf. “Do you want to come with me, goldilocks?”

His bright eyes shone a warm blue. I was helpless. “Yes.”

He rose slowly and took my hand. “Well, Luke, nice chatting with you.” He pulled me up and towards the door. I was still a little dazed and trailed after him.

“Have fun, Dizelde,” Luke said, obviously sarcastic. I suppose he was right, attending a meeting wouldn’t be at all fun. But I hadn’t seen Larkin much in the last few days and I missed him. “Maybe you should take my car, Lark. Are you in good enough shape to manoeuvre your bike?”

Lark clapped his hand on my shoulder, looking back. “I’m in good enough shape to do most anything.”

While we walked back to the house, Larkin talked about trivial things, like the weather. The weather was shit, cold and wet, but I could talk to him about anything and be interested. Inside the garage, he tossed me a leather jacket and a helmet before procuring his own. He straddled the bike and looked back at me, his visor up and his eyes twinkling.

“Hop on, milady. And don’t forget to hold on tight.”

I sat behind him, trying to allow a small amount of space between us, but the contours of the seat made me slide right up behind him. The leather was thick but I could still feel the hard flat of his back, contrasting the softness of my front. I put my hands on his hips but he pulled them around to his stomach.

“I like it like that,” he said, his voice purposely deep and alluring. “Just be careful with how low you get.”

I knocked my helmeted head against his back. My chest felt full of sparklers. I was unbelievably lucky that this guy had chosen me. Because he had the words and the looks to have anybody he wanted. I squeezed him tight.

He turned the engine on and it roared to life, vibrating beneath me. “Hold on, puppet!” he called over the noise. Then he reached up and flipped down his visor before turning out of the driveway and propelling us onto the street with a burst of speed.