The Puppet Assassin [TTR sequel]

The Puppet Assassin - Ch 28 [imagine that]

“I just want to eat you up.”

He laughed and pulled back before I could respond. His eyes were bright, happy. He sat there for a moment, just watching me, while I tried to regain coherency. But still, I could not speak. It seemed that Larkin always found something to say that robbed me of speech.

“But, right now, I’m a little tired. And it looks as if you are too. The day was pretty hectic.”

His words brought to mind the recent communication. It had slipped from my mind when Larkin had slipped into it. I sighed and Larkin seemed to take it as an affirmation of my drowsiness. He stood, causing me to slide down onto my feet.

“Actually, Larkin, I should stay up a little longer,” I said, finally finding my voice. “I feel like we just got up.”

He smiled and lifted my chin up with one finger. “Well then, good night.” He bent down and brushed his lips over mine, kissing gently, and then withdrew his arms from around me.

I locked my knees straight as he strode out and only when he’d left the room did I collapse back onto the couch. I was still constantly swept up in his pace, especially this morning… In that moment, I probably would’ve done anything to please him and now that I thought about it… I liked Larkin. Really liked him. But if I didn’t stop and reflect sometimes, he could easily sweep me off my feet, making me fall for him and then just as easily leave me. I didn’t know enough about him, I knew hardly anything. Even though I trusted Luke, and now Garth, I couldn’t be so believing and naïve around Lark. I was giving him much more than I was giving Luke or Garth and if I let him take it all… If he left me behind I would lose myself.

I glanced towards the door, wondering if Larkin was seriously getting under the covers of my bed. What was I supposed to do when I felt like sleeping? What if he was still awake? I shook my head to clear it. I shouldn’t be thinking about him right now. I had to consider my pursuer. The man had somehow accessed the television and the roof speaker, but he surely would’ve left a trace. Whether he’d planted a bug or if he’d been transmitting it from a screen nearby, there should be some trace left behind. I turned on the big screen, grabbed the remote and began to find out.

** **

I crept into the bedroom, relieved to hear the deep breathing of Larkin but at the same time remembering how quietly he woke up this morning. I have to use all of my training to stay silent. I opened the cupboard slowly to get to the clothes I usually wore to bed.

“I know you’re trying to be silent but I think I made the point earlier that I could no longer sleep in my room because your scent was in there. I don’t know how you could think that I’d be able to sleep in here without you, not when it’s so strong in here it’s impossible for me to think about anything but you.”

I cringed and paused in my movement, feeling like a burglar caught in the act. He sounded a little forlorn, as if he felt like I was avoiding him. Well, I had been, a little. I hadn’t wanted to face him in this room, with the lights out, with him most likely topless. And I could imagine that his eyesight would be somehow enhanced to see in the dark and I could imagine him grinning crookedly as tried to be nonchalant as I got into bed with him. So, yes, I had been hoping that he was asleep, but he should know the reasons. I mean, he was the one teasing me all the time.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think of that,” I said, sincerely but stiltedly, “but I can’t go to bed whenever you do, just as I should expect that you wouldn’t like to sleep whenever it pleases me if the opposite were true and I couldn’t sleep without you beside me.”

I heard him shift around and, in the faint light, saw him sit up. “I don’t expect you to. I didn’t once say that you should come to bed at the same time as me. All I said was that I couldn’t sleep, and trust me, that wasn’t a guilt trip. All I had wanted you to know was that you didn’t have to sneak.” He sounded calm and reasonable. There wasn’t even a hint of temper working in his speech.