The Assassin's Bride Ch. 10

Gavin's hand was on her mouth, but not to smother her cries. His thumb traced her lips, then slipped past them. Carina cried out, her lips constricting around the digit and sucking, the decadent act spurring her climax to new giddy heights.

The cock inside her began to move and she dragged her hand from between them to grip Gavin's shoulder to meet his thrusts. Gavin fucked hard, furiously, grunting with the effort. Even as the sparks slowed, Carina's entire body seemed to dissolve in a pleasurable haze, her tongue hungrily rubbed his thumb in her mouth.

Gavin quickly withdrew his hand, unable to handle the sight of her sucking, the vibrations of her moan nor the velvet-strokes of her wet tongue. But now her mouth was hotly open, her eyes burning like a cat on heat. She wasn't done; she was still wanting.

"Fuck me!" she whimpered, breaking Gavin from his own daze.

His mouth melded to hers, forcefully, urgently, his tongue eager for her taste. Then he felt her spasm around him again, her second climax, and groaned. Carina tried to draw back, but Gavin's hand was there, fingers pressing her cheeks to keep her in the kiss, the pressure increasing with his approaching release.

Carina whined into Gavin's mouth, his cock flexed again, and warm spurts erupted deep inside her. Finally, her face was free, and Carina gasped for breath while Gavin fully lowered on top of her, supporting his weight under his arms and buried his face in her neck, his hips still slightly jerking.

"I really needed that," he muttered hoarsely, softly kissing her nape, licking the faint sheen of sweat from her skin.

Gavin lightly bit down, playfully tugging her silky flesh with his teeth and heard her shuddering sigh against his shoulder. Lifting his head, blonde hair sexily ruffled, he noted Carina was flushed, dishevelled and irresistibly sultry. She looked deliciously fucked. The view triggered his cock to new life. But he was exhausted.

Smiling tiredly, he brushed soft, matted hair from her temple, damp with sweat. She was still trying to catch her breath, seeming mildly confused.

"You ok?" he murmured, lightly trembling. He relaxed until her breasts stickily adhered to his chest.

"Yes," she breathed, with another deep sigh.

"Worth the wait?" he asked with a lazy smile.

"Never make me wait again," she hoarsely answered.

Carina heard Gavin's throaty chuckle, then her mind went blank; a slate wiped clean with pure bliss. Thinking and assembling sentences seemed too much effort in the afterglow. The air around them still buzzed with their chemistry, the sounds of the rippling stream soothing.

"Mmm," Gavin kissed her cheek and slowly fell to the side, drawing Carina against him. Entwined together, she quietly whimpered when he shifted so his cock squeezed from her, her thighs sticky with their mingling fluids.

"Did you bring me here just to fuck me?" she dizzily mumbled.

When Gavin didn't answer, her tired gaze fluttered from his chest to his face, wearily realising he'd dozed off, and it was only a matter of time before she joined him.

****

Months later, they sat on the warm sand, eating hot chips and watching the ocean.

"One more week here, then we move on."

"But I like it here!" Carina protested, dangling a long chip at a suspicious gull.

Gavin sighed. "It's the best way."

"Can we come back?"

"Maybe in six months," he mused.

Carina's lips turned down adorably.

"I'm known for two things." Gavin shifted to face her with a smug smile. "My combat skills, and my ability to disappear. I won't take risks with someone like Ethan tracking me, especially with a travel companion. A very delectable one," he added, tracing her shoulder with his fingertips.

Carina smiled at the ocean, wondering at the stark difference between Michael and Gavin's touch. Like a needy cat, she loved being petted by Gavin, whether it was idle affection or overtly sexual. "What if he finds us?"

"I'll kill him, if I have to," Gavin answered in a heartbeat, flicking a chip to a hopeful seagull. Though he spoke simply, the tone was not frivolous.

"You didn't kill him before," Carina pried.

"It was different before."

"How so?"

"You didn't belong to me."

"Oh," Carina smiled. She liked belonging to Gavin. "What if I decide to leave?" she asked curiously.

"Then you leave," Gavin shrugged. When Carina glowered at the ocean, he grinned. "But you won't."

Carina looked intrigued, watching him through her lashes. "Why won't I?"

Gavin's confident grin didn't waver. If anything, it grew wickedly wider. "Because of the things I do to you in bed."

There was no better answer than that. Carina licked salt from her lips, suddenly insatiably excited and wanting to climb onto the man at her side.

"So, Carina," Gavin began in a more serious tone, meeting her curious gaze. "I am going to train you. I think you're ready."

"Huh?"

"It will probably take more than a year."

"Train me?" she squeaked. "L-Like sexually?"

Gavin's serious expression melted, and he laughed. "You wish. I don't think you need training in that department. I am going to teach you to be self-sufficient. Do you know why?"

"So, I won't be a burden to you?" she faltered.

Gavin smiled. "You'll never be that." He took her small hand, toying with her dainty fingers. "If anything happens to me, I want to know you will survive, without a man controlling your life. I want you to be equipped to avoid compromising arrangements, evade entrapment. To protect yourself from..."

From Ethan.

Gavin didn't say it aloud, but they both knew what he meant. Watching her process his words, Gavin braced for a tantrum, but Carina looked suddenly solemn, her eyes strangely wide.

"Do you really mean that?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"Yes," he confirmed, nervously watching her face.

Carina's lip trembled; a tear rolled down her cheek.

Gavin reached for her. "It won't be terrible, Carina. Don't cry."

"It's not that," she mumbled, drawing a shaky breath to calm the swell of emotions inside her. "Gavin, I always lived in a man's shadow. And I have always been-"

"It's for your own good-"

"Let me finish," she stubbornly interrupted, pressing her fingers to his lips. "I have been gifted wonderful things from these men. Things most women only dream of."

Puzzled, Gavin waited.

Carina drew another deep breath, more tears streamed down her cheeks; the colour of her eyes so beautiful beneath the watery layers.

"This is the most precious gift," she slowly clarified, pressing Gavin's hand to her heart. "And I was never conscious of needing it, until you showed me. Thank you, Gavin."

Gavin laughed, deeply touched. "I haven't given it to you, yet. And you are certainly not free of me. Come here, tease," he grinned, pulling her into a tight hug. "I was scared you'd argue with me."

Carina snuggled deeper into his embrace. "I will save it for the training," she said mischievously.

"I bet you will, brat." Gavin ran a hand through her hair and kissed the soft strands across his fingers. "It'll be fucking sexy watching you scale a six-foot fence-"

"What?!"

"If Ethan can do it, you'll have to learn."

Carina shuddered at the image of Michael chasing her over a wall. "I'll try."

"That's my girl."

"Really?"

Gavin rolled his eyes, though a laugh slipped out of him. "Not this again."

"Why did you wait so long to tell me? About the training?"

Gavin's eyes thoughtfully returned to the ocean, following the sporadic rise and fall of waves.

"I didn't know if you could survive this lifestyle, and you needed time to recover from what happened. You can't commit to something like this with fresh baggage."

"I understand," she murmured, sombrely tracing a finger down his chest. "So, how does it work?"

"I have a military contact who has a good set-up, off the grid. We can use the facilities. There's no way Ethan can get onto the premises."

"Facilities?" Carina repeated questioningly.

"A crash course of sorts," he smiled, throwing a chip to the ocean. "I'll be there to oversee it. Essential training; fitness, hand-to-hand combat, weapons. Once you have a grip on the basics, you'll learn more with me as we travel."

Carina's eyes took on a dreamy glint as she imagined beating Michael bloody. Maybe she couldn't shoot to kill, but she'd fucking love to kick his ass.

Reading her mind, Gavin awkwardly cleared his throat. "Carrie, you'll never beat him in an even fight," he said doubtfully. "I don't want you to seek him out. I just want to better your chances and give you skills you can utilise in an emergency."

"What skills?"

Gavin shrugged. "How does a parent discern their child's talents? They test them out. It'll become apparent soon enough what your specialty is. It's clear you can stomach undercover without losing your head."

"I don't want to do that," Carina said quickly, and Gavin nodded.

"If you..." Gavin frowned, thinking hard. "If you want to live a civilian life, I can arrange it. It's just..."

"He might find me," Carina dully finished his sentence. "I'm safer with you."

"Not to toot my own horn, but yeah," Gavin said. "I've always been good at hiding. Ethan is a great marksman, but he's also better on the frontline. Deception is so easy for him."

"You were very convincing with Carlos," Carina said inquisitively.

Gavin's lip curled. "Just because you can succeed at something, doesn't mean it's right for you. I hated every second of it. If it was a paid job, I would have turned it down."

Carina preened like a peacock, flattered by the reminder of the lengths he went to save her.

"I have a sister," Gavin confided unexpectedly. "She thinks I'm dead, of course. But if I found out a man that she trusted thought it'd be a good idea to..." he didn't answer, his eyes glinted ominously at the waves, his jaw clenched. "I'd find him."

"Uh-huh," Carina nodded, only half listening because she was trying to climb into his lap. "You are so hot when you're mad."

"And it's a vicious cycle, because I love taking a belt to your ass."

Eagerly holding his gaze, Carina tipped the remainder of her chips onto the sand. "Can we go home?"

"Yeah, litterbug," Gavin said huskily, cupping her cheek to kiss her. "Before the gulls eat us."

***

Michael strolled down a tidy street and casually turned into one of the stores, removing his sunglasses as one of the assistants approached him. "I'm expected."

The manager quickly led Michael into a private room. "It's ready." He opened a red velvet case and presented it to Michael. "And here is the certificate, and the specifications."

Michael inspected the large, glittering ring, then looked over the documents and nodded. "Excellent. Thank you." As the manager packaged everything together, Michael laid a small suitcase on the table. "Cash, as agreed."

The manager smilingly accepted it, and Michael sipped an espresso as the money passed through a banknote counter.

"Correct, to the dollar. I suppose you have a grand proposal planned, to do this piece justice?" The manager asked.

"Every man has his plan." Michael pocketed the ring box and accompanying documents. "I have it on very good authority that the design is everything she could wish for."

"A reliable source, I hope," the manager wisely advised, though it was really too late for change of mind.

"You could say straight from the horse's mouth," Michael said, bitterness creeping into his voice as he recalled Carina's dreamy excitement when she hopefully described what she envisioned Eduardo would arrange for her. "And I'm confident she'll walk down the aisle soon after. Willingly," he added with a hearty laugh.

The jeweller politely chuckled at an inside joke he couldn't comprehend. He didn't understand Michael's humour, or what girl would refuse a ring like that, from such a man.

"Congratulations," the shopman smiled, showing Michael out.

Strolling down the beige-tiled path, Michael put in his earpiece.

Sam answered on the third ring, sounding exasperated. "Yes, Ethan, it's ready."

"Took long enough."

"Would have been sooner if you didn't call every five minutes. How the fuck will you find this girl?"

"Let me worry about that," Michael shrugged as he walked. "You know I like a challenge."

Sam snorted. "If she's with Gavin, I'd say it's impossible."

"Oh, Sam," Michael sighed condescendingly, slipping into his vehicle and dropping the small velvet case onto the passenger seat. The car engine started with a deep roar. With the sun on his face, Michael's dark eyes shone a lighter brown as his gaze moved to the ring box.

"Nothing is impossible."

***

The End.

***

Note - I have left this inconclusive i.e. open for your imagination to fantasise your desired outcome.

This was the most satisfying resolution for me. A somewhat eternal 'Adventures of Gavin, Carina and Michael'. The HEA wishers can presume Gavin and Carina continue on to a loved-up life of excitement, hot sex and belt-spankings. The noncon fans can presume Michael, armed with memory swipe, catches up to them and does what he does best.

If I feel sentimental, I may add random 'episode' updates depending on reception and my creative vibes, but I do consider this segment the plot's final conclusion.

Thanks again. All the best.

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