To Kiss A Man Silly

Chapter 17

Belying my own declarations, my gaze rose up to involuntarily lock onto his.

Such depths! Such beauty. Were they really obsidian black? Or did the very depths of his iris emit a deep blue glow?

Staring into Claude's fathomless dark blue gaze was proving to be a bimbo inducing exercise. I blinked rapidly to shake away the blind devotion that immediately shuttered my gaze. The man was literally sin incarnate. Uncle Anthony was right. I would be more than singed in my dealings with Claude. I could very well be blistered and burnt, as only playing with fire can result. I hadn't even been aware of my gaze settling on his and then simply staring fixatedly at the smug, self-satisfied, impossible man. 

He was just that good.

But I was aware now.

Not that it stopped my hungry gaze from roving back to his... again and again.

"I can see talking sense to you is out of the question," murmured Uncle Anthony somewhere in the corner recesses of my mind.

"Huh?"

His sigh was audible.

"Fine," he grumbled tiredly. "Have it your way. Have your way with him. But don't come crawling back to me when he pulls one over you. The man is the enemy. No matter what his father says. No one leaves the profession. Especially when its family. What he is is in his blood. Just as what you are is in yours."

Uncle Anthony abruptly rose to his feet. And with him several other occupant's in the room dropped their pretence over whatever they were doing and also rose to theirs. I swivelled a swift glance around to take in their number and was glad to note I hadn't missed any on my first surveillance on entering the room.

Tossing aside his serviette, Uncle Anthony place both hand palms down on the table to lean down menacingly over me. I held my seat, back straight and met his gaze head on.

"You know where to find me," he went back on his own words, after staring endlessly into my wide green gaze. I nodded my head. It was as he said. Family was family. There was no turning my back on him any more then he could turn his on me.

But that just made Claude's own situation beyond ridiculous.

Seeing Uncle Anthony move back to leave made me rise to my own feet. In a swift move, I was on him. Arms wrapped tight about his neck and body meshed up against his. His scent was familiar. Comforting. He was right. He was my family. My only family. I couldn't loose him. I understood why he came. His fears. I shared them too. Only mine was for him.

"Shia," he breathed out softly against my ear.

I sighed and dropped back only my feet. Looking up at his handsome face. Uncle Anthony was everything I was not. Good looking, strong, mature and most importantly, male. A vital importance to being taken seriously in this field I was in. Still an assassin was an assassin. It was my weapon of choice that did the talking for me. And that was respected by all regardless of the gender wielding it. Still, it irked to be a female at moments like this, when my uncle would deem it necessary that he stooped down to my rescue. Had I been a man, he wouldn't have seen the need to interfere. Gay or not, he'd know I could and would hold my own against Claude. No matter whose son he was and what background he had.

"Take care, uncle." 

I smiled what I couldn't say and silently waved off him on his way.

"So... welcome to my web, said the spider to the fly." Claude's grin was irrepressibly wide and unaccountably wicked. I couldn't help the shivers of pleasure that immediately sped down my spine but I did manage to retain an expression devoid of emotions as I turned to face his handsomeness.

"If you're done, we should get out of here. I have another mark I need to stalk and  I would like to talk to your father."

As expected, my words succeeded in draining the smirk from his face. But I found I wasn't happy to see his colour drain along with it. I met his stare for stare, this time successfully keeping my wits about me.

"Whatever, you hope to achieve, I can assure you won't," said Claude. "My father would kill you first ere he speak with you."

"We'll find away," I said simply, moving off to settle the bill. Claude was waiting for me at the door.

"So who's your mark? I thought you only had one at a time?"

"I usually do. But in this instance, I think I will make an exception," I said calmly before turning to meet his gaze, before I continued on," for your father."