A Warlord's Lady by Nicola E. Sheridan

pair of jeans and a woollen sweater.
    She waited for the Magical Ion Sensing Device to alert. It stayed silent, flashing a lone green LCD bulb.
    ‘I said I’m not going,’ Sabra cried, fighting the urge to tear off the clothes he’d so quickly supplied.
    ‘Why?’ Cain grated, irritation evident in his tone.
    ‘I’m not going back to be your sex toy!’
    ‘I never said you were my sex toy,’ he replied stiffly, and ran a hand down her arm leaving a trail of heat in its stead.
    ‘That’s how I felt.’ There, she’d said it, petty and ridiculous as it sounded.
    Cain was silent and impassive, and the silence compelled her to continue.
    ‘I don’t want to live like that again. You’re a murderer, a criminal…’
    He didn’t deny it, but his touch grazed her skin again. For a moment Sabra struggled to not succumb and stay focussed on her anger. ‘Don’t touch me. You treated me like a toy. We barely spoke. We’d just fuck! What kind of life is that?’
    ‘A very good one, I’d imagine.’ Jürgen’s dry tone chipped in from behind.
    Sabra turned and scowled at the massive blond.
    ‘I’m serious, Boss, we’ve got to go, unless you want to use more magic…’
    Cain seemed to consider it for a moment, then shook his head. ‘Not necessary,’ he rumbled.
    ‘Then, let’s get out of here,’ Jürgen urged.
    ‘No!’ Sabra cried, as Cain caught her hand to pull her.
    Again, her heart stilled at his touch, all breath left her. She caught his eyes and found them near black with desire.
    For me…
    Jürgen rushed down the stairs and fired some shots through the glass of her front door as a warning to the special task force that waited outside.
    ‘Round the back!’ Jürgen called up the stairwell, but Sabra stood fast. She glared at Cain, though internally she wanted to rip his clothes off and lick his chest like a wildly excited puppy.
    ‘Sabra.’ He breathed her name and she felt it against the skin of her cheek. Beneath his magically-conjured sweater her skin rippled with anticipation.
    I can’t let him take me away, she thought weakly, and retreated deep inside herself to try and stem the desire to just meekly follow.
    ‘Sabra,’ he breathed again, and this time she knew he hadn’t even spoken. He was using his magic, his sex-inducing magic to coax and tempt her.
    He is a murderer, he treats me like a sex toy, he has other women… The thought ripped through the fuzz of her mind with the edge of a serrated knife. Lots of other women .
    ‘What do you want from me?’ Sabra cried out, and lurched away.
    ‘I’ll tell you soon enough, be patient,’ he soothed, speaking as if to a dementia patient.
    Sabra shook her head. ‘Why?’ Without awaiting his answer she snapped to action, her ankle twisting on the edge of the landing as she made to escape.
    He didn’t answer, instead caught her arm and tugged her to him.
    She collided into the hardness of his chest and his mouth covered hers in heat.
    Oh, good Lord.
    He tasted so good, and she kissed him back before she could stop herself. There was another round of gun fire and it did the job her will was too weak for. She jerked away, looking about frantically. Cain’s heavy-lidded gaze met hers.
    ‘Come on,’ he urged, a small victorious curl licking the edge of his delectable mouth. ‘Let’s go.’
    ‘Boss!’ Jürgen sounded worried.
    ‘No.’ Sabra breathed, and then it happened.
    It happened as it had all those months ago.
    Cain looked around wildly. ‘Sabra?’ The whites of his eyes were incredulous. ‘What the fuck?’ he snarled, and took a swipe at the air before him.
    Sabra watched him silently. How had she done this? Literally, all she’d done was take a step away from him, yet now he couldn’t see her at all. She had all but disappeared from his view, but she was still there. Clearly this was no ordinary camouflage job.
    ‘Sabra!’ Cain bellowed, swearing and cursing in Lao at the same time. He stalked around the room, still