Prologue
Asher lie on his back upon rumpled silken sheets pulled haphazardly from the night's amorous activities. To his left, a sordid pile of men and women sleeping peacefully in a tangle of naked bodies. On his right, the moon shown through the window illuminating the room. He raised his arms above his head stretching his powerful 6'4'' frame until the bones in his back popped audibly. He flexed his neck from side-to-side before rising from the bed.
The soft pad of his bare feet on the concrete floor was the only sound save for the hooting of owls. It had been this way for the past few months. He would abscond to bed with a crowd of willing lovers, plow his frustration and anxiety away praying that exhaustion would gain him a few glorious hours of rest. Thus far, the plan had not worked.
Something did not sit well with him. His spirit and his mind were in conflict. He had a job to carry out, a task he had accepted without much thought. As the days faded into twilight, however, he found sleep increasingly difficult to obtain. He had turned his attentions to alcohol, strenuous physical labor, and sex in the hopes that he could override whatever held sleep at bay. Nothing helped, nothing settled his unease.
He had spent the previous nights exploring the abandoned factory his group had taken as their temporary home, learning the lay of the land and how best to defend against an enemy presence. It was unlikely that they would be attacked during the course of their mission, but he practiced under the philosophy of hoping for the best, preparing for the worst. It had not steered him wrong so far.
He had barely put up a fight when the council had asked him to form a search party. He had balked, however, when he had learned they were to scour the city, searching for a "person of interest". A person of interest, whom the council felt would prove to be quite useful in the days to come, whatever that meant. No harm was to befall the target. She was to be treated with the utmost respect and care.
As one of the best Seekers, Asher had been consulted specifically for his prowess in remaining undetected, as well as a multitude of other skills which were not quite so covert. He had been promised a new seat and higher authority within the government, provided he was successful in his acquisition.
Asher recognized a delivery job when he saw one and by all standards he should have turned on the council when they made the offer. In another life, perhaps he would have. The times had changed, politics held more power than brute strength. Even being a paragon meant little these days. As such, he and eight of his most talented and proven soldiers now stalked a lone girl at the request of some old men in robes.
He paused in a large empty window-frame which afforded a entrancing view of the city. The bright lights of the bustling downtown night-life sparkled, dotting the velvet night sky with promises of happiness and decadent adventures. Asher leaned his head against the pitted wooden frame and closed his eyes, letting the cool night air sweep around his body bringing goosebumps to the surface. The half-moon peaked through the clouds, shining crisp pale light onto his naked body.
A hand lightly caressed his back. In a flash of bared teeth and thick-muscled limbs, Asher captured his would-be assailant in a tight grasp and slammed the sneak against the nearest wall. The clack of teeth chomping against themselves gave testament to the power he had utilized on his target. His eyes adjusted to the near dark of the hallway and he found, to his surprise, that there was no assailant.
Wide, shock-filled brown eyes gazed at him from beneath an oily tangle of mid-length jet-black hair. A choking sound emitted from her mouth as she pulled franticly at the large hand wrapped tightly around her throat. Asher released her and she crumpled to the ground drawing large gulps of air into her lungs as tears filled her eyes.
"WHAT THE FUCK!" The girl screamed, her voice shrill; strained.
Asher turned away from her, casting his gaze upon the city once more.
"You could have killed me you sick bastard!" The 5'5" girl said over a choked sob.
He could hear her rise from the floor.
"What the hell is the matter with you?!" She clenched her hands into fists. "Are you fucking psycho?!" She screamed at his back. His muscular body cast into relief by the soft light of the moon. Her breath came in gasps as she fought to keep her anger at bay.
His breaths were deep and slow. "I could have killed you." He said. His deep voice, crisp and articulate seemed to reverberate in the hollows of her body. "I do not do well when someone sneaks up on me." He looked over his shoulder at her. His handsome face shining in the silvery light of the night. "I trust you have learned a lesson?"
She looked at him; awestruck by his beauty. The dark of the night could conceal many things from her searching eyes, but the dark could never block the mesmerizing shift of colors dotting his dark green irises. "You're crazy." She started to back away from him, but something within her buzzed hungrily for him. "You're . . . You're crazy." Her words losing their venom.
She was caught completely off guard by the shifting hues of pinks and purples, like flecks of opal had been caught in his eyes. The result was, for lack of a better word, dazzling. She took in the magnificent power of his form, the rippling muscles of his body. She admired him, unabashed, her eyes devouring every inch of him. Aside from his head and face, he was perfectly hairless. On others it would have looked pre-pubescent, on him it looked perfectly appetizing.
"You don't sound very convinced." Asher said, turning his body toward her. He widened his gaze, letting his birthright pull her under his influence.
She swallowed as she looked him over, her mouth suddenly felt dry. The chiseled features of his body radiated power and the hard length of his manhood sparked a fire deep within her. She could feel herself heating up, the core of her body tuning in to something primal, something dark, something coming from him. A noise filled the room, a humming.
"What," She spoke softly, "What is that sound?" Her body seemed to move of its own accord. Her legs bringing her nearer to her target, her large, muscular, DANGEROUS, target.
"I think it's coming from you." Asher replied, caressing the skin of her arms lightly.
"But it's so loud." She complained.
