Hello, my lovely readers! You may remember my recent announcement: I’m on Wattpad! I started the account to host both my updated Narnia Suspian (Susan x Prince Caspian) fanfiction and a new story, a YA romantic fantasy about an assassin falling in love.

If you want to read the fanfiction, you’ll need to head over to my Wattpad and check it out. But for Assassin’s Kiss, I’ve decided to post here on my blog, too. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter One: Recon in the Stacks

The redheaded librarian stands behind her large wooden desk wearing a simple brown dress. Her wire spectacles frame her blue eyes, making them stand out in her soft, freckled face. Her hair is pinned up in a braided look. She smiles sweetly as I walk to her desk, half-hidden in the back of the large, quiet building.

“Can I help you?” Her voice is calm, steady, polite.

“That depends,” I answer. “Have you seen a man pass through here, about yea tall?” I hold my hand up several inches above my head. “Brown hair, bulky.” I slide my hand into the leather bag attached to my skirt and pull out the sketch inside. “Looks something like this.”

The brightness in her eyes fades as she bites her lip. “Um… I’m sorry. I can’t provide information on other visitors. If you’re looking for local resident information, perhaps the census records can help you.”

I shake my head. Leaving the sketch on the desk, I lean toward the woman. “I need something a bit more recent and specific.” I tilt my head to the side, letting my currently long, silky auburn hair tumble over one shoulder. “Are you sure there isn’t anything you can do?” I plead.

I watch for her reaction. Her eyes trail over my hair before returning to my face; she avoids eye contact. Flustered. On the right track.

“Because, see, he has something I really need,” I say, leaning further forward to expose a peek down the top of my bodice. The edge of the desk pushes uncomfortably into my hip, but I ignore that. “And I would so appreciate if you could just do me this little, tiny favor and tell me if he’s been here today.”

“Um—well—I…” Her eyes dart to the tops of my breasts. Pink tinges her cheeks. She clears her throat. “I’m really not supposed to do that.” She looks away.

“I wouldn’t tell anyone.” I place my sun-kissed hand over her pale one on the desktop. “I promise.”

She looks down at our hands and chews on her lip again. “I mean—” She takes a breath and looks up at me. “I wish I could help you. Really. But that’s against the rules.”

I sigh and pull my hand away, straightening up. “I understand.” I twist my lips into a frustrated pout. “I guess I’ll be leaving then.” I put my hand on the sketch to take it.

“Wait!” Her hand darts out and stops mine. “Um… Is there anything else I can help you with?”

Victory. I shrug. “I only came here to find him. He’s got something I need. But if you know of a way I can find him…”

“Well… do you have any other details? I can see if we have a record of him. I can’t give you any personal details, but if he’s in our records, he should be in the census. It could save you some time.”

I smile. “That’s better than nothing. You’re so sweet.”

She looks down with a smile. “Oh. Um. Thank you.” She turns to the shelf of record books behind her. “Do you have a name or date of visit?”

“Today’s date,” I say. I walk around the desk to stand next to her.

She turns to place the book on the counter and startles, dropping the large, leather-bound volume. “Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t—you’re not supposed to—”

“I scared you! I’m sorry.” I lean down to pick up the book and present it to the woman. It’s heavier than I expect. “Here you go.”

“Thanks,” she says. She sets the book on the counter with a soft thud.

“You never told me your name.”

“Oh.” She shrugs, tucking a stray wisp of red hair behind her ear. “I’m Millicent.”

“That’s a pretty name.”

“Thanks.” She bites her lip. “My friends call me Millie.”

“A sweet name for a lovely woman.”

A blush blooms across her freckled face. She giggles. “Thanks, I suppose.”

I step closer to her and point to the book on the counter. “So, this has today’s records?”

She nods. “Yes, let me just find that for you.” She turns back to the book and opens it, flipping through pages.

I lean close to her, watching the book over her left shoulder. There! Hidden in the pages near the back, a tiny corner of mismatched paper sticks out.

“You must be very smart to get a job like this,” I say.

Her fingers on the page slow. “I did work pretty hard to get here.”

“I’m sure you earned it.” I brush my fingers over her left hand. She freezes. “What do you like about working with books, anyway? Don’t you get bored?”

She laughs. “Oh, no. I could never be bored in this library. I’ve only worked here six months.” She turns toward me to look up at the towering shelves lining the side of the room, visible from this desk at an angle. Her hand slips out from under mine to gesture at the books. “It would take me years to get through all the interesting books, and by then I’m sure I’ll have found something to like about the boring ones, too.”

“You seem passionate.”

She turns closer. Her voice softens. “I’m doing what I love, you know?”

Time to make your move. “It’s a very attractive quality.” I place my free hand on her arm and reach the other across the book to take her hand. She turns the rest of the way to face me.

I run my thumb over her knuckles. She takes a tiny, quick breath.

“An intelligent, passionate woman doing what she loves,” I say softly, lowering my voice with each word. “I find that very attractive.”

She bites her lip, but she doesn’t move.

“Millie,” I whisper.

Finally her blue eyes look up at mine. “Yes?”

“May I kiss you?”

She blushes again, but she nods. “Yes,” she breathes.

I lean forward and press my lips to hers. She’s soft and tastes like peaches and peppermint. It’s an odd combination, but I like it.

I release her hand to run mine up along her arm, her shoulder, stopping to cradle her neck. My other arm wraps around her waist. She rests her hands on my waistline, letting me lead the kiss. I step forward, closing the gap between our hips. I turn us so her back is to the desk. I press deeper into the kiss and pull our bodies closer. I can feel her breasts pressing against mine.

The back of her hips bump into the desk. She lets out an “oh!”

I release her mouth while we both let out a giggle. Then I return to kissing her, our soft mouths melting together.

My right hand leaves her waist to roam the counter behind her. I trace my fingers over the open book to find the edges of the pages. There. Farther, farther, pressing our mouths and hips together, reaching my fingers farther until I feel the stray piece of paper sticking out and pinch it between my fingertips.

Millie moans against my mouth. I release her lips and lean in to press kisses against her neck, keeping my eyes open. I hold up the piece of paper behind her back to check that I have what I need. It’s exactly what I’m looking for.

I kiss my way back up Millie’s neck to claim her mouth again, my tongue skimming over the edge of her lips. Then I bring both hands to her sides and lift her easily up onto the desktop. Her eyes pop open. A brief bout of surprised giggling escapes her. She places her hands on the edge of the desk to keep her balance.

I smile. The piece of paper tucked into one palm, I run each hand down the sides of her legs and nudge her knees apart. She spreads her legs, allowing me to step closer and resume kissing. I slide the paper into my bag before bringing both hands to her waist.

I have time for a little more fun before I leave.

I grip Millie’s hip with my left hand and run the other up her back. I feel her lips part against my mouth. I pull her bottom lip between my teeth, just grazing the soft surface. She moans again.

I release her mouth to leave a trail of gentle kisses down her jaw, her neck, her collarbone. With my right hand, I pull back the loose bit of chemise visible above her bodice and press kisses along the exposed skin.

I bring my mouth back up to whisper in Millie’s ear. “I wish I could take this bodice off you.”

She whimpers in response.

“Kiss me, Millie.”

Her hands leave the desk to frame my face as she pulls my mouth to hers. I surrender control for a moment. She captures my mouth with her velvet, gentle movements.

A thud echoes through the library. Someone must have passed through the heavy wooden door at the entrance.

“Oh!” Startled, Millie pulls back to look at me, her expression worried. She whispers, “You’re not supposed to be back here.”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper back. “Here, let me—”

I help her slide off the desk to stand on level floor again. I dart around to the front of the desk while she shakes her skirt out and tucks back loose wisps of hair.

“I have to go,” I say, taking the sketch of the man off the desk and returning it to my bag. “But it was nice meeting you, Millie.”

She smiles. “It was nice meeting you, too… um…”

“Goodbye.” I turn and walk toward the door before she can ask for a name.

I slide my hand back into my bag and grip the scrap of paper containing a time and address. I have somewhere to be.

I’m so excited to share this new serialized story with all of you. I read every comment, so leave your thoughts below!

I’ll be posting new chapters every Saturday — subscribe to my email list so you don’t miss an update!

See you soon…