Raven tried again three days later and this time she was certain she would succeed.

She had planned everything down to the last detail and there was no way Aaron could possibly know she was coming.

She had changed her entire approach and waited until he was in the training grounds away from the palace.

She watched him from the shadows as he sparred with his beta and the other guards and she noted every move he made and every opening in his defense.

When he finally dismissed everyone and headed toward the bathhouse alone, she knew this was her chance.

She followed him and slipped into the bathhouse after him. The steam made it hard to see, but she could hear the sound of water and she moved toward it with her dagger ready.

This was it. This was finally it. She would finally kill that bastard of a king.

But the moment she got close enough to strike, Aaron turned around and caught her wrist and she found herself pressed against the wet tile wall with him standing in front of her.

"Third attempt this week," He said and there was amusement in his voice that made her want to scream.

Raven glared at him, trying to pull her arm free but his grip was firm despite not being painful.

She let out a sigh, hating that even now her body reacted to his touch. Her eyes trailed down his body and she almost drooled at his defined muscles.

He even had an eight pack!

“My eyes are up here.” Aaron’s voice was amused and when she looked at his face, she saw a smirk at the corners of his lips.

Her cheeks instantly flamed red with embarrassment.

"Let me go!" She hissed, trying to yank her hand from his grip.

"Why? So you can try to stab me again?" Aaron asked, tiling his head to the side, his smirk replaced by a smile.

"I want to watch you bleed." Raven shot back, but her voice didn't sound as convincing as she wanted it to.

Aaron leaned in closer, water droplets fell from his hair onto her face.

She gulped, trying not to notice how good he looked and smelled.

"If you really wanted me dead, I would be dead by now," His eyes locked onto hers, all traces of amusement gone.

Raven's jaw clenched because he was right and she knew it. She didn't understand how this kept happening.

She was one of the top three assassins in the Guild of Shadows. She had killed men twice Aaron's size without breaking a sweat.

She had completed impossible missions that other assassins wouldn't even attempt. So why couldn't she kill one man?

Was she really that terrible of an assassin now? Had all her training meant nothing?

Or was Aaron just that good and that perceptive that he could sense her every move before she made it?

"You're just lucky." She said through gritted teeth.

"Am I?" Aaron asked, his thumb brushing against the inside of her wrist where her pulse was racing.

He leaned in and whispered into her ear. "Or maybe you don't really want to kill me."

Raven would be lying if she said her body did not react to his warm breath fanning her ear.

"I want you dead," Raven said and she meant it, but her body betrayed her by leaning into him just slightly.

Aaron noticed and his smile widened. At that moment, Raven wanted nothing more than to punch him.

"Then why haven't you done it yet?" He asked, his brows rising.

"You've had plenty of opportunities. That first night in my chambers, you could have slit my throat before I even woke up. Yesterday when I was in the garden alone, you could have put an arrow through my heart. And just now, you could have struck before I turned around. So why didn't you?"

Raven didn't have an answer because she didn't know herself and that scared her.

"Maybe I'm just waiting for the right moment." She sneered.

"Or maybe you're waiting for a reason not to," Aaron said, releasing her wrist but didn't step back.

"Maybe you're starting to realize that whatever you think I did, whatever reason you have for wanting me dead, maybe there's more to the story,"

Aaron’s mismatched eyes studied her for a second. “Did someone send you?”

Raven shoved him away and this time he let her. She stepped back and tried to catch her breath.

"You don't know anything about me." She spat, her eyes narrowing to slits.

"I know you're in pain," Aaron said gently, his face turning serious.

"I can see it in your eyes every time you look at me. Someone hurt you badly and you think I'm responsible, but I swear to you I don't know what I did."

For a moment, Raven almost told him everything but then she remembered her family and the blood and her sister's final words and she forced herself to turn away.

"Stay away from me." She spat and left before he could say anything else.

The fourth attempt happened two days later. Raven went after Aaron in the library late at night.

She dropped down from the ceiling rafters where she had been waiting for hours but somehow Aaron sensed her and moved at the last second.

She gritted her teeth when her blade only grazed his shoulder.

"That one almost got me." Aaron said chirpily, spinning around to face her.

Raven didn't respond and attacked again but Aaron blocked her. They fell into a pattern of strikes and blocks that would have impressed her if she wasn't so frustrated.

He was good and far better than she expected and she realized he had been holding back during their other encounters.

"Why won't you just die?" Raven asked as she aimed a kick at his ribs.

Aaron caught her leg and used her momentum to pull her off balance. She ended up pressed against a bookshelf with his body against hers.

She felt his warmth against hers and she was ashamed at the pleasure which pooled between her legs.

"Why won't you just talk to me?" Aaron whispered, his face was inches from hers and his breath fanning her face.

"Tell me what I did. Tell me why you want me dead so badly. Give me a chance to explain."

"There's nothing to explain," Raven said but her voice came out breathless. "You're a murderer."

Aaron's eyes went wide with shock. "What? I've never murdered anyone. Who told you that?"

"Liar. I saw you," Raven gritted out, unable to keep the anger out of her voice. "I saw what you did."

"When? Where? I don't understand," Aaron said and he looked so confused that Raven felt her resolve shake.

She pushed him away and ran before she could say anything else.