The Unforgiven (3 page)

Her eyes became fixed on the daggers at her feet. Flame wiped tears from her cheeks with the sleeve of her jacket. Von was almost to his bike.

The internal struggle with her warring emotions was maddening.
Why can’t I just accept this? Why must I be in control of everything?
The downside to a lifetime of training began to surface. Warriors were not supposed to fall in love and now she knew why, especially when they’d been taught to view men as the enemy. The male species were as much natural enemies to them as Vampires were to Werewolves. One bite—one dagger—was all it took to separate the breeds.

But I love him! We mated and shared the blood-bond. He loves me, too. Isn’t this how it’s supposed to be? Why didn’t I feel this way toward Raef? I loved him, too, but his masculinity didn’t threaten me. Did his submissive demeanor eliminate the danger of falling in love? Was I ever truly in love with Raef?
She thought about Raef’s easygoing nature and his sweet aura. All the women wanted him.
Will all the women want Von? Or will his dangerous air scare them off?

Her racing thoughts went to Cassie, the Twilight whore who’d enabled Von’s return from the evil realm. Ian’s account of Von and Cassie mating on the beach still carried a sting. She wanted to forget, to believe that it meant nothing to Von as he’d said, just as much as she longed to believe Raef had not enjoyed Naami’s seduction. And both women had conceived a child from those matings. The thought of it infuriated her.

The chain reaction continued as memories of handing her infant daughter over to the Supreme Lioness forced their way in. A child raised by a surrogate so Flame could finish her training. Not a day passed that she didn’t wonder about her child.
What does she look like? Is she happy? Is she a warrior or a breeder?
She wanted to scream, but that would mean losing control and she’d cried enough over Raef’s death.
No more tears,
she told herself.
Suck it up. This is what you’ve been raised as…this is who you are. When it comes down to it, killing is as easy as breathing.

Yet despite everything she’d been raised to accept, her heart could not stand the thought of losing Von. Of all the men she’d ever known, he’d been the most loyal and the strongest, too. Perhaps it was that very strength that created this emotional whirlwind.

Is it possible I have met my match? He just walked away from me. No man has ever walked away from me!

She glanced down the beach and saw Von kicking his bike into gear. After grabbing her daggers in lightning reflex, she sprinted toward him, running with ease along the water’s edge. He looked up once before riding off and saw her coming. She thought for sure he’d keep going but to her relief he parked his motorcycle and dismounted.

He revealed no emotion while taking several steps in her direction. She reached him within minutes, stuck her blades in the sand, leapt into his arms, and curled her arms around his neck while wrapping her legs around his waist.

“Don’t leave me,” she breathed out the words. “Don’t ever leave me.” Her lips met his as his arms swept up her back. “I love you. I know I’m not supposed to, but I can’t stop myself and I don’t want to stop this.”

He pulled back just far enough so that their eyes met. “I’m not like the others. I told you once before that I’m not your puppet.”

“I know…you’ve never been a tool to me and I will never treat you as one. You’re the strongest man I’ve ever known.” Tears pooled in her eyes. “I gave myself to you last night, truly gave myself to you. Please help me get past the sting of the women before me. I can’t stand the thought of you with Cassie any more than I can clear my mind of Raef giving in to Naami. Both women got what I can never have from the only two men I have ever loved.”

“Babe, I felt nothing toward Cassie. You said men are tools, well, that’s all Cassie was. What do you need me to say?”

“Tell me what happened? I know what Ian saw, but please, tell me what really happened. The not knowing is tormenting me. Whatever you say, I know it will be the truth because of our bond.”

He sighed, yet an easy smile relaxed the lines of his face. He carried her to his bike and sat on the seat with her straddling his lap, facing him. “I already told you the basics of what and why. I see you want the intimate details.”

She nodded with hopeful eyes.

“Once the exchange had been made, Cassie’s baby for me, I was required to mate with her one more time to complete the transition. Twilight wanted me to possess superhuman allure in order to take you down. You know how well that went for them. Anyway, back to your concerns. Cassie begged me to take her as a life mate on the beach that night. I told her straight out, I wanted only you and that she meant nothing to me. There was some begging, crying, and a lot of female drama, but I felt nothing.” He paused and placed his left hand over hers. “I’m not proud of what I did or how cold I treated her, but she deserved what she got. I was compelled to breed her, then join with her again to receive a second chance with you. Those were the conditions. Cassie knew the deal going in. Somewhere along the way, she convinced herself that she’d be my mate. I made it perfectly clear that you are my destiny.”

“Was your mating with her like ours?”

“No…hell no!” He lowered his voice. “Didn’t Ian tell you? It was cold, ritualistic, and believe me, as quick as possible. My interludes with her lasted less than fifteen minutes. I loathed that wench, and the one good thing that came out of losing my humanity was that I didn’t have to feel anything with her or any other woman the evil pricks forced me to breed.”

“Others?”

“Flame, please…”

“I need to know.”

“Satellites are required to mate on every full moon to increase their powers of telepathy and persuasion. None of those matings produced offspring. It was simply a way to absorb mortal energy to increase our influence over them.”

“Five decades of full moons, that’s a lot of women.”

“I won’t lie to you, I love women. They are beautiful creatures. And yes, I remember a few faces and names. Before you ask, I never saw Cassie as a woman. She was nothing but a Twilight whore. Seriously, babe, my memory of those encounters has been erased by you.” He paused with a probing look. “What about you? How many men have you seduced along the way? Should we compare notes on past lovers? Do I need to be worried? After all, I watched you grieve the only man you claimed to love until just recently.”

“I-I guess the door swings both ways.”

“Should I be concerned? If by some crazy turn of events, Raef showed up today, what would you do?”

“That’s not fair. We both know that Raef is dead.”

Von arched one sexy brow. “So was I.”

At a loss for words for a moment, she wrinkled her brows and pondered his question. “I’ve chosen you. We did the blood-bond three times now. Each time it deepens, and so does our connection.” She paused simply to admire his gorgeous face while they sat like this. “And we mated…a very long time.”

“Yeah…we sure as hell did.”

“It was awesome.”

“Never did any of that with Raef?”

“No, never.”

He smiled. “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“What?”

“Talking, opening your heart to me. That’s all I want, it’s all I ever wanted, to
feel
you. Damn, woman, I lived forever without feeling a thing. You brought back my ability to feel. Don’t shut me out now. I crave you, like a drug, just to feel your soul, your energy…your love.”

His sincerity touched her deeply. The way he reached into her head and her heart felt uncanny, yet she found comfort in that unfathomable connection, as if a vent to her emotional turmoil had been opened.

“I like this. It feels good talking to you.” She leaned her forehead against his. “I’m sorry for whipping my daggers at you.”

“Don’t apologize unless you’ll never do it again.”

“I can’t promise you that,” she said with a sheepish shrug. “I’m…high strung.”

“I never noticed.”

She gave a little laugh. “Okay, I will try my best to control my temper and not throw my blades at you. At least I didn’t light them.”

A wry grin touched his lips. “I love you.”

“You must be a masochist then,” she teased.

“Nah, I can handle you, sweet thing, even if you are sadistic.”

“Good old S and M, huh?”

He dipped her backward, supporting her back with strong arms while leaning over her. “I’ll get kinky with you anytime.”

She sighed with a smile as his teeth latched onto the zipper of her jacket and tugged it down. Her breathing quickened when he pushed the leather aside with his mouth and kissed his way to her breast. Suspended practically upside down with her legs locked around his waist, she moaned softly when his warm moist lips closed around a nipple and began to suck. She clutched his biceps, allowing herself to bask in this spontaneous moment of pleasure. He was bold, unpredictable, and passionate. After lavishing her other breast with the same heated attention, he pulled her back up.

They stared at each other in an intense exchange of desire. The hot look in those breathtaking eyes sent an ache straight to her core. The way he made love to her with just a glance stole her breath every time. She panted through parted lips, locked in mesmerizing eye contact with him. He traced her lips with his tongue ever so slowly, teasing the hell out of her.

A soft whimper escaped her as self-control crumbled beneath his potent allure. His thoughts penetrated hers. She felt every delectable thing he longed to do with her. Receiving the full measure of his telepathy was mind-blowing. The sexual desire raging in his soul stunned her. This man possessed enough sensuality to fulfill any fantasy she could imagine and she longed to experience all he had to offer.

“Don’t forget,
Mon Coeur
,” he purred, soft and seductive. “We are channeling each other’s potential. Your wish, your every desire, is my command.”

“Von,” she barely whispered. “I’m so turned on right now.”

He spoke in a calm, sensual manner, his lips brushing hers as he did. “You’re feeling what I feel for you combined with your own burning need.” His teeth tugged at her bottom lip yet he did not look away. “Say the word and I’ll put out this fire.”

She considered the traveling time he could save her. Traveling the immortal way would turn a two-day road trip into a five-minute flash through time.

“Right here, right now, just like this,” she muttered.

Without a word, he lifted her from his lap and smoothly removed her pants while she worked the fly of his leathers. He slid his pants down then they resumed their engaging position on his Harley. She wound her legs around his bare waist as he braced his booted feet on the ground, then filled her with his long, hard sex. They kissed hungrily for several minutes before he lowered her upper body as before, holding her with muscled arms suspended upside down before him.

“Ohhh…” she moaned while taking a tight hold of his upper arms. His biceps flexed with power while supporting her weight.

He took her hard and fast, driving that magnificent erection deeper with each thrust. She didn’t withhold her screams of pleasure when his mouth found and sucked her tingling nipples. This man knew how to please a woman in every way. She ground her hips against him with every inward drive, matching his pace move for move.

Time faded away as they became utterly lost in each other. He penetrated her to the fullest, touching her deepest parts, stimulating all the nerves of her body into one rampant inferno. Shades of red, purple, and blue swirled behind her closed eyes as she surrendered to her feelings for this immortal stud. Her body shuddered in wild release and at the same time, a heavy groan rose in his chest followed by a series of hot spurts of liquid heat into her sex.

Von pulled her up and drew her close against him, wrapping those long protective arms around her as they came together with astounding force. She bit at his neck, drawing a more intense response from him. He pushed deeper still, flooding her with his release. His skin tasted slightly salty and he smelled intoxicating—a heady blend of leather and musk. She trembled uncontrollably in his arms as multiple orgasms ripped through her body. They seemed to come forever in a never-ending chain reaction of his climax triggering another for her and likewise.

Her mouth found his again, groping feverishly to taste him and suck his tongue to the back of her throat. He responded with equal fervor. They remained tangled in a powerful embrace, kissing, nipping, and biting.

Gradually the fire subsided. They clung together, gasping for breath and soaked in sweat. She felt utterly sated and complete.

“You are one wild woman,” he murmured at her neck. “I’m completely addicted to you.”

“You’re pretty wild there yourself, baby,” she said with a short airy laugh. “I don’t think I can be without you too long—I’m taking you home with me.”

He lifted his head. Curiosity brimmed in those captivating eyes. “Really…you’re taking me to your village…” He said in open disbelief.

“You are my man, aren’t you?” She offered him a warm smile.

“Hell yeah, I am.”

“Then I’m taking you up on your offer for that immortal ride. After all, I need to shave some travel time after all these delays.”

He didn’t say anything as they pulled themselves together but she could tell by his smile that she’d made him happy. As they prepared for the bizarre trip that would take them to Celestial Village, she wondered how a man of his stature would feel in her surreal colony. She didn’t expect the same awestruck reaction from Von as she’d seen in Raef.

“Hey, pretty baby.” He gently caught her arm before she slid onto the seat behind him. “Remember when you said the other two women got what you can never have?”

She furrowed her brows, a little upset that he brought up such a delicate subject right after they’d just made unbelievable crazy love. “Yes, but I’d rather not talk about that now.”

“Hey…” His voice was gentle as he took her face between tender hands and placed a sweet kiss on her lips. “I’d never bring something up if I didn’t have a valid reason. I’d never hurt you like that.”

She nodded weakly with a shrug. “Okay.”

Von lovingly placed one hand over her bare midriff. “Our mating last night was more than just a joining of souls. You’re going to get what you want, and unlike the two wenches who stole from you, you’ll get to keep it.”