Unforgiven (The Forbidden Bond 2)

by Cat Miller

  “You knew? You knew and you still made love to me?” he was floored.

  “I’ve known you were human since that day in the library. I have a sister that was very similar to you when I met her. Her scent was always confusing and complex to me. She drew men like flies because of the mix of human blood and vamp hormones. You have the same effect on women. The smell of you when I’m close is enough to drive me mad.” She smiled and leaned in to kiss him.

  “So you’re not worried about ending up like Darren, with a half-bond?” He needed to know. It was possible that she would bond to him but his human blood would interfere with his ability to bond. It could go either way. Griffin’s bond to Dani’s mom worked but Darren’s didn’t.

  “Do you love me now?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “If I were human would it matter?” she asked.

  “No. Humans don’t bond when they mate,” he explained.

  “Are you prejudiced against vamps? Because I demand equal treatment.” She tried not to smile.

  “If I were human you wouldn’t ask me these questions?” She did smile then.

  “I just want you to be sure, Sparky.”

  “I’m hoping for a complete bond, but if it doesn’t work we’ll still be in love, right? Darren didn’t have that and he’s paying for it. My dad told me he was in love with Tessa. Maybe that’s the difference?”

  Derek leapt onto the bed and dragged Brandi over to lie on his chest. She squealed and snuggled in against him. He couldn’t believe Brandi had known about his humanity all along and still she wanted to be with him. She said she loved him. It was a gift beyond measure and he would spend his life proving she had made the right choice.

  “I don’t want to wait. I think we should be bonded now,” she told him.

  Derek tipped up her chin with one finger.

  “Now? But I still have things to do. ”

  “We want to be together. Does anything else matter?”

  Derek couldn’t argue with that logic. He wanted to bind her to him so badly it hurt. The voice in the back of his mind howled in triumph. His sweet little flame was just as anxious to seal their vows as he was.

  “I think you deserve a ceremony with family and friends, Sparky. Don’t you want that? I can wait for you. I don’t want you to have any regrets.”

  The voice in his mind kicked him in the ass. Brandi went to work on his belt again.

  “I want to do this the old fashioned way. Before our people started making the bond between two people a social and financial joining of power, the ceremony was a private event between two people in love.”

  She had his pants undone and climbed down the bed to tug them off.

  “We don’t have any blades,” he reminded her. He had never seen a bonding ceremony before but he knew about the process and he was sure they used blades.

  “We will improvise.” Brandi smiled up at him as she tossed his pants to the floor. The glint of her sharp little fangs had him painfully hard. Oh man! It was so hot to think of Brandi sinking her teeth into him. She climbed up his body and he watched the pulse point in her neck throb. Derek had to close his eyes or was going to embarrass himself. The mere idea of his fangs in her skin and her blood running down his throat had him riding the edge of torment. Brandi was naked and delicious and everything he ever wanted. She nipped his chin. Derek steadied himself and opened his eyes. Brandi looked back at him through eyes as dark as the deepest night. She licked her lips and used her tongue to toy with one of her fangs.

  She was teasing him and he was ready to play. Derek lifted his hips to rub his solid length against her. She hissed and pressed into him. Their mouths came together and the graze of her teeth on his tongue was mind blowing. He hadn’t realized his own fangs were on display until she stroked the sensitive points. Brandi was circling her hips in search of the pressure she needed. She was already moist and ready. It would only take one movement to join them, but he wanted her fevered and eager for his possession.

  He smiled against her mouth and sat up to press Brandi back onto her haunches so he could reach the dusky pink peaks of her breasts. She moaned her approval. Derek nipped and licked at her until she was again searching for the friction she craved. He chuckled. She purred and mewled like a hungry kitten. His hand explored the new, strange marks on her skin while his fingers made their way to the pulse of need at the apex of Brandi’s thighs. She panted and writhed under his mouth and hand. Derek almost had her where he needed her to be. He adjusted his hips and let her feel how ready he was for her.

  “Please. Yes,” she begged.

  She was so close. Derek continued to gently circle her nub with gentle fingers and pleasure her breasts with his tongue and teeth. She pleaded for release and bent her head to nip at his ear. Derek finally moved to her entrance and pulled her down onto him in one deep thrust. Brandi screamed. Her wet heat sucked at him while her climax claimed her completely. She shook and called his name. Derek guided her body and thrust in time to stretch out her orgasm. He had to grit his teeth against the urge to allow his own release.

  When her release subsided into small aftershocks of rippling heat, Derek kissed her neck at the spot he wanted so badly to taste, then her lips.

  “I love you,” Derek whispered. She said something unintelligible.

  He repositioned them on the bed so that she lay beneath him. He was still cradled within her and reveled in the heat and complete acceptance she offered so unselfishly. Derek began a slow deliberate joining of their bodies and souls. He invaded and retreated. She lifted her hips to meet each slow slide.

  Derek didn’t know the ritual words that were to be spoken but he knew what was in his heart. He was close to the precipice and didn’t want this end until Brandi was his mate for this lifetime and every lifetime that followed if he could make it so.

  “You belong to me and I you. I will never let go, bond or no bond. I will protect you until my last breath. I love you now and always, Brandi.”

  He took her mouth and his hips bucked faster without his consent. She was pulling him deeper under with every clenching slide into her heat. Their eyes met and Brandi replied.

  “I vow to love you for the whole of my existence. I vow to protect you to my last breath. I vow to cherish the gift of your returned love for all time. And I vow to always remain grateful for the man that will from this day forth be the one and only Mate of my soul.”

  Derek waited for Brandi’s bite. This had to be her choice. She had so much to lose in this act and he wanted her to make the first move. He would not break her skin first.

  “I love you,” she told him and she leaned in to plunge her fangs into his shoulder. The stinging pain was quickly replaced by a euphoric tidal wave. Every nerve in his body soaked up the pleasure overload. Brandi’s mouth sucked and lapped at him and he was barely able to hold on. Without thinking he plunged his fangs into the tender skin where neck meets shoulder. Her blood welled and spread across his tongue. It was the sweetest honey sliding down his throat. Her blood was like nothing he had ever experienced. As he drank from her body, her soul crept into his. Her hopes and dreams became part of his dreams. He swallowed down her life and gave her his.

  Brandi’s muscles closed around him, pulling and demanding his release. She convulsed and shook in his arms. His will snapped with the wave of extreme ecstasy the feeling of oneness that washed over him like a warm summer rain. Derek exploded. He drifted up into the far reaches of the atmosphere and floated back down to find himself wrapped in love and contentment.

  It had worked. He could feel Brandi’s relief and joy. She pretended that it didn’t matter if the bond didn’t take, but it had mattered greatly to her. She was willing to sacrifice the ability to fulfill the need of all their people to create this incredible link to another soul in order to be with him. It humbled him.

  “You undo me, baby,” he told her softly. “Thank you for choosing me.”

  Brandi said nothing. She held him tightly, cli
nging to him with her arms around his neck. Derek lay down beside her and pulled her close. She snuggled there, kissing his chest before closing her eyes, but she wasn’t asleep. Brandi and Derek were both in a state of awe, reveling in the discovery of their other half; like they had been blind in one eye their whole lives and suddenly able to see clearly with both eyes. The whole picture was now in focus. He felt at home for the first time in the arms and soul of his mate.

  He was surprised at how insecure and lonely Brandi was at heart. He would do something about that. Brandi had no reason to feel less than complete satisfaction with her image and he would make damn sure she was never lonely again. He couldn’t read her thoughts but he got a clear sense of her emotionally state of mind. When they were both riding out the release at the end of the bonding it was nothing Derek had ever expected. He could nearly feel her ecstasy and it magnified his own.

  Exhaustion eventually claimed them both and for the first time in more years than he could remember, Derek had no nightmares. He dreamt only of the future and the life he would share with his sparky little mate.

  TWENTY

  Gage answered his cell phone, glad for the distraction from the embarrassment on Griffin’s face. His daughter had just publicly put him in his place and rightly so in Gage’s opinion. He looked at the screen and didn’t recognize the number. He’d been hoping it would be his mate, Koren. She was attending a wife’s support group on the Enclave this evening, but she should be home by now. He had been getting odd feelings of stress and something like panic from her for a little while now but she always got emotional when she was dealing with the newly mated females on the Enclave. Koren remembered clearly what it was like to sit by the phone and wait for your deployed mate to call. When the call doesn’t come there’s nothing to do but worry.

  “Gage Paris,” he answered with his standard greeting.

  “Good evening, Captain.”

  He would have known the voice anywhere. The man had worked under him for decades.

  “Darren.” That got the attention of everyone standing around Gage. It became eerily silent.

  “To what do I owe the dishonor of a call from the dark side?”

  “I had information to share but since you’re already being an asshole I shouldn’t tell you. I just figured since I saw that long legged blonde of yours being herded away with the rest of the mates and children you might be interested. You’re such a sucker. We cause trouble down south and you ship out the Wrath. We stir up a little trouble at the Council hall and you just about empty the Enclave. You’re so predictable. It was too damn easy. Have a nice day, Captain. Oh, and tell Danielle I’m coming for her.”

  Darren hung up. Gage made brief eye contact with Dani before the rest of what Darren had said sank in. It had to be joke. Everyone watched and waited for him to explain the call. He quickly dialed the gate house at the Enclave and got no answer. He called his secretary and got no answer. He tried the reception desk and got no answer. Then when the fear began to sink in, he dialed Koren’s cell phone. She picked up but said nothing. He could hear mumbled male voices and a woman crying. The soothing sound of Koren trying to comfort someone was shattered by gunfire and the phone disconnected.

  “Son of a bitch!” Gage roared. He was seeing red. He had been taken in by a ploy to draw them away from the Enclave and now that crazy Rogue bastard has his sweet Koren. His son had been MIA for weeks and now this? He would not live without his mate. He knew she still lived because he could feel her inside of his soul where she belonged, but the Rogue had her and the rest of the wives and children. Did they realize Koren was his wife? He couldn’t even think it. He had to get his mate and the rest of the families back.

  Gage rallied the warriors and called back the ones that were returning to the Enclave. His house would be the command center. Griffin and Mason were informing the rest of the Council and following him to his house. He needed to get some men out there to do some recon while the Wrath was on their way back to town.

  ****

  Brandi buried her head under the pillow and cried. She could feel Derek’s sorrow at having to leave her so soon, but it didn’t make her feel any better. They spent the night making love and bonding on a deeper level but as soon as his phone buzzed, he was up and out of bed.

  “Now? I can’t come now,” Derek said to the person on the other end of the phone and listened to a reply.

  “You don’t understand…” he looked at her over his shoulder while the person spoke.

  “Fine. Fine,” he disconnected the call.

  “What’s going on? Who was that?” she asked.

  “A friend. Things are coming to a boil and I have to go.”

  He was pulling on his pants. It really annoyed her that Derek had a closet full of clothes in the redhead’s guest room.

  “You said you were done with the Rogue,” she reminded him.

  “I said after I tried to get my mom out, I would be done.”

  He came back to the bed but she scooted away from him on the bed and pulled the covers to her chin.

  “Sparky, please don’t be this way. As soon as this is finished we’ll leave. Hopefully I’ll come back with my mom, but with or without her we’ll go,” he pleaded.

  “You’re lying. I can feel it, remember? This isn’t just about your mother. I want to know what’s going on and when you’ll be back. I’m not staying here without you.” She knew her eyes had bled to black with anger. He was lying to her already.

  “I’m not even sure what’s going on. I just know that I have to go. I don’t have anything to tell you other than the time is right and I need to go.”

  He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. She was pulling away emotionally and he could clearly feel it.

  “The time is right for what?”

  “I don’t know, Sparky! Damn it! Can’t you just give me the benefit of the doubt? I have to do this but it has nothing to do with us. We will be together no matter what happens. I just need a chance to untangle myself from the mess I’m in.”

  He paced across the small room and back.

  “This is exactly why I wanted to wait to be bonded. I didn’t want this resentment between us when I had to return to The Nest.”

  “Just go.” She rolled away from him. Yes, she was pouting, but it was her bonding day and she felt she had the right to pout.

  “I guess I should have asked how long it would take to find your mom and do whatever else you’re up to. I don’t know where I’ll I be the next time you’re available for a visit but I won’t be here.”

  Derek crawled onto the bed behind her and pulled her back to his chest. She didn’t resist, but she didn’t participate in the embraceeither. They had been bonded for eight hours and already he was lying so he could run off and serve his Master.

  “I love you, Brandi. Your animosity right now is hurting me. Can’t you feel that I’m doing this so we can stay together? Can’t you feel how much I want to please you? This is just a step toward our goals.”

  He kissed her nape and left the bed. His feet retreated to the door.

  “Derek?”

  “Yeah, Sparky?”

  “I love you, too. I’d tell you to call me but my phone went up in smoke.”

  Derek came back to the bed and lifted her into his arms for a kiss that left her cross-eyed and mindless. Derek poured all of his love for her and his determination that they would get through this into his kiss. He laid her gently back on the bed and he was gone.

  ****

  Darren was tired of waiting for Danielle to realize she needed him as badly as he wanted her. He had given up the career he’d spent nearly a hundred years building to be with her and she just walked away. The day she left he should have stopped her, but he would have had to hurt her to do it. Her power had grown so much. She was devastated by his betrayal of their friendship and needed time to come to terms with it. He felt sure she would come back once she settled down. Then they would complete their bond and life w
ould go on. His sacrifices would have been worth having Danielle as his mate. But she had never come back.

  Darren lived day and night with the intimate knowledge of just how much that puppy enjoyed having Danielle in his bed for six months. Chase Deidrick dared to take her blood into his body and create a bond that dulled and quieted his own bond to Danielle. That was the moment he had made his first really big mistake. Out of anger he agreed to train the Rogue’s Shade army to help him take over the Enclave. Darren was well aware that he was beginning to lose his grip, but he was still sharp as a tack compared to the man everyone, but Darren, called Master. Darren had no interest in taking over the vampire nation or controlling the Council. He just wanted his mate back.

  Darren thought having Danielle’s thoughts and emotions invade his every breath was maddening, until he couldn’t quite hear it anymore. He would catch whispers of happiness or feel echoes of stress and anxiety. He wanted to know what made her laugh or who was causing her discomfort. The not knowing was making him crazy. It was time to make a move.

  Now that he fulfilled his agreement to get the Rogue into the Enclave, it was time to pull out the ace up his sleeve. Today he would get himself the appropriate bait to lure in his prize. The girl was curled into a sad little ball of misery in the middle of a full-size bed. Darren could surely empathize with her pain. His mate had left him too. He would need to be careful with the little pyro or she would fry his ass. Darren stood far enough on the other side of the doorway that he could take cover if necessary.

  “You and I need to talk, little fire starter.”

  The petite brunette in the bed sat bolt upright and clutched the blankets to her chest. This close to her, Darren could see the family resemblance between his Danielle and her half-sister. It momentarily surprised him. If the girl’s hair was longer and bore Danielle’s distinctive coloring, he would have leapt on her. But the eyes were all wrong. Danielle’s eyes were so clear-blue it was like looking into mirrors. Her sister had the deep sapphire gaze of their father. The girl raised her hand defensively and a wall of heat sprang up between them.