“Are you ready?” Brandr calls as he walks into the room, he had gone out earlier to arrange everything while I got dressed. His eyes widen when he sees me. “Fuck Aria, you’re sexy as hell I won’t be able to keep my hands off you.” And then he’s taking my lips in a scorching kiss that deepens until we are both breathing heavily.
“I like you wearing my T-shirt.” I can feel his hardness against my stomach as he places his hands on my ass pulling me against him. It always surprises me the passion that ignites throughout my body as soon as he touches me.
“No matter how much I might like to listen to the two of you going at it like bunnies, I think Celmund is waiting for us.” I hear Ceric’s amused voice from the doorway; I jump in surprise at the unexpected voice. If it wasn’t for Brandr I would have fallen as my feet got tangled in each other.
“Damn, I forgot that he was with me. You drive all thoughts out of my mind when you’re close.” His words lighten my heart, even though he made love to me for half the night, telling me how much he wants me, how I mean everything to him. I’m still worrying about everything. I know he was in a fight yesterday as his knuckles are scraped and bruised but when I tried to talk to him about it he kissed me ignoring my questions.
I tried to bring it up again this morning, but he interrupted me, telling me it’s okay that we don’t need to talk about it and hurriedly got dressed and left with the excuse of checking up on Celmund. I feel like his hiding from the reality of what happened, and I’m scared that when he finally let’s himself absorb what happened, he won’t want me anymore.
“What’s wrong?” he asks a frown marring his forehead. He’s always so in tune with my moods. I don’t want this day to turn sour, so I shake my head, forcing a smile to my lips as I start to move around him to get to the door. His hand shoots out grabbing my arm he stops me turning me slightly to face him.
“Everything is going to be fine Sunshine; I promise … I will always be here to keep the nightmares away.” His voice is gruff. I see pain in his eyes as he draws me closer, a hand behind my head as he places it against his heart. I feel him kissing my hair before he pulls away. We leave the room making our way to the front of the compound with Ceric besides us.
I have been at the compound for a while now and never spent much time at the bar, we always head outside through the garage and when we do come in through the bar area we never stop. When I enter the first thing I notice are the three women, two are sitting at the bar, while one is draped around Burkhart kissing his neck.
All three of them are wearing revealing clothes that hardly cover their bodies, suddenly I notice that the quiet has disappeared and it’s not just because of the music playing but I can hear all three women’s thoughts.
The two sitting at the bar turn when we walk in, who the fuck is this bitch now with Brandr and Ceric? One of them thinks.
She’s the one I’ve seen around, I wonder who she’s with? Another one thinks, before I can identify which is which, I hear clicking, looking around I see Celmund sitting on one of the couches with a tripod before him and an ugly looking camera on it. He looks at the camera then down at his tablet that’s in his hands. Suddenly a wide grin splits his handsome features, looking up he winks at me.
Even though the three women’s thoughts continue and are bothering me, I can’t help smiling back at him. “Come and sit here Sweetheart, let me show you something,” he calls. I’m reluctant to go and sit next to him, because even though I know all the men by now and most of them have been great with me, I’m still wary of any man, except for Brandr, sitting by me or touching me.
Looking up at Brandr I see him frown, when we walked into the bar he had made his way across to the other end, allowing me space to hear the women’s thoughts. At Celmund’s request, he nods towards him. “It’s okay Sunshine.” He murmurs quietly. I make my way towards Celmund, reluctantly sitting next to him.
“So, who’s the chick?” Looking up, I see the girl who was sitting at the bar with the dyed blond hair draw up to Brandr, she places her hand on his chest as she looks up at him provocatively. What the hell! I notice that he has tensed and now takes a step around her, making his way towards Celmund and me.
“She’s my old lady,” he grunts as he sits next to me, pulling me onto his lap.
I see the look of surprise on her face and then anger. “Your what!” she shrieks moving towards us. Suddenly Ceric has her around the waist and is holding her off the floor, but she’s kicking and wiggling to get down.
“Fuck, settle down or I’m going to spank you,” he says gruffly.
How can he have an old lady? I can hear her agitated thoughts that bitch. Why is she so upset about our relationship? Were they together before me?
“Lidia, settle the fuck down!” Brandr snaps, as he pulls me closer to him.
“What’s going on?” Everyone seems to know why she’s upset except me and her thoughts clearly tell me that she doesn’t like me.
“What’s going on?” she shrieks at my question. “I’ll tell you what’s going on Bitch!” At her words I see Burkhart jump off his couch, striding angrily towards her.
“Shut the fuck up! You ever talk to my girl like that again and you’re out. Do you hear me?” Brandr roars. He places me back in my seat and is now rushing towards her, but Burkhart is standing between him and Lidia. Ceric has thrown her over his shoulder as she is still thrashing.
“Put me down!” she squeals.
“Leave it B, I will deal with her.” He has his hands against Brandr’s chest holding him back. “I know Aria was excited to get outside, why don’t you take her?” Burkhart suggests.
How can she be his old lady? He’s mine! At that I feel as if all the blood has drained from my body. Was he with her? Is he with her? He always stated that he would never take an old lady that he would never be in a relationship. Well the bastard has one now.
“What … what do you mean?” I know my voice is shaky, but I need to know. I start to make my way towards Ceric and her, but Brandr turns at my words and grabs my arm not allowing me to draw closer, but I need to know, so I pull my arm away. He wasn’t expecting it, or I know I would never have been able to pull away.
“Aria!” he growls, this time holding me around my waist.
“What do you mean, when you say he’s yours?” I insist. Brandr hisses out a breath at my words, tensing his arms.
“Fuck!” Ceric grunts, walking towards the entrance of the bar with her over his shoulder.
“No, stop!” But Ceric continues walking taking her with him. What are they keeping from me? And why did she say that he never wanted a relationship? I can feel the fear of what she had said taking root. What if he is hers, but is only with me because of our bond? Turning my head, I look up at him, his shoulders are tense, his eyes hard.
“What?” he growls at my look.
“I want to know!” I insist. He moves his arms turning me around to face him.
“Fuck!” he growls. “She has always had a thing for me, but I am not hers,” he states gruffly.
“Were you and her together?” He lets go of me, taking a step back he rakes his hands through his hair.
“Aria!” he grunts frustrated, but I keep my eyes on his as this is too important for me to let go. “Motherfucker!” he rumbles. “Not in the way you’re thinking … Lidia, Gloria and Tina they are here to please the guys.”
To say I’m shocked is an understatement, even though when I walked in I thought they looked a bit too friendly with the guys but to be told that they are here to sleep with them. “You sleep with her … with them?” He draws closer, gripping my upper arms.
“No!” His light green eyes are shining with an intensity that scorches my soul. “Aria, that’s my past. You’re my future.” I try to move away but his grip tightens. I didn’t know what to think, this was so sudden. I know that he says it’s his past and I believe him, but what if he gets upset with me one day even though he says there is no chance that he will ever w
ant anyone else, that for the Elemental’s when they find their woman that’s it for them. These women will always be here, anytime he wants.
I can’t continue looking at his beautiful eyes and maintain my composure. Looking down at his chest I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. What about him never wanting a relationship is he with me just because of the bond? Does he regret finding me?
“Look at me Sunshine,” he whispers. I take in another deep breath before I raise my eyes to his.
“You didn’t want a relationship, if they hadn’t shot you would you have wanted to find me?” my voice comes out in a whisper, but I know he heard me when his features tense and he pales.
“Fuck Aria!” he let’s go of my arms turning his back, his hands are fisted his body tense. The muscles on his arms are bulging in frustration. His actions supply me with the answer. I don’t need him to say anything else. Turning I make my way back into the compound, as I move through the door that separates the bar area from the rooms I hear a crash behind me, but I don’t turn.
Tears are filling my eyes, but I refuse to cry where anyone can see me, but as I reach the courtyard Jasmine is coming out of the kitchen and calls to me. She’s smiling until she sees my face, then she rushes towards me with concern.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” Reaching towards me she takes my hands in hers. I shake my head. I’m not able to talk right now, or I’ll break down. “Come with me, let’s go to my room. No one will disturb us there.” At her words I relax a little; I was dreading going to our room as I’m not ready to see Brandr yet and I know that he will come after me. I need time to think, somewhere where I can decide on what I must do.
Jasmine starts guiding me towards her room, not saying anything as we walk. What am I going to do? Can I be with someone that is forced to be with me because of a bond? Won’t he start to resent me after a while, because this isn’t what he wanted?
As we enter her room; she pulls me towards the bed sitting opposite me on a rocking chair. “At the moment this is the only chair I feel comfortable in.” She’s stroking her stomach with a tender smile on her face, I know that she’s trying to take my mind off my issues, I’m thankful to her but I know that nothing will do that. “Do you know that Wulf made this chair for me?” she says rocking gently.
“It’s nice.” It is very impressive, I didn’t know Wulf was so talented with wood, but now I can’t build up the energy to be excited about it.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Jasmine asks suddenly. After a long time of sitting quietly looking down at my hands I finally tell her everything that had happened. When I finish I have a weight on my chest that feels like I can’t breathe. My eyes are glossy with unshed tears and my body is so tense that I feel like I’m about to snap.
“What I don’t know now is if he wants to be with me or if it’s just the bond.” Jasmine gets up from her chair and comes to sit by me, taking my hands in hers, she strokes her thumb over the back of it for a long time before she speaks.
“Does it matter what brought you together, I see the way he is with you. The Brandr I see now is very different to the one I have come to know. When you’re not around he’s restless, constantly looking around for you. When you are near him I see a peace in him that I’ve never seen before. I know there was a reason why he didn’t want a relationship, but he will have to tell you about that himself.” She takes in a deep breath, a hand coming up to place a strand of my hair behind my ear.
“What I can tell you is that when he found out that someone had his mate he lost it, a few of the men had to hold him down until Bion could put him to sleep. You need to understand that our men have been living for centuries with as little as possible to make them vulnerable. Bonding with us makes them vulnerable, it makes them scared.” Her words calm my mind, looking at it from that angle makes sense.
“I’m so glad that we spoke, thank you.” I hug her close, or as close as her stomach will allow, laughing when I feel the baby kick against me. We sit chatting for a little while before Wulf charges through the door, stopping when he sees me.
“What’s wrong Babe?” Jasmine asks, struggling to get up. Wulf takes another few steps helping her the rest of the way up, pulling her against him he kisses her forehead.
“Aria, have you been here the whole time?” he asks a frown marring his forehead.
“I was in the bar, but after I left Jasmine and I came here. Why?”
“We’ve been looking for you for the last twenty minutes, Brandr is losing his shit. How is it possible that he can’t feel your essence?” he asks pulling out his phone he starts to text.
“I didn’t want him to find me; I wasn’t ready to see him,” I say, seeing a shocked look on his face. We hear running steps and then Burkhart bursts into the room.
“Fuck Aria!” he says looking pale. “You gave us all a fright, come with me B is losing his mind.”
BRANDR 15
Fuck me! I should have told Lidia that I have an old lady, but I didn’t think that Lidia would be stupid enough to throw the fit that she has. Now it’s too fucking late, Aria is looking at me as if I wounded her. Turning my back on her, I take a deep breath and try to push down the feelings that are rising to choke me. She asks me if I wanted a relationship. Fuck, how am I supposed to answer her on that? I know that if I tell her the truth I will hurt her, but I can’t lie to her.
I hear her hurrying out of the bar, turning I have just enough time to see her back going past the door. Son of a bitch! Maybe it’s better this way; that I give her some time to calm down and time to think. The image of her wounded eyes looking up at me fills my thoughts, the pain of knowing that I hurt her fills me with such anguish that I lift the small table that we usually place our feet on and throw it, hitting the wall just above the pool table splintering it into pieces.
“Fuck!” I snarl, frustration driving me. I hate this feeling of having disappointed my girl; I can’t let her continue to think that I don’t want our relationship. I might not have wanted a permanent woman in my life before but who can blame me after what happened to my brother. But the moment I saw Aria my heart was filled with such warmth that I knew there was no way I could live without her. The darkness that I constantly carried around with me has been lightened by my girl’s light.
“Keep that Bitch away from me; if I see her I will gut her,” the anger in my voice encircling the room with violence.
“She will be fine Brother, she will understand.” Celmund calls out while he packs his equipment. I want to ask him what the results are regarding Aria’s testing, but Gloria and Tina are still at the bar therefore I will have to wait for later.
“Go to her B, sort it out Brother,” Burkhart suggests from next to me. I know he’s right I should get this over and done with. I need to convince my girl that I only want her and even though I was stupid before, and reluctant to find my mate I wouldn’t change having her as mine, for anything in this world now.
I make my way inside to find Aria, but ten minutes later I’m starting to panic. Where the fuck is she? I have looked all over. Draco, Ceric and Gunner are in the woods looking for her, Celmund is in the computer room looking at the cameras to see if he can find her outside. Burkhart and Wulf are with me, and the others are out guarding the warehouse and on a run.
“Try to sense her brother, that will tell you where she is,” Wulf advises from besides me. Burkhart and he have been tearing the compound apart looking for her; we are currently at the spring, my heart was in my throat when I first reached here, scared that I might find her drowned.
“What the fuck do you think I first did when I couldn’t find her? I can’t sense her anywhere.” I know if I don’t find her soon I’m going to lose my shit. I can feel the heat rising, my blood warming and my breathing fitful. I close my eyes once again taking a deep breath I open my senses trying to feel for my girls’ essence, it radiates out, but I can’t feel her anywhere.
Turning, I punch the cavern wall, instantly my sk
in splits, blood pooling over my fingers. The pain roaring up my arm, but I don’t care, the anguish in my soul is a hundred times worse. She was upset with me when I saw her last, what if she has left and I can’t find her? Why can’t I feel her?
It is starting to drive me crazy, not being able to feel my girl.
“I’m going to go ask Jasmine if she’s seen her. Gabriela’s at the bakery therefore she won’t know anything,” Wulf says hurriedly as he walks away.
“We’re going to find her, hold it together.” Burkhart is beside me as we walk out of the spring towards the courtyard. I don’t know where else to look, maybe she went outside. We have just reached the courtyard when Draco, Ceric and Gunner walk in. If they are back that means they didn’t find her. Where the fuck, is she? I can feel my mind snap as the fear of something happening to her or of never seeing her again drives me over the edge.
“Brandr … calm down … fuck, you’re going to hurt the women.” I know that if I don’t calm down they will have to knock me out. The heat is already starting to rise around me. I feel Ceric’s headlock. I know I’m being irrational, but no one is knocking me out until I find my girl.
“Damn, he’s burning my fucking arm,” Ceric groans but doesn’t let go. My vision is starting to tunnel but I’m still fighting to get loose.
“Wulf has found her!” I hear Burkhart roar but as if from far away.
“Calm down Brother, your woman is fine.” Even though I can hear him, I can’t make myself calm. I need to see her, I need to touch her; I need to make sure that she is safe.
“Aria!” was that roar me?
“Brandr,” her soft voice alerts me to her nearness. Her essence suddenly engulfs me. How is that possible? Why didn’t I feel her before?
“You’re going to endanger her if you don’t cool down,” Ceric groans from behind me. I take in a deep breath, trying to calm myself, but I can still feel my heart pumping furiously in my chest.
BRANDR_Elemental's MC Page 12
