Unforgiven (The Forbidden Bond 2) Read online

  “Thank you, Cay. I’ve missed you so much. Please forgive me for pulling you into the mess my life has become. And please don’t hold it against Chase if you can’t forgive me. I asked too much of you and we both paid for it.”

  Cayden squeezed her tighter and fought the tears of relief that threatened to well up in his eyes. He didn’t acknowledge her request for forgiveness. Instead, he sat back in a chair by the bed and continued to update them on everything they had missed.

  “Brandi had two gunshots to her upper back. I went to check on her this morning. One of the bullets had become lodged in her chest and was preventing her body from clotting and beginning the healing process. The other bullet exited her chest and only added to the blood loss. We had one doctor and two critical patients.”

  Cayden explained that a doctor had joined the Wrath teams and saved the day by wrapping Tessa’s wrist and getting a blood host for Brandi while he waited for Doc to arrive. Doc had taken over care of Tessa and the warrior had gone to the Vaughn estate to remove the bullet and sew up Brandi. He operated on Brandi in the kitchen with Griffin Vaughn, of all people, as his OR nurse. Chase and Dani both stared at him with open-mouthed amazement by the time he finished his story. A nurse bustled into the room accompanied by Doc Stevens. Chase and Cayden moved away to let them check Dani over. She tried to answer Doc’s questions, while keeping an eye on the men whispering in the corner. After her exam was finished, and Doc explained Tessa’s condition to Dani, he went to consult the guys while the nurse busied herself with removing her IV and getting her a set of scrubs.

  No one was aware that Dani had woken from her drug induced sleep and that was the way they wanted to keep it. She still wasn’t welcome on the Enclave and they only got away with taking her there because Doc insisted he have both of his patients in the same building. Now that they were both stable, even though Tessa had yet to awaken, they were both being moved stealthily. Whether the Council or the Enclave was ready to admit it or not, there were traitors in their ranks. Moving the women before they drew any more attention was vital. Dani had barely gotten dressed and was still barefoot when Chase scooped her up and headed for the door. Cayden had a car at the side entrance ready to go. Just ahead of them Doc had Tessa in an ambulance and was taking her to his clinic for observation. Within an hour of her waking, Dani was on the way to the condo she shared with Chase, and her mom was off to a state of the art vampire clinic with Doc Stevens.

  ****

  Chase had argued with his Lovely at the Enclave. After all the drama and mishaps of the past nine months she hadn’t wanted to wait another minute to become his mate. She wanted to exchange blood there in her hospital room before they went anywhere else. Soleil didn’t want to take any more chances with their future; she sorely regretting waiting the six months it had taken to plan the bonding ceremony Chase had believed she deserved. It warmed him to his soul that she would be willing to hastily exchange blood and forego any type of ceremony to ensure their bond happen immediately. He’d had one too many scares himself, but her suggestion was out of the question. They needed to move quickly before anyone realized they were gearing up for a swift evacuation.

  From what he had seen in the past, Chase knew that once a couple was bonded it took them awhile to get their heads on straight. He feared an attack on the way home and if they were wrapped up in the growing blood bond, he might not see it coming until it was too late. The more than twenty-four hours they had spent on the Enclave was long enough for every warrior there to know that Danielle Vaughn was in the house and unprotected. He hadn’t slept for fear someone would slip in and snatch her away from him again. The risk was too great to stay any longer.

  Once at home,he had talked her into a meal and a nap. The drugs must have still lingered in her system, because in spite of her protest, she slept eight hours without stirring. Chase was glad he had waited until they were home and rested before they performed the bonding ceremony. They both needed clear heads and open hearts to begin the mating the right way. It needed to be special even if they had no family and friends there to witness the joining of their souls.

  He stared sightlessly out of the glass doors that overlooked his penthouse terrace and the city beyond it. He knew only the sound of his heart pounding in anticipation of his Lovely’s entrance to their bedroom. She had gone to the guest room that she had occupied so many months ago when shehad stayed in his home for the security it provided after her first run in with the Rogue and his hunters. She wanted to prepare for the bonding alone while Chase prepared in their room.

  Thinking back on the time before his Lovely belonged to him felt like reliving a nightmare. She had strolled into his life one night and changed him forever. He wanted her, needed her, and loved her from that day forward. The first time she shared her mind with him had been a revelation. She had been so weak and frightened. She had clung to his mental presence the same way he had her clung to her physical body.

  In the early days, when her vampire genetics had just kicked in she had not yet learned to shield her thoughts when telepathically communicating, Chase had been able to read her like a book and what he found there was shocking. His perfect little vampire goddess was actually a half-human demi-vamp who was terrified and still unsure of exactly what she was, or what he was for that matter. He decided to wait for her to tell him the truth. He waited for her to be ready to confide in him the information that he had thoughtlessly, but unintentionally, stolen from her fragile mind. He’d made huge mistakes and because of that she had actually lived out her greatest fears. She had been rejected by the vampires she cared for, namely himself, Cayden, and Griffin Vaughn, her father. Chase stood by worrying about his family’s reputation and watching her struggle to find herself and where she belonged in a world full of strangers and enemies. His throat tightened with shame. He loved her so much, and by some miracle, even after his past missteps, she loved him too.

  He needed to make up for his blunders by making her life from now until forever the cocoon of love and acceptance she deserved from him and his people from the very beginning. A noise from the hall pulled Chase out his reverie and he turned to examine the room one last time, but his eyes caught on the beauty standing in the doorway. Slowly he made his way to the bed, never taking his eyes off of his bride he crawled to the center of the bed to await her.

  She was stunning, with dark chocolate hair twisting in waves to curl lovingly around her waist. The streaks of white hair she was born with gleamed in the candlelight, accentuated by dark red low-lights that had appeared suddenly after her first taste of blood and had never faded away. The ice blue of her eyes seemed almost faceted and put the diamonds sparkling on her left hand and in her earlobes to shame. Chase held his breath, praying his Lovely wouldn’t rethink her decision to be his mate. She was obviously getting the short end of this deal.

  He sat still while she watched him, searching his eyes for what he did not know. But he would wait as long as it took for her to be ready. He had already waited for nine months. Nine months…that doesn’t sound like a long time, but the beginning of the path that led them to this place felt like a lifetime ago. She was the sun that rose in his heart. Soleil was the center of his life already. Chase couldn’t image how they could get closer. But they would.

  She must have found what she was searching for his eyes. Finally, she stepped into the room and shed her robe on the way to the bed. Moving slowly she crept up onto the bed to meet him in the middle. They knelt in front of each other, both breathing hard and waiting for the moment to feel right.

  Danielle reached out to loosen the belt of his robe and push it off his shoulders. Once he dispensed with the barrier they both rose to their knees, needing to touch and be touched. Palm to palm. Wrist to wrist. Chest to chest they breathed each other in and they both knew. No words were spoken. They stared into each other’s eyes and the vows they had practiced faded away.

  It was all there in her face for Chase to see. Love. Commitment. Trust.
Passion. Forever. The ceremonial daggers lay forgotten by the bed. They knew each other so well. By silent agreement when Danielle had entered the room and dropped her robe revealing the expanse of her creamy skin, her lush curves, and the dusky rose of her peaked nipples, all thoughts of cutting and sealing the bond with a kiss disappeared like smoke. No. That wasn’t what either of them wanted. They would make love and they would bite. Chase would draw the essence of her life, the light of her soul into himself with his mouth at her throat, and her body wrapped in his arms, his body buried in her heat.

  ****

  Danielle burned to be closer. Chase sat on the bed waiting patiently for her to make the first move. Hadn’t that been his way since the beginning of their relationship? He waited, burning a hole in her resistance with his eyes. The fear of rejection still rode her, but she forced it down. For a long moment she watched him, waitingfor him to remember that he is so far above her and he could clearly find a more worthy mate. He could find a mate that would surely live as long as he would and give him perfect full-blooded vampire children. There were so many unknowns in their future, not the least of which was whether or not she could be bonded to Chase. It hadn’t worked out so well for Darren. The change he had brought about in her could have made her fully able to bond with Chase, but it also could have changed her life span and her ability to have children. Still, Chase sat and watched her with those piercing ocean eyes from under his ridiculously long black lashes.

  They both knew the risks and she would give him what he had asked her for the day before their botched ceremony. She would give Chase the same love and commitment she would give to him if they were both human and blood bonds didn’t exist. He would be her husband, her mate, whether the bond took or not. She loved him with every cell in her body already. The results of this evening wouldn’t change that fact. Her fear was for Chase, not herself. She didn’t want him to be hurt or suffer for loving her. It all boiled down to one question. Is there another woman in the world, vampire or human,who could love him more, or protect Chase’s heart better than she could? Hell no! And she’d kill any bitch that tried!

  Before she knew it Danielle had crossed the room and crawled naked over the bed to meet her soon-to-be-mate. He was gorgeous with sleek muscle under smooth, tanned skin. The only sound in the room was their breathing. She knew they wouldn’t need the blades used in a traditional bonding. Danielle wanted to taste him on her tongue and feel the heat of his soul run down her throat while they loved each other thoroughly.

  Simultaneously they fell into each other, and chest to chest, their gazes held. Chase’s eyes had gone black with passion and Danielle knew hers had done the same. She had to taste him on her tongue and leaned in to drink deeply from his mouth. He was a master at making her melt with his strong lips and plundered the depths of her mouth like a man starving. Pulling back, he looked down into her up turned faceand growled.

  “I have to taste you, Lovely. All of you. I want to sear the flavor of you onto my tongue and into my mind.” He grabbed her hips and pulled her more tightly again his body for a moment, rubbing his length against the junction of her thighs.

  “Mmm… you’re already wet for me.”

  Danielle couldn’t breathe while he licked and nibbled his way down her neck. She felt the scrape of fangs against her skin and Chase froze momentarily. He’d broken the skin slightly, something he had always been able to control in the past. That told her a lot about his state of mind and she felt a rush at knowing that she had pushed him over the edge of reason. Chase was running on pure instinct. He wiped at his mouth to remove any blood from his fangs.

  ****

  “Not yet, Lovely. I want your fangs in me when I taste your blood. We will do it together.”

  He panted with the exertion of controlling the need to lap up her essence. Lowering his head to her breast, Chase sucked one taught peak into his hot, wet mouth while he massaged the other. Danielle let loose a sexy little whimper when he released her breast with a pop. He had a goal and that was to make his Lovely insane with want and need to have him deep in her body and soul. He was a little saddened that she had stopped to give him a chance to back out before she entered their bedroom. She had learned a lot about her power and how to control it over the last six months but, under stress,she still tended to broadcast her thoughts, if only to him. Now he was going to make her beg for his fangs. It would be a suitable punishment for the crime of doubting him.

  The skin of her flat belly made his mouth water. Gently, he guided her down to the bed; her expression was a mixture of anxious anticipation and want. He’d give her what she wanted and take his pleasure in return. She was his mate no matter what and Chase was about to prove that to her. He slowly, painstakingly, made his way down her body, nipping, licking, and kissing every inch of her skin from her mouth all the way to her ankles,with the exception of her wet heat. She writhed and wriggled, trying to get his mouth where she wanted it. But he was in charge now and Chase had to make her beg. He stopped on his way back up the inside of thigh when she made a frustrated sound.

  “What’s wrong, Lovely?” He licked the crease between her hip and thigh, “Don’t you like my mouth on your body?”

  ****

  Oh God. He was going to make her say it. Chase wanted her to beg for the pleasure she knew he was withholding. She squirmed and grabbed his hair, trying to pull him up to her mouth. If her mouth was full she couldn’t talk. But he held steady and placed one long lick right where she wanted him.

  “Chase, baby. Please. I need…” Damn it! They had been intimate for six months but it was still hard to say what she wanted.

  “Tell me what you need, my Lovely. I want to give it to you.” He purred and gave her another stroke of his tongue. Dani almost bucked him off of her. The force of her need was so great. She realized then that she had hurt him. The look on his face was intense, almost playful, but on closer inspection her senses were picking up sadness. He had felt her doubt before she entered the room and was hurt by it. She answered him the only way she knew how. With the truth.

  “I need you, Chase Deidrick, to love me always. I need you to cherish my body, as I will cherish yours. I need you to understand my need to protect you from anything that could bring you harm. Even if that means protecting you from me. And I need you to be my one true mate in this life and all the lives that follow.” She released a sigh of regret for hurting him tonight of all nights. “I need you to love me.”

  ****

  She had taken his breath away. Fighting tears of joy, Chase rested his forehead on her belly while gripping her rounded hips. She hadn’t really doubted him. It was her worthiness to be his mate she had doubted. All thoughts of making her beg fled. He lowered his head again and gave her what she needed. He lapped at her ruthlessly until her cries of pleasure echoed off the ceiling and filled the room. Once assured that he had satisfied his mate’s needs he climbed over her and looked deeply into her obsidian, passion-filled eyes. When he rested himself against her, Danielle moaned a restless sound of needy longing.

  “I will always love and cherish your body and soul. I have loved you since we first met. It just took me a while to realize how singularly unique a love so precious could be and I will spend eternity proving the depth of my love to you. I will be your one true mate in this life and all the lives that follow.”

  With those vows of love, which were not the traditionalbonding vows, Chase pushed forward to enter her slick body. It seemed to him that Danielle had been very careful to keep her distance telepathically during their love play, but her restraint snapped when his length filled and stretched her tight depths. He moved slowly in an effort to maintain control. His Lovely’s mind had entered his own and the glory of their joined bodies and minds threatened to unravel him completely. With every long stroke into her bodyhe felt her pleasure at being entered as well as his own at feeling her heat grasp him and trying to hold him every move.As he inhaled the intoxicating vanilla and lavender scent that fo
llowed her every move, he instantly knew her joy in the scent of summer that radiated off of him. He possessed her bodyand knew what it felt like to be possessed in return. He was close, too close. Chase pulled back slowly, and slid his hand between himself and his writhing mate-to-be. Careful to still his body, Chase caressed her little bud of nerves with his thumb, and allowed her to move against him. It was still very intense, but he needed to hold out. The sun was about to rise and he wanted to take his mate into his soul with her namesake sunlight glistening on her sweat dampened skin.

  ****

  “I need to… I have to…” Dani panted. She wanted to explode with him but he was holding back.

  “Yes, Lovely. Melt for me. I’m not done with you yet. Will you accept my bond in the light of day? I want to watch the sunrise on the first day of our bond to each other.”

  He was gritting his teeth and straining for control. Dani tried frantically to pull back some from their telepathic connection. She was about to lose it and she would surely drag him with her. It seemed to help and he breathed more easily. Dani couldn’t hold off any longer. She bucked against his body and pressed herself into his hand. The world tilted and she came apart in his arms. Slowly, she drifted back to herself. Chase’s need for released slammed into her the moment her leash on their link slipped and his heart pounded with the aching of his flesh.

  “I’m taking you out on to the terrace, Lovely. The sun is peeking over the horizon.”

  Chase lifted her from the bed still fully engaged with her body. When he stopped to open the glass doors, he leaned her against the wall to plunder her mouth and her body for a time before continuing to a chaise lounge. He sat slowly and Dani sat astride his lean hips. The position was perfect for what they wanted to do.