Charity Received (15 page)

“Don’t you have better things to do, Baldy?” she asked, using the name she’d christened Zeke with before she’d ever met him. Faith had warned her to never say it to his face, as it was sure to make him livid. Well boohoo. This was war, and Prue was going for blood.

She faltered, uncertain, when Zeke leaned against the bar, clearly amused. She hadn’t even been aware he had a sense of humor much less that he knew how to use it.

“And what should I be doing, beautiful?”

He arched a brow in challenge, and Prue gaped at him as she seethed inside. She hated her looks, despised how, for many, a pretty face was the only thing they saw.

It was why she’d embraced the Goth movement so completely. The fact that she was beautiful had never been anything but a bane to her existence, so her many piercings and tattoos had only served to boost her confidence when she had been accepted by the Goth community. And while Zeke himself had embraced the look, she knew from the females she had seen him leave the club with, in his women he did not. That her one weakness was so apparent to him only knocked her further off balance. So she lashed out, using the only thing that seemed really important to Zeke.

“Rumor has it you’re missing a car.”

Zeke glanced at his companion, and for the first time, Prue took a good look at him.

He was several inches shorter and without the bulk Zeke carried. The blond streaks in his short brown hair set off his olive skin. Zeke’s lack of hair and the tats that began at his neck and traveled down his arms gave him a rugged appearance, muting the beauty of his face. But not his companion; the high cheekbones and thin nose enhanced his slender face and highlighted the most expressive pale blue eyes.

Before Prue had gone Goth, she and this male would have made a stunning couple.

But she hated pretty boys. Shit, she hated pretty, period.

“That’s just the reason I’ve come to see you. Where might the little car thief have gone?”

Prue slid her gaze away from his friend almost reluctantly. And she’d thought Arak was Lord Hotness… Each one of Bale’s brothers was better than the last. But reminding her of Charity only set her off. “Like I’d tell you a damn thing. But I do have a message for Kash. Tell that son of a bitch to stay out of my way, or he’ll be returned to that dump you assholes call an abbey in pieces.”

The snort from Zeke’s friend had Prue glaring at him. Just who was this jerk?

“You and what army, sweets?”

And at his threatening tone, Prue suspected she was finally looking at the male who had hurt Charity. “And here I thought Arak was the pretty boy of the group. You like to fuck any female willing to spread her legs too?”

Kash tensed, a soft growl rumbling from his chest, and Prue thought she might get her wish when Zeke wrapped a restraining hand around his arm. Damn. She was just itching to kick his ass.

“I’d be the one you’re fixing to turn into chop suey.”

Before Prue even realized she’d reached for the knife she kept inside her boot, it was embedded into the wood of the bar between herself and the two males. “I should gut you like the pig you are. Cut off your dick and stuff it down your throat. It would serve Hope right.”

The knife vibrating from the impact didn’t even faze Kash. He smiled sardonically and drawled, “But it might disappoint my mate. She seems to like my dick. Where is she?”

“TMI about Hope and your dick. And if you’ve lost the dumb bitch, why come to me?

I would just as soon gut you both.”

Kash reached across the bar and pinned her wrist in a punishing grip. Surprised by his strength, Prue widened her eyes under his glare. She was suddenly not so sure about these males. A mere shifter would not be able to imprison her like this. What the fuck were they?

“I’m going to say this just once, because the only one who deserves an explanation is Charity, but Hope is not my mate,” he snarled as he jerked her toward him. “It was a lie told for her father’s benefit, and I certainly never expected anyone to actually believe it. Why would I let my mate remain in that condo after what happened to Faith? Now, Prue, where the hell is Charity? If anything has happened to her while you’ve been bullshitting us, I damn well guarantee I will come after you. It won’t be just some pansy threat.”

Prue studied him a moment, uncertain. For Charity’s sake, she wanted to believe him. Not only because shifters couldn’t survive without their mates, but because Charity deserved to be happy. Sighing, Prue tried to pull her arm free, and this time Kash released her. After grabbing a napkin and pen, she wrote down an address, then hesitated before she slid it across the bar. “Charity went to her cousin’s in Portland. A real bitch, so be careful.” Prue glanced at her watch. “She should have just gotten there, so she has about two and a half hours on you. One, given the way Zeke drives.”

* * *

With the napkin clutched firmly in his fist, Kash had barely managed to wait until he was hidden in the dark recesses of the bar’s parking lot before teleporting to his mate’s side. As he watched the rise and fall of Charity’s chest, he was surprised he’d been able to get this close without waking her. While that concerned him, he couldn’t help the sense of satisfaction at seeing her in his T-shirt and sweatpants.

She had surrounded herself with his presence.

As he took in her beauty, a sliver of uncertainty wormed its way into his heart.

What if Charity’s reasons for running didn’t involve Hope? What if she just didn’t want to be with him? Jesus, when had he become so insecure? Kash shook his head, refusing to settle too long on those thoughts. Charity belonged with him, and he was about to make her understand that.

He sat on the side of the bed and gently brushed her hair away from her face. He was glad for this minute to collect his thoughts while he observed her sleeping. Her cousin hadn’t been in the apartment when he and Zeke arrived, and Zeke was still keeping lookout for the elusive female while Kash collected Charity. Intending to be gone long before the female returned, with reluctance, Kash whispered his mate’s name.

Her eyes popped open, and Kash grabbed her wrists just before two wicked sets of claws almost gored him. Pinning them over her head, he covered her body with his own.

“Shh, chérie. It’s me.”

Charity instantly stilled, her gaze fixing on his face. Kash watched with a trace of amusement as she blinked…then blinked again before sniffing the air.

“Kash?” Charity had difficulty believing her eyes, but her nose never lied. And her wolf wanted to rub against him in glee.

Kash smiled, releasing one of her wrists to caress her cheek. “Yes, my little wolf.

Who else would it be?”

She glowered at his question, because it should have been anyone but him. Charity tried to push him off her with little success. “You shouldn’t be here,” she said flatly.

While the wolf was wiggling in her excitement, the human understood just how wrong Kash’s presence was, and it broke her heart. It had taken everything to leave him. How was she possibly going to be able to do it again?

“And why not?” he demanded, frustration settling on his face. “This is where my mate is.”

This time Charity did manage to roll out from under him. She stepped back from the bed, needing to put as much distance between them as possible. “I never expected such cruelty from you.”

“Cruelty?” The bitterness in Kash’s tone had her eyeing him warily as he rose to his feet. “Cruelty is your mate running from you and you not knowing why. It is having to endure days of never-ending pain, confusion, and fear because your mate abandoned you. Cruelty is waking alone, in an empty bed, after hours of making love, to find your mate has deserted you. Again.”

His anger only fueled hers. She’d give him cruel. “I am forced to listen to this drivel, why?” she spit out. “Your mate is in Seattle.”

“Hope was never my mate, damn it. Do you really believe I would make love to you—

and not just once—if she were? Do you really think so little of me?”

Kash had slowly advanced on her as he spoke, backing her into a corner of the bedroom. Charity tried to duck around him, but he barricaded her with his arms.

“I heard you. You said, ‘doll, this is your mate,’” she accused, mimicking the message he’d left on the answering machine.

“It was a joke. Nothing more.” Kash leaned closer, his lips inches from hers, and she could feel his warm breath fanning her as he spoke. “I never intended to hurt anyone. Especially not you. Come home, chérie. You’ve run long enough.”

Charity hesitated, lost within his pleading blue-eyed gaze. She thought of the child she likely carried within her womb and desperately wanted to agree. But she had to think of her child first and foremost. “We hardly know each other,” she finally stated softly.

“We could if you would only give us a chance. Can you not feel the connection?

Because I can. Damn it, even if I wanted someone else, I can’t tolerate another female’s touch.” And as soon as the words left Kash’s mouth, he knew it was the wrong thing to say. A look of dejection passed over Charity’s face, and then it was as if a thread had been snipped, and every emotion he’d felt swirling around in her disappeared. She pushed at his chest, forcing him to put some space between them before she wrapped her arms around her torso.

“So that’s why you’ve come,” she whispered, and desperation flared within him.

Kash knew if he didn’t reach her in the next few minutes, he could lose Charity forever.

“Son of a bitch,” he snapped, grabbing her by the shoulders and yanking her against him. With his hand in her hair, imprisoning her head, Kash forced her eyes to meet his. “Didn’t you hear a damn thing I’ve said? Hope is not nor has she ever been my mate. It was a lie perpetuated by Bale and Faith so their father would leave Hope alone.” As her eyes filled with tears, his expression softened. “From the very first moment, I recognized who you were. I took one look at that gorgeous red wolf, and I knew I’d finally found my mate.” A sob escaped her, and she buried her face in his neck as he felt her slump against his chest. “For so long I have waited for you, chérie. So damn long. Shh. Don’t cry.”

“I can’t help it. I mourned you, only to discover you still lived but belonged to another.” Charity pulled back, her hands warring with his to brush away the tears—

his gently, hers in frustration. “You chose Hope.”

Kash framed her face with his hands, shaking his head. “I don’t understand why you believe this. I would never choose another over you.”

“But you did. You stepped between us. You chose.”

Kash sighed. It made no sense, her logic. Was he supposed to have let her attack Hope? How could he make her understand that wasn’t possible? “I couldn’t let you hurt her, Charity.”

“It was my right to challenge her.”

“Maybe if she had been a wolf, chérie. But Hope did nothing to deserve being challenged. Not for being my friend. And I could not let you attack a human, not over me.”

Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I don’t understand.”

“I took an oath, Charity, to let no harm of my making befall a human. Technically Hope is still human, and to have let her be harmed because of me would be my ruination. An undeclinable invite to Hell.”

“What are you?” she whispered a little uncertainly.

“We can discuss this once we’re home. Because I
am
taking you home, chérie. You are my mate, and this is as final for me as it is for you. Forever.”

“Forever. That’s an awfully long time, Kash.”

He wrapped his arms around her, his lips sweeping against her forehead. The fear of losing her flooded his system. Someday he would have to endure her death. “Not nearly long enough,” he mumbled into her hair.

Her body pressed tightly against his was the most amazing feeling. Puckered nipples brushed his chest, making him long to bend her over his arm and sample them. The sweetest lips he’d ever been fortunate enough to taste caressed his neck, and his body tightened in anticipation. It took everything Kash had to cling to his resolve. So when her tongue unexpectedly rasped over the mark on his neck, the pleasure that shot through him about knocked Kash off his feet. His dick became rock hard, fluid seeping from the tip, and his hips surged forward, grinding into her stomach. He had to fight to keep from shooting a load in his jeans.

He plowed his fingers through Charity’s hair as he gripped the back of her head and pulled her lips from his neck. He held her still as he thrust his tongue into her mouth, desperation overcoming all good intentions. She tasted of mint and chocolate, and Kash groaned, his arm banding around her hips to increase the friction on his dick.

He scrambled to hold her as she went limp in his arms, but Charity broke free and dropped to her knees. Her fingers attacked the button of his jeans despite his rough protests. Kash tried to pull her to her feet, wanting her lips on his, but she wouldn’t cooperate, and before he could force her to rise, she’d yanked his jeans down his thighs. Grabbing his ass tightly in her hands, she tried to swallow his dick with a voraciousness Kash had never experienced before.

“Christ.” He hissed harshly, then sank his fingers into her hair even as he intended to push her away. “Chérie… We don’t have time… You don’t have to…” His ramblings ended on a guttural growl, her suctioning mouth and lapping tongue making any thought impossible. His hips thrust of their own accord, and Charity hummed appreciatively, the vibrations causing his fingers to flex and dig into her scalp.

She cupped his balls, which had drawn up tight, and Kash threw his head back as one fingertip rubbed the skin just behind them. Desire ravaged him like a firestorm, his skin warming to the touch. For the first time ever, it was as if a female was drawing his power through his dick. He wouldn’t have been surprised if they both went up in flames.

With her other hand, she gripped the base of his cock, pulling her lips back to suck the fluid weeping from the tip. Then she rolled her tongue around the head, taking particular interest in the sensitive skin underneath. Through lowered lashes, he watched her lips stretch around him, and when her gaze rose to meet his, the love shining in them made Kash’s heart about burst. He closed his eyes as Charity drew his dick to the back of her throat and swallowed.