First Beast (21 page)

“My actions were equally despicable. Okay, I didn't risk his life, but I tried everything I could to come between you. I blackmailed him. Pure and simple. Let me mate with you, and I'd hold my tongue. I'd keep secret what he did.”

“Now that there's nothing he has that you want, will you let it be known what he's done?”

“Only a handful of people know the truth. I'm happy for it to stay that way.”

“I'm not sure I would have been that forgiving. But then, blood is thicker than water, isn't it?”

“He's not blood.”

Talia jerked back, sure she had heard him incorrectly. “What?”

“Joshua isn't my true brother. He's not my father's son.”

“I… I don't understand.”

“This stays between us,” he said firmly. “I haven't spoken of it to another living soul.”

Beneath the shock of revelation came the exhilarating realization that he was trusting her with extremely sensitive information. That had to mean he had faith in her, didn't it?

“Nobody will ever hear it from me.”

He held her gaze. “I know.”

Talia bit her lip, hardly daring to breathe in case the moment was lost and he realized what he had done by entrusting her with this knowledge. She only breathed again when he dropped to the stone, leaning forward and placing his forearms on his thighs. She sat beside him.

“Joshua's mother was a member of a Scottish pack. My father was on a mission helping the pack reconcile their differences when he met her. She was married to the pack's leader, who was an abusive and brutal man. Once he hit her so hard she almost lost the baby she was carrying.”

Though she wanted to gasp, Talia sat completely still, willing him to go on.

“My father knew she'd find no sanctuary within her own pack, so he arranged for her to join a refuge. When her husband discovered where she was, my father knew he had to help her escape. He brought her back to Bodmin, took her as his wife. He believed that her husband would never think to look for her here. He brought Joshua up as his own.”

Talia's heart went out to the poor woman. “And nobody else knows about it?”

“Enoch. He was the one who arranged for her safe passage back to Bodmin.”

Talia pressed her fingers to her lips. “And Joshua doesn't know any of this?”

He shook his head. “My father was afraid Joshua would go looking for his birth father if he knew the truth. It could have devastating consequences for the pack. Maybe even start a pack war.” Caleb straightened and sucked in a breath. “I didn't know any of it until I was eighteen, when I was initiated as a firstborn. I always thought Joshua was my half-brother by blood. My father told me it was my duty to protect Joshua, to make sure he never found out the truth. He made me promise to always watch out for him.”

Such a huge burden to carry, Talia thought. “Your father sounds like a wonderful man.”
As you are
. “I wonder if he would have held you to such a promise had he known what Joshua would put you through.”

He turned to her, a smile softening his grim features. “That's not how it works.”

“I know, but anyway.”

They were silent for long moments, until Talia could no longer keep from asking the question that burned inside. “Why did you tell me?”

He glanced at her, then looked down at his hands. “I promised myself that if I got the chance, I'd prove to you that I'd been wrong accusing you, not trusting you. After what I've put you through, you deserve that much from me.”

The joy of having his trust diminished beneath the knowledge that he hadn't given her any indication he still felt anything for her. He felt he owed her, but he didn't want her.

“Where will you go?”

She looked at him. “What?”

“You said you were packing to leave. Where will you live?”

“I was planning to leave Bodmin. Get far away from here.”

“Is that what you want?”

She smiled, acknowledging that he was considering her wishes. “I was mad. Still am.”

He nodded, after which they fell into silence again.

“You're part of this pack now,” he said eventually. “It's your home.”

While she appreciated his sentiment—it was, after all, what she'd been seeking for such a long time—it fell flat when weighed against the thought that she would no longer have him as her mate. “It felt like my home. For a while anyway.”

“Your life is here,” he said softly, turning to face her. “Your job.”

She had to smile. “You're actually encouraging me to stay for my job? That's a turnabout.”

He smiled back, twisting her heart. “We've got pack members in just about every profession. Maybe it's long overdue that we include a journalist in the mix.”

Ask me to stay because you want me
, she willed him.
Because you still want me in your life.

But when he said nothing more, only stared at his clasped hands, Talia decided to try one last attempt to help him. To help the pack. “Will you reconsider letting me help you neutralize that story? I know you said you wanted to remain silent, but it will stop any speculation.”

His nostrils flared, then he shrugged. “Why don't we see how it all pans out?”

They shared another smile, loosening something tight inside her. “I never thanked you.”

“For what?”

“For protecting me that night. On the moor. For keeping me safe.”

Another shrug, but his green gaze held hers. “You were mine to protect.”

Gathering her courage in both hands, she turned to him. “I felt such a connection with you then.” Her breath hitched. “I've been searching for it ever since.”

His eyebrows drew together. “You didn't find it with Joshua?”

She shook her head, hoping to convey with her eyes what she couldn't quite admit in case he spurned her. Despite everything, she wasn't sure she could bear that.

He twisted to face her, their gazes clashing. Neither spoke for what seemed an eternity, but in his eyes, Talia saw everything she wanted, everything she needed.

“Tell me you don't want me,” Caleb said, reaching his hand to her cheek. “Tell me you don't want me and I'll never bother you again.”

Was it possible for a heart to beat so fast it was capable of jumping clean out of someone's chest? She leaned into his palm as hope burst through her. “I can't tell you that.”

He slipped his hand into her hair. “The whole time I was incarcerated, it was the memory of you, the promise of you that helped keep me sane. The young girl with the terror in her eyes, but courage in her heart. And the bond we shared that night. In the darkest hours, it made me keep the faith that I'd escape and find my way back. To you. It took me a while to realize it, mainly because I was blinded by prejudice. But you're mine, Talia. We belong together.”

Tilting her chin, she lifted to him. “I know.”

When his mouth crushed down on hers, she wrapped her arms around his neck and clung for all she was worth. The kiss was like a claiming, a possession, and Talia knew she gave back exactly what Caleb demanded. The craving for his touch burst through her like a fireball, making every cell and nerve ending vibrate.

When they broke the kiss, Caleb held her head in his hands. “I need to explain… Need you to know why I acted the way I did.”

She placed her hands over his. “I understand the reasons. It's your job to protect the pack, to keep everyone safe—”

“It wasn't just that. I was so hell bent on getting Joshua out of the way, I didn't take the time to cherish you, show you how much you mean to me. I knew you were meant to be my mate. I thought you felt it too. You weren't the only one who felt that connection on the moor that night. I thought if you looked in my eyes when we made love, you'd remember.”

Talia nodded. “I kept searching for something with Joshua that didn't exist. I hated myself but I… God. I've been such an idiot. You must think I—”

“Shh. It isn't your fault.” He waited until her eyes met his. “You've been loyal to a man to whom you made promises. It makes you honorable, not an idiot. You couldn't know how much he'd deceive you, hurt you.” He drew her up to stand, his arms coming around her. “Now I want you to make those same promises to me, and I swear you'll never have cause to regret them. I'll never hurt you, sweetheart. You have my word on that. I love you, Talia.”

It was impossible to hold back the emotion any longer. Smiling up at him, she let her tears flow freely. Damn it, she couldn't seem to stop crying. “I love you too, Caleb.” She positively glowed with happiness, her whole body alive as joy swamped her. “I'll make those promises to you, and I'll mean them with every beat of my heart.”

His eyes held hers, and in them she saw everything she needed. She saw his soul. His wonderful, generous, loyal, forgiving soul. And she loved him with everything she was. Or ever would be.

Caleb kissed her with a fervor that matched her own. When he eventually drew back, it was to pull her into the scrubby bush clearing that had once acted as her sanctuary. He lowered her and lay beside her, his hands tugging her shirt free from the waistband of her skirt.

“I want you,” Talia murmured, unbuttoning Caleb's shirt. “More than I've ever wanted anyone.”

Caleb grinned, sliding his hand to cup her breast. “There'll never be anyone else. For either of us. You're my mate, just as I'm yours. That's the way it was meant to be.”

Talia nodded, her hand stilling on his now bared chest. She felt his heartbeat beneath her palm and the rightness of it shimmered through it. “I want you to mark me.”

She almost laughed at his expression. Surprise, confusion and pleasure all rolled into one. “Do you know what you're saying?”

“Of course. Bite me, Caleb. Mark me as your own.”

He only stared at her, his eyes alight with a primal gleam. “You understand what that means?”

“It means I belong to you.” She smiled up at him. “And then I'll mark you, which means you belong to me. That's how it works, right?”

“But you said—”

“It's what I want, Caleb. I want us to belong to each other.”

A flash of gold shot through his eyes, his pupils dilating. “You couldn't give me a more precious gift.”

She smiled and pulled him down for a kiss. His mouth slanted over hers, theirs tongues tangling. He brushed down her neck, across her collarbone, and pushing her blouse out of the way, drew his mouth along her shoulders.

Talia closed her eyes, anticipating Caleb's bite, but it didn't come. Instead, he drew up her skirt and tugged down her panties. She unhooked his trousers, unzipped him and then opened her legs in silent invitation. He shrugged his trousers over his hips before positioning himself between her thighs.

Their eyes met. Held. He entered her, and despite the exquisite pull of pleasure, she forced her eyes to remain open. He pushed to the hilt and she arched her hips, wanting more, much more. Everything. She met each thrust with her own, her hips linked with his, their labored breathing blending with the sounds of the moor.

Her climax rocked through her, moments before Caleb emptied himself inside her.

They lay, breathing heavy, gazes locked. And she smiled.

The sense of completion rolled through her, shimmering through the joy of knowing she had come full circle, had arrived back home. There was nowhere else she would rather be, nobody else whose arms she would rather feel around her. No sense of emptiness, no missing component to her happiness.

She felt fulfilled, whole, complete. Loved.

Caleb grinned. “Are you going to share what's put that smile on your face?”

“I was thinking that my grandmother was right all the time.” At his puzzled look, she ran her hand through his hair. “When she said there would be a triangle in my life that I would have to experience before I found true happiness. Well, I've lived through that triangle, and here I am.” She reached up to brush her lips lightly against his. “You're my true happiness and now I've got you, I'm never letting go.”

“I'll be holding on so tight you won't be able to let go.”

Slowly, he lowered his head. He brushed his lips along her throat and down her neck. Lingering at the fleshy part where her neck met her shoulder, he slowly bit down. The sharp pierce of his fangs drew sensation from every cell of her body. It was like being whipped through a vortex, spun around until she couldn't get her bearings.

Sensation shot through her, seeming to center at her womb. Light, color, sound, feeling—everything came together, and she closed her eyes and simply surrendered to its power.

After long moments, Caleb pulled back. He kissed the place where he'd sunk his fangs. “Are you okay?”

“Amazing,” she murmured, still enjoying the aftermath of such a mind-blowing experience. “Caleb?”

Tenderly, he kissed the spot again. “Hmm?

“Now that you've marked me, will I be able to… Will I…”

He chuckled. “No. But you might find your senses are heightened, your instincts sharper.”

“Right.” She smiled and stretched languidly beside him. “Pretty good deal then.”

He positioned himself above her. “Yeah. Pretty good deal.”

And there, as the sun began to lower over the moor, and Caleb slipped inside her again, Talia enjoyed that elusive connection, that union. The one for which she had searched for so long, and now found with Caleb.

Only Caleb.

About the Author

Faye Avalon enjoys writing sexy stories about strong men and the savvy women who rock their world. She has taken a roundabout journey toward her writing career, working as cabin crew, detouring into property development, public relations and education, before finally finding her passion: writing spicy romantic fiction.

Faye lives with her super-supportive husband and their beloved Golden Retriever. They regularly expand their family by boarding puppies destined to become guide dogs. Between writing, reading, running around after manic puppies and grabbing some quality time with her husband, Faye enjoys relaxing with a calming yoga session or spending a night at the movies.

Find Faye at her website,
www.fayeavalon.com
, or on Twitter,
@faye_avalon