Kellen's Tempting Mate (6 page)

“Damn it, woman. Why didn’t you reach out to me,” Kellen murmured, coming to her side and cradling her to him.

Shaking, she looked around for something to wipe the mess off her face before answering. “I didn’t want to distract you.”

He carried her to the back of her apartment, knowing exactly where the master bedroom was, and shut them inside without looking back at the people in her living area. “Next time you don’t suffer. If you are hurting, you tell me, or,” he stopped and sat her on the large counter in the bathroom. “There better not be a next time.”

“Yes, Sir, Alpha Sir.” She looked at the pale woman staring back at her, and the man frantically running water, and barely kept from laughing at the picture they made.

“You are a bad subbie. It’s going to take some training, but I think I’m up for the job.” Gently, he wiped her face, then neck, making sure he cleansed all the evidence of her blood.

****

D
amien stared at the closed bedroom door and felt a small pang of regret. Not a lot, but a smidgen. “Well, that was interesting,” he said, dusting his hands off.

“You are a strange one. You know that, right?” Rowan asked.

He tilted his head to the side. “I have been told that a time or two in my very long life.”

The tiny little dark haired woman stood up. He and his brother both inhaled, but their wolves didn’t do anything except yawn.

“How old are you exactly?” Syn asked.

Lucas uncrossed his legs, the bullet wounds completely healed. “If we told you, we’d have to kill you.” He laughed as the little woman with the one named Rowan raised her weapon. Damien was sure her aim was true.

“Luke, I truly do love you and would hate to have to explain to mother what happened to her second favorite son. Imagine the heartache it would cause.” Damien injected just enough boredom to piss his brother off.

“Mother only has two sons, asswipe.” Lucas stood, ignoring the guns aimed at his head and chest. His brother really was a loon.

“Exactly. Hence why you are her second favorite. I have no doubt if we had another brother, you’d probably be her third.”

Lucas flashed across the room, making the two women gasp. Damien was pretty sure the only one in the apartment with the ability to defeat him and his brother was the alpha, but he wasn’t willing to test his theory. Besides, he found, much to his surprise, he actually liked the Iron Wolves. They needed to learn about others in order to be safe. Damn, he didn’t want the responsibility.

“Mother loves me more, brother.” Lucas flicked him in the ear.

Moving with the speed of their vampire lineage, he was behind Luke and had his brother in a headlock. “Dream on, baby bro, dream on. Besides we both come second best to Alecia, the princess, or as dad likes to call her, babygirl.”

“Lord save me from stupid men,” Syn said. “So what’s the plan?”

Stepping away from his brother, he faced the remaining wolves in the room. “We have rounds at the hospital. I suggest you get Laikyn and her stuff out of here before nightfall. We will handle her paperwork at the clinic and make sure it’s smoothed over with the hospital as well.”

“Must be nice having the freaky mind control.” The little spitfire he wished had sparked their interest said.

“I will admit, it comes in handy.”

“Sorry about shooting you and shit,” Rowan said, his southern drawl slightly evident.

Damien shrugged. “This is nothing. Try being staked. Once in the early eighteen hundreds I was...never mind. That is not a story for polite company.” He winked at the two women then strolled to the door. As he and Luke reached the entryway, he looked over his shoulder. “Ignorance because you are unaware is one thing, but now that you know there is more out there, you need to school yourselves. Yes, you have all been lucky, however, luck is a fickle bitch sometimes.”

With those parting words, he and Luke left Laikyn’s apartment. Through their twin bond he could tell his brother also wished she was their one, and had they been given the opportunity to have sampled her, he knew she wouldn’t have been it. Not that they wouldn’t have enjoyed the sampling. But, the disappointment after would have been worse than what they were experiencing now.

At the door to the vampire’s condo, they paused and inhaled. There was no indication he had come back, nor one of his minions. Damien hoped like hell when the being did return, he would enjoy the calling card Luke and he left for him. Fucker should have known better than to come in to their town and not let them know. There were rules for a reason. It kept the pissing contests down to a minimum. Damien and Luke had to show whoever the upstart was, they were the only ones allowed to piss on this side of the Missouri and Kansas border.

––––––––

K
ellen was aware when the twins left the building. The air of power shrunk to where he didn’t need to be as on edge, his wolf growled, the urge to shift riding him. “How did you shift when you needed to?” He tossed the bloody rag into her hamper.

“I shifted here in the apartment and sorta roamed around inside until she settled.”

Laikyn wouldn’t look him in the eyes.

He used his finger to lift her chin up. “That had to be hard. On the both of you. Why, Laikyn?” His hand kept her from dropping her chin to her chest.

Her chin wobbled. “After that night, I couldn’t stay and watch you be with other women, knowing you didn’t want me.”

He’d screwed up so much that night. For years he tried to keep that side of his life separate from the Iron Wolves club, although the women he screwed were usually up for whatever he did to them. He liked to go to the clubs that catered to the lifestyle. BDSM. Never had he envisioned Laikyn in one of the clubs, especially up in Sioux Falls, a place he’d escape to many times. He wasn’t even sure how she’d gotten into The Falls. The clubs exclusive membership was one of the main reasons he had joined. They were part of a larger network of clubs, with subsidiaries in just about every major city in the country. You wouldn’t know it was a place where debauchery of every kind lurked behind the closed doors from the outside. Hell, he was still in awe at the elegant remodeled old mansion. All the clubs that were linked were old estates that were turned into clubs. No pop up shops, or renovated garage type buildings.

“Mon Chaton, I fucked up. I was running just as fast as my two, or four, legs would carry me back then. I thought I’d give you a few more years to grow up, then come hell or high water I was coming to claim you.”

She snorted. “Yeah right. That’s why the next day you had what’s her name bouncing on your dick in your office.”

Kellen growled. “I didn’t have anybody on my cock the next day. For fucksake, you broke my dick for months.” He caged her in when she tried to hop down.

“Bullshit. I saw it with my own eyes. I came by to talk with you, but you were sitting on one of the couches,” she stopped, sucked in a breath and tried to push him back. “But sitting like the king of all, right there on your big leather chair was you, with a human on your lap. She had her skirt hiked up, while your hands were massaging her ass, moaning endearments. I didn’t stay around to watch the show, thank you very fucking much.”

He screwed his eyes shut, trying to remember the next day. He remembered the drive back. The second fifth of whiskey. The third and fourth were a blur, but he knew for a fact his dick hadn’t rose to the occasion until the smell of Laikyn had faded enough for his wolf to stop whining. Even then he had to truly work in order to get hard. “If you saw a chick on my lap, I can guarantee you that was as far as it got. My body wouldn’t respond to anyone for over six goddamn months. I waited for you to return. Hell, I even called your parents in Florida until I am sure they were ready to change their number. Did they never tell you?”

“I can’t believe that. I mean...you always had a woman. Even that night...with me, it was, intense to say the least.”

Kellen laughed. The sound hollow to his own ears. “You were strapped to a St. Andrew’s Cross, getting ready to be whipped by a stranger. The sight had me and my wolf foaming at the mouth. It took all my self-control not to rip his arms off and beat him with them. When I released you, and heard you ask me to show you what I liked.” He took a deep breath. “That you were there to learn how to please me, I swear to all, my heart broke. Not because I didn’t already want you, but because I wasn’t worthy of that. Of you. Don’t you see, Mon Chaton? You are my one weakness. My one and only true temptation that I can’t walk away from.”

She raised auburn brows. “You did a pretty damn good job the next day.”

Scrubbing his hands down his face, he felt the stubble from the day’s beard. “You were a virgin. A sweet little virgin, and to have taken you like I did.” Laikyn covered his mouth with hers.

“You made my first, and so far my last, special.” Her green eyes sparkled up at him.

“I want to make love to you good and proper, but I don’t think we have time.” He looked about the large master bath. “You need to put on a clean top, while we get the rest of your stuff packed. From what Damien said we should be out of here before the sun sets, and while I’m not scared of a vampire, I’m not about to put you at risk. But baby, when I get you home, all bets are off.”

The red flush that covered her face, and down into the opening of her shirt made him ache to see just how far down it went. Memories of their one night together had him hard as stone.

“Hurry up before I change my mind and say screw the fact our pack would hear you screaming my name.” Yeah, he truly loved watching her blush.

“You say the dirtiest things,” she said.

“If memory serves me correctly, you loved every second of it.” He lifted her off the counter, stopping any protest with a deep searing kiss. Her arms and legs wrapped around him while he walked them back into her bedroom. At the edge of her bed, he stopped walking. With monumental effort he made himself stop kissing Laikyn. Her taste as addictive and fine as the best bourbon he owned. When her arms and legs relaxed he let her fall softly to the mattress.

“I’m going to send Syn and Lyric in here to help you pack. What do you need us menfolk to do?”

A somewhat dazed look stared back at him for a second, then she smiled. “Menfolk, huh. How about if you guys start stacking the boxes I already have packed, and then when we finish we can take down a bunch at a time?”

He noticed she’d already began packing and nodded. “Alright. Hurry up.”

“Yes, Sir, Alpha Sir.”

Knowing she wasn’t expecting it, he flipped her onto her tummy and gave her a swat on her firm ass. “Keep it up and I’ll add up all the times you made me jackoff.”

Laikyn rolled back over, arousal clear in her scent. “Promise?”

Fuck him, she was so his.

Kellen walked out without saying another word, fearing he’d jerk those leggings down and turn her ass red before fucking them both numb.

Lyric and Syn were closing up boxes while Rowan and Bodhi were stacking them near the door. He shook his head. “Lake asked if you ladies would help her finish up in her room and the bathroom while we did the grunt work rounding up the already packed boxes. It looks like you guys were way ahead of us though.”

Rowan nodded. “Wasn’t sure how long you’d be. Figured we’d get to work. No use wasting daylight, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, real subtle, Ro,” Lyric growled. She sealed the box she was working on. “Let’s go, Syn, so the men can talk.” She made air quotes.

“You really need to teach her who is in charge, Ro.” Kellen swatted Lyric and Syn on the rear as they walked by. He’d been doing the same since they were little girls, but not like the love tap he gave Laikyn. With her, he wanted to strip her bare and have his way in every imaginable dirty way, and soothe the redness with his lips and tongue.

“Yeah, I think I like my balls right where they are.” Rowan picked up two boxes, carrying them near the door with the others.

They worked for the next couple hours until Laikyn had everything packed, marked and ready to load onto the trailer and in the truck.

“You gonna miss living here,” Syn asked while the guys were picking up the last of the boxes.

Kellen froze, wondering what she would say.

“I’ll miss working at the hospital here, but I think Mercy will be just as nice if not better since I’ll be closer to my family and friends. I only took the residency here because it just happened to come up the day after...well it just came at the right time,” she said on a gush of air.

“She will never get so far away from me again,” Kellen growled.

Syn rolled her eyes. “Hello, she is getting away from two stalkerish dudes, no need to get all stalkerish yourself, brother dear.”

“I can’t wait to see you when you’re claimed.” He looked at Bodhi out of the corner of his eye, watching the man he considered a brother fidget with his cell phone. He’d noticed he’d been doing a whole lot of texting lately, and made a mental note to ask him about it later.

It took even less time to carry the boxes down once they procured a cart, and then they stood next to the two large vehicles. Kellen didn’t want to be separated from Laikyn for the next ten hours, and could see she didn’t either.

“Syn, have you ever driven a trailer loaded down with that much weight?” Rowan asked, rocking back on his heels.

His sister looked at her beloved black truck and then at the big man. She chewed on her lip, then glanced at the trailer loaded down, and the back of the pickup with more boxes.

“Come on, you know I’ll treat her right. Besides, you’ll be in the vehicle with me.” Rowan held his hand out.

At that moment Kellen wanted to hug Rowan, maybe even promise to name his first born after him.

Syn placed the keys with the large bedazzled heart keychain attached in his palm. “Fine, but I get to drive your truck sometime.”

Rowan looked like a deer in the headlights at Syn’s statement, which had Lyric laughing. Kellen glanced at Bodhi. “You riding with us or them.” He pointed at the bickering Rowan and Syn.

“I’ll ride with them. Give you two a little alone time. Pretty sure I’d gag from all the mushy vibes you’d be letting off in an enclosed vehicle.”