Taken (11 page)

Her gaze took in the sight of him. Well-defined muscles on a broad chest, which was laced with what looked like tribal art tattoos. He wore a large gold ring on one hand and around his neck was a medallion. A blood-red ruby was nestled in a gold backing, which had an intricate design, and it hung from a golden chain. At his feet was a small black cat.

“Where are your mates?” he asked.

“Mates?”

“Yes, the twins. They’re your lovers, are they not?” he asked with a raised eyebrow as he stepped closer and seemed to sniff the air around her. “Oh, you only mated the one.” He sounded surprised.

“I don’t understand.”She was a bit embarrassed by the man’s crassness.

“I believe when there are twins you’re supposed to mate with them both.”

Kitty felt her face turn red at the thoughts that just leisurely strolled through her mind as if she’d had sex with Caleb and Kaiden all the time. The images and idea of having both men excited something inside her, and it unnerved her.

“How long have you been a werewolf?” he asked as he sat beside her. The cat jumped up and sat on his lap. Ashton leisurely stroked its fur as he looked at her with a hungry glint in his eyes. She took a deep inhale of air. She breathed in his smell to quell the feelings of desire he caused. Somehow it felt wrong to be attracted to him.

“Only since last night. I think…I don’t remember much about what happened in the last twenty-four hours,” she told him as he leaned in a little closer.

“Did they tell you who their father is?”

“No…I know his name. Why who is he?”

“Hmm, I have to wonder why they would keep so much from you.” His voice was lower and deeper.

Kitty felt oddly calm and relaxed as he leaned in closer while he stared into her eyes. The icy-blue pools seemed to pull her in and hold her there.

“Kiss me,” he demanded. His face was mere inches away, and she did. A shot of adrenaline raced through her veins as the kiss turned savage and passionate. His fingers moved through her hair, gripping a fistful as his tongue barged past her lips to snake over her own.

Ashton pulled his lips from her mouth and smiled. She swallowed hard as his opaque slender fangs peeked out just under his upper lip.

“So very tempting,” Ashton murmured as he maneuvered her head to tilt to the side, elongating her neck.

“Please.” She gasped. She wasn’t sure why she’d said it so desperately.

“Not yet…soon, Miss Callaghan, when I need you. You’ll give yourself freely to me,” he ordered.

One part of her couldn’t wait. A more primal part was enraged and wanted to tear his throat out. Those feelings of rage were so hard to contain, but as he held her gaze they eased away, and he kissed her very softly on the cheek.

“Run along to both your mates. Make them happy, my sweet. Remember when I need you, you
will
come to me,” he said. She noticed the cat smiled at her before it jumped down, and as he walked away, it followed Ashton.

* * * *

After Caleb left, he sat there for a good half hour, trying to muster up the courage to do what needed to be done. Kaiden got up and followed Kitty’s tracks in the sand. They led to a small trail into the forest, which he knew well. Her scent still lingered along the path. It was such a tantalizing fragrance, it pulled at his very soul. The wolf within him recognized it as its mate’s scent, and that had him fighting for control.

 If his brother couldn’t or wouldn’t tell her, he would. He smelled her attraction to him. Her body wanted him. For now, it was all that was needed. They would grow as a mated set, and her feelings for both of them would come with that. Right now, however, Mother Nature ruled Kitty, and mating with him would be an instinctive thing for her.

It needed to be done, and Kaiden had no intentions of waiting for her to get used to the idea first. His beast demanded it as much as Caleb’s did, and without coupling with her, Kaiden wasn’t fully complete. The ache to be as one with her was nearly overwhelming, and he needed to feel the union with his mate.

* * * *

Caleb sat by the window in his room and stared out over the bay. Fond memories of his youth replayed in his mind as he watched the sea birds flying. He and Kaiden had spent many years there with their father and mother. Unfortunately, time wasn’t a friend to the mundane species, and as their dad aged and they didn’t, their visits had to stop altogether in order not to raise suspicion.

It’d been so hard on all of them, but it was hardest on his mother. She was forced to watch her mate grow old without her. His father had grown resentful of their youth and it added to the rift, which started to develop between them. Like most of the Night Denizens, aging was a slower process. For himself and his brother it was no different. Although they both looked to be in their late twenties, they were soon turning fifty, and they were still not considered middle aged for a lycan.

He picked up the phone and called the long distance number home. “Hey, Uncle Tim.”

“Did she live?” His voice was neutral sounding.

 “Yeah, it’s done.”

“Good, now remember our deal,” his uncle told him, and Caleb gritted his teeth.

“I remember. Just keep your end up, Tim. I’m bringing a breeder into the pack.”

“Hopefully she’s willing to fulfill that role.”

“Well, it’s not as if we’re giving her a choice, now is it?”

“And Kaiden… How is he with it?”

“Well, he hasn’t been with her yet…we haven’t told Kitty about that.”

“Why not?”

“Look, I think she needs to absorb what she’s learned first before we dump everything on her lap.”

“Caleb…there’s no time for kid gloves. The pack will protect her once she’s gone through her first change. Kaiden and you are all she has until then. So stop pussyfooting around the girl and tell her what the fuck is going on.” Tim’s voice rose until he was nearly yelling into the phone.

“All right!” he said and then hung up.

Caleb stepped out onto the terrace. He watched the birds flying for a few moments, wishing all of this wasn’t so very complicated. Kitty may one day be okay with being a lycan, and even come to like him as her mate. Her having to be with Kaiden, well, he didn’t know if she could handle it. But it really wasn’t up to him. If she did choose both of them, she’d be by their sides as he took over the pack. He’d become the alpha and Kaiden beta. She’d be the pack’s first alpha bitch since his grandmother.

It meant she’d have to give up everyone she knew before. Her life as Katarina Callaghan would cease to exist. He really didn’t know how well Kitty would handle all of it. The rich pampered life as an aristocrat would be gone, and she’d have to run with a foul-mouthed rough and tumble family of werewolves. However, it was the deal he’d made with Tim. Once Kitty turned, he’d take over the pack and Tim would step down. It was the price he had to pay for getting the pack involved. It was one he hadn’t wanted. Tim had no kids, had no one to take over for him, and neither Kaiden nor himself had wanted the responsibility. Now he had no choice.

The hard knock on his bedroom door pulled him from his thoughts. He turned to see his father in the doorway. “We need to talk,” he stated.

“Look, Dad—”

“Caleb, this is about Ashton,” he said as he stepped into the room.

“What about him?” Caleb couldn’t help the rumble in his voice. The vampires were one of the most powerful entities who lived within the hidden world of the Night Denizens. Contrary to popular belief, they could walk out in the daylight, crosses didn’t bother them and a stake to the heart really only pissed them off. A lot.

The look his father gave him told him to shut up before he pissed him off even more. He wasn’t afraid of his father, but he’d been brought up to mind him.

“Okay, sorry. What about Mr. Hellstrum?”

“He’s the oldest vampire in New York. Maybe even the east coast. It would do you good to make friends with such an individual.”

“But he’s a—”

“He’s your ticket home. Ashton can get you into places even I can’t.”

“There’s a reason you’re doing this, Dad. There always is.”

“Yes. Not only are several crates of Ashton’s going, but a shipment of mine is going with the three of you as well, and you’re my cargo’s protection.”

“Three of us?”

“Yes…Kitty stays here until it’s done.”

“Like hell.”

“Caleb, this isn’t open for debate. She’s much too fragile still to be caught up in any fight you and your brother may get into. She’s safer here with me on an island protected by my men.”

“But she needs me,” Caleb whispered as if he were still a child.

“Caleb, the shipment leaves tomorrow morning. You have tonight to explain to her what’s going on and to find out more about her uncle and this mental condition he claims she has,” his father said and then turned and left.

Chapter Twelve

Kitty watched Kaiden as he walked along the path toward her. She’d smelled him first as the breeze blew his scent to her. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled with excitement. His musky scent made her inner thighs quiver. The overpowering urge to have sex with him swept over her. It left her feeling both excited and confused.

“Kitty, can we talk?” he asked. He looked at her strangely.

“Yes, I guess.”

“Not here. Come on, there’s a little spot farther up the side trail that leads to a small spot with a great view of the bay. It’s quiet there and we can talk more openly.”

He led her down one of the narrow off-shoot trails. This place was a tropical paradise with palm trees, exotic flowers and birds of all different shapes and sizes with vibrant-colored feathers.

They walked for nearly ten minutes up a steep path before they reached a small clearing overlooking the bay. It was a lovely spot. As she stared out over the magnificent view, she heard Kaiden sniff the air.

“Why do you smell like that thing.” He snarled.

“That’s none of your business,” she blurted out. She was caught off guard by the heat in his words.

“Yes, it is. Now answer me,” he snapped and grabbed her arm, forcing her to turn and glance at him.

The look he gave her caused her to shiver. His eyes were an intense yellowish-brown, which nearly glowed as he snarled. Kaiden’s white pearly fangs just showed under his lip. Her insides quivered and she trembled as his scent grew in intensity, and something deep within her had to have him.

“Kaiden?” she managed to gasp out as she took a step back, trying to get away from the heavenly musk around him.

“You smell like that thing.
Why?
” He growled again. This time the rumble in his chest made her want to sink to her knees.

“I…we…”

The look he gave her as he stepped closer gave her the urge to run. She turned and bolted for the path. Kaiden’s strong arms wrapped around her waist and drug her to the ground. She yelped, and a set of soft, hot moist lips silenced her near protest.

Kaiden forced her two wrists together into one of his large hands and pinned them over her head. His other tore the front of her dress open and found her breasts. From deep in her soul excitement grew at his forceful treatment. Roughly, his fingers grabbed, pinched and pulled her nipple as his tongue probed her mouth. The feeling sent a shot of pleasure down her chest, through her tummy and right to her inner thighs. She shivered at the sensation.

Heat rushed over her as a moan slid between her lips and into his mouth. The smell of her own need mixed with Kaiden’s musk. His hand moved down from her breast to force her dress up over her hips. Need overwhelmed her and her struggles to get free of his grip slowed as he made quick work of her panties. Kaiden tore them off with a single hard yank.

“Oh god, you’re so wet.” He groaned as his hand found its way between her legs.

The hard penetration of his fingers had her nearly out of her mind as he played with her. Every movement drove the heat in her body higher, and she kissed him more passionately as her hips gyrated against his hand. Kitty was surprised by her actions. She never acted like this. Why did Kaiden and Caleb make her respond to them in such an animalistic way?

“Do you want me to take you?” he breathed as he pulled his mouth from hers. His eyes looked anything but human as he stared down at her.

“Please, Kaiden,” was all she could manage to say as a thumb rolled over her clit as he pushed another finger into her. She felt stretch again. The rough thrusting burned in a most delicious way.

“Please what, Kitty?” He grinned as he said it. She didn’t answer. She simply pushed her hips to grind hard against him.

“Oh god,” she whimpered. Tendrils of her climax sat near the edge. She needed just a little more, a little harder push, a little deeper thrust, and she’d come.

As she arched her breasts, Kaiden snatched a hardened nipple into his mouth, and she shuddered.

“More please.” She moaned. He pulled his fingers nearly all the way out of her and teased just the entrance. With a light nip, he gently bit her nipple and then pulled his teeth off it.

“More what, Kitty? Tell me what you want more of. This?” he asked as he thrust his fingers into her as far as he could. She arched herself into his chest again as she cried out in pleasure.

“Yes!”

The feeling stayed as he slowed the movements once more, and then without warning, he released her. The heat of his lips on her mouth as he kissed her harder felt so good. His hand, which had been holding her wrists, moved to his pants. The sounds of his zipper coming down were barely heard over the sounds of the kiss.

“Tell me you want me,” Kaiden demanded after pulling his mouth from her.

“I want you. Please, Kaiden.” She pleaded with him.

“Do you want me as your mate too?” He growled deeply as he pressed the head of his erection into her and then pulled it out. He teased her as he rubbed it up over her clit and then pressed it just inside her again.

“What?” Her mind was foggy, lost in the need overwhelming her.

“Tell me you want me as your mate,” he repeated. This time the rumble in his chest reverberated into hers.