Tempting Whispers: The Kategan Alphas 6 (15 page)

In truth though, it frightened the hell
out of her. In her daydreams, which seemed so innocent in comparison to
actually being with Brayden, she’d had girlie thoughts of falling in love. He’d
fall in love with her and it’d be all smiles, sweet words, and happily ever
after. Yet when she’d awoken this morning, she’d felt none of that. She’d felt
a bit cold, even with his arm wrapped around her waist. Things felt distant.
She’d taken a quick shower as he ‘fed’ himself and few words were spoken. How
could things feel so awkward after sharing what they’d done last night?

How could he look at her like she was
just any other woman in his house? Like how he looked at Gail this morning when
she came in for work. He’d had the same deadpan glaze to his eyes, the same nod
of his head when he said hello. He hadn’t even kissed her good morning. Isn’t
that what real couples did?

Hell, that only brought on another
probing question. Just
what
were they? She’d committed adultery by
sleeping with him, not that she cared about that. She could almost laugh. Maybe
if she told Joseph, he’d be so disgusted with her, he’d give her a divorce. But
she couldn’t actually laugh at it, because she knew it was untrue. No way would
he give her up. She was a prized possession to him. She made his life so much
easier, doing everything he wanted, even as she felt like she was shoveling her
own grave with each task she did.

So, what were they? A fling, a couple,
dating? What did he mean when he said things couldn’t go back to how they were?

She glanced at him from the corner of
her eye. He looked tense. His eyes were pulled forward, lips pursed, and his
index finger on the steering wheel kept tapping a constant beat. A thought
dawned on her that rocked her world. He regretted it. Her chest squeezed so tight
she couldn’t breathe. He regretted it. The words were like a haunting melody
chiming over and over again in her head. Her heart hurt and she had to turn
away because tears filled her eyes.

She removed her thoughts, and with it,
her tears. But nothing she could do, no matter how hard she concentrated, could
remove the suffocating pain surrounding her heart, building in her chest until
everything hurt.

“We need to talk,” she said and winced
at the croaking miserable sound of her own voice. She hated that sound. It was
the voice of a weak person, someone alone and lost in life and that wasn’t her.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and called upon her strength. She had
it; she knew she did. How else had she put up with Joseph for
two
fucking
years
?

When he didn’t say anything, she glanced
over. He was looking right at her. His eyes looked sharper than usual,
brighter. Probably just from feeding this morning. Her task just became a whole
lot harder, because he had really pretty eyes.

“Are you sure you want to do that...?”
The way he said it, like she might not enjoy where the talk would lead them,
made her hesitate. She shook her head. No, no, they needed to talk. She needed
answers.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

His finger stopped tapping as his hands
curled tight around the wheel. “Fine, talk.”

She knew the words that needed to come
out, but couldn’t seem to form them. God, what was wrong with her? Was she that
fucked up or something? Leaning her head on the window, she banged her head
into the glass a three good times. Not enough to hurt, but hopefully to knock
some sense into her. God, what she’d do for a drink right now...

Okay, she’d start simple. “What’s with
you, today?” She faced him a bit in her seat so she could study him, even
though he kept his eyes on the road.

“Nothing. What do you mean?”

She laughed a soft, sarcastic sound. “Excuse
me? Don’t lie; you’re smarter than that and I know it. Tell me the truth.”

The corner of his mouth jerked in a
twitch. “That’s not an easy answer, Vanessa.”

Pain flared at the inside of her eyes.
She squeezed the bridge of her nose and sighed as it alleviated the throbbing
if only a little. “Okay, let’s try another one. What are we?”

He glanced at her, then frowned before
gazing back at the winding highway. “I’m not sure I understand the question.”

Her jaw slid tight and hard, left then
right. She bit out the words feeling anger rising. “What the fuck are we? A
couple? Or fuck buddies, maybe? I want you to explain this whole ‘not going
back thing’ and what we are. Is that fucking clear enough for you?”

He didn’t look at her. “You should
relax. There’s nothing to be upset about.” His words grated on her nerves like
a serrated knife.

Her jaw dropped and then unbelievably,
she started laughing and couldn’t stop it. She laughed at the absurdity of his
response, she laughed at the impossible situation she was in, and mostly she
laughed, because otherwise she might break down and cry.

“Please, just answer the question,” she
whispered. Her warm breath fogged the window and she watched as the steam
appeared then slowly dissipated to reveal the lanes of cars next to them.

She didn’t think he’d answer. But he
did, and when the words started flowing she froze in her seat, sight unseeing
as she soaked in his words.

“Everything changed the moment I lost
control with you. The first time. I come from a strict background, Vanessa. My
father married and never strayed as some other men did, and she never strayed
either. It wasn’t love or even desire that I know of, but the times and the
era. He believed in honor, duty, and law. In doing the right thing. And I
believe in that too, all of it. Perhaps, even more so than he did. That’s why I
wanted you to obey your father, because it was your duty and for the better of
the people. Then you came here.” He shot her a look, his eyes dark with a heady
mixture of anger and passion.

“I never thought the man you’d mate
would hurt you. A man doesn’t do that. A man protects and honors his woman.
That’s the right way, especially for lykaens. I can honestly say that when I
met you two years ago, I saw a little girl being rebellious and thinking only
of herself. I also never thought your father would settle you with someone
unworthy. Not having met him, I still trusted his opinion. I was wrong. So now,
what does that make us? That’s a hell of a question to ask and I’m not sure if
you’ll like the answer.” His voice faded and though her voice croaked a bit she
managed to respond.

“Tell me.”

He rubbed a hand over his chin slowly.
The bristly sound of his chin stubble made her palms itch to touch it. “I’m
old, Vanessa. Old as dirt next to you. When you came into my headquarters...I
didn’t see a rebellious girl. I saw a strong woman. A woman with fight and
courage, even if she was creating a scene. It surprised even me, but I liked
it. I like you.”

He cast a look at her, his eyes hard as
if daring her to speak otherwise, challenging. “Having you in my house...I like
even more. I’m still not sure why. I can feel relaxed with you. You almost make
me laugh.”

“Well, I am funny,” she muttered.

“To say I think you’re beautiful
shouldn’t need to be said.” His eyes trailed down her body and his look burned
her. She suddenly had the urge to crack the window and let in a cool breeze. “Every
time I see you...I feel strange. It’s almost uncontrollable. No, it is
uncontrollable and for some reason it feels like a rush when I finally let go
with you. I’m not about to lose that.” He glared at her as if daring her to
contradict him or make an argument.

She couldn’t even if she wanted to. Her
tongue felt too big for her mouth and she had trouble making a coherent
thought. All of his thoughts were way beyond, and a little bit stranger, deeper,
than anything she’d have guessed.

“Does that answer your question?”

“Umm...” She had to think about it, had
to remember what her initial question had been. Oh, right. What ‘were’ they? “I
don't know.”

With a frustrated growl, he swerved over
to the shoulder and threw the car into park. He turned to her, his big body
shadowing her as he rested an arm behind her seat. She started panting at the
wild look in his eyes. He looked dangerous, as if he might attack her at any
second. He was so out of her league, it wasn’t even funny and now she suddenly
felt very small and inadequate compared to him and all that stuff he’d just
said.

He cupped her face with his free hand,
forcing her to look at him. “That means that you’re mine now. It means that
only I touch you. I will take care of Joseph, and I will take care of you.”

She was pretty sure she was panting and
she tried to close her mouth, but she couldn’t. “Why?” she whispered.

He looked up as if seeking guidance,
then glared at her. “I already explained that.” He looked annoyed.

“But,
why?
” she insisted. She had
to know. Not some long explanation that would take her a day to rewind and
think about, but something short that her baffled mind could wrap around right
now.

“Because, I want you. Because, you came
back into my life for a reason, and because...” he paused to swipe his warm
thumb across her bottom lip. “When I’m with you, I feel good.”

Her chest rose and fell in hard, fast
waves. With his words hanging in the air, she realized just how close he was to
her, how good his hand felt on her face, how much she liked the masculine scent
of him, the stubble on his chin...everything. His eyes flicked down to her
mouth and stayed there. Her gut tightened in reflex, something hot and wet gushing
between her legs. All with that one look. His eyes shuttered to a hooded
position, then he was moving closer. His lips caught the corner of her mouth
and her breath stilled, her chest squeezing so impossibly tight from the lack
of air.

Then she felt it. His harsh breaths
blowing across her lips and she nearly burst apart. He felt it, too. He was
right there with her, wrapped up in a tight bubble where only they existed in
this moment of time.

His lips slid over and covered hers. A
needy sound escaped her at the firm press of his lips. Sense and reason flew
right out the window. Hands threaded in hair, lips meshed hard and tongues
glided against each other. They were like animals eating at each other, trying
to get as close together as possible by the mouth. She folded her body against
him, a needy moan rumbling from her as his arms swept across her back and
crushed her to him. The seatbelt, the stupid seatbelt held her back, kept her
from climbing into his lap and rubbing her core against him. She needed him,
here and now.

She pulled back, breathing hard and then
they both dove at each other. His hand wound up under her skirt, bare skin
meeting bare skin. Only his touch made her hotter; she spread her legs and when
he pushed her panties to the side and touched her, she worked faster. She
tugged at his pants, cursing very loud how much she hated his fucking belt,
then released the zipper just as his finger plunged inside her.

She melted into the seat as pleasure
engulfed her like a blast of sunshine. He started pumping, breathing hard, and
apparently, unable to wait for her, buried his face in her neck to lavish wet
sucking kisses there. Oh God, she was going to come, just from that.

“Mmm,” she moaned just as a piercing
screech slammed her so fast and hard back into reality that she only had one
second to look in the rearview mirror to the car coming.

The crash came hard, fast. Everything
exploded. The loud grinding sound of metal crushing metal pierced her ears.
Time slowed. She couldn’t hear anything after that, only a slight high-pitched
ringing as she was jerked forward in her seat. Her face nearly slammed into the
airbag just as it exploded, blowing hard against her face and shooting her head
back into the seat. Her head bounced, her brain swishing around hard form the
jolt. It didn’t stop. She felt the momentum. The big SUV surging forward.
Somehow, she managed to loll her head to the left to see the window gone, bits
of glass covering the console and hood. The sharp shards flew back inside at
her as the car’s momentum pushed faster. Then it stopped.

She blinked at the empty seat next to her.
Brayden was gone. She couldn’t think much more than that. She knew she should
move, unbuckle her seatbelt and go help Brayden, but everything felt sluggish.

She blinked and it seemed to take
forever for her eyes to open back up again. Black and gray spots dotted her
vision. She thought she whispered his name. Thought she reached for her
seatbelt but felt a sharp stab and stopped, then the squeal of peeling tires
registered, but it sounded soft and faraway. A hard jolt smashed into the car again
and she was flung forward again in her seat, even harder than before.

Her ribs screamed in pain as the
seatbelt jerked on her hard to keep her in place. Her face bounced off the
already deployed airbag and her head slammed back so hard into the seat
everything went black. She didn’t even have to time to call out his name again.

Chapter 13

Vanessa’s eyes shot open and confusion
quickly dawned. She was in a room that put Brayden’s house to shame. She was on
a canopied sleigh bed with white gauzy curtains hanging in beautiful arches
from each corner. The walls held works of art that looked old in their aged
wooden frames.