Mating Brand: 3 (Mating Heat) Read online

  Charma hated seeing his pain so much that she flinched.

  “Don’t you dare,” he warned. “Don’t fear me. You know I’d never hurt you no matter how angry I am.”

  “I know that.” She wasn’t afraid of Brand. “I hate that I did that to you.”

  He glanced away, took a deep breath, exhaled. His gaze locked with hers. “Me too. I’ve had a lot of years to think about what I’d do if I ever found you. Bottom line is that you mean more to me than anything else. I’m going to try really damn hard to get past the pain. We were young and we both made mistakes.”

  “You didn’t make any.”

  “I sure did.” Emotion darkened his eyes. “I should have bent you over in front of me and bitten into you to claim you no matter what you said. You were mine. It was that simple. I should have listened to my heart instead of hearing your damn excuses. You wouldn’t have run out on me if I’d just mated you. It would have been a done deal.”

  “It would have made things so much worse.”

  “Nothing could have been as bad as spending year after year obsessing over a woman I had no way of being with.”

  It ripped at her heart to see and hear such anguish from the man she loved. “I’m so sorry. I don’t even know why you still want me after what I did.”

  “Because you’re mine.” His chin lifted slightly, showing that stubborn side of him that she remembered so well. “You’re the woman I love. Nothing is ever going to change that. We’ll work this out. I refuse to do anything less.”

  His body relaxed and he lifted her suddenly and scooped her into his arms. She stared into his eyes as he carried her through the house toward an area she hadn’t explored yet. He strode down a hallway with dark, open doorways, to the lit one at the end. His scent was strong inside the bedroom, assuring her it was his.

  She glimpsed a big bed, two nightstands, a chair in a corner and a large television on a dresser, before he took her inside a bathroom. He used his elbow to turn on the light. There were two sinks in a long counter that he eased her butt onto when he set her on it. He released her as he stepped back.

  “Give me your hand. Your blood is driving me nuts.”

  She had forgotten about the cut from the glass. She glanced at it, spotted the red stain on her palm. It wasn’t bad. Brand cradled it in his hand and shocked her a little by staring at her while he lifted it to his mouth. His hot tongue cleaned the small wound and his eyes began to shift a little. Dark hair grew out on his cheeks in a soft sprinkling. She lifted her other hand and brushed her fingertips over his jawline and the soft, sparse fur.

  “You’re having a hard time holding your skin.”

  He released her hand. “Yeah. I’m really a mess inside right now. Don’t worry. You know I’d kill myself before I hurt you.”

  “I know that.” She believed it with her whole heart.

  “Good. It would destroy me if I really frightened you. I need to calm down a little and get a handle on things before I mate you. I want it to be good for you but being in heat, I’m barely able to control myself.”

  “You told me about this.” Memories surfaced of him warning her of what would happen when he hit those weeks. They’d joked about who would be hornier in heat. “We planned to take vacation time from our summer classes and lock ourselves in our cabin so I could take care of you. I just couldn’t remember exactly when it happened.”

  He growled at her. “Now. My wolf is going crazy to mark you so I’m going to mate you.” His irises bled black, his wolf showing. The tone of his voice deepened. “Please don’t say no. Don’t deny me again because, to be completely honest, I’m doing it anyway.”

  It stunned her that he planned to mate her right off the bat. “It’s been a long time since we were together,” she reminded him.

  “You think I don’t know that?”

  “We’ve both changed.”

  He cocked his head, staring down at her. “The feelings are still there. You feel it too.”

  She refused to deny the truth. “We’re both highly emotional right now.” His soft growl indicated that he didn’t like her words. “I just meant that seeing each other brings back a lot of memories.”

  “It does,” he agreed. “But you’re here and I swore I wouldn’t let you go if I ever had you in my arms again. That I’d mate you if it ever happened.”

  “Don’t you want to get to know me again before you make that kind of life-altering decision?”

  “No.” The determined set of his jaw was something she remembered well.

  “We might not click anymore, Brand.”

  He leaned in, studying her eyes. “We’ll adjust to the changes. We were happy once and we’ll find that again.”

  She wished it were that easy. “I hope that’s true but a lot has happened over the years. We’re strangers now.”

  “You couldn’t have changed that much, hon.”

  “You don’t know that for sure. I know nothing about your life since we parted.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  Her mind blanked. “I’m not sure.”

  “I missed you. I dreamed about you almost every damn night. Did you miss me? Did I haunt your dreams?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you wish you were with me?”

  “Every day,” she confessed.

  “Enough said.”

  It was that simple to him. She envied his certainty. “How can you forgive me? I know you probably felt betrayed. I worried that you’d grown to hate me.”

  “I tried.” He took a step back and blew out a breath. “It just never happened. I just wanted you back. I refuse to let you go a second time. I refuse to spend another nine years missing you and being furious that you’re gone. We’re mating. That’s not up for debate.”

  Why are you fighting this? He’s right here. He wants you and you’ve always wanted him. Life is never this simple but I want it to be. She made a decision. They might regret it later but she was willing to risk it.

  Charma reached for the bottom of Brand’s sweater. “I’m yours now. Take me if you’re sure.”

  His eyes closed and his fangs elongated when his lips parted. It turned her on, seeing his reaction. She shivered with anticipation of what would happen. They’d strip each other, make love, and he’d sink those teeth into the soft part of her shoulder. He’d bite down until he drew blood and she knew it would feel incredible with Brand. It wouldn’t hurt or make her scream from the pain of the brutality of it. She wouldn’t be trapped under a monster intent on staking his claim—one she didn’t want.

  His eyes snapped open and he inhaled. “What’s wrong?”

  She pushed away the horrible memories of her first mating. “Nothing.”

  “I’m scaring you.”

  “I’m not afraid of you.” She hesitated, wondering if she should admit why he’d picked up the scent of fear coming from her.

  He studied her eyes closely. “Did he hurt you when he mated you? Is that it?”

  The fact that he’d accurately guessed the reason for her hesitancy surprised and saddened her. “You don’t want to know.”

  Rage twisted his features. “I do. I need to know. Do you love him?”

  “No,” her voice deepened with emotion. “I’ve always hated him.”

  He stepped forward, invading her space, and cupped her face in his big hands. “Tell me why you mated him then.”

  Tears filled her eyes and she had to look away from his. She focused on his lips instead. Ones she’d missed kissing. “It wasn’t a love match. I was forced to mate him. I couldn’t stand him but he was the pride leader’s son. He chose me.”

  “Then why did you agree to it? For college?” Brand’s hold remained gentle but he snarled the words, his anger clear. “I told you I’d pay off the money your pride leader shelled out for your education.”

  “My parents were in a car accident. It was a rollover crash and the engine caught fire. My father’s leg was pinned in the wreckage but he found the