JUMP (The Senses) (31 page)

“Now,” Danielle cried out. “Fuck me
now.”

He was taken back by her crass words
, but his body was straining for release and he was having trouble controlling any part of it. He quickly put on a condom and then drove himself inside her with a fury so intense that he almost lost it right there. He grabbed the back of her neck and kissed her as he moved inside the sweet wetness.

She moaned. Then cried out. He held her waist to pull her closer. “Wrap your legs around my waist,” he ordered.

As soon as she did, he felt himself go deeper and he let out a low growl. She put her hand on the mirror as he pumped into her. Deeper. Hungry for more. Harder. Her body tensed, and he knew she was close. He moved faster. And faster. Harder. Until her head tilted back and a cry emerged from her throat, which he quickly swallowed with his mouth.

It was all he needed as she quivered around him. He made a deep sound in the back
of his throat as he let go, his release driving shivers through his body. Every muscle tightened. Every thought vanished except this feeling of total release within a woman he loved. Loved since the moment he met her in hell. She was his, always would be.

He kissed her swollen lips and ran his finger down the side of her face. “We will be fine,” he said. He knew in his heart that he would never allow her to be hurt again. They would survive this. He also knew he didn’t deserve her
, and if this Bonded thing hadn’t happened . . . he’d have lost her forever. He was glad they were Bonded. Glad that she had to become one of them.

He kissed the tip of her nose.

She struggled out of his embrace and slid off the counter. “We can’t do that again,” Danielle said without looking at him.

Balen’s mouth dropped open and then slammed shut as his brows lowered over his eyes with a menacing scowl. “What the hell are you talking about?”

She pulled on her underwear and then her jeans. “Just as I said.”

Balen crossed his arms. “This is bullshit.”

She avoided looking at him as she turned around and straightened her hair. “I’ve been thinking . . .”

“I told you—”

She spun around and slammed her hands into his chest. “No. I’m telling you . . . this . . . this between us won’t last. It’s lust. It dwindles and when it does we have nothing. I admit the sex is great and I’m thankful to you for getting me over—for the most part—my fear of men touching me, but what happens in a few months? It’s better we realize it now, so neither of us gets hurt.”

“No,” Balen shouted. “You will become one of us and we will be together for eternity.”

She crossed her arms. “Yeah? And what happens when you’re sent to Rest? Or worse, dead.”

“I will fight it,” Balen replied, but he found himself wondering the same thing.

“You damn well know you can’t run forever. And I don’t want to. So where does that leave us? No matter what, we don’t end up together. Bonded, I die when they take you. Not Bonded, well, I live but you . . . you either die or are sentenced to Rest. Sounds pretty damning to me.” Danielle lowered her gaze from his intense stare. “I can’t do this.”

She was already a part of him and he wouldn’t let her go. “No,” Balen ground out. “You are mine.” After the words past his
lips, he realized the mistake.

“Yours? Are you for real? Why
, you chauvinistic pig. You . . . you . . .”

“God
, Danielle, I didn’t mean it that way and you know it.” Balen backpedaled, but he knew this was going to solidify her excuse to end them.

“I will never belong to anyone. Never.”

He knew he had lost. He could fight, but it would only make her angrier and him more frustrated. He smelled the fear in her pores, the withdrawal that was like an ice shield over her heart. She was running and no matter what he said right now, nothing would stop her.

But how to let her go? How? He had no idea, but if that was what she wanted
, he’d have to agree. At least for now, cause she was right. He would be sent to Rest and she would be alone. Was that fair of him to ask that of her? Probably not, but Bonded or not, he would never let her go.

He opened the door
, turning his back on her. “You will get what you want, Danielle.” He walked out.

It was for the best, she
’d told herself a zillion times in the past five minutes. Separate herself from him now before she ended up doing it later. She truly cared for Balen. He was different than the other men she dated and her intentions were in good faith. No games. When he’d returned, everything inside her body said he was the one, but then . . . then came the axe side of her brain. The safety net that refused to come out from under her.

She sighed. She’d done the right thing. Ending it now was saving them both from disappointment down the road.

He remained silent the rest of the way and she followed suit. She tried to doze, but having him across from her, feeling his tension, the coldness, it seeped into her bones. He was pissed. She guessed he had every right to be. She had great sex and then told him to get lost. Yeah, that wounded a guy’s pride. And sure as the sun rose every morning, she felt like pure crap. Almost sick to her stomach at her cold and abrupt words. The look of surprise, the hurt and then the anger. All directed her way and, yeah, she deserved his frostiness.

The plane landed in the middle of the night. They disembarked and a car was waiting for them on the tarmac. Balen still had said nothing since their fight. He held open the passenger door for her and then slammed it. She cringed. She guessed she deserved that. Normally, after she ended it with a guy
, she walked away. Circumstances with Balen were just the opposite—if she walked away, she’d die. Go figure.

After an hour of
silence, she couldn’t take it anymore. “Balen, I know you’re pissed but—”

He interrupted
. “Pissed? Pissed? I’m more than pissed, Danielle. I’m fuckin’ livid.”

“Okay, you’re livid. But it’s just that I don’t do relationships. I mean, I thought it would be better if we stopped now before we became involved any further.” Okay, now he looked really pissed.

His grip tightened on the steering wheel, knuckles white. “You’re making a mistake. But I told you, I will give you what you want.”

She reached over to put her hand on his arm. He flinched and she pulled back. “I don’t want it like this between us.”

“Too bad.” He made a grunting sort of noise and then, with a snap of his eyes at her, he asked, “What do you want, Danielle? I mean, days ago you ask me to never leave you. Why bother coming with me? Oh, that’s right, so you wouldn’t die. Because of the blasted spell.” He sped around the corner, the tires squealing. “Soon, it will be over and we will go our separate ways. Just like you want.”

She felt tears threatening to fall and swallowed several times. She hated this. Hated that she was the cause of this between them, but history would repeat itself. She never wanted to be like her father.
Distance yourself before it’s too late—
she lived by that motto. “I never wanted to hurt you,” she said.

“Fuck that. I’m used to it.”

She shut up. He was too angry to talk with. She stared out the window, feeling the curves in the road as they careened towards the town of Zugarramurdi. There were no stops and no slowing as he took corners way too fast, and not once did he look over at her.

She leaned her head back and closed her eyes to keep the tears from falling. She didn’t care that she was in Spain
, that she was traveling with a man who could speak telepathically, could read her thoughts and could smell danger. She had done what she thought was best for them both. And she had to live with that.

A while later
, he abruptly pulled the car to the side of the road. “We walk from here,” he said.

Danielle got out and followed him. He kept a quick pace through the brush, the terrain rough and uncertain. The air was dry and cold
, and by the time they reached the stream she was shivering. They walked alongside it until it disappeared into a mouth of pitch blackness. A cave.

Balen didn’t hesitate and disappeared from view as he went insi
de, not once looking behind to see if she followed. She stood at the mouth of the cave, her heart pounding, limbs heavy as bowling balls. She stood frozen in place, unable to make herself face the fear.

She heard him curse and then he emerged from the blackness.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her forward without even looking at her.

“Balen, no. I can’t.”

Her feet stumbled behind him as he forced her into the massive rock cavern that housed three caves. If she hadn’t felt as though she were being swallowed up by a shark,
she would have found this place mystical and beautiful. Natural rock formations rose far above them to open up into a mouth that encased the stream.

She shivered
, and the flash of memories hit like a blast of ice pellets. She gasped as panic took over all common sense. All she could think about were those hours in the cage. The cold. The pain. Water trickling, dampness clinging to her skin like leaches sucking every ounce of warmth from her body.

She shook her head back and forth, planting her feet in the earth, fighting his pull on her arm. “No.”

She opened her mouth to scream; Balen covered it with his hand and pulled her back up against his chest.

He whispered into her ear,
“Breathe, Danielle. Breathe.”

She was shaking uncontrollably
, her stomach churning, and her legs and arms were numb. Memories took over every part of her, flooding her mind with visions of Ryszard, the cage, Balen and the horror they suffered.

“Keep it together,” Balen ordered in a stern voice.

The scent of limestone, the water crackling, the darkness. She didn’t care if she died, there was no way in hell she was doing this.

“You will. You have to. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He forced her forward, her feet dragging as they moved further into the blackness. She erupted into a crazed animal, flinging her body away from his, kicking and screaming beneath his hand. She had to escape. She couldn’t do this.

She saw the figure emerge out of the darkness. Her first thought was Ryszard. Balen had led her right to him. He had betrayed her just like he had done his sister.

“No,” she screamed. “God, no.”

“Sleep,” the shadow at the back of the cave said.

Her body went limp.

****

Balen placed a light kiss on Danielle’s temple as she collapsed in his arms. It had to be
done. She was hysterical. The scent of fear was overpowering even to him.

There was no greeting, no how are
you. “We have little time,” Waleron said. He nodded to Danielle. “She must be calm.”

“The Bond? What are the chances this will break it? Is there any other way?” Balen asked. It no longer matt
ered whether she became a Senses to become immortal. No, she’d shut that door and bolted it with deadbolts and chains. She wanted to be free of him, so he’d do everything he could to dissolve this stupid Bond. The last thing he desired was to be selfish when it came to Danielle. He needed her to be safe and protected, and most of all he needed her to be happy again.

Waleron moved along the stream’s edge, his eyes staring into the blackness. “Genevieve is responsible for the Bond and she refuses to break it.”

Balen swore under his breath at the Wraith’s meddling.

“My theory is that it will break once she makes the transformation. The Bond is with a f
emale human, not a female Senses.” Waleron crouched and dragged his fingers through the water and then rose again. “I will calm her when she wakes. The Wraiths have followed me, unfortunately, and will arrive shortly.”

Still Balen hesitated. “And if she doesn’t want this?”

“Then she dies. The Wraiths will insist on putting you into Rest, Balen,” Waleron said matter-of-factly. “We do this now or she will die.”

Balen gave a single nod.
“Do it then,” he said.

Waleron placed his hand on her forehead and spoke words of waking.

Danielle jerked upright and he immediately saw the panic on her face as she looked around. She scrambled out of his arms and was about to run the hell out of there when Waleron Traced in front of her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Cease,” he growled. “You will be calm.”

Balen took a step towards them, his animal instinct to protect surfacing. A low growl emerged, and it took every ounce of self-control to keep from slamming his fist into Waleron’s face, which would only result in his ass being kicked.

“Let me go. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.” Danielle was pale, her eyes wide, wild with fear as if something was going to attack her any second. Balen felt the energy shift as Waleron filled Danielle with calmness. She stopped struggling and color returned to her cheeks. He could still smell fear emanating from her
pores, but it was far less.