Promises (Blood Brothers #1) (6 page)

"NO!" The scream was high and shrill as Chayle came off the bed in a rush, her eyes wild and blind, mouth open for another shriek. Kayne was there before she could utter another sound, he mouth covering hers in a soft, soothing kiss.

"Easy," he crooned. "No one is here but us, rest easy." Kayne held both hands in one of his large ones, the other gently smoothing back the mop of chestnut curls cascading around Chayle's forehead and shoulders. The mass of dark silk filled his hand as he tried to soothe, slowly pulling her from the realm of sleep where the monsters chased and demons lurked. She shook so hard it was a wonder the entire bed did not tremble under them. Finally he pulled her onto his lap and gently rocked her against his chest, feeling the silent sobs shake her chest as she tried to hold them back. He felt them all the way to his soul.

"There is no one here but the two of us," he whispered.

"They were there," she wheezed painfully between clenched teeth. "I couldn't stop them, couldn't make them stop hurting the other girl!" Her body shook, the sobs soft and yet crippling as he cuddled her close, letting the terror loose rather than remain hidden in the shadows of her mind where it could fester and grow.

"What other girl?" he whispered, already knowing the answer.

"There was another girl at the compound where you found me. She was so much younger, so tiny. I could not let them hurt her. I couldn't," she sobbed. "I tried to keep their attention on me."

Chayle's hiccups tore at his resolve as he rubbed her back with rough hands that were used to weapons and hand-to-hand combat rather than easing a woman's fears. He did not realize how he clenched her closer, listening quietly as she voiced her terror. "They finally took her away once they started torturing me."

"Chayle, are saying you
deliberately
made yourself a target to protect the other girl?" Kayne tried to keep the anger out of his voice, but he knew it bled through. She had purposely made them angry to save the other girl. This small woman had fought the only way she could at the time, allowing men to hurt her more than they probably would have in order to buy time and protect the younger girl held captive. Not only was she brave but stupid. With no way of protecting herself from whatever torture those monsters were planning, Chayle had endured horrendous acts, more so than any he had seen in many years and it sickened him.

"I didn't know what else to do, Kayne!" she whispered, finally looking at him with swollen and drenched eyes. "She was so tiny, looked so young." A sob escaped at her words, and it tore at his hardened soul. She held onto him as if he was her only lifeline, her fists balled tight into his T-shirt as he gently rocked her.

"Do you remember much more after that?"

He hated asking her to remember but knew she needed to talk about it. However, if they had missed anything now was the time to find out. It tore his soul open when she finally looked up at him. Tawny and chocolate colored eyes looked up into his, the dimness of the room doing nothing to conceal the strength or internal metal of this amazing female he held in his arms, stealing his breath.

"I remember everything they did to me!" she growled through her tears.

"Then you should know that my brother and I are here to ensure no one will ever cause you pain again."

He was so confident, unconsciously stroking her back that Chayle knew this giant truly believed his promise. However, how could she trust him when she did not know him or that other hulking brute that claimed to be his twin? The one thing her military father had taught her was always listen to your instincts! Panic, hot and fast, hit Chayle as she finally realized the magnitude of her situation.

Then something deep and primal, and instinctual force rose within Chayle suddenly from somewhere deep inside and she knew -
KNEW
without a doubt that she could trust this man.

It didn’t matter that she had only known him since waking up in the hospital less than a week ago, or that there was some strange, intangible force she could feel pulling them together. Her gut told her to trust him; her instincts told her this was important.

The panic attack was not going to back off, though and Chayle found her world narrowing down to the ability to try to just breathe. Struggling to get out of Kayne's grasp was next to impossible as her panic almost consumed her. Breathing became impossible, as reality slammed into her… she was dependent upon strangers, in a location she had no idea how she got to and no idea how to escape. As it all came crashing down on her in waves her chest began to ache and her breathing became more labored, her body hyperventilating.

Kayne suddenly realized that Chayle was struggling to breathe and if she did not calm down she could do more harm to her bruised and battered ribs. She could not take much more abuse and he was not going to allow her to accidently hurt herself so he did the only thing he knew to stop it and gain her undivided attention.

He kissed her.

Time seemed to stop. Her lips did not soften at once, but he refused to relinquish his grasp on her sharp little chin once he had her quiet and breathing normally. His tongue continued to quest for entrance into her mouth.

When she did not open, he growled.

He was watching her eyes so he saw her beautiful orbs widen at the noise. Her gasp allowed his tongue to plunder her lips, seeking the warmth within as if it were the life-giving force of Mother Nature. His tongue stroked the sides of her mouth, sliding over her tongue and gently pulling the taste over his own, savoring and drowning in her flavor.

Gently, he eased his hold on her chin, continuing the kiss, holding her to him in the only way he knew how, showing her that she was safe, she could trust him.

It was almost his undoing.

"Oh God, make it go away!" she groaned, surprising him.

"What baby? What do you want?" Kayne whispered against her mouth, refusing to let go, licking those lips as he continued to watch her eyes.

So expressive, so telling. She may fight him on every conscious level but Kayne could look into her eyes and tell what Chayle was really thinking, and right now he had no plans of letting go.

"Make the nightmares go away, Kayne. Make them stop!" she begged, hating herself but unable to halt the plea. She clung to him, wrapping herself around him as the sob bubbled from her soul.

"Only time will help with those, little one. But we can replace some of them with new ones that you will want to keep," he whispered. He licked her lips again, constantly watching her expressive face, ready to stop at the slightest indication from her.

Kayne proceeded to lick her chin, down her neck to the pulse at her throat. There he gently sucked at the pulsing vein, evidence of the need throbbing in her veins. One hand slowly moved up her rib cage to rest under her ample breasts, waiting to ensure she did not panic.

Kayne was taken back when Chayle pulled his hand to her breast, allowing his thumb to gently strum across the raised pebble of her right breast. He groaned, feeling the small bud under his touch.

"You aren't ready for this, baby girl!" he whispered, licking Chayle's neck. Her taste was so unique and he continued to lick, tasting her essence, feeling it sink into his soul like no other drug he had known existed.

"Don't stop… please don't stop!" she just managed to say before dragging his head down toward her breast. "Make the monsters go away!"

Kayne gently laid her back on his huge bed where he began a slow, deliberate exploration of the most delectable body he had ever held in his arms. Slowly, he pulled the tank top over her head, watching Chayle's eyes the entire time to ensure she was fully aware who was in the room with her. He wanted no ghosts now.

Those dark eyes dripped with tentative but weary need, and Kayne leaned down to pay attention to those beautiful breasts that were still marred by bruises and faint cuts. If he could kill the bastards all over again the torture would have been worse than what they had done to this small brave woman laying beneath him. Pulling a hard rosy nipple into his mouth, Kayne continued to watch her eyes and knew the instant the ghosts vanished and passion replaced them.

“You’re not ready, so lay still,” he growled, pushing up the thin tank top to lick her stomach. “First you need to heal, then you need to trust again.”

“I don’t see how that will ever happen,” Chayle’s dark eyes locked with his and all Kayne could do was pray.

“I’m going to leave you here to rest. Rafe and I have some meetings to attend but the house is under guard and the property has better security than the White House. You’re safe, Chayle.” He licked her chin before starting to rise from lying next to her.

“Where are you going?” she asked, almost whispering it but still holding onto his shirt like it was a lifeline.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be back by supper time.” A quick wink and he was gone.

Chayle lay there listening to his boots as he moved down the hallway. It was evident if the man wanted to move quietly he could so it was obvious to her that Kayne wanted her to know he was leaving. She cocked her head and wondered at the strange turn of events in her life.

Never would she have thought a man like Kayne would come into her life, much less she could actually be kidnapped. There was no one in her life to look for her anymore, no one who could care that a single young woman just disappeared from the face of the earth. Sure, her co-workers might miss her but it wasn’t unheard of for employees to be there one day and gone the next. Working as a government contract one learned not to ask too many questions unless it directly involved something you were working on.

Pulling her tank top back on, she turned onto her side and Chayle decided that it was time to take things one day at a time and see what happened from here. Kayne and his brother promised she was safe. Her job was to get better, gain her strength back, and work at finding out what happened to the other girl that was held with her.

Chapter 8

Chayle was floating… lost in a sea of feelings that had nothing to do with nightmares or the pain that had awakened her. She knew it was a dream but didn’t want to open her eyes, just letting rough hands gently hold. Somewhere in the dreamscape she could hear Kayne whispering, his strong fingers gentle as he touched her body in a way no one else had ever done. It was like a massage of the soul, deep, rewarding and addictive.

The constant nightmares had finally eased off to be replaced by dreams of her tall dark savior who seemed to always be just to the edge of her dreams ready to pounce on anything or anyone who might harm her. It was interesting and terrifying at the same time. Her body craved his touch, ached in ways she hadn’t in a very long time for a man’s attention and it made no sense since the kidnapping was still fresh in her mid. Chayle would have thought she would run the other way after what happened to her but instead she only found peace and contentment within the arms of her dream lover.

Finally forcing herself out of the dream, Chayle opened her eyes to the dim light of her suite of rooms and sighed. It was early morning, again. She hadn’t slept a full eight hours since leaving the hospital and it had almost been a month ago. Each day someone brought food up to her room, and then Kayne would show up to take her for a long walk.

The walks around the property were eye opening at first. She would have though the compound would be more of a military-style set up but Kayne explained that this had been their childhood home before entering the service. There were over eight sections of land, almost ten thousand acres of woodlands and lake front. No one had harvested the timber on the property except the McIntyres for several generations and once the twins had returned to take over it was now a virtual fortress with the types of security on site.

The training facilities were something to behold and not even her dojo where she had gone for years could compare to the equipment and high-tech training simulators that were hidden behind plain looking barns and tall holding facilities resembling storage for hay. It was amazing and comforting to know she was in such a protected place, yet the dreams were wearing on her because her body was now healed and craved to be touched. Making a decision, Chayle climbed out of bed and finished her shower in record time. It was time to figure out what the dreams meant and why she was fixated on a man who seemed to be the only thing she could think of. Walking down the long hallway and descending the stairs, Chayle found herself suddenly in front of mass of male muscles.

“Just where do you think you’re going, missy?” Looking up, Rafe was staring down at her with what could only be called a smirk.

“Looking for your brother, if that’s ok with you!” Chayle’s voice almost squeaked and she kicked herself for not sounding stronger. She didn’t need an escort but she also didn’t know where Kayne was at right now.

“He’s in the training facility, if you’re looking for him. He’s working out so you might want to wait until he gets back to the house.” She felt strong fingers leading her toward a large, bright side room and Chayle suddenly found herself enveloped in a high-ceiling room full of windows. Plants and the sound of a waterfall came from a corner where several seating arrangements were placed and it drew her attention like nothing had in a long time. For whatever reason she hadn’t found the room in her many travels around the house.

“How is it possible to have a pool like this in the house?” she asked, taking a seat in the large, winged back chair next to the pool and watching the fish as they swam around.

“The house is built over an aquifer with the water table pretty easy to get to. This corner of the house was added when our folks decided they wanted a sun room and they found a natural spring just under the surface when they started construction. Rather than ruin it, our mother wanted it included in the room. For the time period the house was built and the way it is built, it was a feat never tried before in this part of the country.” Rafe was looking down at the fish so he didn’t see the wishful look Chayle quickly hid.

“It must have been wonderful growing up here,” she whispered.