Redemption (4 page)

How was that even possible?

Pete lay back down and Grey didn’t want to move. The ground wasn’t shaking anymore and he was tired. Grey was also afraid of how Pete was going to react. They were well and truly mates now. He just hoped Pete wouldn’t think he’d tricked him, because he hadn’t. This wasn’t how mating was supposed to go. At least not from what he’d been told.

Neither of them said a word. Grey’s breathing finally evened out and he wondered if he should say something. The growl of his stomach interrupted his thoughts and Pete laughed. It was musical and Grey wanted to hear more of it. He vowed to do what he could to make Pete happy.

“Weren’t you getting dinner?” Grey rose up, using his arms to brace himself, and looked down at Pete.

“I was—distracted.”

“I think you
were
the distraction.” Grey pressed his lips to Pete’s.

He had no plans on taking it further, but Pete had other ideas. He opened his mouth and ran his tongue along the crease of Grey’s lips before flipping them over. Now Grey was under Pete and getting hard again.

Grey hadn’t expected this playful Pete. He figured his mate would storm off, not kiss him again. He was happy and, if his mate sense was right, so was Pete. He didn’t want it to change. He clutched Pete tight, wishing for time to stand still.

It was the strangest thing Pete had ever felt. He was happy. He hadn’t felt this good in a really long time. The last time was when he’d gone with his cousin Everett on a cross-country motorcycle ride. He didn’t want to stop kissing Grey and he was getting hard again. He wondered what it would feel like to have Grey inside him. Grey seemed to like it when Pete’s cock was up his ass. Pete hadn’t even had time to be nervous.

If he let himself really think about it, this was what he’d always wanted. Someone to call his own. But it still wasn’t the case. They could never be—mates.

Oh, shit
.

Pete pushed himself away from Grey. That light and these feelings…they weren’t all his. It was as if a part of him now belonged to Grey. The happiness he felt wasn’t all his. Why didn’t he sense it sooner?

What had Grey done to him? His parents would kill them both for sure now. It didn’t matter if they were a continent away. They would know that the abomination had mated. Russ couldn’t even save him now. Pete stumbled out of the tent.

“Pete? What is it? You look like you’ve seen a ghost?” Grey followed him out.

Pete held out a hand to hold Grey off.

“Don’t—please. We’re both dead now. Don’t you know what we’ve done? We can’t have mates, it’s forbidden and now they’ll kill us.” Pete was speaking fast and backing away. He stumbled on something and fell to the ground.

Grey rushed over to him, but Pete kept moving. Maybe if they didn’t touch anymore no one would know.

“Pete—you’re going to hurt yourself. Calm down and talk to me.” Grey didn’t get much closer and crouched down beside him.

“We can’t be together. What did you do? If it was just sex they might never know—but we fuckin’
mated
. How is that possible? I thought there was—more.” Pete took a deep breath and looked straight into Grey’s blue eyes. “My family is going to kill us. That’s a fact. I’m an abomination and now I’ve made you dirty, too.” Pete looked down at the ground.

He sounded so weak, but it couldn’t be helped. He’d just signed Grey’s death sentence.

“I don’t know who told you that bullshit, but you’re a beautiful man and you’re perfect. No one is going to kill us. Russ isn’t like that. At least I didn’t get that from him when—”

“Stop. Just stop. I’m not talking about the pack. I’m talking about my
family
—the ones who kicked me out. They always show up. I was warned.” Pete looked around like they might appear here, in Africa. He knew that was silly, but he was totally freaked out.

“Babe—I won’t let those bastards touch you,” Grey growled and gathered him close.

Pete let him for a second. Grey made him safe, but it was an illusion, one he couldn’t get used to. He took this one minute for himself and let Grey comfort him. The anger he felt surge through him wasn’t his own. It was odd having these sensations. Maybe, for tonight, he could forget and tomorrow he could go back to the way things were. He wanted the safety Grey gave him. One night. That’s all he asked. Then he’d find a way to protect Grey from his family. They wouldn’t hurt his…mate. God, Grey really was his mate. What did this mean? Nothing good could come of this, Pete was sure.

“Let me get us something to eat. We should probably—ah—dress, first.” Pete looked down at himself. He was dirty from his crawl across the ground.

He stood and dusted himself off before putting his pants back on. Grey didn’t say anything and Pete could feel his confusion. Pete didn’t blame him. He had no idea what to do right now.

The MREs were still on the ground where he’d dropped them. Pete opened them up and cooked what needed cooking. Nothing too fancy, they never were. He handed one to Grey and sat down beside him.

Grey didn’t eat. He kept looking at Pete and it was making him nervous, but he didn’t move away. There would be time for that tomorrow. The food wasn’t that good, but it was enough to appease his hunger. He took Grey’s trash from him and put it in a bag he’d set aside for disposables. He didn’t want to litter, the place was too beautiful and primitive.

This time he held out his hand for Grey, not sure if it would be accepted. Neither spoke as Pete guided them into the tent. It would be a tight fit with both of them in there, but he didn’t care. He would make the most of his one night. They both kept their pants on—Pete would have liked to have Grey inside him, but one mark was enough. For now he would hold Grey. He zipped the tent and turned to see Grey underneath the sleeping bag he’d spread out. He’d have to curl up to fit inside the tent. Grey let him get settled before pulling him close and throwing a leg over Pete and cuddling him close.

Pete had never experienced this kind of tender love. Not that he could remember, anyway. Once he’d realised he was gay, it was like his parents knew and kept him at a distance. They’d tried to ignore it when he’d come out, but then the beating had happened and he’d been banished from his tribe.

He didn’t want to think about the things he’d had to do to survive before he’d found his cousin Ev. Everett had been the only bright spot in his life—until now. And this was just a passing phase. But he wouldn’t think on that. Not now when Grey was curled around him and softly snoring. He’d live in this moment and store the memory to keep forever, even if he couldn’t keep Grey beyond tonight.

Chapter Five

Ive licked Dji’s chest. He was naked and all hers for the taking. God, he was beautiful—his skin so dark against hers. She loved running her fingers over his body—the way he shivered for her made her wet. Tasting every inch of him seemed like a great idea. Ive worked her way down his body taking tiny nibbles on her way to his glorious cock. Her ultimate goal was to swallow him down. Maybe she’d let him come, maybe she wouldn’t.

She’d play it by ear and enjoy every second of it. Her hair trailed over his body until he grabbed it in his fist, holding it out of her way, but not stopping her.

A small tug had her looking up. Dji grinned at her. She winked back before taking the head of his cock in her mouth. He closed his eyes and threw his head back. Ive was happy she’d been watching him. His hips bucked up, but she held him down. Ive wasn’t ready to take him deep yet. First she wanted to pay special attention to his slit, wiggling her tongue back and forth—his flavour was salty with a hint of sweet. She could easily become addicted to the way he tasted.

Dji moaned. She did that to him, made him lose control. It was a heady feeling. She closed her eyes and hummed as she slid down, taking him to the root, her nose buried in his curly hair. What would he feel like inside her? Ive squirmed, but couldn’t get the friction she needed. Dji shifted and she straddled his leg—it still wasn’t enough, but she didn’t want to stop sucking him.

He took the decision away from her, tugging at her hair.

“Ive—gonna—please—stop. Want inside… God, woman—too much—please…”

His hips jerked and she had to move back or gag. She moved back up his body. Her lips hovered over his—wait—was that? Did she smell—smoke? She tried to look around, but Ive didn’t want to open her eyes. Were they at the crash site? Why would they be having sex there? Where were the others? It didn’t make sense. Her face hurt, but she didn’t remember being injured in the crash. She remembered it all too well, they’d been kidnapped. She opened her eyes to see that she was tied to a post and Dji was beside her, also trussed up. This couldn’t be good. Ive looked around. There wasn’t much to the tribe. Dji was slumped until something made him stand up tall.

A native walked up to Dji and smacked him in the face with the butt of his spear.

The action, out of the blue startled her and Ive screamed.

“What are you doing? Stop!” She knew they wouldn’t stop just because she was upset, but at this point she didn’t care.

Why were they hurting him? Dji had done nothing. Like there was anyone around for them to speak to. And Dji had barely said a word since he was released from Dmitri.

“Who you talk to?”

The guy spoke English, that had to be good, but were they crazy? Dji hadn’t spoken to anyone and he remained silent now. The tribesman walked off, leaving them alone as if he were following someone.

“Dji, talk to me—please. What’s going on?”

“We can’t talk right now, they won’t allow it.”

And he was right. If they saw them they could get hit again and she didn’t want to chance that. Dji’s face had to be on fire. She knew hers was from that damn slap. She wished they’d had time to bind, but nothing on this trip had gone right. Dji was still not in his full power and in a cloud of guilt she could almost feel it. They needed to stay as far under the radar as they could. Joy and Zareb would come looking for them. It was only a matter of time. She just didn’t know if it would be before or after they destroyed the damn Vessel.

Don’t jump, don’t react. It’s me—Djimon.

How—
Ive looked over at Dji, pushing her thoughts at him.

She didn’t think this was possible for an unmated pair.

Don’t look at me or they’ll know. They might figure it out. I don’t know if I can shield myself from the shaman for long. Joy’s spirit was here. It’s a trap and I warned her. They will destroy the Vessel first and come for us unless I can get us out of here first. I’m still not at full strength.

Ive faced forward. This was the most Dji had spoken to her since he’d come into himself. She would do what she must to make sure they survived. How, she had no idea. It was at times like this she wished she had magical abilities. For now, she worked on her ropes. Her shoulders were hurting from the position she was in and she needed to pee. Not the best situation, but maybe she could get them free after they let her go to the bathroom. But Dji was right—he wasn’t at his full power and still in a funk. Until he got out of that he’d be useless. There was only so much she could do alone and she didn’t know how far out Joy and Zareb were.

I’ll be ready.

Ive wanted to reassure Dji and hoped she could keep her promise. One of the tribesmen came closer and pointed at her. She had no idea what he was going on about but he untied her and dragged her to a secluded section. She looked back at Dji. He struggled with his bonds and growled. Ive didn’t like it any more than he did, but she didn’t have a choice in the matter.

She was pushed into an area with a hole dug out. The tribesman pointed to her, then to the hole. Ive was confused for a moment until it hit her. This was her potty break. She didn’t have time for modesty. She had to go and the guy wasn’t turning around. Not that she could speak to him anyway. She had no idea who spoke English and who didn’t.

Once she was done she was tied back up. Dji looked her over. At least his protective instincts were alive and well. She hoped they all made it out alive. She was beginning to have her doubts. Water was shoved into her face and it was either drink or drown. At least they weren’t torturing them.

That could be bad. It might mean they were going to use them for something else. They wanted the Vessel and who knew how many spirits were trapped inside. If they tried to possess Dji again, it could break him for good. What was she going to do?

The shaman came back to her. Dji looked out of it again. She didn’t know if it was an act or if he was really so far into himself he wouldn’t be able to help. Ive wanted to shake him and make him realise that it was going to get better.

“Tell me now—where is the Vessel? I will go easy on you.”

Ive didn’t say anything.

“No worries. I think I know—I hope you are ready to sleep for a while. Once we have the Vessel, you too will be turned. I wonder what delightful spirits are left in there.” The shaman laughed and left her to her own thoughts. It was getting dark and she was tired. Not that she could sleep in this position. She wasn’t naïve enough to think that they would untie them so they could go to bed—yeah, right, bed. More like standing up and not even a sleeping bag in sight.

She would need what strength she could get. Ive meditated and took herself to a happier place. Letting her body get the rest it would need. Hopefully she wouldn’t have long to wait for the big rescue. At least she knew Joy and Zareb were alive to help them out. Now she had to sit and wait. Something she’d never been good at. Maybe she could go back to her dream and finish what she’d started. If she couldn’t have the actual Dji yet, her dream self could enjoy.

* * * *

Light was coming over the horizon, daylight was upon them and Dji knew he’d need to be prepared. He had people to protect and it was about time he did something other than kill people.

He would never be able to forget what Dmitri had done while in possession of his body. Dji had much to atone for, but right now he had to get his mate out of this situation before the shaman did something stupid. All he could do now was gather what strength he could, so he was ready when the others arrived.