Worlds Apart 2: Hunter's Revenge (9 page)

“You were with child when we rescued you, but because of the blood loss during the attack afterward they were unable to save the child.”

Amy stilled then slowly sat up. “How far along was I?”

“The healers say that sometime within the last week you ovulated. The embryo was too small to handle your blood loss.”

Amy swallowed then turned her head away. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to think, supposed to feel. This was my child but instead of grief over its loss, I feel relieved that I will not bear my rapist’s child. And I feel guilty that I feel this way.”

“You have no reason to feel guilty. I would think all the things you are feeling are normal under the circumstances.” Amy nodded but he could tell that she didn’t believe him. He could feel the doubt through their connection, yet he had no idea how to comfort her.

“So, what is the favor you’d like to ask?” He knew she’d rather talk about anything other than the child and he wouldn’t push her on this. If she ever wanted to discuss it in the future, he’d be there for her. He understood that she’d have to think on it some more before she’d be really ready to face it. At least, that’s what Eve had said and he was going to take his sister-by-marriage’s word on it.

 
When he noticed Amy’s patient gaze Hunter realized he’d been silent far too long. It was now or never. “I know you’ve noticed the bond between us. Sometimes…most times, when a couple has such a bond they know they are meant to be together, or at least they hope they are. The
Manruvians
have a thing called mate bonds. If two people who were meant to be together wear them, they are tied to one another for life and beyond. I would ask you to accompany me to the
Chantrean
garden aboard this ship and agree to wear the mate bonds. This way we would know if we were meant to be together or not. If you are not my mate I will leave you alone. I will still care for you, but as a sister, not a mate. If you are my mate we shall work things out from there.”

“What if I’m not your mate? What of my people?”

“I shall still help your people,
moya
. No one deserves the treatment the Black Rose dishes out.”

“And if I agree to wear these bonds? What then?”

“Then we will go on as we have. Only when you are ready to consummate our mating will we do so. I respect you and care for you far too much to ever force myself on you.”

Amy sighed then turned her gaze toward the water. They sat that way for several minutes as they silently watched the water, each lost in thoughts of their own. What would he do if she refused? Did he have the strength to let her go if that’s what she wanted? Yes, it may kill him to see her leave, but if it helped in Amy’s healing, he’d see her on a ship to Earth himself. He loved her too much already to ever cause her misery by keeping her with him when she’d rather be elsewhere.

When Amy finally broke the silence growing between them, he thought he must have misheard her. “What was that?”

“I said okay. I’ll let you use the mate bonds, but for right now that’s all I’m agreeing to.”

Hunter nodded. He could hear the fear in her voice; see the fright in her eyes. Did she fear him or what lay ahead? He just didn’t know.

Reaching behind him, Hunter grabbed the uniform he’d been carrying when he spotted her. As he dressed, he watched Amy’s reaction to his nakedness. She seemed both enthralled with his body and terrified of it. Until he proved to her he’d never harm her, he had to expect this reaction. He just had to remember not to push her for more than she could give and to step away immediately if she asked it of him.

By the time he’d dressed, Amy had already dusted the sand from her pants, rolled her pant legs down and donned her shoes. He could feel Amy’s tension, her nervousness as though it were a living thing, choking her.

“If you don’t want to do this, I understand.’

Amy shook her head, “No. We both need to know.”

The fact that his mate would use the Mate Bonds even though her fear nearly consumed her showed him just how courageous and strong she was—a fitting mate for the next ruler of
Chantrea
.

Reaching down for her hand, Hunter gave it a quick squeeze. “Remember, all you have to say is
stop
, and I’ll walk away.”

Knowing only once they used the Mate Bonds would she truly understand what he was asking of her, he wasn’t about to waste time. With her hand in his, Hunter led her out of the recreation deck. Within minutes, they’d traveled the length of the ship and reached their destination. Before entering his security code, Hunter needed to be sure this is what she wanted. “Are you sure,
moya
? There is still time to say no.”

“Have you changed your mind about bonding with me? I’m not whole. I may never be what you want or need.”

Hunter shook his head. “That isn’t possible,
moya
. After we bond, you’ll understand. I promise.”

He watched her nervously. What would she do?

“All right.
I’m ready if you are.”

“I’ve been ready my entire life, Amy.” Knowing that only showing her the truth of his words would convince her, Hunter entered his security code and led her into the
Chantrean
Mating
Garden
.
 

“Sit here,
moya
. There is something I must retrieve first.” With nervous apprehension, Hunter went to the base of one of the nearby statues where a secret compartment was located. Earlier today, he’d placed what he’d need there for the bonding, hoping, praying he’d have use for them. Nestled within several layers of
Chantrean
silk for protection, were the
Manruvian
Mate Bonds. The use of the mate bonds ensured the person you wanted to make your mate was indeed the one destined to complete your soul. The men of
Chantrea
traveled with them in hopes that one day they might come across their mate and have the opportunity to use them.

He quickly made his way back to the stone bench where Amy waited for him. Hunter paused before attaching the bond to her wrist. He refused to do anything she didn’t want.
Even this.
When she gave him a slow nod, he took her hands in his and bound her wrists together with the ritual binding straps, hoping that she was truly the one, the one who could complete him.

When the other end began to seek his own wrist and wrapped itself around him, he breathed a sigh of relief. Several seconds later, it suddenly became thinner. It flattened against their skin, burrowing beneath the layers of flesh until it became one with them. Its
DNA
now blended with theirs, forming an invisible tether between them. Nothing could separate them now, in heart, mind or body. If they were ever separated again, for whatever reason, she’d not be alone. Never again would either of them be alone.

Chapter Seven

“What just happened to me, Hunter?” Amy asked, her eyes widening with fear. She felt something new inside her.
Something crawling through her system, locking her to this man.
She turned away, rubbing her wrists, trying to remove the thing that had just burrowed into her flesh.

“I feel different.” She looked at him, nervously licked her lips. “Why do I feel so different?” She fought the urge to try to dig the bonds from under her skin. The way they burrowed beneath her flesh like a living thing was the most remarkable and frightening thing she’d ever seen—ever felt—in her life.

Amy couldn’t blame him for the results. He’d warned her. She
turned,
ready to bolt from the room. He’d told her, yet a part of her hadn’t believed him. That they could be permanently bound, by living cords, was unbelievable, preposterous, yet it seemed as though what he said was true.

She felt him within her. She felt his fear of her rejection, his desire to be what she wanted,
his
determination to help her overcome her fears and the overwhelming love he already felt for her. Could she trust what she felt through the bond? Should she trust it?

The cord had come to life, wrapping itself around them, before dissolving beneath their skin all on its own. The one small part that remained between them just seemed to disappear into oblivion.

Warmth and love filled her at his look. His expressive eyes told her what he felt. She would know, even without the bonds that he would die for her. Why was this happening? She didn’t want this. Her body screamed out for him. Even the atrocities she’d been forced to endure didn’t detract from the attraction she felt when he was near.

Through their bonds, she knew he was a good man. She knew that he’d never intentionally harmed a woman or child and that he loved his family almost as much as he loved her.

Her gaze darted around the room. How could he love her when he didn’t even know her? Not really. How could she feel these impossible feelings so soon after her ordeal? What kind of woman was she that she could just accept what happened to her and move on as though nothing had happened? Her skin should crawl at the thought that he would want to touch her in the way those other men had. But something told her it would not be the same with him.

Hunter moved closer and she moved away, pressing her back against the wall. “It is the bonds,
moya
. Since we are
true
mates, we can feel each other’s emotions.” He moved closer, his breath brushing the side of her face. “If you open your mind you can even read my memories—my hopes and my dreams.”

She closed her eyes. Her feelings, her senses frightened her. His very nearness brought her nipples to hard points, heat moved through her. She couldn’t read him as thoroughly as he said she would. But she could still feel his need to comfort her, even as his body raged at him to make her his.

“Why do I feel so different?” She couldn’t understand it. It was almost as though there had always been a part of her gone—a part of her missing and when he wrapped the strange band around her wrist, it completed her. She’d never felt lacking before now, but with the bonds uniting them together, she noticed the difference.

“The sensation you feel is the bonds tying us together, uniting us in the way that only the
Manruvian
mate bonds can. The longer we are bound to each other, the more of it we will feel. The closer we will get.”

He pressed even closer and she fought the sense of panic that rose at his nearness. A centimeter closer and his body would be pressed against hers. He wouldn’t hurt her. Intellectually, she knew he would rather die than harm her. She could feel his need to comfort her through their bond, but she’d suffered so many cruelties it was hard to forget so soon.

“Our connection through the bonds completes us.
Makes us one.
That is why I said it would be a useful tool when we reach the Black Rose’s home base. If you could complete the bonding ritual, we would even be able to communicate telepathically through the bond. Even over long distances.”

He reached up and brushed a stray hair from her cheek. She closed her eyes and shivered. Not from fear, or disgust, but from arousal and it shocked her.

“What if I were taken again? If someone stole me away, would that mean you would know where I am?”

Hunter moved that last centimeter closer and pressed his body lightly against hers. “I would be able to find you before they could secret you away. I would like to say I could find you before they could violate you again, but I would not have
lies
between us. However, I would get there in enough time for you to watch them die.”

He leaned down and inhaled deeply. “Have I ever told you how much I love the way you smell?” His body pressed closer and she felt herself stiffen. “All you need to do is tell me to back away,
moya
. If anything I say or do hurts or frightens you, just tell me and I will stop immediately.”

He didn’t frighten her. She frightened herself. How could she feel such want, such desire, when only a few days ago she’d been brutally handled by the Black Rose’s men? She’d learned the woman was his sister, by his own admission. How could one be so good and the other so evil? It was almost as if every moment she spent in his presence, she were waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“Now that you have seen who I am, will you consent to the mating? Only the true mating will tie us together, bind us to one another in such a way that no one will ever be able to separate us.”

His breath fanned her ear and heat rushed though her blood to pool in her middle. Her panties grew moist, a sure sign that her body was willing to mate with him, whatever her thoughts and feelings were on the matter.

She licked her lips, watching as his eyes darkened to a deep jade, so dark they were almost black.

“Will you mate with me,
moya
?” his hands slid down her arms, his fingers tangling with hers. “Will you take the chance and accept my love?”

She gazed down. His erection was so large it threatened to burst the seams of his pants. Yet he still asked her. He kept his touch gentle as his fingers trailed lightly over her skin. She knew he wanted her. She even knew how much. She felt his inner lion raging at him to take her despite her feelings and still he held back, waiting for her acquiescence.