PS03 - Tall, Dark & Heartless (44 page)

for her.

Months before he made the decision to push her away as his struggle to take her slowly became more than he could

handle. Danni had been blissfully oblivious to the change in him while she hung on him, sparred with him, talked with him until

the early morning hours and fell asleep in his arms as he fought the draw of her blood.

The day he finally found the strength to push her away had almost been too late. He'd just got back from a really fucked up

patrol where he came across a large nest of vampires that were killing off the homeless. His backup had been delayed because

of the full moon and the damn vampires had a group of fucking gang-bangers as their minions.

It hadn't taken long before things went downhill and he ended up taking a chest full of lead and got knocked out by one in

the head. His backup team came in time to clear the rest of the nest and take out the minions before they could do any further

damage, which he appreciated. They even managed to clean him up and get enough blood down his throat to help speed up his

recovery and hold off bloodlust, but barely.

When he stormed into the compound hours later and saw Danni, barely seventeen, smiling hugely and running towards him

to get the scoop on that night's patrol the way she did every night something in him snapped. The moment she threw herself into

his arms and her delicious scent teased his nostrils, he no longer cared about anything.

In that moment it hadn't mattered that it was Danni in his arms, or that he cared for her. It hadn't even mattered that there

were more than two dozen heavily armed Sentinels around them. All that mattered was her blood and that he didn't have the

strength to fight it any longer. When he grabbed her by her arms and pulled her closer he somehow found the strength to do the

right thing, but he knew even then that he wouldn't be able to stop himself again so he did the only thing he could think of.

He pushed her away and walked away from her like she meant nothing.

"I deserved better than that!" she snapped, drawing his attention away from a memory that was better left forgotten and

focused on the beautiful woman wrapped in a sheet, standing in front of him. Her eyes were a violent red that shimmered with

unshed tears.

"I didn't owe you anything, Danni," he snapped back, wishing like hell that she'd left this in the past where it belonged. He

didn't want to talk about it back then and he sure as hell didn't want to talk about it now.

"Yes, you did!" she cried, the tears breaking free and making him wish that she'd just hit him instead. He couldn't stand to

see her crying and knowing that he was the reason for it seared his soul.

"I was still a kid, you bastard! You just shoved me aside and cut me off without a word!" she yelled, releasing her hold on

the sheet so that she could wipe frantically at the tears streaming down her face.

When the sheet let go and started to fall to the ground she grabbed it and yanked it back up before he could help her. She

held it with one hand as she used her other hand to wipe angrily at the tears that wouldn't stop.

"Baby, please stop crying," he said, his voice breaking as he watched the strongest woman he'd ever known fall apart.

"You didn't say anything," she sobbed loudly as her body trembled. "You didn't say anything. You just left me," she

mumbled as her body rocked with each sob that felt a like a knife being shot through his heart.

"I never left you, Danni," he said hollowly as he reached out to take her in his arms, but she stepped back. "I never left

you," he said more firmly as he once again reached for and this time he managed to pull her into his arms before she could

move away from him.

He prepared himself for a fight, a slap, a kick, a punch, anything and everything that he deserved, but all she did was sag

in his arms as she gave into her pain and cried. He couldn't take it, couldn't stand to hear her cry, knowing that this was his

doing.

"I never left you, Danni. I should have, but I couldn't leave you," he swore against the top of her head as he pressed a kiss

against her temple.

"Y-you d-did!" she cried softly against his chest as his hold on her tightened.

"No, no, I didn't, sweetheart," he whispered as he closed his eyes and held her. "I should have for your sake, Danni, but I

couldn't. I came up with a thousand reasons why I couldn't move on, but the truth is that I was that I was a selfish bastard and

couldn't stand to be away from you," he admitted at last.

"You weren't there for me," she mumbled softly against his chest as she wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly

as if she was afraid that he'd leave her.

That would never happen.

He knew he couldn't part with her. He just couldn't, but he also couldn't risk her safety by taking her along with him while

he tried to figure a few things out and move onto the next stage of his life. He'd have to figure out what to do with her in the

meantime, because they couldn't stay here and put Jax's pack in danger. He needed to get his mate to safety before the Master

sent everything at his disposal after them.

"I was always there for you, Danni," he whispered, "Always."

"N-no, you weren't," she sobbed against his chest. "You weren't there for me anymore. You left me and I had no one! You

just abandoned me! I had to move on without you and I was so scared, Caine, and you weren't there to catch me if I fell."

"I was always there," he whispered fiercely.

"No," she sniffled, "you weren't. You weren't there to make sure that I was okay and you weren't there when everything

fell apart and my parents were killed. I needed you so badly and you weren't there!" she cried out even as she tightened her

hold around him until he thought his ribs would break, but he didn't care.

"I was there," he promised as he pressed another kiss to the top of her head.

"No, you weren't," she said firmly as she shook her head against his chest. "You have no idea what I went through, w-what

I did."

He swore softly as he pressed another kiss to the top of her head. He never meant to tell her, but the woman was killing

him and he needed her to know that she'd never been truly alone.

"I know that you think that you were all alone back then, Danni," he said, sighing as he pressed one last kiss to the top of

her head before pulling back and admitting, "but you never were. I was always there for you and kept you safe even when you

crossed the line."

Chapter 36

"What the hell are you talking about, Caine?" she asked, taking a deep breath in hopes that it would calm her down.

She couldn't believe that she just lost it like that. After all these years she should be a master at ignoring her feelings, but

after the last couple of days, too many things had happened to her and somehow her control slipped. If he hadn't come after her

she could have had the meltdown without the added benefit of mortification and moved on with her life. Now she had to deal

with the knowledge that Caine had witnessed this auspicious occasion. But, apparently that wasn't good enough, because now

he was hell-bent on confusing her.

"Your parents' killers, Danni," he answered quietly as she pulled back to look up at him. "I know what you did."

"So?" she said with a careless shrug as she grabbed the top of the sheet with one hand and wiped her eyes with the other.

At least her tears weren't coming as fast and her sobs had died down. Hopefully by the next time she ran into him, say five or

six centuries from now, he'll forget all about this horrifying moment. She could hope at least.

"The Council found out about it, Danni," he said, making her breath catch. A moment later she slowly released that breath

and forced another careless shrug as common sense prevailed.

The Council knew and if they cared they would have done something. Since they hadn't done anything or so much as

mentioned it to her then they obviously didn't care. It wasn't as if she made a habit of performing unsanctioned kills so there

really was nothing to worry about and obviously they knew that. The only thing that she didn't know was why Caine was

bringing this up.

"What's your point, Caine?" she asked, wiping at her eyes again as she walked past him and continued to head towards

what she hoped was the main road, but it was kind of difficult to tell since the property was surrounded by woods and there

didn't seem to be any neighboring houses. Maybe her newfound skills would come in handy, she hoped as she inhaled deeply

and caught the scent of what she thought was car exhaust so she kept on going, hoping that he'd just let her go.

"You were sentenced to die, Danni," he said softly, stunning her enough that she stumbled over a small rock, but of course

Caine flashed in front of her and caught her before she landed face first on the dirt road.

As he helped her to her feet she couldn't help but notice that his erection had finally died down, which was actually great

since the damn thing was distracting. Well, it was distracting even in this state, but thankfully Caine had given her something to

hold her attention.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded as she stepped back away from him and pushed her hair out of her face.

"You're a human who broke their rules, Danni. You killed two minions, humans, without permission. When the Council

found out about it they took a vote and decided to make an example out of you," he explained as his eyes slowly shifted from

grey to red.

"I-I wasn't notified. There was no trial," she argued even though she knew that it wasn't required. She wasn't a Sentinel so

their rules and protection didn't apply to her. As a human she received the Council's protection as long as she didn't cross the

line. The moment she had, all bets were off and the Council would do whatever it took to protect their cause.

"They didn't need one, Danni. We both know that," he said, sounding frustrated as he rubbed his hands down his face.

"You should have come to me for help, Danni."

At that she had to let out a humorless laugh. Go to him? Was he kidding?

"You cut me out of your life, Caine. How the hell was I supposed to go to you when you made it more than obvious that

you wanted me gone, huh?"

"You should have come to me, Danni," he bit out angrily. "You were in deep shit and you knew it and you sure as hell

should have come to me
when you found out that you were dying
!" he roared, his fangs shooting down as he got in her face. "I

would have protected you, Danni, and taken care of everything," he said, cupping her face in his large warm hands as she

struggled not to break down again.

Once was more than enough.

"No, you wouldn't have!" she snapped, moving to shove him away, but he refused to move. "You made it clear that I didn't

mean anything to you when you walked away from me, Caine, so why the hell would I go to you?"

"Didn't care?" he repeated in hoarse voice. "I never stopped caring about you, Danni. As hard I tried I couldn't."

"Then why did you leave me all alone?" she cried out, her eyes watering with fresh tears and she didn't care. Let him see

her as weak. She didn't give a damn, because after this she was walking away and he could go f-

"Because if I didn't I would have killed you, Danni," he said, momentarily stunning her into silence. She couldn't even

work her mouth enough to ask him to clear that little announcement up and she desperately wanted to know why.

"Your blood, Danni," he said simply as he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I couldn't ignore it any

longer, sweetheart. I had to shove you away or-"

"Risk draining me," she finished for him, her voice hollow as she registered what he was saying. It didn't take her long to

figure it out thanks to her upbringing. "How long?"

Thankfully he understood what she meant. "Since the moment you walked into the hallway and started bossing me around,"

he said, chuckling softly as he pressed another kiss against her forehead. "It got worse as you aged until it became too much to

ignore."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, wondering how close he'd come. Probably very close if he had to push her away, she

realized. Then a thought occurred to her. "You pushed me away because you cared about me?" she asked, trying not to get her

hopes up.

"God, yes," he said, kissing her temple.

All these years she thought he hated her, grew bored with her when in reality he was only trying to protect her. It was

sweet, really.

He let out a strangled shout of pain as she stomped down on his instep. "You bastard!" she snapped, shoving him down

and when he moved to get up she slammed her foot down on his chest and shoved him back down.

"I could have protected myself!" she snapped, barely resisting the urge to kick him in the ass. "I didn't need you to play the

martyr. If you had just told me, we could have figured out something together. You didn't need to break my heart, you jerk!"

"How exactly would you have done that, huh?" he asked as he grabbed her by the ankle and gave it a good pull and a

slight twist that had her releasing another one of those embarrassing squeaks as she lost her balance and fell down. Thankfully,

Caine caught her and quickly positioned her to straddle his stomach.

A piece of sheet separated them, but she could still feel heat radiating off of him and welcomed it. It was a chilly summer