The Chosen (6 page)

“You’re safe with me. You can ask anyone.”

She didn’t know why she fought these feelings she was having.

They felt too good. He was so close to her, his body heat wrapping around her and taking the chill away. His hands rubbed along her bare arms in slow caresses like he was imprinting each cell to memory.

They stared at each other, her breathing growing quick, his steady and strong. His head dipped, and she held her breath. The only sound she heard was the pounding of her own heart. She couldn’t think as his lips pressed gently, but forcefully, against hers. He coaxed her mouth open with his tongue, and she couldn’t stop the moan that left her throat. He didn’t stop, just swallowed her moan and gave her one of his own.

His tongue swiped at the seam of her lips, the wet hotness of it making her womb clench and a fresh stream of wetness coat her sex.

His tongue touched hers, and she couldn’t help but press her breasts into the hardness of his chest. He was skillful and erotic with his
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ministrations. She placed her hands on his biceps and squeezed her fingers against the tight, bulging muscles just under the fabric. His mouth felt so good, the pleasure so excruciating she couldn’t even imagine what sex would feel like with him—even if she had no experience in that department.

“Come with me inside, and I will make you feel so good.”

She let her head fall to the side as his mouth trailed hot kisses down her throat. He buried his face against her neck, and she inhaled as he growled low and deep. It turned her on. That one sound shot straight to her clit. He ran his tongue over her frantically beating pulse, his teeth lightly nipping at her skin. He wrapped his arms around her waist, gently stroking up and her back. She thrust her breasts more firmly into his hard chest, letting her stiff nipples run wickedly over the fabric.

“You smell so good. I can smell your arousal, and it’s driving me crazy.”

His voice was a deep growl, and she shivered from the sound. She should tell him no, but the fact that she never felt this strongly about another person couldn’t be ignored. She just met this man, true, but there was something about him that made this feel so right. It was like they fit perfectly, a silly analogy, but a true nonetheless. She nodded at his question and breathed out as his tongue ran over her neck once more. He pulled away, and she suddenly felt bereft, cold and alone.

He took her hand, his warmth seeping into her skin and washing the cold away, and led her toward the club.

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Kayla looked at Lana, who sat on the bench. She should stay with her even though Lana didn’t want company. Adrik’s warm hand wrapped around her own and led her to a small door on the side of the club’s building.

“She’ll be fine, I promise. This place is the most heavily guarded facility in all of Stone Brooke.”

She looked back at Adrik and smiled, knowing what he spoke was true. It was still so surreal she was standing next to him after all of these years. He changed so much from the last time she saw him it was like he wasn’t even the same person. He never had been one of those scrawny boys she went to high school with, dwarfing all those other guys tenfold, but now he was immense. He was still tall, but even more so. His muscles were so defined he must work out daily.

He was taller, also, if she could believe that, making her crane her neck just to look into his eyes. His hair was still the same pale blond, but was longer than it used to be, just barely touching his shoulders. It was disheveled, like he just got out of bed and didn’t care what his hair looked like. It was sexy as hell. His eyes were still the same pale blue she remembered, but they now seemed guarded, like he saw too much throughout his life. She should have recognized him right away, but he seemed more intense, more dangerous now.

He placed his hand on a sensor that changed from black to blue before it gave a soft click. He still had her hand engulfed in his as he opened the door and led the way. They stood in a small sitting area, and he led them to an elevator that was off to the side. He once again
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placed his hand on a sensor—the same process outside repeating itself.

“Where are we going? I should probably let Kaleb know where I am.” She looked at him and noticed his jaw had gone tight. She should have known bringing up Kaleb wouldn’t have been a good idea.

For reasons unknown to her, her twin and Adrik had never gotten along. They had once been civil with each other, but one night that changed. Kaleb never talked about Adrik and certainly never wanted to hear about him. After whatever altercation they had, Adrik stopped coming by, had just disappeared without even a single look back. It had broken her heart. She should be furious with him for how he left, but when she first saw him after so many years, she couldn’t help the joy and longing that washed through her. She had loved Adrik, but he had never felt the same about her. He treated her like a younger sister, but she always wanted more. She told Kaleb about how she felt about Adrik, but he just stared at her and never responded. She had only been sixteen years old at the time. She had so many questions for him, the biggest one being why he left.

“He knows you’re okay, don’t worry.” Adrik stepped out of the elevator when the doors finally opened, still holding her hand.

The room was modernly decorated with a leather couch on one side and a large plasma screen television across from it. A small kitchen sat just ahead with a hallway to its side. An arched opening let her see into the kitchen without having to walk any farther. Stainless steel appliances adorned the kitchen as well as a small, dark wooden table and matching chairs.

“Where are we?” If this was anyone else other then Adrik, she would have assumed they were trying to get laid.

“This is a room I use at the club in case I can’t…get home.”

In case he couldn’t get home?

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She wasn’t stupid. That was guy talk for when he got laid and didn’t want to take the time to go back home. She would be lying if she said it didn’t bother her.

She stared at him as he started to pace around the living room like a caged lion.

“What’s wrong?”

He had gone from being happy and relaxed to being angry and tense. She stood by the door as he continued to pace, finally stopping and staring at her. As she watched him, she felt herself falling in love with him all over again. It was stupid for her to let that emotion present itself, but her love for him had never died. She was being foolish, though. He made it clear all those years ago how he felt about her. She remembered that horrible night like it happened yesterday.

* * * *

She was eighteen when she finally got the courage to confess her
feelings to Adrik. It was a lost cause with Kaleb, but in the long run,
she needed to do what was best for her, even if her twin wasn’t
pleased about it. Kaleb told her hurtful things about Adrik, things he
knew would cut right to her heart. How he had women all the time—

so many in one week that Kaleb lost count. She yelled at her twin,
even cursed him, but he just looked at her with a sadness in his eyes.

He told her he didn’t mean to hurt her, but that was just the way
things were with his kind. It confused her, and she didn’t know what
he meant by that, but she was furious and stormed up to her room.

She called Adrik, telling him she needed to see him right away.

Shortly after that call, she knew it was Adrik who knocked on the
front door. Kayla knew Kaleb would be angry she called Adrik, but
she wanted her brother to be just as upset as she was. She opened her
door and listened as Kaleb and Adrik started talking. They kept their
voices so low, she hadn’t been able to hear anything, just deep
rumbles that sounded angry. Loud footsteps came up the stairs, and
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she quickly shut the door. She smiled as Adrik knocked and then
entered, his presence making her heart skip a beat. He always made
her feel this way, a joyous bubbling inside of her body.

There was so much she wanted to tell him, so many emotions that
coursed through her every time she stared at him. Everything froze
inside of her, those words that would tell him how much she cared for
him stuck in her throat. He sat down on the bed next to her and stared
at her with regret in his eyes. Maybe he did care for her with more
than just brotherly love? Had this been a mistake?

Maybe when he brushed her hair off her shoulders or smiled at
her in that special way meant he really did care for her, or was it just
wistful thinking on her part? He just sat there, staring at her as she
told him how she felt, laid her heart out for him. He just sat there,
running a hand over his face and breathing out deeply. Was she an
idiot for telling him those things? What if she just ruined the special
friendship they had? She tried to tell him to forget about what she
said, that they could just be friends. As stupid and childish as she felt,
she didn’t care, the feelings he caused her to have were nothing she
could just blow off. He looked at her after she said that and told her
they would always be friends, forever. And then he got up, gave her a
kiss on the forehead, and walked out of her room and out of her life.

* * * *

He hadn’t called her or seen her after that, and for a long time she blamed Kaleb for Adrik leaving. After the years passed, though, her emotions got better, and she was able to date guys and actually enjoy herself. She never told Lana how she felt for Adrik. Lana didn’t even know about Adrik, for that matter.

So here she stood, staring at him as he watched her and feeling her anger finally rising to the surface. “Where did you go? You didn’t even say goodbye. How could you just leave like that after everything I told you?”

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He stood there, a stoic expression on his features. He ran a hand across his face. That spiked her anger up another degree.

“Answer me! I deserve to know, or was I nothing to you?” He winced at her last question, and she felt satisfaction from his reaction.

He sat down on the couch and motioned her over to sit down, too. She hesitantly walked over but didn’t sit next to him. She sat down on the leather chair across from him and folded her arms over her chest.

“Kayla.” He said her name in a whisper, and her heart flipped in her chest. It was the same way he said her name all those years ago—

right before he left. “I don’t know what to tell you. I can’t explain why I left. All I can say is that it was for the best.”

“Without even a goodbye? I thought we were friends. I poured my heart out to you, laid it on the table, and you all but chopped it up.”

She tried to control herself, but her emotions were starting to come crashing back on her. She would not cry, she would not cry. She said the mantra over and over again, willing herself to be strong. She spent too long wondering what happened to him. “Kaleb wouldn’t tell me anything, but I know he knew why you left. Did you leave because of all those things I told you?”

“Oh, Kayla, no, love. You have to understand that if I stayed, I would have just hurt you. You were too young for me, and my life was too complicated. We come from far different backgrounds.”

“Did Kaleb tell you to leave?” She stood up then and placed her hands on her hips. “Well, did he?”

He sighed and nodded.

“And you actually listened to him?”

“Yes and no. Your brother loves you and was only trying to protect you. Believe me when I say if there had been another way, I would have taken it.”

She was hurt and scared, and not ready to go through this heartache again. She couldn’t be friends with him—her feelings were just too strong.

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“Well, Adrik, it was really nice to see you again, and I hope our little visit hasn’t complicated your life even more. Maybe I’ll see you around.” She turned and walked toward the elevator but remembered he needed to activate the sensor. “If you wouldn’t mind opening the elevator for me, I’d like to leave now.” She kept her back toward him but heard his footsteps stop behind her. His arm brushed past her as he placed his hand on the sensor. He was so close to her she felt his body heat, and it made her throat go dry. There was a soft click as the elevator opened. She stepped inside and turned back around to stare at him. She pushed the ground button and waited for the door to close.

“Kayla, please know that I did—that I do care for you, so very much.”

She gave a small smile but didn’t say anything, didn’t trust herself to not say something foolish. His sad face was the last thing she saw as the doors closed, leaving her alone with her depressing thoughts.

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Lana followed Aleksei through the back of the club and into an elevator. Once she entered it, she stood in the back and watched as the doors closed. His scent was intoxicating, and being in the small confines with him only intensified the scent. The elevator rose, and she braced her hands on the silver bar going across the middle of the walls. He stood on the other side watching her, his eye half-lidded and desire reflected in their bright blue depths.

“Where are we going again?”

“I have a room off of my office that I use when I can’t make it home. I feel I should have taken you there, but I will be tied up for some time.”

Moisture pooled between her legs at the thought of what they soon would be doing. She knew the experience would be sinful and erotic as hell, and she just hoped she didn’t make a fool of herself with her inexperience. Before she could respond, his large body pressed against her own. The metal pole behind her dug into the small of her back, but the feeling made her hotter. His mouth came down on hers with such force it took the breath right out of her.