Dirt Road Redemption (Dirt Road Series Book 2)

by Chelsea Handcock

  Kaylee cleared her throat, or maybe it was a little growl, he wasn’t really sure.

  “She is only your mate Atticus if she wants to be. You will not force her into your world and the shit storm you have coming for you. I won’t allow it.”

  “Hmm, let me get this straight. She isn’t to be forced into my shit storm, but it’s okay for her to be thrust into yours? Am I getting that right?” Atticus said as he crossed his arms over his chest. He noticed Kaylee watched his movement. He knew he was a good-looking guy and had often used that to his advantage. Smiling, he cocked his head to the side, scanning Kaylee’s form—it was a practiced move but one that often gotten panties to drop for him.

  “Oh, please,” Kaylee started laughing. “Don’t pull that pretty boy game with me, Atticus Stone. I am mated. Your charms, or what you believe are charms,” Kaylee said swiping her hand down his body, “do nothing for me.”

  She was probably right, fated mated pairs were rumored to only have eyes for each other, but that didn’t stop Atticus from testing the theory. He started to push his pants further down his hips. She watched avidly for a few seconds.

  “Don’t you dare!”

  “Oh, come on, Kaylee, what exactly do you expect popping into a man's bedroom? Hmm?” When she didn’t take the bait and continued to scowl, Atticus said angrily, “I didn’t invite you into my home, this was your choice, not mine. You can leave any time.”

  “I’m not leaving until I get what I want, Atticus.”

  “Really? And what exactly is that?”

  “The pack and I would like to speak with Danica, make sure she is okay. That you haven’t harmed her in any way.”

  Her request was insulting—not wanting to speak to Danica, Atticus could understand that—but indicating he would harm her in any way. If Kaylee was a true mate, as she and Lucas both professed, she already knew he was incapable of hurting Danica.

  “No,” he said quietly, stating the obvious,

  “What do you mean, no? Dani is a part of this pack, the Valentin pack. Pack law dictates you are bound to obey those rules,” Kaylee dictated to him.

  That was the wrong move because it only proved to piss him off more.

  “As it has been pointed out to me, Kaylee, I am not pack, therefore, I don’t have to abide by pack laws,” Atticus said matter-of-factly.

  Apparition Kaylee actually stomped her foot which Atticus thought was extremely cute, but she was still annoying him.

  “Listen, you can’t just pick and choose which laws you will follow and the ones you won’t if you’re claiming Danica as your mate and expect the Pack to uphold that claim. You are just as bound by the laws as the rest of us.”

  “No, I don’t think so. I’m the bad guy, Kaylee. I don’t have to do anything but what I want and deem important. I assume you’re using your new-found powers because your mates' pack is unable to locate me, right?” Atticus watched Kaylee start to fidget and knew he had nailed it. “I have informed my bride I will allow her contact with her pack once the mating is complete. You can tell my brother and the rest of that mangy clan my intentions are pure,” Atticus said, not allowing her to speak another word, the words tasting sour in his mouth.

  “That is not acceptable, Atticus, we must talk with her privately and confirm her assent to this joining,” Kaylee censured.

  “Acceptable? I don’t care what you or that pack find acceptable. All you need to know is I don’t wish Danica any harm. I also will not allow you or anyone else to influence this mating. It will happen. Do I make myself clear?” Atticus snapped.

  “Atticus, please, Dani isn’t like the others, she was sheltered. Lucas and the rest are just worried about her, can’t you understand that? They are her family. Don’t you have someone in your life you would do anything for? That’s all they’re doing. Let them talk to her and ease this process for them. All of them, even Dani,” Kaylee pleaded.

  Her words did resonate with him, but he couldn’t allow it, it was a risk he wasn’t willing to take.

  “No, I have no interest in easing anything for the Valentin pack. Why are you even trying to talk to me? What could this conversation possibly gain you but a headache? I made my intentions very clear in the woods at your ceremony,” Atticus seethed.

  “I’m talking to you because I know you’re not as bad as everyone says, there is good in you, I can see it. I’m giving you the chance to show it, to include Danica’s family in this, to have something more than you had before,” Kaylee stated with conviction. It was almost laughable, she didn’t know him at all.

  “Please, Kaylee, are you so naïve you would assume your pleas could influence a man you know nothing about, that I have the same values you have? I don’t, I can assure you. I’m not Lucas, your knight in tarnished armor. I am Atticus, son of two monsters. I don’t care what you or anyone else thinks about what I am doing. My goals precede any wishes or wants you may have,” Atticus barked.

  “Then you’re not as smart as I thought you were. The pack will come for Danica, I will come for her, along with the entirety of the McClane Coven. Are you sure this subterfuge and evasion are worth it? I see you, Atticus. Remember that and do the right thing.”

  “My Lord, you are a treat. You think to threaten and scare me, little girl? I have faced much worse than your Coven or that pack and lived to tell the tale. Now, if you will excuse me, this conversation is growing tiresome.” Atticus dropped his pants, and just like he hoped, Kaylee poofed out of the room.

  Walking into the bathroom naked, Atticus got into the shower and let the warm water heat his cold body. He could barely remember a day in his life during the last fifteen years he didn’t feel cold. He just wanted to wash this day away and move on with his plans. But he couldn’t resist thinking about the one other time he had felt the warmth recently. It had happened unexpectedly while holding Danica in his arms. He was halfway through his flash, moving so fast, it almost made him stop. The heat from her body had seeped into him, warming him to his dark soul. He wanted to feel that again. Leaning his forehead against the cold tiles, he tried to banish his need. His cock was now so swollen, it throbbed with the need for release.

  Taking himself in hand, he stroked lightly at first, letting the friction guide his body, visions of Danica bombarding him—the sweet smell of her arousal still fresh in his memory, the sight of her plump breast breaching the top of the nightgown he had so carefully chosen for her. He imagined her lying back on his bed, beckoning him to come to her, pulling the top of her silky gown down further, allowing those glorious globes to spill so beautifully out of the confining fabric. Tightening his grip, he pumped his hand harder, twisting his hand on the upward stroke, moaning as his hips thrust forward.

  Closing his eyes, he envisioned Danica cupping her bounty in her hands, pressing them together, presenting them to him, begging him to take what he so desperately wanted while arching her back in delight. The vision was making the hand on his shaft move harder, more insistent. He felt his heavy balls growing tighter, each pump of his hand bringing him more pleasure. He felt dizzy, faint almost, then he heard the words, “Please, Atticus!” Those two words whispered into his mind were all it took for him to erupt in ecstasy. His head flew back, resting on his shoulders, body tense with pleasure, then shame.

  Washing his body quickly, Atticus got out of the shower, avoiding the fogged mirror. He didn’t want to look at himself right now. What was this woman doing to him? He should have more control than this. Taking a towel off the rack, he dried off quickly, not bothering to put on clothes and strolled into the bedroom.

  Going to the closet, Atticus opened the door quickly, pushing the clothing hanging there to the side. Putting his hand up, he felt around, using his fingertips to find the small, unnoticeable notch in the drywall. Tapping it twice, he waited for the small door to open. Taking the contents over to the bed, he opened it, revealing some of his most treasured possessions. First, taking out his amulet, he placed the heavy iron chain around his neck,
allowing the black onyx pendant to lay directly above his heart.

  Taking several deep breaths, he let the amulet work, the iron steel building his willpower and assertiveness, the onyx strengthening his self-control and grounding him in his goals. Atticus then took out one of the three small, glowing vials, uncapping it, and swallowing the contents quickly, trying to diminish the bitter unsavory taste.

  Within seconds, his body contorted in pain, feeling as if lava had entered his veins and lead encased his brain. His heart stuttered, then thumped wildly. Atticus started sucking air through his clenched teeth, but it wasn’t enough, black dots formed in front of his eyes before encompassing his vision completely, leaving him in a heavy veil of darkness. The only thought he was able to conjure before he passed out—let the ritual begin.

  Chapter 4

  Dani had fallen asleep last night shortly after Atticus had left, only to be woken up abruptly not long after by the most intensely erotic dream she had ever had, leaving her unsettled, aching and panting. In the dream, she had been begging Atticus to take her, even presenting herself, her body to him like a virgin sacrifice. It should have disturbed Dani. This man had kidnapped her, told her he was going to mate her with or without her consent. The thought of lying there, begging him to follow through shouldn’t have left her thighs wet and quivering, right?

  She felt like she was losing her mind. A part of her wanted to blame her reaction to the man on hormones or the mating call, but the truth was, her heat was still several days away and only just starting to build. Two days or even three from now, she could use that excuse, but now, she had to admit to herself she was attracted to the man in the most primal way.

  Her beast responded to him like no other, scratching to get to the surface, overruling her human side when he was nearby. Dani only remembered snippets of him traveling with her, but she did remember the intensity of his touch. She hadn’t lied about feeling the dark, but she also hadn’t elaborated on what else she had felt during those fateful minutes or the hours that followed after—overwhelming lust and longing.

  Finding her hand drifting toward the source of her ache, Dani abruptly sat up and got out of bed, not willing to let herself go that far. Masturbation was natural--shifters were sexual beings, and sexual gratification was close to the top of their primal needs—but Dani was different, she always forced those feeling away, not wanting to be like the rest. Emily, her packmate, had accused her more than once of being a prude. She wasn’t, she just wanted more than a simple release. Dani craved love and belonging, choosing to wait for her mate to experience and explore those parts of her together.

  She wanted the damn fairytale, a future filled with love, lust, and longing. One where she could grow, learn, and experience the parts of herself she had been holding back. With a man she trusted implicitly and loved unconditionally like the relationships she had read about in her coveted collection of romance novels, not this hormone-driven farce. Atticus wasn’t the man of her dreams, he didn’t love her. She would bet he didn’t even want to love her, wondered if he was even capable of the emotion.

  His plans for Dani and their mating were much more selfish. He wanted to use her to get what he needed and wanted. She had no doubt the joining would be epically explosive and pleasurable, but pleasure wasn’t everything. It was a fleeting feeling that eventually went away.

  Consumed with her thoughts, Dani had started pacing the room, not stopping to pay attention to her surrounding until she got her hormones and emotions under control. It had taken her a very long time to notice the little things about her plush prison cell. The room itself was really quite lovely and far fancier than anything she had ever seen before, outside of a magazine or tv show. The furniture was heavy mahogany and very prominent, more than likely antique. The other thing she noticed was the room itself was very masculine.

  She wondered if this was Atticus’ room. It smelled strongly of him, a woodsy, musky smell that reminded her of sandalwood and amber. She wished the scent was cloying or sickening strong, but it wasn’t, she found it pleasant. Her beast wanted to roll around in it until it covered her body, marking her as his. Dani wasn’t going to allow that.

  Dani let out a breath as she ran her finger across the thick, soft comforter that covered the bed. Yes, she thought, this was Atticus’ room. It suited the man—very high end but also very pretentious while a bit aggressive. She would never feel comfortable in these surroundings. She was more of a shabby-chic girl. She liked comfort over looks. Clenching her fist into the fabric, she realized something else. The bed coverings were lush and thick, but they were also stifling in a way, just like the man. She felt weird being in this place, it was so far out of her element. The room itself brought home another point to Dani—she and Atticus were so opposite, there would be no finding common ground. It was sad really, fate had really fucked her over this time. As if her birth into the Valentin Pack hadn’t been enough of a ‘screw you’ from the universe.

  It was different now with Lucas as Alpha, but he was unable to erase the past. Marcus had been a brutal Alpha, often taking out his anger on the weaker members of the pack, including Dani. Flynn had taken most of the physical abuse, Dani the emotional. Emily, until she learned how to “please” him, had been in the middle somewhere, taking whatever Marcus chose to dish out if Dani and Flynn weren’t around.

  Blood also didn’t matter to Marcus, he treated Lucas as filth but Matt as gold. Even that was a ploy to get what he wanted. He’d used his two sons to create tension, strife, and competition between the two. Their pack had continuously been at war with each other, nothing like a real pack should have been. There was supposed to be unity, a sense of family and loyalty. Valentin hadn’t had that for so many years, she wondered if Lucas would be able to change anything in the long run.

  Dani had wanted to help, wanted to build Valentin back into what it was supposed to be. Lucas and Kaylee had started making significant changes, and Dani had just begun to see the results. Macon and Dylan had started to talk more. Eric, the Beta of the group, started to let down his guard, and for a few weeks, it had been nice. She wanted to see what happened in a few years. That couldn’t happen if she was here with Atticus.

  Dani needed to figure out a way to get out of this place, wherever the hell it was. Standing around in a pretty nightgown like a pampered princess, wondering about the man, her mate or wishing things were different wasn’t going to make that happen. Getting down to business, she stepped back from the bed and slowly turned in a circle, looking at every nook and cranny, trying to find a weakness.

  There were three doors in the room. The one that Atticus left out of she assumed went to a hallway. She knew that one would be locked, so she didn’t even bother going over there. The other two she needed to explore. Going to the first door, she discovered a spacious bathroom. She briefly remembered being in there after Atticus had left but hadn’t taken the time to look around, only doing what was necessary and moving on.

  Now looking at it through more observant eyes, she realized this was a room she could feel comfortable in. It had a massive, gleaming white, clawfoot tub she could fully immerse her body in. It was so deep and long, when filled, two people would be comfortable lounging in warm soapy water, allowing the stresses of the day to fade away. The separate tiled shower stood to the left of the tub, just as massive. Dani estimated at least five people could stand in the glassed enclosed room without touching. It had three shower heads on the top and several others down the back and sides—pretty but overkill.

  Lifting her arm, she smelled herself. She really wanted to get into that tub or even the shower and wash away the last few days, but she wasn’t going to risk Atticus finding her naked. Turning with a little sigh, she focused on the vanity and cabinet off to the side. Dani opened first the cabinet but didn’t see anything useful for weapons, only shampoo, soap, lotions, and conditioner, and stacks of thick plush towels and washcloths all ruby red. Slamming the door in frustration, she went through a co
uple of drawers, only finding more of the same—hairbrushes, combs, several packaged toothbrushes, toothpaste, and a bottle of mouthwash.

  Hell, couldn’t he have at least put some scissors in the damn drawer or maybe hairspray and a convenient lighter? But no, Dani wasn’t that lucky, and she doubted the small, travel-sized container of dental floss would help her all that much either. Even the brushes were somewhat flimsy in construction—a nice heavy wood backing would have been nice, but she got cheap thin plastic.

  Going back out of the bathroom, she tried the last door, a closet, but it was empty. It didn’t even have dust bunnies in the corners of the floor or spider webs in the edges of the ceiling. It looked like it had just recently been cleared out and cleaned.

  There were two dressers, a couple of nightstands, and a desk, all empty as well, except for some paper and a couple of books, nothing useful at all. Going to the window, Dani moved the chair Atticus had been sitting in so she could try to find a latch or something, but there wasn’t any. She did notice she was on the second floor of what she assumed was a house in the middle of what looked like miles of forested land.

  Sitting down in the chair, she looked around the room. There wasn’t much for her to work with. Maybe she could hit Atticus over the head with one of the heavy lamps on the nightstands, but with his hybrid healing abilities, it wouldn’t give her much of a head start—seconds, if that. He had already proven he could move faster than she thought anyone was capable of so what good would it really do her?

  That only left one option—the window. Dani thought there was a possibility she could use the towels and linens off the bed to create a rope, then she would be able to break the window and climb down. As if on cue, Dani heard a loud mechanical sound and stood facing the window. Within seconds, the glass was covered with a heavy shutter of some kind. Moving closer, she noticed not even a peek of the outside was shining through anymore. Damn vampire, it must be getting close to dawn. Atticus, she assumed like Lucas, was a daywalker, but she also knew from the stories she had been told, Atticus spent most of his time in the company of other Vampire, ones who could not stand the light of day. He had obviously prepared for them to be in his home.