Afflicted

by Novak, Ava

  “Don’t get me wrong I really want to fuck you but that’s not the only thing I want,” Kaden said huskily just above her ear. Victoria fought the urge to rub her ear and shiver at the warm tickling heat from his winded words.

  Whoa….oohh did Kaden really have to say that. Did he just say that? Don’t smile Vic!

  “Right and what else do you want besides fucking me,” Victoria asked with the roll of her eyes.

  “I want to get to know you, love you, cherish you, make love to you, and never fucking let you go. Honestly it’s the all I want and for you to love me all of me.”

  “Saying that must work with other women but sorry it’s not working for me.”

  “I don’t say that to other women. It’s kind of one-time thing. You belong with me. Somewhere deep down you know it. You know there is a connection between us. An invisible magnetic is pulling us together and I’ve already stop fighting it.”

  Maybe there is.

  “Whoa, I am not looking to date anyone and I am definitely not looking for a long distance relationship. Did you forget that I am not going to be staying here anymore?”

  “No. I haven’t forgotten. In fact I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep you by my side. I’m not going to try while you are tipsy.”

  “No I’m not,” Victoria argued, her words coming out in a slur. She reached for her refilled glass of wine.

  “I’m going to have to break that habit. How much do you drink a day?”

  Victoria gasped and snapped her head in his direction.

  Damn it. He is just too sexy for his own good. Oh and now he thinks I am a drunk.

  “I don’t drink often. Can’t you tell I am a lightweight this is only my second glass. I don’t drink much.”

  “Good you are telling me the truth.”

  “What are you like some human lie detector?”

  “Something like that I guess you could say,” Kaden said as he chuckled.

  Oh he has dimples. I could just kiss them.

  Biting her bottom lip Victoria reached up to touch the side of his face. She wanted his hair back but then she wouldn’t have known when he smiled he had dimples.

  “I liked the unshaven look on you better. It gave you one hell of a predatory look but it was sexy. You still ar-”

  She stopped speaking as Kaden delivered butterfly kisses to her wrist.

  “Hmmm, you are killing me,” Kaden mumbled though kisses. When his tongue glided across her sensitive skin Victoria yanked her wrist from his grip. Victoria breathed in a shaky breath. It had been too long since she had skin to skin contact from the opposite sex.

  Drink some freaking water. Come on sober the hell up.

  Victoria picked up the glass with water that had tiny melted ice cubes floating around. She took a long gulp. She glanced over in his direction and that expression was back on his face.

  Oh if he keeps giving me that I can give you the best fuck you ever had look…wait a min. No I am just going to put my vibrator to good use.

  “I’m going to go to the restroom,” Victoria said as she scooted out of her seat. Hurrying to stand on her feet, Victoria only managed to feel as if the room was starting to spin before her eyes. She took a step back only to fall gracelessly flat on her behind. A yelp almost fell past her lips as she felt her bottom land on something hard that she felt twitch as she moved slightly. Victoria had fallen into his lap and was sitting on very noticeable rock hard cock. She found herself calculating the size of his manhood. Biting down on the bottom of her lip, Victoria resisted moving her hips to grind against the hardness.

  “Need help,” he breathed against her neck.

  ***

  Kaden watched as she disappeared off around a corner towards the restroom. He groaned as he looked down at the budge between his legs.

  Now it seems pointless that I even rubbed one out before I walked out the damned house!

  He’d abandoned his well thought out plan the moment he saw Victoria being led over to the table. So far the night wasn’t going bad or good somewhere in between. Kaden asked the waiter to take away the bottle of wine. He didn’t think Victoria was a drunk and wasn’t going to allow her to spend the rest of the night consuming glass after glass of wine. Kaden wanted, needed Victoria to be sober, as he made his attempt to win her over. If he was successive by all means there would be the issue of telling her about him and his kind. The last thing he wanted was for Victoria to run away from him. There was that possibility she would. Adam told Kaden how his human mate refused to see him after revealing his true self. In the end Adam managed to fight for her love. Now Adam and his mate were together. Melody came to terms with the fact he was more than human. The thought of Victoria disregarding him based on who he was scared him and he wasn’t the type to be afraid of much. Love was completely foreign to him but he was willing to learn.

  What am I going to do if she refuses me?

  “Excuse me are you and your date ready to move on to dessert?”

  Kaden gave a lazily nod to the waiter. Right now he didn’t care about eating dessert, he’d much rather have his head between Victoria’s thighs instead.

  Shit! Think about baseball…mmm third base with Victoria sounds good…bowling…think about freaking bowling. Damn that is boring.

  Kaden downed the rest of the wine in his glass. By the time Victoria made her way back to the table Kaden wasn’t even close to getting rid of the bulge in the front of his Levi jeans.

  “Ooo, desert is on the way,” Victoria said as she slid into her seat.

  Kaden noticed her eyes were still a little glossy. He needed to get her sober quick and out of this restaurant. The walls were closing in on him and her scent was doing nothing to help his current situation. And it sure as hell didn’t help when she started licking her lips as their waiter brought over desert. She’d mentioned it to him earlier she had a sweet tooth and chocolate was her kryptonite.

  Damn it if she isn’t already becoming my fucking kryptonite.

  “What was it you ordered again?”

  Victoria took her eyes off the waiter heading in their direction.

  “Chocolate chestnut cake,” Victoria half moaned out. “It tastes so good.”

  “Is it that good?”

  Victoria nodded her head up and down with a smile on her face. Within seconds of her dessert being placed in front of her Victoria had a fork in hand and was attacking the tiny square on her plate. Kaden looked down at his own dessert. He’d chosen a slice of a New York cheesecake drizzled in hazelnut syrup. Kaden didn’t give a damn about the scrumptious mouthwatering food before him. Explicit thoughts were consuming him to the point where he couldn’t really focus on much else.

  He stared at Victoria. Watching as she savored every bite as a soft moan oozed past her red lipstick covered lips. Kaden leaned back as he turned a simple thing as dessert eating into an erotic show. A loan groan sounded from Kaden when he caught sight of Victoria licking the corner of her lips. And Victoria didn’t have a clue to the dramatic state of his arousal. Drawing in a deep breath, her scent overwhelmed him even farther, and he didn’t mind.

  “You should have got this. You are missing out.”

  Kaden chuckled as he picked at the dessert on his own plate.

  “Maybe you should just let me taste yours.”

  I’d rather taste something else.

  “All you have to do is ask. I don’t mind sharing.”

  Kaden’s cell vibrated. He glanced over at it and groaned as he read his beta’s name. Kaden wanted to ignore the call but he knew it might be important. With a quick apology to Victoria Kaden answered his phone.

  “Yeah,” Kaden said.

  “Your mom had to be physically removed from Rick’s tonight and now she is ripping her house apart. She is in a drunken rage,” Adam rushed out.

  “Shit,” Kaden grumbled as rubbed his chin. “I’m on my way.”

  “What’s wrong,” Victoria asked with a mouth full of cake.

  “Famil
y emergency,” Kaden said as he hung up. “I hate to leave you like this.”

  Kaden stood up.

  “You’re fine. You don’t mind if I eat that cheesecake do you?”

  I love that she has an appetite. I hope she has that same amount of hunger between the sheets.

  “It’s all yours but first I would like to get a taste of that cake that you like so damned much,” Kaden said as he walked to her side. She pushed her plate in his direction. He ignored the dessert on her plate. Kaden had wanted to taste the dessert in a different way. By the time she looked up at him Kaden was leaning down, his hand on her cheek holding her still, as he captured her lips. He didn’t stop until he’d accomplished his goal. Victoria opened her mouth to allow his tongue to slip inside. He tasted the remnants of the cake as his tongue explored her mouth. Kaden allowed her to pull away.

  Victoria reached up to rub the side of his face.

  “I miss that beard,” she drawled out.

  “Don’t worry. I’m willing to let it grow back just for you.”

  “Do you do this often?”

  “What?”

  “Kiss women all the time like you do with me,” she said breathlessly.

  “No just with you,” Kaden mumbled. He leaned in for another kiss. Victoria didn’t move away from him. “Mmm yeah, that cake is delicious.”

  He wanted to stay but he couldn’t ignore any of his obligations to the pack. Not right now. Slowly Kaden forced himself to back away from Victoria and the temptation to draw their kiss out longer.

  “Make sure you are completely sober when you get ready to leave. If you aren’t call me!”

  Victoria laughed.

  “That sounded like a command more than anything.”

  “I’m being serious.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure I will be sober by the time I leave. Besides I am not letting that go to waste.” Victoria nodded over to the untouched cheesecake. “It has to be a crime somewhere.”

  Kaden finally put some distance between him and Victoria. He made sure the bill was paid before stepping out of the Redbird. By the time Kaden made to his mother’s home she was standing outside beside a bonfire tossing items into a raging fire.

  Adam jogged over to Kaden.

  “She was at Rick’s earlier screaming and hollering at everybody. I managed to get her home but I couldn’t cool her down.”

  “I got this. Thanks man.”

  “I’ll catch up with you tomorrow,” Adam said as he patted Kaden on the back before proceeding to his own vehicle.

  What the fuck is her problem now?

  Kaden walked over to his mother. She didn’t even notice Adam had left or that Kaden was standing there watching. It wasn’t until he’d yelled at her several times before she stopped what she was doing and turned around to face him.

  “What,” she snarled.

  “Why are you out here burning shit?”

  “Because I can that’s why considering you have stepped into this damned role as leader and messed up my plans.”

  “Oh, I messed up your plan,” Kaden said as he stuffed his hands into the back pocket of his jeans.

  Good thing I did.

  He knew he wasn’t capable of diminishing the hatred she had towards the pack but he wasn’t going to allow her to harm them in anyway. Kaden didn’t care if she was his mother, he’d ban her from the pack if he had to, and that’s what he had in mind at the moment. He was going to move her to Alaska. Collins held too many bad memories for her and she needed change.

  “Yes, you did Kaden. I want to destroy them all. And you aren’t letting me,” Kellie cried as she threw more stuff into the bonfire. “I want them to suffer twenty times what I have suffered.”

  Kaden frowned. Yeah, but they weren’t the one beating your ass. It was all Morgan!

  “Come on ma. You are hate is a bit misplaced. You can’t blame no one in this pack for the shit Morgan did.”

  “No my hate is not misplaced Kaden.”

  “Go inside and sleep off whatever you been drinking on.”

  “Don’t Kaden. You sound like your father. He always told me what the hell to do and now that he is dead I am not going to do what you or anyone says anymore. My chains are gone.”

  “I’m not trying to tell you what to do or control you either.”

  “Why did you leave me Kaden? You left me here alone with that man.”

  Kaden sighed. He stuffed his hands into the pocket of his jeans and walked slowly over to stand beside his mother.

  “I didn’t mean to. I should have made you go with me. Don’t think I hadn’t thought about it. You needed it more than me to be away from here, away from him.”

  “I didn’t want to leave. I wouldn’t have. It wasn’t all bad Kaden. Your father loved me and I loved him. He was just lost.”

  “Make up your mind. You can’t love someone and damn them the next minute,” Kaden stated with clenched teeth. “Besides hurting someone does not equal love.”

  Mom you need help. You’ve been abused for too long. Shit I need to get her help. She needs it bad.

  “He did love us. He did. He apologized and I mean really apologized. It was weeks before he died. I was standing by the stove making breakfast when he did it. He even said he was sorry about Joanne.”

  “So he was with another woman again?”

  Kaden rolled his eyes.

  “Joanne is his daughter from that bitch wanderer he slept with.”

  “What daughter?”

  What the fuck?

  “She is probably dead by now just like her mother. It’s a hard life for a wanderer that is a female. No protection. No family. No values.”

  “Are you saying what I think you are? So Morgan has another kid out there.”

  “Who cares,” Kellie said as she picked up the bundle of clothing at her feet and tossed a few shirts into the fire. “Like I said she is probably dead. So don’t bother with it.”

  He wasn’t surprised Morgan had fathered another child. Kaden wondered how his mother even knew. She knew the name of the child and that the mother was a wander. There must have been some type of communication going on for Kellie to know what she did. Kaden wasn’t going to leave until he pried every piece of information his mother had on this child. He was going to find Joanne. Make sure she was safe and not being bouncing around from place to place with her mom being a wanderer. Kaden to make sure she was safe if the child’s mother was dead like his mother said.

  Chapter Nine

  Knocking forced Victoria to awake, then to roll lazily from the middle of the bed until she came to the edge, and checked the clock on her nightstand. Victoria groaned as she tossed the cover off of her and got up. She slid her feet into the fluffy pink slippers and shuffled towards the door.

  “I’m coming,” she bellowed.

  This is what I get for drinking and then staying up trying to get myself off last night.

  After getting home last night Victoria spent the night attempting to relieve herself but her body just wanted physical attention from the opposite sex. Her vibrator had lost its luster. She needed a real cock.

  Yawning, Victoria did a quick stretch before opening the front door.

  “Oh it’s you,” Victoria said as she rubbed her eyes. Kaden chuckled.

  “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “You’re fine. So what brings you here unannounced today? More kissing,” Victoria said as a smile formed on her lips. She unconsciously ran her fingers through her hair to fix it. Victoria noticed his hair was not in a ponytail today. Black hair framed his face. The wild look she’d come to love was back even with the lack of hair on his face.

  Shit I have morning breath! Victoria was glad there was a good amount of distance between them. She still had to resist the urge to hold a hand over her mouth. For now she just hoped a breeze didn’t come along.

  “No, but if you want me to well you don’t even have to ask,” Kaden said as he held up something black. “You left this behind
last night.”

  I can’t believe I freaking forgot it.

  “Thanks,” Victoria said as she reached for her clutch.

  “Hmm, I have it on good authority that you left sober.”

  “Thanks for returning my clutch. I didn’t even notice I didn’t have it,” Victoria said with a frown on her face.

  “You had it sitting on the roof of your car when you drove off from the Redbird last night.”

  “And how did you end up with it? Are you keeping tabs on me Kaden?”

  “Maybe,” Kaden said with a shrug of his shoulders.

  “Don’t turn stalker on me. It’s the last thing I need with all the crap I have to deal with.” Victoria tapped the door to indicate what she meant.

  “Has someone been bothering you again?” Kaden asked as he took a step forward. Victoria backed away as she heard a sound emit from him that sounded un-human.

  “No,” Victoria said with the shake of her head. She brushed the odd sound off and decided it was her imagination running wild.

  “Good. I think folks got the message.”

  “And what message is that?”

  “To leave you alone and anyone who doesn’t will have to answer to me.”

  “What kind of muscle are you carrying under your belt that has you pulling that kind of weight? Considering the police could have handled that.”

  Victoria folded her arms, leaned on the doorway, as she eyed Kaden with wary eyes. He’d asked so much about her last night but she’d failed to question him with just as much enthusiasm. She began to wish she’d inquired more about him. Kaden let out a low amused laugh as he stuffed his hands into the back pocket of his jeans.

  “Get to know me more and I’ll be happy to tell you.”

  I wanted to get know you last night in other ways, a more sexual way.

  “Is that your way of attempting to get me to go on a date?”

  “I don’t want a date.”

  What? Then what the hell was last night!