A Mate for Gideon (23 page)

She
screamed.

Liam
grinned and walked from the room. There were screams and shouts, two more shots
were fired and then there was silence.

****

Gideon
stood in the middle of fucking nowhere. He had been following Liam’s
instructions for the last hour. The large duffel bag on his back, housed three
million US dollars. Even though he was a vampire, super strength, badass as
fuck, he was beginning to feel its weight.

It
didn’t matter, none of it did. Placing one foot in front of the other, he kept
on walking, headed due north as Liam had instructed. The only thing that
mattered to him was Jenna’s safety. Getting her back alive and well.

There
was a team waiting to close in as soon as that bastard left with the money.
Right now, he was on his own.

Liam
had warned that he could intercept any communications and so while he had Jenna
in his clutches, Gideon would fly solo. No immediate backup, no outside comms.

His
phone rang. A look at the caller ID told him it was Liam.

Gideon
accepted the call, not bothering to say anything.

“That’s
far enough,” the male said. “Sit tight. I’ll be there in a few. Just remember,
don’t try anything. I’ll put a bullet into your girlfriend’s sweet little head
without fucking hesitation. Are you packing heat?”

“No!”
Gideon barked
. Heat
. As if he needed a weapon to take the dickhead out.

“Good.
If I see another soul or find that you are packing or trying to trick me in any
way. She fucking dies.” There was an edge of panic to his voice.

Damn.
Gideon was afraid that he might accidentally kill Jenna. “Stay calm. I won’t do
anything. I am alone and unarmed. I give you my word. Her safety means
everything to me.” He chewed the inside of his cheek, to stop himself from
threatening the bastard. If he hurt her in any way. The fucker was dead. There
would be zero hesitation from his side as well.

The
bastard laughed. “Your word? Right. Just be ready with the money. The sooner
this transaction is over the better.” He ended the call.

For
once, he and the bastard agreed on something. Gideon dropped the bag at his
feet. He folded his arms across his chest and waited. It didn’t take long for
an SUV to arrive. Gideon watched its approach. He unfolded his arms, putting
them out at his sides so that Liam would be able to see his hands clearly. His
plan was to move slowly and deliberately so as not to scare the male.

Instead
of pulling up, Liam stopped up ahead and reversed back to Gideon, stopping when
the trunk was a few feet away from him.

The
passenger door opened and Jenna’s scent hit him deep in the nose. Adrenaline
surged but he forced himself to hold still. His female climbed out of the
vehicle but remained standing at the door opening. From his vantage point,
Gideon could see that Liam had a gun aimed at Jenna’s head.

He’d
never felt so fucking useless in all of his life.

“Are
you okay?” He growled.

She
sniffed and nodded. Her face was a mess. Caked with blood. Her eye was swollen
shut, the lid was bright red with black and blue coloring around the edges. Her
nose was swollen as well. He bit back a deep growl. The fucker would pay for
this.

“Show
me!” Liam shouted.

Gideon
moved to open the bag.

“Don’t
do anything stupid!” Liam shouted.

Gideon
ignored the male, he opened the bag, reached in with both hands and pulled out
several tightly packed wads of cash.

“That’s
what I’m fucking talking about.”

Gideon
could hear that the male was smiling.

“Put
the bag in the back!” Liam shouted.

Gideon
heard a soft click as the vehicle lock was disengaged. He pushed open the
hatch, then, moving slowly, he reached down and lifted the bag, carefully
putting it into the back as Liam had instructed.

“Close
it!” Liam commanded.

Gideon
did as instructed. He held his hands up and away from his body as a show of
submission. “Let her go,” he growled.

Without
bothering to close the passenger door, Liam floored it. Dirt and stones flew as
the vehicle tires struggled for purchase. A whole clod of grass was pulled up
in the process. The vehicle pulled away quickly.

In
a split second, he had his arms around Jenna. “Are you okay?” He worked hard at
keeping his voice soft and even. He didn’t want to scare her.

“I
am now.”

He
shoved his phone into her hand. “Call Zane. Tell them that the coast is clear.”

“Wait.”
Her eyes widened.

“Stay
here.” He growled, his eyes on the fast moving vehicle.

He
may have chosen a remote location. The ground flat and the surroundings open,
but it was still rough going.

The
fucker had put his hands on Jenna one too many times. The deal with his female
was that if Liam came anywhere near her again, that Gideon would kill him and
he intended to do just that.

Gideon
roared as he picked up speed. He forced his legs to pump faster. Kept his eyes
on the prize. By the time he reached the moving vehicle, he was sweating
profusely. His thighs burned. None of it mattered.

Using
everything he had in him, he leapt, landing on the roof of the moving vehicle.
Shots were fired. His right thigh burned and he nearly lost purchase. Ignoring
the pain, he punched right through the car window, immediately pulling back and
punching again. It felt fantastic when his fist was met with flesh. There was a
loud grunt, and the vehicle veered to the right almost toppling over. Gideon
managed to hang on.

Moving
much more slowly, the SUV kept going. Gideon punched again and again until it
finally came to a stop.

Gideon
jumped off the vehicle, falling hard. His leg hurt like a bitch. The wound was
bleeding profusely. Silver fucking bullets. It had to be.

He
managed to pull himself to his feet and staggered to the vehicle. Liam was
bleeding. The rise and fall of his chest indicated that he was still breathing
though. Un-fucking-fortunately! Gideon’s hands itched to close around the
male’s throat. To choke the life from him but there was no way he was killing
an unconscious person. Even if he was tempted as hell.

Liam
moaned. His eyes fluttered. Then he moaned again, louder this time. His eyes
opened and widened. The male sucked in a deep breath, his eyes moved around the
vehicle interior.

Gideon
took a step back, giving the male the space he needed. It was crazy of him to
do this but he seriously hoped that the male would take the bait and come at
him.

Liam’s
eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched as the male opened the door. Gideon took
another half step back. The other male lurched forward, his hand grappling
underneath the seat. Gideon held back, interested to see what the bastard had
in store for him. Liam withdrew a firearm.

Perfect.

Moving
in an arc, he twisted his body as he slowly turned towards Gideon, who was done
waiting. In one giant leap, he sprang forward and knocked the weapon from
Liam’s hands. The male made a frustrated, groaning noise as the weapon was
flung away.

“I
warned you to stay away from her,” Gideon growled.

“Fuck
you!” Spittle flew from Liam’s lips.

Gideon
slapped him with an open hand. A loud crack sounded as flesh connected with
flesh. The male’s head was whipped to the side.

Liam
laughed. “She’s not worth all the effort, you know?”

“You
hit her…abused her. You have no honor.” The rage he felt was edged into every
word.

Liam
shrugged. “Jenna is fucking stupid and clumsy. The bitch wouldn’t know what to
do with a cock if it hit her upside the head.”

“You
beat her while she was pregnant. You are the reason she lost her baby.”

Liam
frowned, his jaw tightened. “It was also my baby she carried. Fucking cunt
wasn’t watching where she was going and fell down the stairs…how is that my
fault?” There was a loud cracking noise. Liam’s eyes became impossibly large
and the next breath he pulled in made a wheezing noise. “Fuck.” The male
groaned, blood spilled over his lips. Then he looked down at his open chest.
“Fuck.”

Gideon
pushed his hand into the cavity. It was warm and sticky. He clutched onto the
male’s still beating heart and removed it with a sharp yank. Liam groaned as
his last breath left his body. His lifeless husk, fell back into the vehicle.

The
bastard had been a poor excuse for a male. He didn’t deserve the right to live.
Chances were good that he would find another female to hurt, humiliate and
abuse. It was unacceptable. Gideon could not allow it. He was at total peace
with his decision to put an end to Liam.

There
was a sound of a vehicle approaching. Gideon tossed the heart into the car. It
landed, unceremoniously on the passenger seat. Then he turned and tried to walk
towards the approaching vehicles. He staggered, tried to right himself but his
wounded limb protested, giving out beneath him. When he looked down, his jeans
were covered in blood. Come to think of it, he felt a little woozy. His head
felt too heavy. There was a distant sound of vehicle doors slamming. It was
hard to concentrate.

Maybe
if he just rested for a second.

“Gideon!”
His female called, she sounded very far away. He couldn’t seem to open his
eyes.

Needed
to sleep…

Gideon
cracked open an eyelid.

The
light was harsh.
Too harsh
. It hurt his eyes. He squeezed them shut for
a few beats before trying again. His leg hurt. Gideon blinked his eyes a few
times. Why did his leg…

Jenna.

He
pulled himself up onto his elbows, sucking in a deep breath through his
nostrils.

“Oh
my god.” Jenna sat in a chair next to his bed. She jumped to her feet. “You’re
awake. How are you feeling?” Her eye was still swollen, not as badly as it had
been before. A small sliver of her eyeball was visible. An ugly blue spread
across her cheek and the bridge of her nose.

“It’s
so good to see you.” Gideon couldn’t help but to smile. Her face was like a
drink of water in a goddamned dessert. Like a ray of sun on a stormy day. Like
a newly opened flower.

She
frowned, narrowing her eyes. “I asked you a question and you had better answer
me and right now. How are you feeling?” She huffed, putting her hands on her
hips.

“I’m…my
leg hurts a little but otherwise I feel fine.”

“Fine…you
feel fine.” She nodded once. “Well that’s good. It means that I can give you a
piece of my mind.” She leaned in over the bed, glaring at him. “What the hell
were you thinking? Please, could you just tell me that one thing? What the hell
were you thinking?” She pursed her lips. Her brows raised.

He
decided to feign innocence and pretend that he didn’t know what she was talking
about. “You want to know what I was thinking, as in…when I woke up just now? I
was just thinking about how much I missed you. How much I love you. Jenna…” He
groaned her name.

“No
way, don’t you dare use the
I love you
line on me. Not right now.” She
wagged her finger at him. “You could’ve died. Do you know that? What then?
Where would we have been then?”

Gideon
reached up and clasped her hand, pulling it against his chest. “I didn’t die.
There was no way that loser human could ever have killed me. He deserved to
die.” Gideon could hear how his voice hardened up. “I killed him and I would
kill him again. My only regret is that he was not made to suffer. He needed to
suffer for everything that he put you through. Every time he put his hands on
you, every harsh word.” Gideon grit his teeth. “That fucker deserved what he
got.”

She
shook her head, her hand opening on his chest. “I was so afraid.” A tear rolled
down her cheek. “If I were to lose you, I’m not sure what I would do.”

Gideon
reached up and wiped a tear away. “I didn’t die. You still have me and I’m not
going anywhere.”

She
smiled and her lip wobbled. “I’m glad.” She sucked in a ragged breath. “Liam is
gone. None of that matters anymore. Only we matter. Our future together.” She
bit down on her bottom lip, the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile. “I
love you too.” She finally said, another tear ran down her cheek. Jenna climbed
onto the bed next to him.

“That’s
a relief. Did you hear the good news?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “I’ve
been accepted into the program. I’m going to choose you to go through to the
next round. Hell, I’ll ask permission to skip all that and just mate you.”

Jenna
giggled. “I’m really happy that we’ve been granted permission.” She paused. “The
whole choosing thing happened yesterday so skipping right to the mating part
might be a good idea.”

“No
way!” Gideon grabbed a pillow and propped himself up. “I was out for two days?”

“Yes
way.” Her eyes were wide and her skin too pale. “Liam used silver bullets.” She
whispered. “One of them nicked an artery so you lost a lot of blood.”

“Hey.”
He soothed. “It would take a lot more than that to keep me away from you.” He
looked down, noticing that she wore jeans and a loose fitting T-shirt. Gideon
could still see the generous outline of her curves beneath the material and he
made a low growling noise.

He
pulled her closer, needing to feel her softness against him. Another low rumble
escaped as her scent filled his nose. The feeling of her breasts against him
was almost too much. “I’m going to shower and then I’m going to have you. Finally…we’ve
waited too damned long already. Unless you aren’t ready for…”

Jenna
frowned, her eyes narrowed, her jaw even tightened. “I’ve been treated like a
piece of chipped porcelain for the last two days.” Then her expression
softened. “Everyone has been so nice. Brant personally helped me move into our
new place…they’ve given us a two bedroom suite.”

He
could feel himself frown. “Brant helped you move? As in, he escorted you or had
his PA Allison do it? Probably just ordered a couple of males to help.”

Jenna
smiled. “Actually, he carried my bag himself. He invited me to have dinner at
the Royal Suite yesterday. I felt quite bad for him.”

“Bad
for Brant? Don’t do that. He doesn’t deserve it. I hope you didn’t go and have
dinner with him? Zane and the queen would be fine but not that asshole.” Gideon
couldn’t keep the growl out of his voice.

“Stop
that. I’ve had to ask him to please stop apologizing. He’s been really sweet
actually.”

Gideon
swallowed hard. “Sweet?” He barked. “The words Brant and sweet do not belong in
the same sentence.”

Her
beautiful eyes blazed, making his dick rock hard. “Yes, they do. Brant made a
mistake, we all make mistakes. I for one understand that really well.” She
paused. “I didn’t go to dinner but only because I was too worried about you. He
is very sweet and has been very apologetic.”

Gideon
couldn’t help the snort that escaped him. “I’ll believe it when I see it. I
don’t want to talk about Brant or anyone one else right now though.” He smoothed
the hair away from her face. “I know you don’t want me to treat you like you
are broken or tainted.” He made sure to look her deep in her eyes. “The truth
is that you have been through more than anyone ever should. I love you and care
for you and although it might kill me, I will wait until you are ready before—”

“I’m
ready…” She glanced away, looking hesitant and unsure. She even pulled away a
little from him. “It’s just that I think we should wait.”

Gideon
had to bite back a noise of frustration. “No problem.” He could do this. His
female’s needs were more important. He grinned. “You’re not going to make me
date you eight times again are you?”

Jenna
laughed. The sound filled his soul. “No, silly. I think we are way past that,
don’t you?”

“Definitely.”
His dick went from hard to granite and for the moment, he was happy that a
thick blanket covered him.

She
frowned. “You were really hurt and are very weak. You need to get stronger
before—”

“You
shouldn’t wait.” Zane stuck his head around the door jamb.

Gideon
smiled. “Come on in.”

“Gideon
needs his strength to be restored, the best way to do that is to allow him to
drink from you. Sex would speed up the process as well.”

“Oh.”
Jenna’s cheeks flushed. “Okay then.”

“One
of the reasons the bullet affected him so badly was because he hasn’t had blood
in days.” Zane smiled. “Probably since you arrived.” He glanced at Gideon.
“Idiot.”

Jenna
gasped. “Even when you were so angry with me?”

Gideon
shrugged. “I never stopped wanting you. Never will.”

Zane
cleared his throat. “Before you both start stealing lines from cheesy love
songs…there is someone here that wants to see you.”

“Call
me an idiot”—he looked pointedly at Zane—“but even though I was mad, I couldn’t
make myself go to another female.”

Jenna
pulled her lip between her teeth. She looked at him with such tenderness, such
love.

Brant
walked in. He radiated tension. Didn’t look apologetic in the least. In fact,
Gideon would go so far as to say that the male looked angry. “I won’t take up
your time. I’m sure you want to be together. I should never have acted without
first gathering all of the facts.” He cleared his throat, looking distinctly
uncomfortable.

“And?”
Zane said, his voice low and deep.

“And…”
Brant sighed. “I should never have made a security related decision without
consulting with the two of you first.” He glanced at Zane, whose eyes darkened.

“Damn
straight.” The big male growled. “We will discuss that after this.”

“You
should never have chosen a male outside of the program without consulting me
first either.” Brant’s eyes turned just as dark.

“You
left it in my hands.” Zane’s eyes narrowed.

“Yes,
but—”

Zane
sighed heavily. “We will discuss that after this. What else did you have to say
to Gideon?”

 Brant’s
whole demeanor softened somewhat. “I should never have acted in the way that I
did. I was only trying to protect you. I didn’t realize how involved you were
with Jenna.” His voice deepened and his jaw tightened. “I never would have sent
her away if I knew about the deranged male. I only wish that you had come to me
sooner…” Brant held Gideon’s gaze for a few long seconds. “I know that I can be
unreasonable, but I consider you a friend and one of our greatest assets. The
only reason I didn’t grant you a place on the team a year and a half ago was
because I knew what you were capable of. I wanted to make you stronger.” He
sighed, shaking his head. “You deserved that place and I should have given you
the spot then instead of making you wait.” His king paused for the longest time.
“I am sorry that your female was injured. This whole thing should never have
happened, it could have costed both your lives. I’m sorry I sent you away.
Sorry I didn’t award you a place on the elite team all those months ago…”

“I’m
not.” Emotion made Gideon’s voice sound gravelly. “I would never have met Jenna
otherwise. I accept your apology…apologies…You were right about Brant being
sorry about all of this.” He looked at Jenna and squeezed her hand.

Zane
chuckled. “The first rule of being mated,” he said. “Is that your female is
always right. That is even truer when it comes to a human female. Never forget
that and you will have a good life.”

Gideon
had to chuckle. Brant shook his head and grinned as well. His king put his hand
on Zane’s back. “Let us leave them, we have things to discuss.” They left,
closing the door behind them.

“You
haven’t taken blood in almost a week?” Jenna looked pissed. “Are you completely
crazy?”

 “Yes,”
Gideon growled. “Crazy for you.”

Jenna
laughed but quickly schooled her emotions. “You really scared me.”

Gideon
narrowed his eyes. “You scared me even more.” He reached across and pulled her
towards him. Jenna carefully avoided his injured leg, but she still allowed
herself to be pulled against him. Thankfully, because he didn’t have much
strength. Was weaker than a fucking newborn.

“I
need a shower,” he growled.

Jenna
shook her head. “I gave you a sponge bath.”

Gideon
had to grin. “I can’t believe I missed that. You might have to give me one
again now that I am conscious.”

“Mr.
Happy was very much awake throughout.” Her eyes glinted mischievously as they
dipped to his lap. “You nearly poked my eye out with that thing.”

“Did
you take advantage of me?” He gripped her waist. “I didn’t peg you for the type
that would….”

She
gasped. “I would never…”

“You
so should have. Mr. Happy would’ve been Mr. Ecstatic. If I had even a modicum
of strength I would jump you right now.”

She
chewed on her lip for a bit, which drove him pretty much insane. Mr. Happy woke
the fuck up and in a big way. “Is it true what Zane said?” She asked, her
cheeks heating.

“About
what?” He feigned stupidity, wanting to hear her say it.

“Um…”
More lip chewing which made his dick twitch. “About sex and…you know…blood.
That you need them.”

Gideon
nodded. “Yeah, but if you aren’t ready then…”

Jenna
pulled her shirt over her head. Holy fucking hotness! Her body was enough to
make a grown man weep uncontrollably. To make him lose his load before the
party even began.

He
groaned as she put her hands behind her back and fiddled with the clasp.
Groaned even louder as the bra slipped down and her gorgeous tits sprang free
in all their glory.

“Jen…”
A low growl. “You don’t have to do this.” He almost felt like biting his tongue
off for flapping.

“I
know,” was her breathy answer. The scent of her arousal wafted all around him.
Sugary, spicy so fucking amazing he grit his teeth. “I want to.” She said as
she pulled down her zipper, yanking off her jeans and her panties all at once.

She
pulled the sheet off of him. His erection was big and throbbing and looked a
little scary, even to him. A long thick vein ran from his head to his base. His
balls were swollen and blue. Fucking blue. Ready to explode at a single touch.

“Maybe
you should sit on my face for a bit first.” Gideon groaned as she threw her leg
over his lap, straddling him.