A Mate for York (11 page)

It
should’ve helped to make him feel a bit better about this whole thing.
Should’ve had his heart slowing down, should’ve stopped the adrenaline that
coursed through his veins. It didn’t. He still felt like he was slowly suffocating.
Like a great weight was coming down on him.

York
didn’t want Griffin to touch her. Not a hair on her head. Not so much as a
chaste touch with the tip of a single finger. He most definitely did not want
the male drinking from her.

“Ready?’
Griffin asked.

Cassidy
nodded.

When
Griffin leaned forward and buried his head in her neck, York not only growled
but he snarled as well causing both Lea and Sasha to gasp.

Cassidy’s
eyes widened for a quick second before clamping shut. Another even louder snarl
was torn from him as he watched Griffin’s throat work as he swallowed the first
mouthful of her blood.

York
didn’t think. If he had allowed rational thought to enter his mind, he would’ve
stayed right where he was and dealt with his feelings, instead he acted. Within
seconds he had busted the door to room B clear off its hinges and ripped
Griffin from Cassidy.

That
was not where it ended, he punched the male in the face three times. The first
one pulverized his nose, the second cracked his jaw and the last split both his
top and bottom lips in a spray of blood. York was just moving into position to
kick Griffin in the ribs, trying to aim correctly for most impact. A broken
sternum was one of the most difficult bones in the body to heal. It hurt like
fuck. Unfortunately, the guards outside chose just that moment to rain on his
parade and pulled him back.

Three
of the fuckers.

York
still managed to land a few punches while they worked to secure him. Griffin
was dazed and bleeding. Red and wet looked good on the fucker. He only wished
he’d had a bit more time to make him pay for touching his female.
The female
.
He had no hold over Cassidy. He didn’t even know her.

When
he turned to her, she was pale. “What’s wrong with you?” She looked away as she
reached for her bag.

“Let
me explain,” York growled.

“I
think you’ve done enough explaining. Please leave me alone. You’re ruining my
life.” She put the purse strap around her shoulder and practically ran out of
the room.

The
ache in his chest was back. He didn’t know how to get rid of it. Hitting
Griffin had only made him feel worse. York put a hand to his chest, the sad
look on Cassidy’s face had physically hurt him. He didn’t know how to fix this.

“I
cannot believe that you went against my orders within an hour of my giving
them.” Brant smashed his fist into the table. It cracked, right down the
middle. He cursed. “Look what you made me do.”

He
pushed a button or two on his phone and held the device to his ear. “Allison…”
It was Brant’s personal assistant. “Please order another boardroom table.”

There
was a chuckle on the other end. And Allison said something back. York was too
deep in his own thoughts to pay much attention.

“Yes”—Brant
growled—“another one.”

“This
will be the second one you’ve ruined this month,” Brant’s assistant said.

“Get
me a stronger table then.” He ended the call.

His
king sucked in a deep breath. “What the fuck am I going to do with you?” He
rose to his feet and moved to the other end of the room, running a hand through
his hair. “There is a reason why you head up the elite team, York.” He paused
for a few beats. “Yeah sure, you’re fucking strong. One of the most capable
warriors in battle, but you are more than just those things.” He turned to face
York, his eyes were blazing. “You are responsible, you keep your cool in the
most difficult situations. I needed a level headed leader and I thought I had
one in you.”

Brant
didn’t say anything for the longest time. York had to work to keep from
fidgeting.

“Where
has my sensible leader gone? I don’t even fucking know you. Sneaking around in
order to get into some human female’s pants. Breaking rules. Not to mention
that you fucked Griffin up royally. Might have even killed him if the guards
hadn’t pulled you off and for no reason other than that he was touching that
human. Do you know how this looks?”

His
king didn’t wait for a reply. “Bad, York. Fucking bad. I should demote you and
kick you out of this program but I’m going to give you one last chance. I must
be mad.” He mumbled.

York
wanted to thank his king. Brant was not one for granting favors…ever. He
couldn’t though, the words stuck in his throat.

“I’m
sending the human away.”

“No.”
York growled, earning himself a hard slap. He didn’t flinch, didn’t move a
muscle. He welcomed the sting. The taste of his blood from his inner cheek as
it was crushed against his teeth by the force of the blow.

“Yes,”
Brant growled back just as harshly. “She is making you crazy for whatever
reason. She goes…today…right fucking now and as we speak. I will pay her out in
full since this isn’t her fault.”

“Thank
you.” He meant it. At least Cassidy wouldn’t be punished for his fuck up.

“This
is for the best. Trust me. Once she’s gone you can go back to being my
dependable leader again.” He walked the length of the room before turning back
to York. “Stay away from her. The humans intended as future mates will be here
within a few days. I am sure that there will be one amongst them that draws
your attention.” Brant smiled. “It was your first taste of a human. They are
sweet and will fire a vampire’s blood. I don’t really blame you for getting
carried away, but it stops now.”

Brant
was probably right. Although he hated the thought of Cassidy leaving, it was
for the best.

“One
of the other females will be just as delicious, you will see.” Brant smiled.

What
his king said made sense.

York
nodded and took a deep breath. “I am ready for my punishment.”

Brant
raised a brow. “You will still get twenty lashes.”

York
felt his brow furrow. Brant’s eyes darkened. Here it comes. There has to be
more. His king would never let such a blatant ignoring of orders go unpunished.
“Sasha and Lea will join you. I’ve decided to go easy on them…five lashes
each.”

York
couldn’t help the low growl that erupted. It was very rare that a vampire
female was ever punished in such a way. “No,” York growled. “It’s my fault. I
talked them into letting me watch.”

“They
broke the rules and need to make amends.”

“There
has to be another way, my lord. Five lashes is too much.” York implored his
king with his eyes. Surely Brant would not be that cruel.

“It
should be more than five, I am going easy on them and you know it.”

Like
hell.

“They
are going to be fucked off at you. That’s for sure.” There was no humor in
Brant’s expression, or in his voice for that matter.

“No.
It is too much for a female. It’s not right.” York growled. “I will take their
punishment for them.”

“Thirty
lashes will put you down for a while.” Brant’s eyes darkened.

“I
don’t care. It is my fault, therefore I will accept the punishment. I insist.”

Brant
kept his eyes on York, his expression was unreadable. “Fine.” He finally
shrugged. “Whatever makes you feel better. This is that last time I let you off
easy.”

Easy.

Hardly.
Thirty lashes would leave his back a raw, bloody mess. There was one thought
that would get him through the next few hours of excruciating pain though, he
had hurt Cassidy. He hadn’t meant to do it, but he had. York couldn’t help but to
feel that he deserved everything he had coming.

****

Another
loud crack sounded. It caused her to start, it had her breath seizing in her
lungs.

“Please
don’t tell me…” She let the sentence die as her voice hitched. York may be a
jerk but he didn’t deserve such harsh treatment. It was downright barbaric.

Gideon
sighed loudly. He moved Cassidy’s bag from one hand to the other. “Yeah, I’m
afraid that it’s exactly what it sounds like.”

Another
hard crack. Louder this time.

Cassidy
held her breath. The harsh noise was followed by eerie silence.

“Thirty
lashes.” Gideon sighed again. “York will take a day or two to recover.”

Crack.

“I
thought he was only getting twenty,” Cassidy blurted.

“Only…?”
Gideon raised his brows. He choked out something that sort of resembled a
laugh.

“I
didn’t mean it like that.” Cassidy turned her eyes to the ground.

Crack.
She swallowed hard, hugging herself with her arms. She’d never heard anything like
it before, was sure that the noise would haunt her dreams…make that, her nightmares.

Gideon
nodded. “I know you didn’t and I’m sorry. It’s a harsh punishment and all of us
are on edge right now.”

Crack.

The
big vampire visibly started, it was weird to see such a strong man affected
like that.

“Why
doesn’t he react? He should scream or groan or something. Surely?” Her voice
was a little shrill. She noticed that they had both picked up the pace. She
couldn’t stand to hear it any more. The noise seemed to reverberate through her
bones.

“York
is a great warrior. The best we have. The elite pride themselves on their
control…at all times. By doing what he did with you, he showed a total lack of
control. It is his way of making amends. Besides, only pussies show pain. York
is no pussy!” He growled the last.

Crack.

Cassidy
sucked in a deep breath, holding it inside herself for a few beats. Vampires
were harsh, base creatures. It was one of the things that had attracted her to
York in the first place. Right now she hated that side of them though. Needed
to get as far away as possible.

“Please
do not try and contact York again.” There was a hard edge to Gideon’s voice. “A
relationship between the two of you is forbidden. Any type of contact would
only end in heartbreak.” He swallowed hard, his throat working overtime. For a
second, a look of sadness crossed his face. It was gone almost as soon as it
had arrived. “That type of suffering is not worth it in the long run. Please
take my word for it. The two of you have not spent much time together, it is
still possible to go your separate ways.”

She
wasn’t really sure what he was talking about. Gideon spoke as if there was
genuinely something between her and York, which was not true. He had used her
plain and simple. Unfortunately she was wired to feel something for someone she
had slept with so she did harbor feelings for him but after just one night
together, those feelings were nothing. Less than nothing.

Crack.

Cassidy
squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to picture York’s bloody back, his anguished
face and failed dismally. “You have it all wrong,” she finally said. “It was
just sex.” She shrugged. “I was curious and he had something to prove…simple.”

Gideon
nodded, his eyes held a glint of…humor. Like he didn’t buy it. Well, let him
think what he wanted, she knew better. There was no rational explanation for York
tearing into Griffin like that, but she was not going to fool herself into
thinking it had anything to do with her.

Crack.

Vampires
were no better than animals. They probably went at each other all the time.

They
made it to her beat up little car and she found herself praying it would start.
The good news was that she had money. Lots of it. True to his word, Brant had
deposited the agreed upon sum into her account.

Cassidy
should be happy. She’d essentially earned money for doing nothing. Instead, her
heart felt heavy. Her mind worked overtime, dissecting all the events of the
last two days.

Crack.

“Thank
you for everything.” She said, trying to move as quickly as possible.

Gideon
deposited her bag in the trunk. “Please take my advice.”

Cassidy
nodded. “You have nothing to worry about.”

Gideon
closed the trunk “I’m not worried for myself…nothing good will come of it.
Trust me…I know.” He sounded like he spoke from experience. A look of hurt
crossed his face again.

“I’m
leaving, not only here but Sweetwater. I’ll be gone within a day or two. York
and I don’t have each other’s contact info. I told you it wasn’t like that…at
least not for him.” She sucked in a breath. What had she just said? “Or for me.”
She quickly added. “It wasn’t like that.”

Crack.

The
sound ripped through her and tears welled in her eyes. Why was she feeling like
this? Over a guy that had used her…hurt her.

Crack.

The
falls of the whip were coming faster now. Her tears threatened to fall and her
lip wobbled so she bit down on it. “I really have to go now.” She whispered
while getting into the car and rolling down her window.

Gideon
nodded. “Good luck. Don’t worry about him, he will be fine.”

Crack.

Her
whole body jumped and she put a hand to her heart, quickly starting up her
engine. It clanked and rattled but it turned over and continued to run even
when she revved it a few times.

They
said a quick good bye and she pulled away slowly.

Crack.

A loud
anguished growl had her pushing on the breaks. She looked in the rearview
mirror. Gideon looked shocked, his head was turned slightly to the direction
where the sound had come from. To where York was being beaten. A tear fell but
she wiped it away, pushing down on her accelerator. The engine roared and
clanked back to life as she continued to move.

Crack.

A
tormented wail tore through her, making her whimper. The tears fell freely and
she struggled to see the road ahead but she kept her foot pressed down. Kept on
moving away.