“You cheating bastard.” Her voice was actually soft, but his head came up with a snap. She must have screamed it in her mind because he winced in pain and brought a hand to his head. He looked shocked to see her. The redhead turned in surprise. Sharon’s face was without an ounce of color. Her voice shook as she said, “I thought I would surprise you by showing up. I guess I did.”
Liken took a step toward her, but she threw up her hand in response. He spoke her name, “Sharon…” but that was all he had time to get out before she spoke again.
“So you had to go into the office today, huh?” She looked at the redhead, who was beginning to frown in confusion. She said flatly, “I’m his pactmate.” The woman’s eyes widened.
Sharon felt a welcoming numbness spread through her, overcoming the pain. Liken said firmly, “Sharon, you must listen to me…”
She cut him off. “No, I don’t need to listen. “ Looking at the redhead, she said, “You’re welcome to the faithless asshole. Enjoy him while you can.” She looked back at Liken. “You can go to hell.” With fragile dignity, she turned and started walking away quickly.
She heard the woman say “Liken?” in a throaty, questioning voice. His voice murmured in response. She sped up. Reaching the doorway of the building, she started to run. She could hear his voice behind her yelling, “Sharon, wait!” but she didn’t stop. She kept running, taking side paths at random, one after another, wanting only to escape.
She ran until her legs ached and her eyes were too blurred to see where she was going. She finally stopped and looked around. She was in the park area. Walking to a tree with huge red leaves, she sat down under it and drew her knees to her chest. She took gasping breaths and stared blindly ahead. She couldn’t even cry. The shock and pain were so deep that her chest hurt, but her eyes remained dry. She sat in rigid silence, totally unaware of her surroundings.
Her mind raced in frantic circles as she strove to block the image of Liken and the redhead from her mind. He had feelings for that woman. That kiss was not platonic. It had been passionate. She had been on her way to tell him… The first edge of anger shot through her. And he had been… He was a bastard, plain and simple. Fuck risking, and destiny, and most especially fuck that cheating Liken.
Chapter 15
Liken was sitting his office alone when Tair appeared in his doorway. Leaning back in the chair, he said wearily in English, “Hello, brother.”
Liken leaned negligently against the frame. “Hello, brother?” he echoed. “Is that all you wish to say?”
Liken arched an eyebrow. “What is it you expect me to say?”
Tair shook his head and walked across the office, dropping into the chair across from Liken. “I do not know. It seems so mundane when your pactmate has been screaming in my head.”
Looking at Liken closely, his eyes widened. “You, however, are conveniently blocking her and are left unaffected.”
Liken laughed, although it sounded hollow. “Unaffected? You are wrong. Nonetheless, I am blocking her because I gave oath that I would not scan her thoughts this day.”
His brother was an idiot. Tair gave him an amazed look. “Why would you do such a thing?”
“She wanted privacy to sort out her thinking, she said.” Liken sounded as if the weight of the world pressed him from all sides.
Tair gave a snort. What a mess. “Well, I believe she needs to do a great deal more sorting now. She believes you have betrayed her with Elana.”
Liken felt the pain of it strike home. “I know.” He kept seeing her face in his mind. When he had looked at her, the agony and distrust on her face had struck him like a blow. He had stood there in shock unable to move or to think. In that moment he had believed she was lost to him forever. She would never trust him enough to stay.
He could bind her to him sexually. He could physically keep her with him. But, he could not force her to love him or trust him. She had to give it freely. He felt helpless and confused.
When they took the oath, he arrogantly thought he could make her want to stay. He was a Shimerian warrior, a guardian, used to righting wrongs and winning. She was a woman, physically smaller and weaker. She was inexperienced sexually and would be easily seduced. She would give up her old life and make a life with him on Shimeria. He would make her want him and want this life.
Now, those thoughts seemed foolish and amazingly selfish. He couldn’t force her to love him or trust him. She would not stay without those things. The realization was devastating and humbling.
Tair sighed. This pactmate business was trickier than it had seemed. He asked, “What are you going to do?”
Liken shrugged. “I will give her time and then we shall see.” He couldn’t seem to get the look on her face out of his mind.
It was Tair’s turn to lift an eyebrow. “She is hurting, thinking the worst. Do you not care?”
Liken’s glare would have knocked a lesser man than Tair from his chair. “Shebringspain to herself with her own distrust. I will explain later.”
Tair knew his brother enough to know the real hurt underneath that anger. He said quietly, “I think your own wounds prevent you from seeking to heal hers.”
The accusation was pure truth and Liken couldn’t deny it. “True enough. I am angry. She should have asked for an explanation instead of assuming the worst.”
Tair laughed. His voice rang with skepticism, “As you would have done if you had found her kissing an unknown male?”
Liken felt instant rage at the mere thought. “I would not have left without demanding answers.”
Tair made a mock sound of sudden discovery and said, “Ahhhh. So you were doubly wounded. That dignified exit was lowering, was it?”
Liken looked and sounded defeated as he said, “She was so controlled. No woman who loves a man could have acted in that manner.”
Tair’s face was sympathetic, but his eyes were amused. “Why would you care? She does not have to love you to stay and be pledged. She is but a woman.”
Liken’s voice was just short of a yell. “I love her. Are you satisfied? Will you cease this endless prodding?”
She was beautiful, and frustrating, and intelligent, and stupid. She made him angry, she made him laugh, and she made him ache with sweet pleasure. She was perfect and riddled with faults and everything in between. He would love her until his dying breath, and probably beyond it. It infuriated him. She infuriated him.
Tair laughed, not unkindly. “At last. I was about to lose all hope for you, brother. Now, let us see if we can get past those wounds to the truth. Why would she hurt so much if she had no love for you?”
The words pierced Liken’s emotion and cleared his mind. “Why, indeed?” His heart lifted. She had to love him to react so strongly.
He felt another wave of pain at the thought of her distrust. “She may love me, but she does not trust me. I think she does not even trust herself.”
Tair sighed. “True enough. I am out of questions and answers, brother. Would you like me to find her and bring her to you?” As their link, he was responsible for her protection, but volunteering was really more of an impulse to help.
Liken shook his head. “No. It seems now I am the one who must sort his thoughts. She will come home when she is ready. She is much stronger and more passionate than she thinks. She will demand answers. I have no doubt. Would you just watch over her until then? Make sure she is alright?”
“Of course,” Tair replied. Hehated to think that Liken and Sharon might not work their problems out. They were perfect for each other, even if they didn’t seem to understand it yet.He asked, “And will your answers persuade her to stay? Will she trust you?”