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Broken Bond 7
VANESSA“I’ll be out of your hair in a few days,” Vienna explains to my mom as she takes a dish of green beans from her hands.“Oh, stop,” Mom scolds, swatting Vee on the butt with a kitchen towel. “You know you’re welcome to stay as long as you like. We love having you here!”I pick up a basket of rolls, shooting my friend a wide grin. “Yeah, just think of it as an extended sleepover!”She smiles wryly, following me to the kitchen table to deposit the food. The whole house smells amazing- my mom always cooks hearty dinners, but she pulls out all the stops when we have company. Although Vienna can hardly be considered ‘company’- she’s practically family. This isn’t the first time Vee has crashed at my house, but it’s the first time she’s arrived with a duffel bag in tow and expressed her intention of staying for longer than a single night. I’m glad she did. When she called me early this morning, I could tell by the tone of her voice that something was wrong, and when she showed up a
Broken Bond 8
CALLUM The sound of a fist rapping loudly against my apartment door rouses me from a dead sleep. I’m a little disoriented as I lift my head from the pillow, swiping drool from the corner of my mouth with a forearm while using my other elbow to push myself up against the scratchy cotton sheets. What time is it? The knocking continues. Whoever’s there isn’t giving up, so I pry myself from bed with a groan, the rusty old springs of my mattress answering with a groan of their own. Finding my feet and blinking against the harsh sunlight streaming in through the blinds in my bedroom, I swipe a pair of sweatpants off the floor and stumble into them as the pounding on my front door continues. “I’m coming!” I growl out, not even attempting to mask my annoyance. A quick glance at the clock on my nightstand tells me it’s 10:30 a.m., which is about typical for my fucked-up sleep pattern. Still, with how deeply I was sleeping, I could’ve gotten another hour in if this prick wasn’t pounding on m
Broken Bond 9
VANESSALike always, I feel him before I see him. The energy in the air shifts somehow, almost crackling, and I know he’s nearby. I glance toward the tall rocks that line the outer edge of the natural hot springs, listening to the sound of crunching snow as he strides closer, still out of sight. I blow out a slow breath that fogs the air in front of me, mingling with the steam rising from the pool of warm water.Callum finally comes into view as he rounds the rocks, brows lifting as he takes in the sight of the crystal-clear water and my state of partial undress. “Well… this is a surprise,” he drawls, stalking closer.I sent him the location by dropping a pin so he could use the maps feature on his phone to find his way here. This place is technically off-territory, located on the grounds of the Cedar Ridge ski resort. It’s easy to get turned around in these woods, so the resort offers guided trips out here for guests who want to take a dip in the natural hot springs- but since I work
Broken Bond 10
CALLUMI leave the hot springs with the worst blue balls of my fucking life. I go straight home, hop in the shower, and jack my dick to get the poison out, but then I start thinking about the sounds Nessa made when she was falling apart on my fingers and I’m instantly hard again.So I jerk off twice.Even then, it’s not enough- not when I can still picture the flush of her cheeks right after she came, how swollen and puffy her lips were as she fought to catch her breath.I’ve never been a giver. When I’ve hooked up with girls in the past, it was always about my own pleasure, not theirs. I didn’t kiss them if I could help it, and I sure as hell didn’t rub them out without getting anything in return. I grew bored with hookups quickly, and then it got to a point where I stopped even bothering because it was easier to just jerk off to relieve the tension rather than hassling with the neediness of another human being.But this is different because of the bet, right? Nessa isn’t easy prey;
Broken Bond 11
CALLUMMy heart’s pounding as I stick the key in the lock of my apartment door, twisting it to hear the heavy click of the deadbolt unlocking.What the fuck am I doing?This is my safe space; my sanctuary. It isn’t somewhere that I bring girls for hookups. Hell, I rarely even let my own friends come inside.We could’ve stayed at the packhouse. There are plenty of guest rooms to go around, and that’s where I usually crash after a party anyways. I bet I could’ve gotten Nessa to follow me into one of them, just like she followed me into my apartment building from the truck. The thought crossed my mind.Still, I invited her here. It didn’t feel right to ask her to steal away to a room in the packhouse with me like a cheap hookup. She deserves better. So, she’ll be the first woman to enter my space, and I’m choosing to ignore the significance of that right now because I’ve had a hard-on for this girl since the first time I laid eyes on her, and I’m pretty sure we’re about to seal the deal.
Broken Bond 12
VANESSAI was a lot like my little sister Mia when I was her age. I was obsessed with princess movies- the kind where a handsome prince or a white knight would rush in and sweep the princess off her feet, then they’d ride off into the sunset together and live happily ever after. As I got older, I recognized that life wasn’t a fairytale, but that didn’t stop me from daydreaming about falling madly in love someday and finding my own happy ending. My parents did. Their relationship is like a real-life fairytale, so it didn’t seem far-fetched to dream of one day having something like that for myself.Turns out, relationships are far more complicated than I imagined, especially with a dark knight bent on pushing away anyone who gets too close. I took a chance on Callum because he made me feel things that nobody else ever has. He ignited something in me that made me want to take a leap of faith and see where the spark between us could go. Mates or not, he’s the first man I’ve had real feeli
Broken Bond 13
CALLUM“Of course,” I mutter under my breath as I look up at the house in front of me, my navigation app confirming that I’ve reached my destination. I mean, it comes as no surprise that Nessa’s family home is picture perfect, but the literal white picket fence out front is a little over the top. Everything about the setting screams that a happy family resides here, and even from my spot at the curb, I feel uncomfortably out of place; like my mere presence will somehow darken the vibe. I curl my fingers around the leather steering wheel of Levi’s truck- my borrowed ride for the evening- and look expectantly toward the front door as it swings open and Nessa steps out. I swear, every time I see this fuckin’ girl, it’s like the first time. She’s effortlessly gorgeous, the wintry breeze catching strands of her glossy dark hair like she’s a model on a photoshoot. She smooths it away from her face with a hand and starts down the front walk, my eyes lingering on the exposed skin of her bro
Broken Bond 14
VANESSAThe ride home is tortuously void of conversation. As soon as we get in the truck, Cal cranks the stereo so loud that I can barely hear myself think. I elect to give him time to cool down, nibbling my lip nervously while I try to think of something, anything to say to alleviate the tension hanging thick in the cab of the truck. I come up empty, so I just stare out the windshield, sliding him occasional side-eyed glances.His clenched jaw twitches. His fingers flex and tighten around the steering wheel, his knuckles going white. His throat bobs with every hard swallow, and his posture is so rigid that his muscles must be aching. Still, he says nothing.My mind wanders, images of the gruesome scene in the band’s dressing room flashing through my brain.Was it my fault?Violence is never the answer, but then again, I was the first one to throw an elbow into someone’s gut. Maybe if I hadn’t, things wouldn’t have escalated the way they did. Maybe we could’ve laughed it off as a misu
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Broken Bond Epilogue
VANESSA***Four and a Half Years Later***My knee jumps nervously as I sit rigidly on the edge of the bed, my mind turning over anxious thoughts while I stare at the red glow of the numbers on the bedside clock. He should be home any minute now. It isn’t unusual for Callum to take short trips to Denver these days since he’s apprenticing with a tattoo artist there, but the wait for him to return this time has been particularly brutal. The past two days have felt like the longest of my life.Even before the bedroom door opens, I know he’s back. It’s just like in those early days when I could feel him before I saw him. Our souls are magnetized to one another’s, and through the bond they’ve become even more fused and interwoven. There was a time when I’d given up hope that I’d ever feel this with him again; when I woke up alone in the cabin after he left, when I felt the bond being torn from my skin under the next full moon. But then fate saw fit to give us a second chance. I’m still not
Broken Bond 42
CALLUM “Okay, Levi has really stepped up his jungle juice game,” Nessa comments, plucking a cherry from her red plastic cup and bringing it to her lips. She sinks her teeth into the fruit, tugging off the stem and smiling in satisfaction as she chews. If by ‘stepping it up’ she means adding actual fruit to the concoction as a garnish, then sure. Though Levi’s jungle juice recipe is still basically jet fuel disguised as fruit punch. Tastes great, but has a nasty kick that you don’t feel sneaking up on you until it’s too late. Still, the people here can’t seem to get enough of the stuff. I sling an arm over Nessa’s shoulders and lean back on the sofa, taking in the familiar scene at the packhouse tonight: a bar set up in one corner, large speakers in the other, and a sea of bodies crowded in between. The flow of liquor is seemingly endless and the pungent aroma of marijuana smoke lingers in the air. Girls are dancing throughout the room while guys vie for their attention, but I’ve onl
Broken Bond 41
VANESSA My hands tremble as I wait for Callum to arrive at the cabin. It’s the same place I waited during each of the full moons when he was gone, blindly hoping he’d walk through that door and everything would be okay again. He never did, and it never was, but tonight’s different. Tonight, we planned to forgo the full moon run with our respective packs and meet here instead. Tonight, I know he’s actually coming, but even that knowledge does little to calm my frantic heart. We could’ve picked somewhere else to meet, but this felt right, almost poetic. This place is full of cruel memories, but they’re ours. We can’t pretend that part of our story never happened or gloss over the hard times. They all make up the patchwork of our messy, imperfect path of coming together, of finding our way back to one another. It hasn’t been easy, but can you ever fully appreciate the happy ending if you didn’t claw tooth and nail to get it? I wait in the dark, surrounded by the ghosts of our past, th
Broken Bond 40
CALLUMI don’t typically get nervous. Agitated and pissed off, sure. Annoyed, definitely. But nervous? It’s not a frequent state for me, at least it wasn’t until recently.Since I returned from the mission, it’s like I’ve lived in a constant state of apprehension. Coming clean about my past and trying to win Nessa back came with a heavy dose of nerves, as did confronting Troy, but after successfully navigating all of that, I thought I was finally in the clear. Troy was exiled last week. Nessa has remained by my side, and we’re closer than ever. I can’t remember a time when I’ve been more at peace that I have been this week, but now here I am again, a fumbling, uneasy bundle of nervous energy as I walk with Nessa up to the front door of her family’s house.“You’ve already won me over, but now you have to win my parents.”That’s what Nessa said when she invited me to this dinner, and my anxiety has been on overdrive since. I’ve never been great with parents, and the thought of coming f
Broken Bond 39
VANESSA My fingertips ghost over the delicate lines of the drawing in my lap, in awe of the painstaking detail that went into every stroke of the pencil to create it. It’s a depiction of me- like every other sketch in this book- and in this one, my eyes are the main feature, crinkled at the edges, a giveaway that I’m smiling even though my fists are tucked in front of my mouth to hide it. My hair frames my face in loose waves, every strand etched with such precision that you can see the movement in the drawing like it’s captured a moment in time. Callum is so freaking talented, and something hot burns in my chest every time I look through these drawings, his love poured onto every page. It’s a heady feeling, being his muse. Being the subject of his art, the object of his affection. It’s immense and overwhelming. Nobody sees me like Callum Conway does. The sound of a key turning in the lock of his apartment door yanks me out of the trance I’m in, and I jerk my head up, looking toward
Broken Bond 38
CALLUM“I was beginning to think you were avoiding me,” Troy mutters dryly as he forces his way past me into my apartment.My muscles lock up as his shoulder knocks into mine. “Yeah, well I knew you wouldn’t stop calling until I picked up,” I grumble.I glare after my stepfather as he strides right into the living room like he owns the damn place, and all the effort I put into calming myself prior to this interaction is immediately wasted at the sight of him in my space. My jaw ticks in agitation, fingers twitching at my sides. I’m not fond of anybody intruding on my space, Nessa being the only exception.That’s who I’m really doing this for. My girl is an idealist; she can’t abide not seeing wrongs righted, so if there’s one to uncover here, I’ll try, for her. I finally picked up one of Troy’s calls this morning and told him he could come over for a chat, though I still have doubts about Chase’s plan actually working. It’s clever, but he doesn’t know Troy like I do. It’d take a sledg
Broken Bond 37
VANESSA“Callum,” I whine, squirming atop the soft cotton sheets. Bright sunlight pours in through the window across from my bed, illuminating him in all his naked glory.He only grunts in response.I bury my hands in his hair, tugging on the strands. “C’mon, we have to leave this room,” I pant, a little tremor wracking my body as he hits a particularly sensitive spot. “We at least have to eat…”He lifts his head with an arched brow, licking his lips and hitting me with a panty-melting smirk. “What do you think I’m trying to do down here?” He lowers his head between my thighs again before I can respond, his tongue lashing against my clit, earning a hoarse moan from my lips.“I… I… oh god, right there…” I babble, my back arching off the bed as he screws a finger into my tight hole again, curving it upwards to press against that same spot inside that has me falling to pieces against his face.I’ve lost count of how many orgasms he’s wrung out of me since we locked ourselves in here last
Broken Bond 36
CALLUMIt’s going to storm.I can smell it in the air even before I hear the faint echo of thunder in the distance, a warning of what’s coming.We need the rain. The blistering summer sun has made the grass brittle, the forest foliage withering with thirst. Even the river is lower than I’ve seen it in years, in desperate need of a top-up. Sitting outside on the patio behind the packhouse, there’s an unmistakable energy in the air, almost like the parched landscape is quivering in anticipation for the storm to roll in.Within myself, the storm is already raging. It has been for a long time, born in a dark room in a basement, fed by anger and resentment. Until I found the one person who could calm it: Vanessa Diaz, my muse, my light.“You good?” Chase asks, his eyes still bloodshot from the joint we smoked.I grunt in affirmation, nodding. My own high is already gone, but the weed calmed me down as it worked its way through my system, tempering my agitation. Pulling the skeletons out of
Broken Bond 35
VANESSAI glance over at Callum as he drives, the shadows dancing ominously across his profile.He really is beautiful. His face is seared into my memory, but I still get caught up in looking at him sometimes, admiring his sharp jawline and impeccable bone structure. The symmetry of his features is almost too perfect to be real- like he was cut from stone, some sculptor’s fantasy brought to life.It’s not his face that gets me, though. Or even his body, stacked with mouth-watering lean muscle that ripples with every movement. It’s the way he sets me ablaze with a single glance. The way he puts on a hard front with other people but softens all of his sharp edges for me. The way he lets me see the real him, and the way he really sees me.It’s the sweet words and the gentle touches and the all-consuming intensity of his presence. Every time I’m with him, I’m reminded why I fell for him in the first place- and why even after everything he put me through, I’m still hopelessly, crazily, irr
