The Bond

Evernight
Publishing

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2013 Shyla Colt & Nikki Prince

 
ISBN:
978-1-77130-471-9

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor: Marie Medina

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution
of this copyrighted work is illegal.
 
No
part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without
written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and
places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales,
organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATIONS

From Shyla
Colt:

To all of the wonderful
people I’ve met along this journey, the fans who continue to support me, new
readers who give me a chance, my supportive family and friends and as always
the man upstairs who makes this possible.

From Nikki
Prince:

I'd like to first thank God
for blessing me with the gift to write. Secondly I'd like to thank Shyla
Colt for being such a wonderful writing partner. It was so much fun to write
this with you.  To the readers Thank you for your continued love and
support

THE BOND

Shyla Colt

Nikki Prince

Copyright © 2013

Chapter
One

Sanura
pasted a smile on her lips as she slinked down the hallways of L.T.M.
Construction toward her fiancé Logan Morrissey’s office. She hated the role she
was forced to play
to get close to
him. The blue jean skirt she wore inched up her thighs, and the black, v-neck
tank top showed off more of her breasts than she liked. Her toes protested the
four-inch high heels she only wore around her
fiancé.
Femme fatale was the antithesis of her true self, but it’s
what Logan liked. So pretend she did, while gathering enough information to
prove he sold the Pride’s secrets to rival tribes and had a hostile takeover
planned.

Right
now she needed one more solid, incriminating fact and she could build her case
against him. She’d placed a bug beneath his desk a week ago, desperate to end
the charade that had gone on for far too long. A year undercover had worn down
her soul, and their bonding ceremony was now just a month away. Time stopped
for no one, and hers was ticking down fast.

She
came to a halt outside his door and put on her façade.
Pretend it’s Rafael Contreras you’re seeing.
The thought of the man
who’d helped her stay undercover when she was sure she couldn’t handle one more
day made her nipples stiffen and her body heat. The dark-eyed man had always
been her first choice for a mate, until a horrible accident had earned him a
one-way ticket to banishment, ruining her chances before they began.
Please let me find what I need to put our
plan into action before I slit this man’s throat and blow my cover to
smithereens. One more condescending comment accompanied by a sloppy groping
might prove to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

It
wasn’t so bad, until he touched her. She shuddered, inhaled, regained her
composure, and knocked lightly on his door before she popped her head in.

This is for the greater good.

“Hi
baby, I was shopping nearby and thought I’d stop in and say hi.”

“Sany!”

The
nickname made her want to hurl.
Her
name was just fine the way it was, thank you very much. He stood from his desk
and hurried over to wrap her in his arms. Her feet left the ground as he
squashed her, breasts first, into his broad chest. The citrus and sandalwood
scent of his cologne surrounded and suffocated, like the situation itself.

“You
smell so good, baby girl.” His nose nuzzled her ear through the auburn curls
that flowed down her back, and she kept her eyes down to hide her resentment.
His touch caused an almost physical pain.
Paste on a smile, and bat lashes.
Focusing on the mechanics of the movement she faked her way through.

“Still
so shy after all this time?” Logan lowered her to the ground. A pleased smile
spread across his lips. “I like that. Just one more month until I bury myself
in that sweet little pussy of yours and make you mine.”
Over my dead body.

Her
cheeks filled with blood.
I’m not old
fashioned or timid, fool! The very thought of you and I together pisses me off
and makes me sick!
Even now, the fingers in her hair set her on edge, and
the hand on the small of her back rolled her stomach like a wheel on a bicycle.

“I
have so much to show you, baby girl.”

A
knock sounded, saving her from more torture.
 
He pulled away to straighten his clothes.

“Logan,
can we get you in here to look at something?”

“Sure,
I’ll be right out.”

“Wait
here for me, my sweet. I won’t be long.”

She
dashed to the opposite side of the desk, kneeling beside the desk before the
door had fully clicked shut. This was her chance. Scrambling underneath the oak
monstrosity she removed the micro file from its holder and reached into her bra
for the tiny case that housed the new one. She reloaded with nimble fingers and
escaped the confined space. Willing her breath to even she straightened her
outfit and sank into the chair across from his desk. The door opened.
Too close.

“Babe,
I hate to do this, but I have an impromptu meeting.”

“It’s
okay, Logan; I know how hard you work.” She trailed a finger around his collar.
Trust me, I don’t mind.

“My
Sany, always so understanding.” His voice was a silken purr as he caressed her
face with his knuckles.

“I’m
just lucky to have you.” She pursed her lips, flashing a coy look as she
perused him through her long lashes. “I’ll let you get back to work now.”

His
fingers stroked over her face once more. He leaned in to kiss her. She spun
away from him hastily, laughing as she made it to the door. Opening it she
looked over her shoulder at him and gave a saucy wink.

“None
of that or you’ll never finish your work.”

He
sighed, and then chuckled. “Damn, girl, always busting my balls. Get out of
here before I cancel my meeting.”

Shutting
his door she made her way out of the office building to her car before he could
change his mind. The heavy weight of his stare followed her as he burned a hole
through his office window, which faced the parking lot. She gave the expected
wave when she reached her car and got inside and drove off.

Too
eager to wait any longer, she pulled out the equipment in her driveway and
pressed play. The whispered conversation made her heart soar along with her
anger.
I can’t believe it! I did it! I
have the evidence I need to get Logan out of my life forever.

Dazed,
she settled back in her seat and pressed the micro file into the small laptop
she’d brought with her so she could replay Logan’s voice as he spoke with the
rival Pride that lived just across the river. Swallowing the bile that rose in
her throat, she listened intently.

“The
Pride’s assets are tied up in the gold market. When I become Chief I’ll allow
some of those resources to discreetly bleed over into your Pride. In exchange,
I want you to kill the Chief so I can take his place. I need clean hands, or I
won’t deal. Schedule the attack for the night of the bonding ceremony. Once
I’ve staked my claim on Sanura, no one can usurp my claim as Chief, as the new
son-in-law who is bonded by Pride law.”

There
was a rough chuckle heard over the line. It sounded sadistic, sarcastic, and
full with greed. “And why should we help you? We can just take what we want,
since you’ve been feeding us all their secrets.”

Sanura
heard Logan give an exasperated sound, and then there was silence. At first she
thought he had hung up, but then he spoke.

“You
must think you’re dealing with an amateur. If you could do this without me it’d
already be done. If you fail to deliver everything I’ve requested, you will get
nothing. Zilch. I’m the one who has the keys to the land and the gold. You feel
me? Your Pride’s been on the outside looking in for how long? Centuries, right?
Our people migrated from Africa for a chance at a better life, but from where
I’m standing, you’ve yet to fulfill that goal. Are you really gonna pussy out
now and remain in the shadows? Final offer, you do every fucking thing I say or
the deal’s off the table. We clear, Chief Contee?”