Tempting the Beast

  led her wanted her dead.”

  Merinus hadn’t come to this place unprepared. Her father had made certain she knew everything involving Maria Morales’ death and the evidence they had against the Council.

  “And they succeeded. But it wasn’t the Council.” He stared down at her, his eyes hard, furious. “I know their scent, I know the stench of their evil. As cloying and cold as the scent of your arousal is sweet and hot.”

  Merinus opened her mouth to argue until the last words penetrated her brain. She felt her face flush, her heart rate increase. She stared at him in surprise. How had he known?

  “Explain to me why a young, innocent woman is standing here before me, her cunt wet and prepared for an animal? And I am an animal, sugar, unlike any you will ever know.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Merinus trembled beneath Callan’s regard. His amber eyes almost glowed, his voice lowered, husky. A quick, very brief glance below his hips showed a bulge that made her more than nervous. Evidently, she wasn’t the only one afflicted. And an affliction more than described it. She felt fevered, her skin sensitive, ready for his touch. It was unlike anything she had ever known. It was unlike anything she ever wanted to know.

  “I don’t know.” She heard the nervousness in her voice, the confusion. The longer she stayed in his presence, the worse the temptation to touch him was growing.

  She stared at his chest, no longer able to stare into his eyes. Those amber depths drew her in, made her want, made her need things she wasn’t certain she should want.

  She flinched when his fingers gripped her chin, uncertain, almost frightened now. Had he not been aware of the desires flaring in her body, she could have handled this. Could have handled the direct look from his eyes, the caress of his fingers against her chin. She ran her tongue nervously over her dry lips, aware of the sudden fullness in them, the ache, the throb just beneath the skin.

  His eyes narrowed. His thumb reached out, running experimentally over the soft curve, picking up the moisture from her mouth. Her chest tightened as she tried to breathe normally. She couldn’t seem to draw in enough air to fill her lungs sufficiently. She felt the need to fight for breath, to release the moan she held there.

  “You’re dangerous.” There was that growl again, rumbling just beneath the surface of his words.

  “Whatever this is, Merinus, could mean our lives.”

  “Anomaly.” She bit her lip. She had no answers for this.

  A mocking curve of his lips showed his disagreement.

  “There is no such thing as an anomaly when dealing with one such as I,” he assured her. “I’m instinct, Merinus. An animal barely disguised. Any response is one to fear.”

  “Not an animal.” She shook her head, seeing the bitterness in his eyes.

  She drew away from his touch quickly. He made her body weak, pliant. She needed all her wits about her now.

  “What would you call it then?” There was a thread of anger running through his voice. “If I did as you asked, and by some miracle of God did not end up dead, then I would be known as America’s Freak.

  More experiments, more tests. At least this way, I’m free. As long as I can run faster than their soldiers and hide better than their trackers, then I can survive.”

  “And is survival enough?” she asked him, angry that he didn’t want more. “What about those who will come later? The poor souls that meet their killing criteria? Don’t you feel in some way responsible to stop it?”

  Cynicism washed over his expression.

  “So passionate,” he murmured, leaning against the wall, his arms crossing over his chest as he watched her. “I’m one man—”

  “With a nation that will back him,” she argued desperately.

  “Your innocence is to be commended, Merinus,” he bit out, straightening now, stalking closer to her.

  “As are your motives. But you have no idea of the piece you’ve bitten off here. It’s bound to choke you.” He gripped her arm, jerking her against his body, allowing his erection to cushion against her stomach.

  Merinus breathed in harshly, her hands bracing against his chest as he locked her to him.

  “You spout off with your morality and your ideas of justice, and all the while your juices froth from your cunt, tempting me, driving me insane with the scent. It’s not the story you want and it’s not justice. You want to be fucked by the Cat Man. Admit it.”

  He gripped her hips, ground himself against her. Merinus gasped out, fighting against the slow relaxation of her body against his, the needs suddenly swamping her. Where had they come from?

  “I don’t know why,” she cried out hoarsely, shaking her head. “It wasn’t like this before I came here. I only wanted to help you.”

  “Doesn’t this frighten you, Merinus?” His hand gripped her hair, pulling her head back. “Aren’t you scared of this sudden lust? Because if you aren’t, you should be. It has me damned near shaking in my boots with my need to lay you over that desk and fuck you until you scream with your pleasure.” Merinus shuddered, then cried out when his head lowered. His lips went to her neck, his teeth scraping over it in a slow, dangerous gesture. Merinus shook. Her hands gripped his powerful arms, she stared at the ceiling in dazed rapture as his tongue swiped over her skin. The moist roughness, the sandpapery rasp had her going to her tiptoes, silently demanding more. Her head tilted further, exposing the vulnerable curve of her neck. Her skin tingled, screamed out for more.

  “Damn, you taste good, Merinus. Damn good.” He licked across her skin again, and she cried out.

  She couldn’t believe the sensation. Like rough velvet, only better. A sharp spasm of need rippled through her womb, the clenching muscles of her vagina had her whimpering in arousal. What was this?

  Why did it feel so good when her neck had never been an erogenous zone before?

  Then his lips covered hers. Merinus had been kissed before, many times, but nothing like this. His tongue swept into her mouth and the taste of him was intoxicating. Her tongue met his, drawing him deeper, caressing over him, luxuriating in the taste of him. Hot, spicy. The taste was all male, dark and elusive, conquering. She groaned against his lips, needing more, needing to examine and discover the origin of his taste. But he moved, drawing back, his lips going to her neck once again.

  His teeth nipped at her skin briefly, a growl emanating from his chest as one hand moved from her hip to below her breast. He was close, so close to the torturously swollen mound, the throbbing nipple. She whimpered, pressing against him, uncaring who or what he was, caring only about the primeval response of her body to his.

  “Get out of here,” he rasped, though he refused to release her. “Get out of here before I do something neither of us will survive.”

  His mouth moved from her neck, along her collarbone, sipping, licking as he weaved a path back to the scooped collar of her shirt and the rise of her throbbing breasts. Merinus was burning alive for his touch.

  Her nipples hardened further, jutting against the soft material of her shirt, hard, desperate for the warmth of his mouth. If he didn’t touch them, if he didn’t suck them deep into his mouth she was going to explode. Oh God, if he did, she would explode anyway. She was close, so very close to orgasm it terrified her. Her blood pumped, rushed through her body. She trembled in his grip, her body arched against the arm at her back as a desperate moan whispered from her throat.

  She felt the bottom of her shirt jerked from the waistband of her shorts and pulled quickly above the swollen mounds. Her nails bit into his shoulders, confusion, desire, fire tearing through her.

  “What the hell have we done to each other?” His voice whispered the confusion churning in her body.

  His hand moved, cupping her breast. The dry heat of his flesh against hers had her hips arching in desperation. His thigh slid smoothly between her legs as he turned her, bracing her against the wall, allowing her the minute release of riding the hard muscled thigh pressing between hers.

 
Oh, that felt good. Her clit throbbed, ached, swelled painfully at the friction she created as she rode him.

  “Callan,” her cry was a shocking mixture of fear, overwhelming need, and questioning desperation as his mouth covered the hard nipple that rose pleadingly from her breast.

  He drew on her, the sensation spearing into her womb, her cunt. His tongue rasped over the hard flesh, the texture of his tongue was rough but incredibly gentle, deeply erotic. He suckled her, laved her, then nibbled at the flesh as she writhed on his thigh, moaning, begging for release.

  “Son of a bitch.” He pulled back from her, staring down at her with eyes glittering with lust and confusion. “This isn’t normal, Merinus. This need should not be here.” He jerked her shirt back over her breasts, restoring order to her clothes, if not her senses.

  “Sit.” He pushed her onto the couch that sat against the wall and began to pace the floor.

  Merinus shook her head. It wouldn’t stop. The pulsing, throbbing need was only intensifying.

  “What did you do to me?” she gasped, shaking her head. “It won’t stop.” He paused, turning to her.

  “What?” He frowned, staring into her eyes, confusion crossing his face.

  “It won’t stop,” she gasped, fighting for control. “You did something to me. Now make it stop.” Callan came to his knees before her, staring into her eyes, frowning at whatever he saw there. A tremulous laugh escaped her throat.

  “Damn, Callan, you really need to watch those kisses. They’re dangerous.”

  “They have never been a problem before,” he growled, his fingers lifting to her forehead as though checking for a fever.

  “Share them around do you?” she asked, gritting her teeth against his touch. “I don’t like this. I think I’m going to call my brothers to come out and kick your ass now.” She wouldn’t. Not really. They would welcome the chance to take her seriously, especially Kane, her hot shot Special Forces brother who held a grudge against the world.

  “What are you feeling?” he asked her quietly. “Besides the obvious?”

  “The obvious multiplied as high as you can go,” she bit out, clenching her thighs together. “Do you know I’m a virgin? Seriously, virgins shouldn’t be this turned on. It has to be bad for their health or something.

  We’re an endangered species, ya know?”

  She ignored the shock in his expression.

  He tilted her head, his gaze going over her neck, then he jerked her shirt up again, examining her breast.

  Merinus looked down, almost grinning at the site of the love bite that marred her nipple.

  “Callan, that tongue of yours is dangerous.” She moaned as his thumb raked the hard flesh.

  She heard his low moan an instant before he covered the other peak with his mouth. Her hands went to his hair, holding him close, feeling his tongue stroke her gently, his mouth drawing on her tightly. She squirmed against him, moving her body lower, wanting to press herself tight and hard against the bulge that threatened to burst the seams of his jeans.

  “God, I smell you. So hot and sweet,” he gasped as he pulled back, his head lowering as he rested it in the valley of her breasts. “I want to taste you so desperately Merinus, that it rages through me.”

  “What?” Shocked pleasure electrified her body.

  “I want to bury my mouth in that hot little cunt of yours,” he groaned. “I want to lap every bit of your cream and stroke you with my tongue until you give me more.” The cream in question wept slowly from her vagina in mute plea for just that. Her swollen clit throbbed, her womb spasmed. His mouth nibbled at the curve of her breast, his tongue stroking the swollen flesh, the rough texture of it making her shiver with need.

  “Please, do something,” she groaned, her thighs tightening on his as he pushed his cock deep into the vee of her thighs. “I swear, Callan, your touch is like a drug.” He stopped. She felt his muscles tense, then an oath sizzled from his mouth as he jerked away from her.

  “I’m going to regret asking. But what’s wrong now?” She laid her head back against the couch, breathing heavily as she dragged her shirt back down.

  She could hear him fighting for breath as well. She opened her eyes, watching as he stood several feet from her, watching her.

  “If you don’t get out of here, I’m going to fuck you,” he bit out savagely. “Think about it, Merinus. You don’t know me. I’m a stranger to you. A genetic animal that’s getting ready to tear your clothes from your body and fuck you on a grease stained couch. Is that how you want your first time?” Merinus frowned. “Well, it didn’t top my list of things to do today. But I’ve always been good at improvising.”

  She could think of no reason not to lie back on the couch and let him have his way with her. She didn’t understand his problem and her body was in such a riot that she really didn’t care.

  “Merinus, think,” he bit out, moving to sit on the opposite end of the couch as he raked his fingers through his hair. “You’ve never been assaulted by lust in such a way. This cannot be normal.”

  “How would I know?” she frowned. “I told you, I’ve never done this before. Have you?”

  “Have I what?” he questioned her suspiciously.

  “Have you ever had sex before?” she asked him impatiently. “You seem so reluctant, I was just curious.”

  “Of course I have had sex before.” He frowned. “It was a required subject before my escape from the labs. I had sex everyday for over two years.”

  Shock tore through her system.

  “You were sixteen when you escaped,” she said, horrified. “That was too young.” He shot her a glare. “I was recaptured at seventeen and held until I was twenty before I destroyed the labs. You need to be certain of your sources, Merinus.”

  “They taught you how to have sex?” She couldn’t imagine anything so barbaric.

  “Of course, killing a person can be done in many ways. They taught me how to bring pleasure and how to inflict pain.” He sneered. “I know every way imagined to fuck a man or a woman, with any degree of each sensation.”

  Merinus swallowed tightly, blinking over at him.

  “That’s horrible,” she whispered. “Why would they do that to you?” Overriding her lust was her terrible pain for this man. He looked disgusted, both with himself and with her.

  “They did that to train me,” he reminded her coldly. “I was to be a killer, Merinus. There are many ways to kill, to maim, to force the information you want from your victim. I was taught all those things. But that does not answer the question of our present problem. I don’t remember a time when my kiss has ever drugged a woman.”

  “Maybe it’s just me,” she breathed roughly. “You kiss really good, Callan.” His lips kicked up at the corner and his eyes filled with a weary sort of humor.

  “You are a dangerous woman. How are you feeling now?”

  “Horny,” she sighed. “Very horny, Callan.”

  The hot throb between her thighs was threatening to soak through her shorts. She was so ready, so needy she felt ready to explode.

  “This could be a problem,” he sighed.

  “Why, because you are too?” she bit out. “Yeah, really complicates your little survival idea doesn’t it.” Merinus rose to her feet. She was tired of this. If she didn’t get away from him she was going to beg him to fuck her brains out. Just what she needed to start her week off.

  “Where are you going?” He frowned as she picked up her purse from the middle of the floor and took a deep breath.

  “Back to camp.”

  “Camp?” He sounded incredulous.

  “Yeah, camp,” she stated. “I set a tent up on the lower piece of your property a few hours ago. You can find me there if you want to talk, or whatever.”

  Incredulity crossed his expression

  “You are camping on my creek?” he bit out. “You’re trespassing. When did you do that? Do you think those damned soldiers won’t find you there?”

  “I set it up
this morning. I told you, I’m tired of waiting. I’ll find my way to you sooner or later if it kills me.”

  “Those soldiers just might,” he bit out. “And you can’t stay there, Merinus. It’s trespassing,” he repeated.

  “So sue me, since you don’t seem to be willing to fuck me.” She shrugged. “I’ll be waiting, Callan. But I’m a pretty impatient person, I’d hurry if I were you.”

  “Or you’ll do what?” he asked her suspiciously.

  “Or I’ll call my brothers and let them have the job after all,” she told him, unlocking the door. “And trust me, they would put your Council soldiers to shame for sheer tenacity. I’m the welcome wagon, the Tyler Seven are hell.”

  She swept out of the office, leaving only her scent. Clean, fresh, so fucking hot it made his cock throb.

  He collapsed against the back of the couch, staring at the nearly empty room, breathing harshly. Dammit, this wasn’t a good thing. She hadn’t even made it out of the building yet, and it was all he could do to keep from dragging her back and making a damned lust filled meal out of her on the couch.

  He groaned, the thought of pushing his head between those silky thighs, his tongue lapping the sweet moisture that produced that intriguing scent was nearly more than he could bear. He licked his lips and bit back an oath. Something was wrong. It shouldn’t be this strong.

  Pulling himself to his feet, he strode to the desk and jerked the receiver from the phone base. Dialing quickly, he waited for a voice to answer.

  “Doc Martin’s.” Sherra’s voice was carefully cultured, smooth and cool.

  “Get Doc out to the house as soon as possible. I have a problem.” There was silence on the line.

  “What kind?” she asked him worriedly.

  “Physical. I need some tests. Just get out there.”

  He hung the phone up before she could answer. He was throbbing, his flesh sensitive, his body demanding relief from the little journalist that tempted him so desperately.

  Lust wasn’t like that. He knew he was intensely sexual, more than a little driven in that area, and he knew it wasn’t like this. It didn’t drug, it didn’t intoxicate. It didn’t dig its claws into your loins, demanding satisfaction. Which meant it could be a problem. An instinctive, genetic problem only now showing itself. Shaking his head, he could only pray he was wrong as he headed for his truck and the peace of his home.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “It may take a few days.” Doc Martin, the only scientist left alive from the original five that had worked with the creation of Callan and the others, set the dozen or so vials in a small box and began to pack his instruments.

  He had blood samples, saliva samples, hell, even more than one semen sample. Despite the manual releases, though, Callan’s cock still throbbed. His blood rushed through his veins and he couldn’t get the scent of that damned woman from his body.

  “Any guesses?” Callan asked him.

  Doc shrugged. “It could be anything, Callan, though I say we can safely narrow it down to a sexual problem. I won’t know anything conclusive until the tests are finished. And I need samples from the woman as well. You need to bring her here tonight, let me get those samples to test alongside yours.”

  “No.” He couldn’t trust himself anywhere around her.

  “From what you say, she’s affected as well, Callan,” Sherra stated from behind the doctor. “We need to know what’s going on. This isn’t just about you. It could affect all of us.” The full Pride was assembled, the other three watched him somberly, more than a little concerned at the news of this new problem they were facing.

  “Let’s wait and see what mine say. If she’s still experiencing this problem, then we’ll see,” Callan bit out.

  “Until then, there’s no sense in alarming her.” No sense in tempting the lust raging between them.

  “It’s dangerous enough that he’s had any reaction with a normal person,” Dayan said darkly. The cougar breed was brooding, his brown eyes unsettled, angry, his expression more savage than usual.

  “We aren’t monsters, Dayan.” Beside him, Dawn, the youngest of the pride, also a cougar breed, protested softly.

  “What do you call it, Dawn? Do you want to fuck a normal male and take the chance that your nature will destroy him?” Dayan sneered.

  Callan watched Dawn flinch, her face paling, fear flashing across her expression.

  “Enough,” Callan growled. “What’s happened to you, Dayan, that you would turn on the women now?

  There is nothing to indicate we would hurt anyone.”

  “She’s not normal. She has no business—”

  A savage snarl erupted from Tanner’s throat. Bengal, unpredictable, and fiercely protective of the women, as a young male his temper often ran hot and impatient.

  “Enough, dammit.” Callan came to his feet, staring at them all. Taber and Tanner had placed Dawn behind them and now faced Dayan, incisors showing, their expressions masks of anger.

  “They’re at it again,” Sherra sighed. “It won’t go any further.”

  “It should not be going on this far.” Callan turned to her angrily. “Is this what you do while I’m drawing the Council soldiers from our home? Fight amongst yourselves?”

  “Only when Dayan attempts to take over,” Tanner burst out. “You left Taber in charge, he has no right to order us, or Dawn and Sherra.”

  “He is getting out of hand, Callan,” Taber’s voice was less violent, but the potential of it throbbed just beneath the surface. The jaguar breed his DNA was mixed with could be calm and patient, or savagely aggressive.

  “Dayan?” Callan questioned him, his voice hard.

  Dayan shook his head. “We are not normal.” He seemed more subdued now, backing down from the others. “It’s insanity to pretend we are.”

  “None of us attempt to pretend that we are normal.” Callan raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Go home. See if you can find your patience before tomorrow night. I want you and Taber patrolling the ridge for soldiers. We can’t let down our guard, especially now.” Other than a brief nod, Dayan did little to respond before he turned and stomped from the room.

  “Dawn?” The young woma