My shoes touching the pavement at long last was a bit surreal. It seemed like a lifetime since James and I had driven out of the yard. Now he was somewhere on the other side of the woods, possibly dead, and I was on the run from a monster who used to be my friend.
There was no sign of Ron following me yet, at least none that I could detect. I ran across the road and up to Eramus’ front door. As I knocked it occurred to me that if he didn’t let me in I had nowhere else to go. My keys were in my coat. And my coat was in James’ car. Even though Eramus had returned my spare key, I’d forgotten to put it back outside underneath the flowerpot.
If he didn’t come to the door then I was fucked. I started to beat frantically. Where was he? I peeked through the living room window. The lights were off. Before I could look around more a howl was lifted up on the night wind and it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
I looked around, desperate for a place to hide when I spotted Eramus’ garden. More specifically, I found his flowerpot, the one where I’d told him to hide a key. I ran over and nearly slipped down when I reached for the large planter. At first I thought he hadn’t taken my advice, because there was nothing underneath the heavy pot.
I sat down beside the flower and saw something sticking out of the dirt near its roots. It was a key box! I pulled the little black box out of the soil and found a shiny silver key inside. I was so excited that I could barely hold onto it as I looked for the door.
I splashed around in the grass for what felt like forever. There was no freaking door! What had he done with it?! I could hear Ron howling again and it sounded like he was halfway there!
Then I hit my toe on something hard and looked down to find a large stepping stone. It was pretty and decorative and under different circumstances I would have liked it. But right now I wanted to smash it for being where the door should have been. Wait a minute. I bent down and found that the rock lifted more easily than I’d expected. The stone was the damn door!
Chapter Twenty-Four
Beauty and the Beast
Eramus had said something last week about having the door replaced, but I hadn’t given it much thought. I’d assumed he meant to put another door. You know, that actually looked like a door. This made sense though. If this place was meant to hide things, a door would be pretty obvious if you couldn’t cover it back up. And who could do something like that from underground?
I lifted the flat stone up as far as I could and slid down into the room beneath, not bothering with the last few rungs on the ladder. The sooner I got out of the storm and away from Ron, the better. I had no doubt that Eramus would find me—eventually.
The door slapped shut above me and I shivered. Soaked to the bone and suddenly exhausted I turned to get a look at my surroundings. It was then that I felt a presence in the room and realized I wasn’t alone. My first thought was that Ron had found me. I almost ran back out into the storm. But what if I was wrong? What if I ran out and he caught me? I heard something, though I wasn’t sure what.
The room was lit by candles. There was one small table and a few shelves in one corner of the room. A shelf of some sort blocked my view, but when I stepped around it I saw where the sound had come from. Eramus was chained to the wall. One arm was locked above his head and his feet were shackled where he stood. I ran to him.
“Eramus, who did this to you?”
I started to look around for a key, but he stopped me, putting his free hand on my shoulder.
“I did.”
I stood there for a moment and just stared at him.
“I don’t understand. Why would you do this to yourself? How do you expect to ever get free?”
“The shackles are controlled by a machine. In twelve hours, it will release me.”
“Why? What happens for the next twelve hours?”
The look on his face was pained and though I made a move toward him he turned his face away, stopping me once again.
“The full moon,” he answered.
It took me a minute to find my voice. “Eramus, a wolf chased me, he—”
“I don’t know who’s doing this,” he said. “But if I am to have the strength to fight him, I have to stop suppressing what I have become. I thought that I could pretend to be a man in order to…in order to love you.”
Tears stung my eyes, but I ignored them. “If you’re not a man, then what are you?”
“A beast.”
The pain in his voice was like nothing I had ever heard. And all the sadness in the world was in the eyes that looked back at me as they slowly turned to amber. I understood what he was trying to say and it made no difference to me. I touched his face and as his fangs grew he started to cry.
“Get out of here,” he said.
“I’m staying.”
He was still human to all appearances except for the short fangs and amber eyes. He looked like something wild and a passion stirred in me such as I have never felt before. He wasn’t wearing a shirt and when I placed my hand against his chest it seemed to me that his flesh burned.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he pleaded.
“Then don’t.”
When he looked at me I felt a flame ignite in my soul like hellfire. Anything I felt before was in comparison to a match. The tortured look in his eyes broke my heart in two. I didn’t think it could ever be repaired, but he was surely welcome to both pieces.
I kissed him and my heart leapt. It danced against my ribs to a beat all its own and Eramus trembled at my touch. Sweat shown on his forehead like a fine mist and as I trailed my hand down his face I could feel his stubble already starting to grow.
A low growl escaped his throat as he said, “You should be running.”
“Didn’t you know? Beauty is incomplete without the Beast.”
I didn’t call myself beautiful because of my own opinion, but because he always said that I was. It may seem ridiculous, but I was not afraid. Not just because he was chained, but because whatever he became, he was still my Eramus underneath. And I was completely and irreversibly in love with him.
Our lips met once more and I pulled him as close as his chains would allow.
“We don’t have much time,” he whispered. “Soon, I won’t be able to control it.”
“What will happen when you turn?”
“I don’t know, this will be the first time I haven’t suppressed the transformation for a while now. I’m afraid that holding the Beast back has only made him stronger.”
I ran my hand down his chest and he winced as if in pain. When I reached the top of his pants I understood what sort of pain he felt. I unbuttoned his jeans and slid the zipper down.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “This is dangerous, I might—”
But I cut off his next words with a kiss as I ran my hands down his pants. I held him in my hand and felt him grow hard in an instant. No coaxing or foreplay, just a growl as he forced me to loosen my grip by his sheer size.
I took a step back to undress and was devoured in sections by his hungry eyes. My wet shirt peeled from my body with a slippery sliding noise that excited me. It flopped to the ground in a wet heap and I moved to my pants. First I unbuttoned them and Eramus licked his lips. I had known from the first time he looked at me that he wanted to eat me. And now I knew by the way his amber eyes flashed, exactly what was on his mind.
I slid my pants down just enough that my tattoo became visible and he paused, staring intently at the markings on my skin.
“You like roses, don’t you?”
He growled again and the hairs on my arms stood on end.
“It is symbolic.” But he didn’t offer further explanation at the moment.
Just a short while ago I would have been upset at the very idea of being close to a werewolf, but not so anymore. I peeled off my remaining clothing and tossed it aside in a sodden heap. I could feel my hair, plastered to my shoulders and back and as I tossed my head back I liked the way the wet locks smacked against my skin.
> He looked like a feral Adonis. Sweat glistened on his skin in the candlelight, reflecting every curve and hollow of his body the way only an artist could ever recreate. My words pale. Images came to mind, his hands on my body, his lips roaming up and over my skin. And the hunger burned. My need for him was like a living thing, consuming me from inside out. The only way to calm this demon was a sacrifice of flesh.
I stepped forward and lowered his pants to his knees, exposing his cock and the magnificent curves of his thighs. All this time I had been admiring him in jeans, never understanding what a crime it was to cover him. A body like this was meant to be appreciated. No, worshiped.
I took his cock in my mouth and Eramus moved his free hand to the back of my head, guiding me slowly as he continued to tremble beneath my touch. My mouth strained to contain him though I continued to move up and down, wetting his shaft for what was to come.
“Yes.” His voice was something between a whisper and a cry for release. Caught between man and beast, pain and pleasure.
I lifted my head and found his amber eyes watching me.
“The taking of Beauty is a fantasy among lycans, something I have heard of for years.”
His voice had become strained with desire and I’m sure my own expression reflected that same burning need for release.
“And what about when Beauty takes Beast?”
I put my hands on his shoulders and with agility I hadn’t know I possessed, leapt so that my legs were wrapped around his waist, securing my feet against his thighs. He put his arm around me, the other visibly straining around his braces.
“Sex brings out the beast,” he moaned. “I don’t know how long I can—”
“Long enough.” And with my interruption I positioned myself directly over his throbbing erection. His cock felt like a brand against the lips of my pussy, burning me even before he was inside. I knew that I was wet enough to take him fully, but I wanted to savor the feeling. To relish the sensation of him slipping inside of me. I watched the expression in his amber eyes as I stroked him. I had waited so long for this moment and now all I wanted to do was make it last. I wanted to savor the feel of his hot flesh in my hand and the hard body pressed against mine. I squeezed lightly, excited by the way his breath quickened.
“Your cock feels so good in my hand.”
Eramus smiled, showing a little bit of fang. “Wait ’til you have it in your pussy.”
I rubbed the tip of his cock up and down my wet lips, teasing myself as much as him. I used his throbbing flesh to rub my clit, stroking in slow circles until I shook from the effort it took to keep from sliding him inside.
I lifted myself up, as close as I could get to being face to face, and with a shuddering sigh against his lips I lowered down onto him, watching the way his eyes changed when he was inside me. He went from the look of one who seeks to touch to one who seeks to possess.
The sounds that came from him were more animal than man as I began to move. I hooked my feet around his thighs, pressing my breasts against him. This allowed me just enough leverage to wiggle my ass. I ran my tongue across his nipple as I bobbed my ass up and down, pulling him in and out of me at a deliberately slow pace.
“You’re so tight.” His voice sounded strained. It excited me to know he held the beast at bay so we could enjoy this moment. Knowing he could harm me just as easily as he could bring me pleasure was thrilling.
I took his nipple in my mouth, sucking on the tender flesh until he growled. I slammed against him as hard as I could, taking his cock as deeply as possible. When I growled too, I thought he might break his chains.
Up and down I stroked him, grinding my body against his, using his torso for leverage. I climbed his body as if he were a ladder and my pleasure awaited at the top. Touching him was like a fever, it spread throughout my body, taking all in its path and leaving only my soul in its wake. But that too belonged to him. All he had to do was ask.
I continued to move slowly, delighting in this slow, grinding torture. I could feel his breath against my skin and his struggle against his bonds to thrust deeper inside. I ran my tongue up the side of his throat before nipping gently just below his ear.
His smell was intoxicating. He didn’t smell like sweat, even though his body was slick with it. His natural sexy scent was getting stronger, so much so that I couldn’t resist running my tongue over his chest. I wanted to see if he tasted as good as he smelled.
I reached down to touch the base of his cock, and stroked my pussy.
“You’re going to make me come,” I moaned.
He growled softly as he nipped at my ear the way I’d done his. The soft pinch sent a shiver of pleasure through my body, making my pussy clench.
“It hurts,” I said. “I want you so bad my pussy hurts.”
“Stroke me,” he commanded. “I like to feel your hand between us.”
I used the barrier of my hand to keep from taking him fully as I moved. The slow gyration of my hips was driving me crazy. And yet I didn’t want to move faster. I wanted to grind my wet pussy against him until I couldn’t take any more. I growled again as I grasped the base of his shaft and squeezed.
I lifted up enough to pull him out, teasing him by letting him only halfway back inside.
“Does that feel good?”
“Yes,” he moaned. His voice barely sounded human anymore and still I wasn’t afraid. The more it seemed he might lose control, the more it drove me wild.
“Do you want more?”
“Yes.”
“Say please.”
Eramus bent to kiss me again and moaned the word into my mouth. I moved my hand at the last second, taking him fully again. This time I ground my body against him with complete abandon, holding nothing back. Our bodies were slick with sweat and trembled with the effort it took to keep from coming. I had to hold on tight so I wouldn’t slip. Eramus put his hand on my ass, helping to move me up and down at a faster pace.
Wet hair slapped against my body as I threw back my head. The look in his eyes was something I’ll never forget. No one’s ever looked at me the way he did, not like he wanted to be inside me, but like he wanted to be a part of me.
“Finish it,” he growled.
Eramus moved his hand to brace against the wall rather than touch my ass.
“Touch me.” My words were both a command and a pleading request.
“I can feel the change. I may scratch you.”
“Do it. I want your hands on me. I want to feel you…” But my next words were lost to pleasure. He put his hand against my lower back, pushing me down as he drove his hips upward, thrusting so deeply inside me that I screamed.
My climax was unbelievably strong and I clung to him for fear of falling on the floor as I came. My muscles contracted so long and hard that I thought the next pulse of release might never come. I screamed again, grinding against him, getting every last drop of pleasure I could.
“I’m close,” he whispered.
Knowing that he was about to come seemed to make my orgasm last even longer.
I felt him go stiff in my arms and knew he was coming just by the sound of his breath against my ear.
He threw back his head and howled.
“Please, Lucy. I love you too much to—”
His voice became another growl and I slipped from his body, withdrawing a few steps as the change finally overtook him.
He turned more easily than anyone I had seen so far. His hair became longer, spilling over his shoulders in a wild, dark tangle. He growled again and his fangs lengthened. In that split second, caught between man and beast, he was the sexiest thing I had ever seen. Nick’s transformation had been horrific and so was Ron’s. But Eramus didn’t look as if he was in pain, at least not in the way they had been. It was the pain behind his eyes that broke my heart.
Eramus looked down at me before throwing back his head with a howl. As he did this his chest expanded and a carpet of dark fur spread over and down his abdomen. The bones of his lower
legs lengthened and his feet became gigantic paws. His face began to lengthen as well and in a few short moments his transformation was complete.
I stood there in total disbelief. At first I thought that nothing remained of the man I had known. But then he looked at me and I recognized Eramus behind those amber eyes.
“Eramus?”
I moved closer, but not close enough that he could touch me, just in case he was not in control. The moment he looked at me, I knew everything was all right. I didn’t see a monster before me, just a werewolf. Just because he was one didn’t mean he had to be the other. I was still naked, but it was impossible to be cold next to him. Heat radiated from his body and by the time I was close enough to touch him, I was completely warm. I was already short compared to him. Normally I reached the middle of his chest. Now I was on eye level with his abs.
I put my hand against his stomach and gently stroked his fur. The hand he put over mine was enormous and covered with hair just like the rest of him.
“You’re not afraid.” He sounded amazed. His voice was deeper. But instead of sounding evil like Ron or Nick, his voice sounded powerful.
“And you’re not a ravening monster.”
He laughed and it seemed so strange coming from a wolf’s face.
“Just wait ’til I get started.”
I was so relieved to see that he was still Eramus and so overcome by all that had happened that I hugged him without stopping to think about it.
“Well, you’re taking things a lot better than I expected. No one’s ever hugged me like this before.”
I started crying into his fur and Eramus wrapped his free arm around me. It wasn’t like me to break down crying. Then again, it wasn’t like me to hug werewolves either.
“Why don’t you tell me what happened,” he said softly. “You said someone was chasing you.” He looked up at the ceiling. “Obviously they haven’t found the door.”
Sex Symbol Page 19