Beast's Beauty: A Xeno Sapiens Novel (Genetically Altered Humans Book 4)

by Rena Marks

  “Sunny,” he growled, his voice deeply edged with lust. “I need to satisfy you.”

  “This does satisfy me,” she said. “This is what I want. I want you to come inside me.”

  Done with talking, she bent her head and sucked hard, raking her nails across his thighs. She felt his body tense as his orgasm built, and then he released, warm spurts hitting the back of her throat as she swallowed.

  Beast threw his head back and roared. Sunny looked up at the line of his body.

  His skin was ebony; the gold stripes lying across him in perfect contrast. Imagine that, his orgasm brought back his skin color.

  That was so sexy. Unable to help herself, she crawled up him and sat on the cock that was still hard as concrete, letting it fill her empty sheath that quivered for him. He watched her with heavy lidded eyes.

  Once her body was fully seated on him, his erection embedded deeply within her, she ground herself down onto him and snaked her hand to her pussy to furiously manipulate her own clit.

  “Sunny,” Beast said, his deep voice thick with sex, his eyes full of lust.

  Explosive waves of ecstasy built and ripped through her as her own wetness coated his cock right before she clenched uncontrollably and climaxed all around him.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The plan was for one last attempt to prove Heather’s innocence somehow. They were out of time. Heather would be in that day to clean, so Beast and Sunny figured they’d spy on her. It was all the contact she had with anyone as even Brax and Jett refused to meet her.

  Sunny felt sad about this. They’d wanted it so badly. Hell, she was sure Heather had wanted it also. But as soon as Heather figured out what move she’d decided to go with, everything else was on hold.

  The only move that could possibly save her is if she went to the Xenia headquarters and admitted everything, including her part in the deception, and chose to go on trial. As Heather didn’t even know they were on to her, this was implausible. What made it more complicated was the fact that there was still a slim possibility that she wasn’t involved other than being a victim.

  So for now, Beast and Sunny were comfortable in the closet that housed the clothes washer. They’d hung a note on the door that stated the machine was broken and there was no need to wash any clothing that week. But they left the door ajar just a crack so they could peek out of the darkened room at will.

  “I feel guilty,” Sunny whispered.

  “We need to let this play out. See what her conscience will let her do. It’s important for Jett and Brax if she can come to her senses,” Beast said quietly.

  “I still feel so bad for her. Now that we saw why she’s doing it.”

  “I know. But we also need to know how far she can stomach this. See what kind of a person she is.”

  “Hello?” The front door pushed open. When no one answered, Heather let herself in and set her small mem-box down, letting soft music filter through the den. She hummed as she began picking up items and straightening the den.

  They watched quietly while she finished cleaning. Then she moved to the kitchen where they had a perfect view of her. She pulled out the electrical nesting crocks she normally used to keep dinner warm, still humming and gyrating to the music. Just as she went to the fridge to pull ingredients, her wrist-comm pinged.

  She paused, looking warily at it, a look of dread following. She clicked off the music and answered the comm.

  “Yes?”

  “Tonight is the night.”

  “I thought you’d come to your senses and dropped this ridiculous demand,” she said. “I haven’t heard from you in days.”

  There was a pause and a male voice spoke. “You thought I came to my senses? I was just giving you time to consider my offer fully.”

  “Is Gramma safe?”

  “Of course.”

  “May I talk to her?”

  “No,” the voice taunted.

  “Then how do I know I should do this? How do I know you haven’t killed her?”

  “Please. A tough old goat like Elsa isn’t that easy to kill.”

  “Xeno Sapiens are dangerous,” she said. “Even if I can get one to come, they’re strong.”

  “Which is why I want the gold female. And I want you to drug her. I gave you enough shit to take down a small elephant, dammit. Either you give it to her, or I’ll feed it to your precious Gramma Elsa and we’ll see who drops first?”

  “Don’t hurt her! She’s frail.”

  The man snorted. “Do I need to mention again she’s an old goat? That’s not frail, sweetheart. And after I free your grandma, maybe you and I can have a little fun before you run off, huh?”

  “I don’t want anything to do with you.”

  “You were raised an uppity bitch,” he snarled. “You’re lucky I even offered. Hell, with your looks, you probably fit in with that damn city of freaks you love so much. Bring me the female and she’ll be more than happy to satisfy my needs.”

  They watched Heather gulp before answering. “I just want my gramma. I’ll bring you the Xeno Sapien. Just keep my gramma safe until later today.”

  The man hung up without answering.

  Heather swore. “Shit, shit, shit. God, I don’t know what to do!” she screamed out loud. Her voice bounced off the walls, but she didn’t care. “Sunny’s driving the shuttle bus today. But she’s defenseless now that her power broke. Mike and Mark want her, but I know she’s going to be raped and tortured. It’ll save gramma. And I can’t do it.” She sobbed.

  After a few minutes, she pulled herself together and grimly began to make dinner as if the phone call never occurred. It was the only way she could function, Sunny realized. She was under so much stress, she had to pretend things were normal. That she wasn’t about to kidnap a person.

  Sunny and Beast waited until she left the den, giving her a few minutes to clear the trees before they snuck out behind her.

  “She thinks Mike’s still alive!” Sunny whispered. “She has no idea he’s dead.”

  “I know. That proves, if only to us, that she’s not in with them. But it’s still not concrete proof. All we can do is speak for her during the trial.”

  “What do you think she’ll do?”

  “It’s up in the air. I don’t think she even knows what she’s going to do. I’ll wait at the gates to retrieve her before she leaves, and you head to the shuttle to drive them back. I imagine it’ll come to a head then. I’m sure she’ll try to get you to go with her outside the gates. We’ll nab you both right there.”

  Sunny nodded, feeling sick.

  They split up and Sunny retrieved the shuttle, waiting patiently for all the human ladies to board. They all clamored inside, one by one, except for Heather. She was nowhere to be found.

  Sunny waited a few minutes and then decided to leave. As she drove to the gates, she opened the telepathic link.

  Beast? She’s not on board.

  Pretend like you didn’t notice there’s someone missing. Get to the gates anyway. Steele and Renegade will escort these ones out, and I’ll head back to the wooded area to look for Heather.

  Be careful.

  I will.

  * * * * *

  Beast stomped through the woods near Jett and Brax’s den, making as much noise as he could. In the distance, he saw a small form.

  “Beast!” Heather called, waving frantically. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re here. I lost my way, and I probably missed the shuttle, didn’t I?” She batted her eyes as she placed her palm on his forearm, the same way she used to.

  He forced himself to smile at her. She was going to play this out and attempt to kidnap someone—anyone would do and better him than Sunny. Still, he felt sad that this was the route she’d settled on. She could have run to headquarters and confessed everything, begging for help to retrieve her grandmother. Instead, she chose to become a criminal. It would be impossible to help her now.

  “I believe the shuttle left about ten minutes ago. I’m sure it won’t be a p
roblem to come back for you.”

  “Oh, darn,” she said, blinking big eyes at him. “I don’t suppose…oh, never mind. I’m sure you couldn’t.”

  “Couldn’t what?” he asked smoothly.

  “It’s just that—well, one of the other ladies gives me a ride home when we get outside the gates. I’m sure she’s long gone by now. But, I know you couldn’t possibly leave Xenia.”

  “You should ask Sunny,” he chided gently.

  “No!” Her voice came out louder than it should.

  “No?”

  “I mean, Sunny’s a female. I wouldn’t feel right if something happened to her on the way back.” She kicked at the dirt miserably. “But you. You’re strong enough to take care of yourself.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Aren’t you?”

  “Come on,” he said, taking pity on her and smiling easily. It was easier now that she dropped her pretense of trying to flirt. Like Sunny, his stomach flipped in pity for her predicament. He couldn’t help it. She was obviously trying not to get Sunny hurt by sending him instead. How could he not feel sorry for her?

  He walked her through the woods, heading to Systems where he could pick up a small vehicle. She looked so guilty.

  They strapped into the vehicle, and he asked for her address to program into the navigation system. He pretended not to notice as she stumbled over the unfamiliar numbers she’d obviously been instructed to give him.

  “I’ve never been in such a fancy car,” she said brightly. “Can we have a drink? Please? This will probably be the only time in my life I’ve ever had a drink in a car equipped with a replicator.”

  He laughed with her. “Go ahead.” He swept a hand out to the replicator, and he turned to look out the opposite window while she fiddled with the drinks, obviously slipping the drug into his.

  But he had his friend, Pax.

  Heather had been scanned at the gates earlier that day, and all substances on her person had been recorded, including a small vial she’d claimed was spice for the meal she was to cook. Pax and Dr. Eric worked up a neutralizer. They’d scraped it onto his claw, and he allowed it to harden as it dried.

  “Here you go.” She handed him his glass with tears in her eyes. She wasn’t a very good actress.

  “Thank you.” Nonchalantly, he inserted his pinky and stirred it.

  “It’s just a bit of lemonade.” Her eyes filled up again. “I make it for Jett and Brax. They love it.” Her voice was a whisper. “I leave it in the fridge every week. They write me beautiful thank you letters.”

  “They’re good guys,” he said, taking a big gulp.

  “They’re the best,” she said fiercely.

  “They uphold loyalty over any other trait,” he said gently. “They were created to destroy each other, you know. The scientists wished to battle equal beings against each other, to see if they could figure out how to one-up a completely equal opponent. But they wanted to make it more interesting, so the brothers were grown in an artificial womb, their limbs twined together. Bonded…and never separated. They love each other immensely. They would die for each other.”

  “So much was done to your people,” she said. “I’m so sorry. I wish I could take it all away.”

  “We all make choices in life, Heather.”

  Her eyes hardened. “Yes. And sometimes we have to protect those who are weak. Do you understand that? Because you’re so strong.”

  He nodded. “Better than most. I protect Sunny with my life, even though some would argue she is stronger than me.”

  “No one is as strong as you, Beast.” Her voice sounded hopeful as if she wanted so desperately to know she made the right choice.

  “I have some physical strength, yes,” he said. “But strength can be incapacitated easily. It can be lost through the shock of pain. I can be bound. Drugged.” His voice was mocking. “But Sunny, on the other hand, can kill instantly with a thought. What is more powerful than that?”

  “What? I thought they said her power was broken?” Panicked now, her chest began to rise and fall with deeper breaths.

  “It was never broken,” he said gently. “I am immune to it, which makes me her perfect partner. But Sunny is easily the stronger Xeno Sapien.”

  “Oh, God. Stop the car. I need to go back.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “We’re nearly there.”

  “We can’t go inside,” she shouted.

  But the car rolled to a stop anyway. The house looked deserted, an older farmhouse, with old-fashioned wooden steps in disrepair.

  “I need to,” he muttered thickly. “Hope you don’t mind. I think the lemonade didn’t agree with me. I don’t feel so good.” He opened the car door, pretending to stumble out.

  “Beast, no!” she shouted, trying to reach for him. He rolled onto the ground, face-down as she scrambled around the parked vehicle, trying fruitlessly to lift his dead weight and shove him back inside.

  “Beast, please get up. Please wake up! I’m so sorry, you can’t be here. I have to get you in the car and send it on its way with you safe inside. Please! Hurry!”

  The front door to the house opened and Heather froze.

  “Are you fucking kidding me? She did it. She actually did it.” The male’s voice was filled with glee when he should have been whimpering in fear.

  “Mark? Is that you?” Heather’s voice was small.

  From the slit of a closed eyelid, Beast could see a male with brown hair that had bits of red highlights to match the red in Heather’s. Heather looked confused as she stared at him.

  “Very astute.”

  “But I thought…”

  “That I was Mike? My brother’s dead. It’s me you’ve been dealing with lately.” Mark’s voice was mocking. He looked at the man with him—the same man who had crawled beneath Heather’s porch for the credit chip. “Jeb here says the gold woman did it. Electrocuted Mike right before their eyes. He and Tony watched. Tony got it recorded, and Jeb was going to bail me, and we was headin’ out to the old farmhouse, but by the time we got there, the whole farm was burnt to a crisp, along with the recording. All the entire gang…gone. Because of that bitch.”

  “I thought it was going to be her that you brought.” Jeb’s voice was accusing.

  “I—couldn’t get to her.”

  “You stupid cunt,” he yelled, slapping her across the face. She landed heavily on Beast, biting back a small shriek of pain.

  “Help us drag this heavy sonofabitch inside,” Mark said.

  “I want to go see Gramma Elsa.”

  “Shut the fuck up and help us,” Mark snapped. “Don’t you see how heavy he is? Why the hell do you think we wanted the gold girl?”

  Beast closed his eyes fully, knowing his dead weight would tire them out as they dragged him inside. It took at least twenty minutes of cursing and pulling before he was finally inside the threshold.

  “Fucking tie him up,” Mark said, as he panted on the sofa.

  “Where’s my gramma?”

  Jeb started snickering. “Gramma Elsa. Where’s Gramma Elsa?” he mocked.

  “You didn’t do so great, Heather,” Mark said. “We asked for the gold girl, and you brought us this one. Even tied, he’s going to be hard to restrain. Is that what you were hoping for? He’d attack us? We ought to disappear with the old broad and leave you to your fate with him.”

  “No, please,” Heather sobbed. “Wait, I have some more information. A way to keep him weak.”

  Beast felt him stomach drop. Surely she wouldn’t betray him.

  “If you shave his head, he loses his strength.”

  “What?” Mark’s voice was mild.

  “It’s true,” she sobbed. “Xeno Sapiens come into certain powers. His is immense strength. But now he’s able to absorb powers from others, too. I saw it myself. His skin color has changed once he absorbed Sunny’s power.”

  “Hey, she’s right,” Jeb muttered. “I remember those clips! This one walked with the gold bitch, but he was black and gold.”

/>   “Go get the clippers,” Mark said to Jeb. “Heather will do it, and she’ll have to live with herself knowing she weakened and imprisoned him.”

  Need us to burst in? Renegade interrupted his thoughts from outside of the house. Good, the security force was all here, waiting and listening.

  No, not yet. I want to see how far Heather takes this. Plus, I need a haircut to go with the new skin color.

  Sunny’s not gonna like it, Pax warned.

  Jeb disappeared and returned with a handheld device. He flipped it on and handed it to Heather. Sobbing, her hand shook as she took the clippers and moved toward Beast.

  He felt her lift his head and drop him onto her lap.

  “I’m so sorry, Beast,” she cried as she lowered her hand.

  The machine buzzed in a strip down his head, from his temple around his ear. Another strip joined, starting at his hairline.

  Mark and Jeb laughed like loons. “Look at that,” Jeb said. “Blond braids all over the floor.”

  Heather wept harder.

  “Quit your sniveling,” Mark sneered.

  Her sobs quieted to a hiccup. “There. He’s helpless. I want to see my gramma now.”

  “There’s no gramma.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We’re it, itty-bitty long lost cousin,” Mark grinned evilly. “We’re the last of the kin. Your daddy died in prison, precious gramma is gone, my brother’s gone, the whole gang is gone but me and Jeb.”

  “Great,” Beast said, pulling himself up. “Just what I needed to know.”

  He watched their eyes grow wide as they scrambled, trying to find the guns they had set aside in order to drag him inside. From the back of the house, Renegade, Pax, and Steele emerged with a few of their human security.

  Beast grabbed each man around the throat, which was easy enough to reach with his massive hands. They tried to swing out at him, so he tightened his hold until they gagged and then released the hold enough for them to breathe before tightening again.

  “My gramma,” Heather sobbed.

  “There is no one else in this house.” Renegade’s voice was cold as he regarded her.