The Beast In The Castle

by Daniella Wright

  “I know, and I’m so sorry,” Liam said. He turned so his body was facing mine and he took my hand and began rubbing his thumbs over my fingers. “I know I have issues with my temper. I’ve had them for a long time now.” I turn so that I am facing him as well. I want him to know that I am here and listening. “My mom got hooked up with this guy when I was a kid who didn’t like the idea of sharing her time with me, and when my mother married the asshole it only got worse. As a result, I spent a lot of time in the hospital thanks to his endless attempts to get rid of me.”

  I fought hard to hold back the tears that were burning the backs of my eyes. I wanted to cry for Liam; for the boy that he was and the childhood he never got to actually have. “Where is you mom now?” I asked him hoping that there would be a better end to this story then his anger implied.

  Liam looked down at our hands, staring at them as he continued to rub his thumb over my fingers. “She never got away from the jerk, not until he killed her. After that the social services sent me to live with my Aunt Mary.” He looked back up so that our eyes met. “Hailey, I’ve done things I’m not proud of. I used to take drugs to try to drown out the memories; drown out the pain that they caused. Honestly, that is why I was hanging out with Anna when we first met. She loved to party hard so I knew that there would always be drugs wherever she took me. But, then I met you and you made me feel like I was actually worth something. Like I deserved someone who wanted to spend time with me because they actually enjoyed my company.” Liam leaned closer to me and took both of my hands and held them to his chest. “You’re the first person who has ever made me feel like there might be some good left inside of me; you never saw me as a freak. I don’t know how I will deal if I have scared you off too. Please tell me that you’ll give me another chance.”

  This time I can’t hold back my tears anymore. Liam looks so vulnerable and all I want to do is take away his hurt. No one should have to endure the things that he did when he was a boy, and they shouldn’t be shunned because of the scars that something that horrible left behind. Instead of saying anything, because I can’t think of any words that are even remotely enough right in that moment, I leaned forward and softly kissed Liam on his lips. He kissed me back and released my hands to wrap his arms around me and hold me close. We kiss softly for a few minutes, and then we just lay down on my bed and hold each other. We talk and share the occasional sweet kiss until we both fall asleep.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  For the next month Liam and I are practically inseparable. Despite the gravity of the situation, the whole incident with Jeff has actually brought us even closer together. Once Liam decided to open up to me about himself, he stayed open. We shared everything with each other and there were times when I honestly felt like I knew Liam better then I knew myself. Cindy was still big into boys and the party scene and as usually rarely spent much time at our dorm, so Liam and I hung out there a lot. It actually got to the point where he wound up with a small collection of clothes which I kept stored in a drawer I cleaned out for him because he fell asleep in my bed holding me so often.

  About a week before Thanksgiving Liam came over with plans to stay the night. It was a Saturday night and Cindy had made it clear for me not to expect her home until she was ready for sleep on Sunday. Liam had said he couldn’t believe I had never seen “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy so he was bringing the movies over for us to get started watching them.

  When I heard a loud knock at the door I knew that it was him and I opened it up with a big smile on my face. Liam stood on the other side smiling back at me. He had a pizza in one arm and the movies tucked under his other with two sodas held between his fingers.

  “Sorry about kicking your door,” he said, “but my hands were a little full. Probably should have thought to grab a bag to carry this stuff in.” He moved the arm with the sodas and movies in it enough to indicate that was the stuff he’d been referring to.

  I grabbed the drinks from him to lighten the load he was carrying and stood aside so he could walk in my room. He didn’t waste any time putting in the first movie, and before I knew it we were both sitting with our backs against the headboard of my bed, eating pizza and watching Bilbo and Gandalf on the small TV that was set up in my dorm room. When we were done eating I found myself leaning back in Liam’s arms watching the movie. It wasn’t long after that when I felt him begin running his fingers through my hair. it felt so good that I closed my eyes and let out a small moan of pleasure. Anytime Liam’s hands were on me I felt a surge of heat take over my body, but lying in my bed while he held me only intensified the situation.

  With my eyes still closed I felt Liam press his soft lips against mine. My body responded immediately, and I leaned up into the kiss letting my mouth mold to his as he continued kissing me. Our kiss went from soft and sweet, to passionate and hot. Within a few minutes Liam had rolled us so that he was partially over me with one of his knees between my legs. When I felt his tongue caress my own I moaned and plunged my fingers into his hair. My whole body felt like it was burning up and in that moment I knew without a doubt that I wanted to give myself to Liam. I moved my hands down his back and began pulling up on the bottom hem of his shirt. Liam knew what I wanted so he sat up and pulled her shirt over his head, tossing it onto the floor beside the bed. When he came back down and began kissing me again I raked my fingers down his bare chest, and I could have sworn I felt him shiver just the slightest bit as my hands drew closer to that V just above his pants. His lower body was pressed close to mine, and judging by the hard ridge I felt pressed against me I knew he was feeling the same way I was. Slowly I began rocking my hips, creating friction between myself and Liam’s hardness that was rubbing me in just the right spot with each of my movements.

  Liam broke the kiss and moved up on his knees so that we were no longer pressed together intimately. His breathing was heavy and his eyes seemed to be glazed over. Between the look on his face and his bare chest heaving right before me, he was a beautiful sight and watching him like that only served to turn me on even more. I bit my lip and brought my eyes up to meet his. Liam groaned. “Hailey, you’re so, shit. I, I just need a minute to calm down.”

  I leaned up and quickly pulled my shirt over my head. “Liam, I don’t want you to calm down,” I told him. My voice also sounded different; thicker. “I want the same thing you’re wanting right now.”

  Liam’s eyes raked over my chest, clad in a white bra with hints of lace, and then back up to meet mine. If I thought he had looked turned on a minute ago, now he looked like he was on fire. “Hailey, I don’t want you to feel like we have to do this.”

  “I don’t,” I said quickly, cutting him off. I didn’t have any reservations about being with Liam, and I didn’t want him to sense any hesitation from me.

  Liam leaned back down over me and caressed my cheek with the back of his hand. It felt so amazing, and I closed my eyes and sighed, leaning my face closer to his hand. “Hailey, are you sure?” Liam asked.

  I opened my eyes and smiled up at him. “Completely.”

  Then his lips were on mine and I could feel his hands behind be, undoing the clasp of my bra. When it was free he sat up, taking my bra with him, and looked at me. “Beautiful.”

  He moved his hand down my chest, between both of my breasts, until he reached the top of my pants. Slowly he removed my pants and panties, and then he stood up. I watched him unbutton his pants and slowly slide then down, never taking his eyes off of me as he did so. When he stood back up he was completely naked, and my breath caught. I had dreamed about this moment with Liam for a while now, but my dreams had nothing on the real thing. I was certain he was the most perfect male on earth; or maybe he was just perfect for me.

  He crawled back on the bed and slid between my legs. I could feel his length, hot and hard, pressed against me and it only turned me on that much more. I’d never done this before and everything I had heard said it would hurt my first time, but right then feeling him pressed ag
ainst me I wanted nothing more than to feel him inside of me. I moved my hips, trying to show him how badly I ached to feel him.

  “I’m going to go slow,” he said. “It will hurt for a minute, but I’m going to make it good for you, I promise.”

  Liam slowly slid inside of me, and at first it just felt super tight; like he would never fit. As he pushed in further I began feeling uncomfortable, but right before he pushed all of the way inside I felt his fingers begin circling my most sensitive spot. The pleasurable sensation distracted me from the pain when he pushed the rest of the way in. I felt the sting of losing my virginity, but Liam kept himself seated inside of me, only moving his fingers against me until the pain became a memory and all I felt was the pleasure building as his fingers moved faster against me. I began rocking my hips upward, wanting to feel him move inside of me. The pleasure was building and I couldn’t bear to stay still any longer. Liam moved his hand so he could hold himself above me, and began moving in and out slowly.

  The pain was forgotten and I moaned loudly as pleasure began building even stronger within me. I wrapped my legs around Liam, and he started moving faster. Soon I felt my pleasure explode inside of me, and my body began to spasm around Liam when wave after wave of pleasure washed over me. “Liam,” I moaned his name over and over.

  “Ahh, Hailey,” my name sounded like a groan on Liam’s lips, and then I felt his body quiver and felt the warmth of his release inside of me. We moved together slowly until we had both rode out our pleasure. Liam laid down and pulled my back up against him so he was spooning me. He moved my hair back behind my ear and laid his head down so that his mouth was right beside my ear. “I love you, Hailey Rose.”

  My heart melted when I heard those words, and I felt myself smiling. I wrapped my arms around his where he held me and squeezed. “I love you too, Liam Elliott.”

  I could feel Liam’s smile when he pressed a kiss to the side of my cheek. That night when I fell asleep I still had that smile on my face, and I dreamed about Liam and I and our lives together until I woke up the next morning.

  ***

  Liam was hesitant when we left school for Thanksgiving break to go back to my home in Kansas. I was a bit nervous too, after all, Liam was the first boyfriend I had ever brought home to meet my parents, but I loved him and I wanted my parents to meet the man who had taken up such a huge place in my heart. It was no surprise that Liam’s hesitance mirrored my parent’s own worry when we arrived at my home and I made introductions. My dad had always been protective of me and knowing that I was dating a boy he’d never met while I lived so far away was hard on him I think. Over dinner my parents tried to had their interrogation of Liam as innocent conversation, but they weren’t fooling anyone. I wasn’t made though; I knew that they just wanted to make sure Liam wasn’t going to hurt me.

  “So, how did the two of you meet,” my mother asked. She was smiling, but I could tell she was nervous about the answer she was about to get. We were in college after all, and I knew she worried about the partying despite the fact that she had pushed me to go away to school in the first place.

  “We met in U.S. History,” I told her. “When I got overwhelmed on my first day in class and didn’t think to take good notes, Liam volunteered to share his with me so I could study for the quiz coming up. We sort of became friends from there, and we spent time together studying and getting to know each other ever since.” When I saw her and my father look at each other and smile I knew that I had settled many of their worries. Letting them know that Liam was someone who cared about school like I did was the best ice breaker.

  After dinner was over, and everything was cleaned up, Liam and I went for a walk around the property. He had always shown interest in my home life, and the idea of living in the country so I wanted to show him how beautiful it really was. When we had finished our walk around the farm, we settled on one of the swings my parents had on their wrap around porch and watched the horizon while the sunset. “It’s so beautiful, and peaceful here,” Liam said. “Not as beautiful as you, but still pretty good,” he winked at me. “I wish we didn’t have to go back to school so we could just stay here forever.”

  “Well,” I said, “we have only got four years of New England winters to contend with while we get our degrees. After that, we can come back here to the farm, or go to New York. We can go wherever you want to go.”

  Liam smiled and wrapped his arm around my back. He leaned in and gave me a small kiss. “I like that sound of that,” he said, smiling. “I love you.”

  I smiled back at him, “I love you too, Liam.” We sat there under the moonlight holding each other and talking about our possible future until it became too cold and we had to go inside. After this trip, I knew that Liam and I were going to be together for a long time, and I prayed that long time turned out to be forever.

  ~*~

  PARANORMAL & SCI-FI COLLECTION

  ~*~

  Forbidden Beast

  ~ Bonus Story ~

  A Dragon Shifter Romantic Thriller

  Samantha Hunter is a new resident at the Emergency Room at Linda Vista Hospital. She meets visiting doctor, Mark Johnson, and they hit it off.

  Recently, there has been a rise in the number of patients suffering from significant and inexplicable blood loss—where the only visible wound is two tiny pin pricks—like a bite. Ignoring Mark’s remarkably cold hands and strange demeanor, she agrees to go out with him. That same night, Samantha meets a strange man in the blood bank…he claims to know the reason for the string of patients with the same condition…vampires. Jared Hamilton is hunting a rogue vampire. Jared himself is a monster, of an ancient and almost extinct race. He finds himself falling for Samantha, seeing a future with her…so long as they can find a way to stop the rogue vampire before he kills both of them.

  * * *

  Chapter One

  I heard the code called over the intercom, and I rushed down the hallway toward the exam room that had been called. I left my coffee, abandoned by the machine. I was fighting exhaustion; every muscle in my body was screaming for sleep. It was my second week as a resident in the Emergency Room at Linda Vista Hospital. Upon entering the room, I beheld the patient, a young male in his late twenties, who was convulsing on the table.

  “Starting CPR,” I yelled as I placed my hands above the patient’s sternum, beginning to pump, forcing his heart to continue to move blood through his body. My arms strained as I began to coax his heart to continue pumping. This was maybe the fifth round of frantic CPR that I had done this shift, and my arm muscles were aching from the buildup of lactic acid. One of the nurses rushed in, a clipboard in her hands. She was a blonde woman in her late forties, frown lines evident on her face, as though she had seen too many bad things in her life.

  “Doctor,” she said, looking at me. It still hadn’t sunk in that that was now me. “Blood testing on this patient has come back from the lab.” She was frowning, making the lines on her face deeper and more pronounced.

  “And?” I asked, my breathing labored as I continued to pump. A strand of my own hair had become stuck to my forehead, but I couldn’t risk stopping the CPR to push it away.

  “It reports a low red blood cell count.”

  “Anemia,” I commented in disbelief. “We’re going to have to transfuse, ASAP. Get me some O-neg.” She nodded, rushing off to get it from the Emergency Room’s supply. I frowned, continuing CPR, and looking at another nurse.

  “We’ll need to defib to get his heart back on line.” She nodded, and went to get the defibrillator unit. This was the third case in the past week where the patient suffered from pronounced anemia that had nothing to do with the accident that had brought the patient into the ER, initially. I looked down at the patient. His skin was pale, bluish in the overhead lighting. His eyes were slightly open, showing only the whites. He had come in after falling while skateboarding; he had a concussion but no open or bleeding wounds on his head. I looked around his body as I worked; there were no
signs of any major bleeding. His clothing was completely clean of any bloodstains; if he was suffering from massive blood loss, he should be covered in it. It just didn’t make any sense.

  The first nurse ran in carrying several dark red bags of O-negative blood. She immediately hooked one up to an IV, sticking the needle carefully into the patient’s arm. She placed a small rectangle of tape over the needle to hold it in place. Then, she hung the bag on the hooked pole beside the ER bed, watching as blood began to transfuse into the patient’s arm.

  The other nurse wheeled the cart with a defibrillator machine into the room. We needed to shock his heart back into acting on its own so that I could stop forcing it to pump with my flagging arms. She put gel on the paddles, and I knocked them together, gathering the shock.

  “Ready,” I said, placing them on the patient’s chest. A shock went through the paddles, and the patient’s body arched on the table. We all waited in silence, listening and watching the heart monitor as it beeped. It was faint. Too faint.

  “One more time,” I said, placing the paddles together before then placing them on the patient’s chest. “Go.” The patient convulsed with the shock, and I looked at the heart monitor, seeing that the heart was beginning to come back online, tiny green mountains on the background of black, the numbers starting to climb as his blood pressure rose to a normal rate. I sighed in relief.

  Handing the paddles to a nurse, I stood back, wiping sweat from my forehead and watching the patient’s vitals on the screen. As the blood entered his system, they began to further normalize.

  As soon as the alarm was beeping slowly and normally, I watched the patient’s heart worked on its own for a little while. I looked around at the other nurses and residents who had crowded into the room. In the Emergency Room, whenever a code is called, anyone who is free in the area is required to answer. You never know how many hands you will need in order to get the heart started again, put the guts back in, or stop the bleeding.