Taming the Beast: Eleven Paranormal Romances

by Alyse Zaftig

  “Was your bear a problem before they took you?” Bella couldn’t imagine that he was.

  “No,” he said, shaking his head. “Cliff was great. We had a good symbiotic relationship. I lived near the forest and took long walks every day in my bear form. He watched and even encouraged me from within when I was studying or operating. They were the ones who ruined him.”

  Bella felt a cold shiver snake down her back. “What did they do?”

  Logan sighed. “Everything. They would give me this serum that would slow down my enhanced healing to a human’s speed and then they would spend the days trying to get my bear as furious as possible.”

  “By doing what?” Bella didn’t want to know, but she had to ask.

  “They tortured him.” Logan said softly, “Everyday. I could feel him losing it with every painful needle they gave. I could feel his lust for blood growing with every shock of the cattle prod, every stab of the knife.”

  “Oh, God,” Bella gasped, inching closer to him.

  “I don’t know how long I was in there but it must have been months.”

  “Months?” she gasped. Who would do such a thing?

  “I wish I had been stronger,” he said, his eyes full of shame. “I wish I could have fought longer, but they accomplished what they had planned all along. They made my bear into a monster.”

  Bella’s throat tightened as she rested her head on his shoulder. “He’s not a monster,” she whispered. “And neither are you.”

  He exhaled long and slow as he pressed his cheek against the top of her head. “You won’t say that after you hear what happened next.”

  Bella’s stomach fluttered as he continued. “My bear was going crazy one morning. Completely losing it. I remember having no control over him and that was a very scary feeling. He was too busy snarling and growling at the researchers on the other side of the bars to listen to anything that I had to say. One especially bad researcher, this psychopath named Kevin, came over with the cattle prod and I could just tell that he was in a particularly bad mood. Maybe he got into a fight with his girlfriend or his car needed repairs, but whatever it was, he decided to take it out on my bear. He got Cliff into such a frenzy that he did this to us,” he said, pointing to the long scars on his face.

  “Cliff did that?” she asked, staring at his scarred face in disbelief.

  Logan nodded. “The bear was seeing red. It was scary being trapped in an out of control wild animal and powerless to do anything. The thought still gives me nightmares to this day.”

  “What happened?” Bella asked. “How did you get out?”

  “Kevin had gotten my bear so furious,” he continued, “that he broke through the cage.” He looked down into Bella’s shocked face with a sadness in his eyes. “This is where the monster part comes.”

  She raised her chin as she gritted her teeth together. “I want to hear it. Those fuckers deserved it for what they did to you.”

  “Maybe they did,” Logan said with a heavy sigh. “And maybe they didn’t. Either way, they’re all dead.”

  “All of them?”

  He nodded. “My bear killed everyone in the building. Over thirty people.”

  Bella held onto him like a lifeline as her body trembled. “It wasn’t your fault.”

  Logan just continued, ignoring her words. “My bear broke out of the building through a window but he didn’t stop his rampage there. He started lashing out at the innocent people on the street, trying to kill anything that moved.”

  “Did he?” she asked with her blood running cold.

  “No,” he said, shaking his head. “I managed to reign him in before he hurt anyone on the outside but he wanted to. He was begging me to release him again so that he could continue his murderous rampage. They broke him. The killings weren’t just survival or revenge. It was a sport for him. He was enjoying it. I could feel the pleasure he was getting from sinking his teeth into every last one of them.”

  Bella stared into his eyes that were overflowing with remorse. “It wasn’t your fault.”

  “Maybe not,” he said with a sigh, “but it didn’t change the fact that my bear couldn’t be trusted around people any longer. I couldn’t take that risk. He had a taste for murder and I could only do one thing.”

  “That’s when you came out here?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “Yeah,” he said, swallowing hard. “I moved out here and vowed to never let him see another person again. I didn’t want any more blood on my hands.”

  “I’m so sorry,” she said with a trembling chin. “That’s horrible.”

  “No,” he answered with a shrug. “That’s just life. Life is pain.”

  She looked up into his gorgeous face and forced out a smile. “But life can be beautiful too.”

  “Yeah,” he said, looking down at her with a heavy sigh. “I’m starting to see that now.”

  His sad eyes locked onto hers, nearly breaking her heart.

  He had been through so much and she had no idea. Logan had a perfect life; a famous surgeon saving the lives of children every day and they took it all away from him. Now he was forced to spend the long lonely days alone in the forest with his broken bear, wasting his life away.

  Something raw and electric passed between them and Bella lifted her chin up as she gazed into his eyes. His lips came down, pressing against hers in a soft passionate kiss.

  She moaned as his silky tongue caressed hers, taking her breath away as he held her close and kissed her. Her head was swimming when they finally broke apart.

  Bella wanted him badly. Her nerve endings were tingling and stirring as he stroked her cheek like she was the most precious thing in the world.

  “Logan,” she whispered as warmth flooded through her. “Take me inside.”

  Chapter 10

  Logan carried Bella into his bedroom and laid her on the bed, never taking his eyes off of the beauty that he was falling in love with.

  He had bared his deepest, darkest secrets to her and she didn’t run away in fear. She didn’t call him a murderer or a killer, or threaten to call the police. She just held him and listened.

  Bella didn’t think that he was a monster. She thought the people who his bear murdered were the real monsters, but Logan still wasn’t so sure.

  He still got nauseous every time he remembered how much his bear enjoyed the killings. His bear was broken, wild, and uncontrollable now. Logan had to remember that. There was too much on the line and too many people could get hurt if he ever forgot that sad fact.

  But unexpectedly, Bella had gotten through to his bear. He was his old cheerful self around her.

  Logan still remembered the first time that he had seen her, sitting on the rock and talking to the ducks who were swimming in the pond. She was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen. He could still remember the way that his bear watched her in such an adoring way.

  There was no thoughts of murder or anger, just pure fascination with the gorgeous curvy girl who loved to talk to him. Her voice was like an angel’s song and Logan had returned to his cabin shaken to his core. He didn’t sleep at all that night, thinking of her long brown hair and thick curvy hips while he laid awake for hours.

  “Maybe my bear is over the torture,” he had thought to himself that night. “Maybe I can go back.”

  But whenever those dangerous thoughts came creeping into his mind, he pushed them back out and remembered. He remembered that day and how his bear went after that innocent man on the street. If Logan hadn’t pulled him back in time, he would have innocent blood on his hands.

  He eagerly returned to the watering hole every day to see her and every day she was there. Bella hadn’t just brought some much-needed company to his lonely existence, she had brought him hope.

  If his bear could be the soft teddy bear with her, that he was before he was taken, then maybe he could return to civilization one day. He desperately missed his practice and working with all of those sick children. He gave t
hem hope, their health, their futures, and in some cases, their lives.

  It killed him to think that there were sick children out there who needed his help and he couldn’t give it to them.

  Bella didn’t think he was a monster. Maybe she was right.

  Logan reached up to the curtains to close them against the brightness of the window.

  “No,” Bella said, grabbing his arm. “I want to see you.”

  Logan’s heart thumped in his chest. She wanted to see him? He was hideous and broken but she was watching him like he was the most beautiful thing in the world.

  “But,” he sighed. “My scars…”

  “Are beautiful,” she said, climbing to her knees on the bed. She gently stroked the back of her fingers down his scarred face as she stared into his eyes. “They’re sexy. You’re sexy.”

  That was enough. He had to have her. Now.

  In a heartbeat, his lips were on hers, guiding her head down to the pillow as he climbed on top of her. His arms wrapped possessively around her as their tongues caressed in a passionate kiss.

  It felt so good to kiss a woman, especially Bella. It had been so long since Logan had any human contact, let alone any intimacy. He forgot how nice it could feel.

  He moved his lips over her jawline and down her neck as her curvy body wiggled under him. Her full breasts were rising up and down, driving him crazy as they brushed up against his arms.

  Logan cupped them one by one in his strong grip, being careful not to squeeze too hard. They both groaned as their eyes met and she licked her sexy lips.

  The scent of her arousal was perfuming the air and making his dick painfully hard. He desperately wanted to taste her.

  Logan knelt at the foot of the bed in front of her and slowly slipped off her shoes. He kissed each ankle softly and then reached up for her belt. Her breath froze and she stiffened as he unbuckled her belt and then unzipped her jeans.

  Bella lifted her wide hips off of the bed and Logan slid her jeans down her full curvy legs. “Goddamn,” he muttered to himself as he took in her soft milky white legs. This girl was a dream come true. He grabbed her knees and gently spread her legs apart. Only her black panties were left but they looked so good on her that he couldn’t bear to take them off.

  Her breathing stopped and she closed her eyes as he leaned forward and planted a gentle wet kiss on her sex. “Mmmmm,” she moaned, making his dick ache.

  He wanted to make love to her badly but he needed to taste her first. She smelled divine and he wanted to see if she tasted equally as good.

  She hissed a short breath as he slid a finger under the elastic of her panties and dragged it over her wet lips. He pulled her panties to the side, exposing her mound and took in an eyeful before leaning forward.

  Her back arched and she cried out loud as he touched his tongue to her hole and slid it up her moist lips to her hard clit at the top. His bear grumbled in his chest and Logan’s pulse raced. He was done with being gentle. He couldn’t restrain himself any longer. He plunged his tongue into her wet tunnel and devoured her pussy with ravenous lips and a greedy tongue.

  She moaned and massaged her tits as he worked, tasting her and drinking up her sweet juices. She tasted as beautiful as she looked and he licked her until she was biting her bottom lip and trying to pull him up while begging for him to fuck her.

  Logan got up to his knees and stroked his hard cock as Bella swayed her hips before him. He slipped his fingers into the waistband of her black panties and slid them down her creamy thighs as she yanked off her shirt and bra.

  “Fuck,” he moaned as he leaned forward, kissing and caressing her tits until she pushed him away. Her legs were practically shaking and she was well past foreplay. She wanted it as bad as he did.

  He stepped off the bed for the half second it took to pull off all of his clothes. Bella’s hungry eyes dropped down to his hard cock and a little whimper escaped from her throat.

  Logan gripped his thick shaft and climbed back onto the bed. She never took her eyes off his cock, even as she spread her legs for him and he climbed back over her with his heart pounding. He glided inside of her pussy and grunted at her tightness. His breaths were short and tight as he drove his strong hips into her over and over again.

  “Your dick is so big,” she moaned in what sounded like a complaint, but the look on her face betrayed her tone. The look was anything but a complaint.

  “I’ve been thinking about fucking you since the first time I saw you in the forest,” he growled into her ear. And it was the truth. He couldn’t get her big ass and curvy body out of his mind.

  “You didn’t disappoint, Bella,” he said as he fucked her. “Your pussy is perfect. Your tits are beautiful.”

  She slid her hands up his flexed arms and whimpered as he thrust into her. “Keep whimpering like that,” he said between heavy breaths. “It’s driving me crazy. You’re driving me crazy.”

  She rolled her head from side to side on the pillow as she panted. Logan licked his lips and kissed her. All night with this beauty wouldn’t have been enough, but he would never last all night. Not with a girl this smoking hot.

  “I’m going to fuck you harder now,” he said in a deep raspy voice. “I’m going to fuck you until your tits are bouncing up and down. Are you ready for it?”

  “Yes,” she said in a moan. “Fuck me harder. Do whatever you want. I want to feel your cock come in me.”

  Her dirty words drove him further and spurred him on. He grabbed her waist with a firm grip and thrusted into her until her tits were jumping around and their thighs were smacking together.

  “This pussy is mine tonight,” he growled as she threw a leg over his shoulder. He grabbed her calf and squeezed it. “And I want my pussy to come. Got that?”

  “Not a problem,” she said with a half chuckle, half moan. “I’m going to come on that big dick.”

  She bit her lip and closed her eyes as he really let her have it. He fucked her harder than he’d ever fucked anyone before. It was coming to an end, though. He felt an orgasm surging forward like an unstoppable force. He wouldn’t be able to stop it even if he wanted to.

  “Come in me,” she cried out. “I want to feel it.”

  His arms, chest, and jaw tightened, every muscle in his body turning rigid as he thrust deep inside her and came.

  Bella screamed out his name as she dug her nails into his triceps so hard that it drew blood. “Fuck!” she screamed as her trembling body bucked and convulsed under him. Her face twisted in agony as her orgasm ripped through her.

  They held each other tight as their orgasms overtook them and their bodies filled with warmth.

  Sex had never felt like that for Logan before. Yes, it had been years since the last time he had done it but this time was different. It felt like their souls were connecting on some level.

  She could be the one.

  Logan swallowed hard, getting choked up at the sudden emotion surging forward. He never thought that he would see another woman again, let alone make love to one. It was all so unexpected. Beautiful but unexpected.

  Bella closed her eyes with a smile on her gorgeous lips as she curled up into his side.

  He held her close, breathing in her scent as she fell asleep against his warm skin. So many thoughts and questions were running through his mind as he stared up at the ceiling. Questions that were long considered closed were now reopening to him. Especially one in particular:

  Can a beast get a happily ever after?

  Chapter 11

  Two weeks later…

  “I can’t believe I’m actually finished,” Bella said, staring at her dog-eared notebook in disbelief. She had spent the past two weeks, with Logan’s help, observing the sleepy owls in their native habitat. He even helped her write the paper and now she was done. And it was good. Maybe not an A+ but it would probably get at least an A- and she could live with that.

  “You’re like the Jane Goodall of owls,” Logan said with a laugh.

&
nbsp; She smiled. “Maybe I’ll be famous too,” she said with a grin.

  “Maybe,” he said, sliding his hand over hers and giving her fingers a gentle squeeze.

  Bella sighed. “I just want to pass. Fame can come later.”

  Logan gave her a sad smile. “I’ll start your fan club right after you leave.”

  The silence hung between them like a fog. They finally had to have the talk. The talk that they had been avoiding for the past two weeks.

  The two of them kept busy, spending the days and nights observing the owls, writing the paper, falling in love, and having earth-shattering sex in every possible position and in every possible location. But they always danced around the topic of their future together. It was on both of their minds but neither of them were brave enough to bring it up.

  Until now.

  “I think you should come with me,” Bella said, her stomach rolling with butterflies.

  They were sitting on the porch at Logan’s house, relaxing after dinner. The sun was just beginning to dip down in the sky giving the forest a warm inviting glow. Bella’s stomach was full from a delicious meal of venison steaks and grilled veggies fresh from Logan’s garden. If it wasn’t for the sinking feeling in her stomach, it would have been perfect.

  “I was afraid you were going to say that,” Logan said with a grimace.

  “I think you’re ready,” she said, taking his hand in hers. “Your bear is such a sweetheart now. You can’t let one incident that happened three years ago ruin your future.”

  “It wasn’t just a little incident,” he said with his muscles tensing up. “My bear killed a lot of people, Bella. And he enjoyed every minute of it.”

  She sighed as she looked up at him. “You know as well as I do that those people had it coming,” she said, feeling the familiar anger rushing through her that she got whenever she thought of the story. She was glad that the people who were cruel enough to do that were all dead. She just wished that Logan could find the courage and the strength to move on.