“It’s okay,” she said slowly. “I mean, I was scared. I’m still scared, a little. But it’s okay.”
He gave her a long look, as if judging whether she meant it, and then nodded gratefully and relaxed a little.
“Have you always…been like this?” she asked.
“It happens at a certain age. I was nineteen.” He took a deep breath. “When I was younger, it seemed easier. I only changed occasionally, a few times a month. I could control it better. Then the woman came here—” He shook his head, remembering. “I scared her so much.”
“That wasn’t your fault,” Rachel said slowly.
“She nearly drowned!” He sighed. “After that, it was easier to just…withdraw. I stay here, out of sight. I have groceries sent over by boat and left outside the door. No contact with anyone.”
It made her mind spin. To be isolated like this, locked away in a castle.... “Can’t you—I mean, if people knew, maybe someone would be able to help you.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Help me?” he said. “What makes you think I want to stop it happening?” He looked bitterly out of the window, the flashes of lightning lighting up his face. “The problem isn’t what I am. It’s how people would react. They’d lock me up in some damn lab.”
Rachel thought about some of the stories she’d covered. Kids with abnormalities. People with problems. He’d get the worst of both worlds—it would be a media circus and then the authorities would get involved. Some damn lab was probably right.
“What’s it like?” she asked in a small voice.
He looked at her strangely, as if no one had ever asked him that before. “Wonderful,” he said. “You have no idea how good it feels, to run through the forest fully changed. I run for hours through the trees and then come back here to sleep.”
She looked around the room—at the roaring fire and the cushions in front of it. In some ways, it didn’t seem such a bad life—apart from the heart-breaking loneliness.
She realized she’d stopped thinking about leaving. “It happens when you get…emotional, right?”
He nodded. “Angry. Or….”
“Or…worked up.”
They stared at one another for a moment. And then he seemed to shake himself, as if casting off a foolish daydream. “There’s no way off the island tonight. We’ll have to get you ashore tomorrow—can we do the interview then?” He looked down at his robe. “When I’m more appropriately dressed?”
She nodded. If she shot a video and sent it by lunchtime, she’d still make her deadline—assuming she could find a decent internet connection.
“There are plenty of bedrooms. Pick any one.” He nodded her towards a doorway—beyond it, she saw an ornate wooden staircase.
He’s sending me to bed…alone. A part of her was disappointed. Of course he is! Are you nuts? You only just met him and he’s a—a— God, had she really been thinking about…she blushed. “Thank you, Lord McKillington,” she managed, and headed toward the stairs.
She thought he wasn’t going to reply. She was almost past him when he suddenly said, “Alex.”
She turned and blinked at him.
“Alex. You can call me Alex. I mean, you can call me Alex if you want to.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long time since I had to make small talk with a beautiful woman and I wasn’t great at it to start with.”
Rachel had to just nod, because all of a sudden her chest felt tight. Did he just call me beautiful?
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Other Stories in this Series
The British Nanny and Her Billionaire Employer
20 year-old British nanny Kate has spent a great year looking after billionaire Jered's kids...unaware that since his divorce, her handsome employer's been seeing her in a new light. But when she's caught in the rain and soaked through, Jered sees her strip off for a shower and his lust becomes too much for him. She's shocked when he seduces her...and takes her virginity.
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The Lawyer and the Outlaw Biker
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She doesn't know that this biker's after more than just sex. Kyle doesn't believe in condoms, and he wants his new girl bred. Miranda's about to discover that the best things in life are unplanned...
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The Stewardess and the Billionaire CEO
Kaitlyn has always denied the dark cravings that lie within her...a need to be tied, teased and taken. Everything changes when she meets billionaire Drew on the London to LA flight. He shows her what it's like to submit...but there's a problem. This dom wants more--he wants to impregnate the beautiful young stewardess...even if it means taking her in public, at 30,000 feet....
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The Intern and the Senator
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The Maid and the Billionaire Prince
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Then she meets him.
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The Cocktail Waitress and the Card Shark
Julie believes she’s a magnet for bad luck. Trapped in a dead-end job as a casino waitress, her dreams of medical school in tatters, the last thing she needs is a smooth-talking gambler trying to get her into bed.
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The Lady and the Pirate
When black sails appear on the horizon, bookish Katherine finds herself first threatened, then saved by Captain Mullen and his band of pirates. Shy and nervous around men, with a thirst for knowledge that her suitors find “improper,” she knows she’s no one’s fantasy. So why does the gorgeous pirate captain keep looking at her that way?
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The Nurse and the Soldier
Torn from the safety of a Chicago ER, nurse Mei Li is struggling to adjust to life in a desert war zone. She works around the clock to save the wounded…but who’s going to save her?
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They begin a secret romance, meeting for risky encounters and always seconds from discovery. But when Pete’s sent on a mission he might not come back from, he asks Mei Li if she’ll help him leave behind a legacy. Can she risk getting pregnant by the man she loves…when she knows he could be dead tomorrow?
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The Curvy Waitress and the Billionaire French Count
Broke, stuck in a dead-end job and uncomfortable with her curvy body, New York waitress Holly thinks life can’t get any worse…until she accidentally whacks a customer with a tray, breaking his nose.
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The Curvy Vet and the Billionaire Cowboy
Curvy veterinarian scientist Amanda has never been comfortable with her body. She hides away in her lab in Atlanta, burying herself in her work…until a call from a stranger drags her out of the city and into the wilderness.
Former oil man and all round alpha male Russ Tyler has made his billions and bought himself a stud farm in Wyoming. He needs Amanda to treat a feral horse high in the mountains…but that means persuading the timid beauty to trek there with him on horseback.
Amanda’s used to soy lattes, not camping out under the stars with a gorgeous, muscled cowboy. Can Russ convince her that he loves her curves…and wants her to have his children?
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The Reporter and the Billionaire Scottish Wolf Lord
TV reporter Rachel isn't happy about being sent from sunny LA to gray, freezing Scotland to interview a minor royal. But when he turns out to be reclusive billionaire Lord Alex McKillington, things start to get interesting. Why is the whole village scared to go near his private island? Why does he seem so worked up when he's near her, his low voice almost a...growl?
Alex has hidden his secret for years, isolating himself for the safety of others. But his need to mate hasn't gone away and when Rachel walks into his life, controlling himself is impossible.
When she discovers his secret, Rachel must convince the brooding, loner alpha male to put aside his demons and love again. But is she really ready to become his mate...and offer him her fertile body?
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Also by Victoria Wessex
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue
Extract from The Reporter and the Billionaire Scottish Wolf Lord
Other Stories in this Series
The Curvy Voice Coach and the Billionaire Actor (He Wanted Me Pregnant!) Page 12