“Hoodie is in the back seat,” he said.
She got it and pulled it over her shoulders, watching while he removed the license plate from the car and threw the tarp over the top of it. Then they began their walk.
She was determined not to say a word. He seemed to listen to all the sounds around him, turning at things she couldn’t hear, reminding her again of what he was.
They finally came upon the cabin and, after checking the perimeter, he unlocked the door and invited her inside. Light spilled in from the windows and she looked around. It was bigger and more comfortably furnished than the hut they’d slept in the first night. A kitchen took up one end with a small round table and two chairs inside, while a large leather sofa situated in front of the huge stone fireplace made up the living room. There was a coffee table in front of it and wood was stacked alongside the fireplace.
“Bathroom and bedroom are through here,” he said.
She followed him into the bedroom where a thick, high bed took up most of the space. Another door led to the bathroom, which contained a bathtub, sink, and toilet.
“Nice,” she said. “An upgrade from the hut.”
“Thank you. I built it a few years back.” He paused. “I need to hunt. I won’t be long, but I don’t want to make a fire until I return. Would you like some water in the meantime?”
“No, I’m ok.”
He rummaged through the duffel bag and withdrew the rope. “I can sit you on a chair in the kitchen or tie you to the bed. The latter will be more comfortable.”
“Or you could just lock the door. It’s not like I know where the hell I am anyway.”
“I don’t like you swearing, Kayla,” he said. “I’m serious.”
She could tell his fuse was short, but couldn’t help herself.
“Get up on the bed.”
“No. My wrists still hurt from the duct tape and I’m not going anywhere.”
“I still don’t think you understand the danger you’re in,” he said, taking hold of her.
She swung at his face and kicked her legs when he lifted her, carrying her to the bed and tossing her onto it.
“Belly or back?”
“Fuck you, asshole!”
“Belly it is. If I weren’t such a nice guy, I’d make you sit on a hard wooden chair. Given the tender state of your ass, you should be grateful.”
“Try this for grateful, you bastard!” she yelled, kicking, almost landing it in his crotch, but not quite. He lifted her arms over her head and wound rope around and between her wrists. He then secured it to one of the bars of the iron headboard. When she continued to struggle, he caught her ankle and pulled her flat.
“Let me go!” she screamed, kicking.
“Then stop struggling!”
His voice sounded different, harder. She immediately stopped and turned to look at him. When he reached a hand to the buckle of his belt, her eyes grew wide.
“No, no, no! Please don’t whip me again. Please,” she begged, climbing onto her knees.
“Then don’t make me.”
She nodded and watched while he stripped off his jeans and t-shirt, noting how he kept his eyes on hers the entire time. She turned away when he pulled his underwear off but not before she got a glimpse.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I told you I need to hunt. I tear my clothes if I shift while dressed and I happen to like these jeans.”
She turned back to him. Was he going to do it right here? Seeing him in wolf form once was enough for a lifetime.
“Relax, I’ll go outside. Be good, Kayla.”
He walked out of the bedroom and she heard the front door open and close, then the sound of the lock turning. She was alone.
Chapter Seven
He lost a simple rabbit. He’d been hunting all his life and hadn’t lost one in as long as he could remember. Crap! It was her.
He sat down, needing to regroup. Was it the spanking? How turned on he was whenever he punished her? He hadn’t disciplined a woman since his wife, and Kayla wasn’t his to take; he’d decided that. Spanking her just felt natural, good. Was it more instinct than anything else that drew him to her? The need for survival?
But he wasn’t going to do anything about that. He’d put her in enough danger—he should have just left her alone. It was too late now. Surely the men who were after him would have done their research, found out who her father was. Phillip was too smart not to have done that. The million on her head only proved it to him. He should have left her alone from the beginning; never even looked into finding her.
He’d known her history. He’d even known the men who had killed her father. The same men who were after them now. Should he tell her? He’d known of her existence since long before searching for her, knowing the chances of her having the wolf gene would be 50/50. That drive to find her, to find out for sure, was instinct. Was nature—the need to survive. When he’d found her, he’d completed his research and knew she could bear children with the dominant wolf gene. It was his only chance to restart his line again. But it wasn’t as simple as that. He had feelings for her; he had ever since that day in the lobby of the apartment building they shared. He’d wanted her since then and he was only fooling himself by denying that fact.
“Fuck!” He slammed his fist into a nearby tree. He needed to leave her alone. He’d only be placing her in more danger if he traveled down that road. Hadn’t she had enough pain in her life already? And it wasn’t like his presence in it, as much as it had saved her from a few awful things, kept her safe. Just the opposite. Her being at the cabin bound to his bed was an indication of that.
He growled. He needed to hunt, get some food for tonight, and get back to her. The rest he’d figure out later.
* * *
Kayla lay on her side on the bed. She wasn’t even going to try to escape, not yet. She didn’t doubt for a moment he would track her down and the sting of the belt was too fresh on her mind and her bottom. She knew somehow he’d been holding back when he’d punished her. It had still hurt like hell, but she knew he could make it much worse if he chose. Easily.
The memory of him removing his belt, the almost ritual-like preparation, caused her clit to swell, as if it were just waking. The spanking aside, when he’d had her strip and bound her as he had, almost dangling her from the middle of the room, she’d already been wet. The way he’d taken her panties down to mid-thigh, quietly watched her, had heated her through. He had dominated her completely and the simple rope trick had subtly and effectively made his point.
But why wouldn’t he do more than touch her? Didn’t he want to fuck her? She could see how turned on he was whenever he spanked her, but he never did anything about it. Maybe it wasn’t her at all. Maybe it was the act itself that aroused him. Either way, she needed release.
She heard the lock and turned to watch over her shoulder. He sauntered into the bedroom, naked, smeared with earth and carrying a dead rabbit by the ears.
She tried hard to focus on that rabbit.
“Dinner,” he said. “Hope you were all right while I was gone.”
At least it wasn’t a squirrel.
“Yes, I was completely comfortable. It was great, thanks for asking.”
One side of his mouth lifted into a small smile. He walked out and before she had a chance to call after him and make him untie her, he was back doing just that.
“Thank you,” she said, rubbing the tender flesh. He walked toward the bathroom. She watched his back, his muscled, wide shoulders, narrow waist and tight, gorgeous ass. His thighs were thick and she distinctly remembered how hard when she’d been sprawled across them.
He turned to her and she flushed red. He narrowed his eyes and grinned, which only made the shade a little darker. He knew exactly what she was thinking.
“Come, I need to wash and you were whining about your hair earlier. I only have cold running water and am boiling some now. We’ll have to share the bath, but I’ll wash you first.”
She swallowed, her body coming alive with sensation. An image of her straddling his slippery, wet thighs, sliding onto his cock while he soaped her breasts wouldn’t leave her be.
“I think I can wash myself,” she said, her voice sounding thick, unnatural. “I’ve been doing it for years.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “There’s a spare toothbrush in the cupboard and some shampoo. Help yourself,” he said, leaving. He returned a moment later with a steaming pot of hot water. He then turned on the tap and cold water mixed with the hot. She watched while brushing her teeth. It took a little time as he carried several more pots of water in, obviously very comfortable working naked around her. When he was finished, he turned to her.
“Take off your clothes and get in.”
“I will. And I promise not to take too long so the water’s still hot for you,” she said, feeling quite generous. In all honesty though, she planned on locking the door after he left and sitting in the tub until her skin pruned.
He shook his head and nodded toward the window, which wasn’t big, but if she really tried she could probably squeeze out of it.
“So you think I’m going to climb out of the window in my oversized hoodie and yoga pants, no shoes, and run blind into the woods?”
“Don’t know,” he said, leaning against the wall and folding his arms across his chest.
“You are certainly not going to stand there and watch me!”
He only stared; the only change in his expression was that damned grin that crept along his mouth. She leaned back against the sink and mimicked his posture.
“Water’s getting cold, Kayla. Are you going in or should I take you back to the bed and bind you while I have a nice, long, hot bath?”
She glared at him, but had no doubt if she waited a moment too long, he’d drag her back and she’d miss the opportunity to wash. “Asshole!” she said, reaching for the zipper of her hoodie.
But before she even pulled it off her head, he was on her. Grabbing her by the waist, he turned her and leaned her slightly forward. He then swatted her hard on her ass. “Watch. Your. Mouth,” he said.
“Ow, ow, ow!” she cried, covering her bottom as soon as he released her. “You…” She wanted to call him a son of a bitch, but instead stood there, rubbing her butt, which stung with the fresh blows.
His grin widened into a smile. “Clever girl.”
She fisted her hands and stomped her foot, then stripped off her clothes and stepped into the tub. It felt good, the hot water. Her shower at the hotel had been too short and not at all satisfying, but this was good. Even if he was going to stand there ogling her. Fine. She eyed his erection, which was huge. She grinned. If he wanted a show, she’d give him one. Then he could go fuck himself.
She slid beneath the surface of the water and emerged a few moments later, long blond hair clinging to her shoulders and back.
“Can you pass me the shampoo?” she asked, her voice saccharine.
“Of course,” he said, taking the bottle and squeezing some onto the palm of his hand. He sat on the edge of the tub, sliding one leg in behind her so she found herself leaning forward to accommodate it. She hadn’t been expecting that. He closed his hand over the top of her head, depositing the shampoo. Then, while she stared straight ahead, he massaged it in, washing her hair with a gentleness that surprised her. No, that wasn’t it exactly. It wasn’t a surprise that he could be gentle. In fact, she had to admit he was perhaps the most gentle man she’d ever been around. He punished, but he also cherished.
“Lean your head back,” he said, his voice soft.
She did and he washed the shampoo out of her hair, then repeated the whole process.
* * *
What the fuck was he doing? Her hair felt so soft as he massaged the contours of her head, remembering when he’d done this last, more than eight years ago. She remained still, staring straight ahead. Her nipples, although submerged, had hardened, and when she would lift her body to tilt her head back, her breasts would lift out of the water, silky and wet. He wanted nothing other than to lick one, then the other, before taking each into his mouth and sucking, drawing the hard point out until he held the very tip between his teeth. He’d then slide his tongue down over her chest, kissing the flat of her stomach, tickling the crease around the strip of hair she left there. He’d spread her wide and just look at her for a while, all pink and wet, before tasting her, dipping his tongue inside her, then taking her clit into his mouth and sucking hard until she bucked beneath him.
He slid into the tub behind her and she adjusted her position to accommodate him. Taking the soap in one hand, he began at her shoulders, creating a lather as he washed her. She shifted to sit on her knees, allowing him to lift first one, then the other arm out of the water. When his hands came around her front, he let the soap slip into the tub and cupped her breasts. She leaned back into him and moaned when he rolled her nipples. He noticed how she’d spread her legs just a little and once he was finished with her breasts, his hands naturally traveled downward. She only exhaled and leaned her head back when he closed his hand over her pussy.
He ached to be inside her and the small voice that told him no was no match for the need that had been building inside him for too long. He lifted and turned her so she faced him, her knees on either side of his thighs. Her eyes were wide, her pupils dilated as she stared at him. He saw a mix of lust tinged with something else, something that made the animal inside him want. It was fear, just a hint of it.
She put her hands to his chest, but didn’t resist when he lifted her, positioning her just over his cock. His hands closed around her hips and guided her down onto himself. He watched her mouth open and her eyes close when he filled her and ground her hips onto his lap, burying his cock deep inside her. He lifted her slowly, the sensation of her tight pussy sliding along his cock feeling so good, so warm, so right. He pulled her down hard and repeated when she gasped, tightening her hold on his shoulders.
“Oh, god…” she cried, whimpering into his neck when he began to fuck her.
With one hand he pulled her head back and looked at her before closing his mouth over hers. He took everything with his kiss, sucking on her tongue, stealing her breath. She made a sound and the muscles of her pussy simultaneously contracted around his cock. He kept her close to him, his mouth locked on hers as she came and as much as he knew he should pull out of her, let her be, an animal instinct overruled and when his cock pulsed with release, his hand in her hair tightened and pulled her head back, shifting their position so he dominated, plunging one last time deep inside her pussy and filling her, possessing her.
Chapter Eight
What the hell had he done? Elijah stood in the kitchen cleaning the rabbit, taking out his anger on the poor dead thing. He’d just fucked Kayla and worse than that, he hadn’t used a condom.
Crap!
He heard her tentative steps and stiffened. He should not have done that; what the hell was he thinking? She’d just been so warm and wet and naked. Fuck!
“What should I do to help?” she asked quietly.
He finished with the rabbit, set it in a roasting pan and washed his hands. He slid the pan into the oven before turning to her. She stood wearing one of his t-shirts, which was more like a nightie about six sizes too big, along with a pair of his socks.
And all he could think was he’d like to strip her naked, bend her over the back of the couch, and fuck her again.
“You can set the table. Plates are there, utensils in that drawer. I’m afraid it’s just going to be the rabbit and canned green beans tonight, but I’ll head into town tomorrow to get supplies.”
“And clothes for me?”
“Yes.”
“It’ll be an hour or so before it’s ready. I’m going to chop more wood in the meantime.”
She eyed the already ridiculously high stack next to the fireplace.
“There are some books over there; you can help yourself,” he added.
&nbs
p; “Thanks,” she said, trying to meet his eyes.
He walked out the door.
* * *
There was an elephant in the room and nobody was going to mention it.
Kayla set the table, chose a book, and curled up on the couch. She stared at the first page, not reading a thing. What the hell had just happened? She’d let him fuck her. Without protection. Should she have resisted? She shook her head. She hadn’t. Hadn’t even wanted to.
She’d just finished her period a few days ago so she wasn’t overly worried about getting pregnant, but there were other things to think about.
“Relax,” she told herself. It was one time, one stupid time.
Fuck. She’d feel much better about it if they’d used a condom. She set the book down and went into the bathroom. He’d been so big that she’d bled a little and wanted to make sure the bleeding had stopped, which it had.
She went back into the living room as Elijah returned carrying a stack of firewood. He placed it on the already tall pile, obviously feeling awkward about what had just happened.
“Elijah,” she said, determined to just face this, talk about it and move on.
He looked at her.
“We’re not going to be all weird now, are we? I mean, you spank me. That’s not weird for some reason. It’s not like you…” What the hell was she trying to say?
“Did I hurt you?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“We should have used a condom. Are you on birth control? Is there any way you can get pregnant?”
“I just finished my period, so I don’t think so.”
He seemed physically relieved by that. “Good. It won’t happen again, Kayla. I’m sorry.”
She only looked at him, realizing that wasn’t the reaction she’d been looking for.
“Let’s eat; the rabbit’s probably ready,” he said.
They sat at the table and he served their meal. The rabbit was remarkably tasty. The beans were soggy and a side of roasted potatoes would have hit the spot, but this was better than she’d expected.
Taken by the Beast Page 6