Tempting the Beast

by Lora Leigh

  “Yes,” she moaned, shaking, desperate for the touch. “Eat me, Callan. Please lick me. Lick me now—” Her head fell back, a hard shudder wracking her body.

  His tongue rasped through the slit of her lips from bottom to top. Slow, sliding, erotically rough and so hot she felt her flesh melting. His hard hands gripped her thighs, holding them apart when she would have clenched them around his head.

  “Mmm,” his low moan of pleasure vibrated against her clit. She felt the small bud throb, beg.

  Merinus gasped for breath as he licked her, his tongue dipping into the tight entrance of her vagina, swirling around, gathering more and more of her taste as his heated growls of pleasure echoed against her body.

  She was mindless now. She could feel the sensations building, her skin tingling, the pressure increasing in her clit as he stroked around it, over it, sucked it lightly into his mouth.

  “Oh yes, suck it.” The shocking words erupting from her mouth did little to dim the haze of need sucking her in, as his mouth sipped at her flesh. “Oh yes, Callan. Yes. Just like that,” she was almost screaming now as he suckled her clit deeper, harder. “Please. Oh please—” It was building in her. Her body tightened involuntarily, every bone and muscle in her reaching for his mouth, the hot draw of his lips, the moist wash of his tongue. It was killing her, killing her with pleasure, building, increasing. She could feel her heart struggling to keep up with the demands her arousal was placing on it. It beat hard and fast, bursting through her veins, a pleasure in and of itself. Then one hard male finger slid past the soft folds of skin. His mouth suckled her clit faster, his finger pushing inside her, filling her, burning her.

  She heard her scream as the pleasure burst inside her. Desperate, hard, her hips bucked and she felt herself dying. Her climax was like a tidal wave, tearing through her, heaving her body, shaking it, shuddering through it, destroying her as she held tight to his hair, praying for some anchor to hold her to earth. It was never ending. Hot pulsing relief spasmed through her cunt, causing it to grip tighter about his plunging finger, soak his hand, her thighs with a rush of liquid that would have terrified her at any other time.

  Then his mouth was there, devouring the release, his tongue plunging into her vagina, building the pleasure again as the sandpapery texture of that organ rasped her tender flesh.

  “I’m going to fuck you first,” he growled, his body moving powerfully, his hands lifting her as the thick head of his cock lodged against the entrance to her vagina. “I’m going to fuck you until you scream again, Merinus. Over and over. Scream for me, baby.”

  She screamed. One hard thrust buried the thick, steel hard erection into her body to the hilt. She felt his scrotum slap against her buttocks, watched his hard face twist into a grimace of sublime pleasure, his eyes closed, his body arched, tight, tense.

  * * * * *

  Callan fought for breath, for control. She was so tight and hot around his cock, her muscles gripping him like a slick, velvety fist. Control. He had to fight for control. He could control the raging lust beating at him, demanding a hard, fierce ride. She was tossing beneath him, her hips bucking, driving him harder into the soft flesh of her cunt, grinding against him. Gritting his teeth, he eased back, wanting to scream himself at the incredible pleasure from the friction of her flesh against his. His cock was so sensitive it was nearly unbearable. He could feel the small barb-like protrusion emerging from beneath the head of his cock, slowly, unfolding from its former hiding place. He prayed. He prayed to a God he had once doubted that it would bring her no harm. That the once inactive portion of his cock, the small, curved, hard protrusion would not bring her harm. Because there was no way he could stop.

  She squirmed beneath him, fighting for breath, her body damp with perspiration, her female honey coating her inner thighs, as well as his. He thrust inside the tight depths of her body, groaning on every stroke at the tight heat clasping him, the sensitive swell of the barb raking her tender flesh, driving him insane with the pleasure it washed over his body.

  He gritted his teeth against the sensations as he braced his body over Merinus’. She was bucking against him, her head twisting against the sheets of the bed, arching desperately, begging now for release.

  “Callan—” Her plea was a hard gasp, a breathless moan as her hands went to his shoulders, her nails biting into his skin.

  His sharp growl at the added sensation surprised him. He felt his cock swell, pulse. He drove against her harder, deeper, one hard hand spanning her hip as he held her still, the other under her shoulders, arching her breasts to his devouring mouth. He couldn’t get enough of her. Her nipple was hard, succulent, the grip on his cock tightened each time he drew on it.

  She was getting close. So damned close. And so was he. He could feel the white hot fingers of fire moving down his spine now, the swelling of the barb, the lengthening of the tiny hard membrane. Then all hell broke loose. He slammed inside her, deep, hard, as he felt the membrane extend fully, felt it rake across the silken flesh of her vaginal walls, the area of the elusive g-spot. It lodged there, causing his thrusts to become hard jerks in fear of tearing her, hurting her. But the pleasure. The pleasure was unlike anything he had ever known. It wrapped over the head of his erection like tiny fingers of paradise, at the same time he heard Merinus scream. Her body arched, her eyes widened, she stared at him in dazed, wild hunger for a second before her orgasm hit. She clenched around him, the action making her so tight and hot he could do nothing but follow her. His guttural growl as he felt the harsh ejaculations into her body shocked him.

  The barb, so feared for so many years, destroyed his sense of balance. He could feel it moving, stroking the sensitive spot it had lodged in, each movement had Merinus crying out, jerking, tightening, her orgasms lengthening as he came inside her. She was breathing hard, crying now, her head tossing with the extremity of her pleasure before his own began to ease, and he felt the little protrusion recede, allowing him to pull weakly from her body.

  Merinus still trembled. Her cheeks were wet with sweat and tears as she gasped for breath. Her breasts were swollen, her nipples hard little peaks that had not eased with her climax.

  “Merinus,” he whispered her name gently as he eased her into his arms, lying beside her, his hand smoothing down her damp back. “Don’t cry anymore, baby. I don’t think I can handle it.” Her breath hitched, one hand clutched at his back, the other around his neck.

  “Did I hurt you?” He was terrified that perhaps he had, and was unaware of it.

  She shook her head against his chest. A weak movement as her tongue stroked over his skin. Callan took a deep, careful breath after that small caress. He was still hard, he could easily take her again, but he feared for her. She was virgin, and there had been little gentleness in him when he had slammed inside her tender body.

  She whispered against his chest.

  “What?” He moved back, staring into her dazed, distressed eyes. “What did you say?”

  “I need you again.” A tear fell down her cheek. “I need more, Callan.” She was exhausted. He could see it in her expression, in her eyes and hear it in her voice. She was shy and confused and frightened by the overwhelming sensations that were controlling her body.

  “Shh, don’t cry, baby. You need only ask.” He smiled softly, his thumbs wiping the tears from her eyes.

  She was so tired it worried him, but he couldn’t ignore her need, not when it was his own as well. He turned her to her side, bringing her leg over his as he tucked her buttocks against him.

  “We will do this easy,” he promised her. “I know you’re tired, Merinus.” She shook her head, gasping, moaning as the thick length of his cock re-entered her, stretching her, sliding in deep. The tight clasp had him gritting his teeth at the renewed pleasure.

  “You feel so good,” he murmured at her ear as his fingers went to the swollen bud of her clit and massaged it gently. “So tight and hot around me, Merinus. Unlike anything I have known.”

>   “We’re drugged. That’s why,” she gasped. “You drugged us, Callan.”

  “Then I would stay drugged forever, Merinus.” He nibbled at her earlobe, loving the sharp intake of her breath, the way she thrust back at him. “There is no pleasure on this earth as good as the feel of your pretty cunt wrapped around me.”

  “Oh God, why did that just sound so sexy?” she groaned, tightening around him, shivering at the feel of his lips against her neck.

  “Because it is sexy,” he assured her, smiling. He licked the soft flesh just beneath her ear, loving the little gasps she made. “It’s sexy and erotic and hot as hell.” He pushed harder into the tight sheath, gritting his teeth now at the pleasure.

  “We’ll kill each other before the need goes away,” she panted. “Callan—” A plea stole from her as he felt the shivers working through her vagina.

  He felt it as well, the barb’s re-emergence, the added stroke over her tight muscles.

  “Does it hurt you, Merinus?” He was tortured, terrified he had been wrong, and she was in pain, despite her need. “Tell me if it hurts you. I’ll try to stop.”

  He buried his head in her damp hair. God help him if he was hurting her. God help them both.

  “What is it?” she gasped as his strokes became deeper, harder.

  Callan couldn’t control it. His hips began to thrust his cock harder inside her, the ultra sensitivity of the barb making the pleasure so damned good he wanted to howl with it.

  “Does it hurt you?” he demanded again, gritting his teeth, fighting for control.

  “No,” she cried out, her hand moving to grip his slamming hips. “Ah, more. I need more.” He pushed her to her stomach, moving behind her, instinct guiding him now, the pulse of pleasure overtaking his mind. Spreading her thighs wide he slammed his hips into her buttocks, feeling his scrotum tighten against the base of his cock as he drove deep and hard inside her. His head lowered, his teeth gripping the sensitive area between shoulder and neck as she screamed out in pleasure. And it was pleasure. She was begging for more, held still by his hard body, his plunging hips, the sharp teeth that held her still for his invasion.

  He was the animal he had always feared. In the back of his mind, Callan was appalled at his own actions, but helpless in the face of the frenzy overtaking him. The barb was only half erect, sensitive, sliding, gliding over tight vaginal walls and smooth flesh. It was more than he could bear. He could control himself no longer.

  Primitive, throaty, his growl demanded her surrender, her submission to him as he powered inside her, over and over. She was crying out now, her body tight, reaching, desperate. The barb extended full length, scraped, she screamed out in desperation, her muscles locking on his erection as her orgasm swept over her once again. Callan plunged deep and hard, his own climax rocking his soul, the growls constant now, rumbling from his chest as he felt the hard spurt of his semen inside her, the burning grip of her muscles, the wash of her own release.

  Then she was still. Slowly, the inner muscles unlocked and Callan felt his own erection begin to subside minutely. Her body became pliant, relaxed and he knew that either sleep or unconsciousness claimed her.

  Either, he knew, would be a welcome relief for her.

  Panting, he lay down beside her. Jerking sheet and comforter from the foot of the bed, he covered them both, weariness lying heavy on his shoulders. He tucked her body close to his, breathing in her scent, her warmth. He was exhausted. Never had he climaxed so hard, so deep. As though his seed were being jerked from his soul, rather than the tight sac beneath his cock.

  “Mine,” he whispered the word as his grip tightened on her, exhaustion draining him. He was aware he made the claim, and he admitted it terrified him clear to his soul.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Merinus awoke, tender and groggy. She shifted in the bed, seeking the warmth that had held her through the night, but Callan was gone. Opening her eyes she blinked, stared up at the ceiling and tried to ignore the pressing need that still throbbed in her vagina. Damn, talk about a potent kiss. She licked her swollen lips experimentally. Callan had nibbled on them more than once, licked them. His tongue, the rough texture of it, the stimulating feel of abrasive velvet running over her skin, the memory of it caused her to shiver.

  She needed a shower. Dried perspiration itched on her skin, made her feel grungy. The smell of sex, hot and wild, lingered on the air and on her body. She grimaced. Rising from the bed, she stepped gingerly over the cool hardwood floor, moving to the opened door on the far right of the room. A bathroom, complete with a large sunken tub and a brief written message on the counter greeted her.

  Bathe. Relax. Stay in the house. I’ll return soon with your things. So much for her camp, she sighed.

  After the hours it took to set it up so neatly, it might have been nice to actually use it for longer than a few hours. She wondered how long he had been gone, then decided it didn’t really matter. He would return soon enough, and she desperately needed that bath.

  She ran the tub nearly full, adding a liberal portion of bubbling bath salts she found at the edge of the tub, then eased herself into the hot water. She washed her hair quickly, wrapped it in a towel then lay back against the rim to allow her body to soak. She glanced down her body, seeing the red abrasions on her skin, small sensitive points where his tongue had stroked her a bit roughly. Her breasts were still swollen with need, her nipples still hard.

  She couldn’t understand it. The events of the day before seemed more like a dream than reality. But reality was the tenderness between her thighs, the flush on the smooth mound of her cunt, the sensitivity of her body. The need for Callan wasn’t as intense, as harsh as it had been the day before, but it still throbbed in her. She still ached for him. It made no sense.

  “Merinus.” Sherra’s voice called through the closed door, her knock light. “Can I come in?” Merinus checked the bubbles covering her, then sighed deeply.

  “Yeah. Come on in.”

  The other woman entered the room, concern marking her pretty features, lingering in her light blue eyes.

  “If Callan’s DNA is lion, then what’s yours?” She didn’t bother to beat around the bush. There were more than just Callan and she knew it.

  Sherra sighed. She sat gracefully in a padded chair at the end of the tub.

  “Snow cat,” she said quietly. “Dawn and Dayan’s mix is cougar.

  Tanner is Bengal. Taber is jaguar, Callan is lion.” She watched Merinus carefully, her expression composed, calm, but her eyes were shadowed.

  “What’s happening to my body?” She would ask the questions of their DNA later. Right now, there were more pressing problems.

  “It’s a mating, Merinus,” Sherra said gently. “Our tests aren’t conclusive yet. Doc’s still working on it.

  But it seems pheromones, chemistry is the culprit. Yours matched with Callan’s and his body reacted to it. There’s still so much we don’t know about our bodies. Aren’t certain of. Unfortunately, we’ll need more samples. I had hoped to catch you before your bath to begin them. Your body will give us more answers than Callan’s can, as the mix of his semen and your body’s secretions are contained within you.” Fear raced through her now.

  “I’m not on birth control,” she whispered, her voice trembling. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of that before.

  “Don’t worry,” Sherra rushed to reassure her. “The semen of our males has never been compatible with a female before. But just to be on the safe side, the injection doc gave you last night would prevent conception, should the reaction have changed that.”

  “And this ‘thing’ going on with my body?” she asked her hesitantly. “Will it stop?” Sherra sighed roughly. “We think so. Callan’s semen seems to have a counteracting agent in it, but it appears very slow acting. In time, I believe it will go away.”

  “Man, I really stepped into it this time,” Merinus breathed wearily, closing her eyes at the problem she now found herself steeped i
n. “This is not good.”

  “Perhaps for Callan it is,” Sherra said softly. “He was growing very angry, very hopeless, Merinus. He leads us. Protects us. Maybe this was what he needed. I can’t say he was relaxed when I saw him this morning, but he now plans for more than just his death.”

  “And what are those plans?” Merinus asked her, watching her through the steam of the bath.

  “Providing for you. Protecting you,” Sherra informed hesitantly.

  “No.” Merinus shook her head fiercely. “This is just a story. This chemical thing will go away, and so will I. I can’t stay here. And if he goes back, then I go to the next story. This is not permanent.”

  “That’s what you think.” Callan stood in the doorway, his face dark, the savage lines pulled into a mask of male arousal and hard purpose. “You cannot leave me now, Merinus. No matter what either of us would wish.” He glanced at Sherra, the look hard, commanding.

  “I need those samples, Callan. Quickly,” she told him as she came to her feet. “And Merinus is sore—”

  “I do not need you to tell me my responsibilities, Sherra.” He flashed her a sharp look. “I have always seen them through.”

  “Of course you have,” Sherra said worriedly. “When she’s finished, please, we need her in the lab.”

  “I’m not a guinea pig,” Merinus burst out. “I won’t be poked and prodded at incessantly.” She flushed as Callan arched a brow sarcastically. Then her body heated as her gaze skipped to his thighs, then back up. He was aroused. Ready for her. Again. Her body heated up further, her blood pumping harshly through her veins.

  “Leave, Sherra. I will have her there soon for your tests.” Callan moved aside, allowing the woman to escape, then closing the door behind him.

  Merinus stared at him from the depths of the tub, breathing heavily, her body reacting to the fiery glitter in his slumberous eyes.

  “I won’t take you again, yet,” he promised her softly. “But soon. Do you need help now getting out of the bath? I can fix you lunch before you are forced to endure Doc’s testing.” Merinus’ eyes narrowed on him. He was commanding, forceful. She hated that in a man.

  “I’m a grown woman, I think I’m capable of bathing myself,” she told him sweetly, patiently. She felt everything but patient inside.

  “Merinus, while your body is demanding my touch, it is not a good idea to push me with your female stubbornness,” he warned her, male aggression stamped on his features. “I am not fully in control of myself right now. I could not promise you I would be gentle if you pushed me.” Merinus’ lips thinned. How typically male. She opened her mouth to speak, but stayed silent as his hand rose, demanding.

  “Hear me well,” he gritted out. “Finish your bath. Then come eat. Your clothes are on the bed. I have tried to tell you, I am not whatever fairy tale you have worked up in your head. At this moment I am more instinct than I am control. I am more the animal I was created with right now, Merinus. Do not push the animal, because even I cannot predict its response.”

  The heavy grief in his voice silenced her anger. His eyes were filled with bleak memories, emotions she couldn’t define. But she saw the pain there. Pain and a terrible loneliness.

  “I’m very independent,” she whispered. “I can’t change that. Orders don’t sit well with me.” He shook his head. “I don’t have the patience to tamp down the beast that demands submission. For now, perhaps it would be best to control your independence in the face of something neither of us can predict. Now, once again. Do you need my help?”

  “No. I think I can manage.” She couldn’t help her anger. She saw no reason for him to lose control over something as simple as allowing her choices. And she wouldn’t tolerate it for very long. Only as long as it took her to get the hell out of there.

  “You’re angry.” He tilted his head, watching her with narrowed eyes. “I can smell it, Merinus. It mixes well with your lust.” He breathed in deeply as though savoring the scent.

  “Why don’t you go away and let me finish my bath,” she bit out. “I didn’t ask you to come in here.” She watched him grit his teeth.

  “I would suggest wearing loose clothing, perhaps one of my shirts that I laid on the bed for you. Your skin is still sensitive, and clothing will irritate it—”

  “I know how sensitive my skin is, Callan,” she informed him, fighting to keep her voice calm. “I know what my body is doing, and why. I don’t need any other explanations, all I need is privacy.” His golden brows snapped to a frown. A rumbling growl emanated from his throat.

  “And don’t do that growling thing at me.” She was tired, horny and irritated. She didn’t need any more male aggression. “Go away and leave me alone. When I’m done, I’ll find you.”

  “You, Merinus Tyler, are an irksome woman,” he accused her.

  “Just go ahead and say ‘bitch’, my brothers do it all the time,” she snapped back. “Now, go play Lion-O someplace else. I don’t have time for it.”

  “Lion-O?” he questioned her, clearly offended at her reference to the cartoon character.

  “Lion King?” she asked sweetly. “I’m not here to pamper your ego. Now leave me alone.” She watched his fists clench. His eyes narrowed further, giving him a predatory, dangerous appearance.

  He opened his mouth to speak, then seemed to change his mind. He turned and stalked from the room, jerking the door open then slamming it with a bang. Merinus flinched, then clenched her thighs together.

  Damn it.

  * * * * *

  “I heard you were in town asking questions about Maria the other day,” Callan said as he set a cup of coffee beside her sandwich plate when she sat down at the table. “Why?” He seemed less than pleased by the information. He sat across from her, cradling a steaming cup of coffee himself, his amber eyes watching her unblinkingly. “She was murdered.” Merinus refused to apologize or back down. “She was special to my father, Callan. I could tell by the way he talked about her. I want to know who killed her and why.” He was silent for long moments. Long enough for Merinus to pick up a half of the roast beef and tomato sandwich and bite into it.

  “It’s none of your father’s business, nor yours,” he berated her softly as she ate. “You are once again involving yourself in a place where you shouldn’t.”

  Merinus watched him carefully, gauging the tension in his body, the growl of warning in his voice.

  “Did you kill the person responsible, Callan?” Merinus forced the words from her mouth, needing to know the truth. She wouldn’t blame him if he had, but she had to know.

  The realization of how little she knew him weighed upon her. She had spent the night in his bed, his body connected to hers, driving her to heights of pleasure she never imagined existed. She knew he had been bred to kill, but had no idea if he had crossed that line between his humanity and animal instinct.

  “I don’t know who killed her, Merinus.” He shook his head wearily. “I wish I did, then I wouldn’t have to wonder anymore. And I could repay him then, in kind.”

  The implication that he would kill was heavy in his voice. Merinus finished her sandwich, but her enjoyment for it had dulled somewhat.

  But you suspect someone?” she asked him.

  “Hell, I suspect everyone,” he bit out. “It could have been anyone. The Council is good at getting nice, ordinary folks to do their dirty work. I know, I’ve seen it done before. My list of suspects is as long as four different counties and just as wide.”

  “Do you know what they were looking for? Surely Maria said something before she died?” Merinus probed cautiously, aware of the tension in his body, and the buried anger in his heart.

  “What she said didn’t matter,” he finally sighed. “She didn’t name her killer, she asked for your father. I begged her to tell me who did it and she refused. She protected them, and I swear I haven’t been able to figure out yet who she was protecting.”

  “Who would she have protected? Who was that close to the two of you,
Callan?” she asked, fighting to keep her voice even, the suspicions concerning the killer’s identity to herself.

  “We trusted no one, and those close to us couldn’t have done it. They wouldn’t have done it.” He shrugged. “Whoever it was will show themselves eventually, and when they do, I’ll be waiting.” The finality of his voice sent a shiver down Merinus’ back. It was cold and hard and filled with menace.