Beauty and the Shapeshifter (Evil Rising Book 5)

by Mallory Crowe

  If only she could call Dad and ask him.

  More leaves rustled as something ran straight for her. Ella whipped her head around, jumping up and preparing to run, belatedly remembering her sore neck.

  She stared in shock at the blur of red speeding toward her. “Reno?” she breathed. The dog stopped just short of slamming into her, jumping on his hind legs and ramming his front paws into her stomach to greet her.

  “Oh my God. Reno!” Ella wrapped her arms around the squirmy dog. His tongue covered her face as his tail whipped anything in the vicinity.

  Lucian stood back, silently watching the reunion. Ella’s entire face lit up, beaming from the inside out. She picked up a stick from the brush and threw it, sending the dog scrambling to catch it.

  Except the dog never brought the stick back. It picked it up, whipped around to show Ella he had it, and then flopped onto the dirt to devour his prize.

  Ella turned her smile on him and he felt his entire world melt away. She’d smiled around him before, but never like this.

  Her skin seemed to glow. Her eyes were the same dark brown, but that darkness held an otherworldly shine now. The sun caught the reds and golds hidden in her hair, making it look better than anything he’d ever seen in a hair product commercial.

  She was a fucking knockout and she was walking right toward him.

  She never walked toward him. She walked around him or anywhere but where he was. She wasn’t even walking anymore. She was running.

  A second later, her arms wrapped around his neck, her curvy body pressed completely against his. Her breasts against his chest. Her hips against his.

  He didn’t know what was happening, but he didn’t question it. His arms went around her as he took in her feminine scent and soaked in the feel of her body.

  How many times had he imagined having her crushed up against him? Under him?

  Still holding his neck, Ella leaned back and stared into his eyes. “Lucian, you have no idea how much this means to me.”

  He tried to memorize every nook and cranny of her perfect face. He needed to file this memory away somewhere he’d never lose it. “I have an idea,” he murmured.

  She shook her head. “No, you don’t. Ray and Dad...they can take care of themselves. I kept thinking of Reno. All alone in his crate and not knowing where I was. This is amazing.”

  “Well, don’t get too attached. He has an appointment tomorrow night to have his manhood, um, removed.”

  She grinned at him, obviously enjoying his discomfort. She looked back to the dog for a second. “It’s for the best. Besides, this has helped me to realize something about you.”

  He took advantage of her bared neck to lean forward. He wanted to rub his lips along the sensitive skin and feel her shudder under his touch. “What was this realization?”

  “You’re going to let me go.”

  He lifted his head as she turned back to him. “Me giving you a dog isn’t me saying you can leave.”

  “No. But it shows that you truly care about my happiness. One day you’ll care enough about me to let me go.”

  He didn’t know whether he should be happy about her faith in him or horrified at the idea of not having her within reaching distance. “Tell me something, Ella. Do you hate me?”

  She stiffened at the question, her happy glow smothered by a frown. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “There are times, like this, when you seem so normal. More like a friend than crazy kidnapper.” The questioning tone in her voice kept him from celebrating. “But then I think of my first night here. Seeing Dad so ill and terrified. How far you went to make sure I stayed.

  “I’ll never be able to forget that night. No matter how many dogs you save for me, I don’t think I can ever forgive you.”

  Lucian nodded. It wasn’t the answer he wanted, but it was the one he expected. “Then I guess I’ll have to take full advantage of this moment then.”

  She opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but he covered it with his before any words came out.

  Ella gasped at the contact but didn’t pull back. Maybe she would’ve if he’d been rough or forceful. But his lips just touched hers, a feather-light caress. It was so different from everything she’d come to expect from him.

  So instead of pushing him away, she stood on her toes and kissed him back. Her fingers curled in the soft fabric of his sweater. She increased the intensity of the kiss, and he responded with a growl, pulling her closer. He tasted like darkness and heat mixed together, and she wanted to drown in it.

  A simple kiss shouldn’t affect her so much. She’d been on dates. Knew the ropes, danced the dance.

  But she’d never been kissed like this.

  Lucian was obviously experienced and definitely attractive enough to have his fair share of girls, but he kissed her as if she were the first woman he’d ever touched. The outright admiration fueled her, and she tentatively touched her tongue to his lips.

  Lucian’s control broke. He dragged her against him; her feet barely touched the ground as he effortlessly lifted her. The hard evidence of his arousal pushing into her hip was shocking but exhilarating. In the back of her mind, she knew they had to stop, but any reasonable thoughts were chased away when he took her bottom lip between his teeth and nipped at her.

  This was her beast. She wanted the ferocity and the roughness.

  She kissed him right back, hooking a leg over his hip and pressing his length against her core.

  Heat pooled low in her belly, and she let her head fall back, nothing but the electricity and pleasure rushing through her.

  Lucian moved to her neck, caressing the delicate nerves with his soft lips.

  Abruptly, he ripped his head away from her. He tensed beneath Ella and let her slide down his body. He might not be kissing her anymore, but the friction wasn’t cooling her down at all.

  Lucian took in deep gulps of air, and Ella looked firmly at the ground. Had she really just done that? “Why did you stop?” she murmured. Why hadn’t she?

  One big hand cupped her face and turned her gaze back on him. “I’m guessing you didn’t want to go further. Not really.”

  She stared into his crystal-blue eyes, wishing she had an answer. She’d been around a lot of pretty people in her time, but Lucian’s strong features and deep-seated confidence were unlike anything she’d ever seen.

  “You need to let me go,” she whispered. He released his grip on her, but they both knew what she meant. No matter what she felt, she couldn’t act on anything. What just happened was a mistake. One that wouldn’t be repeated.

  He seemed to care about her safety. She knew it bothered him to know she’d been hurt because of him. He even tried his best to make her happy in spite of the circumstances.

  But he didn’t respect her. He couldn’t. He kept her locked away like a pet or possession. Even if he wasn’t the complete monster she’d once believed, he was dangerous to her.

  She thought back to Dad, the disgusting memory of his terror dampening any lingering desire.

  “I’m glad you liked the dog.” Lucian turned back to the house.

  Lucian threw the papers back on his desk. He wasn’t going to get anything productive done today. All he could think of was Ella’s lips on him. Her legs pulling him tighter. It’d been stupid to kiss her, but goddammit! He never expected her to kiss him back.

  Not just a quick peck. When she kissed, it was with every fiber of her being. As though nothing existed except for the two of them and their touching.

  It was mind-blowing, and the idea that he might never be able to do it again was devastating.

  How could she ask him to let her go after they shared a moment like that? How could he ever bear to see her leave? In just one week, he’d become so used to her. Her laughter would fill the house even at the slightest joke. Her smile would light up even the darkest rooms of the Maine house.

  And she thought he would let her go?

  Lucian walked over to the window where he could see her
playing with the dog. Reno, he was called. Lucian had to admit he liked the thing. He wasn’t the biggest dog, maybe only sixty pounds, but he was all muscle and energy. Best of all, judging from the way he would look up at Ella when she was about to throw a stick, he adored her.

  Not that Lucian was surprised. Everyone seemed to love Ella. Cade and Dean were both wrapped around her little finger and Lucian wasn’t much better.

  No. She wasn’t going anywhere.

  Ella stared at the perfect floor. Just a day ago, the wood had been soaked with blood, both hers and Dmitri’s. Where had it all gone? The floors didn’t look new. It looked exactly as it had when she first arrived.

  Old and weathered, but not bloodstained.

  What kind of violent life caused them to be so proficient in cleaning blood off antique wood?

  The blinking screensaver on the computer and the small crack in the heavy green curtains to the left of the screen were the only sources of light in the room. Ella circled the scene of her attack, looking for any sign of a struggle.

  Even the bookshelf looked perfect. The books were a little disheveled, but they were, for the most part, in the same order as they’d been before Lucian broke the shelves with Dmitri’s body.

  The screensaver flashed from behind her. Ella turned and bent over the desk, peeking through the sliver of open curtain. Cade threw the ball and Reno and Dean raced for it. Dean was shockingly fast. Well, not as shocking anymore. He could easily outrun the athletic dog, but he obligingly let Reno win every couple of throws.

  Reno looked as if he were in heaven. His tongue lengthened to twice its normal size while his tail was just a blur of movement.

  The screensaver changed again, illuminating the room with an icy landscape and casting an eerie blue glow on the dark wood floors and bookshelves. Ella bit her lip as she looked at the computer. Lucian wasn’t here, and she had at least a few minutes before Cade and Dean would come looking for her.

  Taking a breath, she sat in the computer chair and moved the mouse.

  The computer wasn’t password protected!

  She smiled at her victory and opened the Internet browser. She typed her name into the search engine and sat back as the results came up.

  To her relief, there wasn’t too much. She’d hoped there wasn’t some national manhunt out looking for her. No one would be able to find her, and Lucian made it clear there were no human means of freeing her.

  There was one recent article from the Pine Springs Journal with her name in it.

  She opened the page and scanned the short blurb, heart dropping out of her chest as she read the words.

  Local scientist and town fixture, Dr. Scott Murray, was hospitalized for acute exhaustion late on August 28. Per reports from several patrons of McLarens Pub, he entered the establishment earlier that same afternoon, claiming monsters were the reason for his disappearance and had kidnapped his daughter, Ella Murray, clerk at the local bookstore, Off the Page. Many witnesses have accused Dr. Murray of erratic behavior in the past and police consider him a person of interest in her disappearance. Authorities report there was no signs of struggle in the home the Murrays shared and they have yet to locate her vehicle. Per Sheriff Gus Everett, who was the first to report her missing, they are treating this case very seriously and will not stop until they find her.

  Ella stood up so fast the computer chair shot across the room. Her steps pounded on the old floors and echoed through the house as she ran to the back door. Let her make a ruckus. She was about to raise hell.

  How could Cade and Dean look at her with smiles and their signature carefree attitude knowing full well her father was killing himself with worry?

  She tried to remember how he’d looked when she last saw him. How foolish she’d been to allow Lucian to just cut him off from her like that. Of course he’d do everything in his power to get her back. But who would believe a crazy old scientist raving about monsters kidnapping his daughter?

  She should’ve known. Dad wasn’t the type of man to abandon someone he loved, especially when he was probably imagining the myotis forcing kids on her. She shook her head at her own stupidity. She thought she was saving him from torture, but in reality she damned him to a whole different hell.

  She pushed the screen door open with enough force to bang it against the exterior brick. Cade and Dean’s expressions immediately turned serious. Reno bounded over to her, but soon enough he stopped, also sensing her mood.

  “Tell me you didn’t know about Dad,” she demanded.

  “Didn’t know what about your dad?” asked Cade, perfectly innocent expression on his face.

  “That he is a person of interest in my ‘disappearance’ and has been hospitalized for exhaustion. The entire town thinks he’s crazy for saying monsters kidnapped me.” She looked back and forth between the two.

  Dean exchanged a cautious glance with Cade. “We don’t follow the news,” he said, face blank.

  Ella shook her head in disgust. “You two are so full of crap. Get Lucian here. Now.” She turned and stormed back to the house, calling for Reno to follow her.

  She was still furious ten minutes later when a soft knock sounded at her bedroom door. The dog, who’d made himself at home on her bed, lifted his head at the noise. Ella motioned for him to stay there as she strode over to the door.

  Lucian stood on the other side. “You called?”

  She narrowed her eyes and slid into the hallway. No way in hell was she letting him into her bedroom.

  She crossed her arms over her chest, ready for a fight. “My father is being investigated by the police and is in the hospital right now and you didn’t even bother to tell me?”

  A muscle in Lucian’s jaw ticked. “How do you know this?”

  She closed her eyes at his lack of denial. Every time she started to think Lucian was the tiniest bit human, he would slap her in the face like this. “I read it on your computer.”

  He nodded. “I should be surprised, but I’m not. You probably could get those two poor-ass excuses for guards to drive you back home with a police escort the way you have them eating out of your hand.”

  Ella snorted. “They didn’t let me look at anything. I snuck in when I said I was getting water after we were playing with Reno. Don’t worry. They’re still madly in love with you.”

  “They shouldn’t have let you go inside without protection in the first place. Especially considering what happened the last time you were alone.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Do you want them to start coming in the bathroom with me? How about the shower? I know. You want to be the one showering with me, don’t you?”

  Lucian growled low in the back of his throat. The sound was so unexpected and animalistic, Ella took a step back.

  “If I wanted you, I could’ve had you,” he reminded her.

  “You said you wouldn’t force me,” she shot back.

  “I wasn’t forcing anything in the yard yesterday.”

  Without thinking, she slapped him across the face. Hard. Lucian didn’t even flinch. He just kept those cold eyes focused on her. Crap. He’d promised not to hurt her, but was that out the window if she struck first?

  No. Lucian would never hurt her. At least, not his definition of hurt, which covered all the physical bases. Psychological and mental torture were concepts he clearly didn’t understand.

  “You’re assaulting me now?” His voice was deceptively calm.

  “You’re lucky I didn’t punch you.”

  He stepped in closer. She tried to stand her ground but wimped out just as he finished his step, bringing her back in contact with her bedroom door. Like the predator he was, he followed and pressed his massive body against hers.

  She could feel every inch of him: His strong thighs. Muscled chest. The obvious erection.

  Ella stared intently at his neck as a blush crept up her cheeks. He bent his head to her throat, his nose just touching her as he took in her scent. God help her, she responded. Her breath quicke
ned as heat pooled low in her belly.

  She closed her eyes tightly and tried to block out the sensations. You do not feel this! Not for him!

  He lifted his head, mouth just inches from hers.

  Was he going to kiss her? Did she want him to?

  No. She most definitely did not want to feel his soft mouth on hers as he gripped the back of her thighs, lifting her against the door as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

  “Let me give you some advice,” he whispered so quietly she almost missed it. “The next time you strike at a myotis, vampire, sorcerer, or any other beast, don’t pull your punches.”

  He leaned away from her then. Not moving his body, but his face was at least out of immediate kissing range. His hands settled on the curve of her waist. He didn’t pull her closer. Just rested his hands there, as though he couldn’t resist touching her. “I’m aware of the situation with your father. It’s because of me he’s a person of interest and not a formal suspect. They have no evidence. However, without sending a vampire over to control his mind, I cannot stop him from telling everyone about the monsters in the woods.”

  “You, um, you should’ve told me.” She couldn’t think straight when he was this close to her.

  “When will you admit it? That was your old life. You’re mine now.” He pushed away from her and strode to the stairs, never once looking back at her. As his footsteps pounded on the steps, he called back, “Dean is taking Reno to the vet in half an hour.”

  Ella let her head fall back against the door. What was she supposed to do about him?

  Ella narrowed her eyes at the light switch all the way across the room. Should she walk the short distance to flip it on? There was still just enough sun for her to make out the words in her book, but it was starting to get darker.

  Sighing in defeat, she moved to get up but stopped abruptly when the air in front of her blurred. A second later, Cade stood in front of her.