Tempting The Beast (4 page)

He inhaled her scent, fighting to ignore the hard throb of his erection beneath his jeans, the desire to caress her skin with his lips. He contented himself with rubbing his cheek against the silk of her hair. A soft, peaches and cream scent lingered in it, as it did on her skin. Tempting him. He always had been partial to peaches in any form.

“Callan, what are you going to do?” Sherra pressed him.

Merinus was in danger now, they both knew it.

“Put Dayan on watch for her,” he told her. “She doesn’t know him. Tell him to stay as close as possible, just in case. Have him call me if trouble comes around her.”

“Trouble doesn’t have to find her, she finds it, evidently,” Sherra remarked.

Callan smiled, his fingers rubbing over Merinus’ arm softly. She didn’t back down much, he had to give her that. She was stubborn as hell, but he didn’t consider that a good trait in this case.

“She still out of it?” Sherra asked worriedly.

“Yeah. So hurry and get to that damned motel before her nosy ass wakes up. We’ll be in for it good if you don’t.”

He could just imagine her pleasure, which wouldn’t be mutual, to find herself in his arms right now. Not to mention the damned questions that would come pouring out of her mouth. She was just waiting on the chance to lay into him, and he wasn’t too eager to give it to her. It was coming. He knew the only way to avoid her would be to leave the county again. Something he was going to do soon anyway to lure the damned soldiers away before they learned about the whole Pride. As far as the Council knew, the others had died in that damned explosion more than ten years ago. He wanted to keep it that way.

“Here we are.” Sherra pulled up to the motel room door swiftly. She grabbed Merinus’ purse, searched around then pulled the key from its depths.

Callan let her open the door before he quickly exited the vehicle, Merinus limp in his arms, and strode inside. He laid her on the bed, noticing the white robe that lay on the mattress, the remains of her dinner on the table. The television was on, the sound turned down, a low light burned beside the bed.

He moved away from her, reluctant, regretting the need to leave before she awoke. He touched her cheek, a fleeting caress, then before he could stop himself, he leaned over, touching his lips to the corner of her mouth, his tongue barely glancing the soft curves. She was as soft and as sweet as he knew she would be.

“Callan, we need to hurry,” Sherra whispered from outside the door. “Before someone sees us.”

Merinus’ lips parted, a low groan vibrating in her throat as her head turned, unconsciously seeking more of the caress. Her tongue touched his, hesitant, unsure. He fought to keep the kiss light, to deny his need to stroke the heated depths of her mouth as he wanted to. He contented himself with a soft tangle with her tongue, then drew back quickly and forced himself to leave the room.

He closed the door softly behind him as Tanner’s truck pulled in beside the jeep. Following Sherra he jumped into the cab quickly, silently, watching the door as Tanner reversed. He stared straight ahead, ignoring Sherra’s worried look, ignoring his own needs pulsing hot and demanding through his blood stream. Son of a bitch, he wanted Merinus. He wanted to lay against her, stroke every sweet curve of that slender body before burying his cock so deep inside her that neither one of them would ever be free.

As they pulled out of the parking lot, Callan watched as Dayan pulled into a small, secluded parking area within sight of Merinus’ door. She would be watched carefully until he could leave. He should have left sooner, before those damned mercenaries had somehow figured out his attraction for her. Before they decided to use her against him.

“Call Taber in when we get to the station,” he told Tanner, his voice cold as he made his decision. “We go after those bastards tonight.”

“Sure thing, Callan.” Tanner’s voice was edged with fury. He may not be personally involved, but Merinus was a female, she was supposed to be protected, no matter the cost. The younger man rarely came to violence until faced with the abuse of a female, young or old.

“Sherra, you go back to the motel, send Dayan back.” Callan knew Dayan would be pissed, his answer was to ignore the bastards. “You stick around and watch out for her, take Dawn if you want to.”

Sherra was more than capable of protecting herself, but Callan hated sending her alone anyway.

“Get a piece of them for me.” Memories and bitterness filled her voice.

“For all of us then.” Callan nodded as Tanner pulled into the Gass Up. “Let’s get things together and we’ll head out.”

They knew where the soldiers camped, though the men were unaware of it. Like the others before them, they thought their training and their precautions would hide them from the instincts ingrained in Callan’s DNA. They would find out otherwise.

CHAPTER FIVE

Merinus woke up aching the next morning. Not the flu or summer cold kind of ache. The utterly female ache of needing a man. How a virgin was supposed to know what that ache meant, she wasn’t certain. But there was no doubt that was the cause of it. Her cunt was slick and creamy, her panties damp, too damned damp to suit her. Her breasts were swollen, her nipples distended and hard, and she could have swore she tasted cinnamon on her lips.

Her lips were sensitive. She ran her tongue over them. They weren’t swollen, just sensitive enough for her to be very aware of them. Then she remembered the night before. She frowned, her brows snapping together in instant ire. Damn him. He hadn’t even stuck around long enough to wake her up?

She jerked to an upright position, then groaned roughly as her sore muscles protested the effort. Oh hell, now that just hurt. There was no cause for those bastards to act that way. She groaned roughly as she reached for her cell phone. Kane was supposed to take care of this.

She keyed his number in swiftly as she stood to her feet. Waiting on Kane to answer, she shed her clothes and pulled on a big, soft cotton T-shirt until she could get to a hot shower.

“Where the hell were you last night?” His voice came over the line with a stern, cranky tone.

“Watching soldiers,” she informed him tensely, knowing better than to tell him the truth. “There are two on the ridge above the Lyons’ house. I thought you had that taken care of.”

His contacts in the private and government sector put him in a place where he would have, or should have known those men were being sent out there. There was silence across the line.

“Damn,” he finally cursed quietly. “Pull out, Merinus. Someone’s gone to the trouble to hide these bastards from me. I’ll bring Dad and we’ll come in—”

“And I’ll head for another paper at the first offer,” she cut in. “You aren’t pulling me off this, Kane.”

“Dammit, Merinus, it’s not safe anymore.”

“So find out who they are and give them a call. Tell them you’ll rip their balls off and feed ‘em to your favorite dog or something,” she suggested. “Make them pull back until I can finish this. Don’t start making excuses, either. I know you can do it.”

Kane was slick, and he could be mean when he had to. Merinus knew that. No one messed with him, and most people in his little world owed him enough favors that he rarely had to ask for anything twice.

“Geez, Merrie, why don’t you just pounce on them yourself if you have all the fucking answers?” Kane bit out.

Merinus bit her lip, painfully aware of the bruise across the left side of her face now. Yeah, that one worked really well.

“Okay, I can do that,” she mused thoughtfully. “They looked kinda big, but hey, maybe if I throw your name around a little—” She should have thought of that one yesterday.

“Dammit,” he cursed. “You would, too. Okay. Okay. Just hang on a few hours and let me see what I can find out here. Stay out of trouble, dammit, until I can find something out.”

“I always stay out of trouble,” she lied smoothly. If Kane knew the trouble she was getting into he would come down, tie her hand and foot and haul her back to New York so damned fast it would make her head spin.

“Yeah. Right.” He grunted absently.

“I’ll be waiting on you.” Evidently he was already hard at work on his trusty little computer.

“You do that,” he mumbled, then disconnected.

Merinus sighed roughly as she flipped the phone off then tossed it on the bed. Dammit. Like she was going to sit around and play dead while he hunted around the Internet for a source of information. Bruise or no bruise, she was hardly finished. And she was growing tired of this game she was playing with Callan.

Glancing at the clock, she winced at the time. Late morning. She had definitely overslept. A shower and lunch first though, then she was tracking Callan Lyons down and that was that. If she had to stake out that damned gas station until hell froze over. Her phone rang, interrupting that furious thought.

“Well, that was fast enough,” she said as she brought it to her ear. “Did you threaten their balls or what?”

There was silence over the line. Merinus frowned.

“Kane?”

“Maybe you didn’t need as much help as I thought you did yesterday.” The male voice was low, rumbling and filled with amusement. “Any woman who could threaten such an important area is tough enough to take on a few mercenaries.”

“Or the asshole that left her unconscious all night,” she bit out. “Callan Lyons, we aren’t going to get along if you keep up like this.”

That brought a definite chuckle.

“Who said we had to get along, darlin’? I was trying to help out some. That scream you blasted out rocked my mountain.”

“Well, big boy, tell me where to find you and I’ll come thank you, real personal like.” Like her foot up his ass for being so damned difficult.

“Hm, tempting offer,” his voice dropped, becoming huskier.

Merinus breathed in long and silent. Oh, what that voice did to her insides. Any minute now her juices would be running from her cunt right down her leg.

“You don’t sound tempted enough.” She grinned, her own voice lowering, becoming silky, intimate. “Come on, Callan, surely you don’t want to have to rescue me again? I’m not going to give up, ya know?”

There was that silence again.

“You sound soft, Merinus, too damned soft for what you’re up against,” he finally sighed.

“Callan, I can’t give up.” She sat down on the bed, gripping the phone tightly. “You have to talk to me. I have things to show you, things I have to tell you that can only be done in person.”

“I’m not a story, pretty lady, and I know that’s what you’re after,” he told her, his voice so gentle, so soothing she felt stroked, petted.

“Perhaps you are,” she answered. “Why would you be hiding from me if you weren’t? All I want to do is talk.”

“Maybe I wouldn’t stop with talk,” he suggested. “You don’t know me. I could be as mean as those soldiers you tangled with.”

“And maybe I wouldn’t fight you.” She closed her eyes, knowing she wouldn’t. Just the sound of his voice had her pulse skyrocketing, her body heating up like a damned furnace.

Dammit, if her vagina clenched any tighter she would strangle his cock when it finally got inside her. What the hell was wrong with her?

She could hear him breathing over the phone, deep and rough. She wondered if he heard her as well.

“Like what you saw the other day?” His shocking question was delivered in a hot, rough voice.

Merinus took a deep breath, her tongue running over her dry lips nervously.

“You knew I was there?”

“Oh, I knew. I could feel your hot little eyes on me, Merinus. Do you think I jack off for the hell of it? I’m a grown man, not a kid. I don’t get a hard-on with just any stiff breeze anymore.”

Merinus fought the little whimper that edged in her throat. She clenched her thighs together, fighting the ache there.

“Why?” she whispered. “Why did you do that?”

“Because you were watching. Because I know you want me and you don’t know what you’re asking for.”

“I saw—”

“Son of a bitch,” he growled. He actually growled the words. “Damn you, woman. This is insanity, you know that, don’t you?”

Oh, she knew. She knew it wasn’t the story she wanted anymore. It was just saving his life, revealing a major conspiracy, a crime against nature itself. It was more now, and she felt helpless in the grip of what it had become.

“I could return the favor.” Where the hell had those words come from? Merinus felt her face flush the minute they came from her mouth.

There was silence again. Long, thick with tension.

“You’re tempting me.” His voice sounded strangled.

“You know where I’m at,” she offered, amazed at the huskiness of her voice.

“Why are you doing this?” He sounded as ensnared by the heated offer as she had been at the sight he had given her.

“I’m not really sure.” She swallowed tightly, dragging her hand through her hair as she fought the overriding need pulsing in her body now. “Because I want to be with you. If nothing else, put you through the hell you put me through.”

Her breathing was rough, but so was his. She could hear the throb of desire in it, the same as it throbbed through her body.

“I’m too old for this,” he said, though his voice lacked conviction.

“Too old for sex?”

“For voyeurism. There’s no way in hell I’m actually going to touch you, woman, you’d burn me alive.” Once again, there was no real heat in his voice.

“I want you to touch me.” She was confused by the intensity of her need. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I’m sitting here aching for you so desperately I’d agree to damned near anything. This isn’t normal for me, Callan.”

“So hunt up an old lover.”

“I’d have to have one first,” she snapped, offended by the desperation in his tone. “Forget it. I’m not going to beg.”

“But I might—” he bit out. “Tell me you’re not a fucking virgin.”

“No, I’m not a fucking virgin. Virgins have yet to fuck, remember?”

He cursed. Low, rough, a rumble amplified by the phone connection as heat seemed to sear her across the airwaves.

“I want inside you so bad my cock is about to burst,” he bit out. “You’re fucking dangerous.”