Granted by the Beast: A Steamy Paranormal Romance Spin on Beauty and the Beast (Conduit Series Book 4)

by Rebecca Hamilton

  “What now?” I turned back to Hunt, who tore his eyes away from Stacey. Oh, they were definitely going to end up together.

  “Now, Charisse Bellamy, you prepare for the war that Darcus will undoubtedly bring to your door. And you do so with all of the information, with all of the knowledge, that the fate of the world lies with your ability to defeat him.”

  “Why the world?” Stacey blushed when everyone turned their attention on her. “I mean, I haven’t seen or heard of anything that would indicate that this is an end of the world type of situation. Also, my vision said that someone was going to die. No one died. So things don’t always go the way fate originally planned. Just sayin’.”

  “Ms. Bellamy has a way of breaking things,” Abram said with a smile. “She’s done it from the moment she tumbled into my life. There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s gone ahead and broken fate while she was at it.”

  “I have no choice,” Hunt murmured. “Since you turned down the offer to give up your power, I must stay. If you don’t learn how to harness your true power, you’ll tear the world apart at its seams.”

  “Oh,” I said. There was nothing else to say in response. I didn’t realize there had actually been some truth to the things Darcus has been saying.

  I’d made the right choice, though. Hadn’t I?

  I took a deep breath and tried to figure out where to go from here. Thankfully, there was a knock at the door, which was enough to distract Ramsey and the others. He went to check it, while Abram and Hunt had a whispered conversation. I turned to Stacey and struggled to put my thoughts into words.

  “You know,” she said quietly. “In all the different futures that I’ve seen, none of this comes to pass. You completely threw me for a loop back there. I thought for sure I’d have to figure out how to travel back in time to find you.”

  “I’d never leave him,” I told her. My eyes stayed on Abram, and she knew what I meant without me saying anything else. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for the people I love,” I said. “Oh no!”

  Everyone turned to me, but I was already up off the couch and going for my phone. “Lulu! I need to make sure she’s okay.”

  While the phone rang and I waited to hear from her, Abram stepped up to my back. He was so close I could smell him, and I practically melted into his chest. The musky scent that was solely him had my body reacting in ways that it shouldn’t in front of company.

  “Soon,” he growled in my ear as Lulu answered.

  “Char.” She sounded happy. “How are you doing? Are you still planning on coming to visit next month for Alice and Jack? They miss their Auntie.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. Surely if something was wrong, she would have opened with that.

  “I’m great.” I choked back a sob. “I just wanted to say hey. Yes. I will definitely be there next month.”

  “Good,” she said. “Don’t forget to bring Abram. We haven’t seen him since that whole crazy weekend in New Haven.”

  There was dead air after that, and I pulled my phone away to see that she’d hung up on me. Dark chills sparked every inch of my flesh.

  Strange. She hadn’t once mentioned Abram in the time since the townspeople of New Haven had tried to kill him.

  I didn’t say anything out loud, but I knew it had to be a side effect of my magic going out of control before. I wasn’t going to question it, though.

  “She’s fine,” I said to no one in particular. “Lulu’s fine.”

  I wish I believed me.

  “Pizza’s here,” Ramsey said.

  He handed me a box of my favorite and went back to the living room with the rest of the boxes.

  “Great,” I said. “Pizza and plans to save the world.”

  Abram slid it out of my hand and set it on the counter.

  “The world can go to hell, Ms. Bellamy. You belong to me.”

  Epilogue

  Abram’s hands were everywhere, stroking my body and bringing me right to the edge. Then pulling back just enough to make me moan with the need to have him where he’d abandoned his ministrations.

  “More,” I demanded. “I need more.”

  “Say it again.” He growled against my neck, biting down when I didn’t immediately say the words.

  “No.” I mewled breathlessly as he teased me again.

  “Say it.” Abram lowered his head and pulled my nipple into his mouth, causing my back to arch.

  “I’m yours.” I gasped. “I’m yours.”

  “Only mine, Ms. Bellamy.”

  I nodded in acceptance. I was his. Only his. Always. Forever.

  “Abram,” I pleaded with him. “I need you.”

  He gave me everything. His heart, his soul, and his hard cock pressed right up against my soaking wet entrance.

  “Hold on to me, Char.”

  I barely had a chance to wrap my legs around his waist before he was thrusting completely inside me.

  “Oh, yes!” I screamed as he filled me up.

  My body clenched, and I fought the urge to start moving. My body needed a moment to adjust to how fast he’d taken me. I kept still, until I felt him slowly retreat. Instinctively, I clenched my legs around his waist and pulled him back, groaning at how amazing it felt to have him buried inside me.

  “Charisse,” he warned. “Slow down. I’m not done with you yet.”

  “I don’t care,” I snapped at him. “I want this.”

  “Fine.” He leaned down and bit me on the nipple, picking up his pace.

  Everything was on fire. Electricity sped through my body where we touched, and I knew that I wouldn’t last long. His thrusts, combined with the way he was brushing up against my clit, were enough that I couldn’t think straight.

  “Don’t stop,” I said. “God, keep going.”

  He paused, brushing the hair out of my face that I hadn’t realized was there. “I’m not a god, Ms. Bellamy. I’m a beast.”

  “Whatever, beast,” I said with a grin.

  The smirk on his face was one he hadn't had before. It was an addition that had come with the memories he’d kept from his life without me.

  He wrapped his hand in my hair and pulled my face to his. My body was arched off the bed, almost painfully.

  “Look at us,” he growled.

  My eyes stayed locked on his, until I saw his teeth start to elongate. Something about me always brought out the beast, but the real powerful being was the man.

  I lowered my eyes, looking at where our bodies were joined.

  “Touch yourself, Charisse.”

  I followed his orders, rubbing my clit while his pace became erratic. I was panting, chest heaving with the exertion. Sweat glistened on his naked chest, but his words were what sent me over the edge.

  “While I was gone—” He grunted. “—I thought about this. I thought about this sex. I dreamt about being wrapped in this heat. You are perfect, Ms. Bellamy. And you’re mine, for the rest of your life. You’re mine.”

  I came, my body clenching and exploding at the same time. Wrapped around him, I could feel the way his body tensed, and he followed me over the cliff into bliss.

  When I finally became coherent enough to move, Abram was already up off the bed and returning with a towel to clean us up.

  “You really are a gentleman,” I told him with a smile. “I missed you.”

  “Charisse.” His face turned dark for a second, and something passed over his features that had me worried. It was gone the next moment, though. “No matter where I’ve gone or what I’ve done, there was never a part of me that didn’t belong to you. Even if I didn’t remember you.”

  “I know.”

  A knocking on the door distracted him, and he turned quickly to make sure I was covered.

  “Who is it?” he said through the closed door.

  “You’re both needed,” Ramsey answered, his voice muffled. “It’s important.”

  “Come, Charisse.” Abram held out a hand to me. “Put some clothes on, and let’s find
out what’s so bloody important.”

  Five minutes later, I was dressed and my hair was swept up into a messy bun on top of my head.

  I didn’t bother with niceties. Ramsey knew that he was interrupting, and that I’d specifically told him and everyone else that I didn’t want to be bothered so I could spend time with Abram.

  “What is it?” I asked brusquely.

  “We have news,” Briar said from my kitchen.

  When she saw the shirt I was wearing, one of Abram’s, she smiled and shook her head in a knowing way.

  I got a glass out of the cupboard and poured myself some water, then turned to see what they had to share. “What’s going on?”

  “We’re pregnant!” Briar squealed.

  My mouth was hanging open, and I stared at her. Briar. The woman I never imagined as a mother, was going to have a baby. With Ramsey.

  “Oh, you are so screwed.” I laughed.

  Briar nodded and clapped her hands together. “I know, but I’ve never been more excited about anything in my entire life.”

  “I’m so happy for you,” I told them. “Honestly. Besides the fact that you’re going to have the most spoiled child I’ve ever met. You’re going to be fantastic parents.”

  “I know.” Briar beamed. “Ramsey can just use his magic to make sure our baby is always taken care of.” The way she looked at her husband tugged at my heartstrings.

  First I gave Briar a hug, then Ramsey. They were going to make adorable parents, and I couldn’t wait to see their baby.

  “Hey, Ramsey,” Briar whispered distractedly. “What is that?”

  We all turned to see where she was pointing, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was a portal opening in the middle of my living room. Blue and white flashing lights, swirling together. The works.

  “What the hell?” I took a step forward, but Abram grabbed me by the arm and hauled me behind him.

  Ramsey did the same thing to Briar, and she and I shared an annoyed glance while we looked around our men to see what was happening.

  A man dressed in all black stepped through the portal. I expected that once he stepped through, the portal would close. But it didn’t.

  When the man turned to look at me, I saw that he was young and covered in tattoos from where his T-shirt ended all the way down to his wrists. They were brightly colored, but I couldn’t get a close enough look to make out the details.

  “Why is he holding a broadsword?” Briar whispered, and I looked down at his hands.

  She was right. He was carrying a broadsword, and looked like he had just come from the middle of a battle. His blond hair reminded me of someone, but I couldn’t place it.

  “Oh, thank the gods.” He took a step closer, but Abram held up a hand in warning, and Ramsey joined him.

  “Who are you?” Abram questioned the young man. “What are you doing here?”

  He didn’t answer Abram, looking around the room like he was searching for something. His eyes landed on me, and he smiled.

  “What’s going on?” I stepped closer, ignoring the hand that Abram held out in front of me.

  “I did it,” he said. “I’m not too late. Come on. We’ve got to go. Before the portal closes.”

  “She’s not going with you,” Abram injerected. “You need to give us the answers we asked of you. What’s going on?”

  “We don’t have time. You can stay here and wait for the war to come in fifteen years. Or you can come now, and stand a chance of saving everyone. There’s no time to waste. That portal is going to close in thirty seconds. With or without you. All I can say is that if you don’t come now, if you wait fifteen years to join us, you may not arrive in time to save Alice.”

  “Alice?” Moments after I said the name, my confusion was replaced with dread. “Lulu’s daughter?”

  “Yes,” the young man said. “Alice, Lulu’s daughter. And my sister.”

  This couldn’t be happening, and yet, it was. Jack had come from the future to collect me for the prophesied war. So much for having a chance to train for battle.

  I turned to Abram. “I have to go.”

  “No, Charisse,” he said. “We have to go.”

  We turned back to face the portal. It was already closing. This was it.

  Now or never.

  The war had arrived.

  Complete the Series with Book Five, Fractured by the Beast.

  If you enjoyed this installment of The Conduit Series, check out April Canavan’s Finding Her Dragons, Book 1 in her Paranormal Romance Reverse Harem Series, Omega.

  About the Authors

  About Rebecca Hamilton

  New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Hamilton writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance for Harlequin, Baste Lübbe, and Evershade. A book addict, registered bone marrow donor, and indian food enthusiast, she often takes to fictional worlds to see what perilous situations her characters will find themselves in next. Represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA, Rebecca has been published internationally, in three languages: English, German, and Hungarian.

  www.rebeccahamilton.com

  About Conner Kressley

  Conner Kressley is a USA TODAY Bestselling Author. He is an avid reader and all around lover of storytelling. He's been obsessed with mythology, magic, and all the things that go bump in the night since he could remember. Also, pizza. But who isn't obsessed with pizza? When he's not writing (or even when he is), Conner can be found in the western Texas watching old movies, geeking out over books (comic and otherwise)

  www.connerkressleybooks.weebly.com