Charming The Beast

by Cynthia Eden

  Holly glanced up at Chloe, and the doctor’s warm brown eyes were worried. “The sensitivity to silver has definitely returned.”

  Chloe almost smiled. “Yes, I noticed that, too.” It was rather hard to miss the whole burning bit.

  “A week ago, you had no silver sensitivity.”

  And she’d thought that she’d been free of her curse.

  “Have you felt the urge to change? Your claws? Your teeth? Have you—”

  “No changes, not even close.” She rolled her shoulders. She was wearing a paper gown, one that she’d donned for her exam. “Not that my changes were ever anything spectacular, anyway. Getting stuck as a half-woman, half-wolf, well, that’s more the thing of nightmares.”

  Sympathy flashed on Holly’s face. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail. “We need to monitor your changes. You have the DNA that should make you a candidate for the transformation, but something is—it’s inhibiting you. I can’t figure out what it is.” She frowned down at Chloe’s file. “Your dad injected you with so many different serums, I don’t know if your own genetics are inhibiting the change or if it’s something—”

  “That he did to me?”

  Grimly, Holly nodded.

  “I just don’t want to be a monster,” Chloe whispered.

  Silence.

  She looked up and saw that Holly had a guarded expression on her face. “Well…” Holly finally said, her voice considering, “there are lots of different monsters in this world. And those monsters aren’t all vampires and werewolves. Humans can be pretty screwed-up, too.”

  Holly turned away. Her shoulders sure looked stiff. Great. Chloe realized she’d just insulted the doctor. Probably alienated the one person who could help her. “You’re…one of us, aren’t you?” Chloe asked. It was just something in Holly’s voice. Her tone.

  Holly glanced back. Flashed fang. “I don’t feel the urge to pretend as much any longer.”

  Chloe’s heartbeat slammed into her chest. “You’re a vampire.” A vampire doc? How had Chloe missed that?

  “That’s what I am, now. Just as you—you’re not human any longer. You have to accept that fact. Move on. Grieve for what you had, I did. But know that life isn’t over. You can still be happy. You can still love and be loved.”

  Obviously Holly had never lived with Senator Donald Quick. Because Chloe had never actually felt loved. She’d been an appendage to him. The daughter to parade in public. Hell, half the time, she felt that she’d been his sympathy vote. Look…the handsome senator is caring for his daughter…isn’t it such a shame about what happened to his wife? To die so early, such a tragic, tragic accident.

  Accident, Chloe’s ass. For the first eighteen years of her life, she’d thought her mom died in a car accident. A random, terrible accident caused by a drunk driver. Then she’d learned the truth. Her mother had been running away with her lover, leaving Chloe and the senator behind.

  Only the senator didn’t like to get left.

  “Chloe?”

  Her head snapped up. She’d gotten lost in her past and now Holly was frowning at her. “Chloe, I asked…those marks on your wrist…those are vampire bite marks, aren’t they?”

  Holly would know.

  The door to the small lab opened. Connor stood there, frowning at them. “You about done, Holly?”

  “That depends.” Holly’s head cocked as she studied him. “Want to tell me why you’ve been drinking from her?”

  Chloe turned her wrist over. She tucked her loose hair behind her ear. “It’s not a big deal. I offered my blood to him because he needed it.” The doctor didn’t need to know that Connor had been desperate and that he’d nearly scared her to death when he sank those fangs of his into her flesh.

  “Connor…” Holly headed toward him. She put her hand on his shoulder. “You know the risk of taking from a live source. You have to be careful.”

  Chloe’s eyes narrowed as she looked from the doc’s hand to Connor’s strong arm, then back again. Well, well, wasn’t the doc awful familiar with her vampire-wolf guard?

  Oh, hello…is this jealousy? Because it sure felt like it and she sure didn’t enjoy that feeling.

  Chloe jumped from the exam table. “I’ll get dressed now.” Despite the battery of tests, the doc hadn’t given her any answers, at least, not yet. Maybe her blood work would turn up something they could use.

  “I am careful,” Connor said to Holly, his voice almost gentle. He’d never used that gentle tone with Chloe.

  Jerk.

  She grabbed her clothes. Marched to the changing area. If Connor was involved with the pretty doc, then he should not have gone for that kiss in the alley. The kiss had just made Chloe want…things.

  You can still love and be loved.

  Dammit. What was the doc? A greeting card?

  She blinked away the stupid tears that wanted to fill her eyes. She changed behind the screen and heard the thud of footsteps heading to the door. The lab door squeaked when it opened and then closed.

  Her spine sagged a bit as she stood behind the screen. She was on her own, Chloe knew that. The Para Agents would use her, then discard her when they were done. She could only hope she didn’t wind up in Purgatory. She had to get away from Eric and his agents. Just vanish. Only then would she truly be safe. Only—

  “Are you going to stay back there forever?” Connor asked.

  Hell. He hadn’t left. She poked her head out from behind the screen. He was standing near the door, his arms crossed over his chest, one dark brow cocked. His eyes—that gold was just too gorgeous, really—glinted at her. “Because I was starting to worry I would have to go back there and get you.”

  She was dressed. Mostly. Chloe slipped into her shoes and headed out to face him. She hoped her fear was hidden, but, hell, even if the fear didn’t show on her face, he’d smell it.

  He had too many advantages.

  She was tired of that.

  As she approached, he pushed away from the wall. He strode to meet her, and his hand lifted. His knuckles skimmed down her cheek. “I’m sorry,” Connor said, surprising her, “I didn’t know Eric was going to put you into containment with David Vincent. The guy’s a dick.”

  “Who’s a dick? Eric or David?”

  “Both of them.”

  Her lips curved. He was right. They both were.

  His gaze dropped to her mouth. “You don’t do that often enough.”

  Her smile faltered.

  His hand moved down a bit. His thumb slid over her bottom lip. “You should always smile.”

  And he should…he should move his hand because his touch was doing all kinds of not good things to her. Like making her heart race too fast. Making her breath come in pants. Making her want to open her mouth and suck his thumb.

  Settle down!

  She backed up. “You and Holly, you two are a thing, right? So how about you not get all touchy-feely with me and—”

  He laughed. Chloe wasn’t sure she’d ever heard him laugh, not a real laugh, anyway. His laugh was a deep, sexy rumble. His eyes crinkled, and what could have almost been a dimple flashed in his right cheek.

  Trouble.

  “Oh, baby, no. Just…no.” He shook his head. “She’s with my brother.”

  Shock stole her breath, then she sucked it back and demanded, “You have a brother?” There were two men like him running around? She didn’t know if the world was equipped for that. Chloe knew she wasn’t.

  “An older brother, one I hadn’t seen in years. One I tried to kill.” His laughter was gone. “But that’s a story for another day.”

  It was a story for right then. “Seriously, Connor, you can’t drop bombshells like that and just expect me to not ask questions. You tried to kill your brother?” Now she realized that maybe David hadn’t just been bullshitting her back in containment. “Why?”

  “Long story.” He took a step toward her.

  She almost retreated, but didn’t. Her shoulders straightened.

>   “Maybe,” he said, “when you trust me enough to tell me more about your past, then I’ll tell you mine.”

  Her gaze searched his. “What do you want from me?”

  “Right now, I want to kiss you.”

  Her breath came even faster.

  “A real kiss, Chloe. Not one because someone is closing in and I don’t want you screaming for help. I want a kiss that lets me taste you. A kiss that shows us both…do we really go fucking nuclear or was that all just from the adrenaline before? The heat of the moment?”

  Fucking nuclear. She could admit, to herself, that she’d felt exactly that way in the alley. She’d been furious one moment and then nearly clawing at him in the next.

  “No one else is here right now. Just you and me. I want a kiss, Chloe,” he said again, his voice roughening a bit. “Will you kiss me?”

  There were a million reasons why she shouldn’t. Probably far more than a million.

  And there was only one reason why she should.

  Because I want him, the way I haven’t wanted anyone in a very long time. No, the way I’ve never wanted anyone else.

  She didn’t answer Connor. Instead, she closed that last little bit of space between them. Chloe rose onto her tip toes, she curled her arms around his neck, pulling him toward her, and she kissed him. Their lips touched. One soft touch—

  She was lost.

  Chapter Six

  He’d never wanted a woman the way he wanted her. An insane, consuming, fucking, mind-blowing desire. Maybe Connor should have been cautious, careful, because of that wild need. Maybe he should have questioned it.

  Her scent had been changed to lure in werewolves. What if the senator had done something else to her, too? What if the desire he felt wasn’t real? What if—

  Screw it. He didn’t care. He just wanted her.

  Her lips were on his, her body crushed to his, and he just needed her. Her mouth parted and her tongue swept over his lips. Hell, yes. His cock was already fully extended and rock hard, shoving at the front of his jeans. When she gave a little lick with her tongue…desire made him drunk.

  He kissed her. Tasted her. Loved the way she felt against him. Loved the little moan that she made in the back of her throat.

  Connor lifted Chloe into his arms. He took two steps and put her down on the exam table. Her legs were parted, and he pushed between them. His hands curved over her jean-clad thighs. He wanted her jeans gone. He wanted to damn well feast on her. Every bit of her.

  Her nails were digging into his arms, and Connor loved that bite of pain. It just made him ache for her all the more. Her head tipped back, and he put his mouth on her throat. Her blood was pounding so fast, right beneath his lips, his tongue. His teeth burned as they extended in his mouth. He wanted to pierce her flesh, right there, to take a few sweet drops of her blood.

  When he’d first changed, the idea of ever drinking anyone’s blood—straight from a throat, true vampire-style—had sickened him.

  He wasn’t feeling sick right then. He was fucking horny, and he wanted her.

  His teeth raked over her neck. It would be so easy…so easy…

  The door opened behind them. His nostrils flared as fury poured through him. I was so close. So close and now—

  “Uh, yeah, I didn’t expect this,” Eric said as he cleared his throat. “I put you on guard duty because I thought you weren’t influenced by that scent mumbo-jumbo…”

  His hands tightened on Chloe’s thighs. He looked up and into her eyes—such deep and beautiful eyes. Desire was in her gaze, but, now, so was confusion.

  He figured it was time to get a few things straight. “I want Chloe.”

  She swallowed.

  “Not because of her scent. Not because of her blood.” He needed her to understand this. “Because she’s…Chloe.” And she’s going to be mine.

  “How about you step away from her now? Because I need you, Agent.” Eric’s voice had hardened. “We’ve got a problem, and I’m afraid the problem involves you and Chloe.”

  Her breathing was uneven. Her cheeks flushed. He needed to kiss her again. He wanted to do a whole lot more than just kiss her.

  As soon as we’re alone…

  But he backed away, for the moment. Because no matter what Eric might be thinking, Connor still had his control. That was the difference between Connor and his father…Connor kept his beast in check.

  I don’t let the animal take the power.

  When he backed away, Chloe closed her legs and jumped off the exam table. He stayed close to her because—shit, because he liked staying close to her. But when he looked over at Eric, Connor realized something was very wrong.

  The guy’s expression was even more tense than normal.

  “You both need to come with me,” Eric said. “Now.”

  Then Eric turned on his heel and headed out. Connor wanted to talk with Chloe, but he knew that this wasn’t the time. He was aching for her, his jeans were way too tight around his cock, but something was going down. The sex he wanted with her—the awesome, mind-numbing sex they would have—it had to wait a bit. Fucking hell.

  So he followed Eric, and Chloe was right at Connor’s side. They entered Eric’s office and Connor saw that Duncan was already waiting there. Duncan’s face looked just as grim as Eric’s.

  This definitely wasn’t good.

  “We found Harris,” Duncan said. He reached for the laptop on Eric’s desk and turned it so the screen faced Connor. Duncan tapped the keyboard, and a video began to play.

  “We have your agent.”

  In that video, Connor could clearly see that Harris was tied to a chair. The guy looked scared as all hell. Blood was on his face. On his shirt.

  “OhmyGod…” Chloe leaned closer. “What’s going on? What—”

  “We’ll trade him.” That voice was coming from off-screen because the only person in the video was Harris. “Give us Chloe Quick and you can get your agent back.”

  Fury burned in Connor’s blood. His fangs were out and so were his claws.

  “If you don’t deliver her, you’ll get the human back in pieces.”

  Chloe shook her head. “I-I think I know that voice.”

  What? But, before he could question her, another man moved into the scene. A man with wide shoulders and dark hair. A man with claws sprouting from his fingers. He drove those claws into Harris’s side. Behind his gag, Harris screamed.

  The dark-haired man turned to look at the camera. “In pieces,” he said again. “Bring her to the Eclipse, be there at midnight…or we start cutting off parts of the human.”

  Harris was yanking against his ropes, obviously trying to talk but the video stopped.

  “That’s the problem,” Eric said. “A big fucking one.”

  “I know that man,” Chloe whispered.

  All eyes went right to her.

  She wrapped her arms around her stomach. “The man who hurt Harris. I know him. He—I met him at my father’s office.”

  “A name,” Eric said. “Give us—”

  “Keegan,” she seemed to barely breathe the name. “He said…he was Keegan James.”

  Eric pointed to Duncan. “The werewolf we recovered at the safe house—get him. Make him tell you every single thing he knows about this Keegan.” Then he looked at Chloe. “And you tell me everything you know.”

  But Chloe shook her head. “His name is all I know.” Her hand lifted. She tucked her hair behind her left ear. “Just his name, nothing more.”

  Eric’s gaze had noted that movement. His stare slid toward Connor.

  Connor’s muscle locked down because he knew that Eric was about to say—

  “Connor, make her tell you everything she knows.”

  ***

  Harris had been tortured. Tortured. He’d been bleeding and Keegan had driven his claws into the guy.

  Chloe paced the small quarters that she’d been given. Bonus for her, she wasn’t back in a silver jail cell. Instead, she’d been returned to the f
irst room she’d been given at the base, the room she’d awoken in hours before. The narrow bed was still there. So was the table. The chairs—well, the chair she’d threatened to use on Connor was still tossed on the floor.

  She paced back and forth, her mind spinning. She had no idea what the Eclipse was, but midnight would be there all too soon, and Chloe figured she’d be finding out all about the place real fast.

  I’m not going to let Harris die for me.

  Whatever Keegan wanted, well, she’d face him.

  She just wondered when the guy had turned into such a complete psychotic jerk. Maybe he always had been, though, and she hadn’t even realized it. Maybe—

  The door opened. Connor was there, filling that doorway. His broad shoulders brushed each side of the door frame.

  As soon as she saw him, heat swept through her. Her reaction to Connor was just way beyond normal. Surely it wasn’t healthy—or safe—to want a man as much as she wanted him? Especially when the man in question came equipped with both claws and vampire fangs?

  He stepped into the room. The small space suddenly got even smaller.

  His gaze swept over her face. A muscle jerked in his jaw, and he turned and shut the door behind him. That faint click made her jump.

  “You lied to me, Chloe.”

  Connor, make her tell you everything she knows.

  “I can tell when you lie.”

  She wished that she could tell when he was lying. It would sure make things a whole lot easier for her.

  “What do you know about Keegan?”

  She turned to face the bed. “He met with my father. Since he had claws in the video, well, I’m taking that to mean he’s a werewolf.” Keegan had not shared that fact with her before. But surely he must have known what she was?

  “According to the intel that Duncan just got from the werewolf we brought in, Keegan is the alpha of his pack.”

  Alpha. Crap.

  “Not only that…but it seems that pack used to belong to none other than David Vincent.”

  Her eyes squeezed shut. Things just keep getting worse and worse. “I didn’t know that. I didn’t even know Keegan was a werewolf until a few minutes ago.” But now she had that horrifying image of him seared into her head. Nausea swirled in her stomach.