Taming the Darkness: Love & Monsters, Book 2

by Devin Harnois

She didn’t know whether to hug him or slap him. “Well, you’re not pretty, but the changes are useful. Besides, you can change back when we’re done. It’s not like it’s permanent.” She looked him over again, trying to see him with practical eyes. “You’re gonna freeze your ass come winter.”

  He looked at her with a little smile. “Better enjoy the summer while I can, huh?” He eased. “New plan today. If it’s not infectious, I’ll let you kill it. If not, I will.”

  Claire shifted her gun. “First of all—let?” Victor just grinned at her. “Second, how do you know if they’re infectious or not? New things show up all the time.”

  “I can smell it.” He tensed, suddenly alert. “First one is for you.” He ran off toward the ruins of a house.

  “Hey! Fifty feet!” She called after him.

  “Back in a minute.” His voice was cheery, almost singsong. He disappeared behind a section of wall and screeching and growling broke the silence of the night. Something came tearing around the far side of the wall, eyes flashing. It was about the size of a dog, covered with stiff fur. Victor came after it, herding it like a sheep. Claire brought her gun up and aimed. The first bullet brought it down, a second bullet finished it. Quick and efficient, no wasted ammo.

  Victor sat back with a pleased grin. “Jackals are coming. Can we split them?”

  “Split?” Claire went to the nasty and kicked it with her boot to make sure it was dead.

  “Half for you, half for me.”

  She and her partners sometimes made games out of killing nasties, to ease the horror. In some ways this was like old times. She smiled. “Deal.”

  Chapter Seven

  Victor licked blood from his claws and watched Claire for a reaction. She frowned, but that was it. It was like she’d decided nothing was going to bother her. “Quiet now. Should we move again?”

  She shifted her feet and looked away. “It’s about an hour and half to sunrise, right?”

  He consulted his internal clock. “Yeah.”

  Claire cleared her throat. “I thought we could…spend some time together.”

  He tilted his head. “Now? But it’s still dark.” His heart beat faster as he caught the change in her scent.

  “That’s the point. I want…oh hell, just get in the back.” She went to the AV and pulled open the doors.

  Victor followed hesitantly. The human part of him tried to hold back, but the monster didn’t have any problem with the idea of fucking her. That was the problem. He’d barely been able to control himself after sunrise, had actually lost it for a minute, and he would have even less control now. Claire hopped into the back of the AV and he stopped, rocking with indecision. “I can’t,” he finally said.

  She stared at him for a moment, frowning. Then she moved deeper inside and dug in the supply trunk. She came out with a little flask of whiskey. It was there to help stranded soldiers keep warm in winter while they waited for help, or to take the edge off a bad injury. She shoved the flask toward him. “Rinse your mouth out. I don’t even want to know what you put in it tonight.”

  He laughed despite himself and took the flask. It was awkward with his claws, so he retracted them. He took a mouthful, spit, then took a swallow. It burned as it went down his throat, and he realized he hadn’t had alcohol since he’d been altered. He took another sip for good measure and handed it back to Claire. She gave the flask a long look then screwed the cap back on. “Now, get in here.”

  He jumped into the back before he could stop himself. Just inside, he paused, struggling to keep control of himself. “This is a bad idea. Wait ’til sunrise.”

  “Close the doors.” Claire’s heart hammered.

  He shook his head, clenching his fists. Step back, get out of the AV. His feet wouldn’t move.

  “Fine, I’ll do it.” She brushed past him and slammed the strong doors shut. She’d set up one flashlight which was plenty of light for him, but it had to be dark for her. She brushed past him again and he clenched his fists tighter. Desire and fear rose off her, filling the small space. It wasn’t the same kind of fear he’d smelled those first few days, fear of him and what he might do to her. Not an animal kind of fear. She was afraid of herself, of what she wanted.

  Him.

  “Here.” She tossed him a blanket and the bottle of disinfectant.

  Yes, he had to get clean. Sitting down against the doors, he soaked a corner of the blanket. The sharp scent invaded his nose as he started scrubbing his hands. He shouldn’t consider this at all, should just get out of the AV. Distantly, he heard her digging around and the light changed as she turned on two more flashlights. After his hands, he moved to his arms, his neck, his face. Clean, every inch of him had to be clean…so he could touch her.

  What they’d done yesterday flared across his mind and he squeezed his eyes shut tight. He wanted her so much, but this was a bad, bad idea. He’d almost gathered the willpower to turn and get out of there. Only an hour and half to sunrise, he could wait that long.

  “Victor.”

  He opened his eyes. Claire stood silhouetted against the flashlight beams, one hand lifted. She was holding a condom. He whimpered as his willpower fell away. Victor rushed forward and pulled her into a rough kiss. A little sound of surprise escaped her before she returned the kiss, just as fierce. If she had hesitated, tried to pull back, he might have been able to stop himself. But she leaned into him, digging fingers into his short hair, lips and tongue matching him need for need. She pulled back, tugging at her armor. His head cleared just a little.

  “Wait for sunrise. I can’t control it.” If she decided halfway through that she didn’t want to anymore…

  “No. I want you now.” She dropped her armor to the floor.

  “Why?” There was a lot more in that question than why now. He wanted her so bad it hurt, physically hurt, his cock throbbing with every heartbeat. He knew why he wanted her, both the monster’s reasons and the man’s, but he couldn’t understand why Claire wanted him.

  “I want you. I want all of you, daytime and nighttime.” She looked up at him with an expression he couldn’t define because there was so much in it.

  He pushed her up against the wall, kissing her lips, her neck, everywhere. He couldn’t kiss her enough. He tore open her uniform and the undershirt beneath, exposing more skin to kiss and lick. To claim. The last shreds of his control were slipping away and he couldn’t stop, but he had to do something to make sure he wouldn’t hurt her. Clanking caught his attention and he forced his head up. Yes, that was perfect. Before the monster could stop him, Victor grabbed the cuff and snapped it around his wrist, then he grabbed the next closest cuff and snapped it on his other wrist.

  Claire tried to back away, but she had nowhere to go. She twisted her head around and stared at his shackled wrists. “What are you doing?”

  “Making sure you can get away if you want to.” He tugged at the chains, testing their strength.

  “I don’t want to get away.” She rubbed against his cock to prove her point.

  He pushed her harder against the wall and thrust against her, growling when he realized she still had her pants on. He reached for them and she ducked out of his arms with a gasp. He spun around, chains rattling, and went after her. Claire backed up so fast she almost tripped over her feet, and they found out how far the chains reached. A little more than halfway across the enclosed space Victor jerked to a stop as the chains went taut. She was just out of range, wide eyed and blinking.

  “Now,” he growled. “Aren’t you glad I did that?”

  Her expression hardened. “I didn’t want you to rip my pants, that’s all. I have to put them back on, you know.” She took another step away from him and bent to unfasten them. “You already ruined my tank top.” She held up one tattered end. Victor had torn it in half. “My shirt isn’t much better, although it’ll probably be okay under my armor.” She unzipped her pants and caught his gaze. With a wicked smile, she moved slower, slipping her pants down inch by inch.
>
  He growled, tugging harder against the chains. They held. “Tease.”

  “The chains were your idea, but I’m not against using them to my advantage.” She eased her pants over her hips to reveal a black silk thong.

  “That’s new.” He stared. Yesterday she’d been wearing a white bikini, simple everyday kind of underwear.

  She blushed. “I, uh, well…they’re not new.”

  With her pants no longer covering her, Claire’s scent was stronger. Victor’s whole body throbbed with need now. “Quit teasing and fuck me.”

  She took two more steps and bumped up against the doors. “Hold on a minute.” She bent over to take off her boots. Her head was tantalizingly close, but still out of reach. His arms stretched out behind him as he strained against the chains. Her boots and pants came off in seconds. She stood and pulled off her bra, tossed it into the corner. Claire stepped closer and ran a hand up his chest. “This is incredibly kinky. I’ve got a man chained up naked in the back of an AV. You really can’t get out of those chains?”

  “No,” he growled, tugging hard to prove they would hold.

  “I was never really into the whips and chains stuff. Seemed like too much work. But this is…interesting.” Her scent made it clear just how interesting, and the look on her face only added to it.

  “You’re enjoying this.”

  “Why wouldn’t I?” She put her hands on his shoulders and leaned up. Victor hissed as silk slid against his cock. She rubbed harder against him and he thrust back, only moving his hips. With a moan, she let go and stepped away from him. “This is too dangerous.”

  He wanted her so bad, wanted her touching him, kissing him, fucking him. Victor made himself say, “That’s what I keep saying.”

  “That’s not what I mean.” She looked around on the floor, nudging her pants aside. “Where’s that condom?”

  Victor tried to lunge forward. The chains rattled and his arms protested.

  Claire looked up at him, a little crease on her forehead. He fought down his desire and the creature inside him and backed away, easing the pressure on his wrists and shoulders. She watched him for a moment, then her gaze drifted to something behind him. “There. I dropped it before you locked yourself up.” He followed her gaze to the small packet on the floor. “Can you go get it?” she asked. “Please?” Her voice shook a little. He took a deep breath to make sure. Yes, she was having a hard time controlling herself. He wanted to talk to her, ask her why she wanted him so much when she knew damn well what he was, when the chains were the only things keeping him from taking her and fucking her raw. His body turned on its own and went to pick up the condom.

  She kept an arm’s length from him when he handed it over. Smart girl. She watched him while she unwrapped and unrolled it. He tested the strength of the chains again, trying to get a few inches closer, but they held. When she touched him, he let out a whimper and the scent of desire that rolled off her as she smoothed the condom over him nearly drove him mad. This was much worse than yesterday, and that had tested every ounce of his control. “Claire, please.” He didn’t recognize his own voice, so low and thick it almost wasn’t human.

  “Stay still and let me finish,” she said. He kept trying to thrust into her hand. When she was done she took a step back and gave him a long look. For a moment he feared she’d changed her mind despite the fuck-me scent surrounding her. He growled his frustration and gave the chains a sharp tug.

  “Get on your back,” Claire said.

  That was weakness, vulnerability. Showing your belly and your throat meant submission, and he did not submit. He fought and won. Victor lifted his lip and snarled at her.

  She stared back. “Lay down, Victor. Do you want to fuck me or not?”

  His mind focused as the human part of him understood what she was saying. The snarl died and his mouth snapped shut. “So hard to think,” he told her, hoping she would understand. He backed away far enough for the chains to allow him to lie on the floor of the AV. The metal was cool against his hot back. He lifted his head so he could see her. Claire took a few cautious steps toward him.

  “Stay still,” she warned. A fine tremor went through his body as he forced it to stay still. She took another step and another. When she stood at his hip, she pulled off her thong. She watched him as she did it. “You can control it, I know you can.” She straddled him, one foot on either side, and he got a very nice view. She squatted down to sit on his stomach, and he trembled with the effort to stay still.

  “Claire, please.” His mind filled with images of fucking her in every way possible.

  The look in her eyes was so serious it cleared his head. “I trust you not to hurt me. Remember that.”

  If he lost control he would not only be hurting her, but betraying her trust. Victor nodded and his trembling eased a little. Claire shifted to hover over him and gripped his cock. He closed his eyes for a moment, clenched his hands as he held the monster back. She lowered herself and he had to watch. At the first touch of her wet pussy, he sucked in a breath and held it while she eased down on him. The way she bit her lip and frowned made him think she wasn’t drawing it out to make him suffer. She was getting used to the size of him, and watching the way she stretched around his cock was a beautiful kind of torture. He held on to the ragged edges of his control. The trembling got worse, but otherwise he stayed still until she settled against his hips and his cock squeezed tight within her.

  The sharp smell of blood reached his nose. His hands were clenched so tight his nails cut into his palms. The scent of blood didn’t make the situation better. It drove the thing inside him even wilder, until Claire reached for his hand. “No,” he jerked it away. “Blood is infectious.”

  “I know. I wasn’t going to touch the blood.” She leaned down and he hissed at what the movement did to his cock. She was so tight. “What did you do?”

  He opened his trembling right hand to show her. “Trying to keep control.” The little cuts were already healing.

  “Is it really that hard for you?”

  He nodded.

  She leaned farther and kissed him. “Then I shouldn’t draw this out.” She kept her face inches from his and rocked her hips. Victor groaned. He wanted to touch her, but he couldn’t even do that now that he had blood on his hands. He thrust against her, forcing himself to be gentle. It would be so easy to hurt her, to lose himself in sensation and forget how strong he was.

  Claire kissed him again, pulling his attention back. Her tongue slid against his, thrusting into his mouth as he thrust into her. His hands crept up and he forced them down, laying them flat against the floor. Claire pulled back, sucking in a breath, and she bucked harder. The thing inside him tried to slip his hold, and he shut his eyes. The safest thing to do was stop, wait until dawn when he had much more control. But it was too late now, and he knew it. He could hold back, stay gentle, but he couldn’t stop.

  She stopped and his eyes flew open, wondering if she’d seen how crazy this was and wanted to stop. That was what the chains were for. If she wanted to, she could get away from him. She met his gaze and trailed a finger down his cheek. “I want you to touch me so I need to take care of your hands.” She gave him a quick kiss and got up. He felt suddenly cold and alone, and the monster wasn’t happy. Claire went to the trunk and dug out the first aid kit. The urge to jump on her and sink his cock into her warmth was almost too strong for him to fight. Leave her alone. Leave her alone, he told himself. He closed his eyes again. It was a little easier to stay in control if he couldn’t see her, but he could still smell her. Their mingled scents filled the whole area, and despite everything it seemed so right.

  Claire cleaned the little crescent-shaped wounds on his hands and wrapped gauze over them for good measure even though they’d stopped bleeding. “Patching you up is getting to be a habit.”

  “Done?” The word scraped its way out of his throat. His control kept slipping, and he didn’t think he could get it back this time. It felt like sin
king, downing in scent and desire and he wasn’t going to come back up until he had claimed her.

  “Yeah.”

  Victor lunged at her, the chains rattling as he grabbed her around the waist and twisted. She only had time for a surprised gasp before she was on her back and he was over her, spreading her legs. He plunged into her with a groan, all the way up to his balls. A muffled cry escaped her, and he was aware enough to check her expression. Surprise mingled with pleasure, no indication she wanted to stop. She stared up at him as he drew back and thrust into her again. She arched her hips and pleasure took over in her eyes.

  “Mine,” he growled as he thrust again. Faster and faster, he slid in and out of her tight pussy. Better than he could have imagined, claiming his mate, listening to her low cries. She reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, thrusting harder. The chains kept up a steady clink, clink, clink as they fucked.

  The tension in her body changed. Her scent altered slightly. Claire was getting close and it drove him wilder. He tilted the angle of his hips, and by her sharp cry, he knew he’d hit the right spot. He drove into her again and again.

  “Fuck, fuck,” she panted. “Fuck!” Her pussy clenched tight on his cock. The only thing better than claiming his mate was making her come while he did it. Pleasure rose higher, and now it was his turn to curse as he joined her in release.

  His body kept up stuttering thrusts for a moment and then, with a sigh, he rested his head against her shoulder. It felt so good, so right, to lie with his mate. Victor couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this content.

  Chapter Eight

  Claire tried to get her breathing under control, but it wasn’t easy with Victor on top of her. “Hey,” she nudged him. “You’re heavy.”

  He mumbled something and rolled off her. She turned to look at him, wondering what she would see in his eyes. They were closed. He pressed against her side, his breath slowing. The bastard was falling asleep on her. Typical man. She rolled on her side and noticed how sore she was. A good kind of sore, but she was glad they weren’t walking back to the lab today. “Hey,” she said again. “We can’t fall asleep.” Even as she said it, the idea of curling up next to him and sleeping was very appealing. She had a vision of them sleeping in a bed in a house somewhere like a normal couple but slammed a mental door on the thought.