Beautiful Creatures Series

Katelyn jumped out of her skin when she heard the front door slam, and Darrell came staggering up the stairs to the loft with no consideration for the late hour. He bumped into the corner of the banister and swore a string of cuss words that would have made a sailor blush with shame.

Katelyn reached over and turned on the lamp next to the bed and watched him bump into the wall as he tried to pull his shirt off over his head. He laughed and dropped his shirt on the floor and kicked off his boots as his hands reached for his belt. She could smell the booze coming off him even from this distance. It was like he had bathed in whisky.

Darrell crawled into bed with Katelyn pushing her back against the bed as he tried to kiss her. Katelyn recoiled and turned her face away from his. “You reek of whisky,” she complained.

“Come on, Baby, don’t be stuck up.”

“Get off me,” she said, pushing him away. “You are drunk,” Katelyn was not interested in giving him any love when he threw a tantrum and left her alone all day and night.

“I may be drunk, but I can still make your knees weak,” he promised, kissing her neck and sending a delightful shutter throughout her body. And she could not help but sigh, and when she did, Katelyn heard Darrell chuckled. “I must be doing something right,” he whispered in her ear as his fingers worked the zipper of her jeans open, sliding his hand down the front of her pants. He stroked her womanhood and pressed a finger deep inside her.

Her breath caught in her lungs, and her eyes fell shut as the hot sensation spread from his hand through her body. She hated that he could break her will with such ease. That his touch could make her want more. Her traitorous body betrayed her when he was near. She should not want him, but she did. What was wrong with her?

Darrell pulled her jeans down her legs and tossed them across the room. Her panties were gone next. She should have protested, but Darrell bent over and pressed his mouth to her womanhood. Stop him. Her mind was screaming, but the words never found their way to her mouth. Darrell’s mouth and tongue worshipped her most intimate place, licking and sucking at the bud of her sex.

Katelyn could not stop moaning when he pushed two fingers inside her, thrusting and manipulating her to fevered heights of desperate need. Soon she was lost to the pleasure. How was it that this man knew how to reduce her to a perfect wanton? Katelyn’s fingers claws at the bedding, trying to hold on to reality while her body trembled with the force of a breathtaking climax.

Darrell kissed a blazing path up her belly, pushing her t-shirt up and out of his way. His hot mouth closed around her breast and suckled until her nipple was peaked. Katelyn wrapped her arms around him. Darrell lifted his head and smiled down at her. “I like having you at my mercy,” he whispered and kissed her lips and pushed his shorts down his legs and kicked them off. “Tell me; you want me,” he said, settling between her legs. She could feel his arousal pressed firmly against her womanhood. “Say it,” he urged, rubbing against her.

She could not believe she was saying yes. “I want ye,” her plea was instantly rewarded as Darrell entered her forcing her tender tissue to yield to his invasion. Darrell braced his weight above her. He kissed her neck as he moved within her. He thrust deep and hard, rocking the bed. Katelyn moaned and lifted her hips off the mattress, meeting his downward thrust. His mouth ate at hers, and his hand cupped her breast.

It was a primal, animalistic union, and when she reached orgasm, she cried out and arched her back. Darrell quickly pulled out just as his climax took him. He dropped onto the mattress next to her, trying to catch his breath. As the insanity passed, Katelyn cursed her weakness. Somehow, he had gotten her to submit again. What was it with this guy? She should be angry, but instead, she craved him. The way he touched her made her mindless.

“That was fun,” she purred breathlessly. Darrell flopped onto the bed and put his arm around Katelyn’s waist, and held her close.

It was not long before Katelyn heard the steady rhythm of his breathing. He had fallen asleep. Katelyn’s gaze went from Darrell to the window. Something caught her eyes. Katelyn climbed out of bed, getting dressed. She walked over to the curving row of windows and looked out into the night. With the house lights off, it was easy to see the lights in the trees. What was that?

Curious, Katelyn went downstairs and out the front door. Pushing open the screen door, she stepped outside and slowly moved toward the lights in the trees. What was that? She moved closer, trying to see in the dark. The closer she got, the slower she moved. She was starting to get a bad feeling. Then when she heard growling, Katelyn knew exactly what the lights were. The house was surrounded by Lycans.

Very carefully, Katelyn made to move, but Darrell’s embrace tightened around her as he made himself more comfortable. She remained very still, and after a few minutes, she tried again, gently easing his arm from around her waist. She froze when he rolled onto his back, his arm resting on his perfectly toned abs. The liquor in his system must have been acting as a sedative.

Katelyn turned and broke into a run. She took off back to the house but stopped short when a huge grey wolf jumped in front of her, growling, cutting off her route back to the house. She saw a beaten pathway in the trees near the house and decided to try and escape that way. She bolted for the trees. The path was dark, and only the moonlight lit her way. She needed to find her way back to the highway. She could flag down a car for help.

It was not long before she reached the main road, but it was deserted. Her hopes picked up when she saw a set of headlights. Someone was coming. Katelyn ran for the road and was nearly there when a wolf jumped in front of her cutting off her escape. She ran in another direction heading for the trees again. She would try to lose them in the forest. Katelyn ran as fast as she could. Branches tore at her flesh, but she kept pushing. If they caught her, she was as good as dead. Katelyn jumped over a fallen tree and looked back. She could not see anyone, but she could hear the snarls and howls of wolves behind her. They were close; she could see the flash of their eyes in the darkness. They were getting closer.

Katelyn screamed when a large wolf knocked her to the ground, face down. She rolled over and put up her arms, trying to fend the beast off when another snapped at her leg, catching the cuff of her jeans and gave her a good shake ripping the fabric. The animal on top of her was snarling and biting at her arm. She cried out in pain. They were going to rip her apart. She was going to die.

Suddenly another golden wolf pounced the one on top of her, knocking it off her. The two beasts rolled and flipped, biting at one another until the dark one whimpered and scurried off. The golden wolf stood over Katelyn and growled at the others that were pacing around them. One came closer, but the wolf on top of her snapped at it, and the beast backed off.

Slowly the wolves began to slink back into the darkness. The golden wolf turned around and looked at her nudging her side, encouraging her to get up. Her leg hurt, and she could not get up. Her arm was bleeding. The wolf licked at her arm and wedged its head under her arm. Katelyn used it to pull herself up onto her feet. In the heat of the moment, she could not tell one from another, but she was pretty sure this one was Darrell. Once she was on her feet, the wolf nudged her legs with his head, and she carefully climbed onto its back.

good arm, she held onto the fur at the back of its neck and let it carry her back to the house. It walked slowly so she would not fall. The massive wolf carried her through the woods and stopped at the front door of the house. She slid off the wolf and limped into Darrell’s house. She sat on the couch as she watched the wolf follow her inside. The huge animal bumped into

wound. “This was just a love bite,” he said, sitting down and taking her arm again, gently dabbing at the puncture wounds where the beast had sunk his teeth into the muscle of her forearm. “A little more pressure, and he could have snapped the bone. Why on

my retreat back to the house. So,

would have just hunted

never going to get out of here alive, am I?” She began to sob, and Darrell took her in his arms. “I’m trapped here. They are never going to let me live,” Darrell held her close. He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead, trying to soothe her hysteria. “I don’t…

let anyone

***

rose early and got dressed. Darrell was still sleeping in the bed. Katelyn collected what little she had brought with her and repacked her suitcase. As she zipped it up, Darrell lifted his

“I’m going home.”

as he watched her. “You are

can’t set foot out of this house without risking my life.

thought you wanted to

the cost of my own

you are just going to go home

my parents’ house. You are fascinating, but I want

to her, still naked. It was so hard to say goodbye when he was like this. “Please

a real

“We could be.”

tire of me? Or until you decided it is time to

for a moment. “You don’t

words. How can you possibly

had, but from the moment I saw you, I knew I wanted you. Having you share my bed these past few days hasn’t changed my mind; in fact, it only solidified my desire to make you mine. I have never felt this way about any woman. I wish I could make you see through my eyes. We

her with a new resolve, and he reached up to touch her, causing Katelyn to take

her face with his hands. His touch was gentle but

close. Katelyn did not know what he was doing. As she stared into his bright amber eyes, something happened. It was

the woods as a beast; she could feel his heart beating in her own chest. She saw a mob of farmers burning down his home. She could almost choke on the smoke. She could feel his fear as

like they were one person. She could see the world as he did. Then she saw herself through

Darrell let go, and the intense bond was broken. He sat down on the foot of the bed catching his breath as if he had just run a

***

was that?”

her. Darrell was not sure he had done that right, but he had certainly felt the bond. He felt

you do to me?”

your soul and let you into mine,” imprinting was a sacred bond between two people. It made them one, and it

understand,” she said, confused. “I saw

a glimpse into the life of another person. She had seen his memories, and he had seen hers. Since Katelyn was mortal, the imprinting had been difficult. It had been a mess of incoherent images. He had seen her family, flashes of her childhood. From what he could tell, her childhood had been good. She came from a loving family and suffered no hardships until

even choked on the smoke. But I have never been in a fire,” she said with great confusion. “There was a woman, I don’t know who she was, but I got the feeling she

month earlier. The farmer’s account of that night had raised many questions. It had exposed them for what they were, and late at night, his mother had dragged Darrell and his sister out of bed, trying to get them out of the house